Thursday 31 March 2016

Kim Kardashian and Emily Ratajkowski’s Nude Bathroom Pic Sets Internet Ablaze

In case you missed it, Kim Kardashian and Emily Ratajkowski posed topless in a bathroom, selfie’d it, and then posted said image on social media.


Whether it was a girl power attempt to divert the media’s attention away from the embattled Kehlani and scumbaggy Nick Young or just some good ol’ fashioned fun is anyone’s guess, but you’ve got to give it to Kim at this point: she knows how to keep herself in the news, and use biggest asset—her sexuality—to do it. Nothing wrong with that.


Or so we thought. You see, when Kim Kardashian posted a photo of her post-pregnancybody in the buff earlier this month, it triggered her legion of haters, who fired back at the reality star-entrepreneur with all manner of misguided vitriol. Everyone from Pink, Bette Midler, Chloe Grace Moretz, and one of the world’s premier hacks, Piers Morgan, cast aspersions on Kim for displaying her God-given talent. Moretz summed up their criticisms, tweeting out, “I truly hope you realize how important setting goals are for young women, teaching them we have so much more to offer than our bodies.”


The picture transformed Hollywood into a veritable Real World/Road Rules Challenge, with A-list celebrities taking sides. Miley Cyrus and Amber Rose came down firmly on Team Kim, with Rosetelling The Daily Beast, “It’s bullshit, and this is the thing: They come at me and Kim so hard because I was a stripper and she had a sex tape. So if we could sing, it would be OK if we were on stage half-naked. We all love Beyoncé, but she’s on stage half-naked and twerking all the time, yet people say, oh, she has talent so she’s able to do that. We don’t have the talent that Beyoncé has, so we get criticized as former sex workers, but at the end of the day we’re just women—we’re all women—and we should all embrace each other. No one is greater.”


Another gal who came to Kim’s side was Ratajkwoski, a longtime Free the Nipple proponent:

In response, Kim, ever the classy one—which she does not get enough credit for, really, as you rarely see her in any sort of tabloid skirmish—sent Ratajkowski a bouquet of flowers:

Indeed, Kim’s talent is her body, and her ability to challenge prudish social mores with it. For whatever reason, these days, people have a knee-jerk negative reaction whenever any woman posts a nude photo of herself online, let alone Kim. Her Instagram comments and Twitter mentions will be flooded with critics—primarily women—tearing her down. Yes, some of this has to do with Kim, but not all of it. There is an insidiousness in America today when it comes to female sexuality, and it’s epitomized by one tiny-handed man,Donald J. Trump. To Trump, female sexuality and agency is a violent affront to the patriarchal order. To Trump, the former Miss Universe honcho—who even madeApprentice contests twirl and pose for him—women are mere objects served up for his consumption and judgment. And it’s really about power and control; men like Trump want to govern the gaze and control the female body.

So, when women like Kim and Ratajkowski post their own nude photos, they’re in a sense reclaiming ownership over their bodies; they’re no longer the ingénue, but the director of the picture.

Warriors Complete Comeback Over Jazz



The Warriors set a new franchise record with their 68th win of the season after defeating the Jazz 103-96 in overtime on Wednesday night. Stephen Curry scored a game-high 31 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Draymond Green stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Harrison Barnes recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 boards. With the win, Golden State improves to 68-7, setting a new franchise record for most wins in a single season.

On a night in which Utah shot below 45 percent from the free throw line, Golden State needed every last point they could get on Wednesday night, tying things up just before the end of regulation and then running away with the game in the extra period. The Warriors struggled from the field in the game, but actually got off to a strong shooting start in the opening quarter. After a Gordon Hayward jumper gave Utah an early 12-9 advantage with 7:35 left in the first frame, Golden State responded with a 10-0 run to retake the lead. The Jazz would cut the deficit to three points within the final 30 seconds, but Stephen Curry’s jumper with 0.6 seconds remaining on the clock sent the game into the second quarter with Golden State holding a 26-21 lead.

The pace would slow down at the start of the second frame, with both sides held scoreless until Leandro Barbosa scored five-straight points in 12 seconds to put the Warriors up 31-21 with 9:17 remaining in the half. Utah would use the rest of the quarter to trim down the deficit and used a 7-0 run to briefly retake a 40-39 lead with less than a minute left. However, Harrison Barnes hit his lone three-pointer of the night on the ensuing possession, putting Golden State back in front 42-40 heading into halftime.

It would be a short-lived lead, however, as Utah opened the second half on a 9-0 run to put the Warriors back in a hole. Five-straight points from Shelvin Mack in a span of 18 seconds put the Jazz up 57-47 with 5:22 left in the third quarter, equaling their largest lead of the night. It would evaporate in a hurry though, as Golden State would outscore Utah 9-2 over the next 90 seconds to pull within a single point. Curry’s jumper with 5.9 seconds left pulled the Warriors within 67-63, but Trey Lyles drove down the center of the paint and drained a floater with 1.2 seconds remaining to send the game into the fourth and final quarter with Utah holding a 69-63 advantage.

The two sides would go back and forth in the first six minutes of the fourth, but Golden State never let Utah get out of reach. Rudy Gobert’s tip-in put the Jazz up 82-74 with 6:18 left to play, but their lead would only shrink from there. An immediate 6-0 Warriors’ run in response pulled the Dubs within two, and then after three-straight Utah points, Draymond Green’s layup capped a 5-0 Golden State burst to pull the Warriors even at 85-85 with 2:18 remaining on the clock. After both sides missed shots, Gordon Hayward’s three-pointer put the Jazz back in front 88-85 with 1:26 left to play. Keeping with the theme of the evening, Shelvin Mack followed Curry’s split free throws with a split of his own, giving Utah an 89-86 lead with 24.3 seconds remaining in regulation. After the Warriors called timeout, Klay Thompson missed his first three-point attempt, but Shaun Livingston corralled the offensive rebound and found Thompson again, whose second try found the bottom of the net and tied things up at 89-89 with 15.0 seconds left. Draymond Green blocked Shelvin Mack’s attempt on the ensuing possession, sending the game into overtime.

Once the Warriors got the game to the extra period, they ran away with it. Hayward would put Utah out in front 91-89 with a jumper 30 seconds into overtime, but Golden State would go on to score 12 of the next 14 points in the game to go up 101-93 with 1:04 remaining on the clock. Rodney Hood’s three-pointer pulled the Jazz within 101-96 with 44 seconds left, but the damage had been done. Draymond Green closed out the scoring with two free throws, securing the comeback victory. With the win, Golden State improves to 68-7 on the season, setting a franchise record for the most wins in a single season. They’ll attempt to extend that record on Friday when they host the visiting Boston Celtics at Oracle Arena.

‘Empire’ Season 2, Episode 11: Hakeem Rises


Season 2, Episode 11: ‘Death Will Have His Day’

It’s been a long recess, but “Empire” is finally back to gather the pieces of all the lives that the dramatic midseason finale shattered. Rather than making us wait for a resolution to the murder attempt against Andre Lyon’s wife, Rhonda, Episode 11 immediately reveals that she survived but her baby didn’t.

Rhonda’s suffering would be the central tragedy of any other series, but for “Empire,” a whirl of high stakes and desperate measures, it’s just one of many subplots. In the main plot, Lucious Lyon has been ousted as chief executive of the company he created by an impulsive, traitorous vote from his own son Hakeem.

We quickly find out that Hakeem doesn’t have a plan beyond simple revenge against his father for meddling in his work and love lives. It’s possible he’s made more enemies than he can handle. Cookie camps out inside his home just to beat him with a broomstick — in an echo of the show’s pilot. Lucious takes him to the spot where Bunkie died to reveal himself as his best friend’s killer and offer Hakeem a clean shot at his head before he sets about plotting to murder his own offspring.

The most endearing trait of the Lyon family, even in darkness, has been how closely everyone huddles together when a threat to the livelihood of the family business presents itself. But now that the threat is from within, we see that the lust for power runs deeper than blood.

A series of dizzying plot negotiations land Cookie’s rogue start-up, Lyon Dynasty, back under the Empire umbrella, with the matriarch as head of A&R and Hakeem as chief executive of Empire proper. It’s not yet clear how this will net everyone what they want, but if it means more juicy scenes between Taraji P. Henson and Naomi Campbell as Hakeem’s cunning ex Camilla — like the one where Cookie walks out of Camilla’s office with a handful of gumballs from the candy dish, scattering them pettily across the floor at every step — then I’ll consider it a win. Camilla’s motives are still foggy: She once took a payout from Lucious to walk out of Hakeem’s life forever, but has since resurfaced as the angel investor Mimi’s girlfriend, and now she wants to steal Hakeem from his R&B protégé and girlfriend Laura. That said, Camilla’s warning about bringing Cookie back into the fold was this episode’s sole bit of sound business advice.

