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True story: Return of the Jedi was the first film I ever saw in theaters. Despite being shy of 2-years old, my parents took me to see the movie when it came out in 1983 .

Anyway. I've been a huge Star Wars fan my entire life.

I've seen the movies. I played the games. While Knights of the Old Republic probably absorbed more hours of my late teenage years than any other game, there's still a place in my heart for the SNES version of Empire. Great game.

I even read most of the books in the expanded Universe, and can give you a pretty specific breakdown of the Skywalker family tree, starting with Anakin and ending with Cade, along with some highlights of their adventures.

For fuck's sake favorite episodes of Muppet Babies were the ones where they played out their Star Wars fantasies.

Truly, I just love all things Star Wars. I had a Star Wars lunch box. Star Wars bed sheets! Star Wars cereal! STAR WARS EVERYTHING. Merchandizing, merchandizing! Star Wars the Flamethrower!

My point is, Star Wars is important. To me, certainly. But also culturally.

I mean that in the truest sense in the word: Star Wars has tremendous cultural importance. Even if you don't like it, you must see that. It's a massive piece of our history.

It's not just that Star Wars created cinema history with massive lines, record shattering box office numbers, and one of the most successful franchises of all time. It's so much more than that.

For one thing, the movie literally changed Hollywood. With his little space film that few people believed in, George Lucas single handedly proved that science fiction was a commercially viable genre. Before that, it the genre was relegated to B-movies and fairly low budget TV shows.

But Star Wars showed that with the right story, movie goers would buy in, and there was money to be made with sci-fi. Forty years later, nearly every blockbuster falls into that category.

The aside, Star Wars was the movie that really showed Hollywood the value of Campbellian storytelling. And that's why we're so rapid for it. It's why I'm so rabid for it.

I've written about Joseph Campbell and the Hero's Journey before, perhaps ad nauseum, so I'll make this brief.

In essence, Campbell shows us that all stories are one story, told a thousand different ways-that every great legend has at its core the same pattern and the same characters.

Which is why Star Wars speaks so strongly to us: it's the perfect story. It has everything you would want, everything the human psyche actually needs to fe fulfilled.

We've got an ancient order of Knights. A hero with a shining sword. A wizard to help guide him on his way. A princess in need of rescuing, who turns around to rescue her rescuers. A swaggering pirate with a heart of gold. A Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-esque pair of droids for comic relief. The ancient battle of good versus evil. A quest not just save the world, but to save a soul.

It's got love. Friendship. Betrayal. Redemption.

Characters have their past come to haunt them. They are punished for hubris. Rewarded for sacrifice. And none of them are perfect.

Like all great stories, Star Wars speaks directly to the core of who we are. It follows the model of struggle and growth we all go through: the call to adventure, the ordeal, tests and trials, seizing the sword, and finally return with the elixir.

The original Trilogy is a perfect story. They're not perfect movies-but they're a perfect story.

So it's really no wonder that all of us were caught and held by it. It's no wonder that from the moment we saw a small projection of a princess label a all but forgotten warrior as her only hope, we bought in.

It's no wonder that from the moment we saw a young boy standing on a small rise outside of his farm and staring at the binary sunset on the horizon, we felt what he felt: the longing to be more, to do more, escape the confines of home and mundanity and reality and even the Galaxy.

And Star Wars given us that.

Which is why it's no wonder that forty years later, we still want more, need more, to the extent that Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as well as this new entry are already are smashing records. Not only did The Force Awakens break every single ticket sales record Fandango had, it also broke Fandango itself, crashing the sites serves with the demand.

So. Yes. Star Wars is important. To all of us. And I am so excited to see this Star Wars: The Last Jedi that I could another five hundred words talking about the emotion in the process.

As you've seen, I am a full on geek, and as such I've spent a lot of time thinking about what it would be like to be part of the Star Wars universe. In particular, how to be a Jedi.

Which bring us to the second piece of this.

Below, I've outlined the essentials for being a modern day, real world Jedi. While I can't guarantee you Force powers, I can promise that if you follow the guide below, you'll be able to master the forces around you, and impose your will on the world.

Being a Jedi is the same as being anything else: it involves developing certain skills, and meeting certain criteria.

In the Old Republic, Jedi trained for years, progressing from Padawan Learner all the way to Jedi Master.

We don't have that kind of time. So you're about to get a crash course in the absolute essentials.

Get Your Body Right

The Jedi of any era are peacekeeping guardians and advisors, but they're also accomplished warriors. And that means training.

Starting from their earliest days at the academy, Padawan learners undergo rigorous physical trials to hone their skills. However, getting into Jedi shape doesn't mean following a highly structured curriculum.

The real world Jedi follows a great program as often as he can, but sometimes that's not possible, and he's got to make due training in the swamps of Dagobah.

Today, I've got a Jedi workout in the spirit of the latter-the type of workout you'd do with a tiny green Jedi master coaching you through it.

It'll look like this:

Get Your Mind Right

When it comes to being a Jedi, brainpower is key. It's necessary for the most important tasks a Jedi will need to perform-the alertness needed for combat; the wisdom needed to provide counsel, and the mental acuity and required to access all the various Force powers.

Mental training is a huge piece of the Jedi puzzle. A big part of this is meditation, which allows Jedi to hone their skills, and commune directly with the Force.

Now, personally, I never thought I'd be the type to meditate. I tried it when I was 22, and after realizing that no matter how much I meditated that I was never going to be able to Force Choke someone. At the time, I was sort of frustrated with the idea that I'd have to settle for just like...regular choking people. So I gave up on meditation.

Eventually, I realized that perhaps there are benefits to meditation and mental discipline apart from the potential to telekinetically asphyxiate another human being. Things like increased concentration, enhanced productivity, and easier access to the flow state necessary for the creative process.

All of which is to say: when it comes to meditation, 22 year old Roman was wrong. Just flat out, completely incorrect. So, eleven years later, I'm back at it. And, while I still can't access the Force or project my spirit to the Astral Plane, I have to admit...it's pretty awesome.

I wrote an entire article post about my experience with meditation, so I won't go too in-depth here, but I will say this: all Jedi, modern day or otherwise, need to be able to impose their will on the wilds of their psyche, and explore the inward frontier of their own minds. Mediation is the fastest route to all of this.

Give Yourself a Mental Boost

Mental training is important, no doubt about it. But, like all training, it can be made more effective with the right tools.

I've made clear that, for me, a good mental state is vital for ever aspect of what I do. It's necessary for success as a writer, business owner, fitness professional, and all around Jedi. Not to mention being able to perform various Mind Tricks on those unskilled in the way of the Force.

To that, I'm fairly well known for my experiments with nootropics and other brain drugs. And as much as I like things like Adderall or Provigil, the fact is that they are not without risk or consequence. I'm not nearly as cavalier with my usage of those drugs as some, which is why I use them sparingly.

Think real world Limitless supplementation, using all natural ingredients from across the corners of the galaxy.

Alpha Brain is a fully-balanced nootropic, or cognitive enhancer. In other words, it helps you think better. The main ingredients-Alpha GPC and Huperzia Serrata-contain nutrients that help your body turn up acetylcholine levels full throttle while other ingredients assist in elevating neurological components vital to remaining calm, focused, and mentally driven.

The result is an extraordinary combination of lucid dreams, mental drive, focus, and mental acuity. Like any Jedi, I use it to enhance my Force powers and be better at my job; I take it whenever I need extra energy or focus, but I also use it to write articles like this one.

Alpha Brain, in many respects, is better than Adderall. Obviously, it's not nearly as potent-but it's safe, and gives you the effect you need without exposing your systems to amphetamines or drugs designed to treat narcolepsy. There are no side effects at all-no jitters, no crash, no headaches or withdrawal like symptoms; just a clean focus.

Now, I'm out of my fucking mind so rather than a that standard dose of 1-2 capsules, I only use it when I need it, and take at least 3 capsule alongside some yohimbine HCL. For me, there are no ill-effects, and I'm crushing life, so I feel good with that.

ONNIT also just released Alpha Brain Instant, which I've found to work even better. It's a powdered version of Alpha Brain, which comes in small packets you just mix into a bottle of water. It comes in two flavors (I like the peach), and I typically add two packets to a 25 .oz bottle of water.

That said, please don't be an idiot-whichever version you choose, be judicious with your dosage and start with one serving, working your way up. Jedi are known for exercising both patience and wisdom, after all.

Get Your Padawan On

If you want to be truly great at anything, I believe that it's important to take your development into your own hands...and that sometimes means placing it into the hands of others.

What I mean is, as much as I value the ideas of self-study, self-improvement, and self-edification, I firmly believe that the simplest way to get better at anything, to become great at anything, to achieve anything is to study under those who can help you.

And that means finding a mentor. Mentorship is, I believe, the most valuable tools in the world. And I believe that it's necessary to achieve true success in any endeavor.

No matter what industry we're in, we all stand on the shoulders of giants, and make greater strides when we place ourselves in position to benefit from those who know more than use.

Athletes have coaches. Students have teachers. Great musicians study under instructors. And Jedi need to study at the feet of a master before they can strike out on their own.

This model of learning from others and rising through the ranks is present in real world craft (from apprentice, to journey, to tradesman, to craftsman, to master), just as it's present in the Star Wars Universe (youngling, to padawan, to apprentice, to Jedi, to Master).

It's necessary for everyone to have a mentor, which is why the role of the mentor is one of the most important in the Campbellian structure. The mentor archetype is always present-it's not just Obi-Wan; it's Merlin, or Dumbledore, or Mr. Miyagi, or Splinter.

Every single successful person I have ever met can tell you who their mentors have been, what those people have contributed to their development, and how that's made them successful. In my case, it's been guys like John Berardi and Alvin Batista.

In terms of business, I have been a mentor to guys like Mike Vacanti, or all of the people in the RFS Mastermind.

But I also serve as a mentor on the fitness side of things, as a coach. And through my coaching program I've personally mentored thousands of people, helping them take control of their bodies and their lives, guiding their development and providing the tools to help them change.

Mentorship has given me so much of what I have, in both directions; I would not be where I am-personally, physically, or professionally-without my mentors, and I would not be as emotionally fulfilled if not for my own role as a mentor.

With that in mind, and in celebration of our mutual love of Star Wars, I am offering two additional spots in my coaching program for the next week (and offering the 30% holiday discount I ran a few weeks back). I am taking on two new Pawadan Learners, and I am going to help them change their lives.

If you're ready to change, to learn the ways of the Force, and to take control of your body, I shall be your Obi-Wan. I will help you become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

While I cannot teach you to become one with the Force, I can help you build the body you've always wanted, take control of your health, and-in the process- improve just about every facet of your life.

All you need to do is fill out the application here. And when you do, tell me which color lightsaber you'd use, and why.

Again, it's just TWO spots in my already-closed program, but I'm amped as hell for this new Star Wars movie, and I'm pretty sure that only a fellow Star Wars nerd will have read this far...so we're on the same page already.

Which is why I'm looking forward to working with you: you definitely know how important this story is to all of us.

Wrapping Up

The Jedi may be fictional, but that doesn't mean that we cannot strive to be as they are. Like any proud order of Knights, the Jedi are inspirational and aspirational, helping us see that we all have it in us to be better. That inside all of us, the farm boy (or girl) has it in them to save the Galaxy.

As we celebrate this new chapter of an amazing story that began 40 years ago...but has been told in some form or another for millennia...let us all appreciate that we can be more than we are.

This article can help you do that, and aid you on your quest to be a real world, modern day Jedi. You'll be able to look, act, and perform the way a Jedi would.

I truly hope you've enjoyed this - and may the Force be with you.

About the Author

John Romaniello is a level 70 orc wizard who spends his days lifting heavy shit and his nights fighting crime. When not doing that, he serves as the Chief Bro King of the Roman Empire and Executive Editor here on RFS. You can read his articles here, and rants on Facebook.

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How to be One with the Force: On the Importance of Star Wars and Becoming a Real World Jedi (plus a Jedi Workout)

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True story: Return of the Jedi was the first film I ever saw in theaters. Despite being shy of 2-years old, my parents took me to see the movie when it came out in 1983 . Anyway. I've been a huge Star Wars fan my entire life. I've seen the movies.

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Bicara knalpot di Purbalingga tak bisa lepas dari tempat lahirnya: Desa Pesayangan. Pada 1970 mayoritas penduduk desa ini memang merupakan perajin logam dapur, seperti dandang, panci, kuali dan sejenisnya.

Mereka lihai mengayun palu, menciptakan kreasi dari olahan logam--namun masih dalam skop industri kecil rumahan. Kabar keahlian itu lantas menyebar ke Jakarta. Kemudian, ketika kendaraan bermotor mulai ramai, sekitar 1980, perajin di Pesayangan mulai terima order olahan logam dari Jakarta, berupa knalpot.

Ternyata knalpot buatan Pesayangan disukai. Pesanan pun makin banyak, dari berbagai kota. Beberapa penduduk mulai banting setir dari olahan logam barang dapur ke barang otomotif.

Ketika kami mengunjungi desa itu awal Maret lalu, tampak kebanyakan rumah tinggal disulap jadi bengkel. Halaman depan warga tampak terpajang jejeran knalpot. Mereka terbagi jadi dua: perajin knalpot motor dan mobil.

Semua pria di sana seperti sibuk di siang hari. Ada yang sedang ukur-ukur knalpot, mengecat dan merapikan knalpot belum jadi dengan memukul-mukulnya. Suasananya gaduh. Namun lama-lama kami jadi biasa.

Di Pesayangan ini sebagian besar warganya memang bekerja sebagai pembuat knalpot. Mereka yang punya modal biasanya yang punya bengkel. Sedangkan yang tak punya modal akan berperan sebagai karyawan.

Keuntungan lumayan bisnis ini membuat industri knalpot jadi usaha turun temurun. Saat ini sudah masuk era generasi kedua dan ketiga. Karena makin banyak perajin di sana lahan bengkel pun jadi terbatas.

Kondisi itu mendorong generasi baru keluar dari Pesayangan. Mereka lalu menyebar di berbagai desa Purbalingga. Malah ada juga yang melebarkan sayapnya ke kota lain di Indonesia.

Salah satu generasi Pesayangan yang keluar adalah Muhajirin (65). Seorang pengusaha knalpot yang kini tinggal di Dusun Peniron, Wirasana, Purbalingga Lor. Muhajirin yang juga menjabat Ketua Koperasi Perajin Knalpot Purbalingga ini sempat selama satu dasawarsa tinggal di Pesayangan.

Orang tuanya merupakan perajin logam dapur yang ada desa itu. Ketika usahanya makin maju, Muhajirin memutuskan membuka lahan baru di luar Pesayangan. Muhajirin fokus mendesain knalpot mobil, dengan memakai tenaga kerja lokal.

Ketekunan Muhajirin membuahkan hasil. Selain pasar domestik, ia sering dapat pesanan dari berbagai merek otomotif internasional. Dari jenisnya, pesanan Muhajirin bukan hanya untuk kendaraan keluarga, tetapi juga kendaraan tempur.

Salah satu pelanggannya adalah PT. Pindad. Sejak 2008 hingga sekarang, Muhajirin rutin memasok knalpot untuk Panser Anoa dan Komodo dengan jumlah pesanan mencapai 100 knalpot tiap tahun.

Tak hanya panser, garapan teranyar PT. Pindad, eskavator, rencananya juga akan menggunakan knalpot olahan Muhajirin. Pesanan dari perusahaan pelat merah itu mencapai 150 knalpot.

Terbaru, proyek mobil Esemka yang akan mulai di produksi akhir bulan ini, juga akan memakai knalpot asal Purbalingga. "Saya yang pegang produksi knalpotnya. Orderannya capai 10 ribuan," kata dia saat ditemui Minggu (4/3/2018).

Meski orderan knalpotnya telah merambah ke mana-mana, namun Muhajirin mengaku, pesanan untuk knalpot motor dan mobil sedang turun. Pasalnya mulai 2016, kompetisi harga knalpot makin tidak sehat. "Harga knalpot sekarang hancur. Pemerintah kenapa membiarkan saja?," katanya.

Muhajirin memprediksi jika harga terus melorot, industri knalpot Purbalingga bisa terpuruk. Apalagi jika berhadapan dengan pemodal besar yang memiliki mesin pembuat knalpot yang canggih.

Bagi dia, perajin knalpot Purbalingga telah memiliki keahlian mumpuni dibanding daerah lain. Tapi ada dua hal yang belum dimiliki mereka: manajemen profesional dan mesin pendukung produksi beserta tenaga ahlinya.

"Kita ada bantuan dari provinsi, mesin penekuk pipa, bagus dan mahal. Mesinnya modern tapi tenaga ahlinya tak ada, akhirnya banyak nongkrongnya saja itu mesin," tuturnya.

Keresahan sama diungkap Edi Nurmanto (43), perajin knalpot motor merek Abenk Racing Exhaust asal desa Grecol, Purbalingga. Edi yang sudah 20 tahun menggeluti knalpot ini menitikberatkan produksinya pada knalpot racing bahan stainless, besi dan galvanis.

Ia mengatakan jika perajin didukung ketersediaan alat, maka produk Purbalingga bisa makin berkibar.

Sumber masalah lain menurutnya adalah persaingan harga.

Ia menjelaskan, dalam industri knalpot motor itu ada empat tahapan jalur distibusi. Mulai dari produsen, sales, toko hingga ke konsumen. Misal, dari produsen harga satu knalpot Rp100 ribu, kemudian diteruskan oleh sales ke toko menjadi Rp150 ribu, lalu toko menjual ke konsumen menjadi Rp200 ribu.

Keuntungan dari tiap mata rantai tersebut yang selama ini memberikan lahan kerja yang cukup luas bagi masyarakat Purbalingga.

Hanya saja seiring majunya media berbasis internet, mata rantai itu terputus. Barang dari produsen langsung diterima konsumen melalui keberadaan penjual lepas.

"Dengan modal telepon genggam, penjual lepas ini ambil foto knalpot ke produsen yang ia kenal, lalu diunggah di internet dengan harga murah," ujarnya. Penjual lepas tersebut biasanya anak sekolah yang mencari penghasilan tambahan.

Tapi Edi yakin jalur seperti ini tak akan tahan lama. Pasalnya orderan knalpot itu ada dua jenis, knalpot custom dan non custom. Custom adalah istilah yang digunakan perajin knalpot yang hasil olahannya mengedepankan teknik matang dan pemilihan bahan tepat sehingga dapat memaksimalkan kinerja motor. Sedang non custom adalah istilah yang diperuntukkan bagi pemesanan knalpot sesuai bawaan motornya. Knalpot tidak berubah bentuk dan fungsinya.

Nah, menurut Edi, persaingan harga bukan terjadi di knalpot custom. Hal itu terjadi karena tak mudah membuat custom. Apalagi konsepnya sesuai keinginan pemesan. Di sini produsen harus mampu menerjemahkan imajinasi pemesan dalam bentuk produk yang bukan saja sesuai dengan fungsi, tapi juga punya nilai artistik. Kerumitan ini yang membuat harga knalpot custom tetap bertahan.

