Search

"Thoughtful and sensitive": The Crown's plan to recreate Diana's death

The Crown have announced that they will be covering the death of Princess Diana in the upcoming season of the show, saying they will be handling the recreation "carefully". The Netflix drama based on the story of the royal family will be returning later this year for season six, which is expected to be the final season of the show. The final season of The Crown is set to take place between the years of 1997 to the early 2000s, including a delicate recreation of the death of the late Princess of Wales. Producer of the show Suzanne Mackie spoke of the upcoming season at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, saying it took a long and careful conversation to reach the decision to cover Diana's death on the show. She said, "The show might be big and noisy, but we're not. We're thoughtful people and we're sensitive people." "And so there was a very, very careful, long, long, long conversation about how we do it – and I hope, you know, the audience will judge it in the end, but I think it's been delicately, thoughtfully recreated." Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki will be returning as Diana after her portrayal of the late Princess in season five. Mackie said Debicki was an "extraordinary actress" who treated the subject carefully. "She was so thoughtful, considerate and loved Diana," Mackie said. "So there was a huge amount of respect from us all. I hope that's evident when you see it." Season six of the show is also set to include the early days of Prince William and Kate Middleton's love story, beginning when they met while at St Andrew's University in Scotland in 2001. Image credits: Getty Images

Am I ever gonna see your face again? Nuanced and thoughtful, Kickin’ Down the Door puts The Angels back in the spotlight

When I was a kid, my dad Max took me to basketball games at Melbourne’s Entertainment Centre. I’d wait in my plastic bucket chair as the cheerleaders shook their pom poms and the teams did lay ups. The music was loud, and around the time everyone had found their seats, one song would often come on. It opened with a wailing, single note guitar, followed by a chunky, palm muted riff, driving along until bursting into the chorus when the vocals would demand “Am I ever gonna see your face again?” And as I licked my lemonade icy pole I’d delight as the whole stadium would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/australia-culture-blog/2014/apr/15/australian-anthems-the-angels-am-i-ever-gonna-see-your-face-again">chant back</a> “No way, get fucked, fuck off.” I had no idea the band was called The Angels. I didn’t know they were supposed to be the next AC/DC but didn’t quite “make it”. The intense relationships at their core were lost on me. I was just delighted by how wild it felt, this song the audience owned, breaking rules, answering back. A new documentary, Kickin’ Down the Door chronicles Australian band The Angels across four decades, from suburban Adelaide to the gloss of <a href="https://themusic.com.au/news/iconic-alberts-music-studios-to-be-torn-down-to-make-way-for-luxury-apartments/wSnS1dTX1tk/08-10-15">Albert Studios</a>and beyond. The classic Oz rock vibe is omnipresent: dudes, riffs, volume. But this story’s star quality is how hard it works to showcase the band from both front of house and backstage, offering something far more nuanced than the well-thumbed tale of these national music icons. <h2>Finding intensity</h2> The documentary centres on the songwriting team of the Brewster brothers, vocalist Bernard “Doc” Neeson, and a revolving cast of drummers, bass players and producers. The themes are what you might like in a documentary about Australian rock ‘n’ roll: journeys to adulthood, mateship, resistance, lashings of hope, dollops of luck. Interviews from the band and their nearest and dearest sidle up against archival footage with cute animations bridging scenes. There’s the ubiquitous drop-in from a couple of international names to provide cred – thankfully a Bono-free endeavour. There’s a slither of pre-hat Molly Meldrum. The eye candy of 70s and 80s Aussie life abounds. The songs are central to Kickin’ Down the Door, but rock ‘n’ roll has always been about theatre, and front man Doc Neeson’s lead in creating an unsettling intensity at live shows lifted The Angels beyond the meat and potatoes of standard Oz rock. In one scene, the lighting guy talks about how Doc used silence and darkness as a tool of intensity – the antithesis of rock show bombast. <h2>A complex portrait</h2> Like The Angels did with rock ‘n’ roll, Kickin’ Down the Door offers a key change in the way it positions the people behind the scenes. Director Madeleine Parry has brought together a complex web of relationships pivoting on creative jubilation, obligation, devotion and estrangement. At an early gig, the Brewsters’ mother is recalled as dancing on a table in a “sea of blokes”. These were her boys, who could do no wrong. Mothers, girlfriends, wives and children are elevated close to the story’s centre, anchored within the nostalgic rhythm of white suburban Australian life to contrast with the band’s sprint – then marathon – to rock ‘n’ roll stardom. Beyond the band bubble, everyone’s sacrifice is apparent. “We all supplied the stability while they chased the dream,” says Neeson’s then partner. In bringing women to the front, Parry frames the main players as multi-dimensional, emotional and expressive. The intensity of volume, riffage and flamboyance sits in dialogue with each band members’ reflections to present the way that “performance” seamlessly slides across gender and genre. This deep thoughtfulness shines through the dizzying foray of complex legal and financial arrangements bands can be thrown into, setting them up with lifelong debt. This is the persistent myth of “luck” in rock ‘n’ roll. This myth grinds against the power imbalance inherent in an incredibly competitive, brutal and sometimes hedonistic global business culture. For decades, rock ‘n’ roll has relied on the exploitation of artists who sacrifice family, health, economic security and friendships to have sustainable careers. This documentary skilfully weaves the devastation that comes when these pressures evaporate years of work for bands and their teams. It isn’t so much a story about the big bad music industry swallowing up another Australian wanna be. Rather, it is a well-crafted assemblage of the pervasive way rock ‘n’ roll’s mystique works behind the scenes, prioritising profits over health and wellbeing, and the sustainability of artists and their families. <h2>The sonic legacy</h2> Undoubtedly the biggest names now in Australian guitar driven music – Amyl and the Sniffers, Courtney Barnett, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Tame Impala – are part of the sonic legacy of bands like The Angels. But they also show a marked shift in how they do business when courting international markets, maintaining elements of independence and control that The Angels had no blueprint for. This current crop of bands also show we are on the road to far better gender representation of what contemporary rock music looks and sounds like. And in other genres, artists like Baker Boy, Genesis Owusu, Barkaa and Jaguar Jonze continue to contest and take ownership of “the sound” of Australian music. Incidentally, I never went on to play basketball. I picked up an electric guitar instead. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/am-i-ever-gonna-see-your-face-again-nuanced-and-thoughtful-kickin-down-the-door-puts-the-angels-back-in-the-spotlight-194057" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

