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Debate erupts over groom's unconventional footwear choice

<p>In what seems to be a picture perfect wedding, eagle-eyed social media users spotted one odd detail. </p> <p>The couple were snapped standing at the altar, and while everything else about their outfit seemed flawless, one Reddit user called the groom out for wearing black Crocs and black socks to his wedding. </p> <p>“Imagine you get ready for three hours and your groom shows up in Crocs,” the user said. </p> <p>“Crocs would be a legit reason to say no at the altar,” another wrote, before adding: <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">“Crocs are a valid reason to not date someone. They are horrible.”</span></p> <p>“He’s wearing a suit, maybe he has a problem with his feet that he can’t wear proper footwear,” a third commented</p> <p>“Surely no one, no matter how casual in style, voluntarily leaves the house in Crocs?”</p> <p>However many other social media users were quick to defend the wedding faux pas, with some saying that they wish they had done the same thing at their own weeding. </p> <p>“He probably has an injured foot or broken toe. He’s perfectly groomed (a pun) otherwise and obviously tried to camouflage his socks and crocs with his attire," one sympathised. </p> <p>“Ya I have really severe diabetic neuropathy in my feet, especially my toes. Doctor actually suggested Crocs as they have extra space and don’t restrict movement," another added.</p> <p>“I wore flip flops under my dress. I hate heels with a passion,” a third wrote. </p> <p>"He's wearing a nice suit, matching dark socks so I'm not seeing an issue here as he probably has some kind of foot or back injury or pain. If I were marrying him this wouldn't bother me," added a fourth. </p> <p>“Let the man get married in something comfortable. My wife could have shown up in a potato sack barefoot for all I cared, she is there to marry me, not for a fashion show," a fifth defended. </p> <p><em>Image: Reddit</em></p> <p> </p>

Relationships

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Tom Cruise’s unconventional acceptance speech

<p dir="ltr">Tom Cruise has given one of the most unique acceptance speeches at the 2023 MTV Movie &amp; TV Awards.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 60-year-old, who famously performs his own stunts and is a licensed pilot himself, delivered a pre-recorded speech on May 7 while flying a World War II propeller plane.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cruise won best performance in a movie for <em>Top Gun: Maverick</em>.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Things we'll never forget: <a href="https://twitter.com/TomCruise?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TomCruise</a>'s performance in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TopGun?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TopGun</a>: Maverick 🎥</p> <p>Congrats to Tom Cruise on winning Best Performance in a Movie at the 2023 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MTVAwards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MTVAwards</a>! <a href="https://t.co/dZr3Wglpdq">pic.twitter.com/dZr3Wglpdq</a></p> <p>— Movie &amp; TV Awards (@MTVAwards) <a href="https://twitter.com/MTVAwards/status/1655367059994456065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr"> “Hi everyone, thank you so much for this award,” he said from the cockpit. “I make these films for you. I love you. I love entertaining you. To know how much you enjoy it, how much you appreciate it, there’s just no better feeling.”</p> <p dir="ltr">In his acceptance speech, Cruise appears to be piloting the P-51 Mustang plane that he owns, which was featured in Top Gun: Maverick.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You have a wonderful summer," Cruise said in his speech. "Thank you again for letting me entertain you. It’s an absolute privilege. We’ll see you at the movies.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Cruise also recorded a similar message from the same plane that was played for King Charles II during the coronation concert on May 8. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Pilot to pilot," Cruise said. "Your Majesty, you can be my wingman any time.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credit: Twitter</em></p>

Movies

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Three unconventional forms of travel you should try if you can’t go abroad this summer