Sepanjang kariernya, Edi telah menerima banyak orderan, sampai skop Asia Tenggara. Ia sudah mematenkan merek Abenk sejak 2011. Tidak hanya itu, Edi juga sudah memiliki tiga paten bentuk untuk kreasi knalpot olahannya.

Kami sempat ditunjukkan oleh Edi salah satu hasil olahannya untuk mesin empat silinder, yang bagian leher knalpotnya menggunakan model las cacing. Ini termasuk teknik pengelasan rumit yang memperhitungkan tiap lekukan untuk memperlancar laju gas buang.

Di dalam rumah Edi juga banyak tumpukan knalpot custom berbagai merek motor. Meski pemasaran masih lewat mulut ke mulut, tetapi permintaan pasar cukup besar untuk knalpot custom buatannya. Ia banyak didatangi pembalap lokal hingga nasional.

Nampaknya hal itu juga yang membuat rumah Edi penuh dengan jejeran piala. Ketika pembalapnya menang, otomatis knalpot Edi pun ikut terangkat. "Paling tidak saya bisa membuktikan kreasi knalpot saya tidak membuat kinerja mesin menurun," tuturnya.

Sebenarnya yang menjadi kerisauan utama Edi bukan kompetisi antar bengkel atau persaingan harga. Tetapi juga pada Peraturan Menteri Negara Lingkungan Hidup Nomor 7 tahun 2009 tentang ambang batas kebisingan kendaraan bermotor.

Ada regulasi yang mengatakan, setiap kendaraan roda dua yang memiliki sentimeter kubik (CC) kurang dari 175 CC, standar kebisingannya adalah 80 desibel.

Sedang bagi motor yang ber-CC lebih dari 175 CC standar kebisingannya adalah 83 desibel. Peraturan yang berlaku sejak 1 Juli 2013 ini berpotensi mengurangi pesanan knalpot motor dari sektor pemakai harian.

"Susahnya itu ketika di jalan sering kali knalpot custom di tilang, dengan alasan knalpotnya tidak standar. Padahal aturan sudah jelas itu tadi. Kita sudah memperhitungkan tingkat kebisingannya," kata Edi.

Ia berharap, aturan itu bisa ditinjau ulang atau paling tidak penerapannya di lapangan harus sesuai. Tak semua motor berknalpot custom bisa kena tilang selama tidak melebihi ambang batas kebisingan.

Untuk persoalan mesin pembuat knalpot, Edi ingin pemerintah ikut membantu, misalnya melalui pemberian kredit ringan. Sering ia mendapat pesanan dari pasar internasional tetapi karena mesinnya tidak mendukung pihaknya harus menolak. "Kalau mesin dibantu, kita bisa bukan hanya mengejar kualitas tetapi juga kuantitas," katanya.

Terpisah, Wakil Bupati Purbalingga Dyah Hayuning Pratiwi, mengatakan pihaknya terus memperhatikan industri knalpot rumahan ini. Ia akan membantu penguatan sentra industri ini sekaligus menjadi mitra perajin untuk mengembangkan produknya. "Akhir 2017 kita dapat bantuan Kementerian Perindustrian untuk pembangunan LIK (Lembaga Industri Kecil)," katanya.

"Harga knalpot sekarang hancur. Pemerintah kenapa membiarkan saja?"
Muhajirin (perajin knalpot)

Tercatat, sampai saat ini ada 148 industri kecil dan menengah knalpot Purbalingga yang tersebar di sembilan desa. Pratiwi akan mengupayakan kerja sama dengan ATPM (Agen Tunggal Pemegang Merek) sehingga pasar knalpot Purbalingga semakin luas lagi.

Ia mendorong perajin knalpot untuk memantapkan desain produknya melalui hak merek, hak cipta atau hak paten. "Teman-teman perajin knalpot akan kita fasilitasi terkait hak tersebut," kata Pratiwi.

Pihaknya ingin kejayaan knalpot Purbalingga bisa kembali bangkit. Seperti di era 80-an ketika perajin bernama Sultoni merintis usaha knalpotnya di Pesayangan. Sultoni merupakan perajin generasi pertama yang mengangkat derajat para perajin knalpot lainnya.

Untuk mengenang Sultoni, Pemerintah Purbalingga membuatkan tugu patung knalpot yang terletak di pertigaan jalan menuju Bobotsari pada 2004. Patung orang yang sedang memukul-mukul logam itu dibangun oleh Triyono Budi S., seorang Bupati Purbalingga saat itu.

Tetapi, kemasyhuran knalpot Purbalingga tak selamanya harum. Namanya sempat tercoreng karena ada produsen yang membuat knalpot dengan mencatut merek luar negara. Bahkan ada perajin Purbalingga yang jadi buronan dunia karena kasus pemalsuan knalpot ini.

Sebab itu beberapa tahun belakangan marak berdiri kelompok antiknalpot palsu di Purbalingga. Kelompok ini yang terus mendorong perajin knalpot di sana untuk menjaga orisinalitasnya.

Soal pemalsuan yang mendunia ini, para perajin di sana tampak enggan berkomentar. Mereka takut dan terus menutup mulut. "Kami enggak mau bicara hal itu," kata beberapa perajin tersebut.

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Jejak pencipta knalpot cacing dan komodo di Purbalingga

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Bicara knalpot di Purbalingga tak bisa lepas dari tempat lahirnya: Desa Pesayangan. Pada 1970 mayoritas penduduk desa ini memang merupakan perajin logam dapur, seperti dandang, panci, kuali dan sejenisnya. Mereka lihai mengayun palu, menciptakan kreasi dari olahan logam--namun masih dalam skop industri kecil rumahan. Kabar keahlian itu lantas menyebar ke Jakarta.

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Apparently Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, folks.

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During a taping of The Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis over the weekend, the star and man of the hour took a tough stance by stating the film is not a Christmas movie. Released in 1988, Die Hard being a Christmas movie has become a point of contention among fans over the years thanks to its clear action-thriller nature and Christmas setting.

Die Hard focuses on Willis' character John McClane, an NYPD officer visiting his wife in Los Angeles. While attending a Christmas party at her office in Nakatomi Plaza, McClane is forced into action after German terrorists, led by Alan Rickman's iconic Hans Gruber, take over the building. The non-holiday tone and plot paired with the clear Christmastime setting has created much online debate as to whether or not the film itself is a Christmas movie. Some fans argue that not only does it qualify for the category, but it's actually among the best.
Related: Die Hard Could Have Included Wesley Snipes Or Gene Hackman
According to coverage of the taping from , Willis has his own opinion on the matter and is clearly in the non-Christmas movie camp. While Willis only took the stage briefly, as is customary for the subject of a roast, he did use the opportunity to close the ceremonies with the strong declaration that " Die Hard is not a Christmas movie!" A report from suggests he went even further by doubling down with " It's a g*****n Bruce Willis movie!" When questioned after the show about how he thought his fans might react, Willis only replied, " We'll see."

The Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis, which airs July 29, was hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Willis' co-star in the films and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and featured roasters Nikki Glaser, Jeff Ross, Lil Rel Howery, Edward Norton, and Dennis Rodman - but not Kevin Smith. Willis' ex-wife, actress Demi Moore, also made a surprise appearance, getting in a few jabs about the difference in his quality of work both during and after their marriage. Besides Willis and their co-performers on stage, many of the roasters chose to take shots at Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein, and Kevin Spacey.

With a filmography that not only includes the Die Hard franchise - which Willis has confirmed as recently as February is churning out a sixth installment - but also films like RED, The Expendables, The Fifth Element, and many others, it's hard to argue that the actor wouldn't know an action film when he sees one. Does the film being set on Christmas Eve affect this assessment? Not according to Willis.

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Die Hard Is NOT A Christmas Movie, According To Bruce Willis

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During a taping of The Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis over the weekend, the star and man of the hour took a tough stance by stating the film is not a Christmas movie. Released in 1988, Die Hard being a Christmas movie has become a point of contention among fans over the years thanks to its clear action-thriller nature and Christmas setting.

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The Difference Between A Motocross Bike & Trail Bike | MotoSport

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Motocross bikes are set up to take the abuse of big jumps, whoop sections and cornering at high speeds. Before hitting the trails, adjust the compression and rebound for a softer ride. However you might be better off getting your suspension re-sprung and re-valved by a professional.

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If you're good at something, you can call yourself a Jedi, or, if you're currently learning something, like French, you can call yourself a French language Padawan.

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In a 1997 episode of called "The Comeback," George Costanza is merrily stuffing himself with free shrimp at a meeting. His coworker mocks him: "Hey, George, the ocean called. They're running out of shrimp." George stands humiliated as laughter fills the room, his mind searching frantically for the perfect riposte.

It's only later, on the drive home, that he thinks of the comeback. But the moment has passed.

The common human experience of thinking of the perfect response too late-l'esprit de l'escalier, or "the wit of the staircase"-was identified by French philosopher Denis Diderot when he was so overwhelmed by an argument at a party that he could only think clearly again once he'd gotten to the bottom of the stairs.

We've all been there. Freestyle rappers, improv comedians, and others who rely on witty rejoinders for a living say their jobs make them better equipped to seize the opportunity for clever retorts in everyday life. They use a combination of timing, listening, and gagging their inner critics. Here are their insights for crafting the perfect comeback.

LISTEN TO YOUR OPPONENT'S ARGUMENT.

The next time you're in a heated conversation, be less focused on what you're about to say and more attentive to what you're actually responding to. When you spend more time considering what your sparring partner is saying, "you're deferring your response until you've fully heard the other person," Jim Tosone, a technology executive-turned-improv coach who developed the Improv Means Business program, tells Mental Floss. Your retorts may be more accurate, and therefore more successful, when you're fully engaged with the other person's thoughts.

DON'T THINK TOO MUCH.

According to Belina Raffy, the CEO of the Berlin-based company Maffick -which also uses improv skills in business-not overthinking the situation is key. "You're taking yourself out of unfolding reality if you think too much," she tells Mental Floss. It's important to be in the moment, and to deliver your response to reflect that moment.

TRAIN THAT SPONTANEOUS MENTAL MUSCLE.

History's most skilled comeback artists stored witticisms away for later use, and were able to pull them out of their memory at the critical time.

Winston Churchill was known for his comebacks, but Tim Riley, director and chief curator at the National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri, tells Mental Floss that many of his burns were borrowed. One of his most famous lines was in response to politician Bessie Braddock's jab, "Sir, you are drunk." The prime minister replied, "And you, Bessie, are ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning, and you will still be ugly."

Riley says this line was copied from comic W.C. Fields. Nevertheless, it took quick thinking to remember and reshape the quote in the moment, which is why Churchill was thought of as a master of timing. "It was an off-the-cuff recall of something he had synthesized, composed earlier, and that he was waiting to perform," Riley says.

But in some situations, the retort must be created entirely in the moment. Training for spontaneity on stage also helps with being quicker-witted in social situations, New York City battle rap emcee iLLspokinn tells Mental Floss. It's like working a spontaneous muscle that builds with each flex, so, you're incrementally better each time at seizing that witty opportunity.

MUZZLE YOUR INNER CRITIC.

Anyone who has been in the audience for an improv show has seen how rapidly performers respond to every situation. Improv teaches you to release your inhibitions and say what drops into your mind: "It's about letting go of the need to judge ourselves," Raffy explains.

One way to break free of your internal editor might be to imagine yourself on stage. In improv theater, the funniest responses occur in the spur of the moment, says Douglas Widick, an improv performer who trained with Chicago's Upright Citizens Brigade. By not letting one's conscience be one's guide, actors can give into their "deepest fantasies" and say the things they wouldn't say in real life.

IF YOU HAVE AN EXTRA SECOND, HONE YOUR ZINGER.

The German version of Diderot's term is Treppenwitz, also meaning the wit of the stairs. But the German phrase has evolved to mean the opposite: Something said that, in retrospect, was a bad joke. When squaring up to your rival, the high you get from spearing your opponent with a deadly verbal thrust can be shadowed by its opposite, the low that comes from blurting out a lame response that lands like a lead balloon.

That's a feeling that freestyle rapper Lex Rush hopes to avoid. "In the heat of the battle, you just go for it," she tells Mental Floss. She likens the fight to a "stream of consciousness" that unfolds into the mic, which leaves her with little control over what she's projecting into the crowd.

It may help to mull over your retort if you have a few extra seconds-especially if you're the extroverted type. " Introverts may walk out of a meeting thinking, 'Why didn't I say that?' while extroverts think, 'Why did I say that?'" Tosone, the improv coach, says. Thinking before you speak, even just briefly, will help you deploy a successful comeback.

And if it doesn't go your way, iLLspokinn advises brushing off your missed opportunity rather than dwelling on your error: "It can be toxic to hold onto it."

THROW DIGITAL SHADE ACCORDING TO THE SAME RULES-BUT BE QUICK ABOUT IT.

Texting and social media, as opposed to face-to-face contact, give you a few extra minutes to think through your responses. That could improve the quality of your zinger. "We're still human beings, even on screens. And we prefer something that is well-stated and has a fun energy and wit about it," Scott Talan, a social media expert at American University, tells Mental Floss.

But don't wait too long: Replies lose their punch after a day or so. "Speed is integral to wit, whether in real life or screen life," Talan says. "If you're trying to be witty and have that reputation, then speed will help you."

Some companies have excelled in deploying savage social media burns as marketing strategies, winning viral retweets and recognition. The Wendy's Twitter account has become so well known for its sassy replies that users often provoke it. "Bet you won't follow me @Wendys," a user challenged. "You won that bet," Wendy's immediately shot back.

George Costanza learns that lesson when he uses his rehearsed comeback at the next meeting. After his colleague repeats his shrimp insult, George stands and proudly announces, "Oh yeah? Well, the jerk store called, and they're running out of you!"

There's silence-until his nemesis comes back with a lethal move: "What's the difference? You're their all-time best-seller."

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In a 1997 episode of called "The Comeback," George Costanza is merrily stuffing himself with free shrimp at a meeting. His coworker mocks him: "Hey, George, the ocean called. They're running out of shrimp." George stands humiliated as laughter fills the room, his mind searching frantically for the perfect riposte.

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Though the Game of Thrones wrap party took place last Sunday, production didn't stop. Only a few cast members remained this week, but that's not to say it was a private affair: appropriately enough, when season eight filming actually ended, it was at the gigantic King's Landing set where much of the climactic action will apparently take place.

According to our sources, the last day of filming was yesterday. It's really over-for good. Before bidding the show a final farewell, let's catch up with the last week of filming, as well as Maisie Williams 's heartbreaking (and a bit ominous) goodbye on social media.

First of all, there was an unexpected return to the new Magheramorne green screen set. We don't know why they went back there after three months, but it's probably for some more of what was filmed before: scenes in the snow involving armies and riding parties.

At 6pm today the GoT sign has finally (re)appeared at Magheramorne (wasn't there yet at 4pm!). Filming should start very soon. No lighting equipment mounted at the big green screen this time, very likely day shooting. Many vehicles for movable green screens on site. pic.twitter.com/z4tZ44O2ig

- GoTlike Locations (@GoTlikeLocation) June 25, 2018

The main action this week, however, began and ended at the King's Landing set:

These final filming photos reiterate just how screwed the Seven Kingdoms capital will be. It's difficult to gauge the extent of the damage, but if this is what was accomplished in a physical set, I can only imagine the mayhem King's Landing will go through once all the visual effects are done and we see it on our screens in season eight... next year.

As for who was left filming these scenes after most of their peers were done, rumors abound (Kit Harington is said to be one of them), but the only one we know for sure about is Maisie Williams, who left this heartfelt message on her Instagram today:

"Goodbye Belfast. Goodbye Arya. Goodbye Game of Thrones. What a joy I've had. Here's to the adventures to come".

This was followed by several hashtags, such as "last woman standing", which could refer to Williams being the last cast member on set... or, if she meant Arya, to something more ominous. Not as ominous as her bloody shoes accompanying the message, though:

So this is it. For those of us who follow filming news, now the true off-season begins. And it will be a long one: there is no season eight premiere date set yet, but we'll have to wait more than the usual few months; perhaps as much as an entire year or thereabouts. During this terrifying Long Night, here at Watchers on the Wall we'll keep the lights on with the help of our wonderful feature writers and the podcast we recently announced (coming soon!); and of course we'll keep reporting on interviews, casting news (there is some of that on the way), and whatever else makes this wait hurt just a little bit less.

Thank you all, fellow spoilerphiles and the community at large, for sticking with us!

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Game of Thrones Filming Ends-Forever! | Watchers on the Wall | A Game of Thrones Community for Breaking News, Casting, and Commentary

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Though the Game of Thrones wrap party took place last Sunday, production didn't stop. Only a few cast members remained this week, but that's not to say it was a private affair: appropriately enough, when season eight filming actually ended, it was at the gigantic King's Landing set where much of the climactic action will apparently take place.

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3. traveling

4. nonton konser band favorit

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Click here to download a PDF list of the 100 books every man should read.
One of the earliest articles we published on the Art of Manliness was "100 Must-Read Books for Men." The piece was a result of a collaboration between the AoM team and a few guest writers.

The list was certainly decent enough, but some of the guest picks weren't books we would personally recommend. So too, over the last nine years we've read some additional books worthy of inclusion.

So today we present a revamped list of 100 books every man should read over the course of his lifetime. It's a library that centers not on sheer enjoyment (though you'll find that too), but on the books that expand mind and soul, build new mental models, and allow you to become more culturally literate and thus better able to participate in the Great Conversation. These are the books you'll keep thinking about long after you've finished the last page (even when, or perhaps especially when, you disagree with their ideas), providing cognitive leftovers you'll be chewing on for years, and decades, to come.

Set among New York City elites in the roaring '20s, this book is considered one of America's great literary products for a reason. Narrator Nick Carraway is befriended by his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and proves to be a crucial link in Jay's quixotic obsession with Nick's cousin, Daisy. The metaphors, the beautiful writing, and the lessons one can garner about reliving the past all make The Great Gatsby worth reading, again and again. Our interview with NPR's Maureen Corrigan is worth a listen. She is the author of So We Read On: How To Great Gatsby Came To Be and Why It Endures. We discussed her research into why a novel written about Jazz Age New York that resonates with Americans nearly a century later.

Written in the early 1500s, this is the classic guide on how to acquire and maintain political power (even if those methods are sometimes unsavory) - a so-called "primer for princes." Its precepts are direct, if not disturbingly cold in their formulaic pragmatism. It asks the classic question: "Do the ends justify the means?" A worthy read for any man wishing to better understand the motivations and actions that tend to rule modern politics.