11 handy colander uses you’ve never thought of before

Use colanders to prevent grease splatters Sick of cleaning grease splatters off the stovetop after cooking? Prevent them by inverting a large metal colander over the frying pan. The holes will let heat escape but the colander will trap the splatters. Exercise caution, as the metal colander will be hot – use an oven mitt or tea towel to remove it. Use colanders to heat pasta Does your pasta get cold too fast after it’s been served up? To keep it warmer longer, heat the serving bowl first. Place a colander in the bowl, pour the pasta and water into the colander and let the hot water stand in the bowl for a few seconds to heat it. Pour out the water, add the pasta and sauce, and you’re ready to serve. Organise bathtub toys with colanders Don’t let the bathtub look like another messy toy box. After each bath, collect your child’s small bath toys in a large colander and store it on the edge of the tub. The water will drain from the toys, and they’ll be neatly stowed away for next time. Use colanders as sand toys Forget spending money on expensive sand toys for your budding archaeologist. A simple, inexpensive plastic colander is perfect for digging at the beach or in the sandpit. Use colanders to keep berries and grapes fresh Do your berries and grapes get mouldy before you’ve had the chance to enjoy them? To keep them fresh for longer, store them in a colander – not a closed plastic container – in the refrigerator. The cold air will circulate through the holes in the colander, keeping them fresh for days. Steam rice with a colander For perfect fluffy rice every time, use a colander. Rinse the rice in a metal colander until the water runs clear, then boil the rice in a pot of salted water for five minutes. Next, put the rice back in the colander to drain. Refill the pot with an inch of water and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and then place the colander full of rice on top of the simmering pot. Cover the colander with foil and let steam for 10 minutes. Sift flour with a colander Sifting helps break up clumps and aerate the flour, resulting in a smoother dough. A flour sifter or a fine mesh strainer work best, but if you’re in a pinch, you can use a colander. Hold the handle with one hand, then gently tap the colander full of flour with the other. Use a colander to rice potatoes A potato ricer makes the creamiest mashed potatoes; but if you don’t have a ricer, use a colander. It’s a little more labour-intensive, but will get the job done. Press cooked potatoes through the holes of the colander using a spatula. Wash produce in a colander This one is a no-brainer, but in case you haven’t tried it – our favourite way to wash produce is in a colander. Place your fruits or vegetables in the colander and hold it under running water; gently shake the colander so each piece gets fully rinsed. Strip herbs with a colander Removing the leaves of fresh parsley, thyme or coriander can be a tedious task. To make the job easier, thread the stems of the herbs through the colander’s holes and pull. Done! The leaves will stay inside the colander, and the stem will neatly tear away. Keep flies away Going on a picnic or eating on the patio? Bring a colander or two. Invert a colander and place it over each dish to keep flies and other bugs away. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/food-home-garden/11-handy-colander-uses-youve-never-thought-of-before?pages=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.

Home & Garden

Beauty brand praised for “thoughtful” opt-out email

Beauty brand Mecca has received a divisive response after sending out a marketing email giving subscribers the chance to opt out of Father’s Day promotions. The email, which was sent to all members of the Australian site last week, gave those who didn't celebrate Father's Day due to poor relationships or death a chance to opt out of further emails. “An option to opt out,” the email subject read. “Sometimes it's nice to choose which emails you see from us. In the lead up to Father's Day, we understand if you don't want to receive emails on the subject - so we've made it easy to opt out.” Thousands of Mecca customers flocked to Facebook to praise the brand's initiative, as many revealed that they had difficult relationships with their fathers. “I'm so glad for this email because I was burnt pretty hard by my dad and I don't need any reminders,” one woman said. “Even if it's not a go-to place for Father's Day gifts it's still great to see the initiative! I just hope they do the same for Mother's Day because I also don't have her around and it hurts to see,” she added. While the brand received a lot of praise for the email, others slammed it as a “shameful marketing stunt” and condemned people for being “overly sensitive”. “I think a lot more thought could have gone into it,” wrote one disgruntled customer. “I understand the sentiment but the specific reference to Father's Day was a bit weird.” “I don't remember getting one of these for Mother's Day. Why not a general email with a list of holidays allowing customers to choose which ones they want to opt out of?” she asked. While some people opposed the emails, the reception was largely positive, with customers calling on other brands to do the same. Image credits: Supplied

Beauty & Style

Why Steve Carell thought his wife hated him when they first met

Hollywood actor Steve Carell thought his now wife Nancy hated him when they first met. The comedians met in the early 90s at The Second City, a comedy club in Chicago where Steve was a teacher. Steve was “immediately attracted” to Nancy and that she ticked all the boxes but didn’t know how to go about asking her out. “She kind of checked all the boxes in my head, but I thought she hated me because she was very quiet around me,” he previously told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/28/steve-carell-despicable-me-family-values" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a>. “I thought she for sure knew that I was full of it, and I later found out that she was just as nervous as I was and trying to act cool.” The pair would spend a lot of time together, during improv and at the bar Nancy was a bartender at which was just across the road from the comedy club. There was constant flirting mixed with nervousness and timid feelings as each of them were unsure of what to do. Eventually, Steve bit the bullet and asked Nancy out almost indirectly to which she indirectly said yes. "The conversation would go something like, 'Hey, you know, if I were ever to ask a woman out, it would be someone like you. Exactly like you,'" he said on Ellen. "And she'd say, 'If a guy like you were ever to ask a woman like me out, I would definitely do that.'" "Other people at the bar must have been like, 'Just do it! Put us all out of our misery.' And finally, we did. It was great." The loved up couple eventually wed in 1995 and Steve felt a sense of calm as she walked down the aisle. “I'll never forget standing at the altar and I saw her coming down the aisle – immediately a sense of calm came over me,” he said. “There was an ethereal sense of how right it all was and more than anything it was very empowering knowing that person was going to be my partner and have my back. It just made me feel strong, and I'll never forget it.” They eventually had two children, Elisabeth, now 21, and John, 18. The pair also appeared together in several projects including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Angie Tribeca and The Office, in which Nancy played the love interest to Steve's character Michael Scott. Image: Getty

Relationships

How nostalgic, happy thoughts make you healthier

<h2>Longing for the past can improve your health in a number of surprising ways</h2> “Nostalgia has been shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety,” John Tierney wrote in a recent New York Times article. “It makes people more generous to strangers and tolerant of outsiders. Couples feel closer and look happier when they’re sharing nostalgic memories.” It may even make you literally warmer: feelings of nostalgia are more common on cold days, and people in cool rooms are more likely to reminisce than those in warmer ones, research shows. Why? It might be evolutionary: “If you can recruit a memory to maintain physiological comfort, it could contribute to survival by making you look for food and shelter that much longer,” researcher, Dr Tim Wildschut, told the Times. Here’s how to leverage your happy thoughts and warm memories to make yourself healthier. <h2>Carve out time for reminiscing</h2> Some 79 per cent of people naturally experience nostalgia at least once a week, research indicates, but you don’t have to wait for a chance memory to pop into your mind. Loyola University researchers discovered that thinking of good memories for just 20 minutes a day can make people more cheerful than they felt the week before, reported Psychology Today. <h2>Don’t write down your memories</h2> To reap the full benefits of nostalgia, it seems better to replay happy thoughts in your mind rather than in a journal. When researchers at the University of California at Riverside asked people to either think about or write down a blissful life experience, those who simply thought about it experienced a greater boost in wellbeing, according to Psychology Today. “There’s a magic and mystery in positive events,” study author and psychologist, Dr Sonja Lyubomirsky, told the magazine. Analysing the details – by writing them down – may remove some of that wonder. <h2>Focus on sound and smell to get there faster</h2> Listening to music is a quick, easy way to induce nostalgia; researchers often use it in their studies, according to the Times. Think about the songs on the radio when you were growing up, for example. Scents, too, are powerful tools to unlock memories. Smells get to our brain faster than sights or sounds – particularly, to our emotional centres – according to neurologist, Dr Alan Hirsch. <h2>Try not to compare the past to the present</h2> Of course, not all old memories are positive ones; and looking back to happier times may make you feel anxious about where you are today. Recalling your academic successes in high school and university, for example, may make you feel like a has-been in your current job. It’s challenging, but experts recommend trying to focus on the memories alone, without comparing them to other events. <h2>Think back with others</h2> Reminiscing with friends and family strengthens close relationships, says Psychology Today. Look at old photos and videos during holiday get-togethers; reconnect with former school friends on social networks and revisit your shared memories. <h2>Make experiences memorable</h2> Nostalgia researcher, Dr Constantine Sedikides, calls this strategy “anticipatory nostalgia” – living your life cultivating experiences you’ll want to savour down the road. This ties into research that spending money on experiences, rather than things, tends to make people happier. So splurging on the hot-air balloon ride will go farther than the take-home souvenir. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/culture/how-nostalgic-happy-thoughts-make-you-healthier" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader’s Digest</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Caring

