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Woman marries ex-boyfriend’s dad

<p dir="ltr">A woman who married her ex-boyfriend’s father in which there is a 24-year age gap has spoken out about how the exciting relationship came to be. </p> <p dir="ltr">Sydney Dean, 27, from Ohio was only in year 6 when she met her childhood boyfriend’s dad, Paul.</p> <p dir="ltr">Unfortunately, the relationship came to an end but Sydney and Paul’s son remained friends until he got another girlfriend in high school. </p> <p dir="ltr">Sydney felt like a third wheel and ended up speaking to Paul who she never “expected to fall in love with”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The pair began dating when Sydney turned 16, the legal age of consent in the state of Ohio before Paul proposed in 2016. </p> <p dir="ltr">It was difficult for the loved up couple to explain to family and friends that their relationship was real.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My mum already knew who Paul was and, from the few times they have talked, they got along just fine,” Sydney told Jam Press.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But when I first told my mum that we were together, she was not happy.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The age gap really got to her and it stayed that way for about a year [until] eventually she came around.” </p> <p dir="ltr">Sydney’s parents eventually grew to love Paul, with her mother visiting “all the time”. </p> <p dir="ltr">But it was rough on Paul’s youngest son who already “knew” Sydney who took the news the hardest.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He didn’t agree with the relationship for a couple of years,” Sydney said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But now that we are married, he supports us being together.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He comes over with his girlfriend and their three children every other weekend just to hang out.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Sydney is hoping that her love story removes the stigma toward relationships with big age gaps. </p> <p dir="ltr">She said that Paul “is the best husband” and he treats her well. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: 7News/Jam Press</em></p>

Relationships

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Olympic legend delivers his own eulogy

<p>Mourners were brought to tears during the emotional funeral for Australian Olympic legend Dean Woods, who delivered his own eulogy. </p> <p>The track cyclist died in early March after a long battle with lung cancer at 55 years old. </p> <p>Knowing his fate, the sportsman and father decided to address his wife and children, along with the congregation at the Wangaratta Performing Arts and Convention Centre, in a pre-recorded message while wearing the same suit he was to be buried in. </p> <p>His wife and three kids has not previously seen the video before it was shown at the funeral, resulting in emotional scenes for the family. </p> <p>"I'm well prepared, even though I'm in the box in front of you," he said.</p> <p>"This will be the suit I'll be put in the box in. (I've) even got the torch ... in there just in case it gets dark."</p> <p>"Now for me, to say to Meagan and the kids that I'm going out for a two hour ride, and not coming back - now that's a tragedy."</p> <p>Speaking to the <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=HSWEB_WRE170_a&amp;dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.heraldsun.com.au%2Fleader%2Falbury-wodonga%2Fdean-woods-olympic-legend-brings-audience-to-tears-with-selfread-eulogy%2Fnews-story%2F4bae63017940783605fe46082b383f9e&amp;memtype=anonymous&amp;mode=premium&amp;v21=dynamic-warm-control-score&amp;V21spcbehaviour=append" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herald Sun</a>, Dean's widow Meagan said her and her kids were "devastated".</p> <p>She said, "We're going home tomorrow and I think that's when the reality will hit. Especially for myself and the girls, because we have had such a wonderful distraction."</p> <p>"I think once we get back home and into the swing of things, the silence will be deafening."</p> <p>Dean's service began with footage of Woods and his teammates clinching gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and ended with a tribute from Meagan, his wife of 28 years. </p> <p><strong>Extract of Dean Woods' eulogy</strong></p> <p>"Hello ladies and gentlemen … it's a bit of a sad occasion.</p> <p>I've had a pretty extraordinary life, it's pretty hard for anyone to document that in a simple form, so the best person to do it is me.</p> <p>First of all, today is a sad day, but for me this is just my process with the whole cancer deal.</p> <p>It's not a tragedy, and I saw that for the reason I've spent so much time riding my bike throughout the world, had a lot of near misses, but never had any serious accidents.</p> <p>Now for me, to say to Meagan and the kids that I'm going out for a two hour ride, and not coming back – now that's a tragedy, because everything was fine.</p> <p>I've been fortunate enough, and I do say fortunate enough, to be able to have the time to put a few things in place, to get a few things sorted.</p> <p>Even though, two years ago when I was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer … So the main issue was in the lungs.</p> <p>Which, when you consider someone who's spent 40 years with their lungs in their profession keeping you fit and healthy, it's just one of those things.</p> <p>But I've never once and never will say: 'Why me? Why me?'</p> <p>It's not who I am, and it's not the way to deal with it.</p> <p>It's like if I won 50 billion in the Lotto, would I be saying: 'Why me? Why me?'</p> <p>Absolutely not. So you take the goods with the bads. And that's what I've been able to do.</p> <p>I owe a massive amount of what I know to high performance sport.</p> <p>I've been fortunate enough to be able to put myself through many arduous situations.</p> <p>And you still have that commitment to keep going.</p> <p>There's never that moment you want to stop, even though it does creep in, but you know there's an end goal.</p> <p>And the end goal is to keep going and push through.</p> <p>So even from a young age I've been very fortunate to have those experiences which have served me really well in my two terms of cancer."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Dean Woods</em></p>

