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And now read the Discovery Channel

The Discovery Channel will launch its English-language magazine today. The inaugural issue will hit bookshelves on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and in other Asian countries including Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Published bi-monthly, the magazine features content that is the hallmark of Discovery Channel, including articles and rich images encompassing a wide range of topics - from demystifying science and technology, decoding animal behavior to unraveling history and exploring ancient civilizations.

The magazine will retail in China for about $5.5.

The magazine is a collaborative effort between two media giants - Discovery Networks Asia, a division of Discovery Communications - and Reader's Digest Asia, part of The Reader's Digest Association, Inc, global publisher and marketer of books, magazines, music and video. Editor-in-chief of the English edition of Reader's Digest in Asia, Jim Plouffe, will oversee the magazine.

Beyonce Knowles goes for Cadillac

Beyonce Knowles has signed on to play blues singer Etta James in Cadillac Records, a 1950s period film about the founder of Chicago's Chess Records and his lineup of stars.

The 10-time Grammy winner joins a cast that includes Adrien Brody as Chess Records founder Leonard Chess, Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon, and Columbus Short as Little Walter.

Darnell Martin (Their Eyes Were Watching God) will direct the Sony BMG Films project from his own screenplay. Knowles will also serve as an executive producer.

Knowles earned a Golden Globe nomination for her role as girl-group member Deena Jones in the 2006 musical Dreamgirls. Her other feature credits include Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Fighting Temptations.

Aretha's furs make PETA see red

PETA thinks Aretha Franklin is no queen of soul when it comes to wearing fur. Franklin was crowned this year's worst-dressed celebrity by the animal rights organization. Her crime? Wearing "yet another vulgar fur" at the Grammy Awards.

"... you looked as if you were going to perform 'I Am the Walrus' by the Beatles," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said on Wednesday of Franklin's appearance. "You might be a queen, but you don't know jack about compassion."

"How 'bout some R-E-S-P-E-C-T for animals?" PETA added.

The other offenders are Marilyn Manson, Eva Longoria ("in her trashy furs, she looks like the streetwalker of Wisteria Lane"), Lindsay Lohan, Kate Moss and Kylie Minogue.

PETA called Minogue cold-blooded for toting a python purse. As for Lohan, the group remarked: "I Know Who Killed Me isn't just the title of Lindsay Lohan's latest bomb, it's the cry of the animals snuffed out so this Mean Girl can pose in their pelts."

Christina Ricci, Martha Stewart and Alicia Keys have said they've given up wearing fur since being singled out by PETA in previous years.

PETA asked people to vote on the website Fur Is Dead.

The group said it took Britney Spears out of the running because they didn't want to kick her while she's down.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 02/22/2008 page18)