The fact that Hakeem finally finds love only to suffer for it privately and professionally is a cruel twist he’s had coming for ages. We’ve watched him bulldoze a few women’s lives without many consequences, so there’s very little sympathy for the stress he feels in choosing between Camilla and Laura. Let’s hope Hakeem choosing Laura won’t turn Camilla into the one-dimensional agent of vengeance Anika became throughout the first half of the season.

Speaking of Anika, did she push Rhonda down the stairs? If she did, she is very cold for showing up at the hospital afterward to ask about the baby. Whatever the case, Anika is now the mother of the child of Empire’s CEO, and that fact is bound to have some unforeseen consequences. Is Hakeem sharp enough to keep the power he just snatched or will his reign be bright and brief like Joffrey from “Game of Thrones?”

Here are four jarring musical moments from Episode 11

• Jamal singing “Heavy” as background music for the scene in which Rhonda loses her baby was extreme even for this show. That said, Rhonda and Andre haven’t been likable at all this season and if there’s anything rewarding to be gleaned from this random tragedy, it’ll be the warmth of their bond. Here’s hoping the strain doesn’t push Andre back over the edge.

• It was a devilish touch to pair Lucious’s somber piano ballad with a montage of exploding cars, murdered pets and broken ribs. Theatrical revenge is Empire’s not so secret strong suit.

• Jamal’s song about the freedom to sleep with whomever he likes proves “Empire” can be sharp on sexuality when it wants. It’s hard to think of the last time a television show cared enough to explain the finer points of sexual fluidity to a national audience.

• Laura’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert was hilarious because the idea of the NPR video series is for the artist to perform acoustically, but here was the singer — sans her group, who are long overdue for a breakup — belting out a tune to an busy, invisible backing track. This is not the first time that music has magically manifested itself when Laura started to sing. It’s fine, even necessary, for “Empire” to be a little goofy, but a show about music — especially one with clever, knowing real life music industry flourishes like Hakeem hopping up on the Empire board room desk like the ill-fated rapper Bobby Shmurda did at his signing — could stand to be more sensitive to the finer points of the actual business

Wednesday 30 March 2016

The D'Angelo Russell vs. Nick Young feud, explained



The Lakers' marquee rookie filmed Nick Young admitting that he cheated on his famous fiancée, except without Young's consent. Now, Russell's teammates are livid.

So, D'Angelo Russell tried to prank Nick Young by recording him talking about cheating on famous fiancée Iggy Azalea. The video somehow got out.

Once it did, the other Lakers players shut Russell out by making him sit alone at breakfast. Brave, anonymous Lakers officials trashed Russell in the media. The saga is cited as a reason the Lakers lost to Utah by 48 damn points on Monday. (Most likely reason: the Lakers are trash.)


You have questions. We have answers.
WHAT THE HADES IS HAPPENING HERE?

D'Angelo Russell is 20 years old. Against his better judgment, he befriended Lakers teammate Nick Young.

Nick Young is one of the NBA's most notorious goofballs. He gave himself the nickname Swaggy P, he is one of the biggest ballhogs in the NBA and he is engaged to Iggy Azalea. ("Was engaged," perhaps.) He starred in one of the most hilarious memes of 2014 as he celebrated a shot he missed. He's also the current star of a popular and entirely relevant meme.

Apparently Young, Russell and other Lakers have participated in a prank war all season. This is not uncommon for immature trash teams with vacant leadership. (The Sacramento Kings are prank war champs to the point where the franchise has actually embraced the nonsense.)

Russell, as noted, is young. So maybe he didn't realize that he was taking the prank war too far by coaxing Young into admitting infidelity with a 19-year-old girl he met at a club while Russell surreptitiously recorded. Live and learn!
HOW DID THE VIDEO GET OUT?

That remains a mystery. It turned up on Fameolous, which is a site that is exactly what it sounds like. Russell may have shared it with someone who shared it with someone. Russell may have passed it on because he doesn't want Iggy Azalea to be hurt. Russell might have left his phone in a bathroom, and whoever lifted it might have gone through his videos. Maybe Russell was hacked.

IS THERE A CRIME HERE?

As NBA fans may remember from the Donald Sterling saga, California is a two-party consent state, which means that (assuming the recording was made in California, as it appears) Russell may have violated the law regarding the recording of private conversations. Chances that Young actually files a criminal complaint against Russell are nil, despite how great that would be. The same applies to a civil suit. It's far more likely that Young wants this story to go away than he wants to take money from Russell.
BUT HOW GREAT WOULD A D'ANGELO V. SWAGGY LAWSUIT BE?

So great.
DOES THIS HAVE BASKETBALL IMPLICATIONS?

Young remains under contract for next season, but the Lakers have been trying to trade him basically since they signed him. He's 30, and while he can be a microwave scorer, no team in the NBA actually needs him enough to put up with his unavoidable shenanigans.

The Lakers were going to try to trade Young regardless. This incident may also lead the franchise to jettison other veterans who are apparently involved in icing Russell post-video. ESPN reports Lou Williams got up and walked away when Russell recently sat next to him in the locker room. If any veteran Lakers hold grudges against Russell, the front office might find a way to get them out of there.
WHAT ABOUT IMPLICATIONS FOR RUSSELL'S FUTURE WITH THE TEAM?

Not even the Lakers are myopic enough to risk alienating or trading Russell over something as hilarious/meaningless as this. OR ARE THEY? From ESPN:


"It's bad," one team source told ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne. "It's about as bad as it can get. There were trust issues already. Now there's no trust."
SHOULD THIS HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR RUSSELL'S FUTURE?

Hell no. Come on. This wasn't a smart thing to do by any stretch, and it's reasonable for Young to be mad at Russell for breaking whatever trust he believed they had. It's reasonable for other Lakers to have trust issues with Russell regarding personal matters. It's reasonable for the Lakers organization to be concerned about Russell's judgment. (Chances are they were already concerned with Young's judgment.)

But in the end, it's really some stupid, meaningless stuff that has no bearing on Russell's basketball future.
IS THERE PRECEDENT FOR THIS?

Yes! In fact, the most famous NBA example of infidelity snitching comes from the Lakers and the hero currently riding into the sunset. Back in 2003, Kobe Bryant was arrested and charged with sexual assault in Colorado. According to police reports, he told investigators that his then-teammate Shaquille O'Neal paid women hush money to keep his flings secret. This detail eventually made its way into the press, adding remarkable amounts of fuel to an already-infernal feud between the two. Shaq had been traded to Miami before the incident became common knowledge, though it's unclear when Shaq found out about it.
IS THIS ALL STAGED?

Iggy has a new single out called "Team." It's widely accepted that celebrities of various stripes (particularly actors and pop musicians) leverage rabid interest in celebrity gossip to boost sales, box office revenue and general notoriety. Buzz is its own end. Lots of people are buzzing about Iggy Azalea right now. It's not outside the realm of possibility -- heck, perhaps not outside Hollywood norms -- to stage a break-up at the perfect time to boost fan interest.

Patty Duke’s Death Announcement Is A Milestone For Sepsis Awareness



Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke, star of “The Patty Duke Show” and the Broadway play and film “The Miracle Worker,” died of sepsis from a ruptured intestine on Tuesday.

Simple though it may seem, her death announcement is a major milestone for the sepsis awareness movement, said Thomas Heymann, executive director of the Sepsis Alliance. The more people are aware of this condition, Heymann said, the stronger their likelihood of saving their own lives or the lives of their loved ones.

“The fact that they said Patty Duke’s cause of death was sepsis is relatively new,” Heymann said. “It very often would have been left as a complication of surgery or an infection, but it’s not a complication — it’s sepsis.”

Sepsis, a reaction to infection that leads to systemic organ failure, kills more than 258,000 Americans every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making it the ninth-leading cause of disease-related deaths in the country. While most people can fully recover from sepsis, some survivors are left with permanent organ damage or missing limbs due to amputation.

Despite these alarming facts, less than half of Americans have even heard of sepsis, according to polls conducted by the Sepsis Alliance in partnership with official polling companies. In a 2015 online survey of 2,000 participants, only 47 percent of Americans were aware of sepsis. Meanwhile, 86 percent knew about Ebola and 76 percent knew about malaria — two diseases that are much rarer in the United States.

People who have sepsis experience organ dysfunction caused by their body’s overreaction to an initial infection, whether viral, bacterial or fungal. This overreaction is overwhelming for the body, and can lead to death. It’s most common in people with compromised immune systems, like the very young, the very old and those with chronic diseases like AIDS, cancer, or diabetes. But people can also develop sepsis from a simple scrape, wound or burn that was not properly cleaned.

