Meet the Blacks Official Trailer #1 (2016) - Mike Epps, George Lopez Movie HD Bogusad campaigns, a failed prank byGoogle, Ivy Leaguefootballrobotsand an attempt at humor on the fraught presidential campaign trail competed for attention in the United States on Friday, traditionally a day of hoaxes and spoofs. The trick onAprilFools"Day is to be outlandish yet somewhat plausible. "It gets more and more challenging to stand out," said Rachael King, spokeswoman for ThirdLove, a lingerie maker that partnered with DogVacay, a pet sitting service, to unveil a fake line...
April Fool"s Day | Funny Moments of Kota Toppers and Life Lafde Aur Bandiyan
Its April Fools Day! Joy of joys! What could be more fun than all of society coming up with their best jokes en-masse and showing them to the world? Nothing! Apart from, maybe, pouring lemon juice on a vicious paper cut.
In case that last sentence was too subtle, Im not a fan of April Fools day. This might surprise regular readers, given that this blog regularly features the most frivolous and ridiculous of non-stories (in the science section, no less). So surely I approve of April Fools? But no. I cant stand it, it grates on my nerves (and Im a neuroscientist, so I dont use that phrase lightly). And, judging by most of the online reactions Ive seen thus far, Im far from alone in this.
Why? Why would an occasion which, whatever its confusing origins, is ostensibly about having a laugh, be so infuriating? Well, there are several reasons, both social and psychological.
Its too familiar
There was a time when high-profile April Fools day jokes were new and unfamiliar. As a result, they could be very effective, especially if they featured in the mainstream media, which at the time was limited to about three channels and the occasional smoke signal. The idea that primetime television would dedicate precious and valuable airtime to a practical joke, well, that just wouldnt have occurred to most people. Why would it?
Those days are long gone, though. And you cant go back. For a joke to work, it has to be surprising to some degree. Familiarity is the enemy of an effective joke, which is one reason why joke thieves are so annoying. When were bombarded with all manner of outlets and brands making jokes in a vastly expanded (bloated) media landscape, it quickly goes from being subversive to tedious. Our brain automatically stops paying attention to things it is very familiar with. And as well as familiar
Its too predictable
You ever had someone try to tell you a joke, but you figured out the punchline before they could get to it? You might get some vague satisfaction thanks to your deductive skills, but you know what you wont do? Laugh.
Theories about the neurological processes underlying humour and why we laugh are surprisingly complex, but aspect seems to be the release of psychological tension. Be it confusing wordplay, twisted logic or a high-stakes scenario, a good joke sets us up to experience tension due to uncertainty (Whats coming? What does this mean?) Our brains dont like uncertainty, so when it is removed or resolved, we experience a positive sensation and laugh to signify the tension is gone. Thats the theory anyway, and no doubt theres more to it than that, but its hard to deny that unpredictability is important for a good joke.
As a result, if you can see a punchline coming seconds/minutes before it arrives, it renders it mostly unfunny. So consider, if you will, how unfunny a joke becomes when the punchline is ON THE b****y CALENDAR!
Your official fun period begins now, loyal consumers. Photograph: AlamyOfficially sanctioned fun is an oxymoron
Have you ever been at a work Christmas party or similar do where they have a regimented schedule of fun activities? Or assign you name tags of one half of famous couples so you have to find the other person and are thus obliged to mingle? April Fools is like that.
You know those people who deride Valentines Day on the grounds that buying your partner some flowers/nauseating tat once a year because mindless tradition and major corporations say you should is not in the least bit romantic? April Fools is exactly like that nowadays: just swap romance for humour.
As well as being unpredictable and unfamiliar, the best humour is subversive and illogical. Poking fun at norms and conventions, puncturing seriousness and sombre issues: this provides an outlet for our taboo thoughts and leanings, it has psychological benefits, so makes us laugh. Having a day where were officially allowed to make jokes is completely counterproductive, like only being allowed to watch p**n that has been approved by your parents.