Caring

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Dean Stockwell, star of Quantum Leap and Blue Velvet, dies at 85

<p dir="ltr">Actor Dean Stockwell has passed away at the age of 85. According to a family spokesperson, Stockwell died of natural causes at home over the weekend, leaving behind a legacy that includes an early career as a child actor before quitting the industry at the age of 16, only to be drawn back into it in his 20s, where he would go on to star in films such as<span> </span><em>Quantum Leap, Blue Velvet, Dune,<span> </span></em>and<span> </span><em>Married to the Mob.</em></p> <p dir="ltr">His family said in a statement, "Dean spent a lifetime yo-yoing back and forth between fame and anonymity," his family said in a statement. Because of that, when he had a job, he was grateful. He never took the business for granted. He was a rebel, wildly talented and always a breath of fresh air."</p> <p dir="ltr">Stockwell, born to actor parents, grew up in North Hollywood, and started his career as a child actor during Hollywood’s Golden Age, making his Broadway debut in 1943 before being signed to a contract with MGM that saw him starring alongside Gregory Peck in<span> </span><em>The Valley of Decision<span> </span></em>and Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in<span> </span><em>Anchors Aweigh,<span> </span></em>both when he was just nine years old. In 1947, at the age of 11, he starred alongside Peck once more in Elia Kazan’s<span> </span><em>Gentlemen’s Agreement,<span> </span></em>playing Peck’s son.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 1950s saw him move back and forth between film and the emerging medium of television, before taking a break in 1951 and not acting again until 1956. The late 50s, 60s, and 70s saw Stockwell primarily appearing in countless television shows such as<span> </span><em>Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Dr Kildare, Bonanza,<span> </span></em>and<span> </span><em>Wagon Train</em>, although there were a few memorable forays into film, including a role in<span> </span><em>Psych Out<span> </span></em>alongside Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">🎶 In Dreams 🎶 The late Dean Stockwell in David Lynch’s BLUE VELVET (1986) 💙🎙 <a href="https://t.co/H3wZmmyvMC">pic.twitter.com/H3wZmmyvMC</a></p> — Criterion Collection (@Criterion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Criterion/status/1458130558584774656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The 80s saw him star in some of his most memorable roles, such as Walt Henderson in<span> </span><em>Paris, Texas</em>, and Ben in David Lynch’s 1986 film<span> </span><em>Blue Velvet,<span> </span></em>after previously working with Lynch in his 1984 adaptation of<span> </span><em>Dune.<span> </span></em>For his role as Tony “the Tiger” Russo in the 1988 film<span> </span><em>Married to the Mob,<span> </span></em>Stockwell was nominated for an Oscar.</p> <p dir="ltr">Another memorable role of Stockwell’s was that of Admiral ‘Al’ Calavicci in the sci-fi series<span> </span><em>Quantum Leap,<span> </span></em>which ran for five seasons between 1989 and 1993 and for which he was nominated for four Emmy Awards. Co-star Scott Bakula, who played Dr. Sam Beckett, said of Stockwell, “He became a dear friend and a mentor and we grew very close over the next five, very intense years… In spite of having a career that came and went several times during his seventy plus years in the business, he was always grateful and delighted to have the chance to keep working.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Jim Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images</em></p>