Sepsis is also on the rise: It was the primary or secondary cause of 1.6 million hospitalizations in 2009, more than double the sepsis-related hospitalizations in 1993, according to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. And it was the single most expensive reason for hospitalizations in 2009, adding up to nearly $15.4 billion in hospital costs.
Sepsis can hide in plain sight

In one highly publicized, tragic story, a 12-year-old boy named Rory Staunton scraped his arm while playing with friends in 2012 and eventually began vomiting and complaining of pain in his leg. Doctors sent him home with Tylenol, but three days later he died from severe septic shock.

Rory’s case highlights a major difficulty doctors face: Sepsis symptoms can be hard to discern from those of a simple infection that could go away on its own.

What’s more, sepsis is often thought of as a hospital-acquired infection, making doctors more likely to look for it among hospital patients and the chronically ill. But about two-thirds of cases are first documented by the emergency department, which means that they were acquired outside of a hospital setting, explains Dr. Craig Coopersmith, professor of surgery at Emory University School of Medicine and the former president of the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

To avoid deaths by sepsis, Coopersmith has two basic rules for physicians: If a person has an infection, check for organ dysfunction. And if they have organ dysfunction, check for sepsis.

Context also counts for a lot when spotting the signs of sepsis. In addition to symptoms such as high fever, elevated heart rate, or abnormal white blood cell count, a medical history of pneumonia, infection, wounds or urinary tract infections could provide important clues for health care providers, notes a sepsis review published in the journal Nursing Practice.

Other clues, like a patient’s cancer and chemotherapy history — known factors that can suppress the immune system — are stronger clues that an infection could actually be sepsis, notes ABC News.
You could save your own life, simply by knowing what sepsis is

The signs of sepsis can be broken down in a simple acronym, notes the CDC.

S - Shivering, fever, or feeling very cold
E - Extreme pain or general discomfort, as in “worst ever”
P - Pale or discolored skin
S - Sleepy, difficult to wake up or confused
I - “I feel like I might die”
S - Shortness of breath

Once spotted, doctors treat sepsis by addressing the initial infection, supporting the body’s organs and preventing drops in blood pressure and oxygen levels. But time is of the essence when it comes to sepsis treatment. A 2006 study analyzing over 2,000 septic patients found that over six hours, each hour of a delay in treatment was linked to a 7.6 percent decrease in survival, but treatment within the first hour of a documented drop in blood pressure, a tell-tale sign of sepsis, was linked to an 80 percent survival rate.

Because of this, if you suspect you have sepsis — perhaps after a surgery, or because of a prior infection or wound that isn’t healing well — it’s important toactually say the word “sepsis” to your doctors, the CDC says. They advise patients to say, “I am concerned about sepsis,” in order to get the most timely treatment possible for a potential infection complication. Your life could depend on it, says Coopersmith.

“If you get sepsis, you have a higher chance of dying than if you have a heart attack, stroke or trauma,” Coopersmith said. “There is no question that increasing awareness of sepsis would save lives.”



This post has been updated to reflect that a high white blood cell count, as well as a low count, can be an indicator of sepsis.

USA vs. Guatemala, World Cup 2018 qualifying: Final score 4-0, The U.S. rebound with a convincing win



The United States Men's National Team entered the night in a must-win situation against Guatemala and did just that. They took care of business against very poor opposition and restored everyone's hopes of World Cup qualification with a 4-0 win.


Both teams came out tentative in the opening 10 minutes until the USA took the game by the horns in the form of a Clint Dempsey goal. A long ball up to Gyasi Zardes in the box got nodded down into empty space and the USMNT's second all-time leading scorer latched onto it and lashed it past Paulo Motta for the opening goal of the match. One that the Americans desperately needed to get the pressure of needing to win off their shoulders.

The U.S. continued to pile on the pressure after the goal, dominating possession in the Guatemala end of the field. The visitors never looked comfortable to begin the match and they were forced to bunker behind the ball. The pressure finally paid off in the 35th minute when Geoff Cameron got on end of a Michael Bradley free kick and nodded it past Motta to give the USA a 2-0 lead. Bradley whipped in a great ball and the unmarked Cameron made no mistake and depositing it into the goal.

One more golden chance would fall the American's way as Bobby Wood found himself in acres of space in front of goal, but his effort on goal was weak and wide of goal. The teams would head into the locker room with the score 2-0 and the U.S. firmly in control.

Within 30 seconds of the second half beginning, the U.S. found themselves with a three-goal cushion. An attack down the right side from DeAndre Yedlin resulted in Gyasi Zardes fumbling a pass to Graham Zusi who struck a low shot into the net for the American's third goal of the night and to put the result out of question.

As the match wound down all that was left was to see out the rest of minutes without incident. Unfortunately that wouldn't be the case as Michael Bradley picked up a yellow card which will suspend him for the U.S.' next World Cup qualifier in September.


With ten minutes remaining, Jurgen Klinsmann subbed on 17-year-old Christian Pulisic for his USMNT debut. Appearing in World Cup qualifier officially cap-ties Pulisic to the USA.

In the final minutes of the match Jozy Altidore cleaned up a loose ball in front of goal to make it 4-0 for cosmetics. It was a much-needed convincing performance and one that will have many breathing a sigh of relief.

Video: Remembering Patty Duke



Patty Duke, who died on Tuesday at 69, overcame a painful childhood to become one of the best-known young actors in the world. After appearing in commercials and a few television shows as a child, she found fame on Broadway, starring with Anne Bancroft in William Gibson’s “The Miracle Worker.” The play, about Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, ran from 1959 to 1961. Ms. Duke reprised the role in the 1962 film version of “The Miracle Worker,” which Bosley Crowther praised in The Times for retaining the play’s “absolutely tremendous and unforgettable display of physically powerful acting.” Ms. Duke won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the performance — at 16, she was then the youngest actor to win that award.

Ms. Duke returned to television for “The Patty Duke Show,” an era-defining sitcom of the more outwardly wholesome early 1960s. Ms. Duke played, as the infectious theme song put it, “cousins, identical cousins”: Patty, a fun-loving stereotypical American girl from Brooklyn Heights, and Cathy, a prim young lady from Scotland.

The show, created by Sidney Shelton (“I Dream of Jeannie,” “Hart to Hart”), featured celebrity guest stars including Frankie Avalon, Sal Mineo, Paul Lynde and Sammy Davis Jr. and ran from 1963 to 1966.

Ms. Duke’s next move telegraphed a desire to leave her child-actor past behind. She starred as a debauched singer in the film “Valley of the Dolls” in 1967, based on the Jacqueline Susann novel about good girls going bad and the perils of Hollywood.

This time, Mr. Crowther was not as charmed. “It’s an unbelievably hackneyed and mawkish mish-mash of backstage plots and ‘Peyton Place’ adumbrations in which five women are involved with their assorted egotistical aspirations, love affairs and Seconal pills,” he wrote.

Ms. Duke returned to television in the 1970s and would spend the next couple of decades starring mostly in TV movies, including as Anne Sullivan in “The Miracle Worker,” and the occasional feature film. In the 1982 she returned to sitcoms with “It Takes Two,” a topical comedy about the modern challenges that face a hard-charging, career-minded couple, also starring Richard Crenna.

She also began working to raise money and awareness for mental health issues after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the 1980s.

Though her celebrity peaked early, Ms. Duke suggested late in her career that she was more proud of her professionalism rather than past fame.

“I’m proud that when I get a job, I’m gonna give you what you paid for,” she said in a 2013 interview. “And maybe even more.”

Tuesday 29 March 2016

WEEK 2 OF 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' BRINGS SEASON 22'S FIRST ELIMINATION


It's a night of fiery performances with the rumba, samba, salsa and more: Season 22's 12 couples Cha-Cha into Latin Night on "Dancing with the Stars." Two stars tie for first place; one dancer is placed on the disabled list for the time being; and head judge Len Goodman schools us on a new word! Get out your dictionary and let's dance!

Here's a recap of round two from highest to lowest score:

Paige VanZant- 24 out of 30
Mark Ballas gets through several days of rehearsals with Paige and she is nervous about the lifts that he's put into their salsa. He promises her he's never dropped a partner. Maybe he jinxed things? He didn't drop her in Sunday's rehearsal, but now he's the one down for the count. Slipped disc? Pinched nerve? Either way a big ouch! Troupe member Alan bravely steps in on only a few hours' notice and proves to be a perfect pinch hitter. And there was no trouble with the lifts! Len praised Mark's choreography and applauded Alan for being a team player; he also said this was the best dance he's seen this season. (OK we're only two weeks in!) Bruno Tonioli thought the dance was filled with power and energy, but also had an ease of moment; Carrie Ann Inaba said they destroyed the number and it made her want to get up and dance!

