(CNN) Fifty years ago today, folk hero Bob Dylan caused an uproar when he took to the stage at Manchester's Free Trade Hall with -- wait for it -- an electric guitar.

"Judas!" yelled someone in the crowd, referencing a traitor of biblical proportions.

"I don't believe you," came Dylan's drawling, incredulous reply.

For the British fans who had gathered to see their folk idol -- his 1963 album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" had reached No. 1 in the UK -- this was the ultimate betrayal.

Audience members started slow hand-clapping. There were boos. People walked out.

After initially wooing fans with an acoustic set, Dylan returned in the second half of the gig with an electric guitar and his band The Hawks.

They played "Tell Me, Momma." Defiant in the face of growing heckles from the crowd, Dylan apparently told his band to "play it loud."

If anyone knew the times were a-changin, it was Dylan. Another electric song he played that night -- "Like a Rolling Stone" -- became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 2 on the U.S. charts.

Ahead of Dylan's 75th birthday next week on May 24, we take a look at some other music performances that got the world talking.

1956: Elvis' pelvic thrusts get us all shook up

Even after six decades, Elvis Presley's vigorous pelvic thrusts on the Milton Berle Show on June 5, 1956 are no less electrifying.

The swagger. The sensuously curled lip. The outrageous gyrations below the belt -- and all on primetime TV! No wonder the crowd was hysterical.

Presley's sexually-charged performance of "Hound Dog" was both denounced by the conservative press and lapped up by a new generation of wide-eyed teenage fans.

When Presley performed on the Ed Sullivan show two years later, CBS insisted the sex symbol be filmed from the waist-up only.

1962: Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday" to JFK

OK, so it's more of a breathy, spoken-word performance than a song.

But when Marilyn Monroe sang "Happy Birthday" to U.S. President John F. Kennedy on May 19, 1962, it became one of the most enduring images of the Hollywood star -- and an intriguing glimpse into her personal relationship with arguably the most powerful man in the world.

First lady Jackie Kennedy, meanwhile, was not present at the 45th birthday bash for her husband.

Dressed in a white rhinestone-encrusted dress so tight she was reportedly sewn into it, Monroe's sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday" marked her last major public appearance before she died in mysterious circumstances on August 5,1962.

Historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., an aide to President Kennedy at the time, said of Monroe that night: "The image of this exquisite, beguiling and desperate girl will always stay with me."

"I do not think I have seen anyone so beautiful; I was enchanted by her manner and her wit, at once so masked, so ingenuous and so penetrating."

1978: Bob Marley's "One Love Peace" moment

It has been described as the "Third World Woodstock."

But the "One Love Peace Concert" held in Jamaica on April 22, 1978, saw political rivals come together in a way rarely seen at other music festivals across the world.

The reggae concert, headed by Bob Marley and the Wailers, was held at a time of civil war between the People's National Party and Jamaica Labour Party.

During a performance of "Jammin,'" Marley joined the hands of People's National Party leader Michael Manley and Edward Seaga of the Jamaica Labour Party.

Guardian music journalist Robin Denselow, who was there at the time, remembers it as "an extraordinary, if brief, moment of hope for Kingston; Bob Marley could hardly be blamed for presiding over a Peace Concert that failed to end the violence."

1992: Sinead O'Connor tears up a picture of the Pope

Unlike Bob Dylan's 1960s electric guitar performance, when Sinead O'Connor tore up a picture of the Pope live on television in 1992, the crowd was seemingly too shocked to even make a sound.

Following a chilling a capella rendition of Bob Marley's song "War" on Saturday Night Live, O'Connor held up a picture of Pope John Paul II and proceeded to shred it.

"Fight the real enemy," said the Irish singer, before throwing the torn-up pieces at the camera.

During the song, O'Connor had replaced the word "racism" with "child abuse," in an attempt to highlight child abuse within the Catholic church.

It's been 50 years since folk idol Bob Dylan caused controversy with an electric guitar in Manchester, England. We look at other music performances that shook us up.

bob dylan, folk, electric, electric guitar, manchester free trade hall, music, performance, concert, music concert, elvis presley, marilyn monroe, bob marley, sinead o'connor, entertainment, Bob Dylan: 50 years electric - CNN.com


The Symptom of Depression We Don't Talk About

You may think you know a lot about depression.

You know people with depression can feel sad and empty much of the time, have changes in appetite or sleeping habits, be fatigued, have decreased feelings of pleasure in things that would normally bring them joy and possibly even have thoughts of death and dying. But the one symptom of depression you probably don’t know about, and one of the hardest ones to deal with, is loneliness.

People thrive on connection. Even most introverts need to be social with small groups or one-on-one. But when I feel depressed, I can’t motivate myself to make or keep plans, to leave the house, or sometimes even to get showered and dressed. But this doesn’t mean I don’t want company. In contrast, I want company so badly it’s

actually painful. But I’m afraid to ask. I know I’m a bother to people, and I

know I’m not any fun to spend time with because I’m always sad and have a hard

time enjoying the things I used to love.

I feel guilty for wanting that company, for needing to have somebody around.

When I get severely depressed, I long for somebody to talk to, somebody who will

understand and not judge me. But I can’t seem to open my mouth and ask for the

help I need. I get trapped in my own brain, and I can hear myself screaming, but, unfortunately, nobody can read my mind. The more depressed I get, the more I isolate from the outside world, and the less motivation I have to reach out to people. But this is really the time I most need someone to see me, truly see what is going on, and reach out to me.

It’s sad the symptoms of depression can drive so many friends away, because of the stigma of depression, or because they don’t understand, or are scared, or don’t know how to help, or are busy and can’t be bothered. Because sometimes the best way to reach a depressed friend or loved one is to simply spend time with him or her, doing whatever he or she feels up to doing. Even if that’s just an evening on the

couch with Netflix, or bringing over coffee or dinner, just showing that you care for your friend can help him or her start to feel better. Even if your friend doesn’t seem to hear your words of reassurance and comfort, there still can be a benefit to your presence. It always helps to know that somebody else cares, to hear love expressed in a genuine way.

Love expressed by other people can help me so much when I’m depressed. It reminds me I’m worthy of such love, and can push me a little bit closer to working on the self-love that will pull me out of the depression. So if you do have a friend or loved one who is depressed, please remember, it is so important to spend time with him or her. Depression is a disease of loneliness, and connection with other people makes all the difference in recovery.

The Mighty is asking the following: Tell us a story about a time you encountered a commonly held misconception about your mental illness. How did you react, and what do you want to tell people who hold his misconception? If you’d like to participate, please send a blog post to [email protected] Please include a photo for the piece, a photo of yourself and 1-2 sentence bio. Check out our Submit a Story page for more about our submission guidelines.

What’s one misconception about your mental illness you want to see busted? Tell us in the comments below.

The Symptom of Depression We Don’t Talk About

A woman talks about an often overlooked but very real symptom of depression -- loneliness.


Parents who've been taken to the edge of the emotional ledge will tell you they'll try anything to get their children to eat their greens/ditch the nappies/go to bed on time.

So, how do you deal with the tantrums and traumas that every toddler seems to bring with them? And stay completely in control.

From gently stroking a drowsy tot's nose to help them sleep to persuading little ones that broccoli is a very fine thing, here we pick the best tips for ensuring a quiet (ish) life.

CONQUER POTTY TRAINING WITH TREATS (AND DON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT IT)

In an ideal world, parents ask toddlers to start using the toilet and they do it. The reality? They wriggle and leap off and end up piddling on the floor. Potty training is not an arena for the moral high ground, so unless you're in for some serious masochism, load up some episodes of Peppa Pig and let them get used to sitting on the loo in a happy environment.