Stephen Ambrose, who passed far before his time, has given us some of the best histories of WWII out there, with Band of Brothers being the best of the bunch. From their rigorous training in Georgia to the end of the war, Ambrose tells the incredible story of the men of Easy Company. They were soldiers who went hungry, froze, and died for each other, and whose inspiring story lives on not only in this book, but in dozens of others, and of course, the popular HBO miniseries.

The Republic is a Socratic dialogue, written by Plato around 380 BC, concerning the definition of justice and how a just city-state should be ordered and characterized. It is the great philosopher's best-known work and has proven to be one of history's most influential works of philosophy and political theory. In it, Socrates and other various interlocutors discuss the meaning of justice and examine whether or not the just man is happier than the unjust man, as well as the theory of Forms, the immortality of the soul, and the role of the philosopher in society.

The fundamental work on free market policies: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages." Want an education in economics? This book is a great start.

The remarkable tale of Buck, a domesticated dog forced to adapt to a life of work in Alaska during the Yukon gold rush, and told from his perspective. Over time, his soft exterior and manner hardens as he learns the harsh realities of the cold. Survival replaces comfort, and toughness replaces laxity. Plus, Jack London provides some of the punchiest, most virile writing you'll ever come across.

Over the course of three volumes and about 2,500 pages, Edmund Morris takes us through the unprecedented and never duplicated life of AoM's patron saint, President Theodore Roosevelt. Nobody accomplished more or lived as vigorously as TR. From his younger days as a weakling who learned to hone his body, to his final forays in politics and through the Amazon, Morris really covers it all. While beastly, this trilogy is well worth the time of any man who's ever felt a tinge of restlessness; reading about TR will turn that anxiety into action!

Set in a future dystopian world of perpetual war and constant government surveillance, our protagonist, Winston, is a quintessential everyman who works for the Ministry of Truth rewriting history to the government's party lines rhetoric. He comes upon a secret organization which seeks to destroy the state, and together with a mysterious woman, joins the cause to fight against Big Brother. Although published in the late 1940s, it resonates today more strongly than ever. Will you be a lemming? Or will you be an independent thinker and actor?

Similar to 1984, but whereas that novel portends changes in governmental rule, Aldous Huxley's 1931 classic looks at technological changes that would change society - babies are born in laboratories, entertainment is formulaic rather than narrative, individuality is frowned up, and society is hugely stratified. Bernard Marx is on the top levels of society, but can't seem to fit in. So he takes an ill-advised vacation, only to discover some unsettling things about the world he left behind.

The granddad of books about people skills, the advice found in How to Win Friends and Influence People is still sound and applicable 80 years later. Carnegie writes about skills like making people feel valued and appreciated, ensuring you don't come across as manipulative (which happens unintentionally more than we think!), and essentially, "winning" people to your viewpoints and ideas. While it can sound a little disingenuous in its description, these are truly skills that people use every day, and this book is a great resource for boning up your social game.

The best book on honor - bar none. Barton masterfully explores how honor shaped the lives of ancient Rome from the early days of the Republic and all the way through the fall of the empire. She shows how small, intimate groups are vital for honor to survive and how imperialism kills it. This book is a hard read, but it's well worth the effort. The insights are so brilliant that it's almost startling, and even the footnotes are packed with fascinating asides.

by Joseph Heller

Set in Italy during World War II, Catch-22 is the story of malingering bombardier John Yossarian. He's a hero, but also enraged at the idea that there are multitudes of people he has never met who are trying to kill him. Beyond that, his own army has enacted Catch-22 - a bureaucratic rule which states a man is insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, yet if he makes a request to be removed from duty, he is sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved. And so a military satire, and a phrase synonymous with the word "conundrum," is born.

This absurdist, unconventional novel tells the tale of Billy Pilgrim, a fellow who's become unstuck from the boundaries of time when he's abducted by aliens. We see all of Billy's life, primarily focusing on his experiences as a prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany in 1945 during the town's infamous firebombing (a story shared by Vonnegut himself). Using part sci-fi, part humor, and part autobiography, Vonnegut takes the reader on a sometimes uncomfortable journey through the realities and absurdities of war.

While the book's plot centers on an aging, disinterested father and his three adult children, the substance found within goes much beyond that. Dostoevsky's final and greatest novel, this book also involves spiritual and moral dramas and debates regarding God, free will, ethics, morality, judgment, doubt, reason, and more. It's a philosophical work clothed as a novel - which of course makes Dostoevsky's weighty ideas easier to digest. The McDuff translation gets rave reviews.

The novel that catapulted Hemingway to worldwide fame and success. The Sun Also Rises follows Jake Barnes and a group of ex-patriot friends through Spain and France, with plenty of wine-drinking and bull-fighting. The novel is a bit semi-autobiographical in that the main character is trying to deal with his war wounds - both physical and emotional - and escape to the supposed romanticism of traveling and eating and drinking to your heart's content. Does Jake find happiness? You'll have to read to find out.

Robert Jordan is a young dynamiter in the Spanish Civil War. He's an American who's volunteered to fight against Franco's fascists, and is sent behind enemy lines to take out an important bridge to impede enemy forces from advancing. He lives in a rudimentary camp with anti-fascist Spanish guerillas, and comes to embrace their hearty way of life and love. And of course, there are some incredible battle scenes, which were informed by Hemingway's own time as a correspondent in the Spanish Civil War.

After a terrible storm, the Swiss family Robinson becomes shipwrecked on a deserted island. With teamwork, ingenuity, and a bit of pluck, the group strives to overcome nature's obstacles and create some semblance of community and civility within their new environs. A truly classic survival and adventure tale.

A defining novel of the Beat generation, On the Road is a fictional, but semi-autobiographical account of two friends' road trips across America, against the backdrop of a counter-culture of jazz, poetry, drug use, and the drunken revelry of back-alley bars. Along their travels, they're searching for what many young men are: freedom, ambition, hope, and authenticity.

First published in 1958, a year after On the Road put the Beat Generation on the map, The Dharma Bums stands as one of Jack Kerouac's most powerful and influential novels. The story focuses on two ebullient young Americans - mountaineer, poet, and Zen Buddhist Japhy Ryder, and Ray Smith, a zestful, innocent writer - whose quest for Truth leads them on a heroic odyssey, from marathon parties and poetry jam sessions in San Francisco's Bohemia to solitude and mountain climbing in the High Sierras.

These epic poems are some of the world's oldest pieces of literature. They've been read, enjoyed, and studied for thousands of years, and for good reason. They are not only beautiful to the ear, but contain lessons that every man can learn about heroism, courage, and manliness. The Iliad takes place during a few weeks of the final year of the Trojan War, and details the heroic deeds of both Achilles and Hector, as well as a variety of other legends and stories. The Odyssey, a sequel of sorts, is about the great warrior Odysseus' voyage home after the Trojan War. He faces various obstacles in his return to Greece, and we also see how his family back home dealt with his assumed death.

by Henry David Thoreau

First published in 1854, Walden details Henry David Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years, two months, and two days in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, amidst woodland owned by friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson. The book is a philosophical reflection on simple living and shedding the trivial ties that bind one to society. Thoreau explains how separating oneself from the world of men can truly awaken the sleeping self.

A novel about primal instincts and self-governance, set inside the story of a group of ordinary boys stuck on an uninhabited island. While fun at first, things devolve quickly when it comes time to actually think about long-term survival. It's equal parts parable, political treatise, morality tale, and apocalyptic warning. Though published in 1954, its lessons and sentiments ring just as true today.

While there's plenty of political, moral, and economic philosophy in this book, it's coated in an action thriller of a story. Set in the near future, our protagonists are Dagny Taggart, heir to a transcontinental railroad empire, and Hank Rearden, the head of a steel company who's invented a revolutionary new alloy. Together, they battle against evil government bureaucrats and socialists to hold civilization together, while all the while powerful industrialists are mysteriously disappearing, leaving behind only the cryptic phrase "Who is John Galt?" Though this book is associated with passionate libertarianism, the story is an interesting one to ponder no matter one's political persuasions.

This is the book that started the Boy Scout movement. You'll be amazed at the amount of useful information the first edition manual has compared to Scout manuals today. In addition to teaching essential scouting skills, the first edition also includes stories of adventure, bravery, and virtue that will excite and inspire any man. True first editions can be hard to find and super expensive, but inexpensive reprints are fortunately readily available.

Mt. Everest's 1996 climbing season went down as one of the deadliest in the history of mountaineering. Author and journalist Jon Krakauer was there to write a story about Everest, and ended up smack dab in the middle of a devastating and unexpected storm. The book is not only a remarkable adventure tale (made even more dramatic by its reality), but a story of mountains, and the great ordeals people go through to get the top of them, even when looking death in the face.

Fictional adventurer Allan Quatermain is drafted into a search and rescue party that leads into the great unknown of unexplored Africa, where entire civilizations are discovered and rumors of the location of the mines of King Solomon lead the team on one of the greatest adventures in all of literature.

While this a collection of three stories, the title story garners the most attention as a love letter to the art of fly fishing, with metaphysical and philosophical questions taking root while knee-deep in the water. While technically fiction, like many of the other stories on this list, they are rooted deeply in the author's own experiences. After its original publication 40 years ago, connecting fishing to life and philosophy became a common trope in pop culture.

Malcolm X is one of the most controversial public figures from the Civil Rights Movement. His autobiography shows what a complex man he was. In it, we see his transformation from ignorance and despair to knowledge and spiritual awakening. His emphasis on the principle of self-reliance and taking a stand for your rights can resonate with every man, especially in turbulent political and social times.

The ultimate tale of betrayal and revenge. Edmund Dantes, days before marrying his beloved Mercedes, is brutally betrayed, arrested for treason, and consequently taken to a prison on an island off the French coast. The story goes on to tell of his escape from prison (don't worry, it's early in the novel and doesn't ruin anything) and his becoming wealthy and re-entering society as an educated and sophisticated Count. He plots his revenge, eyes reclaiming his love, and ultimately...well, you'll just have to read it.

Banned in Germany shortly after its publication, All Quiet on the Western Front is the sobering story of German soldiers in the trenches of WWI. We see the extreme physical and mental stress they felt during the war, as well as the detachment from civilian life many of these soldiers experienced upon returning home. It was one of the first novels to depict the modern brutalities of battle and the way technological advances had destroyed war's heroic romanticism.

Jane Austen has a reputation as "chick lit" but her classic works are worthwhile and enjoyable reads for men too. Start with Pride and Prejudice: the romance tells the story of the Bennet family, especially its eldest daughter, Elizabeth. She faces mounting pressure to marry, and when she's introduced to the handsome and upper-class Mr. Darcy, sparks fly. As with all relationships though, it's not so simple, and nobody quite seems to be who they appear to be on the outside. Austen's wit, sarcasm, and observations about the hypocrisies of life make this book eminently readable and relatable.

The Art of War remains the classic text on strategic warfare. Written in the 6th century, it's been influencing military leaders, as well as businessmen and politicians among others, ever since. Its themes and ideas have been studied and re-studied over many centuries, and it would do a man well in all facets of life to read through the book's proverbs every now and then as a refresher on tactical prowess.

If you wish to be a great man, you must learn from great men. One of the best ways to do that is through reading biographies. Plutarch's massive collection, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, profiles some of history's greatest men up through that time, and illuminates their shared virtues and shortcomings. His biography of Alexander the Great is especially compelling.

Despite being one of the most religious industrialized nations, America's religious literacy is grossly impoverished. What's the problem with that, you ask? Well, half the books on this list (probably more, actually) make Biblical references that must be known by the reader in order to fully understand the message. If a Western man desires to understand the culture that surrounds him, he needs to have a thorough understanding of one of the books that most influenced it. Beyond that, the Bible is full of ancient counsel and advice that is applicable to any modern man, whether he's a Jew, a Christian, or not religious at all.

Lonesome Dove is quite possibly the greatest Western novel ever written. The story follows two long-time friends on a cattle drive from the Rio Grande to Montana. Along the way they encounter outlaws, Indians, and old flames. Be warned, this book is a beast. But reading it (and re-reading it) is definitely worth it. After you're done, make sure to watch the mini-series.

MacIntyre, a Scottish philosopher, argues that the language of virtue and a true understanding of morality has been lost to us in the modern age; while we think we know what morality is, we're simply riffing on the fragmentary pieces that remain. The result is an irrational, unintelligible mess, where arguments over moral issues are shrill and impossible to resolve. What is needed is a unity of virtues and a why - a shared end goal of human life - such as is provided in Aristotelian philosophy. The book is heavy and deep, and takes several reads to begin to understand and to mine out the rich insights. But once you do, you'll reflect on it often as you observe the stagnation and entanglements of modern culture.

There's nothing better than a good hard-boiled detective novel. And like any great work in the genre, moral ambiguities abound. Sam Spade, the main character, is a hardened and cynical private eye with his own code of ethics. Enter a grifter, a beautiful woman whose loyalties shift at the drop of dime, and a valuable missing falcon statue - and you're primed for a wonderful romp of a story.

This perennially school-assigned novel by Harper Lee is a classic for a reason. Six-year-old Scout and her older brother Jem spend their days riding bikes, spying on neighbors, and hanging out with their friends. Things in town become much more serious, though, when their widowed father, Atticus, comes to defend a black man who's been accused of raping a white girl. Suddenly, kids are thrust into a very adult world, and lean on their dad to help put things in perspective.

The Killer Angels is a historical novel of the four days of the Battle of Gettysburg. It recounts the bloody affair from the men who played a key role in it as told from various perspectives. Shaara attempts to get in the minds of General Lee and Colonel Longstreet to decipher their thoughts and motivations leading up to the fateful battle. Love, fear, pride - we see all the emotions a soldier and leader might feel in the days leading up to, and during, the gruesome fighting.

This autobiography is considered by many to be America's first self-help book. In addition to sharing his life story, Franklin explains how a man can make himself a success, in large part through sharing his own tactics. The story begins with Franklin as a boy, walking around barefoot and with rolls in his pocket, and ends with him being a successful businessman, scientist, and statesman. Woven throughout are numerous tips on actionable productivity and personal development.

If we don't learn from the past, we're doomed to repeat it. Herodotus' Histories is considered the founding work of history in Western literature, and established the genre as we know it today. It serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures in Western Asia, Northern Africa, and Greece. The Founding Fathers looked to Histories to learn from the mistakes that the ancient Greeks made with democracy, and not repeat them.

In this magnificent but brutal classic of a soldier's life, James Jones portrays the courage, violence, and passions of men and women who live by unspoken codes and with unutterable despair. Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt is a champion welterweight and a fine bugler, but he refuses to join the company's boxing team. First Sergeant Milton Anthony Warden knows how to soldier better than almost anyone, yet he's risking his career to have an affair with the commanding officer's wife. Hawaii may be paradise on the outside, but not all is rainbows and butterflies.

James Jones' fictional depiction of the Guadalcanal Campaign during WWII. The men of Charlie company are about to land, grim and white-faced, on the Guadalcanal atoll in the Pacific. As one reviewer noted: "This is their story, a shatteringly realistic walk into hell and back." Some soldiers earn medals, others do anything they can to get sent home before landing in a grave. And they all find that there's a thin red line which divides the sane from the insane.

Part memoir and part philosophy, Zen dubiously holds the Guinness World Record for being rejected by 121 publishers before being published and becoming a perennial bestseller. Published in 1974, it chronicles a 17-day father-son motorcycle journey from Minnesota to California. In the midst of this journey, our narrator (along with his son) explore several philosophical questions, with the main theme being the meaning of quality, and what good work really looks like in our modern world - ideas that still apply equally well 40+ years later.

The Long Goodbye is the last book in Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe detective series. In it, Marlowe befriends a down-on-his-luck war veteran, Terry Lennox, with the scars to prove it. Then he finds out that Terry has a very wealthy wife, who he's divorced and re-married, and who ends up dead. Now Lennox is on the lam, and the cops are after Marlowe. Full of gangsters and beautiful femme fatales, this is a hard-boiled novel at its best.

"Self-Reliance" contains the most prominent of Ralph Waldo Emerson's philosophies: the need for each individual to avoid conformity and personal inconsistencies, and to follow their own instincts and ideas. You're to rely on your own self versus going with the ebbs and flows of culture at large. Other essays in the collection focus on friendship, history, experience, and more.

by James Joyce

This notoriously hard-to-read novel chronicles the wandering appointments and encounters of main character Leopold Bloom in Dublin during the course of an ordinary day, June 16, 1904. Ulysses is the Latinized version of Odysseus, the famed Homeric hero, and Joyce establishes a connection between the characters and experiences of the two. Using stream-of-consciousness writing, and plenty of puns and allusions, it's just about guaranteed you won't fully get it on the first read. Just do your best and make it through.

There is nothing more manly than a bout with the Devil. Mikhail Bulgakov wrote this entertaining commentary on the social bureaucracy in Moscow during the height of Stalin's reign. Lucifer himself pays the atheistic city a visit to make light of the people's skepticism regarding the spiritual realm. The novel also visits ancient Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate's rule. Even for the non-religious, this book will provide plenty of food for thought.

by Cormac McCarthy

The Road has been called by some a love story between father and son, and nothing could better describe it. The book powerfully puts the beauty and sorrow of fatherhood in stark perspective, revealing paternal love intensely close to the bone. An unnamed father and his son pilgrimage across a dreary, ashen, post-apocalyptic America, pushing a shopping cart of their supplies and perpetually scavenging for their next meal. As the father watches out for the "bad guys" (savage tribes of baby-eating men who maraud across the landscape), he teaches his son to remain one of the good guys - to always carry the fire.

Steppenwolf, one of Herman Hesse's best known works, follows a sad and lonely intellectual for whom life brings no joy. Harry Haller has within himself both a rational man, and a wild primeval wolf, and he has trouble reconciling these two natures. But then he meets a carefree and elusive woman, Hermine, who shows him that life's pleasures aren't necessarily as hollow as he once believed.

In any era, you wouldn't necessarily expect a book about warfare to come from the pen of a woman. You might be even more surprised to learn that a woman named Christine de Pizan wrote and published such a manual in the early 1400s. It conveys a great deal regarding strategy, tactics, and the technological advances of medieval warfare. It includes important source material about early gunpowder weaponry, as well as many thoughts about Just War. A classic work that simply doesn't get much attention, The Book of Deeds of Arms and Chivalry deserves a spot on your bookshelf.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

It's all well and good to be a dreamer, but a man must also be grounded in reality. It's a lesson that Don Quixote comes to learn in the 17th century eponymous book, which is widely considered to be the world's first novel. Quixote, along with his squire Sancho Panza, travels the world in search of grand adventures and heroic deeds which would earn him the title of Knight. He continues against all odds, and in some cases, against all common sense. It's funny, surprisingly easy to read given the fact that it's over 400 years old, and can provide a man many lessons on the aspirations of heroism.

