Search

Jon Bon Jovi praised for talking woman off bridge

Content warning: This article contains mentions of suicide. Jon Bon Jovi has helped to persuade a woman standing on the ledge of a bridge in Nashville to come back over the railing, likely saving her life. The Metro Nashville Police Department revealed that the encounter happened on Tuesday night on the Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge. The rock star was filming a music video for his song The People's House on the bridge, when he spotted the woman on the ledge, according to the New York Post. Surveillance footage shared by the city's police department on X showed the singer approaching the woman, alongside another bystander and not long after they helped pull her over the railing and away from danger. After the woman was safe, she and Bon Jovi hugged. "A shout out to @jonbonjovi & his team for helping a woman on the Seigenthaler Ped Bridge Tue night," the Metro Nashville Police Department shared on X. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> A shout out to <a href="https://twitter.com/jonbonjovi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jonbonjovi</a> & his team for helping a woman on the Seigenthaler Ped Bridge Tue night. Bon Jovi helped persuade her to come off the ledge over the Cumberland River to safety. "It takes all of us to help keep each other safe,"--Chief John Drake <a href="https://t.co/1YejKJ2WgM">https://t.co/1YejKJ2WgM</a> — Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) <a href="https://twitter.com/MNPDNashville/status/1833970989354348832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2024</a></blockquote> "Bon Jovi helped persuade her to come off the ledge over the Cumberland River to safety. 'It takes all of us to help keep each other safe,'--Chief John Drake." The bridge was completely open to the public at the time Bon Jovi was filming his music video. While the singer told The Post that he won't be making any public comments out of respect for the person and their privacy, another source told them that Bon Jovi did what any person who found themselves in that situation would've done. Images: Metropolitan Nashville Police Department

Caring

Woman who died in office cubicle found four days later

The body of an employee at one of America's biggest banks was in her office cubicle four days after she passed away, according Arizona police officials. Denise Prudhomme, 60, had used her ID to scan into the building on August 16 at 7am, four days later her dead body was found slumped over in her cubicle at the bank's office in Tempe. “To hear she’s been sitting at the desk like that would make me feel sick,” an employee at Wells Fargo told local news outlet K12News. “And nobody did anything. That’s how she spent her last moments.” The employee told the outlet that several workers had complained of a foul smell when they came back to work after the weekend, but thought it was just bad plumbing. K12News reported that another employee found Prudhomme dead at her desk in a cubicle while walking around the building, and the security guards then alerted police. One employee said that the building's security guards should have found her body earlier. “That’s the scary part. That’s the uneasy part,” they said. “It’s negligence in some part.” Prudhomme’s cause of death has not yet been released, though officials have said that based on the preliminary investigation there was no sign of foul play. The investigation is ongoing. Wells Fargo shared a statement with several other news outlets saying that they were “deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague” and will be providing counsellors to support office employees. They are also co-operating with police in their investigation. Image: Larry Zhou / Shutterstock.com

Legal

99-year-old woman declared accessory to over 10,000 murders

A court in Germany has upheld the conviction of a 99-year-old woman who, during the Second World War, was the secretary to the SS commander at a Nazi concentration camp. The Federal Justice Court on Tuesday rejected the appeal of Irmgard Furchner, who was convicted of being an accessory to more than 10,000 murders and was given a two-year suspended sentence in December 2022. Furchner was accused of being a key part of the apparatus that helped the camp near Danzig, now the Polish city of Gdansk, function, and was subsequently convicted of being an accessory to murder in 10,505 cases and an accessory to attempted murder in five cases. At a federal court hearing in Leipzig in July, Furchner's lawyers cast doubt on whether she really was an accessory to crimes committed by the commander and other senior camp officials between 1943 and 1945, and on whether she had truly been aware of what was going on at Stutthof. The court said that judges were convinced that Furchner “knew and, through her work as a stenographer in the commandant’s office of the Stutthof concentration camp from June 1st 1943, to April 1st 1945, deliberately supported the fact that 10,505 prisoners were cruelly killed by gassings, by hostile conditions in the camp,” by transportation to the Auschwitz death camp and by being sent on death marches at the end of the war. Germany's main Jewish leader welcomed the ruling. “For Holocaust survivors, it is enormously important for a late form of justice to be attempted,” Josef Schuster, the head of the Central Council of Jews, said in statement. “The legal system sent an important message today: even nearly 80 years after the Holocaust, no line can be drawn under Nazi crimes,” he added. During the original court proceedings, prosecutors said that Furchner’s trial may be the last of its kind, however, a special federal prosecutors’ office in Ludwigsburg tasked with investigating Nazi-era war crimes says three more cases are pending with prosecutors or courts in various parts of Germany. With any suspects now at a very advanced age, questions increasingly arise over suspects’ fitness to stand trial. Image credits: Sky News

Legal

Heartbreaking final message as world's oldest woman passes away

Maria Branyas Morera, the world's oldest woman, has died aged 117. The centurion, who has lived through two world wars and a global pandemic, passed away “peacefully and without pain”, according to her family members who announced her tragic passing on X, formerly Twitter. “Maria Branyas has left us. “She died as she wished: in her sleep, peacefully and without pain. “We will always remember her for her advice and her kindness.” In a heartbreaking final message shared to X on Tuesday, Morera shared that she felt "weak" and that the "time is near". “The time is near. Don’t cry, I don’t like tears. And above all, don’t suffer for me," she wrote. “Wherever I go, I will be happy.” Morera became the world's oldest living person after French nun Lucile Randon passed away aged 118 in January last year. Before her death, Morera agreed to undergo scientific testing by researchers who collected samples of her saliva, blood and urine, in hopes to gain insight into the secrets to a long life. They will compare them with those of her 80-year-old daughter and hope that by studying her genes they may develop drugs which could combat diseases associated with ageing. Morera is survived by her two daughters, 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Images: news.com.au/ Guinness Book of Records

Caring

Sam Neill moved to tears by simple question

Sam Neill has unexpectedly broken down in tears over one question posed to him by a university student. The Jurassic Park actor was the surprise guest during the premiere of ABC's new series, The Assembly, based off the UK show which sees high-profile figures being interviewed by a class of university students who are all autistic. The students can ask whatever they want, and one student, Abby brought the actor to tears with her question. “What’s the best lesson you learned from your parents?” she asked. “Ooft, wow. That’s a really interesting question … A really, really interesting question,” Neill replied, before pausing as he began tearing up. “I don’t know why that question has moved me so much, but it has.” The actor then went on to explain that his parents were “of the generation that went through a lot” – including the Great Depression and World War One, in which his maternal grandfather was killed – leaving both his parents “very stoic”. “And I’d done a year of university and I’d done bugger all. I was acting in plays and trying to find a girlfriend, you know … so it came to exam time and I realised I’d done almost no work,” Neill recalled. “It got me very anxious. Anyway, I got home and Mum said, ‘How are you, darling?’ and I said, ‘I think I’m having a breakdown, I’ve got exams in a couple of weeks …’ and she just looked at me and said, ‘Well, you’re just going to have to pull yourself together’.” He continued: “And I think that’s the best lesson I learned from her. Sometimes you just have to pull yourself together. It’s a tough lesson, but a good one – and thank you for that question." Elsewhere during the interview, he also spoke candidly about his recent blood cancer battle, and while he is in remission after a year of chemotherapy, he still requires monthly treatments which he'll have to do for the rest of his life. One student asked him, "what motivated you to keep going, and did you have anyone supporting you through it?” He admitted that while it had been a "pretty brutal" process, he is grateful for all the treatments keeping him alive "and living is much better than the other thing.” Images: ABC