USE YOUR IMAGINATION WHEN TRYING CHILDREN WITH NEW FOODS

Broccoli? They're little trees. The fork? That's an aeroplane carrying said trees. And carrots will help you see in the dark (not strictly a lie either, there's plenty of Vitamin A in them, which is known to be good for eyes).

If the worst comes to the worst...blend the demon vegetables into a puree and mask them with a tomato sauce on pasta, which most kids seem to warm to.

They're furious and ready to blow a gasket? Make them laugh...or rather, tell them not to laugh...it's a one-way ticket to defusing a hotheaded situation. Distraction can pour water on a toddler tantrum like nothing else.

It's all about the repetition, say the experts, A constant shushing, a finger traced down the nose or even a single tissue paper brushed gently back and forth over your toddler's face are all techniques that have been proven to work. Australian Dad Nathan Dailo shot to YouTube fame in 2015 after doing the latter with his young baby. It worked a treat in less than one minute and garnered the superdad millions of hits on YouTube.

IT'S OKAY TO USE BRIBES EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE

In an ideal world, your child will do as you say, first time around. In a realistic world, you'll persuade them to put their socks on after the kind of nerve-killing negotiation you might expect at the UN. And they'll take them off again. So bribes aren't always a bad thing. A piece of fruit, a packet of raisins, the odd piece of chocolate can get you out of the door/in the car/away from the playground a lot quicker than vocal persuasion.

When they do something lovely, shout it from the rooftops. Child psychiatrists say that any natural opportunities to celebrate empathy should be grasped. If they pass their little brother his favourite teddy - instead of stuffing it behind the sofa - then make sure you're vocal in your praise.

If you warn your child against doing something eg drawing on the wall, don't make a threat that you're not prepared to carry out. For example, if they're misbehaving and you threaten they'll lose their favourite toy, make sure they do lose their favourite toy for a period time - or they'll assume you'll always let them off the hook.

LOOK THEM IN THE EYE WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO THEM

Eye contact shows your child that you're entirely serious and that you're tackling the matter in hand. Parents who've used this technique successfully suggest that more often that not the child ends up negotiating with themselves and calming down, particularly if you maintain a steely silence throughout.

Genius tips for getting your children to do the things they don't want to (including fibbing to them about food and ALWAYS looking them in the eye during an argument)


"How I regularly book round-trip international flights for less than $400"

I’m a solo female travel blogger on a mission to complete 12 trips in 12 months. I want to accomplish this personal feat before I turn the big 3-0.

As a young professional, I’m on a tight budget. The most expensive part of any trip is the flight, so I had to find cheap airfare to meet my travel goals. Stops on my year of adventure include the South of France during lavender season, Mexico during whale shark season and Iceland during the autumnal equinox. So far, I’ve booked 11 of the 12 trips, most for under $400 round-trip. My cheapest round-trip flight came in at just $70.

Finding cheap flights is not an easy feat. It can take a lot of time and effort. But if you’re okay with being flexible on the dates and airports, you can save hundreds of dollars.

Below are some examples of the types of deals I’ve come across and the secrets to finding them.

The deal: $353 for a round-trip flight to Stockholm

Budget airlines get a bad reputation, as many travelers believe they’ll be sacrificing quality for a bargain price. But those flying with budget airlines overseas might be pleasantly surprised. Italy-based Alitalia gives you two meals, a blanket and complimentary headphones on transatlantic flights, for instance. Colombia-based Avianca will take you from Lima to Cusco for under $100, with snacks, drinks and a carry-on included in all fares and a meal on all international flights.

I booked a round-trip flight from Miami to Stockholm for just $325 with Norwegian, directly through their website. Norwegian charges extra for everything from your seat selection to water, so I bought food at the terminal and risked my seat assignment on the way there to minimize additional costs. I lucked out and got an aisle seat, but on the way home, I decided not to risk it and paid $28 to make sure I would have a window seat — bringing the total cost of my flight up to $353.

One of the easiest ways to land a practically free flight is to sign up for a travel credit card, especially if you tend to pay your balance off in full each month. If you’re apprehensive about taking on additional debt or living beyond your means, start small. Choose an airline specific credit card with a low spending threshold to earn extra sign-up miles. The reward can range anywhere from 5,000 to 100,000 bonus miles depending on the card, which could cover a round-trip flight with that airline Also, don’t scoff if you hear flight attendants peddling a credit card on a flight — these can often carry twice the bonus miles typically offered.

With my first travel credit card, I received 5,000 bonus miles for signing up and used those miles to buy a nonstop flight through JetBlue from Fort Lauderdale to Ecuador. The one-way flight cost me 7,500 miles and $16 for taxes and fees. I booked the return flight a few weeks later after accruing additional miles on my card, coming out to $129 for taxes and fees on the reward flight, for a total of $145 round-trip.

Before you sign up for a travel card, however, make sure you’re aware of any fees, such as annual fees, and the interest rates that come with the card. The point of getting a rewards credit card is to reap a financial benefit, and there’s enough competition that you should be able to take advantage of a promotional offer that doesn’t include administrative costs.

La Cueva del Indio in Arecibo, Puerto Rico #travel #traveling #puertorico #hiking #vacation #visiting #instatravel #instago #instagood #trip #holiday #photooftheday #fun #travelling #tourism #tourist #instapassport #instatraveling #mytravelgram #travelgram #travelingram #igtravel #ocean #nature

A post shared by Jen Ruiz (@jenonajetplane) on Jul 2, 2016 at 12:19pm PDT

The deal: $182 round-trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico

The secret: Sign up for an email subscription list

In the beginning, I signed up for every flight tracker app and alert out there, with no success. Then I found Scott’s Cheap Flights, a service that emails you cheap or mistake fares that are mostly international as they come up.

The email, from travel expert Scott Keyes, details the airline, departure airports affected, price range for tickets and how long a deal is expected to last. I was on the free list for a month before upgrading to the premium subscription which lets you receive news of the deals before others and gives you access to more of the deals.

I recently booked a $182 round-trip flight from Fort Lauderdale to San Juan, Puerto Rico on Spirit Airlines.

The deal: $339 round-trip flight to Reykjavik, Iceland

The secret: Don’t hesitate to buy when there’s a ridiculously low one-way flight

Good deals are hard to find, and they don’t last for long. If you come across an offer that looks too good to be true, don’t think, just buy. The Department of Transportation mandates that airlines give you a 24-hour grace period where they’ll refund your purchase in full for any reason, as long as the trip is at least seven days away. So this comes in handy if you truly experience buyer’s remorse afterward.

Do not mull over your options or wait to hear back from potential travel mates. It seems counterintuitive, but book the flight first and figure out the logistics of your trip later.

I’d heard about Wow Air’s $99 fares to Iceland, but they seemed like a myth. Every time I went to book, tickets were $300 and up. When I was alerted about a $99 flight to Iceland during a holiday weekend, I pounced. The return fare was $240, bringing my grand total to $339 round trip for a nonstop, round-trip flight from Miami to Reykjavik. A friend who later resolved to join me on the trip missed the sale and paid double the price.

The deal: $70 nonstop, round-trip flight to Oranjestad, Aruba

The secret: Utilize fare finder calendars

You may have heard travelers debating the best days to travel or purchase airline tickets. Fare finder calendars can take the guess work out of booking, giving you an idea of fares months in advance.

Google Flights has a map option where you can input flexible dates and departure airports and browse the most affordable destinations worldwide. Using this method, I found a $23 connection from Nice, France, to London.

Also, using the Best Fare Finder on JetBlue’s site, I found a $54 promotional fare from Fort Lauderdale to Aruba. Combined with a $16 rewards fare for my return trip, the cost of taxes and fees on the flight, I flew nonstop, round-trip to Aruba for only $70.