<p>There has never been a better time to rethink the traditional vacation. International tourism <a href="https://unctad.org/news/global-economy-could-lose-over-4-trillion-due-covid-19-impact-tourism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has been decimated</a> by the pandemic, and it is likely <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/research/articles/210624-economic-research-asia-pacific-s-recovery-regains-its-footing-12010263" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to be difficult</a> for the travel industry to recover in the near future.</p><p>Short-term, uncertainty around leisure travel continues. COVID-19 restrictions have limited international travel opportunities to a confusing patchwork of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommendations</a> and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/from-other-countries.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restrictions</a>. Tourists travelling for Euro 2020 have been linked to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/who-warns-third-coronavirus-wave-europe-2021-07-01/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spikes in COVID-19 cases</a>. Australia has re-imposed regulations on domestic and international travel to try and manage the virus’s spread.</p><p>Long-term, we need to make tourism more sustainable. Aviation contributes <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200218-climate-change-how-to-cut-your-carbon-emissions-when-flying" target="_blank" rel="noopener">around 5%</a> of annual human-made global warming. Tourism also needs to be more inclusive. In the UK, just 1% of the population take <a href="https://policy.friendsoftheearth.uk/policy-positions/aviation-and-climate-change-our-position" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20% of flights abroad</a>.</p><p>Given this situation, familiar assumptions about what vacations should look like are overdue a reset. Our current model contributes to climate change. It confines the benefits of tourism to a few positives, while the negative impacts are felt by many. And it may be unavailable for the foreseeable future.</p><p>Alternative tourism approaches are available, however. But rather than being about money, they focus on mindset. They are the ways in which philosophy can help us to rethink tourism and explore options which may be more accessible and sustainable to us overall.</p><p>Tourism is something that takes us <a href="https://www.unwto.org/glossary-tourism-terms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">out of the usual</a>. Stepping outside of everyday routines gives us a chance to relax. Doing something unfamiliar provides opportunities to learn. But you don’t need to travel long distances to reap the benefits. We can access the unfamiliar close to home:</p><p><strong>Micro-domestic tourism</strong></p><p>This refers to tourism that takes place within a confined space. This might be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0047287512467700?casa_token=a14z3S6HohsAAAAA:kq0-81ZjUqvQbkNHNpdrPmP6NDQqsp1-hUfaGlVTW5Z5tvX5t61AK9t0RtboR6hAPHZ0MFdxi-4E" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inhabitants of small islands</a> taking a trip from one side to another, for example. Or even visiting a holiday home that is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0160738386900265" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in sight of your main house</a>. Even tiny journeys can take you into an entirely different headspace.</p><p>Somewhere close by can be unfamiliar. A particular footpath never followed, or an unknown part of town. Entering such spaces provides the chance to leave behind the accustomed. It gives people the change to relax, rethink, and reconnect with themselves and others. Psychological rather than geographic distance is what counts.</p><figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409917/original/file-20210706-13-tvpryb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Silhouettes of people making shapes by a light in a tent at night" /><figcaption><em><span class="caption">Somewhere close by can be unfamiliar.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/silhouettes-children-playing-camping-tent-night-1629935020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dmitry Naumov/Shutterstock</a></span></em></figcaption></figure><p><strong>Virtual travel</strong></p><p>It may even be possible to take a vacation <a href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200330-covid-19-virtual-travel-during-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">without leaving the house</a>. Virtual travel involves entering digital landscapes. These may be recreations of physical spaces, such as the <a href="https://www.virtualuffizi.com/explore-the-uffizi.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uffizi Gallery</a> in Florence, Italy. Alternately, they may be imagined worlds in themselves, such as <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/uk/best-open-world-games/3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open world games</a>.</p><figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409919/original/file-20210706-25-1qbqfw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Person playing Animal Crossing on a Nintendo Switch" /><figcaption><em><span class="caption">The Animal Crossing Nintendo game provided a great deal of escapism for people during the first lockdown.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bangkok-thailand-march-21-2020-man-1711683874" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wachiwit/Shutterstock</a></span></em></figcaption></figure><p>Virtual travel gives convenient access to emotionally and intellectually stimulating spaces. Animal Crossing, for example, became <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/may/13/animal-crossing-new-horizons-nintendo-game-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hugely popular during 2020</a>. Players could use games like these to escape confinement and travel to a safe and relaxing space. Shared with online friends, virtual tourism can <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/rave-animal-crossing-new-horizons/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help to combat</a> the stress, boredom and isolation of lockdown.</p><p><strong>Psychogeography</strong></p><p>Finding alternative tourist destinations may not be a case of travelling somewhere new at all. The unfamiliar can be found in our everyday surroundings. Our houses, neighbourhoods and workspaces shape how we think and act. However, it’s our familiarity with these spaces that make us <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/sci-tech/2015/06/familiarity-breeds-contempt-why-do-we-get-bored-and-what-point-boredom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insensitive to</a> their effects.</p><p><a href="http://library.nothingness.org/articles/SI/en/display/2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Psychogeography</a> can resensitise us to these environments. It involves a series of techniques originally developed by philosopher <a href="https://philosophynow.org/issues/14/Dead_Bored_Debords_Dead" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Guy Debord</a> which he called <a href="https://theconversation.com/psychogeography-a-way-to-delve-into-the-soul-of-a-city-78032" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>dérive</em></a>. These practices can help us to become more conscious of our surroundings and how they make us feel and behave.</p><figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410114/original/file-20210707-17-1h1s8cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Woman closing her eyes with a picture of a sunset photoshopped onto her black hair" /><figcaption><em><span class="caption">Psychogeography encourages people to engage with physical and in some cases digital spaces that are taken-for-granted.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/double-multiply-exposure-portrait-dreamy-cute-1458773024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sun ok/Shutterstock</a></span></em></figcaption></figure><p>Psychogeography involves <a href="https://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/si/theory.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drifting through spaces</a> both physically and mentally. This means following the flow of whatever landscape you’re in with no particular purpose. The idea is to see what interests you on the day, following those instincts, and finding out where they take you. Wandering and wondering can lead to surprising places. The <a href="https://deriveapp.com/s/v2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dérive app</a> can be downloaded to give this a go.</p><p>Micro-domestic tourism and virtual travel teach us that we don’t have to go far from home to explore the unfamiliar. Psychogeography, meanwhile, encourages us to re-engage with physical, and perhaps digital, spaces that are taken for granted. In doing so, the unfamiliar may be rediscovered.</p><p>COVID-19 has encouraged us to embrace new forms of tourism. Domestic tourism is booming in the UK. Likewise, virtual travel is gaining appreciation. Game-based <a href="https://www.shortlist.com/news/video-game-travel-guide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">holiday hotspots</a> have long been known to fans. However, more mainstream consumers are picking up on the potential. Rough Guides, the well-known travel guide books, recently launched a <a href="https://www.roughguides.com/articles/introduction-to-the-rough-guide-to-xbox/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guidebook</a> to the X-box games console, for example.</p><p>New tourism habits are <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/6/22215786/video-games-covid-19-animal-crossing-among-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">likely to remain</a>, now that people have had the opportunity to discover that it can be more than the long-haul. A growing realisation that wanderlust can be satiated <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/30/heres-what-post-pandemic-travel-might-look-like.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">close to home</a> will be a good thing for re-balancing an industry that has over-emphasised financially and ecologically expensive travel.<img style="border: none !important;margin: 0 !important;max-height: 1px !important;max-width: 1px !important;min-height: 1px !important;min-width: 1px !important;padding: 0 !important" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163776/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brendan-canavan-228682" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brendan Canavan</a>, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-nottingham-1192" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Nottingham</a></em></p><p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-unconventional-forms-of-travel-you-should-try-if-you-cant-go-abroad-this-summer-163776" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>.</em></p><p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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Mum’s unconventional hack divides opinion