Caring

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He's real! Dolly Parton shares rare snap of reclusive husband

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The famed country songstress has shared a rare photo with her fans of her husband of 55 years, Carl Thomas Dean.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 75-year-old shared the snap on Instagram, in which Dean seems to be wearing a shirt that’s been digitally edited to include several pictures of her.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Find you a partner who will support you like my Carl Dean does!” Parton captioned the sweet photo.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVygjSrFInE/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVygjSrFInE/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fans quickly shared their adoration for the image, with one writing, “Carl Dean is super handsome!”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Hahaha the queen of photoshop! Y’all are adorable,” another commented, noting that is “may be the first time” they’ve seen a picture of Parton’s husband.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“What a love story,” another added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Parton and Dean first met at a Nashville laundromat the day after she arrived in the city.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They married in 1966 and renewed their vows in 2016 in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Parton’s romantic photo also serves as a promotion of the Dolly Vintage Collage Tee, which is on sale for approximately $48 on her website.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVlJ6wqFHTu/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVlJ6wqFHTu/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The country star opened up about her rarely-seen husband last year while laughing off rumours that he was fictional.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“A lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all,” Parton </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/dolly-parton-throwback-photo-husband-carl-dean/496e01f5-156c-4aad-81bd-ef562479523b" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">told</span></a> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Entertainment Tonight</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s just who he is. He’s like, a quiet, reserved person and he’s figured if he ever got out there in that, he’d never get a minute’s peace and he’s right about that.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When asked about how her marriage has lasted for so long, she said it was, “Because I stay gone”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“And there’s a lot of truth in that — the fact that we’re not in each other’s faces all the time,” she explained. “But we do have a great respect and admiration for each other. We both have a great sense of humour. So, we have a lot of fun.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: @dollyparton / Instagram</span></em></p>

Relationships

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Dolly Parton recreates Playboy cover for husband’s birthday

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dolly Parton is celebrating her husband’s birthday with a recreation of one of her most iconic images.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 75-year-old shared a clip to her social media pages showing the country singer once again donning the black Playboy Bunny suit and ears as a birthday treat for her husband, Carl Dean.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Today is July 20th, it’s my husband Carl’s birthday and you’re probably wondering why I’m dressed like this … well it’s for my husband’s birthday,” she said in the video.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CRkGwC3pd84/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CRkGwC3pd84/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Remember some time back I said I was gonna pose on Playboy magazine when I’m 75? Well, I’m 75 and they don’t have a magazine anymore … but my husband always loved the original cover of Playboy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I was trying to think of something to do to make him happy,” she added. “He still thinks I’m a hot chick after 57 years and I’m not gonna try to talk him out of that.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The star explained that she did “a little photoshoot in this little outfit” and recreated her infamous 1978 cover, before comparing her appearance then and now.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In the first one, I was kind of a little butterball in that one. Well, I’m a string cheese now,” she joked.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“But he’ll probably be thinking I’m cream cheese, I hope.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The video ends with Parton singing Happy Birthday to her husband while still in the bunny suit.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Parton first said she wanted to do a second Playboy cover in 2020 when asked about her retirement plans by </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">60 Minutes</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Well, I don’t plan to retire. I just turned 74,” she answered. “I plan to be on the cover of Playboy magazine again.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“See, I did Playboy magazine years ago. I thought it’d be such a hoot if they’ll go for it, I don’t know if they will,” she added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The songstress is still making music too, with her new single “Sent From Above” dropping on July 27.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Dolly Parton / Instagram</span></em></p>