First time holding a live sea urchin! Heads up, it holds you back 😱 @seabobaruba1 #diving #seabob #aruba #travel #traveling #ocean #wildlife #adventure #solotravel #vacation #visiting #instatravel #instago #instagood #trip #holiday #photooftheday #fun #travelling #tourism #tourist #instapassport #instatraveling #mytravelgram #travelgram #travelingram #igtravel #gopro

A post shared by Jen Ruiz (@jenonajetplane) on Mar 28, 2017 at 8:32am PDT

The deal: $397 round-trip flight to Marrakesh, Morocco

Morocco is a bucket-list destination. Shopping for exotic spices in the souks, riding camels in the Sahara desert and admiring the streets of Chefchaouen are experiences many dream of having. However, depending on your city of departure, flights to Morocco can be really expensive. The solution? Consider nearby airports.

When I was informed of good deals for Madrid, I was hesitant. I had just returned from Spain and wanted to venture out. Then I remembered Madrid is a connection hub for major cities like Athens, Istanbul and Marrakesh. I booked the round trip from Miami to Madrid for $321 on Air Europa, unsure of my ultimate destination. A few weeks later, during a Ryanair promotion, I booked a connection to Marrakesh for an additional $76, bringing my grand total for Morocco to $397 round-trip. Note that it would have been just as easy to connect to any of the other cities I mentioned for a comparable price.

Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive. There are good deals everywhere for those who know where and how to look.

I'm taking 12 trips in 12 months. This is how I'm able to afford it.

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What if the whole world's population all lived in the same city

Here's an interesting thought exercise: if all the people in the world were crammed into one city, how much space would we take up? It's a question RealLifeLore tackles in depth in the video above.

The answer depends on just how tightly you want to pack people together – standing room only or space for a garden and pets? RealLifeLore looks at real-world examples of densely populated cities to give you some idea of the various permutations.

Take Singapore, currently the most densely populated country in the world, where an average of 7,605 people live in every square kilometre. If you can cope with that level of intimacy with your neighbour, we can fit all 7.4 billion of us into a city the size of Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana added together (just over a million square kilometres in total).

The size of our world city, based on different population densities. Credit: RealLifeLore

There are areas of the world even more densely populated, however. Downtown Manhattan crams 26,939 people into every square kilometre on average, and if we were to adopt that template, we could all squeeze into a city the same size as the country of Ecuador – that's 283,560 square kilometres or almost 5,000 Manhattans.

For real-world population density, however, nothing comes close to the now demolished Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong (where the header image for this article comes from).

Before it was knocked down in 1987, Kowloon was home to 33,000 people living in just 0.26 square kilometres (about three football fields).

If you're prepared to put up with that much of a crush – less than a square metre each, without roads or infrastructure or the help of multi-storey buildings – then everyone on the planet could fit in a city the size of Palestine, around 6,220 square kilometres.

As Kowloon Walled City shows, it's also a question of how high you want your residential buildings to go...

It might seem a largely pointless exercise to imagine a single city for the world, but with the very real threat of climate change to consider, in the coming years we might not have as many habitable places left on Earth as we're used to.

According to the UN, there could be more than 11 billion people on the planet by the end of this century. Not only would that mean we'd have to expand our world city borders to cope, it would also put extra strain on the Earth's resources – and just consider the additional impact another four billion people might have.

In a 2010 study published in PNAS, researchers from the Australian National University argue that eventually up to half the planet could become uninhabitable thanks to temperature rises over the next couple of centuries.

Another study published last year in Nature Climate Change predicted severe heat waves could strike areas of the Arabian Gulf and make cities such as Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Bandar Abbas uninhabitable in the next hundred years.

With those factors to consider, we might have to get used to fitting more people into smaller areas in the years to come.

Let's hope we're colonising Mars before we all have to fit inside a city the size of Palestine – but if the worst should happen, now you know what to expect.

WATCH: What if the World's Population All Lived in the Same City?

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Guess which sad 1990s song Madonna decided to cover?

Performance art is to celebrities what YouTube videos are to adorable cat owners -- neither parties are forced to partake in their respective activities, yet countless insist upon doing so.

Tilda Swinton, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga and a slew of other famous names have dipped their toes in the art world waters recently, hosting ambiguous "performances" at meccas like the Museum of Modern Art and Pace Gallery in New York City. And now, as if to say "Hello, I've been doing this my whole career," Madonna has dramatically followed suit.

The singer performed a cover of Elliott Smith's "Between the Bars" this week, a stunt meant to promote the premiere of her "secretprojectrevolution" short film. Dragged on stage and handcuffed by men dressed in police uniforms, she belted out the words to the late '90s song from the floor of Gagosian Gallery in NYC while hooded dancers moved in the shadows behind her. Somehow Madge took the Smith diddy -- with lyrics about alcohol use and depression -- and turned it into her own personal statement on the world's prison systems.

"When I say I wanna start a revolution, that is exactly what I mean,"Madonna exclaimed at the live event. "I mean I want to start a movement of people, of artists, who are not worried about winning popularity contests, who are not worried about approval, who are not worried about whether their ass looks good -- although it is important to have a good-looking ass..."

Madonna Performs Elliott Smith's 'Between The Bars' At Art Gallery

Performance art is to celebrities what YouTube videos are to adorable cat owners -- neither parties are forced to partake in their respective activities,...

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Will Doctor Strange Include Another Major Villain From The Comics? By Adam Holmes Warning: possible spoilers for Doctor Strange are ahead! Stephen Strange's debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe this fall is, of course, also including a few of his adversaries from the comics. We've known for a while that Mads Mikkelsen will be playing Doctor Strange's main antagonist, Kaecilius, one of the Ancient One's former followers. Then there's Chiwetel Ejiofor's Mordo, who, although an ally in this movie, could follow in his comic book counterpart's footsteps and become Stephen's arch-nemesis in the future. Now there's a possible hint of an even bigger villain (figuratively and literally) appearing who fans have speculated about, but has never been officially confirmed: Dormammu. Following the report that Rick and Morty creator Dan Harmon is writing some scenes for Doctor Strange, Reddit user "Bifrost51" went back to watch the San Diego Comic-Con episode of the Harmontown podcast. One of the moments showed a list of document on Harmon's computer, and one of the files was named "Strange Confronts Dormammu." Keep in mind that this by no means official. Assuming the screenshot is real, it could just be Harmon screwing around with everyone watching. Maybe he just gave a document that title to throw fans off track about what's really happening. However, if this document is the real deal, this means that Dormammu has been secretly been set up as major threat in Doctor Strange. To what extent remains to be seen. Dormammu is without a doubt Doctor Strange's most powerful recurring enemy in the comics. Thanks to Strange helping Dormammu in their first encounter when his minions, the Mindless Ones, went out of control, the ruler of the Dark Dimension agreed never to enter the "Earth realm" again. Unfortunately, even with that restriction, Dormammu hasn't stopped trying to invade our plane of existence in other ways. There could be a similar setup in Doctor Strange, as some have speculated that the weird blackening around Kaecilius' eyes might be a sign of Dormammu's influence or possession over him. Perhaps in order to accomplish his goals, Kaecilius has resorted to harnessing some kind of dark magic, i.e. Dormammu's power. That in turn provides a conduit for Dormammu to initiate his own plans on Earth, since he can't do anything by himself directly. Obviously this all just guesswork, but if Dormmamu does appear in Doctor Strange, it's important he's adapted correctly. This is not the kind of villain who you use for one movie and then kill by the end of the story. Not only would he make a great enemy for Doctor Strange 2, but we don't want a repeat of Galactus in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer or Parallax in Green Lantern. Either way, we only have a little over two months until we learn whether Dormammu's inclusion is legitimate or not. Doctor Strange will work its magic in theaters on November 4. Let us know if you'd enjoy a possible Dormammu appearance in the comments below. Blended From Around The Web Comments Facebook

Doctor Strange already features two of the Sorcerer Supreme's adversaries from the comics, one who will be causing trouble and another who has been reimagined as an ally. Now it's possible a third antagonist may appear.