“So filled with pride”: Lisa Marie Presley shares thoughts on new Elvis movie

Lisa Marie Presley has praised the new film about her late father Elvis Presley, and reflected on how her children’s reactions moved her to tears. The 54-year-old shared her thoughts in a lengthy Instagram post where she opened up about the grief she feels for her late son, Benjamin Keough, who she thinks “would have absolutely loved” the movie too. “Navigating through this hideous grief that absolutely destroyed and shattered my heart and soul into almost nothing has swallowed me whole,” Presley wrote. “It breaks my heart that my son isn’t here to see it. He would have absolutely loved it as well.” Benjamin passed away in 2020 aged 27, leaving behind his sister, Riley Keough, and half-siblings, Harper and Finley Lockwood. <blockquote class="instagram-media" 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);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/By8tI88F-Eo/?utm_source=ig_embed&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> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </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/By8tI88F-Eo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Lisa Marie Presley (@lisampresley)</a> </div> </blockquote> Amidst the grief, Presley highly praised the “absolutely exquisite” film and its director, Baz Luhrmann, for the “pure love, care and respect for my father throughout”. “You can feel and witness Baz’s pure love, care and respect for my father throughout this beautiful film, and it is finally something that myself and my children and their children can be proud of forever,” Presley wrote. “What moved me to tears as well was watching Riley and Harper, and Finley afterwards, all 3 visibly overwhelmed in the best possible way, and so filled with pride about their grandfather and his legacy in a way that I have not ever experienced.” <blockquote class="instagram-media" 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);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdjV23APIrq/?utm_source=ig_embed&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> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </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/CdjV23APIrq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Lisa Marie Presley (@lisampresley)</a> </div> </blockquote> The King of Rock and Roll’s daughter also had plenty to say about Austin Butler, who plays her father in the movie, and joked that she would “eat her own foot” if he didn’t win an Oscar for it. “Austin Butler channelled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully,” she wrote. “In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and FINALLY done accurately and respectfully (sic). “If he doesn’t get an Oscar for this, I will eat my own foot, haha,” she joked. Presley thanked everyone involved in the film who “poured their hearts and souls into it” and Luhrmann for creating the “beautiful” project. “Baz, your utter genius combined with your love and respect for my father and this project is just so beautiful and so inspiring,” she concluded. “I know I’m being repetitive, but I don’t care. Thank you for setting the record straight in such a deeply profound and artistic way. “Love you ~LMP.” Image: Getty Images

Movies

British man bitten 26 times by otters thought he was going to die

A British man who was bitten 26 times by otters “thought he was going to die” during the attack. Graham George Spencer was walking through the Singapore Botanic Gardens early on November 30 when a group (or ‘gang’) of roughly 20 otters “went crazy” and began biting his ankles, legs, and buttocks. Spencer’s friend, who he was walking with, scared the animals away by screaming at them, and the pair then went to the visitors centre for help. Spencer believes the otters were scared by a passing jogger who may not have seen them as it was still dark. Spencer said, "Because it was very dark, he never saw them. And he just ran straight into them. And he was treading on them.” As the jogger continued and Spencer passed the group of otters, which included mothers with their pups, they “went crazy” and attacked him. Spencer was given bandages by guards and later went to the hospital, where he required stitches and was given tetanus shots and oral antibiotics. He was discharged later that day. A spokesperson for the Botanic Gardens told The Straits Times that “volunteers and staff monitor the movements of the otters” and “educate the public on the importance of observing them from a distance and not interacting with them.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> A handful of Otters started appearing in Singapore's waters couple years back. Today there are Otter gang wars.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tiredearth?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tiredearth</a> <a href="https://t.co/vArGjsK2uV">pic.twitter.com/vArGjsK2uV</a> — Rebecca Herbert (@RebeccaH2030) <a href="https://twitter.com/RebeccaH2030/status/1442766006133436427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2021</a></blockquote> The group director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Dr Tan Puay Yok, said that the National Parks Board that manages the gardens advises visitors to observe otters from a safe distance, and avoid feeding or approaching them, especially “when there are pups as the adults can be protective over their young”. Otters are native to Singapore but the population virtually disappeared as a result of major development in the 1960s and 1970s destroying their native habitats and polluting the waterways. They returned in the 1990s after the government cleaned up the rivers. Image: Cameron Rutt

Travel Trouble

Ivermectin fan Joe Rogan thought an Australian comedy sketch was ‘propaganda’