Beauty & Style

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Social media and technology mean that dead celebrities can't rest in peace

<p>“To be dead,” wrote the 20th century French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, “is to be a prey for the living.” Even Sartre, though, would have struggled to imagine casting James Dean in a movie 64 years after the actor’s death.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/afm-james-dean-reborn-cgi-vietnam-war-action-drama-1252703">curious announcement</a> that Dean, who died in a car crash in 1955 having made just three films, will star in a movie adaptation of Gareth Crocker’s Vietnam War novel Finding Jack, has been met with <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/james-dean-finding-jack-digital-actor-backlash-controversy-172502291.html">outrage</a>.</p> <p>It would be a remarkable CGI achievement for any studio to resurrect an actor who has been dead since the Eisenhower administration.</p> <p>True, the Star Wars movie Rogue One featured the late Peter Cushing “reprising” his role as Grand Moff Tarkin. But the new role given to Dean would reportedly be far larger and more complex. Cushing, at least, had already played Tarkin while he was alive.</p> <p>In Finding Jack, “James Dean” will supposedly be starring in a film based on a novel written 80 years after he was born, set near the end of a war that started after he died. He will reportedly be reanimated via “full body” CGI using actual footage and photos; another actor will voice him.</p> <p>The reaction to this goes beyond mere scepticism, however. Nor is it simply the now-familiar post-truth anxiety about no longer being able to tell what’s real and what isn’t. The rise of “<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=12&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi_392QhdjlAhVLdCsKHQ_zC5gQFjALegQIAhAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2019%2F06%2F10%2Fopinion%2Fdeepfake-pelosi-video.html&amp;usg=AOvVaw2qK3CZZjtPtJJcix9JXZ4X">deepfakes</a>” presents a much greater threat on that front than bringing dead actors back to life.</p> <p>What’s at work here is another pervasive challenge of the online era: how we should live with the digital dead.</p> <p>People die online every day. Social media is increasingly full of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13347-011-0050-7">electric corpses</a>; at some point <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-04-29-digital-graveyards-are-dead-taking-over-facebook">the dead will outnumber the living</a> on platforms like Facebook. This already poses a range of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-015-9379-4">ethical and practical problems</a>. Some of these are the subject of a <a href="https://www.lawreform.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/lrc/lrc_current_projects/Digital%20assets/Project-update.aspx">NSW Law Reform Commission inquiry</a> into how we should deal with the digital assets of the dead and incapacitated.</p> <p><strong>Reanimation</strong></p> <p>These issues only get thornier once you add in the prospect of reanimation.</p> <p>For most of this decade, digital immortality was confined to press releases and fiction. A string of start-ups promised breathlessly to let you cheat death via AI-driven avatars, only to disappear when it became clear their taglines were better than their products. (The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/shortcuts/2013/feb/18/death-social-media-liveson-deadsocial">Twitter app LivesOn’s</a> “When your heart stops beating, you’ll keep tweeting” was undeniably clever).</p> <p>“Be Right Back,” a 2013 episode of the TV series Black Mirror, imagined a young woman who signs up for a service that brings her dead partner back to life using his social media footprint: first as a chat bot, then as a phone-based voice simulator, and finally as a lifelike automaton. It was brilliant, bleak television, but thankfully, it wasn’t real.</p> <p>Then in late 2015, 34-year-old Roman Mazurenko died in an accident in Moscow. As a tribute, his best friend, fellow tech entrepreneur Eugenia Kuyda, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/a/luka-artificial-intelligence-memorial-roman-mazurenko-bot">built the texts</a> Mazurenko had sent her into a chat bot.</p> <p>You can download Roman Mazurenko right now, wherever you get your apps, and talk to a dead man. Internet immortality might not be here yet, not quite, but it’s unsettlingly close.</p> <p><strong>Between remembrance and exploitation</strong></p> <p>Sadly, it’s not an immortality we could look forward to. When we fear death, one thing we particularly dread is the end of first-person experience.</p> <p>Think of the experience you’re having reading this article. Someone else could be reading exactly the same words at the same time. But their experience will lack whatever it is that makes this your experience. That’s what scares us: if you die, that quality, what it’s like to be you, won’t exist anymore. And there is, to mangle <a href="https://ethics.org.au/ethics-explainer-what-is-it-like-to-be-a-bat/">a famous line from Thomas Nagel</a>, nothing it is like to be a bot.</p> <p>But what about living on for other people? The Mazurenko bot is clearly a work of mourning, and a work of love. Remembering the dead, <a href="http://sorenkierkegaard.org/works-of-love.html">wrote Kierkegaard</a>, is the freest and most unselfish work of love, for the dead can neither force us to remember them nor reward us for doing so. But memory is fragile and attention is fickle.</p> <p>It seems reasonable that we might use our new toys to help the dead linger in the lifeworld, to escape oblivion a little longer. The danger, as the philosopher <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/05568641.2015.1014538">Adam Buben has put it</a>, is that memorialisation could slip into replacement.</p> <p>An interactive avatar of the dead might simply become a stopgap, something you use to fill part of the hole the dead leave in our lives. That risks turning the dead into yet another resource for the living. The line between remembrance and exploitation is surprisingly porous.</p> <p>That is what’s ultimately troubling about resurrecting James Dean. To watch a James Dean movie is to encounter, in some palpable way, the concrete person. Something of the face-to-face encounter survives the mediation of lens, celluloid and screen.</p> <p>To make a new James Dean movie is something else. It’s to use the visual remains of Dean as a workable resource instead of letting him be who he is. Worse, it suggests that James Dean can be replaced, just as algorithm-driven avatars might come to replace, rather than simply commemorate, the dead.</p> <p>We’ll know in time whether Finding Jack can live up to its likely premature hype. Even if it doesn’t, the need to think about how we protect the dead from our digital predations isn’t going away.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127211/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/patrick-stokes-10346">Patrick Stokes</a>, Associate Professor of Philosophy, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/chat-bots-james-dean-can-the-digital-dead-rest-in-peace-127211">original article</a>.</em></p>