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We Don't Know, We're Not The Movie Makers


Panda Mom Looks Closely At Newborn Baby. But When Keepers See THIS under her legs, they gasp.

O n July 15, 2013, a bona fide miracle took place at Zoo Atlanta. Cameras were set up to capture the incredible moment when Lun Lun, a 15-year-old giant panda, gave birth to her baby at 6:21 p.m.

Much to the keepers’ surprise, Lun Lun gave birth to a second cub.

Zoo spokeswoman Keisha Hines told Zoo spokeswoman Keisha Hines told ABC News it was sheer panda-monium. "Oh, my God, twins!" the staff screamed. Lun Lun’s ultrasound confirmed she was pregnant with a cub , but the zoo never noticed a second baby growing in the womb.

Female twins Mei Lun and Mei Huan became the first giant pandas born the United States in 2013, and the first panda twins to be born in the United States since 1987. Just incredible!

Since there are less than 2,000 pandas remaining in the wild, experts are working hard to help breed the bears before they go extinct. In 2012, Zoo Atlanta received the distinguished International Conservation Award for its commitment to the species.

Meet this groundbreaking family below...

Panda Mom Looks Closely At Newborn Baby. But When Keepers See THIS Un...

On July 15, 2013, a bona fide miracle took place at Zoo Atlanta. Cameras were set up to capture the incredible moment when Lun Lun, a 15-year-old giant panda, gave birth to her baby at 6:21 p.m. Lun Lun immediately began licking and cuddling her baby. But just two minutes later, something very unexpected happened. Much to the...

It is a second newborn cub. She had twins. (story is from 2013)


@CoryBooker's win exposes glaring senate reality

Hours after Senate-elect Cory Booker (D-N.J.) learned he was headed to Washington, he appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," voicing how frustrations with Congress could be channeled into change.

"I think everybody feels there's fatigue and frustration with how things are, which creates a great climate for change," Booker said. ''Often before you have great victory, you have to have great frustration."

Look no further than Booker's place in history. With Wednesday's win, he became just the second black member currently in the U.S. Senate, along with Tim Scott (R-S.C.). On another historic note, Booker was only the fourth African-American elected to the upper chamber by popular vote, joining current President Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.) and Edward William Brooke (R-Mass.).

ThinkProgress noted on Thursday that five other African-Americans, headed by Scott, have served in the Senate. But each was either appointed by governors to fill vacancies, or selected by state legislatures before direct elections were in place.

For the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, NBC News pointed to several trends for African-American politicians over the last half century. Among the notables:

-- Back in 1963, Congress had five black members. As of 2013, that number ballooned to 41 members.

-- Earlier in 2013, Scott and former Sen. Mo Cowan (D-Mass.) served in the Senate together, marking the first time two African-American were serving together. Cowan was appointed to temporarily fill the vacant seat of Secretary of State John Kerry.

-- Scott is favored to win a full term in 2014, and if he can do so, it would make him the first African-American to win a Senate seat by popular vote in the South.

-- If Booker and Scott both win full terms in 2014, it would mark the first time two African-American senators were elected by popular vote.

Cory Booker's Win Exposes Glaring Senate Reality

Hours after Senate-elect Cory Booker (D-N.J.) l...

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Only the second black member currently in Senate


One of the most powerful Internet companies is now for sale.

Yahoo has admitted what everyone already knew — the company is up for sale.

And to make sure it's taken seriously, Yahoo is bringing in outsiders to drum up interest.

The company announced on Friday the formation of "a Strategic Review Committee of independent directors" to explore "strategic alternatives." Put more plainly, Yahoo has hired bankers and lawyers to field offers that can be presented to the company's board of directors.

SEE ALSO: Marissa Mayer might finally sell Yahoo

The moves come after a particularly dark time for Yahoo, marked by layoffs that are cutting around 15% of its workforce and include the shuttering of many of its content verticals such as food, health and travel.

Yahoo and its CEO Marissa Mayer have faced increasing pressure from activist investors to sell what has been referred to as its "core assets" but really just means its actual business.

Despite remaining a major and powerful web destination, driven by the power of its curated, news-focused homepage, Yahoo's core web advertising business suffered along with the rest of the media industry and efforts to grow into newer areas such as mobile and video have been middling.

The formation of an independent board is a step that could force the company to act if a buyer is found.

Meanwhile, Yahoo has held a sizable stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, something that made its stock very appealing as a way for U.S. investors to invest by proxy into the company before it went public.

Now that Alibaba is a publicly traded company, Yahoo has been pushed to figure out a way to sell its stake in a way that returns money to shareholders while avoiding a major tax hit. One way to do that is to sell Yahoo's core business to another company.

Maynard Webb, chairman of the board of Yahoo, said that the company is looking at this strategy, noting it could be the best thing for Yahoo shareholders. Investors tepidly agreed, sending Yahoo shares up 1.7%.

"We believe that pursuing these complementary paths is in the best interests of our shareholders and will maximize value," Webb said in a press release.

Yahoo had previously announced in its most recent quarterly earnings release that it would be considering "strategic alternatives," which is code for selling to the highest bidder.

In thia March 3, 1997 file photo, Yahoo! co-founders David Filo, left, and Jerry Yang hold up a fish prop in Filo's office in Santa Clara, Calif. Image: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Paul Sakuma

Friday's announcement comes after some doubt had been expressed over whether Yahoo's leaders had really been that interested in a sale.

SunTrust analyst Robert Peck on Thursday said in a note that some possible buyers had found little interest from Yahoo, "making them question the seriousness of the firm and management in seeking strategic alternatives."

That sluggishness has been attributed to Mayer, who has publicly and privately shown little interest in making a deal, according to Re/code.

In what could best be described as a bit of mixed messaging, Mayer said that the company would consider a sale but also continue to execute her plans

"As both shareholders and employees, all of us here at Yahoo want to return this iconic company to greatness," she said in the press release. "We can best achieve this by working with the committee to pursue various strategic alternatives while, in parallel, aggressively executing our strategic plan to strengthen our growth businesses and improve efficiency and profitability."

A sale of Yahoo would follow on the purchase of another big first-generation Internet company that had fallen from grace — AOL.

Helmed by CEO Tim Armstrong, who is friendly with Mayer, AOL had gone through something of a reinvention as a digital media company with a heavy emphasis on video.

Armstrong was able take a few acquisitions — most notably online video ad platform Adap.tv — and sell what had at one-time been a company on a steep decline for $4.4 billion to Verizon.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

One of the most powerful Internet companies is officially for sale

In the portfolio: the crown jewel of Internet homepages.


This 'Game of Thrones' photo may have a big Jon Snow clue

Aw, I feel bad even typing it. The ever-brooding Night's Watch Commander and and King of the Andals' Man Buns has had a rough go of it for the past couple season of Game of Thrones (and also his whole life). At the end of Season 6, we learned Jon's true parentage, and an image from Season 7 hints that he himself might find out soon.

SEE ALSO: 'Game of Thrones' Season 7 photos offer our first glimpse of winter

The image in question looks innocent at first; It's just Jon bein' Jon, rockin' the man bun and his finest furs while staring sullenly into the distance. But take a closer look:

He's somewhere very dark, and those arches in the background are pointing fans to one location: The crypts.