Family & Pets

“Absolutely livid”: Woman discovers she’s been fired via text on her wedding day

A woman has recalled the moment she discovered she had lost her job after her boss delivered the news via text on the woman’s wedding day. The bride shared that she got the message from her boss just 30 minutes after she walked down the aisle. The woman shared the story with Ben Askins, who regularly shares stories online of toxic employers, as she read out the messages she received on what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. “On my wedding day, half an hour after the ceremony, I got a text from my boss to let me know I had been fired,” she said. The message from her boss read, “Hey, I hope your wedding went well and that you had a nice time away. I just wanted to let you know that the decision has been made to unfortunately let you go.” “An email has been sent to your personal email address detailing this. I'm really sorry that it didn't work out and wish you all the best moving forward x.” As she was surrounded by loved ones, the bride struggled to contain her emotions as she quickly checked her emails. “I hope your wedding went well and you had a good time. This email is to inform you that your employment will be terminated effective the 20th of May,” the email read. “Your employment has been terminated as we unfortunately feel your performance doesn't meet the expectations that we require for the role.” The woman explained how she felt her manager's email was a “coward's way” of letting her go while she wasn't at work, and was unable to defend herself. “I wasn't going to let it go but what they did... I was really angry at them,” she said. “They had the opportunity to do it in person. Everyone was let go in person except for me.” Askins said the woman’s story was one of the “worst things” he's ever heard a boss do to an employee. “It's meant to be one of the best, most amazing days ever and they've done that to you,” he told the woman. “You have every right to be absolutely livid with them.” Askins' video of the woman’s story has been viewed more than 600,000 times, with many taking particular issue on the bride's boss for being “petty” and “inappropriate”. “This person could have waited a day. It's done on purpose to ruin your special day. Only narcissists would do that,” one said. Another added, “The fact that she texted her to let her know about the email is so petty. She wanted her to know on her wedding day.” Image credits: Shutterstock

Legal

Woman banned for life from airline for bizarre reason

A woman has recalled the moment she was told by a major airline that she has been placed on the no-fly list for a very strange reason. Erin Wright, a 24-year-old from the US, was travelling to her sister's bachelorette party in New Mexico and was preparing to board her flight from New Orleans with American Airlines. When she kept running into errors online as she tried to check into the flight, she headed to the airport to sort out the issue, only to be told she was allegedly banned from the airline for life for “having sexual relations with a man on a flight while intoxicated”. The ban came as a shock for one key reason. “I am a 24-year-old lesbian. You see me. Am I having sexual relations with any man? No,” Erin laughed in her now viral TikTok. <div class="embed" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: currentcolor !important;"><iframe class="embedly-embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: none; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px; max-width: 100%; outline: currentcolor !important;" title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7400894263237610794&display_name=tiktok&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40erin_wright_%2Fvideo%2F7400894263237610794%3Fembed_source%3D121374463%252C121451205%252C121439635%252C121433650%252C121404359%252C121351166%252C121331973%252C120811592%252C120810756%253Bnull%253Bembed_name%26refer%3Dembed%26referer_url%3Dwww.news.com.au%252Ftravel%252Ftravel-updates%252Fincidents%252Fwomans-shock-after-she-was-banned-or-life-by-airline%252Fnews-story%252F98c05daffea9ff538dd05bbbbaca556b%26referer_video_id%3D7401685057980681514&image=https%3A%2F%2Fp19-sign.tiktokcdn-us.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-useast5-p-0068-tx%2FoYgBZAELUrpiZizB94QiB6qSIPFE1CosQNYUi%3Flk3s%3Db59d6b55%26nonce%3D34496%26refresh_token%3D518d47d36cd3175f1d18f1fd75262373%26x-expires%3D1723770000%26x-signature%3DPnErCHWVNghfrjSQPdFIU5OLZu4%253D%26shp%3Db59d6b55%26shcp%3D-&key=59e3ae3acaa649a5a98672932445e203&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> She said the gate staff couldn’t tell her why she was black-listed and it wasn’t until three weeks later the reason was revealed after several back and forth emails. “I got to the airport an hour and a half early, I went to the kiosk and asked them to check me in and they were really nice,” Erin explained in the clip that's amassed 2.6 million views. The airport staff then spent the next 10 minutes on the phone to try and work out the problem, while Erin was “freaking out” that she was going to miss her flight. “She gets off the phone and looks nervous. She said ‘ma’am I am really sorry to tell you this but you have actually been banned from flying American Airlines’,” Erin claimed. A confused Erin demanded to know the reason but the employee couldn’t disclose the information saying it was an issue of “internal security”, recalling in her video, “I was like, ‘what?’ because I’ve never done anything. ‘What did I get banned for, can you tell me?’” “I realised I am going to miss my [United Airlines] flight and luckily I booked another $1,000 round trip flight to New Orleans [with a different airline].” A few weeks after her trip and after several emails to the airline, they revealed that the reason she was banned, as Erin said, “I get an email from cooperate security telling me I am banned because I had sexual relations with a man on a flight while intoxicated.” “It took 12 days and many emails from me between when I contacted customer relations to when I actually got an email back.” She remained on the no-fly list and had to file an official appeal, as advised by corporate security. “I email them a very serious email, but also somewhat funny, because in it I am like ‘I don’t really know how to prove it wasn’t me except for the fact that I am literally a lesbian’," she said. “I can like get you letters from other people telling you that that’s the truth.” After three months, Erin said she was refunded the money for her flight and was taken off the no-fly list. In a follow up video, Erin said it has been a “super upsetting experience” adding she wasn’t compensated for the extra flight she had to book “because of their error”. Image credits: TikTok / Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