Former reality TV host and podcaster Joe Rogan shared a video on his Instagram on Monday night, writing, “Not only has Australia had the worst reaction to the pandemic with dystopian, police-state measures that are truly inconceivable to the rest of the civilized world, but they also have the absolute dumbest propaganda.” <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/CVvyYXzgrD2/?utm_source=ig_embed&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/tv/CVvyYXzgrD2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Joe Rogan (@joerogan)</a> </div> </blockquote> The biggest problem with his caption was that the video was from the satirical ABC show Gruen, and Rogan had just made the embarrassing mistake of being unable to distinguish between satire and reality. An easy mistake to make for someone who can’t differentiate between human medicine and horse medicine; after contracting COVID-19, Rogan <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/01/1033485152/joe-rogan-covid-ivermectin" target="_blank">made sure his fans knew</a> that he had included Ivermectin as part of his treatment, despite the FDA confirming it to be ineffective against COVID-19. This isn't Rogan's first time expressing concern about the plight of innocent Australians who are living in a police state and being force fed dumb propaganda; he <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ladbible.com/news/latest-joe-rogans-interview-with-yeonmi-park-is-being-called-his-best-ever-20210805" target="_blank">told North Korean defector Yeonmi Park that</a>, “There’s some crazy s*** going on right now where the army is trying to keep people inside in Australia." He continued, "They have full-on government lockdowns where the government is flying helicopters over the streets (and telling people) ‘go back indoors, you’re not allowed to be outside’, which is crazy.” The Gruen video features a man falling to the floor while having an allergic reaction, and a woman crouched over him, reassuring him while getting ready to use an EpiPen on him. He stops her and asks, “Wait, what brand EpiPen is that?”, “What’s in it?”, “Medicine? How long was it researched for?”, “What are the stats from Europe?”, and, most importantly, and why Rogan posted the video, the man wheezes as his throat is closing up, “What does Joe Rogan say?” before grabbing her by the shoulders, croaking out “Call Joe”, and dying. To an even slightly informed viewer, it’s an obvious send-up of anti-vaxxers who get their information from increasingly dubious sources like relatives on Facebook, Joe Rogan and other podcasters with no medical or scientific qualifications or expertise, or dodgy websites based in Eastern Europe. To Joe Rogan, it was another example of how the tyrannical Australian government was fighting back against COVID-19, apparently. A lot of his supporters seemed to also believe the sketch was genuine, with one commenting, “Australia is fine as long as you don’t watch the free TV”, and another, Australian jiujitsu black belt holder Kit Dale, commenting, “Australia has become weak”. Others pointed out that Rogan, who self-identifies as a comedian, should be able to take jokes about him since he’s more than happy to make jokes at the expense of others. Rogan eventually edited the caption to add, “apparently this is not a real ad. It’s from a satirical show.” Yeah Joe, we know. Thirty seconds of doing your own research would have told you that from the beginning. The video's creators continue to have a good sense of humour, with Paper Moose CEO Nick Hunter <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/joe-rogan-calls-gruen-transfer-covid-19-vaccine-satire-advertisement-australian-propaganda/ac0c5bb5-45fa-404f-9715-e56fdac74088" target="_blank">telling 9News.com.au</a>, "Gruen is a satirical show. The point of the video was to talk about some of the issues anti-vaxxers have and put it in a humorous context to show the ridiculousness of what is out there." "Its literally a demonstration of the problem we are trying to solve in the world today, so it was kind of hilarious that Joe Rogan reacted the way he did." Image: Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images

Legal

13 tiny splurges that cost more than you thought

Your weekly mani/pedi This little luxury really adds up. In Australia, a nail salon charges an average of $25 for a manicure and $40-$45 for a pedicure. That’s an opportunity cost over 10 years of up to $23,000! All the more reason to opt for a DIY mani/pedi, and save the professional jobs for special occasions. Gifts Of course, for particularly big occasions it’s nice to splurge on a thoughtful gift for your loved ones, but if you’re at all crafty or creative, making a gift rather than buying one can be a really beautiful and memorable thing to do. Painting a portrait of their pet, knitting a scarf, cross-stitching their favourite quote, or creating a photo album of the good times you’ve shared is much more likely to be something they’ll treasure forever. Buying cleaning products You really don’t need to spend money on expensive cleaning products. Most of the time, you can use common household items to clean almost everything in your house, and you’ll be keeping your home, yourself and the environment free of harsh chemicals and dangerous ingredients. For example, mixing vinegar and baking soda can clean nearly everything in your bathroom and kitchen, lemon juice can help with stains and grease, and vinegar does wonders for wood floors. Buying everything new Sure, it’s nice to have shiny new things, but if you want to help your wallet and the environment at the same time, you couldn’t do much better than buying used. Hunting around in charity shops can earn you near-new clothing. Hunt down garage sales, check out Facebook marketplace or Gumtree where you can find free or low-cost items that people need to get rid of (look out for people moving house, as they’re often willing to let things go for free or very cheap). You never know what bargains you can score, so get out there and thrift! TV services TV streaming services can be costly. “Often they’re over $100 a month, which depending on your package, is over $1,200 a year,” says David Reiling, CEO of Sunrise Banks. “A better option is Netflix for about $10 a month or about $120 a year.” Or you can skip both and opt for a streaming device. “If you stick with strong Wi-Fi and use a streaming device such as AppleTV or Roku, you can easily cut your broadband bill in half each month,” says Harris, Jr. Ordering takeaway That cheesy pizza is affecting a lot more than your waistline. “Ordering Dominos Pizza once a week can be about $30, or $1,560 per year,” says Reiling. “Conversely, buying groceries for a meal in place of this to cook can be under $10 per meal for a family of four, or $520 per year.” He underscores that the same thing applies to breakfast. “This can add up to $10 per day depending on your choices – that’s $3,650 per year! As an alternative, make a pot of coffee at home, and buy some eggs and bread for a quick and easy breakfast, which will cost you $365 per year or less.” Of course, many people have been ordering more takeaway during the pandemic, both as a way to support their local restaurants and bars and as a much-needed break from preparing and eating every meal at home. As people lucky enough to be working from home have cut their other costs drastically, you don’t have to feel bad about getting takeout a couple of times a week because the cost will be balanced out by reductions in other areas. In-game purchases This is a classic case of being blindsided by small dollar amounts. “Those small in-app purchases start out small, often just $1 or $2, but they can quickly add up,” cautions Harris Jr. “Just one small in-app purchase a day, can take you over $400 in a year.” Speedy shipping While online shopping is exceedingly convenient, most of us want our items promptly and will pay extra for it, effectively wasting money. “Online stores know this, and they offer expedited shipping that can add $15 or more to your bill,” says Harris Jr. “Instead, go with the fastest free shipping offered. If you expedited just one or two packages a month, you could spend over $200 extra in a year.” Bottled water It’s super-important to stay hydrated but that’s not permission to buy bottled water by the case. “Bottled water costs 2000 times as much as tap water and the average consumer spends $100 on bottled water every year,” says personal finance expert Andrea Woroch. “Not only is bottled water a waste of money, but it’s an unnecessary addition to landfills.” Instead, Woroch recommends buying a few inexpensive, BPA-free reusable water bottles and keeping one at the office, in your gym bag, and one at home so you always have one to refill. Gym memberships Because of the pandemic, you likely haven’t been to the gym in months anyway, but have you cancelled your membership yet? Jogging or cycling outside, doing bodyweight circuits in the park or your living room, or even investing in some weights to throw around at home: All of these will keep you fit and save you money. There are also a ton of free workouts on YouTube and plenty of free fitness apps, so you can keep switching up your workouts! A little research and you’ll never have to be bored on the elliptical again. Name-brand groceries Store-brand canned tomatoes are pretty much the same as the brand-name ones – and they’re very often cheaper. Switch to store-brand products and plan your meals, and you’ll end up cutting your grocery bill. Plus, you’ll always have leftovers to take to work for lunch! Regular fancy coffees It’s perfectly fine to have a triple venti half-sweet caramel macchiato with an extra shot. Doing it daily could be decimating your budget. We understand the deep need for regular caffeine infuses, but the fiscally responsible way to get it is by buying a cute thermos to carry around the coffee you made this morning. (Actually, you should be using that reusable coffee cup even for your triple venti whats-its-name). By restricting your coffee splurges to a once-a-week treat, you’ll save around $2000 per year, and that’s just too big of a number to ignore. Buying lunch out Taking a packed lunch to work at least four out of five days per week really saves you money over the long run. An average lunch salad can cost up to $15 or $20; throw in a drink or snack and suddenly you’re spending $100 or more a week! That’s $5,000 per year you could be putting toward paying off debt, bolstering your savings account, or going on your dream holiday. Written by Sharon Feiereisen. This article first appeared in <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/food-home-garden/money/13-tiny-splurges-that-cost-more-than-you-thought" target="_blank">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a rel="noopener" href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRA87V" target="_blank">here’s our best subscription offer</a>. Image: Getty Images <img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" />

Money & Banking

I thought it was a parking fine!