Yes, the crypts. Where they keep the dead. Like Jon's birth mother, Lyanna Stark (his father Rhaegar wouldn't be in the same crypt, ha!). Of course, Reddit is already all over these photos, and the consensus is clear:

Comment from discussion [TV] First Official Game of Thrones Season 7 Photos.

But what does Jon in the crypts even mean, besides heavily fraught staring at Lyanna's tomb? Another popular theory suggests that there's more to the tomb than just a Stark memorial — it may have a little clue as to Jon's secret Targaryen blood.

Until now, Jon thought he was Ned Stark's son, so how will this shocking news hit him? How much can one man brood, I ask you?? Will he reject or accept his Targaryen ties and find Daenerys as soon as possible? Will these two ideal rulers actually join forces and rule the seven kingdoms?

I'm getting ahead of myself. Game of Thrones Season 7 premieres on HBO July 16.

Fans are losing it over this Jon Snow theory from new 'Game of Thrones' photo

jon-snow, game-of-thrones-season-7, game-of-thrones, entertainment


Can the United Kingdom government legally disregard a vote for Brexit?

What follows any What follows any referendum vote next week for the United Kingdom to leave the EU? From a legal perspective, the immediate consequence is simple: nothing will happen.

What happens next in the event of a vote to leave is therefore a matter of politics not law. It will come down to what is politically expedient and practicable. The UK government could seek to ignore such a vote; to explain it away and characterise it in terms that it has no credibility or binding effect (low turnout may be such an excuse). Or they could say it is now a matter for parliament, and then endeavour to win the parliamentary vote. Or ministers could try to re-negotiate another deal and put that to another referendum. There is, after all, a tradition of EU member states repeating referendums on EU-related matters until voters eventually vote the "right" way.

What matters in law is when and whether the government invokes Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. This is the significant "red button". Once the Article 50 process is commenced then Brexit does become a matter of law, and quite an urgent one. It would appear this process is (and is intended to be) irreversible and irrevocable once it starts. But invoking Article 50 is a legally distinct step from the referendum result — it is not an obligation.

Article 50 in full contains the following provisions:

1. Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements. 2. A Member State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European Council of its intention. In the light of the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal, taking account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union. That agreement shall be negotiated in accordance with Article 218(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It shall be concluded on behalf of the Union by the Council, acting by a qualified majority, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament. 3. The Treaties shall cease to apply to the State in question from the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agreement or, failing that, two years after the notification referred to in paragraph 2, unless the European Council, in agreement with the Member State concerned, unanimously decides to extend this period. 4. For the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3, the member of the European Council or of the Council representing the withdrawing Member State shall not participate in the discussions of the European Council or Council or in decisions concerning it. A qualified majority shall be defined in accordance with Article 238(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 5. If a State which has withdrawn from the Union asks to rejoin, its request shall be subject to the procedure referred to in Article 49.

There are three points of interest here in respect of any withdrawal from the EU by the UK.

First, it is a matter for a member state’s "own constitutional requirements" as to how it decides to withdraw. The manner is not prescribed: so it can be a referendum, or a parliamentary vote, or some other means. In the UK, it would seem that some form of parliamentary approval would be required — perhaps a motion or resolution rather than a statute. The position, however, is not clear and the UK government has so far been coy about being specific.

Second, the crucial act is the notification by the member state under Article 50(2). That is the event which commences the formal process, which is then intended to be effected by negotiation and agreement. There is no (express) provision for a member state to withdraw from the process or revoke the notification. Once the notification is given, the member state and the EU are stuck with it.

And third, there is a hard deadline of two years. This is what gives real force to Article 50. The alternative would be the prospect of a never ending story of rounds of discussions and negotiations. Once notification is given, then the member state is out in two years, unless this period is extended by unanimous agreement. It is possible that such unanimity may be forthcoming – but this would be outside of the power of the member state. Once the button is pushed, the countdown cannot just be switched off by a member state saying it has changed its mind, or by claiming that the Article 50 notification was just a negotiation tactic all along. That will not wash.

This said, what is created by international agreement can be undone by international agreement. Practical politicians in Brussels may come up with some muddling fudge which holds off the two year deadline. Or there could be some new treaty amendment. These conveniences cannot, however, be counted on. The assumption must be that once the Article 50 notification is given, the UK will be out of the EU in two years or less.

What happens between a Leave vote and any Article 50 notification will be driven by politics. The conventional wisdom is that, of course, a vote for Brexit would have to be respected. (This is the same conventional wisdom which told us that, of course, Jeremy Corbyn would not be elected Labour leader and that, of course, Donald Trump would not be the Republican nominee.) To not do so would be "unthinkable" and "political suicide" and so on.

And if there is a parliamentary vote before any Article 50 notification then there is the potential irony of those seeking to defend parliamentary sovereignty demanding that an extra-parliamentary referendum be treated as binding. But it must be right that the final decision is made by parliament, regardless of what the supposed defenders of parliamentary sovereignty say.

One suspects that no great thought went into the practical and legal consequences of a Leave vote because it was expected that the vote would be, of course, for the UK to remain. That may well be the result: nobody knows what will happen next week, and only a fool relies on opinion polls. And referendums do tend to support the status quo (though not always). It could turn out that worrying about what happens if there is a vote for Brexit is misplaced.

What is certain is that if there an Article 50 notification then there will be immense legal work to be done. Over 40 years of law-making — tens of thousands of legal instruments — will have to be unpicked and either placed on some fresh basis or discarded with thought as to the consequences. The UK government has depended since 1972 — indeed it has over-depended — on it being easy to implement law derived from the EU. The task of repeal and replacement will take years to complete, if it is ever completed. Even if the key legislation — especially the European Communities Act 1972 — is repealed there will have to be holding and saving legislation for at least a political generation.

A vote for Brexit will not be determinative of whether the UK will leave the EU. That potential outcome comes down to the political decisions which then follow before the Article 50 notification. The policy of the government (if not of all of its ministers) is to remain in the EU. The UK government may thereby seek to put off the Article 50 notification, regardless of political pressure and conventional wisdom.

There may already be plans in place to slow things down and to put off any substantive decision until after summer. In turn, those supporting Brexit cannot simply celebrate a vote for leave as a job done — for them the real political work begins in getting the government to make the Article 50 notification as soon as possible with no further preconditions.

On the day after a vote for Brexit, the UK will still be a member state of the EU. All the legislation which gives effect to EU law will still be in place. Nothing as a matter of law changes in any way just because of a vote to Leave. What will make all the legal difference is not a decision to leave by UK voters in a non-binding advisory vote, but the decision of the prime minister on making any Article 50 notification.

And what the prime minister will do politically after a referendum vote for Brexit is, at the moment, as unknown as the result of the referendum itself.

Can the United Kingdom government legally disregard a vote for Brexit...

What follows any referendum vote next week for the United Kingdom to leave the EU? From a legal perspective, the immediate consequence is simple: nothing will happen.
The relevant legislation did not provide for the referendum result to have any formal trigger effect. The referendum is advisory rather than mandatory. The 2011 referendum on electoral reform did have an obligation on the government to legislate in the event of a "yes" vote (the vote was "no" so this did not matter). But no such provision was included in the EU referendum legislation. Read more


"I tried the alkaline diet and here's what happened"

When Kelly Ripa revealed this summer that an alkaline cleanse had changed her life, I had to know more. Could this be the secret to her boundless energy and flawless bob? Since I've long had a life crush on Ripa and her tiny, impossibly sculpted arms, I set out to investigate.

Superfans claim the alkaline diet can change your biology, and Ripa's not the only celeb devotee — stars from Victoria Beckham to Gwyneth Paltrow and Elle MacPherson have reportedly embraced the fad over the years. Supporters say it can have a positive impact on any number of ailments, including arthritis, joint pain, kidney stones, heart problems and even cancer.