Wanya Morris- 24 out of 30
The Boyz II Men singer takes Lindsay Arnold out on the road on tour and they seem to rehearse all across the country. But this is one determined guy! He said he set the bar high and he plans to not just bring his "A" game, he plans to bring the whole alphabet! Their salsa is fantastic, with Len praising their energy, excitement, and rhythm. Bruno encouraged Wanya to continue to "go for it" and Carrie Ann called him the king of the ballroom!

Jodie Sweetin- 21 out of 30

Jodie was "full" of disappointment after receiving a 6 score from Len during week one. She's putting a lot of pressure on herself for the samba. Rehearsal footage showed her really getting into the theme and character, then covering her eyes and feeling shy and awkward. Jodie had a little meltdown, and apologized to partner Keo Motsepe for her tears and frustration. He wisely told her it's just a waste of energy. She seemed much more focused for the performance, with both Bruno and Carrie Ann advising her to not overthink things and enjoy dancing in the moment. Len commended Keo for his well-rounded choreography.

Ginger Zee- 21 out of 30
Ginger's used to live television as she does it every morning! But the Good Morning America meteorologist was surprised how much she felt at home on the stage during week one. Her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy has a mission this week: help the cute and sweet Ginger find her inner "swag" so she can pull off a sexy salsa. She knows it's in her somewhere, she's just been a working wife and now mother and said she "buried" her flirtation factor. Carrie Ann applauded her for owning her own unique beauty; Bruno thought the dance had great content, but was hindered by a couple of foot faults, and Len was happy to see his own personal "demand" to put real recognizable steps into the routine was met with plenty of "supply" by Val's choreography.

Nyle DiMarco- 20 out of 30
Nyle wants to prove his first dance wasn't a fluke and he's in it to win it. He called week one's live performance the most memorable experience of his life. Nyle wants to keep up the momentum, keep working hard, and lets us know he won't be playing the sympathy card. Peta Murgatroyd sees his potential and says she will help push him as much as she can with her choreography. In a sweet moment at rehearsal, his mom, who is also deaf, gives her seal of approval for their rumba. However, the judges were all a bit disappointed. There was a lift, and both Len and Carrie Ann called them out on it. Len also told him to calm down! Host Tom Bergeron asked the question we all want to know: How they do this when Nyle is completely deaf? Peta revealed she has some tricks that include a scratch on the back or a squeeze of the hand.

Marla Maples- 20 out of 30
The seduction and sexiness of the Argentine tango comes to the ballroom via Marla and Tony Dovolani. She said it's pushing her out of her comfort zone, but in a good way. There's a bit of comic relief in rehearsals as Tony introduces us to Marla's super healthy (or according to Tony, hippie) ways. Whatever it is, it's working. Bruno tells her he likes what he's seeing, but feels she's holding back just a bit. He said if you've got it, flaunt it!

Von Miller- 20 out of 30
The skin cancer foundation is thrilled with Von's schedule. He promised Witney Carson that he'd give her $100 for every minute he was late to rehearsal. She's also fining him for some other rather inappropriate behavior during rehearsal. (Alright he farts a lot.) Carrie Ann wants the big man to own the dance floor; she thinks he's dancing too small; and Bruno thought the Cha Cha was lost in translation; he drowned it with his personality.

Doug Flutie- 20 out of 30
Most improved player of the week easily goes to Doug. Karina Smirnoff choreographed a fairly straight forward pasodoble and he attacked it. His daughter, who is a dancer, stopped by rehearsal and gave her father some encouraging words. The judges were thrilled with his progress.

Marla Maples- 20 out of 30
The seduction and sexiness of the Argentine tango comes to the ballroom via Marla and Tony Dovolani. She said it's pushing her out of her comfort zone, but in a good way. There's a bit of comic relief in rehearsals as Tony introduces us to Marla's super healthy (or according to Tony, hippie) ways. Whatever it is, it's working. Bruno tells her he likes what he's seeing, but feels she's holding back just a bit. He said if you've got it, flaunt it!

Von Miller- 20 out of 30
The skin cancer foundation is thrilled with Von's schedule. He promised Witney Carson that he'd give her $100 for every minute he was late to rehearsal. She's also fining him for some other rather inappropriate behavior during rehearsal. (Alright he farts a lot.) Carrie Ann wants the big man to own the dance floor; she thinks he's dancing too small; and Bruno thought the Cha Cha was lost in translation; he drowned it with his personality.

Doug Flutie- 20 out of 30
Most improved player of the week easily goes to Doug. Karina Smirnoff choreographed a fairly straight forward pasodoble and he attacked it. His daughter, who is a dancer, stopped by rehearsal and gave her father some encouraging words. The judges were thrilled with his progress.

And the unlucky first-to-be voted off for season 22: Geraldo and Edyta.

Eleven couples return next week to tell us about "their favorite year."

The 5 most adorable moments in the 'Supergirl'/'Flash' crossover episode



Who wins in a race between the Woman of Steel and the Fastest Man Alive? Every single one of us.

When we heard that Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin) would be speeding his way to National City for a crossover episode with Supergirl, we were overjoyed. But nothing could quite prepare us for the fantastic and endlessly enjoyable "World's Finest," the big episode that aired on CBS Monday night (THIS is why we love multiple superheroes together, kids).

In an episode that was making us squeal nearly the entire time, we picked out the five most adorable moments. You're welcome.

Gustin is a charming actor, and he has really great chemistry with the other characters on The Flash and on Arrow when those two shows crossover. But there is no denying that there is something positively electric about seeing Gustin and Melissa Benoist(Kara/Supergirl) sharing a screen. They need only to shake hands or to smile at each other for the sparks to fly. When they actually started flirting our hearts could barely take it.

This. Gif. Is. Perfect. Kara's reaction to getting surprise super-speed ice cream is the stuff that dreams are made of.

A joke about the attractive casts of CW shows? Name drops of Green Arrow and Black Canary? Meta-jokes about meta-humans? It was so refreshing that the episode had a little fun with itself.

Who knew James Olsen had this much of a jealous streak? When Barry speeds into town and basically sweeps Kara up off her super-powered feet, the photographer just couldn't quite handle it. Mehcad Brooks was making some devastating facial expressions throughout the episode, only endearing us to their coupling even more. Barry's visit was all worth it, since it led up to his and Kara's big kiss. Unfortunately, there's some mind control getting in between the two of them (again!). Sigh.

This is what we were all waiting for, right? The Fastest Man Alive versus the Woman of Steel? And unlike a certain DC Comics movie featuring two superheroes in a versus situation that will remain nameless, the race was entirely fun and games.

The only thing that was missing from the episode? A musical number! These two are both Glee alums, we'll remind you. Oh well, we'll just save for next time.

Instagram changes cause growing backlash among posters



Changes to how Instagram content will appear in the app's feed have sparked a backlash among some of its users.

The app plans to switch to "algorithmic timelines" - sorting posts according to users' interests - rather continuing to list them chronologically.

Celebrity posters, who are worried their photos may no longer be seen by as many people, have urged their followers to "turn on notifications".

But Instagram said there was no reason to panic.

"We're listening and we assure you nothing is changing with your feed right now," the photo-sharing app said in a tweet.

The shift will bring the app in line with the way news feeds are ordered on Facebook, which is owned by the same company.

By turning on notifications for a celebrity, their followers should receive an alert every time the star posts something.
Instagram is changing the way your feed displays things





Celebrities including the reality star Kylie Jenner and the supermodel Cindy Crawford have in recent days requested their fans turn on their notifications settings.

"I hate this new update Instagram is slowly trying to introduce," Jenner said in a post that drew more than 17,000 comments.

"If it's not broke, don't fix it - I don't really understand it and there has to be another motive because you follow people for a reason."

Portuguese clothes vendor New Fangle Clothing posted: "It's still happening - Instagram is changing and if you don't want to miss any of our updates please turn on post notifications."

"If you like my works and still want to see my illustrations, turn on the notifications please," appealed illustrator Julio Cesar, who has close to 130,000 followers.

An online petition called Keep Instagram chronological also emerged, drawing more than 317,000 signatures.
'Turn off notifications'

While the movement has grown into a top trend on the site, others users have begun to express their frustration at "annoying" requests, with many saying they would not be turning on any notifications.

"I'm tired of everyone telling me what to do on Instagram today," tweeted one US-based user, who added she would be leaving her notifications switched off.

"Oh, Instagram isn't going to be instant anymore? Who cares, there's an unfollow button for a reason," said a user in Japan.

"No thanks - My phone will not be ringing off the hook for your selfies and food posts," another user posted.

Kehlani Breaks Silence After Suicide Attempt: Thanks PARTYNEXTDOOR For ‘Saving’ Her


Did Kehlani just confirm that PARTYNEXTDOOR is definitely still in her life?! The singer shared a photo from her hospital bed after attempting suicide amid claims she cheated on Kyrie Irving with her ex…but it appears to be PND by her side and not the Cleveland Cavaliers star who she’s claiming ‘saved her life.’ What?!