When a Melbourne mother finished her shopping at her local supermarket and went to her car, she found what looked like a parking fine on her windshield. But when she opened it she found a stranger had left an envelope with $20 and a note inside. “I looked at the parking sign which was 1.5hours and I knew that I was less than an hour,” she posted on the Facebook group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/515507852491119">The Kindness Pandemic.</a> “I picked up the envelope and looked inside to find the most beautiful act of kindness,” she added. Alongside the $20 note was a message which read: “Times are tough right now.” “Please treat yourself to something small to help with your or your children’s mental health. You’re not alone. Lifeline: 13 11 14.” The mother was touched by this act of kindness and she added to her Facebook post: “Whoever you are out there: you made my day! Thank you #somuchgratitude.” Dozens of others applauded the stranger for their genuine act of kindness with one posting: “angels do walk amongst us.” Another person wrote: “Oh wow, this made me cry! Such a beautiful kind thing to do. Thank you to whoever put the note...this could save someone’s life.” Melbourne COVID lockdown update Melbourne is a little over two weeks into its sixth lockdown, which has been extended until September 2. The city passed the ‘200 days in lockdown’ milestone on Thursday this week. Photos: Facebook

Caring

Nicole Kidman reveals Keith Urban’s thoughts on sex scenes: “He doesn’t know what’s going on”

Sex scenes are a normal part of many Hollywood films, and it seems that even Keith Urban understands the importance of creating meaningful art. His wife Nicole Kidman has had her fair share of racy scenes, but it’s not something her husband is worried about, she says. <img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842992/nicole-kidman-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/834422e137ab4ed8be1be76fa1dc0996" /> Image: Instagram While speaking with E! News' Daily Pop, the Australian starlet, 54, admitted her musician husband isn’t affected by the sex scenes she films on set. "My husband is an artist, so he understands all of it, and he also does not get involved," she said. "He sees the show at the very end when it's a show, all edited together, and he's fresh eyes. “He doesn't read any script, he really doesn't know what's going on on the set, he's got his own career that he's completely absorbed in." Kidman famously acted in some extremely explicit sex scenes on the set of Big Little Lies with her co-star Alexander Skarsgård back in 2017. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842993/nicole-kidman-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/fc8239e284b94cc9bd5238503ab510ba" /> Kidman with her on-screen husband Alexander Skarsgård, on Big Little Lies. Image: HBO The 53-year-old even went as far to joke that Urban "doesn't know much about what I'm really doing". It appears nothing can tear this loved-up couple apart, not even an intense working schedule. Kidman says she and Urban make their relationship with each other and their two youngest daughters a main priority. Together they share Sunday, 13, and Faith, 10. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842996/nicole-kidman-5.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/c7aeac702555481f9bb04f7538c20c01" /> Image: Instagram "We have a system worked out to keep the family together," Kidman told WSJ. Magazine in 2020. "When Keith's not touring, it's much easier. He'll be on tour next year, and then I just don't work as much. “Literally — it will become imbalanced, and we will change it. "We don't have the answers, but the one thing we do know is that we will not jeopardise us."

Genius Aussie app idea you'll wish you'd thought of first

When it comes to screen-time, the amount of time that kids spend on their phone has parents worried. So the idea to force kids to do maths and English problems in order to unlock apps on their phones seems like an obvious solution, now that someone has thought of it. Sydney entrepreneurs Isaac and Ann Elnekave have turned that idea into a reality through the app 1Question, which they trialled on their 13-year-old daughter Alyssa. Of the trial, Alyssa said, ‘At first I wasn’t too sure about it.’ ‘I didn’t want my friends to blame me if their parents made them get it,’ she continued. ‘But, once I started using it I realised it doesn’t take that long to answer a question and it’s actually pretty cool.’ Research has found that almost half of kids between six and 13 either own a phone or can access one. With the majority playing phone games or using apps like YouTube for an average of five hours a day, the Elnekaves hope to use that time for good. ‘Much like sneaking veggies into cake, the 1Question app seamlessly leverages screen habits to create micro learning moments,’ Mrs Elnekave said. ‘Engagement is the holy grail of educators - if only kids were as motivated to learn their times tables as they are their TikTok moves.’ <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> How many times does your child open an app each day? 5.. 10.. 20.. 50? 🥴 If you can capture even some of that energy and put it to use, imagine the impact it can have on their education. Turn screen time habits 👎 into opportunities 👍 with 1Question! <a href="https://t.co/HviU4TetLP">pic.twitter.com/HviU4TetLP</a> — 1Question (@1QuestionApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/1QuestionApp/status/1379643563311435776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2021</a></blockquote> ‘We created a solution that blends screen time and study to maximise your child’s valuable engagement,’ she explained. With a monthly $2.99 subscription, parents can download the app onto their child’s phone, choose their grade and curriculum subjects, and monitor their progress on a dashboard, showing each correct answer they answer to open a game or app such as YouTube. Mr Elnekave said, ‘We designed the user experience to be really simple, but underneath the hood is our incredibly intelligent AI engine.’ ‘As your child learns, so does the AI, which seamlessly deciphers each child’s area of strength and weakness and autonomously charts a customised path for their learning.’ With a base of 12,000 questions developed using the Australian, British, and American primary school curriculums, there are plans to expand the app to cater to high school students, including those taking the HSC. Since the trial launched, Mr Elnekave said they had been ‘inundated with requests for more topics almost daily.’ The potential global growth of the app helped the entrepreneurs secure support from the Australian Tax Office, which granted the app Early Stage Innovation Company status. To help the app take off on a global scale, the couple are looking to crowdfund $1.5 million on the OnMarket website. Their target? To emulate the success of language learning app Duolingo, which has been downloaded 300 million times and is valued at $US 2.4 billion. The Rozelle couple have also garnered support from their neighbours including actor Gary Sweet. Echoing the thoughts of many parents, he said, ‘Bloody oath. Where was this app a few years back!’