Save TODAY.com Copyright issue Get the inside scoop on the trendy alkaline diet. Find out what it entails and if it actually works. 41 4 TODAY Show HEALTH + WELLNESS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Save TODAY.com Copyright issue Get the inside scoop on the trendy alkaline diet. Find out what it entails and if it actually works. 41 4 TODAY Show HEALTH + WELLNESS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While there's no hard evidence this diet does any of those things, the experts I spoke to didn't have a problem with people trying it since it essentially comes down to "eating less junk." When I consulted my doctor, she frown-nodded as I explained what foods it would entail eating and cutting out. "Sounds pretty healthy," she said with a shrug.

Meena Hart Duerson Smoothies and I became really good friends over the course of the week.

The explanation behind the diet makes very little scientific sense, but here's my best approximation, since everyone you talk to says something a little bit different. The premise is that our blood's PH level is naturally slightly alkaline (perfectly neutral would be 7.0, and our blood stays around 7.4). Proponents of the diet believe your body is happier in a more alkaline state — and that food can change this balance.

Foods fall on a scale between alkaline-promoting and acid-producing — fresh fruits and vegetables, for example, are on the alkaline end, while coffee, refined sugars and flours, white bread, cheese and meats are in the acid category. (You can find any number of charts online with these categorizations, though there is some variation.)

Meena Hart Duerson Fresh fruit and water with lemon slices are great alkaline-promoting snacks.

Fans of the diet recommend eating alkaline-promoting foods and cutting out the acid-producing ones, arguing that if your body has to work less to maintain its PH balance, it's easier on all your organs and systems, and you can reap loads of health benefits.

The fact is (paging your high school biology teacher), you can't really change your blood PH. And no matter what you eat, your body is going to keep your PH balanced within this range, because if it didn't, you would die. So while the experts I interviewed say the supposed rationale behind the diet doesn't hold water, there's almost no risk in trying it, since the recommended foods are just foods that are already good for you.

"The reason behind it really makes no difference because it's a health-promoting eating plan," TODAY's diet and nutrition editor Madelyn Fernstrom told me. "But to say that the alkaline diet specifically is altering your body function because of a change in your body PH? That's not something you can do."

Armed with a chart I printed off the Internet (science!) and a box of PH strips I ordered to test my saliva (which has a different PH level than your blood but is also believed to be healthier if it's more alkaline — see? The whole thing gets very confusing), I set out to try the diet for seven days.

Meena Hart Duerson This kale smoothie with mango, avocado and coconut water became a favorite breakfast item on the cleanse.

For one slightly depressing week, I cut out all the foods on the "acid" side of the chart and limited my meals to foods on the alkaline side. I originally tried to start the diet while headed to a wedding out of town, but had to start over because I failed almost immediately. It turns out it's very tough to stick to these restrictions on the road — try finding an airport salad or an entrée at a Midwestern Mexican restaurant that doesn't come covered in cheese.

Meena Hart Duerson Over the course of this experiment, quinoa and I had a frienaissance. I'm sorry for judging you so harshly before, quinoa. You're not so bad.

But when I was back in my own kitchen or willing to shell out a little extra cash at New York's array of overpriced health food restaurants, the diet was easier to follow. Smoothies were an easy solution, as were salads. After cutting out meat, I found myself forming a special bond with tofu. I even developed a fondness for quinoa and lentils, which I had (mistakenly!) shunned in the past. And I fully fell in love with my first-ever bowl of chia pudding, the kind of surprisingly delightful eating experience that made me feel Gwyneth-levels of radiant.

Meena Hart Duerson Eating this chia pudding was the most life-changing part of the experiment.

I spit-tested my PH twice a day, morning and night, and measured it against the guide on the back of the box. On days when I really loaded up on fresh fruits, I did notice it shift to be slightly more alkaline, but overall it stayed within a pretty constant range close to neutral.

Meena Hart Duerson The diet definitely made me step up my salad-eating game.

On days when I didn't have time to really prepare a good breakfast, I struggled to find good options, leaving me ravenous by the time lunch rolled around. This diet is feasible if you are good at planning ahead, and a little more challenging if you're like me and are used to snagging a snack at Dunkin' Donuts on the way into work.

I weighed myself on a daily basis and was pretty surprised to see the numbers barely budge. After a week, though, I was down two pounds — which is a pretty standard amount of weight loss when following a healthy diet. So it's not some kind of miracle that will transform you into a swimsuit model overnight, but it is a good rubric to use if you're looking to clean up your diet.

Meena Hart Duerson I tested the PH in my saliva using these strips.

My main problems were eating on the go, boredom, and the psychic pain of bypassing the steaming tub of macaroni cheese in the cafeteria at lunch. After five days of following the diet as strictly as possible, I did "cheat" by having my avocado on a piece of whole wheat toast, which tasted like heaven after days of bread deprivation.

Plus, I hated being that person anytime I shared a meal with friends, having to constantly explain why I couldn't eat this or that. Sometimes it's just easier to shut up and eat the cheese than explain for the millionth time that you're conducting on a bizarre Kelly Ripa-inspired food experiment "for work." Plus, cheese tastes really good. Have you had cheese lately? Let's be real. It's the best.

I did feel better physically during the experiment, and completely bloat-free, which is something I realized more after I went off of it and resumed my pre-diet levels of pasta and caffeine. I didn't notice any of the short-term health benefits I'd read about, like shinier hair or better skin. But the highly restrictive nature of the diet became really onerous, and because it was so difficult, it was hard for me to maintain — the battle to find meals that fit the bill often left me feeling low energy.

While I have no desire to keep a strictly alkaline diet going forward — please see my above thoughts about cheese — it was a nice jolt to realize how much better it feels not to be weighed down by junk food, and just how good fresh fruits and veggies are, and are for you. If you're looking to try the alkaline diet, I say go for it — just remember it's not a magic bullet.

"If you want to do it, it's certainly not going to harm you; it's probably going to be healthful," Fernstrom said. "It's a win-win, but not for the reasons people think. This is one case where the diet plan makes no biological sense but is still good for you."

I tried the alkaline diet: What it's like on the summer's hottest cle...

A TODAY editor tests out the cleanse that Kelly Ripa said changed her life.

She lost 2 pounds on the diet. [Today.com]


The Michael Bay movie that explains Donald Trump better than "Idiocracy" does

Dwayne Johnson as Paul Doyle, Anthony Mackie as Adrian Doorbal and Mark Wahlberg as Daniel Lugo in "Pain & Gain." (Jaimie Trueblood/Paramount)

As people struggle to figure out what is happening in America that Donald Trump now seems likely to be the Republican nominee for president, one of the places they’ve turned is to popular culture, and not simply to Trump’s own long IMDb credits page. Mike Judge’s "Idiocracy," about a man (Luke Wilson) who wakes up 500 years in the future to find that America has degenerated into a nation of fools, has become a kind of catechism for those who believe that Trump voters are TV-brainwashed morons. But I would argue that there’s a movie by another filmmaker that better captures Trump’s appeal.

The director is Michael Bay. The movie is "Pain & Gain."

Over the past couple of weeks, the strongest line of critique to emerge against Trump is that he’s a fraud, that his business success is a mirage and a front, that his claims to deal-making prowess would prove ephemeral and that he doesn’t believe anything that he says. But the backlash to those attacks has also been ferocious, as Trump voters fiercely reject the counsel of former party leaders such as Mitt Romney and John McCain.

If this is mystifying to some observers, the obvious answer is that his supporters don’t care if Trump is a fake; they find him appealing and inspiring anyway. "Pain & Gain" is a movie about that kind of thinking, about the disgust it inspires in response and about the unbridgeable gap between two very different visions of America.