The story of a nameless black man in New York City who grows up in the South, but moves north to be part of the Brotherhood, a society that supposedly fights for justice and equality. He soon realizes the political motivations behind the movement though, and retreats in an attempt to figure out who he is as a black man in white America. A novel about race, identity, acceptance, and being comfortable with who you are - it's a book everyone should read.

A classic American work, Huck Finn is often required reading in middle school, and for good reason. One of the first books to be written in vernacular (that is, with language of a particular region), it can be seen as both scathing satire of the antebellum South, or as a coming-of-age story for the young Huck Finn. Finn - a white boy - teams up with fugitive adult slave Jim as they flee by raft on the Mississippi River, and float into many an adventure together.

Written during the English Civil War of the mid-1600s, Hobbes' work is one of the foremost authorities in political theory. The book's primary concern is the centralized power of the sovereign state existing to maintain order and peace. How is society to be structured? How are people to be governed? It's an influential example of the social contract theory, which states that individuals, by simply being part of a society, agree to give up some rights in order to maintain others. In our modern political turmoil, any classic work of societal theory is worth reading for greater perspective.

The central work of Aristotle's thoughts on ethics, it details how a man should best live. Topics covered are virtue, right actions, and specific qualities men should strive after like courage, justice, magnanimity, temperance, etc. A classic philosophical work which every man should have an understanding of.

This 1897 play follows French cadet Cyrano de Bergerac. He's a poet, musician, and expert swordsman - a true Renaissance Man. Unfortunately, Cyrano has a tragically large nose, which hinders his confidence to the point that he's unable to profess his feelings to Roxane and feels he isn't worthy of anyone's love. What is a man to do in such a situation? Read and find out.

Quite possibly the best biography you'll ever read. Epic in scale - about 3,000 pages split over 3 volumes - Manchester takes you on an enjoyable and edifying ride through Winston Churchill's legendary life. It's hard to call any biography a page-turner, since you know what happens, but The Last Lion comes awfully close. Tragically, Manchester died before being able to finish the last volume, and another author stepped in to complete it. The third volume thus falls slightly short of the first two, but all are eminently worth reading.

As with many WWII novels written in the late 40s and 50s, The Naked and the Dead pulls much from author Norman Mailer's own experiences as a soldier in the Philippines. The story focuses on American troops who are faced with driving out the Japanese on a fictional south Pacific island so that they can advance into the Philippines. Between character dialogue, and "time machine" sections which focus on soldiers' backstories, we get a realistic glimpse at being an American warrior in the Pacific campaign of WWII. As with most novels of the era, it's usually not a pretty picture.

A classic memoir of adolescence and growing up without a present father. The parents of author Tobias Wolff divorce, and he ends up in his mother's custody, traveling all over the country and constantly on the move. They develop a very close relationship, but Wolff also has to fight to create his own identity and self-respect when a new step-dad enters the picture. Between adolescent frustrations and schemes, he finds a path towards self-invention that ultimately changes his life.

by Gary Paulsen

The basic plot is this: A teenage city boy named Brian Robeson crashes in the middle of the Canadian wilderness while flying in a bush plane. The pilot dies, and the boy lives. All alone in the wilderness, Brian must learn how to survive in the wild for 54 days with nothing but a hatchet. No real twists and turns, but the lessons a man can glean on survival and self-reliance are as enjoyable and instructive to boys as grown men.

Resilience is series of letters between now Governor-elect of Missouri Eric Greitens and a SEAL buddy who was going through a rough time in his life after returning home from service and struggling with alcoholism, job loss, and PTSD. Greitens calls upon his background in philosophy to provide insights and advice for his friend on how to develop resilience in the face of adversity. This is a book that should be read, and re-read, and re-read again by everyone who could use a little more resilience in their life. In other words, everyone.

The timeless title character, first introduced here, inspired over twenty sequels and several feature films. Raised by gorillas, Tarzan seeks out the truth of his origins and finds himself at odds with the gorilla king that murdered his father. In Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs well captures the wild longings and primal abilities typically hidden underneath the trappings of civilization.

God is dead. The Übermensch. Eternal recurrence. Will to power. Many of Friedrich Nietzsche's most well-known and controversial ideas are explored in this philosophical novel that follows a fictional wandering prophet named Zarathustra (named after the founder of Zoroastrianism). Through Zarathustra, Nietzsche attacks modern philosophy and morality and provides a philosophical framework for approaching life in a post-religious world. Whether you're a believer or non-believer, if you want to understand today's cultural milieu, this is a must read.

Composed of 85 articles, The Federalist Papers served to explain and encourage the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. The majority of the essays were penned by Alexander Hamilton and originally published in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet. While the Constitution lays out the laws of the land, these essays provide the 18th century version of the ballot/blue books we get the mail around election time, explaining the laws that are being proposed. It is essential reading for any civically minded American (which should be every American!).

While the famed movies get more acclaim, the book is a masterwork in its own right. Author Mario Puzo shows us both the good and bad sides of family and community loyalty. While the Corleone's obviously do some really bad stuff, they're a group of guys who are good at being men. They protect their family at all costs, they're extraordinarily generous to those in their inner circle, and they never stop fighting. Plus, it's just a darn entertaining read.

by Herman Melville

The book that inspired a gazillion white whale metaphors, and really, needs no description. However, here's a brief one: Moby-Dick is Herman Melville's 19th century masterpiece concerning whaler Captain Ahab's insatiable quest to exact revenge on the great white whale that crippled him, as told by Ishmael, a sailor aboard Ahab's ship. Also, it's inspired by a true story, which makes it even more awesome.

This short, but ever-popular tale is a young woman's take on humanity and horror. Mary Shelley was just 21 when Frankenstein was first published in 1818, and the book is widely regarded as the first popular science fiction/horror novel. While you surely know the monster and the story of mad scientist Victor Frankenstein bringing him to life, it's a much darker and more philosophical book than what pop culture has made it out to be. You learn about science, ego, pride, and ultimately, what it means to be human.

by William Shakespeare

Every man needs to read some Shakespeare during his lifetime. Hamlet is a great place to start. You know the line: "to be or not to be," but do you know the context and real meaning behind it? Doubtful. The cliff notes intro to the story: Prince Hamlet is summoned home from school to attend his father's funeral, and is shocked to learn his mother already remarried. The Queen has wed Hamlet's Uncle Claudius, his father's brother. And worse, Claudius has crowned himself King despite the fact that Hamlet was meant to be the heir to the throne. Hamlet suspects foul play. *Cue dramatic music.*

Dickens should be a part of every man's reading life, and A Tale of Two Cities is a good starter. It's set in London and Paris during the French Revolution and depicts the plight of the French peasantry, their turn to violence towards the aristocrats who marginalized them, and the parallels to London society during the same period.

This is the story of a marriage. The Wheelers appear to be a model suburban couple in the 1950s. But did they marry too young? And start a family too soon? Frank's job is dull and April never saw herself as a housewife. Below the placid surface, both of these self-absorbed partners struggle with desires to escape and to become their true selves, and can't find happiness with their ordinary lives as they are. Something's gotta give.

This 14th century epic poem by Dante Alighieri offers a dive into his singular vision of the afterlife. Dante travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise (or Heaven) and gives glimpses of what he sees. Allegorically, it also serves to represent man's journey to God and the various stages he goes through along that journey. This work is to be read if for nothing else than the cultural literacy of knowing where many of our modern conceptions of heaven and hell arise.

What is a man's library without some literature on America's favorite pastime? Dubbed "The finest American book on sports," The Boys of Summer is an account of the Brooklyn Dodgers leading up to their 1955 World Series title. Kahn's depiction of some of the game's greatest legends like Gil Hodges and Duke Snyder is inspiring enough to make a man hope for another shot on the diamond and join up with a local softball crew. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Set at a boys prep school on the eve of World War II, A Separate Peace centers on the friendship of Phineas and Gene. Phineas' seeming perfection creates a jealously in Gene that results in a tragedy that will forever change both of their lives. A piercing look at both the light and the shadows of friendship and humanity. Every boy wishes he were Finny but knows he's more like Gene. This book will stick with you no matter your age.

Perhaps the most popular piece of 20th century "existential" literature. Frenchman Meursault attends his mother's funeral, and through a series of events, becomes drawn into a senseless murder. The Stranger addresses murder and remorse (or lack thereof), God and atheism, destiny and justice, and the absurdity of life. You'll come away remembering much more than just the plot points.

Robinson Crusoe is the "autobiography" of a castaway who spent 30 years on a remote tropical island. He encounters difficult terrain, less-than-friendly natives, and a variety of other obstacles. It was described and written so realistically - the name Robinson Crusoe was even listed as the author - that many people thought it was about actual events rather than being a novel from the mind of Daniel Defoe. Almost 300 years later, it still holds up.

This book has been a bestseller for nearly three decades, and for good reason. It not only explains the importance of living your life with purpose, but also provides tools to help you actually do it. The planning and goal-setting methods laid out in Covey's most celebrated work have been used by countless world leaders, businessmen, and influential people, as well as millions of ordinary folks whose lives have been changed by implementing the 7 habits. Include the Art of Manliness team among them.

No matter his class or situation in life, a man needs a healthy appreciation for the simple folk who help make the world go round. John Steinbeck's Cannery Row depicts a cross-section of this community, located on a strip of sardine canneries, in the late Depression era. This area has a life of its own, and is as much a character of the book as any of the community members themselves. The novel not only paints a picture of a difficult time that has passed, but gives honest, timeless insight into the human condition.

Pretty much everything we think of when we think of pirates comes not from the pages of history but from this book: treasure maps with "X" marking the spot, deserted islands, peg legs, parrots, and more. Published as a children's tale (and a rather adult one at that), American novelist Henry James praised it as "perfect as a well-played boy's game."

This New Orleans-based novel won author John Kennedy Toole the Pulitzer Prize. Its perfect comedy of errors is centered around the character of Ignatius J. Reilly, a lazy and socially ignorant, but very intelligent man, who still lives with his mother at the age of 30. A Confederacy of Dunces serves as a guide for what a man ought not to be, while providing sound entertainment all the while.

This novel tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a young African-American living in utter poverty in Chicago's South Side in the 1930s. He, inevitably (as argued by the novel), ends up in jail for a crime he did in fact commit. Was it his character which drove him to it, though, or was it society, by placing him in a certain social stratum? Race, identity, social status, society's pressures - this novel offers an important read on the black experience.

In this travelogue Paul Theroux recounts his 4-month journey through Europe, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia on the continent's fabled trains: the Orient Express, the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur, the Mandalay Express and the Trans-Siberian Express. His well-documented and entertaining adventures have come to be considered a classic in the travel literature genre. This journal satisfies the vicarious traveler and inspires the adventurous man.

The Last of the Mohicans was the second book in Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales pentalogy and is set in 1757 during the French and Indian War. The French were particularly dependent on Native Americans for help in the fight. Primarily set in the New York wilderness, a colonel's two daughters, Alice and Cora, need to be transported to a safe destination. Among the caravan guarding the women are a group of frontiersman and Indians including Chingachgook (the last chief of the Mohicans) and Uncas. The characterization of these protagonists would become an enduring part of the archetypes of frontiersmen and Indians that remain within the popular consciousness today.

One of the great American novels, The Grapes of Wrath is set in the Dust Bowl-era Midwest. Forced to move, the Joad family drives westward with thousands of other down-on-their-luck Okies in order to try to find a better life for themselves in California. There's perhaps no better snapshot of this time period of American history than Steinbeck's masterpiece. Plus, the final scene is one that will stick with you for a long time to come.

Western writer Louis L'Amour was one of the most prolific authors of all time, cranking out over 100 published works (all of which were still in print when he died in 1988). Education of a Wandering Man is his autobiography, which could also be called a love letter to learning. He left school at age 15 to roam the world. His various experiences include: hobo on the railroads, Texas cattle skinner, seaman in Singapore and the West Indies, itinerant bare-knuckled boxer, and more. Through it all, he taught himself to read and write, and was never far from a book. Inspiring as all get out, L'Amour's example will have you asking what on Earth you're doing with all your free time.

One of the great musicals of all time, Les Miserables was first a great novel. Ex-convict Jean Valjean tries to remake himself after getting out of prison, and seeks revenge on the forces which put him there in the first place. Through a large cast of memorable characters, and the French Revolution in the background, author Victor Hugo takes us on a rolling epic that will likely leave you exhausted - yet hopeful - by the time you're through.

Viktor Frankl was a psychotherapist and brain surgeon who specialized in treating depression, but being a Jew in Nazi Germany, was sent to Auschwitz. Upon entering the concentration camp, they took the last of his belongings, including his clothes, his wedding ring, and the manuscript of a book he was writing. By leaning on his rich inner life and helping other prisoners, along with some strokes of good luck, he lived to tell his story, which is a lesson about the control one has to make a bad situation not necessarily good, but survivable. It's sure to put your own suffering in perspective and inspire you to live with greater purpose.

Published when author S. E. Hinton was just 18 years old, The Outsiders is the story of two rival gangs - the Greasers and the Socs - who are divided by their socioeconomic status. It's a classic coming-of-age tale, and set the stage for the young adult genre as we know it today. Though the story's characters are just teenagers, there's much to be taken from it about family, honor, sacrifice, and class dynamics.

Often called the masterpiece of Spanish literature, One Hundred Years of Solitude is an epic family story which tells the tale of the fall, birth and death of the town of Macondo. Marquez introduces us to seven generations of Buendia's, whose patriarch founded the town. The family is unable to escape their regular misfortunes, though. Is history bound to repeat itself, or can the Buendia's free themselves from their family's history?

A fictional account of the Spartan 300 and the Battle of Thermopylae, which pitted a few thousand Greek men against at least 100,000 Persians. In Gates of Fire, we see the battle through the eyes of a warrior named Xeones. We learn about Spartan life, training, discipline, battle strategy, courage...and much, much more. Reading it will fill you with manly .

Paradise Lost is an epic poem which tells the Biblical story of the Fall of Man in verse: the temptation of Adam and Eve, the role of Satan, and their banishment from the Garden of Eden. Rather than just re-telling what's in the Bible though, author John Milton explores and imagines the possible backstory. What was going on behind the scenes in the heavenly realm, how did Adam and Eve react to their sin, what did they feel upon being banned from the the garden? From paradise?

Author Ray Bradbury brings readers to a dystopian future in which books are banned, and firemen are charged with destroying any they find. Fireman Guy Montag is our main character, and every day he's tasked with setting printed literature aflame. At the end of the day, he returns to his home and family, where the TV is central to their bland existence. Even in the 1950s, Bradbury was concerned about the effect that television and other forms of mass media would have on humanity's relationship to books and literature. Relevant still? You bet your bottom it is.

Upton Sinclair's novel of the 1920s oil industry should be read if for no other reason than that it served as the inspiration for one of the greatest movies of this century, There Will Be Blood. The book is told through the eyes of Bunny, an oil tycoon's son. His sympathies towards oil field workers and socialist leanings create a lot of discord with dear old dad. What Sinclair's The Jungle did for the meatpacking industry, this book did for oil.

Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard creates a case study from the (in)famous Bible story of Abraham being commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. He uses the story as an opportunity to question philosophy's relationship to religion, along with the nature of God, faith's relationship with ethics and morality, and the difficulty of being authentically religious. It asks the big questions that every man should wrestle with throughout life.

What does it mean to be a man, not just biologically, but philosophically? Waller Newell lays out one of the most compelling answers to the question of how a man should live in this book. He argues that many modern men have lost touch with the values and virtues that defined manliness for thousands of years, and consequently feel lost, confused, and angry. Newell believes that the road to recovery is taken along the five paths to manliness: love, courage, pride, family, and country. Using Western writers and thinkers like Aristotle and Hemingway, among others, Newell offers important guidance on the path to achieving a "manly heart."

Joseph Conrad's novella is the story of a man named Marlow traveling up the Congo River in the heart of Africa. In telling the tale, Conrad compares the "savages" of Africa to the so-called "civilized" people of London. Is there really much difference? Themes of race, barbarism, colonialism, and first-world society are central.

Ryan Holiday's description of the Meditations in his list of 36 books every young and ambitious man should read, can't much be improved upon: "I would call this the greatest book ever written. It is the definitive text on self-discipline, personal ethics, humility, self-actualization, and strength. Bill Clinton reads it every year, and so have countless other leaders, statesmen, and soldiers. It is a book written by one of the most powerful men who ever lived on the lessons that power, responsibility, and philosophy teach us. This book will make you a better person and better able to manage the success you desire."

These four books are making the list as one, because they're really a single, epic story. You've no doubt seen the movies, which are great, but the books are even better. Follow Frodo Baggins and his trustworthy friend Samwise Gamgee and learn about friendship, loyalty, dedication to a good cause, and many other manly virtues. You'll also find one of the wisest characters in literature in Gandalf. J.R.R. Tolkien had one of the greatest imaginations in the history of literature and created an entire universe, complete with new languages, maps of various lands, and even histories of how these lands came to be. No other author has come close to the world-making capabilities of Tolkien, which alone makes the series worth reading.

You may think you understand the gritty nature of the Pacific War, but until you read With the Old Breed, you can't fully grasp its full horrors. With rich and haunting prose, Sledge takes you right into the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa and allows you to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the nightmarish scenes on a very visceral level. This is surely one of the best books on war, period, and is a must-read for every American who wants to fully understand the sacrifices their forebearers made for them.

The turn of the 20th century was the golden age of personal development books. In contrast to the self-help books of today, which are filled with flattering, empty, cliche platitudes, they're direct, masterfully written, and full of profound and challenging insights that center on the development of good character. Even in this golden age, one author stands supreme: William George Jordan. His Self-Control: Its Kingship and Majesty has been the source of many of our most popular manvotionals, and is full of beautifully written wisdom on self-reliance, calmness, gratitude, and more.
Click here to download a PDF list of the 100 books every man should read.
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100 Books Every Man Should Read | The Art of Manliness

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Click here to download a PDF list of the 100 books every man should read. One of the earliest articles we published on the Art of Manliness was "100 Must-Read Books for Men." The piece was a result of a collaboration between the AoM team and a few guest writers.

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Bohemian Rhapsody movie trailer just dropped. See the facts of Queen's most famous song

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With his infectious smile and raspy voice, Louis Armstrong (who actually pronounced his own name "Lewis") won over fans worldwide. To untold millions, every note that he let loose made the world feel a bit more wonderful, and his music is still being discovered by new generations of fans. Here are 10 facts about the life of one of the 20th century's most important jazz musicians.

1. ARMSTRONG SPENT HIS ADULT LIFE CELEBRATING THE WRONG BIRTHDAY.

Armstrong used to say that he'd been born on July 4, 1900. Turns out, he was 13 months off. In 1988, music historian Thaddeus "Tad" Jones located a baptismal record at New Orleans's Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. According to this document, the performer's actual birth date was August 4, 1901.

No one's quite sure why Armstrong lied about his age, but the most popular theories maintain he wanted to join a military band or that he figured he'd have a better shot at landing gigs if he was over 18 years old.