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A new mum’s unconventional solution for her baby’s acne has divided the internet, due to the presence of one unconventional ingredient.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Linh Ta took to TikTok to share her hack, filming herself placing a face mask sheet in a bowl of liquid before applying it to her son Levi’s face.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the clip, Linh Ta reveals the bowl contains liquid gold, telling followers that she uses breast milk to soothe her son’s skin.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When your baby has acne so you make a breast milk mask for him,” she captioned the clip.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Baby Levi can be seen sleeping peacefully as she puts the mask on him, which she leaves on to help his skin absorb the milk.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the comments, Linh Ta explained she made the mask “purely out of boredom” and “just to have a little fun”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’m a first mum so I’m learning things as I go,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The video, which has been viewed more than four million times so far, has divided other users on the platform. Some were fans, while others were less enthusiastic.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Sooo cute! But the acne will pass. It’s just your hormones leaving their body. It’s not like our acne,” one fan explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Um my heart is screaming, this is too cute. Not me going to cut up a dry wipe and do this on my nine-week-old,” another agreed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This just rubs me the wrong way,” one user argued.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Mini serial killer mask,” another added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a follow-up video, Linh Ta shows Levi’s clear face in response to a fan asking for before and after photos.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 277.1285475792988px; height:500px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842560/placeholder_8729e81ef4f4d57_0.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/8df990dcc851409d956f9a785ee96c14" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They were red and raised before and now the redness has subsided,” she said in the update.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though there is </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.healthline.com/health/baby/baby-acne-breast-milk#breast-milk" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">no scientific evidence</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> supporting the use of breast milk to treat baby acne, some people swear by the remedy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since breast milk has antimicrobial properties, the breast milk may help reduce or destroy bacteria and other impurities that block the baby’s pores and cause acne.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, research from the </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1108&amp;context=sn_pubs" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">International Journal of Childbirth</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> recommends simply keeping the baby’s skin clean with soap and water and avoiding oils or lotions that could worsen the acne.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Tiktok</span></em></p>