"Pain & Gain" is set in Miami in 1994 and 1995, and as Ed Harris says in a voice-over toward the beginning of the film, "Unfortunately, this is a true story." It follows Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), a personal trainer who wants to make more of his life, as he decides to extort one of his clients, Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub), a plan that escalates into torture and murder. Eventually, a retired private investigator named Ed DuBois (Harris) gets curious enough to take Victor’s case. DuBois’s pursuit of Lugo makes for an entertaining detective story, but it’s also a contest between two radically different understandings of the American idea.

Lugo is driven by a kind of bewildered grievance, a confusion that all the work he’s put into bodybuilding hasn’t earned him the respect, the material goods and romantic success he believes should be his under the terms of the American social contract:

"If you’re willing to do the work, you can have anything. That’s what makes the U.S. of A. great. When it started, America was just a handful of scrawny colonies. Now, it’s the most buffed, pumped-up country on the planet. That’s pretty rad," Lugo insists in the monologue that kicks off "Pain & Gain." "Most people say they want to look better. Not everyone’s willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it. All of my heroes are self-made: Rocky, Scarface, all the guys from ‘The Godfather.’ They all started out with nothing and built their way to perfection. The way to prove yourself is to better yourself. That’s the American Dream. I have no sympathy for people who squander their gifts. It’s sickening. It’s worse than sickening. It’s unpatriotic."

Throw in some references to "losers" and "low-energy" people and Trump could use this as a stump speech.

But Daniel isn’t coming to these ideas entirely on his own. If there’s a Trump-like figure in the movie, it’s Jonny Wu (Ken Jeong), a motivational speaker who tours under the slogan "Get Off Your Lazy American [A–]," brags about having dumped his wife for a roster of seven girlfriends and peddles an insipid plan for self-improvement:

Wu is obviously a manipulative hack — if a effective one — but "Pain & Gain" makes clear why he’s appealing to people like Lugo. Wu is excellent at furnishing his listeners with catchy mantras that seem to set a confusing world in order a la Trump’s "Make America Great Again," and in his three-piece suits and parade of honeys, he embodies a very particular vision of high class. If he expressed his fondness for pink marble and wasn’t Asian, Wu might be close to an explicit riff on Trump himself, his seminars the fictional equivalent of the legally embattled Trump University.

And when Wu singles Lugo out for special attention at a seminar, he makes Lugo feel recognized and appreciated after years of believing that he’s been chronically overlooked and underrated. Never mind that Wu’s demand that Lugo declare himself "a do-er or a don’t-er" is standard audience participation schtick, or that when Wu gives Lugo a private training session it’s clear that he can’t wait to bail on the overeager man standing in front of him. Lugo intuits a personal connection, just as Trump voters feel exhilarated and validated by their candidate’s crass rejection of establishment politicians and establishment values.

And in what he believes to be in keeping with Wu’s teaching, Lugo pulls together his friends Adrian (Anthony Mackie) and Paul (a fantastic Dwayne Johnson) to kidnap Kershaw, and later to try to pull the same stunt on Frank Griga (Michael Rispoli), a wealthy operator of phone sex lines.

The bloody path Lugo, Adrian and Paul travel down brings them into conflict with two men who have a radically different sense of how to live out American values.

Lugo chooses Kershaw as a target because he despises the man as a braggart who doesn’t work hard in the gym and, frankly, because Lugo can’t understand why Kershaw is wealthy while he is not. But as Kershaw explains, he’s equally determined: He just invests his energy in other ways.

"My grandfather fled Germany in 1943. I was born in Bogota, grew up in New York City. Put myself through college working six nights a week at Pizza Hut," Kershaw tells us in a voice-over during his captivity. "Busted my [a–], but ended up comptroller of a billion-dollar pipeline in the rectum of the Third World. I put up with [s—] they don’t have names for in civilization."

And just as Lugo hates Kershaw, Kershaw is disgusted by Lugo. After Lugo has locked up Kershaw in his own warehouse, Kershaw tells him bitterly that Lugo’s failures are his own fault, that he’s broke because he never went to college and because he’s focused on building his body rather than developing plans for a viable business.

Lugo goes ballistic, as he does again later in the movie when Griga says that he doesn’t think Lugo is "a hard worker" and he doesn’t trust Lugo to run a business. Both men hit on Lugo’s deepest fear, the one that makes him most vulnerable and volatile: the idea that his dissatisfaction might be his own fault, rather than someone else’s. In Griga’s case, exposing the delusion and denial that define Lugo’s life will prove fatal.

The presidential election has, thus far, been blessedly spared the sort of violence that shows up in "Pain & Gain." But the race is defined by an eerily similar dynamic. Calling Trump voters racist, or dumb, or crass, did not, unsurprisingly, persuade hordes of them to vote for John Kasich, or Jeb Bush, or even Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio instead. Instead, every attempt to delegitimize Trump has exposed and broadened the gaps between Americans with radically different, and perhaps irreconcilable, views of their country. And Trump’s rallies have often been punctuated by ugly incidents in which attendees get rough with protesters — sometimes at Trump’s behest — turning on anyone who interrupts Trump’s communion with his audiences.

That gap is evident at the end of "Pain & Gain," too. The movie closes with Kershaw regaining at least some of his wealth, and DuBois sitting on the dock outside of his beautiful, modernist house, staring at the water with his wife and enjoying the good fortune he earned through honest work. Lugo, by contrast, is on death row.

But just because he’s locked up doesn’t mean he’s given up his dreams about what he deserves, or his idea of what it means to be American. And just as Trump is a unique figure, he’s exposed a deep vein of discontent that both Republicans and Democrats will have to reckon with in years to come.

"All I ever wanted out of life was what everyone else had. Not more. Just not the less I was used to. Well, I took a real swing for it, you know?" Lugo muses in the prison yard. "And for a while, it was like I always thought it would be. I was one of you. And it felt good. People finally saw me like I saw myself and you can’t ask for more than that. Maybe I did, though. Maybe it got so I didn’t want to be ‘equal to’ anymore. I wanted to be ‘better than.’ And that’s a recipe for injury. That doesn’t mean you give up, though. You rest, you heal and you get back on that bench. Life is going to give me another set. And I am going to rock it."

The Michael Bay movie that explains Donald Trump better than ‘Idiocracy’ does

Michael Bay's "Pain & Gain" is a great testament to the power of a fraudulent vision of the American Dream.

Idiocracy, Mike Judge, Donald Trump, Michael Bay, Pain and Gain, 13 Hours, Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Daniel Lugo, Miami, Ken Jeong, motivational speakers, Transformers


This Bendable Smartphone Comes With a Catch

 This screen won't break if you bend and twist it

A small Chinese startup says it's about to unveil a smartphone that can bend all the way around your wrist.

The device, produced by Moxi Group, will feature a flexible touchscreen that still works when looped and worn like a watch or a bracelet, according to the company. It also functions stretched flat, like any other smartphone.

The bendy screen uses The bendy screen uses graphene , the thinnest material in the world that's also strong, light, transparent and flexible. Moxi says it has already produced a prototype of the phone and plans to put 100,000 units on sale in China by the end of this year.

It's an impressive feat of innovation if it pulls it off -- no other company is known to have brought a fully bendable smartphone to market.

But there's a catch: the phones it intends to release initially will only have black-and-white displays. The company says it's aiming for a full color version, which is more technically challenging to make, by 2018.

A mockup of a bendable smartphone designed by the Chinese startup Moxi. The company plans to start selling black-and-white versions of the device this year, but a full-color model isn't expected until 2018.

The black-and-white phones are expected to sell for around 5,000 yuan ($760) each in China. The cheapest version of Apple's iPhone 6S retails for 5,288 yuan (US$806).