Kehlani, 20, is not in a good place right after her ex, PARTYNEXTDOOR, alleged she cheated on new boyfriend Kyrie Irving with him. But after the singer’s terrifying suicide attempt, it’s the rapper who’s by her hospital bedside, and Kehlani rebooted her deleted Instagram account to let fans know how important his presence is.

Although we can’t see PND’s face in the photo, the man resting his head on Kehlani’s hospital bedrail is wearing a beanie with the rapper’s initials on the brim. “thank you for saving my life, n***a,” the 20-year-old captioned the pic.

It’s unclear whether or not she means the rapper physically saved her when she attempted suicideearlier that day, but either way, her confirming that she’s spending time with PND is a big deal — after all, he’s the one who leaked the rumor that Kehlani was cheating on Kyrie by posting a photo of them holding hands in bed together. While it’s unclear when the pic was taken, fans immediately went into a craze, slamming Kehlani for being unfaithful, which is what led her to consider killing herself. Stream Kehlani’s music completely unlimited and ad-free here.

“Today I wanted to leave this earth,” she allegedly wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post. “Being completely selfish for once. Never thought I’d get to such a low point. But.. Don’t believe the blogs you read.. No one was cheated on and I’m not a bad person… Everyone is hurt and everyone is in a place of misunderstanding.. But as of today, I had no single wish to see tomorrow.. But God saved me for a reason, and for that… I must be grateful.. Cuz I’m not in heaven right now for a reason..”

Join Amazon Prime For Free – Thousands of Movies & Shows Anytime

Kehlani and PARTYNEXTDOOR have been in an on-off relationship for quite some time, so it’s not surprising that he would be with her during a time of distress and pain like this. However, the fact that she shared this photo of him on Instagram amid these crazy cheating allegations is pretty shocking! Does this mean Kyrie is out of the picture for good?

Listen to Kehlani right now on Amazon.

HollywoodLifers, are you shocked that PND is at Kehlani’s bedside? Do you think this is confirmation that she cheated on Kyrie with the rapper?

Roger Cicero ist tot Der Sänger Roger Cicero ist im Alter von 45 Jahren gestorben. Der Jazzmusiker starb bereits am Donnerstag an einem Hirninfarkt.



Der Jazzsänger Roger Cicero ist tot. Der 45-Jährige sei bereits am vergangenen Donnerstag an einem Hirninfarkt gestorben, teilte sein Management mit. Seine Familie sei bei ihm gewesen.

"Wir sind fassungslos und unendlich traurig. Unser Mitgefühl gilt in erster Linie seiner Familie", erklärte das Management. Nach einem Auftritt im Fernsehen seien bei Cicero "akute neurologische Symptome" aufgetreten. Er sei in eine Klinik gebracht worden, wo sich sein Zustand rapide weiter verschlechtert habe.

Ende 2015 hatte der Sänger sein neues Livealbum Cicero Sings Sinatra veröffentlicht, das den 100. Geburtstag des Jazzsängers Frank Sinatra würdigte. Schon damals musste Cicero seine Konzerttermine wegen eines akuten Erschöpfungssyndroms mit Verdacht auf Herzmuskelentzündung zunächst bis Ende des Jahres absagen.


Die ausverkaufte Tour sollte im April fortgesetzt werden und in Frankfurt beginnen. Am 18. März trat Cicero mit seinen Sinatra-Songs im Bayerischen Rundfunk auf. Dabei kündigte er an, bereits am nächsten Album zu arbeiten.

Der Erfolg des Sohns des Jazzpianisten Eugen Cicero beruhte auf einer Stilmischung aus Pop, Jazz und Swing mit oft amüsanten Texten. Elegant mit Anzug und Lackschuhen kam er mit seinen Big-Band-Musikern im Stil der großen Swing-Künstler auf die Bühne. Cicero hatte für Deutschland 2007 beim Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) gesungen und mit Frauen regier’n die Welt den 19. Platz belegt. Er gewann zweimal den Musikpreis Echo.

Zu seinen Markenzeichen gehörte seit Langem der obligatorische Hut. Die Gemeinschaft Deutscher Hutfachgeschäfte in Düsseldorf kürte ihn zum "Hutträger des Jahres 2015".

Pearl Washington 'quite emotional' watching Syracuse basketball reach Final Four



Syracuse, N.Y. — Pearl Washington watched Syracuse defeat Virginia Sunday night from the comfort of his East Harlem apartment. After the Orange won, after SU had snatched victory from what appeared to be certain defeat, the most electrifying player in Orange basketball history reacted to what he'd seen.

"Last night, he was quite emotional," his friend, Mark Finney, said. "When they won, he had some tears."

Washington watched with family Sunday as his Orange reached the Final Four. He continues to battle a brain tumor diagnosed last summer. His condition requires an aide to assist him and his fiancée on an around-the-clock basis.

"He's resting comfortably and he's just enjoying each day," Finney said.

Syracuse players continue to wear their orange warm-up tops with the white Pearl script splashed across their chests. Nike has supplied all its teams with "Always Reppin'" long-sleeved shirts to wear during the NCAA Tournament. But Orange players, some more than others, have defied the vanilla feel of those "Reppin'" shirts and opted, instead, for their personalized Pearl shirts. Those Pearl jerseys were also made by Nike.

Finney said Washington sees players wearing the shirts bearing his name during televised games and from photos others have sent him.

"He's very, very overwhelmed," Finney said. "The entire family is just so appreciative of the support from the university, the coaches, the current players, the former players and fans across the country."

To help defray costs for Washington's care, a Go Fund Me campaign has been rejuvenated, said Matt Rose, spokesman for Brandon Steiner, who initiated the Go Fund Me idea. Washington needs nursing care, Rose said. Because of his fragile immune system, Rose said, his home requires constant cleaning.

The Go Fund Me campaign has raised $56,677, "100 percent of which is going toward Pearl's care," Rose said. Steiner Sports is also auctioning off items to help defray costs. That auction, Rose said, will close Saturday night.

Rose said Steiner visited with Washington recently.

"He's accepting visitors," Rose said. "People are surrounding him with positive energy."

Joke's on us: Jon Lovitz and Jessica Lowndes pull April Fools' Day prank



Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this report said the actors were engaged. USA TODAY has confirmed with Jessica Lowndes’ manager Adam Goldworm that their social media posts were an early April Fools' Day prank.

Jessica Lowndes, 27, and Jon Lovitz, 58, convinced several media outlets, including this one, that they were in a romantic May-December relationship in an April Fools' Day prank.

The CW's 90210 reboot star and the Saturday Night Live alum posted a series of Instagrams and Tweets from their branded accounts, indicating they were dating despite a 31-year age difference, before revealing the images and video clips were part of a music video for Lowndes' new song, Deja Vu, and an elaborate marketing stunt.

Kehlani Tried To Commit Suicide Over Cheating Rumors? Read Her Sad Letter — Report


Oh no! Singer Kehlani allegedly attemped suicide March 28 following PARTYNEXTDOOR’s photo insinuating that she cheated on NBA star Kyrie Irving with him. She posted a sad note to her Instagram before deleting her account.

This is so tragic! Singer Kehlani, 20, appears to have been so devastated by ex boyfriend, 22-year-old rapper PARTYNEXTDOOR‘s (aka Jahron Anthony Brathwaite) claims that she might have cheated on NBA superstar Kyrie Irving, 24, with him and now it seems she tried to end her life over the news. Read on for her heartbreaking message.

“I wanted to leave this Earth. Being completely selfish for once. Never thought I’d get to such a low point. But don’t believe the blogs you read. No one was cheated on and I’m not a bad person. Everyone is hurt and everyone is in a place of misunderstanding,” she wrote. “But as of today, I had no wish to see tomorrow. But God saved me for a reason and for that…I must be grateful. Cuz I’m not in Heaven right now for a reason. On that note, bye Instagram,” she wrote before deleting her account.

The photo and note captured by The Shade Room shows her in the hospital with an IV in her tattooed arm. The singer did in fact quit Instagram after PARTYNEXTDOOR posted a photo to his Twitter March 28 showing him in bed with Kehlani, which made it seem like she may have stepped out on Kyrie, even though he didn’t note when the photo was taken and deleted his tweet quickly. Obviously the news devastated her to the point where she was so traumatized she thought there was no other way out. This is so sad! Stream Kehlani’s music, completely unlimited and ad-free, RIGHT HERE

After PARTYNEXTDOOR posted a photo showing Kehlani in bed with him – implying she might have stepped out on the Cleveland Cavaliers star – the internet exploded with anger by Cleveland Cavaliers fans that she might cheated on one of their star players. That had to have been SO crushing towards her. So far PARTYNEXTDOOR hasn’t commented on the situation on his Instagram or Twitter, neither has Kyrie.