Woman “bullied” on plane over budget seating trick

A young woman has recalled a flight from hell when she was “bullied” by a couple who were trying to utilise a seating hack that went viral on TikTok. The solo traveller took to Reddit to recount the story and ask social media users if she was in the wrong for her action. The woman began by saying she usually pays more to select her plane seat ahead of time, but a medical emergency on another plane had her waiting on standby and left with no option other than to sit in a middle seat. When she was finally able to board, she was greeted by a couple who had purchased both the window and aisle seats in a bid to have more space, utilising a travel “trick” that has been popular on TikTok. The method, which has been dubbed the 'poor man's business class', usually leaves travellers with an empty middle seat and more space, and few travellers opt to pick a middle seat. “When I got to my row the man and woman were chatting and sharing a snack... it was obvious they were together. I mentioned to the man that I'm in the middle, and he got up to let me in,” the unsuspecting traveller wrote on Reddit. “I asked them if they would prefer to sit together, I said I was totally okay with that. The woman reacted rudely to this and said ‘you're not supposed to be sitting here anyway’.” After noticing how the plane was full, she offered to show the pair her new ticket with the correct seat number on it. “She flicked her hand at my ticket and made a disgusted sound. I offered again if they wanted to sit together to which she didn't reply, her partner said it's okay and... made some small talk,” she continued. The man’s girlfriend then interrupted their conversation to ask,”'Did you use one of those third party websites to book your flight? It's so frustrating when people cheap out to inconvenience others.” The American woman explained that she had booked her flight directly and she had been placed on standby like everyone else and didn't choose the middle seat - she was assigned it. She then tried to keep the peace by refusing to engage with the furious woman. “I was so done with her attitude, I put my headphones on and attempted to do my own thing,” she explained. But the “entitled” girlfriend wasn't letting it go, as the woman explained, “This woman kept reaching over me and tapping her partner and trying to talk to him in a way that was super intrusive.” “I could tell even her partner was trying to engage her less so that she would hopefully stop, but she didn't.” “I think they tried to pull that tactic where they don't sit together on purpose...hoping no one will sit between them. But on full flights it doesn't work. And even so - it's not the other person's fault.” The traveller's post was met with hundreds of comments slamming the girlfriend’s behaviour, as one person wrote, “It's like a toddler having a tantrum.” “She was disappointed and a total a**hole. Gross entitled people,” another added. Another person applauded the traveller’s level-headed behaviour, writing, “Wow! You are my hero for keeping it classy - I’m afraid I would not have been as kind as you.” Image credits: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

"I am a woman": Boxer launches legal action after gold medal win

Imane Khelif has filed an official complaint over online bullying and harassment she has been subject to throughout the course of the Paris Olympics. The Algerian boxer, who took home the gold medal in the women's competition, has been at the centre of a wave of abuse over her gender, with misinformation circulating over her gender. According to Khelif's lawyer Nabil Boudi, the gold medallist has filed a legal complaint in France for online harassment. “The boxer Imane Khelif has decided to begin a new fight, a fight for justice, dignity and honour,” Boudi said in a statement, saying Khelif had filed the complaint for “aggravated online harassment … to Paris prosecutors”. He added, “The investigation will determine who was behind this misogynist, racist and sexist campaign, but will also have to concern itself with those who fed the online lynching.” The “iniquitous harassment” the boxing champion had been subjected to would remain “the biggest stain on these Olympic Games”, said Boudi. On Saturday, Khelif emerged victorious in the women’s 66kg final against China’s Yang Liu in a unanimous points decision, having been the focus of intense scrutiny in the French capital for the duration of the Games. After her victory, Khelif said the gold medal she had won was the best response to her critics. Asked by reporters about the row over her eligibility, she said, “I am fully qualified to take part, I am a woman like any other. I was born a woman, lived a woman and competed as a woman.” Image credits: Ulrik Pedersen/CSM/Shutterstock Editorial

Legal

Woman "trapped" on a boat for a decade details amazing "escape"

A woman has recalled her turbulent childhood spent "trapped" a boat with her parents, detailing how she made her "escape". Suzanne Heywood was just seven years old when her parents told her she, along with her younger brother Jonathan, would be pulled out of school to go on a three-year voyage around the world. The family of four from the UK set out on their quest to recreate Captain Cook’s infamous third and final voyage around the globe, which ended up taking a decade instead of the promised three years. While her parents thought it was the trip of a lifetime and often described the opportunity as a “privilege”, Suzanne has since compared it to being locked up in prison. Now 55 years old, Suzanne has shared her tale of survival on TikTok, and recalled her 10 years at sea in her tell-all memoir Wavewalker. “My father said we would be back in three years’ time, and that my dog would be waiting for me, and my friends and school and everything would go back to normal,” the author said in a now-viral video. “But in fact, it was almost 10 years before we came back, and I spent that time trapped on a boat, unable to go to school or have normal friendships.” Despite her father assuring her the “trip would be safe”, Suzanne claimed it was “incredibly dangerous”, sharing details of a perilous journey from South Africa to Australia where the boat hit an “enormous storm”. “The waves became bigger and bigger, and finally one crashed over the back of the boat, through the deck and out the side,” she recalled. “I was thrown, a little girl at 7, against the ceiling of the cabin and against the wall, fracturing my skull and breaking my nose. Three days later, we found a tiny little island in the middle of the Indian Ocean where I had multiple head operations without anaesthetic.” In order to get through her "very strange" childhood, Suzanne recalled how she was determined to get an education to live a normal life. “As it became clear my parents had no intentions of going back, I decided I had to educate myself as it was the only lifeline that I had,” she told the hosts of The Morning Show. “The only way to get off this boat was to get an education, it was my only hope to ensure I had a ‘normal life’ for myself one day.” While remote education wasn't an option in 1969, Suzanne enrolled in an Australian correspondence school when she was 13. she began studying in the small cabin of the boat, which she found challenging both practically, and academically as she “had missed a lot of education”. Then, when she was 16, and her brother 15, her parents enrolled the two teenagers into a school in New Zealand while they continued sailing. Despite the gaps in her education, Suzanne landed a spot at Oxford University, and after saving up money she’d earned working on a farm, Suzanne bought a one-way plane ticket back to the UK. Since going public with her story, which she was inspired to do after the death of her husband in 2018, Suzanne's book instantly became a bestseller, and she continues to work through the trauma caused by her "unstable" childhood. Suzanne's extraordinary tale has captured the hearts of millions, with thousands of online fans hailing her bravery. “Wavewalker is one of the best books I’ve read, I’m so sorry you went through all that,” one person replied, while another said, “Thank you for the this! Your story inspires me and I can change my life no matter when and how.” Image credits: Instagram / Suzanne Heywood