2. AS AN ADULT, HE WORE A STAR OF DAVID PENDANT TO HONOR THE JEWISH FAMILY WHO HAD EMPLOYED HIM.

While growing up, Armstrong did assorted jobs for the Karnofskys, a family of Lithuanian-Jewish immigrants. "They were always kind to me," Armstrong once reflected, "[I] was just a little kid who could use a little word of kindness." Apart from monetary compensation, Armstrong was given a hot meal every evening and regular invitations to Karnofsky Shabbat dinners. One day, they even advanced him the $5 he used to buy his very first horn.

3. SOMETIMES, ARMSTRONG WOULD USED A FOOD-BASED SIGN-OFF.

" Pops" had a special place in his heart for both Chinese and Italian food. But, as a Bayou State native, Armstrong's favorite dish was always rice and beans. In fact, before marrying his fourth wife, he made sure that she could cook a satisfactory plateful. To grasp how much the man adored this entrée, one need only check out his letters, which were often signed "Red Beans and Ricely Yours."

4. DURING A FAMOUS RECORDING, HE ALLEGEDLY DROPPED HIS SHEET MUSIC AND IMPROVISED.

At one point in "Heebie Jeebies"-a 1926 song released by Armstrong and his "Hot Five" band-the singer vocalizes a series of nonsensical, horn-like sounds. Music historians recognize this as the first popular, mass-market scat ever recorded. Ironically, Armstrong later wrote the whole thing off as a big blunder on his part. In a 1951 interview with Esquire, Armstrong claimed to have come prepared with printed lyrics that day. Midway through the recording session, he accidentally dropped them and scatted to fill the ensuing silence. "Sure enough," he explained, "they ... [published] 'Heebie Jeebies' the same way it was mistakenly recorded." However, most biographers believe that Armstrong made up this anecdote and had planned on scatting all along. It's also worth noting that even though he brought it into popularity, Armstrong in no way invented the technique, which dates back to at least 1906.

5. HE USED TO GIVE AWAY LAXATIVES AS GIFTS.

Between 1952 and 1955, Armstrong shed 100 pounds. Losing weight proved difficult at first, but his luck changed once he learned of an herbal laxative called "Swiss Kriss." The artist promptly went out, bought a box, and became a lifelong spokesman. After trying it, he said that defecation sounded like " Applause." Enamored, the musician began handing out packets to admirers, loved ones, and band members. Though he was the product's biggest cheerleader, Armstrong neither requested nor received any payment from its manufacturers.

6. SEGREGATION LAWS DROVE HIM TO BOYCOTT HIS OWN HOME STATE.

The year 1956 saw Louisiana prohibit integrated bands. Outraged, Armstrong refused to stage another concert within the state's borders. "They treat me better all over the world than they do in my hometown," he said. "Ain't that stupid? Jazz was born there and I remember when it was no crime for cats of any color to get together and blow." Nine years later-after this ban had finally lifted-he again took the stage in New Orleans on October 31, 1965.

7. WHILE PLAYING BEFORE THE ROYAL FAMILY, ARMSTRONG GAVE KING GEORGE V A NEW NICKNAME.

At His Majesty's command, several of the biggest names in jazz took their talents to Buckingham Palace, and in 1932, Armstrong was requested for a royal performance. Evidently, the show went well. According to Armstrong, that night's "biggest laugh" came right before his group started playing " You Rascal, You." Without warning, he looked straight up at the monarch and hollered, "This one's for you, Rex!"

8. HE WENT ON SEVERAL GOODWILL TOURS DURING THE COLD WAR.

Fresh off the wild success of his "Hello, Dolly!" cover, Armstrong made a trip to communist East Berlin in 1965, where he gave a two-hour concert that earned a standing ovation. While not officially government-sponsored, there are some who believe the concert was arranged by the CIA, which would make this just one of the many taxpayer-funded appearances he'd make abroad during the Cold War in an effort to strengthen diplomatic relations overseas. Previously, Armstrong had performed throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa-though he famously canceled a planned 1957 Soviet Union tour, citing the recent Little Rock crisis. "The way they are treating my people in the South," declared Armstrong, "the government can go to hell."

9. "WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD" WAS ORIGINALLY PITCHED TO TONY BENNETT.

The song for which Pops is most widely remembered, "What a Wonderful World," was almost never his song at all. After completing the optimistic anthem, songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss thought that Tony Bennett would eat it right up. He subsequently passed, so the duo contacted Armstrong in August 1967.

10. "WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD" DIDN'T MAKE A SPLASH IN THE U.S. UNTIL WELL AFTER ARMSTRONG'S DEATH.

The first recording of "What a Wonderful World" was produced by ABC Records, which made no attempt to advertise it domestically. Although the ballad topped the 1968 charts in Great Britain, American sales were abysmal. When Pops (who adored Thiele and Weiss' masterwork) passed away on July 6, 1971, "What a Wonderful World" seemed destined for stateside obscurity.

Then along came a bare-knuckled comedy called Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). The joyous tune perfectly and ironically clashed with the wartime horrors depicted in one montage, so director Barry Levinson added it to his film's soundtrack. "What a Wonderful World" struck a chord with moviegoers and was re-released that year, becoming an oft-requested radio hit.

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10 Operatic Facts About "Bohemian Rhapsody"

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With his infectious smile and raspy voice, Louis Armstrong (who actually pronounced his own name "Lewis") won over fans worldwide. To untold millions, every note that he let loose made the world feel a bit more wonderful, and his music is still being discovered by new generations of fans.

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a little hack for folks with keyless vehicles

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A car thief doesn't need to get their hands on your keys to break into your vehicle. If you use a wireless, keyless system, or fob, to unlock your car, all they need to do is steal the signal it emits. Luckily there's a tool you can use to protect your fob from hackers that you may already have in your kitchen at home: tinfoil.

Speaking with , retired FBI agent Holly Hubert said that wrapping car fobs in a layer of foil is the cheapest way to block their sensitive information from anyone who may be trying to access it. Hackers can easily infiltrate your car by using a device to amplify the fob signal or by copying the code it uses. And they don't even need to be in the same room as you to do it: They can hack the fob inside your pocket from the street outside your house or office.

Electronic car theft is a growing problem for automobile manufacturers. Ideally fobs made in the future will come with cyber protection built-in, but until then the best way to keep your car safe is to carry your fob in an electromagnetic field-blocking shield when you go out. Bags made specifically to protect your key fob work better than foil, but they can cost more than $50. If tinfoil is all you can afford, it's better than nothing.

At home, make sure to store your keys in a spot where they will continue to get protection. Dropping them in a metal coffee can is a lot smarter than leaving them out in the open on your kitchen counter.

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Why an Ex-FBI Agent Recommends Wrapping Your Keys in Tinfoil Whenever You Leave Your Car

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A car thief doesn't need to get their hands on your keys to break into your vehicle. If you use a wireless, keyless system, or fob, to unlock your car, all they need to do is steal the signal it emits.

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spoiler alert: create a 30-day wait list to something that you want to see if you still want that thing later.

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You've made major strides in getting your money situation together. Perhaps you've started a rainy-day fund or made a dent in your student loans. Good for you! Luckily, things can get even better. With a few small tweaks, your finances can go from good to golden. Here are a handful of ways you can be an even more savvy and responsible spender:

1. CREATE A BUDGET.

Creating a budget is a timeless money tip, but it's an important one nonetheless. Whether you prefer to use an old-school method such as a spreadsheet, or a money management app to jot down and track your monthly expenses, a budget is crucial to living within your means. You'll want to include both recurring expenses that don't change every month and one-off expenses.

Making a budget and sticking to it are two separate things, so leave yourself a bit of room to fine-tune your new plan as you start using it. Good budgets are living, breathing things that will adapt to your situation. Check on your budget every so often to see if it's working for you. You may find that you need to move a few things around, but a good budget can always be tweaked to fit your needs and lifestyle.

2. CHECK YOURSELF.

Once you've got your budget nailed down, keep a close eye on where you're spending each month. Monitoring your spending will help you see where your money is going. It will also show you when and where you tend to spend too much. Going over budget commonly happens on vacation, when entertaining out-of-town visitors, and during the holidays.

Use a money management app or log in to your accounts to see what tends to spark overspending for you. This self-examination can shed light on where you could spend less. In turn, you can then make modifications and take action. For instance, if eating out is taking its toll on your wallet, commit to packing your lunch at home, or plan out a week's worth of budget-friendly dinners.

3. SET ALERTS.

Setting notifications will keep you from going over your budget. You can set an alert on your credit card if you spend more than a certain amount, or each time you use your card. This comes in particularly handy if you're sharing accounts with a partner and have agreed to run purchases higher than a certain limit with each other. While you're at it, set up payment alerts for all your major recurring expenses so you won't incur any late fees by forgetting a payment.

4. USE YOUR CREDIT CARD FOR EVERYDAY PURCHASES.

Take advantage of your credit card for recurring, everyday purchases such as for groceries, personal items, or gas. You'll be able to track these purchases much more easily than you would be able to with cash, and you'll be able to earn rewards like cash back. By signing up for a Discover card, they'll automatically match all the cashback you earn at the end of your first year as a cardmember.*

5. OWN UP TO OVERSPENDING.

We all occasionally make a splurge that maybe we shouldn't have. While you'd much rather pretend that you didn't spend half of your paycheck during a night out with friends, shrugging it off won't do you any good. Instead, face it. Forgive yourself, and make a vow to be more judicious with your spending next time around.

6. CREATE A 30-DAY WAIT LIST.

In our age of modern convenience, it's easy to confuse "want" with "need." To avoid impulse buying non-essentials or indulging in a pricey retail trip, create a list of things you want to buy. Then wait 30 days and see if it's something you still want. Waiting a bit will give you time to decide whether a buy is necessary or worth it.
You've budgeted, tracked, and waited to spend. Whenever you make an everyday purchase or grab something off your "want" list, use it to help you earn as well. With Cashback Match, Discover will automatically match all the cashback you've earned at the end of your first year as a cardmember. *Terms apply. Learn more at Discover.com.
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You've made major strides in getting your money situation together. Perhaps you've started a rainy-day fund or made a dent in your student loans. Good for you! Luckily, things can get even better. With a few small tweaks, your finances can go from good to golden.

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While you may have ambitious money goals, the key to reaching them is building a collection of smaller everyday habits. By taking baby steps that become second nature over time, you'll hopefully be able to improve your financial situation. Here are some small habits you can develop today that may help your money grow.

1. AUTO-TRANSFER MONEY INTO SAVINGS.

Setting up automatic transfers is one of the easiest ways to save. To make headway on your goals, auto-transfer a few dollars into your savings account each week. For instance, if you're trying to save $1,000 in six months for a new computer or a trip, automatically transfer $42 a week into your savings account.

2. PLAN YOUR PURCHASES.

Instead of making a quick run to the drugstore to buy a few items here and there, plan out your shopping trips. Make a list of exactly what you want to buy, and how much you're going to spend. By having a list and sticking to it, you'll be better at avoiding impulse buys or picking up items you don't really need.

The same goes for things you buy online. Figure out what you really need, how much you can afford to spend, and wait at least a few days before making the purchase. If it's not an essential item, try to wait 30 days before adding it to your cart.

3. SAVE MONEY WITH SUBSTITUTIONS.

Zero in on what's most important to you and spend the most in those areas. In categories that aren't as important to you, consider economizing or finding less-expensive alternatives. If you love gourmet cheese, don't deprive yourself of your favorite Roquefort. But if you couldn't care less what kind of peanut butter is in your sandwich, get the generic brand.

4. PAY YOURSELF FIRST.

If you want to make sure you're not overspending, create a budget. But if you want to grow your savings, pay yourself first. That means putting your money toward savings first thing when you get your paycheck, then living off the rest. If you only pay yourself after your bills and expenses are taken care of, you run into the risk of not saving enough to hit your big-picture goals. You can do this by auto-transferring dollars into a savings account or saving a percentage of your take-home pay each month.

5. SEND YOUR SAVINGS INTO A SAVINGS ACCOUNT.

If you're making a concerted effort to save in different areas of your life, make sure the money you save goes toward your savings. Otherwise, it's easy to spend the savings, leaving you back where you started.

For instance, if you've been brown bagging it to work each day this week, netting you $50 in savings on lunch, directly transfer that $50 into your savings account. Saved $20 on groceries by buying things on sale and scouring for deals on the store app? Put that $20 in an account so it will be there when you need it.

6. SAVE YOUR BONUS CASH.

If you get a raise, had a fantastic month freelancing, take on a side gig, or net a work bonus, commit to putting away some of it. While you may want to enjoy some of the extra money-which is perfectly okay-allocate a percentage of this "bonus money" toward your saving goals.

7. HAVE A PLAN FOR SPARE CHANGE.

That change jangling at the bottom of your pocket? Dump it in a jar and earmark it for a specific saving goal. If you empty your jar a couple of times a year, you'll be surprised at how quickly those coins have added up.

8. GO LEAN IN ONE SPENDING CATEGORY.

Trying to generate significant savings in every aspect of your life can make you feel spread thin and deprived. Instead, commit to spending less in a specific area. For starters, go for the easy wins. For example, cut back in an area where there's redundant spending. If you recently joined a sports league, you can probably nix the gym membership. Or if you go to the gym just to use their pool, consider getting a pool pass at a nearby recreation center to save money.

You can also start in spending areas where you'll have an easier time saving. Let's say you're a weekend warrior who lives for Sunday brunch with pals. But you aren't terribly picky when it comes to what's stocked in your fridge. In that case, start by saving on groceries that month, and don't worry about cutting back on eating out for the time being.

9. TRACK YOUR FINANCIAL PROGRESS.

Set aside some time each month to see how much progress you've made on your money goals. How much debt have you paid off, and how much headway are you making on saving for a down payment on a home, or for that dream trip next year? Seeing results will help you stay on track. Plus, it'll give you a boost in motivation, and could help you ramp up on saving.
Small changes can make a big difference in your financial health. Another smart switch: matching the cash back you earn when you use your credit card. With Cashback Match, Discover will automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year as a cardmember, dollar for dollar. Terms Apply. Learn more at Discover.com.

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While you may have ambitious money goals, the key to reaching them is building a collection of smaller everyday habits. By taking baby steps that become second nature over time, you'll hopefully be able to improve your financial situation. Here are some small habits you can develop today that may help your money grow.

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Happy World Chocolate Day! In celebration of this most delicious holiday, let's brush up on our chocolate knowledge.

1. THERE ARE MULTIPLE CELEBRATIONS OF CHOCOLATE EACH YEAR.

Holiday makers are constantly on the hunt for a reason to munch on chocolate, so the calendar offers plenty of excuses to buy a bar. July 7 is also Chocolate Day, a nod to the historical tradition that the day marks when chocolate was first brought to Europe on July 7, 1550, though a number of sources argue that it might have hit the continent's shores as far back as 1504, thanks to Christopher Columbus. Official day or not, we do know that chocolate first arrived in Europe some time in the 16th century. There's also National Milk Chocolate Day on July 28, International Chocolate Day on September 13, and, of course, National Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day on November 7.

2. CHOCOLATE IS ACTUALLY A VEGETABLE-KIND OF.

Milk and dark chocolate come from the cacao bean, which grows on the cacao tree ( Theobroma cacao), an evergreen from the family Malvaceae (other members of the family include okra and cotton). This makes the most important part of the sweet treat a vegetable.

3. WHITE CHOCOLATE IS NOT CHOCOLATE.

Because it doesn't contain cocoa solids or chocolate liquor, white chocolate isn't chocolate in the strict sense. But it does contain parts of the cacao bean-mainly cocoa butter.

4. THE CACAO BEAN IS NATIVE TO MEXICO AND BOTH CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA.

It's believed that inhabitants of these areas first started cultivating the bean as far back as 1250 BCE, and perhaps even earlier.

5. HOT CHOCOLATE WAS THE FIRST CHOCOLATE TREAT.

Cacao was brewed in both Mexican and Aztec culture, though the result was nothing like today's hot chocolate-it was a typically bitter concoction that was often used for ceremonial occasions like weddings.

6. MARIE ANTOINETTE LOVED HOT CHOCOLATE (THE MODERN KIND).

Marie didn't just love cake, she also loved chocolate, and hot chocolate was frequently served at the Palace of Versailles. It wasn't just the taste everyone loved-it was also believed that the drink was an aphrodisiac.

7. CACAO WAS ONCE USED AS CURRENCY.

The Aztecs loved and valued the cacao bean so highly that they used it as currency during the height of their civilization.

8. SPANISH FRIARS HELPED SPREAD THE LOVE.

After cacao and chocolate were introduced to Europe, traveling Spanish friars took it to various monasteries, handily spreading it around the continent.

9. A PAIR OF BRITISH CONFECTIONERS INVENTED SOLID CHOCOLATE.

The Fry and Sons shop concocted what they called "eating chocolate" in 1847 by combining cocoa butter, sugar, and chocolate liquor. This was a grainy, solid form of the treat.

10. COCOA AND CACAO ARE THE SAME THING.

The words are interchangeable! It's all one bean.

11. NAPOLEON LOVED CHOCOLATE.

The French leader demanded that wine and chocolate be made available to him and his senior advisers even during intense military campaigns.

12. BAKER'S CHOCOLATE ISN'T JUST FOR BAKING.

Dr. James Baker and John Hannon founded their chocolate company-later called Walter Baker Chocolate-in 1765. That's where the term "Baker's Chocolate" comes from, not to denote chocolate that's just meant for cooking.

13. MILTON HERSHEY REALLY WAS A CANDY KING.

The Pennsylvania native may be best known for starting The Hershey Chocolate Company in good old Hershey, PA, but he got his start in candy long before hooking up with chocolate. He founded his first company, The Lancaster Caramel Company, when he was 30 years old.

14. MILK CHOCOLATE WAS INVENTED IN SWITZERLAND.

Daniel Peter created the tasty treat in 1875-after eight years of trying to make his recipe work. Condensed milk ended up being the key ingredient.

15. MAKING CHOCOLATE IS HARD WORK.

Despite its regal background and revered status, the cacao bean doesn't just magically turn into chocolate-it takes about 400 beans to make a single pound of the good stuff.

16. THE FIRST CHOCOLATE BAR WAS MADE IN ENGLAND.

Way back in 1842, the Cadbury company made the very first chocolate bar. The company is still in existence, and is perhaps most famous for their delightful Easter-themed treats.

17. MOST CACAO IS NOW GROWN IN AFRICA.

Despite its Amazonian roots, most cacao-nearly 70 percent of the world's supply-comes from Africa. The Ivory Coast is the largest single producer, providing about 30 percent of all the world's cacao.

18. CACAO TREES CAN LIVE TO BE 200 YEARS OLD.

That may sound impressive, but the tropical beauties only make viable cacao beans for just 25 years of their lifespan.

19. THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF CACAO.

Most modern chocolate comes from forastero beans, which are considered easy to grow-though the crillo bean is believed to make much tastier chocolate.

20. CHOCOLATE HAS A SPECIAL MELTING POINT.

Chocolate is the only edible substance to melt around 93° F, just below the human body temperature. That's why chocolate melts so easily on your tongue.

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20 Things You Never Knew About Chocolate

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Happy World Chocolate Day! In celebration of this most delicious holiday, let's brush up on our chocolate knowledge. 1. THERE ARE MULTIPLE CELEBRATIONS OF CHOCOLATE EACH YEAR. Holiday makers are constantly on the hunt for a reason to munch on chocolate, so the calendar offers plenty of excuses to buy a bar.

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Dwayne Johnson clenches his granite jaw as he squints into the distance. A bead of sweat drips down his forehead before he throws back his head in a belly-shaking laugh. It's a sweltering summer day in Atlanta, and The Rock is on set doing what The Rock does best. He licks his lips, delivers his lines with panache and swaggers his hulking 6-foot-5 frame out of the shot.

Johnson is rarely out of focus these days. In the last decade, the 46-year-old former professional wrestler has leveraged his indefatigable charm-the kind that drives him, only half-jokingly, to float himself as a potential presidential candidate-to become Hollywood's most bankable star. His acting earnings last year-the vast majority of his $124 million haul-are the largest ever recorded in the 20 years Forbes has tracked the Celebrity 100 and nearly double the $65 million he earned in 2017.

"The number one goal is to create stuff for the world," says Johnson, sitting in his air-conditioned trailer in a blue polka-dot shirt and jeans. In other words, ubiquity. Besides a stream of movies, there's his hit HBO series, Ballers, and one of the shrewdest strategies on social media. On Instagram, where he has more than 108 million followers, he delivers inspirational videos of himself talking directly to his iPhone, often in his traveling gym. Other posts-leveraging another 13 million Twitter followers and 58 million on Facebook-introduce movie trailers, show Johnson in development meetings and celebrate his "cheat day" pancake stack, all decorated with multiple hashtags and millions of likes.

Now he's pioneering a new way to cash in on that digital fame. In addition to hefty $20 million up-front paychecks and cuts of back-end studio profits- starting with July's Skyscraper, in which he plays a former FBI hostage-rescue leader-he'll insist on a separate seven-figure social media fee with every movie in which he appears, according to people familiar with his deals. In other words, rather than have studios dump money into TV ads or billboards, their new paid-marketing channel doubles as their marquee star.

"Social media has become the most critical element of marketing a movie for me," Johnson says. "I have established a social media equity with an audience around the world that there's a value in what I'm delivering to them."

Johnson still does the talk show circuit, the press tours and the other promotional duties expected of stars (especially when the real money comes from box-office back end). But in stipulating that social media channels are separate platforms that require separate fees, Johnson is attempting to set a Hollywood precedent.

For The Rock, at least, the studios seem to have accepted this arrangement: Promotional spending on a tentpole movie can climb above $150 million and still not guarantee a blockbuster. A-list actors tapping their fan base augurs a cheaper, more targeted way for studios to promote a new movie.

"The star power that matters right now is the power of social media," says Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at ComScore. For now, The Rock is alone in demanding cash for social media on top of his contract. His Central Intelligence costar, Kevin Hart, pocketed $2 million from Sony for tweeting about his own films and others years ago, but the scale of the comedian's overall paycheck is still dwarfed by Johnson's. In fact, studios now track social media following and engagement to make casting decisions.

Johnson has always had engagement by the ton. He followed his father and grandfather into professional wrestling, borrowing a piece of his father's ring name, Rocky Johnson, to become The Rock-a sobriquet that encapsulates both his physique and his attitude.

A 2000 appearance on Saturday Night Live caught the eye of Universal executives, who gave him a cameo in The Mummy Returns in 2001. Impressed, the studio gave his tiny character its own spinoff, The Scorpion King, which went on to earn more than $165 million worldwide on a $60 million budget.

After a string of middling action movies and then three saccharine family movies ( Tooth Fairy, anyone?), The Rock rebooted his career by doubling down on the brawn that first earned him a fan base. "My wrestling past has informed me in terms of having a real connection with an audience," he explains. "It has to be audience first. What does the audience want, and what is the best scenario that we can create that will send them home happy?"

Such a give-the-people-what-they-want philosophy may not win him Oscars, but it will make billions at the box office. According to analysts, Johnson has high appeal in all four quadrants tracked at the multiplex: male, female, over-25 and under-25.

For studios, he's a dependable hedge against a North American box office that dipped 2% in 2017 to $11.1 billion. The international language of blowing stuff up doesn't require translation, and his forte is exactly what sells abroad. (More than 64% of his box-office grosses come from international audiences.) Thanks to Johnson's mixed Samoan and African-American heritage, his melting-pot looks make him a local hero around the globe.

As Johnson succeeded, he upped his business game. Five years ago, with his ex-wife and manager, Dany Garcia, he launched Seven Bucks Productions, geared at transforming The Rock from an actor into an enterprise. When Johnson appears in a movie, the Seven Bucks creative, production and digital team of eight work on every element, from developing the script to aiding production and helping guide its promotional rollout. The company also runs a YouTube channel and creates mobile content for Johnson's social media platforms.

"Having a very large footprint helps us execute," says Garcia, a former wealth manager who also runs a talent-management firm while overseeing Seven Bucks Productions alongside Johnson. "We would never do anything half-assed."

The impact created extends to Johnson's endorsements, which include Apple and a recently concluded Ford partnership. With the addition of a former Droga5 executive, Seven Bucks Creative, a team of two, crafted Johnson's Project Rock campaign with Under Armour, in which Johnson has a bestselling apparel line and a new branded set of headphones.

The natural progression: projects where Johnson isn't necessarily front and center. "This is our next step," Garcia says. "Let's take ownership, develop properties and look into properties that we can retell." Over the next few years, Seven Bucks will roll out The Janson Directive, starring WWE colleague John Cena, and Shazam!, a superhero action adventure.

The name Seven Bucks is an inside joke, a reminder of a bleak period early in his career, when he was cut from the Canadian Football League and arrived broke in Tampa in October 1995.

"I had a five, a one and change," he recalls of his net worth, adding that as an optimist, "I rounded up to seven."

Now his net worth is closer to $165 million. It's a journey that, he claims, puts him right on time. "What I've learned from [Disney CEO] Bob Iger is when you're going to do something right with global appeal," Johnson says, "it's going to take time-a decade, two decades, possibly more." What will the next two decades look like? Fittingly, he speaks like a hashtag: "It's limitless."
Reach Natalie Robehmed at nrobehmed@forbes.com. Cover image by Michael Prince for Forbes.

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Why The Rock's Social Media Muscle Made Him Hollywood's Highest-Paid Actor

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Dwayne Johnson is pioneering a new way to cash in on fame. In addition to hefty $20 million up-front paychecks and cuts of back-end studio profits-starting with July's Skyscraper-he'll insist on a separate seven-figure social media fee with every movie in which he appears.

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makes me want to take a more serious approach to tennis

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The Best Men's Style from Wimbledon 2018

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Here are the guys acing summer style right now at the Wimbledon 2018 tournament, from suited men to famous guys nailing sophisticated sportswear.

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because, you know, basic hygiene is manly too.

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A basic healthy skin-care regimen has three steps, but many guys are still cutting out the middleman: First you cleanse to remove dirt and grime, then you exfoliate to buff away dead skin cells (which can also clog pores), then you moisturize to restore hydration. All three are imperative to a clear complexion, but somehow exfoliating gets about as much love as leg day at the gym (let's resolve to fix both of those things in 2018). Get a super gentle one for daily use, or a more aggressive scrub for twice-weekly deployment.
Try Dermalogica Daily Superfoliant
I will scrub my way to clearer skin.

Maybe you already have a hair product that works perfectly for you. Keep it. Cherish it. There are billions of men in the world who are less fortunate than you. Luckily, if you aren't sure which product is best for your hair, paste is a safe bet. You can apply it to damp hair for medium-light shine and pliable hold, or to dry hair for less shine and less hold-for a texturized, fresh-from-the-surf effect. It's heavy enough to smooth curls and tame fly-aways but light enough to rinse out for a seamless re-style.
Try Evo Casual Act Moulding Paste
I will use hair paste (if I don't already have a go-to product).

The most effective skin care doesn't happen before you walk out the door-apologies to all the SPF matte moisturizers and spot treatments out there. Indeed, the most important time to apply products is before bed, since the benefits of each are magnified. While you sleep, your body's cells regenerate, which is why you wake up without yesterday's blemishes, or why a good sleep can cure a fever. By applying nutrient-dense recovery serums or night creams before bed, you're basically strapping rocket boosters onto the skin's natural restorative process.
Try Malin + Goetz Recovery Treatment Oil
I will develop a bedtime skin-care regimen.

Considering all the strain your skin endures during a shave, you need to prioritize its recovery-quite literally, you need to save face. That's why it's a good idea to follow each shave with a balm: Balms are alcohol-free, and they soothe and disinfect the skin with natural oils, while also creating a protective barrier against environmental and bacterial threats. Goodbye razor burn, goodbye redness, goodbye every other aftershave.
Try Proraso After Shave Balm
I will stop worrying about razor burn and learn to love the balm.

If this sounds extreme, don't worry, there's no need to run out and buy four signature scents-one for each season-right this moment. Start with two and alternate them when the time feels right. Cold-weather scents, typically those on the woodsier side of the spectrum, will warm the wearer's senses when there's a chill in the air, while a warm-weather scent comes with florals and citruses to complement sunny weather and weekends by the water. If you have a go-to already, adopt at least one more and start cycling between the two.
In colder months, try Valentino Uomo EDT
I will switch up my scent with the seasons.
In warmer months, try: Coach for Men
Coach For Men fragrance

If you're not wearing SPF daily, you're exposing yourself to year-round UV rays. These rays lead to dark spots, wrinkles, fine lines, sunburns and, worst of all, skin cancer. So why the hell aren't you wearing SPF every day? Most skin-care brands offer their moisturizers or serums with SPF packed in, and those are exactly the ones you should be applying before you leave the house. No exaggeration here: It could save your life.
Try Supergoop SPF 30 Anti-Aging City Sunscreen Serum
I will start wearing SPF every day.

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7 Grooming Resolutions You Should Make in 2018

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A basic healthy skin-care regimen has three steps, but many guys are still cutting out the middleman: First you cleanse to remove dirt and grime, then you exfoliate to buff away dead skin cells (which can also clog pores), then you moisturize to restore hydration.

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If being stuck at your desk feels like slow death, you're right.

Here's How Many More Calories You Burn Daily With a Standing Desk

Healthy Australian office workers who went from sitting to standing for most of the day, and added in walk breaks, after a year saw healthier blood pressure, lower total cholesterol and triglycerides (a type of fat in blood), and decreased body fat and waist circumference.

Consistency is key: Think of this as a lifestyle change. Get a standing desk, and set multiple reminders to take strolls around the block or to climb some stairs.

17 Stretches Every Man Should Know

Of course, just because you have a standing desk doesn't mean you won't sit again. And when you do finally take a seat, there's still a correct way to do it that can help impact your health for the better. Follow these simple tips to do it the right way.

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The Reason Why a Standing Desk Might Help You Lose Weight

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If being stuck at your desk feels like slow death, you're right. Healthy Australian office workers who went from sitting to standing for most of the day saw significant improvements in their health after a year. Get a standing desk, and set multiple reminders to take strolls around the block or to climb some stairs.

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Back pain from the office isn't inevitable. One expert says we have to forget about just keeping a straight back and rethink good posture.

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"Merde! I absolutely detest all openings and parties! They're commercial, political and everybody talks too much. They get on my tits!"
~Joan Miró

The gallery model, as we know it, is flawed. Dramatic changes have affected how we view, experience and acquire art. Does anyone else see this, and if so, are you concerned with it?

People used to get excited to go to a gallery, meet an artist in person and experience a work of art. Now, with almost every image an artist makes available on the internet, more people can view the work online and decide if they like it enough to leave their house to visit the gallery, or attend the opening reception, or just stay in to watch another night of reality television. I guess there is also the flip side: maybe the artist sees marketing the work to a critical mass over the web beneficial to their career. Or maybe it's the collector who would like to see the work online first to get a sense of what they might want to acquire. What's really driving this art market -- artists, collectors, galleries? We'll save the answer to that question for another post.

Artists and dealers know that art must be experienced in person to truly get a sense of its magnitude -- it's the outsiders who don't get that. This is another benefit of visiting an art gallery. Viewing artwork on the Internet is like walking by a gallery on a rainy night and wiping the fog from the glass to get a peek. You think you can see the art but there is a barrier obscuring your vision -- distance from the actual art piece can distort your perception, and not being able to see how a work of art hangs or is displayed next to or near other works of art -- that can be an issue too. We'd hate for you to finally take delivery of your newest conversation piece just to find out it doesn't fit where you wanted it, or the color clashes too much with your chartreuse drapes. Most art is non-refundable.

The gallery used to be a place to go to meet up with friends and exchange ideas and build community. Patrons and students alike would come to see a show and then talk about it with their peers the next day. The arts community has grown to be less real and more superficial because of things like social media and sites like Facebook. With all the good that social media does as a marketing tool for galleries, artists and the arts as a whole, it also removes something from the art world equation: community.

Galleries are one such place to build a community -- a real, true social network -- your art ecosystem, and that is important. It's been this way forever. Warm body introductions are important. Social networks on the internet are okay to rack up followers or friends, but a great quote that I read in the book The Start-Up of You by Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn states, "There is a big difference between being the most connected person and being the best connected person." My network came from the schools that I attended, but also through the artists, collectors, patrons, mentors, educators, curators and publishers that I bumped into at gallery openings and other art-related events along the way. Now that I am an art dealer, I don't get out to openings like I did in the past. When I happened to go to a recent First Friday's gallery event in Boston, it was great to run into old friends. It reminded me of what I love about the arts and I will stress it here again: the community.

Fact: There is definitely a different experience meeting someone in person, rather than just looking at their photograph on a website. Just ask the thousands who think they have found their soul mate on sites like Match.com, and then realize they look nothing like their picture when they finally meet up for a date. The same goes true for looking at and experiencing a piece of art in a gallery. Before you click that 'buy' button on one of those online websites that sell art, go visit and support your local art galleries and experience what can happen. You may just be surprised at what you see, whom you meet, and what you will learn.

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"Merde! I absolutely detest all openings and parties! They're commercial, political and everybody talks too much. They get on my tits!" ~Joan Miró The gallery model, as we know it, is flawed. Dramatic changes have affected how we view, experience and acquire art. Does anyone else see this, and if so, are you concerned with it?

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foto: Facebook/Marco Prasetyo.

Brilio.net - Di hati para kolektor motor, motor lawas mempunyai makna dan gengsi tersendiri. Motor pada awal pada pertengahan tahun 60-an merupakan barang langka yang tidak dapat dimiliki oleh banyak orang. Di era milenial ini, motor lawas yang dulunya cuma dimiliki oleh segelintir orang kini menjadi makin susah dicari; ada yang rusak dimakan waktu ada yang disimpan oleh pemiliknya. Bagi para kolektor motor lawas, menemukan motor yang diproduksi pada berpuluh-puluh tahun lalu menjadi semakin menantang.

Dari pemilik akun Facebook Marco Prasetyo, brilio.net berhasil menemukan belasan motor lawas yang dijual untuk umum. Berikut 10 motor lawas yang banyak dicari oleh pecinta motor lawas di Indonesia.
1. NSU Supermax 250cc.
Motor yang satu ini tergolong sangat langka. Motor asal Jerman ini diproduksi pada perkiraan tahun 1956. Perusahaan NSU memiliki sejarah panjang sejak Perang Dunia II. Bahkan orang pertama yang mencapai kecepatan 200mph menggunakan motor buatan SNU. Supermax tentu mewarisi nilai-nilai ini. Motor ini dibanding produksi sebelumnya memiliki ukuran tangki yang lebih besar dan 2 shocks pada bagian depan.
2. Honda Benly S110.
Honda Benly mulai diproduksi di Jepang sejak tahun 1953 sebagai penerus generasi terdahulu S90, 90Z dan CB100. Pada tahun tersebut, prototype pertama Benley diperkenalkan yang ditenagai oleh mesin OHV 89CC 4 tak. Di Indonesia motor Benley paling dikenal adalah seri S110.
3. Yamaha RX 125 Twin.
Tipe motor Yamaha yang telah berhenti dikembangkan pada tahun 2009 silam merupakan salah satu primadona masyarakat Indonesia pada masanya. RX 125 Twin merupakan jenis Yamaha RX pertama yang masuk ke Indonesia.

Motor tipe ini memiliki dua silinder. RX 125 Twin mampu menghasilkan tenaga sebesar 16 tenaga kuda pada 8500 Rpm. Motor ini bahkan dikenal menjadi salah satu motor terkencang pada masanya.
4. Yamaha RX 100.
RX 100 merupakan pengembangan dari tipe sebelumnya RX 125 Twin. Motor yang mulai diproduksi sejak tahun 1985-1996 silam ini ditengarai dengan mesin tetap 100cc. Walaupun dengan kapasitas mesin yang kecil, RX 100 mampu menghasilkan tenaga 11,5 tenaga kuda.

Motor ini juga unggul dalam urusan akselerasi. Dilansir dair Motorrxking.com, RX 100 mampu mencapai kecepatan 60 km/jam hanya dalam waktu 7,5 detik. Pada masa itu, kecepatan ini udah wow banget!
5. Yamaha RX 135.

Satu lagi seri dari Yamaha: RX-K 135. Motor yang terkenal di Indonesia pada tahun 90-an ini merupakan salah satu jenis RX yang sampai ke berbagai pelosok negeri. Motor ini sendiri menurut beberapa sumber tidak terlalu banyak di produksi di negara asalnya Jepang. RX K-25 ini dulunya tidak terlalu banyak terjual.
6. Vespa VBB.
Motor jenis Vespa juga menjadi salah satu idaman masyarakat pada masanya. Salah satu yang melegenda adalah Vespa VBB. Pada masanya motor ini diproduksi hingga lebih dari 270.000 unit. Hal ini tentu menunjukkan betapa populernya vespa VBB. VBB merupakan evolusi dari versi sebelumnya VBA dengan ukuran karburator Dellorto Sl20/17C dengan 4 gigi.
7. Yamaha U7.
Yamaha U7 atau sering dikenal dengan sebutan Yamaha Delik ini juga menjadi salah satu motor yang diburu kolektor.
8. Suzuki FR70.
FR70 merupakan motor bebek pertama yang diproduksi oleh Suzuki. Motor ini masuk ke indonesia di awal tahun 70-an dengan jenis mesin satu silinder, mesin 2 tak dan berpendingin udara. Saat ini motor bersejarah ini dilepas di pasaran dengan harga mulai dari 5 juta-an.
9. Yamaha v75 1978.
V75 merupakan salah satu motor dengan mesin kecil yang diproduksi Yamaha pada era tahun 70-an hingga awal 80-an. Motor yang dikenal juga dengan sebutan Yamaha Minthi atau Yamaha kecil ini memiliki bodi yang cukup kecil. Dengan bodi dan mesin yang kecil, kecepatan yang bisa dicapai pada gigi tiga adalah 60 km/jam. Saat ini v75 dijual dengan harga mulai dari 5 juta-an.
10. Astrea Star 1986.
Astrea merupakan salah satu produksi Honda yang cukup laris di Indonesia. Astrea merupakan pendahulu dari Honda Supra yang sekarang diproduksi di pasaran. Honda Astrea Star hadir di Indonesia pada tahun 80-an. Motor ini merupakan pengembangan dari motor Honda Super Cub yang diproduksi pada tahun 60-an.