HollywoodLifers, what do you think of this tragic turn of events? Did the internet rush to judgement over PARTYNEXTDOOR’s cheating allegations?

Monday 28 March 2016

TV-Tipps am Ostersonntag



20:15 Uhr, Pro Sieben: Gravity, Weltraumthriller



In der nahen Zukunft: Während ihrer ersten Mission schwebt die Wissenschaftlerin Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) gerade mit ihren Kollegen für Reparaturarbeiten außerhalb ihres Space Shuttles, als die Sprengung eines Satelliten zu einer katastrophalen Kettenreaktion führt. Innerhalb von Minuten zerstören rasend schnelle Trümmerteile das Shuttle. Ryan reagiert panisch und kann in "Gravity" nur mit Mühe von dem routinierten Weltraumveteranen Kowalski (George Clooney) dazu gebracht werden, sich mit Hilfe von dessen Jetpack auf den Weg zur nahen Raumstation ISS zu machen.



20:15 Uhr, RTL: Lone Ranger, Wildwestabenteuerspaß



im Land der Cowboys: Die Eisenbahn kommt in den Westen und verspricht Wohlstand und Fortschritt, doch sie lockt auch skrupellose Geschäftsmänner und Gangster an. Der angehende Staatsanwalt John Reid (Armie Hammer) und sein Bruder, Ranger Dan (James Badge Dale), stellen sich den Machenschaften von Bartholomew "Butch" Cavenddish (William Fichtner) in den Weg, doch nur John überlebt den von Butch geplanten Hinterhalt. Er wird von dem Indianer Tonto (Johnny Depp) gefunden und wieder gesund gepflegt. Da John offiziell für tot erklärt wurde, will er von jetzt an als maskierter Rächer Verbrechen bekämpfen. Sein Name: "Lone Ranger".



20:15 Uhr, VOX: Das perfekte Promi Dinner - Dschungel-Spezial, Kochwettstreit



Bei "Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus!" gab es für sie als Grundnahrungsmittel nur Reis und Bohnen. Zurück in der Heimat, genießen Dschungelkönig Menderes Bagci, Helena Fürst, David Ortega und Nathalie Volk nun wieder die freie Auswahl an Gerichten. Dass sie diese auch selbst zubereiten können, wollen sie ihren Mitstreitern in dieser Spezial-Ausgabe des "perfekten Promi Dinners" beweisen. Menderes Bagci, König des Dschungels und Liebling der Zuschauer, zeigte sich in Australien von seiner emotionalen Seite. Wird er in die Kreation seines Dinner-Menüs genauso viel Gefühl stecken und damit überzeugen können?



20:15 Uhr, Sat.1: Die Schadenfreundinnen, Komödie



Carly (Cameron Diaz) denkt, sie sei in einer glücklichen Beziehung mit Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) - bis sie auf dessen Ehefrau Kate (Leslie Mann) trifft. Wie sich herausstellt, verbindet die beiden mehr als nur derselbe Mann, wodurch eine außergewöhnliche Freundschaft entsteht. Schnell kommen sie dahinter, dass ihr Casanova noch eine dritte Geliebte (Kate Upton) hat, die kurzerhand mit ins Boot geholt wird. Die Verbündeten beginnen, Rachepläne zu schmieden.



20:15 Uhr, RTL II: Gladiator, Monumentalepos



Kaiser Marc Aurelius (Richard Harris) will den siegreichen und beim Volk beliebten Feldherren Maximus (Russell Crowe) zu seinem Nachfolger machen. Als sein Sohn Commodus (River Phoenix) davon erfährt, tötet er seinen Vater und lässt sich selber zum neuen Kaiser krönen. Maximus wird verstoßen und zum Tode verurteilt, doch ihm gelingt die Flucht. In einer Gladiatorenschule kann er neuen Ruhm ernten und kehrt schließlich nach Rom zurück, um Rache an Commodus zu nehmen.

Nana Gouvêa posa sexy para desejar Feliz Páscoa e decote rouba a cena



Nanagouvêa mostrou é sexy mesmo sem querer - lembra das fotos do furacão? - ao postar uma foto para desejar Feliz Páscoa através do Facebook, neste domingo, 27. A atriz fez uma selfie ao lado do espelho para mandar uma mensagem aos fãs e acabou exibindo seu corpo cheio de curvas com um body no melhor estilo playmate, chamando atenção para o decote generoso.

"Feliz Páscoa para todos!", escreveu Nana, recebendo elogios de vários rapazes que a chamaram de "Linda". A atriz está em Nova York, onde mora com o marido, Carlos Keyes, e tem investido no cinema.

Boat Race 2016: Cambridge men and Oxford women triumph – as it happened

Cambridge led from the front to win the men’s race for the first time since 2012, while Oxford won a dramatic women’s race which saw the Cambridge crew narrowly avoid sinking in tough conditions
Plenty of whooping, hollering and back-slapping on the banks of the Thames as the Light Blues pick up their first Boat Race win since 2012. Congratulations to Cambridge’s men, and Oxford’s women, who were both excellent in some of the toughest Tideway conditions we’ve seen in years. That’s all from me. Cheerio.
A dramatic contrast as both crews passed the finish line, with Luke Juckett, twice defeated in this race, standing up in celebration, while the Dark Blues slumped in their seats. Now, Cambridge are also slumped in their seats. They look absolutely exhausted.
Oxford fight gamely, keeping their opponents in sight, but Cambridge are too disciplined and determined to be reeled in now, and a final heave up to Chiswick Bridge sees them win by two-and-a-half lengths!

What time is it? How to know if your iPhone or Android updated for the clocks changing overnight



The clocks went forward overnight. But did your clocks go forward?

In the age of smartphones, smart TVs and smart home appliances, changing the clocks is at once much easier but more stressful. Almost everything adjusts automatically – but how can you be sure that it has?

The easiest way to know whether everything has updated is to check it against something authoritative, like the TV news. You can check the below clock, which shows the time that your devices should show if they’ve successfully sprung forward.





You can check whether your phone is set to change its time automatically by heading to the date and time settings.

On the iPhone, those are found in the Settings app, in the General option. On Android, just head to the Settings app and you’ll find it there.

On both of them, you’ll see an option to have the date and time set automatically according to your time zone. If those are on, and your phone has the right location, then it should adjust itself whenever the clocks change.

Computers will have similar options. You’ll find them in the control panel on Windows or in system preferences on the Mac – clicking through the date and time options will allow you to check whether automatic updates are on and let you change the clock if they’ve got it wrong.

On other devices, like TVs or smart appliances, everything will depend on the settings and whether or not it has an internet connection or the right calendar settings. But once you have one correct clock, using the tips above, you can head around the house and check everything else against it.

How The Easter Bunny Became Part Of Easter -- And Why He Leaves Eggs



Patch's editor in Austin seeks — and finds, sort of — how a rabbit came to star in a holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Who exactly is this Easter bunny? And how was it able to hop so prominently into view on this highest of holy days in the Christian faith, with no documented connection to the Resurrection of Christ celebrated by the faithful?

The origins of the relationship between the candy-bearing hare and the most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church is, as they say, complicated.

The relationship today is unfortunate.

While there is no biblical reference to rabbits figuring into the Easter tale, there is loose basis for its supporting role appearance on a day posturing Christ as the ultimate protagonist.

But let’s state it up front: That role is decidedly tenuous.

The rabbit is mentioned in the Bible, but the reference isn’t flattering. Leviticus 11:6: “The hare, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you."

Yet despite been outed as unclean so long ago, the Easter bunny continues to insinuate itself into the day’s activities, figuring prominently at untold households throughout the world as children excitedly search for the candy the animal purportedly leaves behind.


But how did this come to be? And is it proper? Why a bunny leaving candy and eggs?

A piece in the Conversation notes correctly that hares and rabbits are often conflated as the same creature. They are not the same animal. But the hare’s curious gestation abilities yield a clue into how the species cemented its role in the day’s significance.

The hare, you see, is somehow able to produce a second litter while still pregnant with the first -- yielding a ready reference to the virgin birth of Christ himself.

Those attributes of rebirth and fertility somehow suffuse the animal with a legitimate role in the drama of the Resurrection to some minds.

So, there’s that point of view.

There are others.

The Three Hares Project was formed in 2000, aimed at researching and documenting the ancient symbol of the hare in relation to religion in general. The Conversation reports that evidence of its usage have been traced to ancient China.

Titian’s painting The Madonna of the Rabbit indirectly contributed in casting the rabbit as a player in the Passion play. There’s Mary holding the rabbit in the foreground, simultaneously alluding to both her virginity and fertility. It’s a white rabbit too, a not-so-veiled reference to Mary’s purity.