Travel Trouble

65-year-old woman transforms life after divorce

Harrah Brown was left “alone, devastated and scared for the first time in my life” at age 60, and had spend her days crying and wishing that her ex would come back. It took her one nasty fall while walking her dog to turn her life around. "I heard a tiny voice tell me to ‘get your life together and stop wasting away’” she said on social media. The now 65-year-old fitness fanatic said that she feels better than ever after she began weight training in her sixties, in the midst of the heartbreak. “Once I accepted I was on my own at age 60, I picked myself up and rebuilt my life from the inside out,” she said in one video. The mother-of-four began her fitness journey in 2019. “In August 2019, I borrowed 5k to move into my one bedroom apartment. I had nothing more than my clothes, my Great Dane, and a few personal belongings,” she wrote on Instagram. “I had my bed, a borrowed chair and desk and ate at my desk for well over a year. “It was the hardest time of my life. I honestly wasn’t sure how or if I would survive.” After her nasty fall, she began her transformation journey and started "listening to great motivational speakers on mindset and I read inspiring books on transformation, and I journaled." “Day by day, my mindset became stronger. The will to turn my setback into my comeback became a powerful force within me. “In September 2020 at age 61 I started lifting weights in my apartment gym, where I still workout today.” And the rest is history. Brown has amassed over 192k followers on Instagram and TikTok, sharing an array of positive messages and clips of her working doing workouts that others her age may consider almost impossible, including heavy barbell squats and pull ups. “Lifting weights renewed my strength, my spirit, and my confidence,” she said in one video. Her followers have praised her for being an inspiration. “You go girl!!! The 60s are a great place to be,” one said. “You make me excited to age!! You’re radiant and so inspiring, keep shining babe,” shared another. “Weight training made me feel like a badass, it’s amazing for mood boosting too," a third added. Since embarking on her new lifestyle, Brown has become an "empowerment coach", where she helps others “be healthy, fit and beautiful at any age”. Images: Instagram

Beauty & Style

What happens in an autopsy? A forensics expert explains

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hayley-green-1542041">Hayley Green</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a> Sometimes it’s unclear how or why a person died. A detailed examination of the body after death, known as an autopsy or postmortem, can help find answers. Despite what you may have seen on TV crime shows, most autopsies are minimally invasive; body often stays intact throughout a mostly observational procedure. Sometimes, though, a more extended investigation is needed. Through each step of the autopsy process, the dignity and respect of the deceased is prioritised by all involved. <h2>Not every death will result in an autopsy</h2> If someone dies from natural causes, there is no evidence of suspicious circumstances or there is a recent medical history, the death is certified by a doctor. The person is then taken into the care of a funeral service. But when questions about the death remain, specialist doctors, <a href="https://pathology.health.nsw.gov.au/articles/pride-of-workmanship-award-for-nepean-mortuary-technician/">technicians</a> and support staff might investigate further. Sometimes this involves an autopsy. <h2>Non-coronial and coronial autopsies</h2> Depending on the circumstances of death, there are two types of autopsies in Australia: non-coronial and coronial. A non-coronial autopsy is done when the cause of death is known but more information is needed. For example, the family may wish to know: <ul> <li> the extent of a known medical condition that led to the death </li> <li> how effective any treatments leading up to the time of death were, or </li> <li> if there’s evidence of a potential undiagnosed medical condition that may have contributed to the death. </li> </ul> Non-coronial autopsies are done in a hospital mortuary or a forensic pathology facility by an anatomical pathologist or forensic pathologist. An anatomical pathologist is a specialist in the detection and diagnosis of disease in organs and tissues (mainly in the living). A forensic pathologist takes part in medico-legal investigations and examines the body and its organs to look for disease or injury that may have caused death. A coronial autopsy happens when death is unexpected, violent, unnatural or the result of an accident. Deaths like these are classified as “reportable” deaths; by law they must be reported to the coroner, who is a magistrate of the court with legal training. These reports (typically prepared by the police), as well as the <a href="https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/act-2009-41">legislation</a> relevant to the state, assist the coroner to decide whether or not to order an autopsy. This order can be a minimally invasive external examination, an internal examination of a single body cavity or an invasive multiple cavity autopsy. Coronial autopsies are done in a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-27/australias-biggest-and-newest-morgue-in-sydneys-west/11142810">forensic pathology facility</a> by a <a href="https://pathology.health.nsw.gov.au/articles/a-video-profile-of-the-role-of-forensic-pathologist-at-nsw-health-pathology">forensic pathologist</a>. <h2>The first steps</h2> Someone who has died under “reportable” circumstances will be admitted to the forensic facility. The person’s identity will be established, where possible. If the coroner orders an autopsy, the body first undergoes a CT scan, which may be enough for the forensic pathologist to determine cause of death without further investigation. If not, the body will then be laid carefully on an examination table where any clothing and personal belongings are removed. The pathologist will then do an external examination, searching the body surface and recording any visible signs of cause of death or identifying marks. These might include tattoos or scars that can establish or confirm the identity of the deceased. Photographs of the body can be taken, and body fluids such as urine, blood and vitreous fluid from the eyes are sampled and tested for drugs, poisons or other substances. In many cases, the cause of death can be determined from the external examination alone and no further examination is necessary. Other times, more invasive methods are needed. <h2>Organ removal</h2> Evisceration is the important process of removing organs for the pathologist to examine in detail to help determine cause of death. The most common evisceration technique used in Australia is known as the <a href="https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/forensicsautopsytechniques.html">Letulle method</a> (sometimes called the en masse method), where organs are removed in a single large block that starts at the tongue and throat and extends to the rectum. The first step of this process involves using a scalpel to make a large incision in the skin known commonly as the y-incision. This incision extends from behind each ear, or at times, the collar bones, to the mid line of the chest (just above the sternum). The incision will be extended through the centre of the chest towards the abdomen, stopping at the front of the pelvic bone. Skin, fat and muscle layers are pulled back to expose the neck structures, abdominal organs and the rib cage. The rib cage will then be cut on each side using shears to allow the front of the chest plate to be removed, revealing the heart and lungs. After an inspection of the positioning of the organs in the chest and abdomen, the bowel can be removed. Connections between organs and the body wall are separated and the organ block is then lifted from the body. Once out, the pathologist can do a detailed examination, weighing each organ individually. They will then dissect it to determine if there are any visible signs of disease or trauma that could have contributed to the cause of death. Tissue samples will be taken from each organ for histology (studying it under a microscope) to look for evidence of a cause of death. <h2>The brain</h2> A coroner may also request an examination of the brain. This involves an incision across the scalp within the hairline where possible, so the skin can be peeled back to expose the skull. The top of the skull will be removed using an oscillating saw to access the brain, which will then be removed (after separating it from the brainstem). The pathologist will look for signs of blood clots, trauma or disease. In some <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-10/domestic-violence-repetitive-head-injury-cte-routine-screening/102682870">cases</a>, the coroner may make an order to keep the brain for a longer period of time for a more detailed and thorough examination. After the autopsy is over, the organs are returned to the abdominal cavity and all incisions are stitched closed. The body can then be released to the family and funeral arrangements made. An interim report on the cause of death is prepared for the coroner and made available to the family. This will be updated with a final determination on the cause of death after test results come back. Sometimes the cause of death will be listed as “unascertained”, meaning the cause of death could not be determined.<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;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/232603/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hayley-green-1542041">Hayley Green</a>, Senior Lecturer - Forensic Anthropology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-happens-in-an-autopsy-a-forensics-expert-explains-232603">original article</a>.