Its patronising
Related to the above, April Fools day wouldnt be so bad if the majority of the official jokes werent also bad. But they are. Your patience and tolerance can only last so long, and there are only so many times you can read some painfully-obvious BS put out by a major brand or company, clearly the work of some overworked and underpaid intern whos been ordered by the higher-ups to create some content for a high-traffic day. Soon, you can start to feel personally affronted.
Youve probably noticed how a joke that fails can provoke a surprisingly hostile reaction. Theyve shown this to happen in scientific studies. One theory is that people are very aware of their social status, and humour feeds into this; another theory about why we laugh at people is that it increases our social status at their expense. Similarly, when someone is telling you a joke, theyre trying to manipulate you and your reactions, they think youll find this specific funny and are hoping to cause an involuntary response from you, raising their status in turn.
Ergo, when a joke bombs, someone has not only tried to manipulate you at the expense of your status, but theyve failed to do so. This sort of thing typically causes a very negative reaction in people. So when major companies, already extremely powerful, disgorge some shoddy scrap of attempted hilarity to their potential customers like an obese monarch throwing chicken bones to the peasants, it can quickly become just a wee bit tedious.
And thats when they dont seriously mess up their attempted japery. Looking at you, Google!
This is the sort of thing you usually get when official bodies try to be humorous and engaging. Some sort of dental-inspired fever dream come to life. Photograph: Tony Kyriacou/Rex FeaturesIts worse if you work in comedy in any capacity
Id never claim to be the best at writing comedy. Far from it. But I still have some standards! As do most of the professional comedy scene, most of whom seem to hate April fools as much if not more than I do. For most comedy types, April Fools feels like going to a five-year-olds birthday party while you have a migraine.
You might think its just sour grapes, precious comedy types resenting other people getting involved in their field. Maybe for some it is, but for most its not. Its more like when clueless corporate suits tell graphic designers how to draw things, or programmers that they need a three-week job done overnight. A lot of the best humour seems effortless because so much work has gone into creating that impression. This is why the office joker is often a more tedious character than an entertaining one. Comedy is like most creative endeavours: of course it seems easy if youve no clue how its done.
So yeah, for these reasons I and many others find April Fools day utterly tiresome. And, unlike almost everyone else today, Im not joking.
Dean Burnett isnt normally this humourless, but he has been quite tired lately. Chastise him thoroughly on Twitter, @garwboy.
The Idiot Brain by Dean Burnett (Guardian Faber, 12.99). To order a copy for 7.99, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over 10, online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of 1.99.
Tesla fans stand in line at Park Meadows March 31, 2016 to preorder the new Tesla due to be unveiled Thursday night. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
LONE TREE The latest iPhone hit Apple stores Thursday, but that"s not why there was a line of people snaking around Park Meadows for a good part of the day.
No, these were Tesla Motors true believers, a rare breed of carbuyer willing to plunk down a refundable $1,000 deposit for the electric carmaker"s first "affordable" model sight unseen.
Will Alverson, 19, is a student at University of Denver. His dad told him to get on the list for the new Tesla so he got in line at Park Meadows around 9 a.m. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
"If you"ve driven a Tesla, it"s just a mind-blowing experience. It"s like the difference between a flip phone and an iPhone," said Chris Chan, 34, a Denver engineer who arrived at the mall almost two hours before the Tesla store opened. "I refuse to buy any other car."
Hundreds and hundreds of people waited in the snow and cold Thursday morning to reserve the new Tesla Model 3, hours before the company unveiled the car at its Los Angeles design studio and at least a year before the first vehicle rolls off the production line.
Similar lines were reported nationwide, and online ordering was set to begin at 8:30 p.m. local time.
The Model 3"s starting price of $35,000 puts it at less than half the cost of previous Tesla models. Fully charged, the electric car"s range was expected to be at least 200 miles, about twice that of similarly priced competitors, including the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3, according to the Associated Press.
To further defray the cost, a $ 7,500 federal tax credit is available for the first 200,000 Teslas of any model sold nationwide, a mark that Bloomberg estimates could be hit in mid-2018. In Colorado, residents are also eligible for additional electric-car tax incentives up to $6,000.