Technology

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James Dean to star in new movie 64 years after his death

<p><span>James Dean is set to star in an upcoming Vietnam War film, 64 years after his death.</span></p> <p><span>Last week, Magic City Films announced that they will be casting the late Hollywood icon for their upcoming movie <em>Finding Jack </em>through computer-generated imagery (CGI).</span></p> <p><span>Directors Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh told <em><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/afm-james-dean-reborn-cgi-vietnam-war-action-drama-1252703">The Hollywood Reporter</a></em> they obtained the rights to use Dean’s image from the actor’s family. Dean will play a secondary lead character named Rogan.</span></p> <p><span>The announcement sparked backlash from fans and industry figures.</span></p> <p><span>Actor Chris Evans called the decision “awful”, saying, “Maybe we can get a computer to paint us a new Picasso. Or write a couple new John Lennon tunes. The complete lack of understanding here is shameful.”</span></p> <p><span>Actress Zelda Williams, whose late Robin Williams restricted exploitation of his image for 25 years following his death, expressed her concern on Twitter. “I have talked to friends about this for YEARS and no one ever believed me that the industry would stoop this low once tech got better,” she wrote.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">I have talked to friends about this for YEARS and no one ever believed me that the industry would stoop this low once tech got better. Publicity stunt or not, this is puppeteering the dead for their ‘clout’ alone and it sets such an awful precedent for the future of performance. <a href="https://t.co/elS1BrbDGv">https://t.co/elS1BrbDGv</a></p> — Zelda Williams (@zeldawilliams) <a href="https://twitter.com/zeldawilliams/status/1192141551171854338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2019</a></blockquote> <p><span>“Publicity stunt or not, this is puppeteering the dead for their ‘clout’ alone and it sets such an awful precedent for the future of performance.”</span></p> <p><span>Ernst said Dean’s estate has been “supportive” of the film. “I think they would have wanted their family member’s legacy to live on,” Ernst told <em><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/director-new-james-dean-movie-speaks-backlash-stars-casting-1253232">The Hollywood Reporter</a></em>. “That’s what we’ve done here as well. We’ve brought a whole new generation of filmgoers to be aware of James Dean.”</span></p> <p><span>Ernst said he was “saddened” and “confused” by the negative reaction to the news. “We never intended for this to be a marketing gimmick.”</span></p> <p><span>Visual effects companies Imagine Engine and MOI Worldwide will be working on a full-body CGI of Dean based on archival footage and photographs, while another actor will voice Dean’s character.</span></p> <p><span>The movie is expected to be released in November 2020.</span></p>