Moxi, which is based in the city of Chongqing and specializes in graphene, released some regular smartphones last year using the material. The company's name -- pronounced "mou-she" -- is short for "graphene" in Chinese.

Giant tech companies like Samsung ( SSNLF LG ( LPL Giant tech companies likeandhave also been working on flexible touchscreens and developing products using graphene, according to Nicole Peng, an analyst at the tech research firm Canalys.

Samsung has already tried curved screens that wrap around the device from the front to the sides. LG has its "Flex" phones, which are nearly curved to the shape of your head. They bend a bit, but nowhere near as much as Moxi claims its phone does.

Apple, meanwhile, Apple, meanwhile, received a patent for a "flexible electronic device" last year. The filing showed two dozen drawings of how a device could be warped.

The challenge for companies is to figure out if it makes "commercial sense to build this product for the mass market," Peng said.

Wearable technology generally doesn't yet have the full capability of a regular smartphone, she said, and customers are going to want a device with greater computing power and lots of functions.

This bendable smartphone comes with a catch

china, flexible phone, smartphone, graphene, technology, high tech, mobile, asia, samsung, patents, chongqing, moxi, graphite, carbon, carbon atoms, lg, samsung, curved phone


Why are Apple’s iPhone icons shaped as rounded squares?

With very few exceptions — Apple Music being chief among them — every design decision from Apple is deliberate and extremely well thought out. As we highlighted not too long ago, Apple’s laser-focused attention to detail in both software and hardware is obsessive.

But when it comes to the iPhone, Steve Jobs’ crowning creation and the most profitable product to ever come out of Cupertino, Apple takes things to another level. It’s why former Apple executive Scott Forstall once boasted of keeping a "jeweler’s loupe in his office to check every pixel on every icon."

DON’T MISS: 25 hidden iPhone features that are really, truly hidden

With that said, one of the more interesting design of the original iPhone was Apple’s decision to use rounded squares for iOS icons, a design that still persists to this day. It was hardly an arbitrary choice: Steve Jobs had been a big fan of shapes with subtle rounded corners for more than 20 years before the iPhone even launched.

If we go back to the early 80s when Apple was working on the Lisa, Steve Jobs became obsessed with rounded rectangles. In an anecdote originally relayed by Andy Hertzfeld on Folklore, Jobs hounded Apple engineer Bill Atkinson to develop software that could ably create such shapes. At the time, Atkinson had developed software capable of drawing ovals and circles.

But something was bothering Steve Jobs. "Well, circles and ovals are good, but how about drawing rectangles with rounded corners? Can we do that now, too?" "No, there’s no way to do that. In fact it would be really hard to do, and I don’t think we really need it". I think Bill was a little miffed that Steve wasn’t raving over the fast ovals and still wanted more. Steve suddenly got more intense. "Rectangles with rounded corners are everywhere! Just look around this room!". And sure enough, there were lots of them, like the whiteboard and some of the desks and tables. Then he pointed out the window. "And look outside, there’s even more, practically everywhere you look!". He even persuaded Bill to take a quick walk around the block with him, pointing out every rectangle with rounded corners that he could find.

With Jobs pestering him at every turn, Atkinson got to work and eventually figured out a way to get his software to render rounded rectangles. As development of the Lisa (and later the Macintosh) continued, Hertzfeld relays that rounded rectangles "worked their way into various parts of the user interface, and soon became indispensable."

And so, when the iPhone was released more than 25 years later, it wasn’t at all surprising to see that the iOS icons all featured rounded edges. Furthermore, Apple’s penchant for rounded corners is also evident in various apps, such as the chat bubbles in iMessage.

In contrast, look at how much harsher a chat UI with more pointed corners looks.

Broadly speaking, design gurus and psychologists have both said that there’s something more soothing and welcoming about rounded corners relative to sharp corners.

Sharp corners interrupt thought. To visualize a sharp-cornered shape, the brain processes point A to point B, pauses for a bit and then goes from point B to C, and so forth until it completes the circuit. In the case of a rectangle, it takes your brain 4 computations to recognize it. With rounded corners, the abrupt pause never happens, and your brain only does one single computation as your eyes smoothly scan its edges.

If the intersection of design and psychology is of interest to you, UXmovement has an interesting piece on rounded vs. sharp corners that’s worth taking a look at.

With very few exceptions -- Apple Music being chief among them -- every design decision from Apple is deliberate and extremely well thought out. As we highlighted not too long ago, Apple's laser-focused attention to detail in both software and hardware is obsessive.


Another reason charity is good for your health

NEW YORK, Dec 2 - Along with the usual reasons for losing weight, like fitting into a bikini and improving health, fitness experts say raising money for a good cause is another incentive for people to get in shape.

Entering a charity run in memory of a loved one or a bicycle ride for a worthy cause has pushed many couch potatoes from their sedentary lifestyle on to the path of fitness.

Kelly Flynn, running coach for Team In Training, a charity sports endurance program from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, has been teaching novice runners to tackle the Boson Marathon since 2005.

"The people who've never run before and have a motivation, like a loved one, are the easiest people to coach," said Flynn, a 40-year-old Boston-based attorney. "They stick it out. And when they cross the finish line, they've become running junkies."

Flynn, a soccer and softball player in her teenage years, said it was the death of a high school friend from lymphoma that inspired her to become a running coach for charity.

"I saw a flyer (from Team in Training) and went, on a lark," she said. "His death was my catalyst."

Team in Training, which is 25 years old, has raised more than $1.4 billion, with more than 600,000 people from across the country taking part in different endurance events to raise money for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Flynn, whose 200-strong team soon will start training for 2014, has helped to train more than 800 Boston marathoners and her teams have raised over $4 million.

For Sarah Jane Constantine, a self-described recreational runner, marathon running was a bucket-list dream until she started running for charity.

"I didn't think at 39 I was going to start marathoning," said Constantine, a 41-year-old manager for a pharmaceutical company in Boston who has raised money for cancer research.

"That's what I'm most proud of," said Constantine, who finds some way to exercise every day, from running to strength training to swimming with her daughter.

Constantine dedicated her first marathon to her stepfather, who died of melanoma at 44. Last year it was for her daughter's school friend's mother, who died of lung cancer.

This year she plans to run for the cancer-stricken daughter of her husband's co-worker.

"You feel helpless," she said. "I'll be running for money for research and treatment."

Charity events are a nationwide staple of Flywheel Sports, a chain of indoor cycling studios founded in 2010. New York-based co-founder and creative director Ruth Zukerman said the fundraising events her company holds throughout the year are beneficial for people new to the sport, for charities and for her business.

"A lot of people come to these charity rides who've never been to us before. Typically some 80 percent of the people are new," she said. "They come to us to give, they love it, and they become clients of ours."

Zukerman said her regulars often approach her with their own pet causes to raise money, which attracts even more newcomers to indoor cycling.

"Some of our celebrity riders, such as (actresses) Kyra Sedgwick and Jessica Alba, draw a lot of attention because of their names," she said.

Last spring Alba hosted a class in Los Angeles to raise funds for Baby2Baby, which redistributes baby gear and clothes to the needy. In December, Sedgwick will host a ride for the Food Bank for New York City.

Zukerman believes charity fitness is here to stay.

"So many typical charity events involve going to speeches with a tedious sit-down dinner," she said. "People see this as an opportunity to contribute in a newer, fresher, more fun way." (Editing by Patricia Reaney and Chris Reese)

Another Reason Charity Is Good For Your Health

By Dorene Internicola                NEW YORK, Dec 2 - Along with the usual reasons for  losing weight, like fitting into a bikini...

charity races,Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,charity,Team in Training,impact sports,reuters

Raising money can be an incentive to get in shape