But even those examples yield conundrums.

“Linking rabbits with purity and virginity is odd, however, since they’re also associated with prolific sexual activity,” The Conversation notes.

So much so that Playboy founder Hugh Hefner settled on the animal as metaphor for his empire based on an anachronistically sexist view of women as sexual objects. Enough said on that matter (it is Easter, after all).

Authorities on folklore instead turn to ancient Anglo-Saxon mythology in search of answers. Specifically, their focus of study centers on the myth of fertility goddess Ostara.

According to the Encyclopedia Mythica, Ostara represents the rising sun and thus associated with spring. A friend to all children, she changes her pet bird into a rabbit to amuse them.

That transformed rabbit “brought forth brightly coloured eggs, which the Greek goddess gave to children as gifts. From her name and rites, the festival of Easter is derived.”

Aha!

Jacob Grimm advances the theory in his 1835 bookDeutsche Mythologie:

“The Easter Hare is unintelligible to me, but probably the hare was the sacred animal of Ostara … Ostara, Eástre seems therefore to have been the divinity of the radiant dawn, of upspringing light, a spectacle that brings joy and blessing, whose meaning could be easily adapted by the resurrection-day of the Christian’s God.”

The Venerable Bede, an 8th century scholar, did his part in advancing the Ostara link in his typical venerable manner. He posited the word “Easter” as being derived from “Eostre” -- an alternative version of the name “Ostara.”

Aha?

Some (nay, untold many) would balk at such links, viewing the connection as sacrilege. Indeed, the Ostara link, while increasing in popularity as the basis of the modern-day Easter Bunny, has been historically debunked or otherwisecontested as plausible theory.

The rabbit/hare/bunny emerged by the 16th century as a full-fledged bearer of Easter eggs for distribution to delighted recipients. The earliest reference of this egg-carrying manifestation appears in a 1572 German text.

“Do not worry if the Easter Bunny escapes you; should we miss his eggs, we will cook the nest,” the text reads.

Not sure exactly what this means, but is is a historical rabbit reference nonetheless.

Two centuries later, German immigrants to the United States brought the custom of the Easter bunny with them. From there emerged the earliest signs of Easter Bunny commercialism: By the end of the 19th century, sweet shops in the eastern states were offering rabbit-shaped candies — forerunners to the chocolate bunnies so many of us enjoy today.

To be sure, the Bible makes no mention of an Easter bunny (trust us on this one). But there is mention in the Christian faith of what could very well be the first Easter egg.

Spoiler alert: It wasn't delivered by a bunny.

After Christ is said to have ascended into heaven, Mary Magdalene — arguably his most loyal follower — fearlessy paid a visit to the Emperor Tiberius Caesar in Rome in proclaiming the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. She had an egg in her hand to illustrate her message.

Holding the egg aloft, she exclaimed what is now a universal Easter proclamation among the Christian flock: “Christ is risen!”

But, according to tradition, the emperor mocked her, saying Jesus had no more risen than the egg in her hand was red. You guessed it: The egg turned red as a sign from God to illustrate the truth of her message. The image ofMary Magdalene holding that scarlet egg is a fixture of Christian iconography.

Another passage describes how Mary Magdalene brought along a basket filled with hard-boiled eggs with her on Easter morning to the tomb of Jesus. One theory has it the eggs were breakfast for herself and other followers as they waited for someone to roll the stone away from the tomb's entryway.

Upon her return at the Resurrection site, the stone had rolled away, and the eggs in her basket had been transformed with bright shades of color.

Whatever its origins, the Easter Bunny is, for better or worse, here to stay on this holiest of days.

But its presence seems at odds with what those of us raised in the Christian faith were taught to believe about the significance of the day. The Easter Bunny — for all his delightful deliveries of candy and brightly dyed eggs — does nothing to prompt spiritual reflection or meditation or anything, really, except encouraging children to eat way too much candy.

In the Connecticut city of Orange, an ugly scene at an Easter celebration illustrated how some people have lost the significance of the day: The third annual Easter egg hunt at PEZ candy headquarters in Orange devolved into a rampage as people scrambled to secure the coveted eggs and candy.

Making matters exponentially worse: It was the adults in the crowd who did the rampaging, storming the field to grab candy from among the 9,000 hidden pieces, trampling children along the way at the free event.

One 4-year-old was reportedly left bloody, and a two-year-old was pushed into the mud by marauding adults, according to accounts from horrified witnesses.

Such horrific spectacles will likely be seen again as the Easter Bunny continues its usurping role on this holiest of days. While we aren't exactly sure where the Easter Bunny came from, we know where he is today: central to a seasonal $2.2 billion cottage industry centered on sale of chocolate bunnies, Peeps, marshmallows and other popular treats.

And don’t even get us started on Santa Claus. We’ll hop on that controversial toy-giving character come December.

Sunday 27 March 2016

Looking ahead: What’s in store for KU basketball in 2016-17? Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article68531222.html#storylink=cpy


Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self was quick to accept the truth following Saturday’s 64-59 Elite Eight loss to Villanova.

“We only start one senior,” Self said, “but the reality is, we’re not going to have our entire group back.”

Although there is uncertainty with KU’s roster, the Jayhawks appear to be in a strong position entering 2016-17 even if multiple players decide to leave early.

Here’s how the math looks for now: KU loses scholarship players Perry Ellis, Jamari Traylor and Hunter Mickelson while adding freshmen big men Udoka Azubuike and Mitch Lightfoot. That leaves KU with one scholarship available even without any other movement.

The new NCAA rules regarding the NBA Draft should leave KU’s roster in doubt over the next few months. Under the new rules, players can declare for the draft without penalty to see if they are one of the 60 or so players invited to the NBA combine. Underclassmen then have until May 25 — 10 days after the combine — to decide if they are remaining in the draft pool or returning to college.

Although KU doesn’t appear to have any first-round locks, a historically weak draft class could leave many of the team’s players with decisions to make.

Forward Cheick Diallo and guard Wayne Selden seem the most likely to turn pro. Diallo, who was buried on KU’s bench in the second half of the season, still could be viewed as an intriguing prospect because of his physical attributes and late start to the game. Selden, meanwhile, is coming off his best year and is considered a likely second-round pick.

The rest could be interesting. Forward Carlton Bragg would have a huge role on next year’s team while stepping into Ellis’ starting spot, and he has given every indication that he will be coming back to Lawrence for a sophomore season. If he declares, though — there’s no penalty to do so — could he be lured away if he was invited to the combine?KU also remains heavily involved with 7-foot center Thon Maker, a five-star recruit who was born in Sudan. Although he has been linked to Arizona State for a while, KU appears to be gaining momentum in the past few weeks.

If both committed, KU likely would have a more talented roster than it did as the overall No. 1 seed this NCAA Tournament, though that doesn’t guarantee success. Landing Jackson by himself would at least put KU in the conversation of having the nation’s best backcourt.

It’s difficult to see a scenario where KU won’t be favored to win a 13th straight league title. The Big 12, which was ranked as the top conference by most metrics this season, should take a step back next year with teams like Oklahoma, Iowa State, Baylor and Texas losing talented players to graduation.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article68531222.html#storylink=cpy



Guards Svi Mykhailiuk and Brannen Greene also would seem likely candidates to gauge NBA interest. Mykhailiuk is finally eligible — he was too young last year at 18 — and he’s gained some buzz previously in scouting circles. Greene, meanwhile, has the height and shooting ability to impress a team with his offensive skill set.

“I don’t know how many guys will return,” Self said. “I don’t know.”

The good news for Self is that a solid base shouldn’t be going anywhere.

Starting guards Frank Mason and Devonte’ Graham should be back for their senior and junior seasons respectively, while forward Landen Lucas will be in Lawrence a fifth year after redshirting in 2012-13.

If Bragg does return, that’s four players who should earn significant minutes. And KU doesn’t appear to be finished on the recruiting trail.

The biggest prize is still available. Josh Jackson, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard and the nation’s No. 1 recruit according to Rivals.com, has KU as one of three finalists, and rumors spread Thursday that he was thinking about committing to the Jayhawks that night. Jackson’s decision could come as early as this week.




West Virginia, on paper, should be KU’s biggest threat. The Mountaineers finished second in the Big 12, and if center Devin Williams decides to return, the team will bring back nine of its top 11 players from a 26-9 season.

Whichever names end up on KU’s roster, expect the 2016-17 Jayhawks to once again have the highest of expectations.

“The one thing that I really believe that will carry on is culture,” Self said. “But, I mean, I have no idea what next year’s going to look like.”

Explosion at Park in Lahore, Pakistan, Kills Dozens



ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A suicide bomber set off a powerful blast close to a children’s swing set in a public park on Sunday evening in the eastern city of Lahore, killing at least 69 people and wounding around 300, rescue workers and officials said.