Movies

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Inside Dolly Parton’s marriage with Carl Dean: "He has been the love of my life"

<p>Dolly Parton may be one of the world’s most famous singers, but her longstanding marriage with husband Carl Dean has remained private throughout the years.</p> <p>The couple has been married for more than 50 years, but they are rarely photographed, interviewed or seen in public together. However, Parton quipped that this might be the secret to their lasting relationship.</p> <p>Parton first met Dean in 1964 when she was 18. It was Parton’s first day in Nashville, having just moved there to pursue a career in country music.</p> <p>"My first thought was 'I'm gonna marry that girl'," Dean said about their first meeting on the couple's <a rel="noopener" href="http://wsgcradio.com/50-years-in-the-making-highest-bidder-gets-photos-and-interview-with-dolly-partons-husband/" target="_blank">50th wedding anniversary</a>. "My second thought was, ‘Lord she’s good lookin’’. And that was the day my life began."</p> <p>After two years of courtship, the two decided to tie the knot even though Parton’s record label Monument wanted her to remain unwed.</p> <p>"We'd already sent out invitations and so I thought, 'I ain't waiting!'" Parton told <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://people.com/country/dolly-parton-marriage-secrets-carl-thomas-dean/" target="_blank">People</a></em>. "We went that same weekend to Ringgold, Georgia in a little church. I had a little white dress and little flowers, and my mom went with me."</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Br3KTiGgfwt/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Br3KTiGgfwt/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by O, The Oprah Magazine (@oprahmagazine)</a> on Dec 26, 2018 at 11:14am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Parton was rising to stardom quickly, but Dean decided early on to stay out of the limelight. Parton recalled a red carpet event in 1966, which was the first and last industry engagement that she and her husband attended together.</p> <p>"So, Carl and I got dressed up, he was in a tux, and we drove to the dinner," she recounted. "We got out and walked up the red carpet and went inside and sat through dinner and the awards. After the dinner, Carl turned to me and said, 'Dolly, I want you to have everything you want, and I’m happy for you, but don't you ever ask me to go to another one of them dang things again!'"</p> <p>Parton made her big break a year later after she joined the hit TV series The Porter Wagoner Show. Her duet song with Porter Wagoner, <em>The Last Thing On My Mind</em> became Parton’s first top 10 country hit and started a six-year streak of top 10 singles for the two singers.</p> <p>Parton went on to top music charts and win awards with her solo hits such as <em>Jolene</em>, <em>I Will Always Love You</em> and <em>The Bargain Store</em>. However, while Parton became a regular at highly-publicised events like the Grammy Awards and the Golden Globes, Dean, who ran an asphalt-paving company in Nashville, continued to stay out of the public eye.</p> <p>According to Parton, Dean also does not watch her performances or listen to her music that much.</p> <p>"For years and years, he would never come to the shows because he felt he'd get too nervous if I messed up, so he just never wanted to watch,” she said in an interview with Good Morning Britain.</p> <p>"He's not necessarily one of the biggest fans of my music … He doesn't dislike it, but he doesn't go out of his way to play my records, put it that way."</p> <p>Parton said their independence are some of the secrets to their long-lasting union.</p> <p>"You can't be in each other's face all the time," the 73-year-old told <em><a rel="noopener" href="http://tasteofcountry.com/dolly-parton-new-album-tour-marriage-movie-interview/" target="_blank">Taste of Country</a></em> in 2011. "Actually, I think that has been the best formula for us, the fact that we appreciate each other when we are together. We don't have to be together all the time."</p> <p>In a 2016 interview with <a rel="noopener" href="https://people.com/country/dolly-parton-photos-dollywood-people-magazine-cover/" target="_blank"><em>People</em></a>, Parton also said Dean is "always surprising" her. "I never know what he’s gonna say or do," she admitted. "Not everyone is lucky enough to be with someone for 50 years, but I have been. He has been the love of my life and the life of my love."</p>