Tesla expects to begin Model 3 production at the end of 2017, although some analysts have expressed doubt the company, which has a history of delays, will meet that schedule. The first vehicles off the assembly line likely won"t be the no-frills base model, either.
"With the federal and state incentives, you"re wise to get in line," said Bridget Sargent, 50, a mother of two from Louisville who now drives a hybrid Toyota Highlander. "If you"re in the first 200,000, it brings it down to such a great deal."
"We don"t know what the features are, but (Tesla CEO) Elon Musk said we"d be happy," she said. "I don"t think Tesla will do anything that will disappoint."
This undated photo provided by Tesla Motors shows the Model 3 car. (Tesla Motors)
Retired RTD bus driver Steve Roos got in line at 8 a.m. and had hoped to reserve cars for himself, his sister and a nephew. But the limit Thursday was two.
"It will be two years before we get them but no problem," Roos said. "It"s just the reality of buying the product."
Roos, 65, said he loves that the company is "making it feasible to move forward with emission-free transport."
"As a company, their vision is what we need moving forward," he said. "The old way isn"t good for the environment."
Veterinarian Bonnie Wright came from Fort Collins with her three-legged German shepherd to reserve a car.
She"s wanted an electric vehicle for awhile, but none she looked at had the range to get her from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, where she works one day a week.
"The right one hasn"t been available," she said. "This is the first one I could afford."
The other two vehicles Tesla sells start at $71,000 for the Model S sedan. The Model X SUV starts around $80,000.
Musk, though, has long expressed a desire to offer a lower-priced option, and the Model 3 is important to Tesla"s plan to increase sales from 85,000 this year to 500,000 by 2020, according to the AP.
Of all new vehicles purchased in the U.S. last year, only 2.1 percent cost $75,000 or more, according to TrueCar. That"s compared to 35 percent or 5.5 million that cost $35,000 or more.
Electric cars, however, remain a tiny fraction of the U.S. auto market. Sales of new electric vehicles were up 6 percent last year but still make up less than 1 percent of the overall market, according to IHS Automotive.
Unlike many people in line Thursday, Golden entrepreneur Doug Michaels, 41, has owned a Tesla before. He ended up selling his Model S at a profit not because he didn"t like it, but to help pay for the land to build a house for his family.
Michaels arrived around 9:15 a.m., expecting to be able to walk right into the mall. Instead he had to queue up outside and called his wife to bring him a second coat and warm boots.
"I believe in Elon Musk"s vision for the company and his ability to execute is fantastic," Michaels said. "(The Model S) was the best car I"ve ever driven."
"He"s making money but it"s really about changing how people consume energy," he said. "It"s cool to be really proud about American cars again."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Emilie Rusch: 303-954-2457, erusch@denverpost.com or @emilierusch
BYN : Mauka Mauka - India vs West Indies ICC WT20 2016
MS Dhonis party is not over. And he is a lucky General with skill to boot. Hegoes into the semi-final battle tonight against the West Indiesdrenched with the public"s advice and suggestions on whom to play in this crucial match. Buoyed by a gust of good fortune and a slice of personal last-ball savvy in the tie against Bangladesh and a surprisingly facile win over the Aussies, Dhoni has stuck to the go team.
Of course, if the Windies blow India away there will be a cruel fall from grace considering the fickle nature of the billion odd cricket lovers, all of whom are experts.
When India lost to the Black Caps,armchair mandarins were howling for blood. The Bangladesh win was just a run away from a lynch mob that would have demanded heads on a stick. The party pundits were sharpening their long knives.
So, even if the selection committee has kept its head and done the right thing the fans are quite another kettle. Win tonight and all will be wonderful. Lose and especially because the frontline continues to show a broken wing and there will be more opinions than hats at Ascot.
You can almost hear the wails over dinner tonight if it does not pan out. Screams of derision that he did not take Ajinkya Rahane. What do Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina do except appear only to disappear? Even Rohit Sharma looks disinterested. Time for new blood. Whaaat, we couldnt win in your own back yard. Shudder to imagine what a dose Ashish Nehra will get if he is gayle-d. And every Hardik Pandya no-ball will produce a quadrophonic groan.