Body

Yes, blue light from your phone can harm your skin. A dermatologist explains

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-freeman-223922">Michael Freeman</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> Social media is full of claims that everyday habits can harm your skin. It’s also full of recommendations or advertisements for products that can protect you. Now social media has blue light from our devices in its sights. So can scrolling on our phones really damage your skin? And will applying creams or lotions help? Here’s what the evidence says and what we should really be focusing on. <h2>Remind me, what actually is blue light?</h2> Blue light is part of the visible light spectrum. Sunlight is the strongest source. But our electronic devices – such as our phones, laptops and TVs – also emit it, albeit at levels <a href="https://melasmaclinic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Melasma-LEDS.pdf">100-1,000 times</a> lower. Seeing as we spend so much time using these devices, there has been some concern about the impact of blue light on our health, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-blue-light-glasses-really-work-can-they-reduce-eye-strain-or-help-me-sleep-213145">on our eyes and sleep</a>. Now, we’re learning more about the impact of blue light on our skin. <h2>How does blue light affect the skin?</h2> The evidence for blue light’s impact on skin is still emerging. But there are some interesting findings. 1. Blue light can increase pigmentation <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ced/article-abstract/46/5/934/6598472?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false">Studies</a> <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/srt.13401">suggest</a> exposure to blue light can stimulate production of melanin, the natural skin pigment that gives skin its colour. So too much blue light can potentially worsen hyperpigmentation – overproduction of melanin leading to dark spots on the skin – especially in people with darker skin. 2. Blue light can give you wrinkles Some research <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6280109/">suggests</a> blue light might damage collagen, a protein essential for skin structure, potentially accelerating the formation of wrinkles. A laboratory <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29399830/">study suggests</a> this can happen if you hold your device one centimetre from your skin for as little as an hour. However, for most people, if you hold your device more than 10cm away from your skin, that would reduce your exposure <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse-square_law">100-fold</a>. So this is much less likely to be significant. 3. Blue light can disrupt your sleep, affecting your skin If the skin around your eyes looks dull or puffy, it’s easy to blame this directly on blue light. But as we know blue light affects sleep, what you’re probably seeing are some of the visible signs of sleep deprivation. We know blue light is particularly good at <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.01413.2009?rss=1">suppressing</a> production of melatonin. This natural hormone normally signals to our bodies when it’s time for sleep and helps regulate our sleep-wake cycle. By suppressing melatonin, blue light exposure before bed disrupts this natural process, making it harder to fall asleep and potentially reducing the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07420528.2023.2173606">quality of your sleep</a>. The stimulating nature of screen content further disrupts sleep. Social media feeds, news articles, video games, or even work emails can keep our brains active and alert, hindering the transition into a sleep state. Long-term sleep problems can also <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ced/article-abstract/40/1/17/6621145?login=false">worsen</a> existing skin conditions, such as acne, eczema and rosacea. Sleep deprivation can elevate cortisol levels, a stress hormone that breaks down collagen, the protein responsible for skin’s firmness. Lack of sleep can also weaken the skin’s natural barrier, making it more susceptible to environmental damage and dryness. <h2>Can skincare protect me?</h2> The beauty industry has capitalised on concerns about blue light and offers a range of protective products such as mists, serums and lip glosses. From a practical perspective, probably only those with the more troublesome hyperpigmentation known as <a href="https://dermnetnz.org/topics/melasma">melasma</a> need to be concerned about blue light from devices. This condition requires the skin to be well protected from all visible light at all times. The only products that are totally effective are those that block all light, namely mineral-based suncreens or some cosmetics. If you can’t see the skin through them they are going to be effective. But there is a lack of rigorous testing for non-opaque products outside laboratories. This makes it difficult to assess if they work and if it’s worth adding them to your skincare routine. <h2>What can I do to minimise blue light then?</h2> Here are some simple steps you can take to minimise your exposure to blue light, especially at night when it can disrupt your sleep: <ul> <li> use the “night mode” setting on your device or use a blue-light filter app to reduce your exposure to blue light in the evening </li> <li> minimise screen time before bed and create a relaxing bedtime routine to avoid the types of sleep disturbances that can affect the health of your skin </li> <li> hold your phone or device away from your skin to minimise exposure to blue light </li> <li> use sunscreen. Mineral and physical sunscreens containing titanium dioxide and iron oxides offer broad protection, including from blue light. </li> </ul> <h2>In a nutshell</h2> Blue light exposure has been linked with some skin concerns, particularly pigmentation for people with darker skin. However, research is ongoing. While skincare to protect against blue light shows promise, more testing is needed to determine if it works. For now, prioritise good sun protection with a broad-spectrum sunscreen, which not only protects against UV, but also light.<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;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/233335/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-freeman-223922">Michael Freeman</a>, Associate Professor of Dermatology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-blue-light-from-your-phone-can-harm-your-skin-a-dermatologist-explains-233335">original article</a>.

Body

Wild reason why woman divorced her husband

A woman has asked for advice online after she explained the wild reason why she is divorcing her husband. Taking to Reddit's popular "Am I The A**hole?" thread, the mother explained that after her husband sat in the car for too long, she decided to end her two-year marriage. As she began to recall the situation, she prefaced the story by saying that for many years, her partner always liked to stay in the car five to 10 minutes after he got home. <div> <div id="sda-INARTICLE"></div> </div> “I don’t know why he does it, but he talked about a past traumatic experience he had when he came home and caught his ex cheating on him,” the Redditor wrote. “Because of that he’d just spend few minutes in his car before he enters his home as response to his trauma.” While the woman is understanding of her husband's unusual car quirk, she said he does not take into account how it negatively impacts her and their family. According to the Reddit writer, his prolonged period in the car makes her “uneasy” and has caused several arguments, especially when he’s sat in the driveway when guests are inside, or "when dinner is waiting on him and he’d take 10 minutes silently sitting in the car.” She went on to share that her biggest concern was finding her husband sitting in the car during a crisis, which was realised when a family emergency unfolded at home. The woman explained that her eight-year-old son fell and tripped when walking down the stairs, breaking his ankle as a result and needed to be taken to hospital. She then called her husband and asked if he could leave work to take him to the emergency room, saying, “Then I called and called and then I was stunned when I looked out the window and I saw him sitting outside the house in his car. I was both shocked and angry.” According to her husband, he had been sitting in the car for eight minutes and said that he wouldn’t come inside to help until his 10 minutes lapsed because he didn’t feel “comfortable.” The original poster noted, “He told me to get my son ready to take him to the hospital, but I started screaming at him nonstop telling him this was a family emergency and that he was out of his mind to behave like that.” The mother took her son to the hospital with the help of a neighbour and refused to answer her husband's calls when he finally emerged from the car. Later, she decided his response was so uncalled for that she took herself and her son to her mother's place and said she wanted a divorce from her husband of two years. “He tried to rationalize and justify what he’s done saying he could not help it and that he was nervous and wanted to help my son but felt stuck,” the Redditor said. She continued, “I refused to reply to his messages and days later his family literally harassed me saying I was making my husband’s trauma more severe and that I disrespected his boundaries.” After time had passed from the situation, the woman wondered if she had been too rash in her decision, and asked those online for their advice. Her post was met with hundreds of comments, with many saying they believe her husband is suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). “It sounds like some form of OCD to me,” one person commented, while another agreed: “It sounds like he is stuck in a compulsive behavior.” The original writer confessed she had asked him to seek professional help for his behaviours, but he wasn’t up for it, saying, "He had refused professional help and his family sided with him.” To this, one reader added, “The fact that he has refused to seek help for it. Peak selfishness. Leaving is warranted. Best luck to you and your boy.” “If he refused professional help then you have your answer. You need to be able to rely on your husband in case of an emergency and he proved to you that you can’t. You’re definitely NTA (not the a**hole,” another argued. Image credits: Shutterstock