Family & Pets

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Bondi Rescue star opens up about the moment that sent him to a “dark place”

<p><em>Bondi Rescue</em> star Dean “Deano” Gladstone has saved countless lives during his 18-year career as a lifeguard on Australia’s most famous beach, but he too knows exactly what it’s like to stare into the face of death.</p> <p>In 2006, Deano was the target of a coward punch that left him with lasting trauma. </p> <p>“I was sitting at the football watching the game and someone ran up and king hit me,” he told <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/bondi-rescues-dean-gladstone-reveals-he-spiralled-into-a-dark-place-after-he-was-king-hit/news-story/b5ced9ba41a7c273dfcefa05c88305b2" target="_blank"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Confidential</span></em></strong></a>. “I had some spinal damage and the whiplash which caused problems. I had my four front teeth knocked out, it was awful.”</p> <p>More than the excruciating physical pain, Deano’s immune system was shattered and he also developed food allergies as a result of the assault.</p> <p>“That sent me into a bit of a dark place,” he confessed. “I had to claw my way back to health with lots of home cooking, goodness and vegies and meditation and yoga and being kind to myself."</p> <p>In addition to his lifeguard duties, Deano has since become a qualified yoga teacher, holistic health coach and has developed mindfulness and wellbeing programs with the help of a clinical psychologist.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media"> <div style="padding: 8px;"> <div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"> <div style="background: url(data:image/png; base64,ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaacwaaaascamaaaapwqozaaaabgdbtueaalgpc/xhbqaaaafzukdcak7ohokaaaamuexurczmzpf399fx1+bm5mzy9amaaadisurbvdjlvzxbesmgces5/p8/t9furvcrmu73jwlzosgsiizurcjo/ad+eqjjb4hv8bft+idpqocx1wjosbfhh2xssxeiyn3uli/6mnree07uiwjev8ueowds88ly97kqytlijkktuybbruayvh5wohixmpi5we58ek028czwyuqdlkpg1bkb4nnm+veanfhqn1k4+gpt6ugqcvu2h2ovuif/gwufyy8owepdyzsa3avcqpvovvzzz2vtnn2wu8qzvjddeto90gsy9mvlqtgysy231mxry6i2ggqjrty0l8fxcxfcbbhwrsyyaaaaaelftksuqmcc); display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLZVoNihb1m/" target="_blank">A post shared by Dean Gladstone (@deanogladstone)</a> on Oct 10, 2016 at 1:31pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“I have to accept that life took me on this journey and led me on a different path that I wouldn’t have gone on and the people I’ve met since have been incredible.”</p> <p>As for his high-stress, fast-paced job? He wouldn’t swap it for anything. </p> <p>“The guys brought someone back to life on Tuesday,” he said. “If you could bottle that feeling and sell it, it would just be gold.”</p> <p><em>Image: Dean Gladstone/Instagram.</em></p>

TV

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What MacGyver looks like today