Sensibly, Dhoni knows that the composite picture is more important than its pieces. To fragment a team that is peaking at just the right time is foolish. Translated into morale that collective factor becomes vital. Take Yuvraj who is injured and the only one out. You may think, phew, thank goodness. We might regret that injury.
He gets that crucial wicket, he stays for his painfully fought 20 odd runs and has served as the perfect foil for the brilliant Virat Kohli in back to back innings. Without the visually unspectacular Yuvraj effect India may have been out of the tournament...He was a bit of a mascot and a rallying point. Like if Yuvi can do it so can I.
Even if we make it to the finals, stay with same gang. These guys have enjoyed each others company on and off the field where even the banter on the bus and the wisecracks have been a bonding factor.
Even the two openers, Rohit and Dhawan, who have had poor runs bring something to the table. Dhawan takes his catches and Rohit sprays confidence over the team even when he is not playing well. Raina pushes the chariot with his slip catches and just adds a little zest to the team spirit, gingers them up as does Ravindra Jadeja with his humour and his hey this is no big deal how come he got two wickets bowling capability.
Nehra plays mother and pours encouragement without saying when. These guys have one thing in common. They are pumped and primed for a big score and a good showing and this evening could be the moment.
It has been said, If it ain"t broke, dont fix it. This is where the Dhoni smarts has come into play. Anyone who has ever worn a uniform will tell you that the espirit de corps is as vital as a bullet in the gun when you face the adversary.
Dhoni, being an honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army, understands that aspect. Keep the boys together and get out there tonight and play for the team. Odds are unless it is a complete mess up, it should be a walk in the park. Just carry your rabbits foot and the boys will carry themselves, skipper.
Gloria Vanderbilt"s New Revelation Shocks Son Anderson Cooper | The View It"s been 28 years since Carter Cooper"s death by suicide at age 23, but brother Anderson Cooper and mom Gloria Vanderbilt say they have still not achieved closure and actually detest that word.
"The most terrible word in the English language, "closure," " Vanderbilt, 92, says in a recent interview with PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly editorial director Jess Cagle.
"It doesn"t exist. There"s no such thing," adds Cooper, 48.
Carter left a permanent hole in their hearts after he died in July 1988 after swinging off the terrace wall of his mother"s 14th floor Manhattan apartment. His passing came ten years after the death of Carter and Anderson"s father, author Wyatt Cooper, a man Anderson and Vanderbilt both describe as the glue who held the family together.
Vanderbilt, who looked on helplessly during Carter"s final moments, says her bond with Anderson became stronger after Carter"s death, even if holidays like Christmas were never the same.
"Well, I remember the first Christmas we were together after it happened cause he died July 22 and we went to the movies," she says while looking over at Anderson. "And then we went to the automat, and from then on we"ve never done anything about Christmas."
Anderson agrees with his mom, then adds: "I think it obviously brought us together in ways and I think you can"t help but come closer going through something like that, and, you know, it left us with each other. And, I think it"s still hard to believe it"s been so long because I think it"s still so present in our lives, that sense of loss."
Watch more of The Jess Cagle Interview with Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt all this week on People.com.
The television journalist painfully ponders the person his brother (who would have been 50 this year) might have become, and how their relationship could have deepened over the years.
Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper
Jeff Riedel
"I think it"s hard for me to imagine that he would be 50," Anderson says. "It"s stunning for me to think of how long ago it was that he died, that I"ve lived more of my life without him than I lived with him. That"s incomprehensible to me. He"s forever frozen in time."
"When we were growing up, I used to imagine us being adults and being closer when we were adults and having families and kind of getting to know each other in a new way, and we never had that opportunity," he continues.
Anderson, a 60 Minutes contributor and anchor of CNN"s Anderson Cooper 360, also reflects on how his brother"s death affected his career choices, and how his work in turn helped him make sense of his personal loss.