Itu 10 motor yang dulunya berjaya pada masanya. Motor-motor di atas kini masuk dalam list para kolektor motor. Adakah motor di atas yang telah lama menjadi idaman Sobat Brilio?

(brl/swh)

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Hits di zamannya, 10 motor lawas ini kini jadi buruan kolektor

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foto: Facebook/Marco Prasetyo. Brilio.net - Di hati para kolektor motor, motor lawas mempunyai makna dan gengsi tersendiri. Motor pada awal pada pertengahan tahun 60-an merupakan barang langka yang tidak dapat dimiliki oleh banyak orang. Di era milenial ini, motor lawas yang dulunya cuma dimiliki oleh segelintir orang kini menjadi makin susah dicari; ada yang rusak dimakan waktu ada yang disimpan oleh pemiliknya.

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Scholars of Rock: Musicians With College Degrees

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A select few rock musicians have actively pursued higher education and achieved advanced degrees. Here's a list.

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Synesthesia may very well be the key to why humans create multimedia art, why movies have soundtracks, or why recorded albums have cover art. The term literally means "union of the senses," and studies of the phenomenon help explain why we put visuals to sound, and vice versa: Synesthetes frequently experience their own involuntary sensory responses when other senses are stimulated. One of the most common forms to manifest itself is grapheme-color synesthesia, the perception of letters and numbers as specific colors, especially vowels. I've personally experienced the letter "A" being red since I was young enough to remember, "E" as yellow," "O" as blue, and "U" as green. For some reason "I" is fuzzier, but usually scans yellow for me.

Thus, "hearing" colors when listening to music is common for both musicians and their audience. Frank Ocean is a known synnie, who notably named 2012's lavishly lauded channel ORANGE after the color he saw when he first fell in love. Genres as disparate as black metal and the blues are associated with colors because someone somewhere decided that blue evokes sadness and black symbolizes the departed. Bands as paramount as the Beatles and Metallica have named an album by letting its own monochromatic cover speak for itself, and those albums, the White Album and Black Album respectively, have gone on to become essential moments in their careers. (The Hives' Black and White Album, not so much.)

With the possible exception of relative newcomers Baroness - whose entire hard-rock discography is color-coded with fantastical paintings by frontman John Baizley - no other artist has hitched their work to the rainbow like Weezer, whose bright 1994 debut is their ice-classic Kind of Blue, with its non-primary follow-up Pinkerton their feverishly deconstructionist Bitches Brew. This week, they'll release their own White Album, which follows Blue, and interspersed throughout their discography with other titles like , and Everything Will Be Alright in the End. It's easy to call the color series a gimmick, and that claim might not be unfounded: The cover of 2010's features Jorge Garcia's eponymous character from Lost, which is as inscrutable as it gets.

But Rivers Cuomo is no ordinary rock star, he's an obsessive. In 2002, Rolling Stone's Jenny Eliscu reported that Cuomo was organizing his songs by spreadsheet and maintaining a binder he called his "Encyclopedia of Pop," containing a breakdown of every Nirvana, Oasis and Green Day song, trying to mathematically dissect them in order to achieve his own formula for perfect songwriting. He may or not still number his own songs - he proudly displayed No. 377 for Eliscu - but every couple of Weezer releases, he still finds a representative color in place of an album title to represent that grouping of his latest work. He's the rare rock star who might actually be more obsessive than his own fans, attempting to qualitatively evaluate himself before they or any critics do. He's written a song with and taken feedback from his supporters, such as putting "Slob" on 2002's Maladroit by request. Why was it on the menu? Because fans had access to the demos, of course.

In the spirit of Weezer's historically surgical documentation of themselves, SPIN spoke to synesthete and certified tetrachromat Maureen Seaberg - who co-authored the book Struck by Genius, about a man who developed synesthesia and other gifts as the result of a real-life brain injury - about the significance of color to this band.

"I would say the overall sounds of the albums, for me, were consistent," Seaberg says over the phone from her Staten Island home. "But they didn't match their color choices, ever," she adds, laughing. "But that's fine, because that's what synesthesia is."
Weezer [The Blue Album] (1994)
It seems safe to say that in 1994, Weezer was just growing accustomed to a record deal and having hits, not planning a small career's worth of self-titled albums. Blue is a calming, neutral aesthetic for a debut album cover, conveying both the sunlit waves of "Surf Wax America" and the titular globe of "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here." The electric blue chosen for the cover is both friendly and vivid, and - focusing on the synesthetic effect - feels like the right new-wave sheen for producer Ric Ocasek's synth break on "Buddy Holly."

Seaberg says: You know what was funny, on "Holiday," if I listen to the sound - the instrument and the voice - it's very brown, white, yellow. Other people might get individual notes. But then the song is a very Caribbean, blue thought. I think we all go there, like a beach, right? And if I look at the word "holiday," the "H" is indigo, and the "O" and "I" are white. So there are three things going on there for me, like layers.
Pinkerton (1996)
While Pinkerton has plenty of catchy songs, both Rivers and fans have noted it feels as far from "pop" as possible: the skinned-knee self-production, uncompromising creepiness of the lyrics, and all-around bled-out blackness and isolation makes the cover's wintry landscape from ukiyo-e master Hiroshige aptly appropriated.

Seaberg says: The title of "Tired of Sex" is yellow and green letters, and the screechy riff at the beginning goes bile-y yellow on me. And I'm left with that thing as an aftertaste of the whole song; I can feel it in an annoying tingling on the bottom of my top lip. If he was trying to get that [dissonance] across, he certainly did for me. On "Getchoo," the highest note I can actually feel inside my right ear canal has kind of that weird awareness before you get an ear infection.
Weezer [The Green Album] (2001)
Bright, almost-neon lime certainly exists in nature, but there's an artificiality to the Green album cover that suggests futuristic plasticity within. The ten-song track list and familiar (if not-quite-correct) font have an uncanny-valley vibe, like you're having déjà vu for the debut or being tricked by a Cylon, albeit a friendly one. It suggests both shiny-new Weezer and a self-conscious discovery of the canny marketing they'll go on to play with more. The songs are often derided as the band's most perfunctory, but they deserve more admiration for the same reason we praise, say, "Teenage Dream." It's as beautiful and infallible as a Rube Goldberg device.

Seaberg says: I really love "Photograph" off the Green Album. I think it's so beautifully composed, but there's also something about what Rivers' voice does: It's pale yellow and comes down in, like, a sheet to me, going diagonally in my right field of vision, away from me from right to left. It's one of the most beautiful forms I've ever seen among synesthesia photisms, which are really infinite. But I'm very, very fond of that song. And I do hope he's a member of the tribe, 'cause we'd all like to claim him. Another genius for the mix. [ Laughs.]
Maladroit (2002)
"I didn't really understand that one," frequent cover photographer Sean Murphy admits of Maladroit's cover, which evokes found art. This LP is where the band OD'd on spontaneity, with the most tracks on a Weezer album to date produced in the shortest timespan, given a slapdash (albeit fitting) title by a fan and tons of message-board feedback for the crunchy and unusually structured songs. Gold-brown is a fitting "theme" for it, evoking both Eddie Van Halen's "brown" guitar sound and Ween's alike.

Seaberg says: Maladroit is a purple-yellow title. [ Ed. Note: I can actually see this.] The brown bass chords are coming toward me in "Dope Nose" and shaped like lots of rays, while "American Gigolo" is a yellow and brown title and the song is heavily white from the dominant drum beats.
Make Believe (2005)
Weezer's first true disappointment came with an early sense of dread: the feeling of embarrassment at the Mr. Rogers-esque title, and the almost insulting simplicity of the first single "Beverly Hills." The cover - band photo cutouts, clip-art style, over black-and-white designs on something like a button-down shirt Guy Fieri would wear - somehow felt more blank than the plainer designs on Blue or Green. You could somehow tell this was going to be their first album devoid of color in more than one way.

Seaberg says: Make Believe is a purple and brown title, and "Hold Me" is indigo, purple, and red. The rolling guitar melody at the beginning can be felt on the skin below each of my eyes; when the big bass comes in it's like a deep brown slap across my forehead. "This Is Such a Pity" has consistently brown guitars, white drums, and silver cymbals, but I note when he sings "Everything is black," I see black. It seems that colors in lyrics can affect visualization.
Weezer [The Red Album] (2008)
Admittedly, it's difficult to connect red to this one. It's an ebullient, primary color, and bright, blocky moments like "Troublemaker" and "Pork and Beans" do evoke it. But Red also has more stylistic detours than any other Weezer album, and they do trigger synesthetic responses: The sweep of "Heart Songs" is a strong traffic-light yellow. The Village People-inspired costumes on the cover feel like they do more to convey the sound than the associated hue itself.

Seaberg says: If Rivers is operating from synesthesia, it would never necessarily be metaphoric. We all say red with anger, purple with rage, green with envy, but if he's in a happy place because he's become a father, and he's exploring all these new emotions, as a synesthete, he might very well associate that with red. It doesn't have to make sense, it's just that automatic impression that he's wired for. The fact that it doesn't make metaphoric sense makes more synesthetic sense. "Dreamin'" is a brown-orange-red-yellow word, almost like autumn leaves, though, and I notice the brown bass in "Pork and Beans" is a lava flowing outward, bookending two thirds of my visual field.

Two albums mostly considered lesser to fans, Raditude and Hurley have almost negligent color identities, with Raditude's cover a wacky borrowed photo that succeeds in getting one hyped for their most shameless release to date even though it ultimately falls short. Aside from Hurley's infamously glib cover portrait though, the aquamarine back and spines do in fact match up with their "shiniest" arena-crunch album since Green.

Seaberg says: "The Girl Got Hot" is a yellow, brown and indigo title [ Ed. Note: Yellow and brown are indeed as close as Raditude 's cover has to a color profile.]; I notice first that I want to dance and I believe dance is a form of involuntary movement sometimes and can be synesthetic. I want to raise both arms up to shoulder height, bring them down, and repeat. On "Trainwrecks," the synthesizer-like sound at the word "trainwrecks" is glass-like light orange formed like foam and falling top to bottom. On "Smart Girls," a green and brown title, the heavy harmonies are very white as if all the colors of the various voices are bleeding into one.
Everything Will Be Alright in the End (2014)
This one's a flawless marriage of title and concept: What better to evoke a band attempting to come full circle than a misty autumn palette? Also, Cuomo has a neat habit of sepia-tinting his most "rock" albums ( Pinkerton, Maladroit) as opposed to the Skittles-toned "pop" ones, whether he knows it or not.

Seaberg says: The first letter of a word or a sentence, for some reason in all synesthetes, not just me, dominates the rest of them. "Everything" begins with "E," and "E" is very red for me, and then it's bookended by, literally, "End," which is also very red for me. So the jumble of letters in between kind of swim in this red. So red gets to be very dominant. Then individual songs - yellow voice, brown guitar, white drums, once again. "The British Are Coming" is a yellow, brown, and white title; its piano is white and I feel it as a soft brush of my right cheek.
Weezer [The White Album] (2016)

"I don't know for sure, but it seems like they don't have the album art picked out when they go into each shoot," says photographer Sean Murphy, who did the cover for the White Album. "We were just walking on Venice Beach. It was very grassroots, run-and-gun guerrilla style." He previously shot the cover for Red, which "had a couple more ideas and there was some concept to it," but both he and Green cover photographer Marina Chavez confirm via phone that the famed background color for those respective releases was selected afterward, without their input. "I think they like holding their cards to their chest to be honest with you," says Murphy. "I don't know what goes on with Rivers, he's got a lot on his mind."

One guess is that the White Album represents a rebirth, a return to conceptual intent after the unkempt randomness of Raditude and Hurley, and even Everything Will Be Alright in the End looked backward for inspiration. White is the band's surfiest, sandiest album since Blue, but the light on these cloudless, uncomplicated musings is clearly ahead of them, and they're moving toward it.

Seaberg says: "California Kids" is light blue and teal, and the song's [glockenspiel] sound is like aqua glassy dots fanning outward. "L.A. Girlz" is a very yellow title - odd because only my "A" is yellow here. Perhaps it's the idea of sunny California overriding the other colors? The song's cymbals are dominant, very silvery rays going from bottom to top. It's funny, white is actually a black word to me.

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Blue Albums and Pink Triangles: What Color Means to Weezer

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Synesthesia may very well be the key to why humans create multimedia art, why movies have soundtracks, or why recorded albums have cover art. The term literally means "union of the senses," and studies of the phenomenon help explain why we put visuals to sound, and vice versa: Synesthetes frequently experience their own involuntary sensory responses when other senses are stimulated.

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When we think of lifestyle habits that could conceivably contribute to a cancer diagnosis, UV rays, smoking, and other obviously risky practices are at the top of the list. But what if going to bed too soon after dinner was a factor, too?

That's what researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health are advising against after completing a study demonstrating that dinnertime could have an impact on a person's risk of breast and prostate cancers. The paper, published this week in the International Journal of Cancer, asserts that study subjects who ate their last meal at least two hours prior to their bedtime had a 20 percent lower chance of developing these potentially deadly conditions.

The subjects, all located in Spain, were followed from 2008 to 2013 and divided among people who had been diagnosed with one of the two cancers (1826 people) or who were cancer-free (2193 people). They were profiled based on their meal timing, sleep habits, and chronotype-whether they were more active in the mornings or evenings. Eating prior to 9 p.m., or at least two hours before going to sleep, was associated with lower instances of both an initial cancer diagnosis and recurrence.

Why should the timing of your meals matter as much as what's actually on your plate? The authors theorize that consuming a meal too close to sleep influences how the body metabolizes food. By "fasting," or allowing for a longer window for the body to go without food, people can reduce their risk of obesity and a poor metabolic profile, both contributors to a variety of health conditions.

Though the authors say the two groups ingested similar diets and had no wide variations in other factors like social class, they caution that more work will be needed to help substantiate their findings. Moving research out of Spain-where eating late is common -will allow them to examine populations with different dinner habits.

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Avoiding Late Dinners Could Lower Your Risk of Cancer

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When we think of lifestyle habits that could conceivably contribute to a cancer diagnosis, UV rays, smoking, and other obviously risky practices are at the top of the list. But what if going to bed too soon after dinner was a factor, too?

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Most travelers try to make the most of their limited time overseas, yet fail to take into account the leap in time zones they make in a matter of hours. It can take your body's internal clock several days to catch up to that leap, and in the meantime you're likely to experience the disruption of your sleeping and waking cycle known as jet lag. Symptoms of jet lag include sleepiness during the day, insomnia at night, poor concentration, confusion, hunger at inappropriate times or lack of appetite, and general malaise and irritability. Here are our top tips to fight jet lag.

1. Adjust your internal clock.
Several days (at least four) before departure, gradually shift your sleeping and eating times to coincide with those at your destination. Once you arrive, adopt the local time for your daily routine.

2. Opt for overnight flights.
You'll have dinner at a normal time and be much more likely to sleep than on an afternoon flight. Depending on the length of the flight and the number of time zones you cross, you'll arrive at your destination in the morning or afternoon. This is the best way to replicate your normal schedule, and it'll be easier for you to reset your clock.

3. Curtail coffee.
For 12 hours before, as well as during, your flight, avoid overeating and caffeine. Although caffeine can help keep you awake longer, it makes you wake up more often once you do fall asleep and so reduces total sleep time.

4. Stay hydrated.
Drink at least 8 ounces of water for every hour you're in the air-even if you don't feel thirsty. If you wear contact lenses, clean them thoroughly before your flight, use eye drops in the air, and consider removing your lenses if you nap. In your carry-on pack a bottle of moisturizing lotion, lip balm, and a hydrating spray with essential oils (not just water) to spritz your face with occasionally. Just be sure all toiletries are TSA compliant.

5. Avoid or limit alcohol inflight.
Cabin air dehydrates passengers, and altitude changes can quicken the effects of alcohol (the rule of thumb is one drink in the air is the same as two or three on the ground). A cocktail may relax you, but it's also apt to dry you out, and even worsen symptoms of jet lag.

6. Try to sleep on the plane.
This is especially important when you're traveling overnight or flying west to east. Travel is extremely tiring, and the more rest your body gets en route the more prepared you'll be to deal with the stresses of jet lag. If you're taking a very long flight-United States to Asia, for example-consider saving up enough dollars or frequent-flier miles to fly business or first class, as it's a lot easier to sleep when your seat reclines all the way back. If you can't avoid coach, opt for a window seat and bring enough padding (pillows or something that can act as such) to prop yourself up against the wall.

7. Use sleeping pills wisely.
A pill with a short cycle may be helpful on overnight flights. Make sure, however, that you time the dosage correctly or you may be very groggy when you land. Also, an airplane is not the place to try out a pill for the first time, so only take medications you are already familiar with.

8. See if melatonin is for you.
Consider taking the nonprescription drug melatonin. Research suggests that the body uses this hormone to set its time clock. Because melatonin seems to control when we go to sleep and when we wake up, a number of scientists advocate supplements to alleviate jet lag. Some (but not all) studies suggest that taking 3 milligrams of fast-release melatonin prior to bedtime for several days after arrival in a new time zone can ease the transition.

9. Get outside.
After arrival, spend a lot of time out in the sunlight, which will help your body reset its natural time clock to coincide with your new surroundings.

10. Don't drift off too early.
Unless you arrive at your destination at night, and reasonably close to a normal bedtime, don't go to sleep as soon as you reach your hotel. Unless you're used to taking regular short naps at home, you're better off staying up until bedtime: If you're really exhausted from travel, a 20-minute nap could easily become a three-hour nap, which will disrupt your sleep schedule even more-you might find yourself wide awake at 4 AM.
Photo Credit: sextoacto / iStockPhoto

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Most travelers try to make the most of their limited time overseas, yet fail to take into account the leap in time zones they make in a matter of hours. It can take your body's internal clock several days to catch up to that leap, and in the meantime you're likely to experience the disruption of your sleeping and waking cycle.

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It's not just an urban legend. Exercising in dirty city air can negate some of the positive effects of your workout.