Technology

Devastating diagnosis for three-year-old girl who thought she had tonsillitis

Three-year-old Arlee O'Mahoney from Queensland has been "pretty unwell" for the last few months, according to her mum Kelli O'Mahoney. Arlee developed an ear infection and tonsillitis which she "just couldn't shake". When Arlee’s tonsils became so “swollen she was having trouble breathing” and she looked a “little pale”, doctors took a blood test. This was when the family was told devastating news: Arlee had leukemia, which was affecting her body's ability to fight off other infections. “Because her white and red blood counts were so low, they couldn’t fight the common things she was picking up, probably just from kindy,” O’Mahoney told <a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/gold-coast-girls-tonsillitis-symptoms-found-to-be-precursor-to-leukemia-c-2552648" target="_blank">7NEWS.com.au.</a> Things got worse for the family after it was revealed that little Arlee had acute myeloid leukemia, which is a rare form of the disease that has a 60 to 80 per cent treatability rate. “It’s not one of the better ones to have,” O’Mahoney said. Arlee is eight days into chemotherapy and is set to have four rounds of treatment, which isn't something her mother is looking forward to. “She knows she’s sick,” O’Mahoney said. “Other than that, she’s pretty well right now. “She’s handling it really well. She’s really strong and brave. “She’s still her bubbly self.” The family has turned to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/arlees-courage-fight-against-lukemia?member=9807462&sharetype=teams&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer" target="_blank">GoFundMe</a> to raise money for the family as Kelli and her husband have to miss work as Arlee will be spending months in Queensland Children's Hospital, with more than $19,000 being donated. “You just don’t realise until you’re in that environment - in Arlee’s ward alone - how many kids need blood,” O’Mahoney said. “It opens your eyes up to how important it is, if you can, to donate blood.”

Body

Ricky Ponting reveals the moment he thought his son was dead

Aussie cricket star Ricky Ponting has opened up on his son’s terrifying near-death experiences. Five-year-old Fletcher Ponting has come close to death twice in his short life, with his former Test captain father forced to watch helplessly on both occasions. When Fletcher was just six weeks old he fought off meningitis as he spent weeks in ICU clinging to life. The Ponting family’s world was turned upside down when at eight months old Fletcher contracted an infection during a hernia surgery. Ponting recalled the night the infection shut down his son’s body as the cricket great stood by while over 15 doctors and nurses attempted to save his life. “He was just limp. I thought to myself, ‘He’s gone!’ Every nurse and doctor from the level rushed into the room at the same time - it was like a code red,” Ponting told The Herald Sun. <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/B__Lqt5Bqk1/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=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> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B__Lqt5Bqk1/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Happy Mother’s Day to the best two mums in the world!</a> <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 post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/rickyponting/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Ricky Ponting AO</a> (@rickyponting) on May 9, 2020 at 5:28pm PDT </div> </blockquote> “It’s where your mind goes. Your body goes numb. You are helpless. There’s nothing scarier.” The MRSA infection left Fletcher in excruciating pain as it took hold of him. “I thought he was going to come out with his whole right side cut out. Luckily, they got it before it got into his flesh and took over his body.” Ponting said he was glad his wife Rianna wasn’t in the room that night because it would still be “haunting her to this day”. He said his family appreciates just how fortunate they were as Fletcher made it out alive out of two potentially fatal situations - especially after their experiences with the Ponting Foundation.

Caring

What she thought was RSI turned out to be a fatal disease

A terminally ill woman has shared the heartbreaking moment she was told she had a motor neurone disease at 29 - after assuming the symptoms were originally just a repetitive strain injury. Jo Knowlton, 30, says she was told the devastating news in late 2019 after going to the doctors when she struggled to use her hands properly. The once-was fitness lover had been test-driving a car when she found she wasn’t able to turn on the ignition. A month later she found her problem had only worsened as she was now struggling to button shirts and use zips. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.3504823151126px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7836584/daily-6.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/c1dbaf8d3c3343908a1330e2e8fbd31b" /> “By March, I noticed that I couldn’t close my fingers together and was starting to struggle with the handbrake on my car, as well as buttons and zips, so I decided to visit my GP, I felt like a bit of a hypochondriac to be honest,” she said. “After showing her my hands she thought it might be repetitive strain injury or a trapped nerve.” In August 2019, she began to receive tests and was admitted to hospital where possible causes were ruled out time and time again - unfortunately her optimism and hope that she was healthy was short lived. “I had no idea it was terminal, without available treatment or a cure,” she admitted. “I was waiting in the hospital for my result, the doctors were doing their morning rounds but no one would come near me. “The neurologist eventually came and walked me to a side room. He sat me down and said ‘it’s not good news I’m afraid, you have motor neurone disease’. “My initial reaction was ‘so what now, what treatment do I start, what do we need to do next?’ “I had no idea it was terminal, without available treatment or a cure. “I was devastated. I felt fine and I didn’t understand how this could be the conclusion. “I thought I had my whole life ahead of me but now I was faced with being told I had a terminal illness aged 29.” Jo is the youngest person in her region to have been diagnosed with the disease. Her daily habits and routine has changed completely. Jo says she used to start her day at 5 am to go for a run with her dog, and then walk to the gym before work. Now she struggles to walk down the steps of her flat. “I really miss just walking for miles and miles with my dog. Some weeks I would have done 100,000 steps. I now struggle to walk to my car,” she said. Jo added: “No one knows what causes it. “It can be genetic but it can also be sporadic. That’s what mine is, incredibly bad luck.” There is no treatment for MND, but Jo had been scheduled to take part in drug trials that have since been postponed due to coronavirus.

Body

Feelings: what’s the point of rational thought if emotions always take over?