"I started going overseas and going to places where life and death was very real and where people were suffering tremendous losses. Hearing their stories and hearing people talk about it sort of helped me to get to a place where I could talk about it, I think," he explains.
Vanderbilt, meanwhile, has always welcomed people telling stories about Carter, even if they felt awkward bringing him up.
Donald Trump on the cover of PEOPLE
"Some people ... who knew Carter will start to talk about him and then say, "Oh, I"m sorry." And I say, "No, I love to talk about him. More, more, more." Because that brings him alive and it brings him closer and it means that he hasn"t been forgotten."
Vanderbilt says Carter lives on in her memories, even if after nearly 30 years it"s getting increasingly difficult to separate memories from myth.
"I think that maybe it was some kind of dream that happened and he seems so real to me still ... Does that make any sense?" she says.
"You"re saying you still dream of him?" Anderson asks in response.
"Yes, I do," she replies.
"And the dream feels very real?" he asks.
"The dream feels absolutely real," she says. "Just as a real as we are here."
Cooper and Vanderbilt"s relationship will be featured in an upcoming HBO documentary and, before that, in a memoir, The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son Talk About Life, Love, and Loss, due out April 5.
50 Cent - I"m The Man (Remix ft. Chris Brown) [CDQ / Dirty] By: PTI Los Angeles Published:Mar 31, 2016, 13:49 By: PTI | Los Angeles | Published:March 31, 2016 1:49 pm Following R&B singer Kehlanis suicide attempt that led to her hospitalization, rapper Chris Brown has accused the rising star of doing it as a ploy for sympathy.
Following R&B singer Kehlanis suicide attempt that led to her hospitalization, rapper Chris Brown has accused the rising star of doing it as a ploy for sympathy.
There is no attempting suicide. Stop flexing for the gram. Doing for sympathy so then comments under your pics dont look so bad, he wrote on Twitter. His harsh comment soon prompted backlash from other Twitter users. Chris Brownstfu, Rickey Thompson wrote.
Daniel Christopher added, Suicide is NOT a joke @chrisbrown. Your misogyny is disgusting & if you dont thinkattempted suicide is real, look at your own career.
Brandon Evers also responded, Chris Brown is a perfect example that having a daughter wont make a man less of a misogynist. Its scary to know hes raising a young girl.
Brown, 26, however, does not seem to care about what people said about him.
Without addressing the issue anymore, he posted later that day, The amount of followers I got and the amount of commentsare the amounts of I give.
Kehlani hinted that she attempted suicide with a picture of her lying in a hospital bed. The suicide attempt came afterthe Americas Got Talent alum was accused of cheating on her boyfriend, NBA star Kyrie Irving.
Halle Berry on Differences Between Her Son and Daughter
Halle Berry stirred up social media on Tuesday by launching accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with a sexy snap.
The Oscar winner picked a provocative photo of herself t*****s from behind to kick off her online presence.
Halle, who dared to bare all in the movie Swordfish, kept her back to camera in the shot, which appeared to be taken during a forest walk.
She shared the saucy snap across all three platforms as she joined the social media world in a big way.
Halle added a caption to the post on Instagram, which read: "Hi everyone. Welcome! Today is a very exciting day for me... I"m looking forward to sharing our world through images that reflect my emotions and perceptions.
"I am in awe of photography and its ability to capture and reflect this extraordinary world that we live in. I"m excited to share with you my love of nature, the arts, fashion and much more in the hopes that the images will inspire, promote conversation and bring you joy."
After officially logging on, the 49-year-old actress signed up to follow Adele, Alicia Keys, and Bruno Mars on her social media accounts.
Halle has just returned from a family vacation with her estranged husband Olivier Martinez.
The Oscar winner split from the French actor in October of last year, after two years of marriage, and they both subsequently filed papers for divorce in a Los Angeles court, but last week, the former couple was photographed together as they arrived at Los Angeles International Airport to board a flight with their two-year-old son Maceo and the actress" eight-year-old daughter Nahla, from her relationship with French-Canadian model Gabriel Aubry.