Body

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15 most unconventional celebrity wedding dresses

<p>For some women, finding the right wedding dress can be even more difficult than finding the right man. A-line, ball gown, trumpet, bohemian… there are so many styles these days, it’s no wonder so many look back on their wedding photos and wonder, “what was I thinking?” While most of our wedding dress hang-ups are probably based on trends that quickly went out of fashion (puffy sleeves, anyone?), some celebrities took “unique” to the next level. Here are 15 of the most outrageous celebrity wedding dresses of all time.</p> <ol start="1"> <li><strong>Queen Victoria, 1840</strong> – this dress may not seem very scandalous, but it’s thanks to Queen Victoria that white became the default wedding dress colour. White wedding dresses were very uncommon prior to her marriage to Prince Albert</li> <li><strong>Elizabeth Taylor, 1952</strong> – she may have worn seven wedding dresses in her time, but Elizabeth Taylor’s second wedding dress was certainly the most unconventional – a simple suit to wed Michael Wilding.</li> <li><strong>Marilyn Monroe, 1954</strong> – the blonde bombshell defied expectations when she walked down the aisle in a conservative knee-length brown dress with matching jacket.</li> <li><strong>Elizabeth Taylor, 1964</strong> – for her fifth wedding, Taylor shocked the world once more, opting for a canary yellow dress and white flower hairpiece.</li> <li><strong>Mia Farrow, 1966</strong> – in typical trendsetting Mia Farrow fashion, the actress paired her iconic pixie cut with a short and chic white dress to wed Frank Sinatra.</li> <li><strong>Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, 1967</strong> – we bet most brides haven’t thought of designing their own dress, but that’s exactly what Priscilla did. She paired her one-of-a-kind chiffon gown with a voluminous three-foot veil.</li> <li><strong>Audrey Hepburn, 1969</strong> – for her second marriage to Andrea Dotti, the starlet wore a long-sleeved Givenchy mini dress and headscarf.</li> <li><strong>Yoko Ono, 1969</strong> – would you expect anything less from the artist wife of John Lennon? Ono swapped tradition for a white skirt and top, felt hat and knee-high white socks and sneakers.</li> <li><strong>Bianca Jagger, 1971</strong> – Mick’s bride-to-be wore an elegant white skirt suit with a wide-brimmed hat and veil.</li> <li><strong>Rita Wilson, 1988</strong> – Tom Hanks’ wife opted for a very short, very 1980s poufy dress with an equally poufy veil and wrap.</li> <li><strong>Emma Thompson, 1989</strong> – colourful and fun, Thompson’s wedding dress suited the actress to a T. She walked down the aisle to now-ex-husband Kenneth Branagh in a short, multi-coloured dress and structural headpiece.</li> <li><strong>Mariah Carey, 1993</strong> – we don’t think Carey will be rocking this one when she weds James Packer! Her US$25,000 Vera Wang gown used a whopping 27 feet of fabric. That’s a lot of dress!</li> <li><strong>Celine Dion, 1994</strong> – Dion looked every bit the queen when she graced the aisle in a long-sleeved fur dress and 3-kilo crown.</li> <li><strong>Gwen Stefani, 2002</strong> – never one to conform, the No Doubt singer opted for a pink ombre gown designed by John Galliano.</li> <li><strong>Pamela Anderson, 2006</strong> – Anderson’s dress is notable for the simple fact that it never existed! The actress dressed down – very down – when she wed Kid Rock in a tiny white bikini.</li> </ol> <p>Which of these wedding dresses was your favourite? Let us know in the comments below!</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/relationships/2016/06/old-fashioned-wedding-traditions-that-have-disappeared/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 old-fashioned wedding traditions that have disappeared</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/04/three-generations-wear-same-wedding-dress/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>One wedding dress, three generations of women</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/03/bride-ditches-wedding-dress-for-grandmas/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Bride ditches expensive wedding dress for grandma's 50-year-old gown</strong></em></span></a></p>

Beauty & Style