Legal

Woman divides the internet over not wanting to share Lotto winnings

A young mother has divided the internet after sharing that she didn’t want to split her Lotto winnings with her boyfriend. The woman took to Facebook to share that she bought the ticket on a whim and won half her annual salary as a result. Taking to social media, she explained how the awkward conversation with her partner unfolded. “I started to tell my boyfriend I was gonna put it towards my kids' college and do some upgrades to my house. He said, ‘what about my half?’,” she wrote. She went on to explain how the couple have the same yearly salary and how her partner said he could really use the financial help, but she doesn't want to share. “If I had won $6million I'd have no problem giving him half because it would be very easy to live off $3million. But 1/4 of one year's salary won't help me much,” she added. She also revealed that the couple would sometimes “daydream" about winning a lottery jackpot and would split a ticket every now and then, promising to go halves in the winnings. However, the mum said this time was different because it was a spur-of-the-moment ticket purchase and he wasn't part of it. The woman’s post welcomed a range of differing comments, with some people not appearing sympathetic to the young mum. “Is half the pot worth more than your relationship? If it is, you shouldn't be in the relationship anyway, so call it off,” one person said. Another person added, “Can you for two seconds not see how this is very petty? He didn't contribute 'this time'. I'm sure when he buys a ticket he's not thinking 'oh this one is for just me and if we win on these ones then we will share’.” However, some people were quick to stand up for her and tell her she doesn’t owe her partner half her winnings. “She isn't selfish for keeping the money, they didn't have an agreement this time, and why should he be entitled to it. She is better off spending it on her home and her children's future,” one woman said. Another added, “If he won $20 would he give you $10? If he won $1,000 would he give you $500? If the answer is yes, then throw the guy a bone, but if you don't live together, there's no ring on your finger, and the answer is no? Keep it.” Image credits: Shutterstock

Legal

"Rest in love": All Blacks legend and Dancing with the Stars winner dies at 55

The sports and entertainment communities are mourning the loss of former All Blacks hooker and Dancing with the Stars winner Norm Hewitt, who has passed away at the age of 55. Hewitt, a beloved figure both on and off the rugby field, succumbed to a lengthy battle with motor neurone disease, as confirmed by his family in a heartfelt statement. "Although rugby dominated his early life, he established a thriving human relations consultancy after retirement, and his services were much in demand both nationally and internationally," his family shared. "He walked confidently in both Māori and Pākehā worlds and was a particular role model for troubled youth, citing his own background, and offering inspirational teachings that one’s present life need not be one’s future." Hewitt leaves behind his wife Arlene and their two children, Elizabeth and Alexander. Born and raised in Pōrangahau, southern Hawke’s Bay, Hewitt's rugby career was nothing short of illustrious. Over 13 seasons, he played 296 representative matches for Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Wellington, earning 23 caps for the All Blacks. Hewitt was also a pivotal member of the Hurricanes during the formative years of Super Rugby, missing only one match in the first five years. The rugby community has been profoundly affected by Hewitt's passing. Former teammate Ofisa Tonu’u posted a touching tribute on Facebook: "I’m just devastated finding out the news today. I will never forget how you always stuck up for me during the Black Tracker days when no one else would, you always look after all the players and we always followed you into battle. No more pain, brother, you can now rest in Love. Fa’afetai tele lava my uso for having my back as I did yours. I know the other boys will be welcoming you with open arms at the gates. Rest in Love, Normy." Beyond his rugby career, Hewitt transitioned into a public speaker and mentor, focusing heavily on violence prevention programmes and advocacy. He worked with the SPCA as an animal cruelty and anti-violence publicity officer, visiting schools to spread his message. In 2005, Hewitt showcased his versatility by winning the first season of Dancing with the Stars alongside professional dancer Carol-Ann Hickmore. Hewitt's life was not without its struggles. In 1999, he made a public apology for a drunken incident in Queenstown, marking a turning point as he renounced alcohol and dedicated himself to helping others facing similar challenges. The outpouring of tributes was immediate, with The All Blacks expressing their sorrow: “We are saddened by the loss of All Black #938 Norm Hewitt who passed away yesterday in Wellington. Hewitt played 9 Tests and 14 Games between 1993 and 1998. Our thoughts are with Norm’s family and loved ones at this time.” Podcaster Martin Devlin shared his personal experience: “RIP Norm Hewitt. Not a lot of people know how kind & generous this man was. A truly wonderful person. Reached out to me and helped me considerably a long time ago when things were very rough. Love & respect.” Richard Hills echoed the sentiments of many: “This is bloody sad. A sad way to lose a kiwi icon so young. He had a really rough childhood and upbringing and faced it and turned his life around to become not only a rugby legend but also helped others who’d been through similar issues.” Norm Hewitt’s legacy will endure through the lives he touched and the positive change he inspired. His story is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the profound impact one individual can have on the world. Image: Radio New Zealand

Caring

Why do dogs have different coats? Experts explain – and give grooming tips for different types