The blast occurred in a parking lot at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, one of the largest parks in Lahore, said Haider Ashraf, a senior police official in the city. The bomb was detonated within several feet of the swings in a park crowded with families on Easter.

Jamaat-e-Ahrar, a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the blast. Its spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said in a statement that Christians were the target.

It was the third bombing in Pakistan in this month alone, a reminder that even as the military has cracked down on extremists over the past two years, Islamist groups remain a potent threat.

The bombing came as large protests were held in other parts of the country to protest the execution in February of the man who murdered a secular politician five years ago. While public opinion has largely been galvanized by attacks on civilians by jihadists, particularly the killing of 150 people at a school in Peshawar in 2014, the protests are a sign that widespread sympathy remains for extremist groups in Pakistan.

The Jamaat-e-Ahrar spokesman, Mr. Ehsan, said the bombing “was also to give a message to government that it cannot deter us even in their stronghold, Lahore.” Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, is the hometown of Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif; his younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, is the chief minister of the province.

Even though Pakistani officials rebutted the claim that Christians were the target, a large number of Christian families were in the park because of the Easter holiday, the local news media reported. The 67-acre park has walking paths, as well as rides for children.

As the country reeled from this latest spasm of violence, the civilian and military leadership huddled separately to deal with the precipitating sense of crisis. Prime Minister Sharif held a four-hour meeting with his top ministers while Gen. Raheel Sharif, the army chief, who is not related to the prime minister or his brother, directed intelligence agencies to investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Victims described a scene of chaos and devastation soon after the blast.

“I was standing near the roller coaster when the blast occurred,” said a 10-year-old boy who gave his name as Usman Ghani, and who was being treated for minor injuries at Shaikh Zayed Hospital. “I saw fire afterward. There were a lot of people in the park. It was so crowded that people had to break the boundary wall near the gate to cross over and run away.”

“I wish I hadn’t brought my daughter to the park today,” said Kamran Bhatti, 34, a frequent visitor to the park. “This is the only recreation we can afford for her. What is her fault?”

He continued: “While we were running out of the park, my daughter slipped and rolled over. She’s injured, but I thank my God that we are not crying for a lost child.”

His daughter, 7, was being treated for an injury to her leg at Jinnah Hospital on Sunday night.

Yousaf Masih, 50, who said he is Christian, said: “We came to the park after the Easter church services. We brought our food basket along with us, and like the usual outing on our festivals, we were spending our day.”

“There was a lot of rush due to Easter,” Mr. Masih said, adding that “a majority” of the people in that area of the park were Christian. “My children were playing cricket when we heard a huge blast on the main gate of the park. It was mayhem. Everyone was running for their lives. On our way out, we saw the body of the suicide bomber in the parking area.”

Others said security at the park was lax.

“There was no security, as such, at the gates,” said Azhar Shah, 23, a student. “The guard sitting at the main gate was not checking anyone.”

Mr. Ashraf, the police official, said of the park: “It was a soft target. Innocent women and children and visitors from other cities have been targeted.”

The State Department condemned the attack. “Attacks like these only deepen our shared resolve to defeat terrorism around the world, and we will continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region to combat the threat of terrorism,” it said in a statement.

The explosion coincided with violence in other parts of the country as hundreds of protesters took to the streets to condemn the Feb. 29 executionof Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri for the 2011 killing of a governor, Salmaan Taseer. Mr. Taseer had campaigned for changes in the country’s blasphemy laws, saying they were used to persecute religious minorities, but to many in Pakistan, the idea of altering the country’s blasphemy laws is itself criminal, and Mr. Qadri has become a revered figure to his supporters.

Protesters clashed throughout the day with police officers in Islamabad, the country’s capital, marching on the main avenues of the city and trying to force their way into the city’s “red zone,” a high-security area that includes the Parliament, the Supreme Court and many diplomatic missions. They set several vehicles, including a fire truck, on fire and damaged public property. The police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, but appeared to be overwhelmed by their numbers. Army troops were called in to secure government buildings.

Pakistan has been shaken by a series of attacks this year. A suicide attack on a court in Peshawar was carried out early this month in retribution for Mr. Qadri’s execution, killing 16. The attack was also claimed by Jamaat-e-Ahrar. Also this month, a bomb left on a bus carrying government employees in Peshawar killed 14.

A state of emergency was imposed on hospitals in Lahore after Sunday’s blast. Private television networks broadcast images of rescue workers and ambulances rushing to the park and ferrying victims to hospitals. Distraught relatives milled about in hospital corridors as the wounded were treated.

“There was no prior intelligence report about the attack,” Muhammad Usman, the district coordination officer in Lahore, told reporters.

Mr. Usman also rebutted early reports that Christians had been targeted in the blast. “The park belongs to all,” he was quoted as saying.

Mr. Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab, announced a three-day period of mourning in the province.

‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ — What Did You Think?



If you ask Lex Luthor, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is no ordinary spectacle. According to him, “it’s the greatest gladiator match in the history of the world!” But Lex is a villain, and villains aren’t generally people you want to take at their word. So now that the film has officially dropped into theaters and the dust has settled, it’s time for us to ask the big question. Batman v Superman: what did you think?

On the one hand, there’s no denying this is a huge cinematic event. Two of the most iconic characters of all time, going head-to-head in battle? With help from the single most famous female superhero of all time, making her cinematic live-action debut? Warner Bros. certainly isn’t holding back with its efforts to build its DC Cinematic Universe, and that alone might be reason enough to shell out for this movie. (And Peter makes the argument that if you’re going to see it, it’s worth investing a few extra bucks for the IMAX ticket.)

On the other, there’s a difference between a big movie and a good one, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a mixed bag. As usual, MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW below the jump and in the comments.

First, the good: Gal Gadot is fantastic as Wonder Woman, and she’s got a rockin’ musical theme to match courtesy of Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL. Ben Affleck acquits himself quite nicely too, although his more sadistic take on the Dark Knight is guaranteed to garner a mixed reaction from fans. On the flip side, director Zack Snyder still seems unsure of what to do with Superman, and the usually charming Henry Cavill (seriously, watch Man From U.N.C.L.E. to see how charming he can be) suffers for it.

Maybe the biggest problem, however, is that the film is positively riddled with plot holes. It’s all easy enough to ignore when we’re caught up in Batman and Superman’s battle, but whenever there’s a moment to breathe it’s hard not to notice that the supervillain’s plans make no sense, his motivations make even less sense, and the superheroes’ actions to save the day… also don’t really make sense. Plus, it turns out the only reason the Justice League even stands a chance of ever existing is because Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne both happen to have mothers named Martha.

You’ve heard our thoughts, now weigh in with yours. What did you think of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Did it live up to all your hopes and dreams? Was its tone and aesthetic too dark and grimy, or do you love that it’s such a change of pace from the relative sunniness of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Is Jesse Eisenberg‘s manic and arrogant Lex Luthor a brilliant subversion of a classic character, or a bizarre exercise that, unlike Lex’s Doomsday experiment, never quite came to life? Oh, and speaking of Doomsday: terrifying alien threat or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles castoff?

Andre Ward Dominates Sullivan Barrera; Now Will Wait for Sergey Kovalev Fight



We’re now one step closer to Andre Ward finally fighting Sergey Kovalev.

After Ward dispatched Sullivan Barrera with a dominating unanimous decision win on Saturday night in Oakland, that’s the next big challenge for Ward. Though he entered the ring only having fought once in the past 27 months, Ward (29-0) thoroughly out-boxed the long-time and previously undefeated Cuban amateur standout. The judges scored the fight 117-109, 119-109 and 117-108 (Forbes had it 117-109 for Ward).

And Kovalev, the second-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the The Ringmagazine rankings who will likely take a stay-busy bout in the summer before fighting Ward (who’s the fourth-rated pound-for-pound fighter) next November, was in attendance to watch it all.

“You know me,” Ward told HBO’s Max Kellerman after the fight. “It’s never a problem. You look at my track record, and I’ve always fought the best. Sergey Kovalev is a great champion. He’s the man at light heavyweight. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”

Until that fight takes place — perhaps in November –Ward can take solace in this: He didn’t appear to show any ring rust despite his long layoffs, all while dominating a guy who’s a solid contender in the light heavyweight division.

After rounds 1 and 2, which were close and could have been scored for either fighter, Ward gave the loud hometown crowd a surprise in the third.

Ward, who rarely showcased great power at super middleweight before moving up to light heavyweight for the first time Saturday, wasn’t expected to make a dent on the chin of the sturdy Barrera — who simply looked bigger and more powerful than Ward throughout the night.

But in the third round with his back against the ropes, Ward caught Barrera with a counter left hook against the top of his head to drop him to the mat. That knockdown changed the tenor of the fight, as Ward went on to dominate the rest of the way.