“I have long sought to make radical changes to my life, such as leaving a toxic workplace and losing weight. Yet I never get around to it. I am scared to leave work and sad about being overweight – and I eat when I feel that way. To what extent are humans driven by fear and emotion? What’s the point of rational thought if it keeps getting overridden by emotions? - Ed, 42, London.” One of the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-11390067/">most famous brain injuries</a> recorded in history was that suffered by Phineas Gage. Having had a large iron rod driven through his head, Gage lost a major part of his prefrontal cortex, which among other things facilitates interaction between reasoning and emotions. Gage survived his injury and maintained most of his cognitive functions. He could do maths, but he failed to make almost any decisions – especially those involving social interactions. That’s because decision making is a complex matter involving both reasoning and emotions. Even the most emotional person uses rational thought when deciding, and even the most rational person is affected by emotions when making decisions. Yet we often, as you do here, tend to highlight the negative role of emotions in decision making. It may seem like life would be easier if we could be entirely rational. But evolution has supported the development of feeling and thinking exactly because we need them both. Feelings take care of our desires and needs now, while rationality is defending our interests and wellbeing in the future. I <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23112741-feeling-smart">call these two entities</a> that live in us Tod (today) and Tom (tomorrow). If Tom didn’t exist, we would definitely be in a bad shape. Just imagine a world without reasoning – we would lose interest in anything that doesn’t provide us with instant pleasure. We would avoid learning, producing and protecting ourselves. We would simply sink into a life of addiction that would kill us even before we managed to breed. But without Tod we wouldn’t survive either. Tod is providing us with immediate decisions when danger is imminent. If we spot a car coming towards us while crossing the street, Tod will stop us. Tom might be able to calculate velocities and distances to tell whether or not we are in danger, but by the time he’d come up with the answer, it would be too late. Tod is also facilitating our social interactions, not only with his positive habits, such as love and empathy, but also with nasty ones. Studies show that people who can evoke a certain degree of anger and insult during bargaining and debate <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21639649">do better</a> than measured people. A world without feelings But beyond all this, there is one crucial reason why we should never be sorry for Tod being part of us. My friend <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naftali_Tishby">Tali Tishbi</a>, an eminent artificial intelligence (AI) researcher, believes that, in a few decades, AI will manage to do away with death and grant us all eternal life – albeit digitally. Here is how it is going to work: during our regular life – phase 1 – a database will store all the decisions, views, comments and ideas we have ever made, together with the circumstances in which they were made. Machine learning (a type of AI) techniques will then <a href="https://www.haaretz.co.il/misc/1.1429198">analyse this data and generate software</a> that can produce decisions in hypothetical circumstances based on those we took in our life. When our phase 1 life eventually terminates, we will enter phase 2 of eternal life, through this software. Our bodies will be dead at this stage, and this data from our minds will instead be located in a computer. We would feel or experience nothing, but for all other purposes, we’d be there. This version of ourselves can resume our job as a chief executive because the machine would make exactly the same decisions that we would have done had we been in phase 1 of our life. It would also still be able to offer advice to our children when they are in their 90s, and be able to comment on our grand-grand-grandchild’s new girlfriend in 2144. But let’s now go back to Tod and Tom. Life without Tod would look pretty much like what my friend calls phase 2 of life – and what I call death with an advanced photo album. Had our decisions been ruled solely by Tom, we wouldn’t be humans – we would be algorithms. For you, it sounds like Tod is ruling the day in your life, leaving little space for Tom. After all, you can always start a diet or quit your job tomorrow – right now, though, you’d rather relax. People may differ in how much they rely on rational thought, but everybody ultimately uses both – even you. You have, after all, identified a goal that you want to achieve. So how can we have a better balance between the Tod and Tom? Several psychology studies show that our patience with Tom <a href="https://faculty.washington.edu/jdb/345/345%20Articles/Baumeister%20et%20al.%20(1998).pdf">is depleted rather quickly</a>. This is not surprising, since he is the one who tells us to do those unpleasant things, such as staying away from croissants. When we were kids it was the role of our parents to help us to invite Tom in. But even when we are independent, we need help in a similar way from time to time. One way of doing this is to ask our partner or friends to support us in achieving our goals. Another is inviting Tom to comment on someone else who is in a similar situation to us. We don’t like Tom to tell us what to do, but we are curious to hear what he has to say. So with a little bit of self-deception we might be able to take the perspective of an “impartial spectator”, which will make it harder to ignore him. Tod and Tom are better friends than we tend to believe. They feed and reinforce one another. The best rational decisions take feelings into account. If you want to go on a diet, the best option is not always picking the one with the smallest calorie intake, but the one that you like the most and can stick with. For some people, it will be eating only boiled potatoes, while for others it will be a low-carb diet. So don’t be scared to let Tod have a say. And get some help with inviting Tom in. It is ultimately together that they work best. Written by Eyal Winter. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/feelings-whats-the-point-of-rational-thought-if-emotions-always-take-over-128592">The Conversation.</a>

Caring

Why coronavirus may be more contagious than initially thought

The new coronavirus has now reached 13 countries, with the outbreak “spreading quicker than SARS”. More than 3,000 cases and 82 deaths have been reported globally. <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/fifth-australian-coronavirus-case-confirmed-as-21-year-old-unsw-student">Five people in Australia</a> have been confirmed to have contracted the 2019-nCoV virus. Experts from the Chinese University of Hong Kong suggest the outbreak, which began in China’s Hubei province, could be more contagious than originally thought. In <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.23.916395v1.abstract?%3Fcollection=">a study</a> based on data collected between January 10 and 21, Shi Zhao and colleagues found that each infected person could pass the virus to three to five other people. According to Robin Thompson, mathematical epidemiologist at University of Oxford, the virus may be more potent than expected. “If the virus is able to spread before symptoms show, that could certainly explain why the virus is spreading quicker that SARS,” Thompson told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2231453-new-coronavirus-may-be-much-more-contagious-than-initially-thought/">New Scientist</a>. SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, infected more than 8,000 people across 37 countries in 2003. Both viruses came from the same family and could cause pneumonia. “SARS took several months to cause a thousand cases,” said Thompson. “This has caused [almost] 3000 cases in three weeks.” The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the general public to <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public">protect themselves against the disease</a> by frequently cleaning hands, practicing food safety, and avoiding close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms. Australia’s chief medical officer Professor Brendon Murphy told the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-27/coronavirus-schools-urge-students-to-be-checked/11902702">ABC</a> over the weekend the general public should not panic. “There is no risk to Australian population other than people with that travel history or who have been in contact with those people,” he said. Dr Michael Mina, an epidemiology researcher at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health told <a href="https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-01-24/china-coronavirus-panic">Los Angeles Times</a> evidence has yet to suggest that coronavirus is “more virulent” than the common flu. “Most people, with proper medical attention, will do just fine.”

Travel Trouble

Bees are smarter than we thought and can learn more if they're trained the "right way"

Bees are pretty good at maths – as far as insects go, at least. We already know, for example, that they can count up to four and even <a href="https://theconversation.com/bees-join-an-elite-group-of-species-that-understands-the-concept-of-zero-as-a-number-97316">understand the concept of zero</a>. But in a new study, <a href="https://jeb.biologists.org/content/222/19/jeb205658">published today in the Journal of Experimental Biology</a>, we show honeybees can also understand numbers higher than four – as long as we provide feedback for both correct and incorrect responses as they learn. Even our own brains are less adept at dealing with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subitizing">numbers greater than four</a>. While we can effortlessly estimate up to four items, processing larger numbers requires more mental effort. Hence why when asked to count, a young child will sometimes <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010027706002137">answer with “1, 2, 3, 4, more”</a>! If you don’t believe me, try the test below. The various colour groupings representing 1-4 stars are easy to count quickly and accurately. However, if we try estimating the number of all stars at once by ignoring colours, it requires more concentration, and even then our accuracy tends to be poorer. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295960/original/file-20191008-128661-me98r1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> For numbers of elements ranging from 1-4, as represented here in different colours, we very efficiently process the exact number. However, if we try estimating the number of all stars at once by ignoring colour, it requires a lot more cognitive effort. This effect isn’t unique to humans. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-008-0140-9">Fish</a>, for example, also show a threshold for accurate quantity discrimination at four. One theory to explain this is that counting up to four isn’t really counting at all. It may be that many animals’ brains can innately recognise groups of up to four items, whereas proper counting (the process of sequentially counting the number of objects present) is needed for numbers beyond that. By comparing the performance of different animal species in various number processing tasks we can better understand how differences in brain size and structure enable number processing. For example, honeybees have previously been shown to be able to count and discriminate <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-008-0159-y">numbers up to four</a>, but not beyond. We wanted to know why there was a limit at four – and whether they can go further. Best bee-haviour Bees are surprisingly good at maths. We recently discovered that bees can learn to <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-taught-bees-a-simple-number-language-and-they-got-it-117816">associate particular symbols with particular quantities</a>, much like the way we use numerals to represent numbers. Bees learn to do this type of difficult task if given a sugary reward for choosing the correct association, and a bitter liquid for choosing incorrectly. So if we were to push bees beyond the four threshold, we knew success would depend on us asking the right question, in the right way, and providing useful feedback to the bees. We trained two different groups of bees to perform a task in which they were presented with a choice of two different patterns, each containing a different number of shapes. They could earn a reward for choosing the group of four shapes, as opposed to other numbers up to ten. We used two different training strategies. One group of ten bees received only a reward for a correct choice (choosing a quantity of four), and nothing for an incorrect choice. A second group of 12 bees received a sugary reward for picking four, or a bitter-tasting substance if they made a mistake. In the test, bees flew into a Y-shaped maze to make a choice, before returning to their hive to share their collected sweet rewards. Each experiment conducted with a single bee lasted about four hours, by which time each bee had made 50 choices. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296142/original/file-20191009-3846-1t5w4gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296142/original/file-20191009-3846-1t5w4gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Bees were individually trained and tested in a Y-shaped maze where a sugar reward was presented on the pole directly in front of the correct stimulus. Author provided The group that only received sweet rewards could not successfully learn to discriminate between four and higher numbers. But the second group reliably discriminated the group of four items from other groups containing higher numbers. Thus, bees’ ability to learn higher number discrimination depends not just on their innate abilities, but also on the risks and rewards on offer for doing so. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296143/original/file-20191009-3860-qstnbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296143/original/file-20191009-3860-qstnbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Bee’s-eye view of either four or five element displays that could be discriminated. Inserts show how we normally see these images. Our results have important implications for understanding how animals’ brains may have evolved to process numbers. Despite being separated by 600 million years of evolution, invertebrates such as bees and vertebrates such as humans and fish all seem to share a common threshold for accurately and quickly processing small numbers. This suggests there may be common principles behind how our brains tackle the question of quantity. The evidence from our new study shows bees can learn to process higher numbers if the question and training are presented in the right way. These results suggest an incredible flexibility in animal brains, of all sizes, for learning to become maths stars.<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/124887/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adrian-dyer-387798">Adrian Dyer</a>, Associate Professor, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jair-garcia-387799">Jair Garcia</a>, Research fellow, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/scarlett-howard-423771">Scarlett Howard</a>, Postdoctoral research fellow, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/universite-de-toulouse-iii-paul-sabatier-2447">Université de Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier</a> 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/bees-can-learn-higher-numbers-than-we-thought-if-we-train-them-the-right-way-124887">original article</a>.