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/susan-hazel-402495">Susan Hazel</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mia-cobb-15211">Mia Cobb</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Dog hair comes in many varieties, from shaggy to short, curly to straight. If you live with a dog, you live with their hair – on your couch, in your clothes, it’s everywhere! Beyond colour, have you ever wondered what’s behind the differences in coat type? We actually know quite a lot about why dogs have different coats, and it comes down to their genes. <h2>What are the main coat types in dogs?</h2> The three main features of dog coats are how long the hairs are, whether they are curly or straight, and whether they have extra flourishes. The flourishes are called “furnishings”, and can include a hairy moustache and shaggy eyebrows. Combinations of these three features result in seven different coat types in dogs: short, wire, wire and curly, long, long with furnishings, curly, and curly with furnishings. We know from a <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1177808">study of more than 1,000 dogs with varying coats</a> that differences in only three genes are responsible for this variety. The gene responsible for long hair (called FGF5) is <a href="https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/patterns">recessive</a>, meaning dogs must have two copies of the mutated gene to have long hair. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1402862111">In humans</a>, the same gene has been identified in families with excessively long eyelashes. Curly coats in dogs are related to a gene called <a href="https://www.pawprintgenetics.com/products/tests/details/173/">KRT71</a>, which affects keratin, a protein involved in hair formation. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2974189/">Mutations in this gene</a> in cats result in hairless (Sphynx) or curly-haired (Devon Rex) breeds. The gene responsible for furnishings (<a href="https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/rspo2/">RSPO2</a>) is involved in establishing hair follicles. <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/hair-follicle">Hair follicles</a> are small pockets in the skin that grow hair. Variations in these three genes could explain the coat type in most (but not all!) of the dogs tested. For example, the long coat of the Afghan hound is not explained by these three genes. Further study is needed to identify less common mutations and genes controlling the coat in these dogs. The earliest dog breeds would have been short-haired, as a result of the “wild-type” genes. Later changes would have arisen through mutation and deliberate selection <a href="https://theconversation.com/managing-mutations-of-a-species-the-evolution-of-dog-breeding-96635">through modern breeding practices</a>. If all three mutations are present, the dog has a long, curly coat with furnishings. An example is the Bichon Frisé. <h2>What else varies in dog coats?</h2> Dog coat types can also be single or double. In a double-coated breed such as a Labrador, there is a longer coarse layer of hairs and a softer and shorter undercoat. Wolves and ancestral dogs are single-coated, and the double coat is a result of a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/10/5/323">mutation in chromosome 28</a>. In the Labrador, the mutation was probably selected for as they were bred to <a href="https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2023/exec/0525n07/">retrieve fishing nets in Canada</a>. The double coat is a great insulator and helps them to stay warm, even in icy water. <h2>Why does it matter what kind of coat a dog has?</h2> We know with climate change our world is going to get hotter. Dogs with a double coat are less able to tolerate heat stress, as their hair prevents heat loss. In a study of dogs <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/avj.13296">suffering heat-related illness</a>, most of the 15 breeds at higher risk had double coats. The death rate in these dogs was 23%. We can only imagine how it must feel going out on a 40 degree day wearing a thick fur coat. Dogs with a double coat shed more hair than dogs with a single coat. This means even short-haired breeds, like the Labrador retriever, can shed an astonishing amount of hair. If you can’t tolerate dog hair, then a dog with a double-coat may not suit you. When we think of wool we think of sheep, but in the past <a href="https://www.si.edu/stories/woolly-dog-mystery-unlocked">woolly dogs were kept for their wool</a> that was <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi6549">woven by Indigenous groups</a> and used to make blankets. A dog’s coat also affects how much time and effort is needed for grooming. Dogs with long or curly hair with furnishings are likely to need more time invested in their care, or visits to a professional groomer. Designer dogs (cross-bred dogs often crossed with a poodle, such as groodles), are likely to be curly with furnishings. In a US study, people with designer dogs reported meeting their dogs’ maintenance and grooming requirements was <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/23/3247">much harder than they expected</a>. It’s not just bank balances and the time needed that can suffer. If people are unable to cope with the demands of grooming long-haired dogs, lack of grooming can cause welfare problems. A study of animal cruelty cases in New York found <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.827348/full">13% involved hair matting</a>, with some hair mats causing strangulation wounds and 93% of affected dogs having long hair. <h2>How can you prevent problems?</h2> If you have a curly- or long-haired breed of dog, it will help to train them to like being brushed from an early age. You can do this by counter-conditioning so they have a positive emotional response to being groomed, rather than feeling anxious. First show the brush or lightly brush them, then give them a treat. They learn to associate being brushed with something positive. If you take your dog to the groomer, it’s very important their first experience is positive. A scary or painful incident will make it much more difficult for future grooming. Is your dog difficult to groom or hard to get out of the car at the groomers? It’s likely grooming is scary for them. Consulting a dog trainer or animal behaviourist who focuses on positive training methods can help a lot. Keeping your dog well groomed, no matter their hair type, will keep them comfortable. More important than looking great, feeling good is an essential part of dogs living their best lives with us.<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;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/232480/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/susan-hazel-402495">Susan Hazel</a>, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mia-cobb-15211">Mia Cobb</a>, Research Fellow, Animal Welfare Science Centre, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-dogs-have-different-coats-experts-explain-and-give-grooming-tips-for-different-types-232480">original article</a>.

Family & Pets

Woman seeks advice over family member’s list of “stupid” baby names

A woman has asked for advice after seeing her cousin’s list of potential baby names, with many of them being classed as “just stupid”. The woman took to Reddit to explain how her cousin sent her baby name list to her family group chat, and no one has yet replied. "This was all sent in a family group chat and no-one has replied yet. I feel bad because at least she has put some thought into these names, especially compared to how most of us were named. On the other hand, well, you saw the names," the woman posted on Reddit. The names her cousin has shared and her logic behind them include: <ol> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Urf (Earth..because no matter where the child lives in life, it will always be on Earth. Can't fault the logic on that one – Elon Musk might take umbrage though.) </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Seaeoh (CEO. Apparently names dictate destiny and this name will cosmically transform the child into a successful business magnate.) </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Stamp (She was in a long distance relationship with the father for a while and they used to send each other letters with...stamps. Sounds like what a caveman character in a film would be called.) </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Biotic (Connected to antibiotic. This will protect the child from disease. Antibiotic would be and I quote, 'Ridiculous because it would sound like 'Aunty' which would cultivate bullying because she would sound old.') </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Ayeai (AI. In the future AI will take over and if it turns nasty it will go easy on her kid because they share a name.) </li> </ol> The woman explained that her cousin's logic for going with something very different for a name is "so many children nowadays have unique names that it will eventually become normal and people with 'standard' names will be the ones looking foolish." She also added that her cousin's husband isn't "brave enough" to say anything about the names and hopes she will lose interest. The people of Reddit had a lot to say about the choices, with one person commenting, “Those are all just terrible." "I say this in the kindest way possible. She is delusional and I dare say, stupid. That poor future child deserves better," wrote another user. Another suggested a normal name might actually be unique now and wrote, "Having a 'standard' name is what is unique now. How many kids are being named David and Lisa?" Image credits: Shutterstock

Family & Pets

“Greedy” woman slammed after being “disappointed” with engagement ring

A woman has been dubbed “ungrateful” and “greedy” online after sharing a lengthy post about how she was “pretty disappointed” with the ring her boyfriend proposed with. The bride-to-be took to Facebook to say that while she still loves her fiancé, she was upset at being given a lab-made diamond as opposed to a natural one. “I'm not going to lie, I was pretty disappointed, especially since my future husband has enough income to afford a real diamond,” she said in the lengthy post. She also confessed to feeling like “a spoiled brat for complaining”, but went on to compare how her fiancé was previously engaged to another woman and proposed with a ring costing more than $75,000, so the cheaper diamond left her feeling “second best”. The woman’s post was met with ridicule online, as thousands of people commented on her post to express their disbelief. One person quipped, “I require my diamonds to be exploitative.” “People sure do get upset when their diamonds aren't the result of human rights abuses and environmental destruction, huh,” another said, slamming the woman's “entitled attitude”. Another woman was quick to agree that the bride-to-be's “greedy” disappointment was in bad taste. “Carbon is carbon,” another person said, referring to the material that diamonds are made of, whether from the ground or in a lab. “Such a weird hill to die on! I told my husband I wanted a lab created diamond for this exact reason: because diamond mining claims lives! Having a chemically perfect diamond is a bonus,” another woman said. Image credits: Shutterstock