<p>He was the 80s heartthrob that always managed to get out of sticky situations, but what does secret agent Angus MacGyver look like today?</p> <p>Well, MacGyver star Richard Dean Anderson is no longer sporting the blond locks that made all the ladies swoon, but he is still looking good at 66 years of age.</p> <p><img width="460" height="694" src="http://www.newidea.com.au/media/4447/rich2.jpg" alt="..." style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>While there is a MacGyver TV reboot in the works, Anderson says he won’t be taking part.</p> <p>He previously said, “I'm not considering being a part of a project that has overlooked the insanely LOYAL FANS of the original character and has proceeded without considering how and why they all became and STAYED loyal fans...”</p> <p>Were you a fan of MacGyver? Share your favourite moments with us in the comments below.  </p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/entertainment/tv/2016/06/best-tv-shows-from-the-60s/"><em>10 best TV shows from the 60s</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/entertainment/tv/2016/06/shocking-facts-about-tv-shows/"><em>10 shocking facts you didn’t know about your favourite TV shows</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/entertainment/tv/2016/03/the-brady-bunch-where-are-they-now/"><em>Where they are now: The Brady Bunch</em></a></strong></span></p>

News

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Style tips from James Dean

<p>The American actor and cultural icon of teenage disillusionment was taken from us much too young. However, his legend has lived on through not only his work as an actor but his quintessential style that captured the hearts of teenage girls across the globe.</p> <p>There are many ways to emulate James Dean’s ‘rebel without a cause’ look. These cheeky tips provide some suggestions to inspire your own take on the heart-throbs signature trends, whether for a fancy dress party or just for a little bit of fun.</p> <p><strong>1. Tailored clothing</strong></p> <p>Remember that James Dean's clothing comes from an era where clothes fitted the body closely, following the human form and hugging it. Nothing baggy or loose should be used when trying to achieve this look.</p> <p><strong>2. The jeans</strong></p> <p>Jeans are the most important part of the look. They should be straight legged in a classic cut. Most importantly, they should be in excellent condition, with no rips, tears or scruffy hems. If you want a truly authentic look, add cuffs to the leg ends of the jeans or simply turn them up.</p> <p><strong>3. The white T-shirt</strong></p> <p>It never hurts to have a number of these in the wardrobe, freshly washed, ready to wear. The white tee is very versatile too – it looks good under jackets (especially the leather kind) and by itself.</p> <p><strong>4. The shoes</strong></p> <p>Choose shoes and boots that reflect James Dean's style. The choices here are fairly easy:</p> <p>Some classic black boots, which are plain and unadorned (but ideally with a small heel) or simple tennis style shoes. Pair with very basic, plain socks.</p> <p><strong>5. The black leather jacket</strong></p> <p>This is probably one of the most memorable pieces of clothing worn by Dean. Like the white t-shirt and denim jeans, it's a simple piece that can be worn with a number of items easily. When wearing the jacket, have the collar flipped "up" (pop it), if you have to take it off, hang it over your shoulder.</p> <p><strong>6. Understand his statement</strong></p> <p>James Dean’s clothing was simple and practical as it was a sign of the time he lived in. No flashy pieces of jewellery or tattoos here. Even in his simplicity, he made a statement with just his leather jacket and denim. His Lee 101 Rider Jeans epitomized the birth of teen culture and he made denim synonymous with rebellion.</p> <p>Sport the attitude and wear your personality on your sleeve. Flirt gently, be an all-round pleasant guy, be helpful to women, shrug off the rudeness of others and stand up for yourself. Dean didn’t like violence; he was tough but not rough. Use your smarts and take a leaf out of the rebel’s book. You’ll see he wasn’t much of a rebel after all.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/beauty-style/2015/11/ways-to-style-short-hair/">12 age defying ways to style short hair</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/beauty-style/2015/10/age-defying-hair-tips/">6 tips for healthy hair that defy ageing</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/beauty-style/2016/02/perfumes-that-defined-a-decade/">The most popular perfumes that defined a decade</a></strong></em></span></p>

Beauty & Style