Home & Garden

Debunked: What you thought WRONG about cruising

We’ve all been there: in the middle of an argument it suddenly dawns on you that, no matter what you say or do, your opponent is going to take the win. Not because they’ve used reason and logic to secure their triumph but because they have an insatiable need to Always. Be. Right. It can be incredibly frustrating to enter into an argument with a person like this, but this character flaw can be managed. Remember, a person’s constant need to be right is most certainly masking their desperate fear of being wrong, and in the end, that fear is driving them to prevail by any means necessary. Try these tips to make these arguments and conflicts as painless as possible. They’re crowded and ‘touristy’ As the world shrinks, new and unique travel experiences are increasingly harder to come by. Cruise ships are adapting to these demands, creating never-before-seen itineraries that leave the crowds far behind. Trace the forgotten Spice Route, through ancient jungles and along white beaches, past crumbling monasteries and deserted cave temples, backwater fishing villages and local bazaars. Discover Namibia’s German heritage, Benin’s voodoo traditions and Ghana’s dark slavery sites. Visit nomadic communities in Madagascar and venture out to tiny Pacific islands, where some of the world’s most fascinating indigenous cultures can still be found. It’s boring being stuck at sea Because you can align your cruise to your interests so perfectly these days, if you’re bored on a cruise it’s because you’ve picked the wrong one. Choose the right cruise and you can finally do all those things you’ve always wanted to as you drift between destinations. Think scuba diving or wine tasting, photography or yoga. Some ships have theme parks, water slides and zip lines, and you can skydive without even going ashore. Isn’t the food a little dull? Bland buffets are a thing of the past. Today’s cruises serve up a treat for all the senses. Embark on excursions to local markets, ranches and farms to source fresh ingredients for cooking classes back on board. You can hop aboard cruise and enjoy world-class menus from famous chefs such as Curtis Stone, gastropub guru Ernesto Uchimura and many more. I’ll have to get used to seasickness Unlike that little old sailboat in the marina, cruise ships, large or small, are equipped with specialised stabilisers that take almost all of the motion out of the ocean. Once settled on board, you’re likely to forget you’re even afloat. Booking a cabin in the middle of a deck and lower in the ship, at its natural balance point, can help settle any pre-cruise fears further, despite it being extremely unlikely you will become seasick aboard in the first place. Written by Shanell Mouland. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/travel/5-cruise-myths-debunked/page/6">Wyza.com.au.</a>

Cruising

Over 60

News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

"Thoughtful and sensitive": The Crown's plan to recreate Diana's death

Am I ever gonna see your face again? Nuanced and thoughtful, Kickin’ Down the Door puts The Angels back in the spotlight

11 handy colander uses you’ve never thought of before

Beauty brand praised for “thoughtful” opt-out email

Why Steve Carell thought his wife hated him when they first met

How nostalgic, happy thoughts make you healthier

“So filled with pride”: Lisa Marie Presley shares thoughts on new Elvis movie

British man bitten 26 times by otters thought he was going to die

Ivermectin fan Joe Rogan thought an Australian comedy sketch was ‘propaganda’

13 tiny splurges that cost more than you thought

I thought it was a parking fine!

Nicole Kidman reveals Keith Urban’s thoughts on sex scenes: “He doesn’t know what’s going on”

Genius Aussie app idea you'll wish you'd thought of first

Devastating diagnosis for three-year-old girl who thought she had tonsillitis

Ricky Ponting reveals the moment he thought his son was dead

What she thought was RSI turned out to be a fatal disease

Feelings: what’s the point of rational thought if emotions always take over?

Why coronavirus may be more contagious than initially thought

Bees are smarter than we thought and can learn more if they're trained the "right way"

Debunked: What you thought WRONG about cruising

News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

"Thoughtful and sensitive": The Crown's plan to recreate Diana's death

Am I ever gonna see your face again? Nuanced and thoughtful, Kickin’ Down the Door puts The Angels back in the spotlight

11 handy colander uses you’ve never thought of before

Beauty brand praised for “thoughtful” opt-out email

Why Steve Carell thought his wife hated him when they first met

How nostalgic, happy thoughts make you healthier

“So filled with pride”: Lisa Marie Presley shares thoughts on new Elvis movie

British man bitten 26 times by otters thought he was going to die

Ivermectin fan Joe Rogan thought an Australian comedy sketch was ‘propaganda’

13 tiny splurges that cost more than you thought

I thought it was a parking fine!

Nicole Kidman reveals Keith Urban’s thoughts on sex scenes: “He doesn’t know what’s going on”

Genius Aussie app idea you'll wish you'd thought of first

Devastating diagnosis for three-year-old girl who thought she had tonsillitis

Ricky Ponting reveals the moment he thought his son was dead

What she thought was RSI turned out to be a fatal disease

Feelings: what’s the point of rational thought if emotions always take over?

Why coronavirus may be more contagious than initially thought

Bees are smarter than we thought and can learn more if they're trained the "right way"

Debunked: What you thought WRONG about cruising

Join Over60