Want to Have Smart Kids? You Better Be Doing These Exercises.

It's particularly true in summertime when you're spending more hours exercising outdoors, and the sun and heat intensify pollutants such as car exhaust to create smog.

According to a study published in the British medical journal The Lancet, people with compromised pulmonary systems had the positive effects of exercise on their hearts and lungs entirely canceled out when they went for a two-hour walk on a busy street, versus rambling in a park.

52 Foods That Boost Penis Health, Supercharge Libido, and Increase Pleasure

Healthy folks won't have as severe a reaction (their lungs are better equipped to filter out toxins), but researchers say even they should minimize exercising on crowded roadways, which can curtail cardiorespiratory benefits. To reap the benefits of exercise minus the pollution, work out in the early morning or after dusk, avoid running along busy highways or at rush hour, and pay attention to air quality alert days in your area-if it's bad, hit the treadmill.

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It's not just an urban legend. Exercising in dirty city air can negate some of the positive effects of your workout. It's particularly true in summertime when you're spending more hours exercising outdoors, and the sun and heat intensify pollutants such as car exhaust to create smog.

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If you plan to have kids, make sure to work on both your brains and your brawn- simultaneously.

Research from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease finds doing activities that are both mentally and physically stimulating triggers a genetic change in sperm, influencing the offspring's capacity to learn. And the effects happen very fast-Andre Fischer, an expert in neurodegenerative diseases, suspects it takes as little as two months for the RNA changes to occur.

52 Foods That Boost Penis Health

Sign up for activities that involve both brain power and physical output, such as dancing, running on trails, and even playing a musical instrument.

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These Activities Can Boost Your Sperm and Help You Have Smarter Kids

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If you plan to have kids, make sure to work on both your brains and your brawn- simultaneously. Research from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease finds doing activities that are both mentally and physically stimulating triggers a genetic change in sperm, influencing the offspring's capacity to learn.

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When it comes to interior design, choosing leather furniture is increasingly unpopular for various reasons.

Most of these, however, are largely driven by myths about the material.

dives into these misconceptions to debunk the most common myths on leather furniture:
Myth: Leather furniture does not last long
Fact: With the right care, leather furniture such as sofas and armchairs can actually last for a very long time.

The right care means that cleaning must be done regularly using a vacuum cleaner, and direct sun exposure must be avoided in order to keep the material durable.
Myth: Taking care of leather furniture is difficult
Fact: Taking care of leather furniture is easier than expected.

To avoid cracks in the material, apply conditioner or lotion every six to 12 months to keep it moisturized. Wipe off the lotion with clean cloth or an absorbing sponge.

Read also: Three common myths about Indonesian sambal

In the case of butter or oil stains, cleaning them using a dry cloth and leaving them to settle will do the job.

The use of soap and detergent should be avoided.
Myth: Leather furniture can be easily damaged, especially by children or pets
Fact: Using leather furniture that has been coated with a polymer surface is recommended for households with children and/or pets.

Polymers protect leather from scratches.
Myth: Leather furniture can become very cold or very hot
Fact: Unlike leather car seats, leather furniture will not become cold when the temperature drops or become hot when the temperature is high.

In fact, when the human body sits on leather furniture, it will become warm when the temperature is low and cool down when the surrounding air is warm.

Do note that for the furniture to do this, it must be kept out of direct sunlight. (anm/kes)

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Debunking common myths about leather furniture

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When it comes to interior design, choosing leather furniture is increasingly unpopular for various reasons. Most of these, however, are largely driven by myths about the material. dives into these misconceptions to debunk the most common myths on leather furniture: Myth: Leather furniture does not last long Fact: With the right care, leather furniture such as sofas and armchairs can actually last for a very long time.

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Millions of us drink coffee for its energy kick.

But researchers in Taiwan say it could one day help power our smartphones, laptops and even electric vehicles.

They've developed a method that transforms waste coffee grounds into a novel replacement for the graphite normally used in lithium ion batteries.

Liu Wei-jen, Associate Professor at Chungyuan University Department of Chemical Engineering, said: "The costs for natural and artificial graphite are both relatively high, so we are hoping to find a replacement substance. Taiwanese people love to drink coffee, so the amount of discarded coffee grounds is substantial. This is why I was wondering if there is the possibility to turn coffee grounds into a source material for lithium batteries. Because graphite and coffee grounds are both carbon, I wondered if there was the possibility to create a source material for the use in batteries through modification of the carbon."

As well as using a material normally destined for the bin, the team says there are other environmental benefits.

Tsai Hsing-yu, bachelor student at at Chungyuan University Department of Chemical Engineering, said: "Currently we are able to charge the battery 100 times, while batteries available on the market can be charged up to 500 times. But our advantage lies in that our source material is environmentally friendly. We take discarded coffee grounds from cafes and are able to prepare those for use in batteries by heating them up to 800 degrees Celsius, while the material in normal batteries has to be heated to 2,800 degrees Celsius; so that uses up more energy resources."

Read also: Fighting plastic pollution through small steps

With more and more technology dependent on lithium ion batteries, demand for the graphite used in them has increased.

A battery for a large electric vehicle needs over 20kg of graphite.

More research is needed before coffee is a viable alternative.

But with the demand for electric vehicles growing, researchers here say it's time to wake up and smell the coffee.

This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post

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Coffee waste could help power future batteries

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Millions of us drink coffee for its energy kick. But researchers in Taiwan say it could one day help power our smartphones, laptops and even electric vehicles. They've developed a method that transforms waste coffee grounds into a novel replacement for the graphite normally used in lithium ion batteries.

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Even if you don't have ADHD (like I do), learning how to keep yourself focused at your desk - at work or at home - can be a frustrating process, full of trial and error. What can be especially frustrating is that there's no one-size-fits-all solution for when you find it hard to keep your mind on your task, so whatever method or product your BFF swears by might be a terrible fit for you. There is, however, a wide range of methods and products that are useful for staying focused, and plenty of those products that can help you focus are also perfect desktop tchotchkes, so you can stay on task as much as possible.

Because no single solution or type of solution will work for everyone, it's worth trying different methods for staying focused, including software-based ones like apps made specifically for focusing, and physical products like chairs and fidget toys. Like I said, it's going to take some trial and error to figure out exactly what works for you, but if you're patient and give yourself the time you need to figure out what's right, you could end up with multiple seriously effective solutions for your focusing struggles.

Whether your particular trouble is getting distracted, not paying attention to the time, or just not being comfortable enough in your workspace to concentrate, these focus products are definitely worth a shot.

Finding the right product to keep you focused can be an arduous search, but with a blend of cute and useful, digital and physical, these products should help you get started on your journey to more productive desk time.

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9 Things To Put On Your Desk That Can Help You Focus Better

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Even if you don't have ADHD (like I do), learning how to keep yourself focused at your desk - at work or at home - can be a frustrating process, full of trial and error. What can be especially frustrating is that there's no one-size-fits-all...

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fun fact: NBA players get occasional pedicure.

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Manikur dan pedikur tidak hanya untuk perempuan, tapi juga laki-laki. Khususnya bagi yang kesulitan merawat kuku sendiri. Sebab ini bukan hanya perkara perawatan tapi juga kesehatan.

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Dampak kerajinan tangan dan kegiatan seni pada otak manusia

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Rasa tenang dan stabil merupakan buah manis dari seseorang yang hobi berkegiatan seni.

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Internet terancam naiknya permukaan laut

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Dalam 15 tahun mendatang, internet mungkin mati karena kabel serat optik rusak akibat naiknya permukaan laut.

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Sepatu suede memerlukan perawatan khusus jika terkena noda.

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More people are watching documentaries these days, which likely means that more people are rocking their faces off with nonfiction. Far from Ken Burns's soothing tones, these music-filled films demand amplification and an unseemly amount of perspiration.

Rock documentaries are tricky beasts. Though they often have the built-in advantage of following around famous people, they aren't immune to boredom and eye-rolling faux depth. Keeping it simple by showcasing the music can be good, but it's no way to be great. The best of the best manage to deliver a stellar soundscape, offer a backstage pass to the real humans who make it, and hold our ears even if we aren't already devoted fans. If a little history gets made in the process, even better.

Grab a seat next to Penny Lane on the bus. Here are 13 of the best documentaries that every music-and film-fan should add to their Must Watch list.

1. WHAT'S HAPPENING! THE BEATLES IN THE U.S.A. (1964)

A singular piece of filmmaking where nonfiction talent met transcendent musical genius on the threshold of gargantuan stardom, this is the best Beatles documentary ever produced. Directed by legendary documentarians Albert and David Maysles, the film captures the band's first frivolous jaunt through America, where they raised the screaming decibel level in The Ed Sullivan Show theater and goofed off in hotel rooms. It's an explosion of youth before they changed music forever.

2. DON'T LOOK BACK (1967)

Another marriage of style, skill, and subject, Don't Look Back helped shape how the rockumentary genre could provide insights into the people who shape our popular culture. That so many iconic moments emerged from D.A. Pennebaker's watershed work, which strolled with Bob Dylan through England in 1965, is a testament to the legendary musician's infinite magnetism. The cue cards, singing with Joan Baez in a hotel room on the edge of breaking up, the Mississippi voter registration rally, and on and on. Since it portrayed fame's effect on the artist, the art, and the audience, most every other rock doc has been chasing its brilliance.

3. GIMME SHELTER (1970)

The rockumentary has evolved to be as diverse as the sonic landscape itself, which is why Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping can send up the current scene just like This Is Spinal Tap! did in the 1980s. Still, 1970 feels like the year that defined the rockumentary. Another Maysles joint, this profound doc captured The Rolling Stones touring at a time when they were one of the biggest bands in the world and only getting bigger. The music is powerful and immediate, and the film closes with their appearance at the Altamont Free Concert, which turned deadly when-after a day of skirmishes between concertgoers and the Hell's Angels acting as security-a fan with a gun was stabbed to death when he tried to get on stage during "Under My Thumb."

4. WOODSTOCK (1970)

The other 1970 film that helped define the genre allowed thousands to claim they'd been to the biggest concert event of the generation without actually going. If rock 'n' roll emerged from unruly teenage years into conflicted young adulthood in the 1960s, nothing stamped that image in henna ink better than Woodstock and the documentary that accompanied it. The bands that appear are legendary: Crosby, Stills & Nash; The Who; Joe Cocker singing The Beatles; Janis Joplin; Jimi Hendrix; and many more. It's a fly-by of the three days of peace and music that you could play on repeat with summery ease.

5. ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS (1973)

Rock doc royalty D.A. Pennebaker captured David Bowie's final performance in his red-domed sci-fi persona at London's Hammersmith Odeon with a flair that captures the frenetic energy of the room. The crowd is as much a part of the moment as the band is, as the camera places you in the middle of a transitional moment in music history. To see Bowie that close up now is a wonder. And, naturally, the music is out of this world.

6. THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION (1981)

Instead of following the famous, Penelope Spheeris's debut dug its nails deep into the Los Angeles punk scene at the turn of the decade. Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, and other bands your parents have never heard of perform mosh pit-sparking anthems and show off their living conditions like a grungy proto-version of MTV Cribs. There's a purity here missing from most music docs-a chronicle of people whose passion far, far outweighs their paychecks, and a screening that led the LAPD to request that the movie never be shown in LA again.

7. SIGN "☮" THE TIMES (1987)

Having Prince at the center of your concert doc is a shortcut to ensuring it's one of the best of all time. There's the music, of course. Hits like "Little Red Corvette" and "U Got the Look," and Sheila E. beating the hell out of her drum kit. There's also The Purple One's inexhaustible energy and stage presence. As a bonus, the film jumps between concert footage and (instead of candid hotel conversations) a sci-fi narrative where we get to go to Prince Planet. It's a rocky, disorienting experience that could have only been held so tightly together by a master showman.

8. MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE (1991)

It might be hard to explain to a younger audience just how dominant Madonna was as an artist coming out of the 1980s or the kind of landmark event this film represented because of her status. The travelogue of her Blonde Ambition Tour was like peeking into the insane world of the ultra-famous-not least because Madonna was dating Warren Beatty at the time and part of the film involves her hanging out with Al Pacino, Lionel Richie, and more. There are threats that the Canadian police will arrest her for simulating masturbation in her show, the Pope trying to get the tour canceled in Italy, and a slightly awkward return home to see family. All par for the course for someone whose personal life was carved up for public consumption.

9. RHYME & REASON (1997)

An unparalleled look into the lyricism and lifestyle of rap musicians from the genre's rise through its global domination of the 1990s, the concert and party footage is fantastic, and the number of interviews is staggering. Peter Spirer spoke with more than 80 rap and hip-hop artists to craft a snapshot of what life was like for a group of musicians who discovered their voices could echo across the world as well as those who followed after to even greater success. Instead of going deep on one person behind the music, it's a historical document of the culture itself as seen through the eyes of those at its very center.

10. THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON (2005)

For those who don't know Daniel Johnston's music, this doc is a crash course not only in its stripped-down, anti-folk vibes but the head it all comes spilling out of. Instead of romanticizing or ignoring his bipolar disorder, Jeff Feuerzeig's movie engages with it directly, drawing beautiful gems from a troubled mind. An absolute masterpiece, it's less a vision of a musician giving glimpses into his real life than it is a vision of a human being who makes music.

11. AWESOME; I F*CKIN' SHOT THAT! (2006)

Rockumentaries follow two major formats: the raw concert doc that's like a ticket to a show you couldn't attend, and the profile where artists drop quotables in between performances. They're safe and familiar, which is probably why the Beastie Boys gave both styles the middle finger in favor of a grand experiment. A year before YouTube launched, the rap trio gave 50 fans in their Madison Square Garden audience camcorders to capture the concert. The result is a genuine, fans'-eye-view of the experience, and a chaotic mashup of perspectives.

12. THE PUNK SINGER (2013)

It's astonishing how much time and ground Sini Anderson's portrait of Bikini Kill leader Kathleen Hanna covers. It's so much that labeling her Bikini Kill's leader is woefully reductive. Artist, pioneer, feminist, activist, and a dozen other titles swirl around Hanna's sweat-covered brow as we get to know her both as an artist and as a person. It's also a punk fever dream of riot grrrl greatness, featuring incendiary archival footage and excellent talks with members of Le Tigre, Bikini Kill, and Julie Ruin, as well as Carrie Brownstein and the Beastie Boys's Adam Horovitz (who is also Hanna's husband).

13. JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE (2015)

A fairly recent addition to the pantheon, Amy J. Berg's doc is a stirring tour of archival footage of the gravel-throated songstress. Narrated by musician Cat Power, instead of losing perspective to the fog of history, a blend of modern conversations and ghosts from the past offer fresh eyes and ears to create a heartsick celebration of one of music history's most beloved artists, whose career was cut woefully short.

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13 Great Rockumentaries Every Music (and Movie) Fan Should See

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Whether you're following the Rolling Stones or a relatively unknown musician, the best rock documentaries deliver a stellar soundscape, offer a backstage pass to the real humans who make it, and hold our ears even if we aren't already devoted fans.

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Long flights can be brutal. Unless you're residing in business or first class, you're crammed with everyone else in economy, which means little in the way of leg room.

How to Work Out on a Plane

Suffering through hours of cramped quarters, virtually frozen in your seat, can take a toll on your neck, back, hips, and shoulders. And if you fly frequently, stiff joints, tight muscles, and disturbed blood flow can translate to chronic pain in your everyday life. Here's a game plan to fight off some of the most common in-flight conundrums.
If You've Been Slumped Over Your Laptop or Lunch: Upper Spinal Extension
After hours of hunching over your tray table, arms pinned to your sides, neck craned, your upper back is probably screaming and your shoulders are stiff. Use an upper spinal extension stretch periodically to open up your back, improve spinal alignment, and take some stress off your neck. Lace your fingers together behind your neck and bring your elbows together. Now lean back into the chair, bringing your elbows toward the ceiling and pushing your sternum up as if you're trying to chest bump the overhead compartment.
If You Fell Asleep in an Awkward Position: Seated Spinal Twist
Leaving a late work dinner only to catch a red-eye or getting up at the crack of dawn to catch the first flight out leads to a lot of awkward sleeping situations. Since airplane seats offer virtually no lumbar support, your low back is forced into a slumped, flexed position, squashing your joints and stressing your muscles. When you wake up, use a seated spinal twist to wring out your spine and get all those segments moving again. Sitting up tall, place one hand on the opposite knee and rotate from your low back all the way up through your head, reaching your spine long and tall throughout the motion. Repeat on the opposite side. And next time try placing a pillow in the arch of your low back before you nod off.

The 10 Best Stretches For Men, According to 10 Trainers
If You're Stuck in the Middle Seat: Seated Glute Stretch
With an economy seat width of 18 inches and shrinking on domestic flights, there's not a lot of options in terms of leg position. Being smashed in between two people isn't going to help matters much, either. When your seatmate goes to the restroom, use a seated glute stretch to create some space in your hip joints and stretch out your cramped backside. Place one foot on your opposite knee in a figure four position. (If you're really tight, you may need to leave your bottom leg extended a little bit.) Sit up tall, and stick your butt out a little bit to tilt your pelvis forward, then lean forward with a flat back. You can use your hand to press your thigh down, but make sure not to torque at the knee joint. If you're in the exit row or the bulkhead, lucky you! Do this more often. You can also do a standing glute stretch (among other stretches) whenever you head to the bathroom.
If You're Trapped by the Fasten Seatbelt Sign for Hours: Modified Doorway Pec Stretch
Getting up frequently is one of the best ways to ward off stiffness, so take advantage of it when you can. Once you're free to move about the cabin, walk to the galley for an extra glass of water (in-flight hydration is super important, too) and grab a small space of wall to open up your chest with a modified version of a doorway pec stretch. Place your hand or forearm on the wall with your elbow at chest height, then rotate your body away to open up the front of your shoulder. You'll be able to sit straighter when you get back to your seat - just don't get trapped in the aisle by the cart.

10 Foods You Should Pack For Your Long Plane Ride
If You're on a Long International Flight: Forward Fold to Half Lift
Once dinner is over and everyone's focused on their devices, you can move a little bit more creatively without feeling like the center of attention. Try this yoga-inspired forward fold to half lift move to release your low back and hamstrings. It'll engage your glutes and legs to get the blood moving. Find a spot in the galley where you have a little room, then bend forward from the waist, letting your low back round gently and your arms hang. Bent knees is totally okay here. Then, engage your glutes and your hamstrings to pull you into a half lifted position placing your hands on your knees. Keep your legs straight, using your legs not your low back to lift.

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The Best Stretches You Can Do When Traveling On a Plane

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Long flights can be brutal. Unless you're residing in business or first class, you're crammed with everyone else in economy, which means little in the way of leg room. How to Work Out on a Plane Suffering through hours of cramped quarters, virtually frozen in your seat, can take a toll on your neck, back, hips, and shoulders.