Relationships

Still fab after 60 years: how The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night made pop cinema history

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-blair-223267">Alison Blair</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a> I first saw A Hard Day’s Night at a film festival over 20 years ago, at the insistence of my mum. By then, it was already decades old, but I remember being enthralled by its high-spirited energy. A Beatles fan, mum had introduced me to the band’s records in my childhood. At home, we listened to Please Please Me, the band’s 1963 single, and the Rubber Soul album from 1965, which I loved. Television regularly showed old black-and-white scenes of Beatlemania that, to a ten-year-old in the neon-lit 1980s, seemed like ancient history. But then, I’d never seen a full-length Beatles film. I had no idea what I was in for. When the lights went down at Dunedin’s Regent Theatre, the opening chord of the film’s title song announced its intentions: an explosion of youthful vitality, rhythmic visuals, comical high jinks and the electrifying thrill of Beatlemania in 1964. This time, it didn’t seem ancient at all. Since that first viewing, I’ve returned to A Hard Day’s Night again and again. I now show it to my students as a historically significant example of pop music film making – visually inventive cinema, emblematic of a fresh era in youth culture, popular music and fandom. <h2>Beatlemania on celluloid</h2> A musical comedy depicting a chaotic 36 hours in the life of the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night has now reached its 60th anniversary. Directed by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0504513/">Richard Lester</a>, the film premiered in London on July 6 1964, with its first public screening a day later (incidentally, also Ringo Starr’s birthday), and the <a href="https://www.discogs.com/master/24003-The-Beatles-A-Hard-Days-Night">album of the same name</a> released on July 10. The band’s popularity was by then reaching dizzying heights of hysteria, all reflected in the film. The Beatles are chased by hordes of fans, take a train trip, appear on TV, run from the police in a Keystone Cops-style sequence, and play a televised concert in front of screaming real-life Beatles fans. Side one of the album provides the soundtrack, and the film inspired pop music film and video from then on, from the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060010/">Monkees TV series</a> (1966–68) to the Spice Girls’ <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120185/">Spice World</a> (1997) and music videos as we know them today. <h2>The original music video</h2> Postwar teen culture and consumerism had been on the rise since the 1950s. In 1960s Britain, youth music TV programmes, notably <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196287/">Ready Steady Go!</a> (1963–66), meant pop music now had a developing visual culture. The youthful zest and vitality of ‘60s London was reflected in the pop-cultural sensibility, modern satirical humour and crisp visual impact of A Hard Day’s Night. Influenced by <a href="https://nofilmschool.com/french-new-wave-cinema">French New Wave</a> film making, and particularly the early 1960s work of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000419/">Jean-Luc Godard</a>, A Hard Day’s Night employs <a href="https://indiefilmhustle.com/cinema-verite/">cinéma vérité</a>-style hand-held cinematography, brisk jump cuts, unusual framing and dynamic angles, high-spirited action, and a self-referential nonchalance. The film also breaks the “fourth wall”, with characters directly addressing the audience in closeup, and reveals the apparatus of the visual performance of music: cameras and TV monitors are all part of the frame. Cutting the shots to the beat of the music – as in the Can’t Buy Me Love sequence – lends a visual rhythm that would later become the norm in music video editing. Lester developed this technique further in the second Beatles film, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059260/">Help!</a> (1965). The closing sequence of A Hard Day’s Night is possibly the film’s most dynamic: photographic images of the band edited to the beat in the style of stop-motion animation. Sixty years on, it still feels fresh, especially as so much contemporary film making remains hidebound by formulaic Hollywood rules. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A Hard Day's Night movie poster" /><figcaption>A new pop aesthetic: original film poster for A Hard Day’s Night. Getty Images</figcaption></figure> <h2>Slapstick and class awareness</h2> As with much popular culture from the past, the humour in A Hard Day’s Night doesn’t always doesn’t land the way it would have in 1964. And yet, there are moments that seem surprisingly modern in their razor-sharp irony. In particular, the band’s Liverpudlian working-class-lad jibes and chaotic energy contrast brilliantly with the film’s upper-class characters. Actor Victor Spinetti’s comically over-anxious TV director, constantly hand-wringing over the boys’ rebelliousness, underscores the era-defining change the Beatles represented. Corporate pop-culture consumerism is also satirised. John Lennon “snorts” from a Coca-Cola bottle, a moment so knowingly silly it registers as more contemporary than it really is. George Harrison deflects a journalist’s banal questions with scathingly witty answers, and cuts a fashion company down to size by describing their shirt designs as “grotesque”. And there is Paul McCartney’s running joke that his grandfather – played by Wilfred Brambell from groundbreaking sitcom <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057785/">Steptoe and Son</a> (1962–74) – is “very clean”. Even the film’s old-fashioned visual slapstick still holds up in 2024. Showing the film to this year’s students, I didn’t expect quite as much laughter when Ringo’s attempts to be chivalrous result in a fall-down-a-hole mishap. In 2022, the <a href="https://www.criterion.com/">Criterion Collection</a> released a high-resolution restoration of the film, so today A Hard Day’s Night can be seen in all its fresh, black-and-white, youthful vigour. Happy 60th, A Hard Day’s Night. And happy 84th, Ringo. Both still as lively and energetic as ever.<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;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/228598/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-blair-223267">Alison Blair</a>, Teaching Fellow in Music, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a> Image credits: THA/Shutterstock Editorial This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/still-fab-after-60-years-how-the-beatles-a-hard-days-night-made-pop-cinema-history-228598">original article</a>. </div>

Movies

Over 60

News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

Jon Bon Jovi praised for talking woman off bridge

Woman who died in office cubicle found four days later

99-year-old woman declared accessory to over 10,000 murders

Heartbreaking final message as world's oldest woman passes away

Sam Neill moved to tears by simple question

“Absolutely livid”: Woman discovers she’s been fired via text on her wedding day

Woman banned for life from airline for bizarre reason

Woman “bullied” on plane over budget seating trick

"I am a woman": Boxer launches legal action after gold medal win

Woman "trapped" on a boat for a decade details amazing "escape"

65-year-old woman transforms life after divorce

What happens in an autopsy? A forensics expert explains

Yes, blue light from your phone can harm your skin. A dermatologist explains

Wild reason why woman divorced her husband

Woman divides the internet over not wanting to share Lotto winnings

"Rest in love": All Blacks legend and Dancing with the Stars winner dies at 55

Why do dogs have different coats? Experts explain – and give grooming tips for different types

Woman seeks advice over family member’s list of “stupid” baby names

“Greedy” woman slammed after being “disappointed” with engagement ring

Still fab after 60 years: how The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night made pop cinema history