The term "smart home" can get really confusing, especially for buyers and sellers: How many features does it take to be considered smart? Who decides?

"We've been hearing the term 'smart home' for about the last two years, maybe a little less," said David Siroty, vice president for North American communications at Coldwell Banker. "Technology is intersecting with the home more than at any other time in history."

A study released earlier this year by Coldwell Banker found that about 45 percent of Americans either own some kind of smart home technology or plan to buy it this year. And Siroty said about 33 percent of Coldwell Banker's agents report that properties labeled as "smart" sold more quickly and for higher prices than expected.

With demand for "Internet of things," or IoT, household devices on the rise and more homeowners incorporating smartphone-controlled features into their properties, industry leaders are working on a definition that everyone can get behind. Coldwell Banker and technology review site CNET teamed up to answer this question by putting together a new smart home litmus test and building a checklist for home buyers and sellers to use to help figure out whether their properties qualify.

Under the new definition, a home must have an Internet connection and at least three different kinds of smart technology to be considered a smart home. At least one of those technologies must be either for security or temperature control, and the others can come from a list of categories CNET and Coldwell Banker established.

One of the most popular smart technologies Coldwell Banker agents are seeing right now are those that enhance home security, Siroty said. According to the Coldwell Banker survey, about 31 percent of people with smart home technology have some form of smart security system.

Smart homes are more common right now in more affluent markets, where the different technologies are built into a customized, integrated system, Siroty said. But individually purchased smart appliances and systems are popping up in homes at lower price points.

"It's similar to the explosion we saw in granite countertops," he said. "They were the norm in the more affluent sector, and over time they came more into traditional homes to the point where they're now standard in many homes."

So what goes in to creating a smart home? Here are eight things Coldwell Banker and CNET say could raise your home's IQ.

Summary: How many Internet-connected systems does your home need before it's considered brainy? Take a look at this checklist


The race is officially on for one of the hottest development sites in Greater Boston.

The federal government on Wednesday issued a formal request for proposals for the 14-acre campus of the Volpe Transportation Center in Kendall Square, offering up a rare swath of open land in one of the tightest real estate markets on the East Coast. Developers will have 90 days to respond with their plans, and the General Services Administration hopes to award the site to one of them by year’s end.

A slew of major Boston-area builders have expressed interest in the Kendall Square site, Cambridge officials said.

A slew of major Boston-area builders have expressed interest in the site, according to Cambridge officials, among them Skanska USA, Boston Properties, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, and the real estate arm of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The GSA released the RFP only to bidders who qualified in an earlier round of the competition, which included proven ability to finance a $500 million project. It has declined to identify those firms, citing federal procurement laws. It has also refused to publicly release details of the RFP, so it is unclear what priorities the agency will consider.

One requirement the GSA did disclose, however, is that the winning bidder build a “state-of-the-art” facility for the Volpe Center itself before taking possession of the rest of the property. That means any large mixed-use development there is likely to be years away.

It’s not clear what form that development might take, or how big it could be. Late last year, Cambridge officials halted a plan to rezone the Volpe site for the new project until a developer was selected. The city was considering allowing a building as high as 500 feet, which would be the tallest in Cambridge, along with adopting steep requirements for affordable housing and open space.

Summary: The federal government issued a formal request for redevelopment proposals for the 14-acre Volpe Transportation Center in Kendall Square.


The Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center is about to come under the management of the University of California at Los Angeles. The contract under which the two-year-old museum will give up its independence is expected to be signed in a few weeks, Arthur Groman, the museum's lawyer, said this week.

Joining the museum with U.C.L.A. was, Mr. Groman said, "a marriage made in heaven."

"Securing competent management is a hard task and here we have qualified people at hand," he said.

The museum's $60 million building in the Westwood area of Los Angeles was overseen by Dr. Hammer, the chairman of the Occidental Petroleum Corporation, whose headquarters is adjacent to the museum. At the direction of Dr. Hammer, shortly before his death in 1990, Occidental gave the museum a $35 million endowment in addition to the money to build the museum.

But the corporation's pockets were never quite deep enough: the museum from its inception has had financial and management problems. Accusations and a Lawsuit

When plans for the museum were unveiled in 1988, Dr. Hammer was accused of reneging on his promise to donate his art collection to the Los Angeles County Museum. Then Occidental shareholders unsuccessfully took Dr. Hammer to court, saying the corporation paid $95 million for what was, in fact, a private project. Neither incident proved an obstacle to Dr. Hammer, however, who opened the museum in his name and gave it the bulk of his collection.

There are lingering problems even now. A lawsuit filed two years ago by Joan Weiss, the niece and sole heir of Frances Hammer, Dr. Hammer's wife, who died in December 1989, challenges the museum's ownership of its art collection, which consists of about 100 Old Master, 19th- and 20th-century works, estimated to be worth about $450 million at the market's peak two years ago.

"This suit has significant impact on the future of the museum," said Richard D. Cleary, a lawyer representing Mrs. Weiss, who added that he believes that if his client wins, the museum will be left without much of a collection. (Once the university takes over management of the Hammer, the museum will get some works owned by U.C.L.A., like a Matisse collage, as well as 35,000 works on paper currently at the university's Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts. But the most important works are from Dr. Hammer's collection.) Compliance or Coercion?

Mrs. Hammer signed several disclaimers waiving her right to the art her husband gave the museum. But Mrs. Weiss charges that her aunt, who died three years ago, was coerced into signing the agreements by Dr. Hammer, depriving his wife of the fair share of her husband's estate. According to court papers, the bulk of Dr. Hammer's fortune, estimated to be $400 million, was from Mrs. Hammer's own assets or was community property, which under California law must be split. A court conference is scheduled for Sept. 24 and a trial date is expected to be set then.

Henry T. Hopkins, the chairman of U.C.L.A.'s art department and director of its Wight Gallery, will be the Hammer Museum's new director. And the Wight Gallery and the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts will move into the museum's building in Westwood.

Both gallery spaces will eventually be converted to academic use. "It's a complex negotiation," said Ruth Simon, a lawyer for the university. "We're hoping all the details will be ironed out soon."

Those now running the Hammer -- Stephen Garrett, the director, and Alla Hall, the administrative curator -- will be leaving at the end of the year. Mr. Garrett said their plans were indefinite. Hilary Gibson, the director of planning and development, left two months ago, and is working with a Westwood business organization. SoHo Square Dance

Last year's spate of artists switching galleries in the hopes of making more money or getting more exposure continues. Indeed, as nearly 50 shows open in SoHo this week, the list of artists who have found new galleries is particularly striking.

Tomorrow, a show of John Coplans self-portraits opens at the Andrea Rosen Gallery, at 130 Prince Street. Mr. Coplans left Galerie Lelong on West 57th Street in June after four years. "The decision had nothing to do with money and there were no quarrels," said Mr. Coplans. "I'm 72; I'm an old man and I didn't want to be represented by a French gallery that is controlled from Paris. I wanted an American gallery with young people struggling to make new art." Serrano to Paula the Cooper

A new crop of artists has joined the Paula Cooper Gallery in SoHo this fall, after a rough two years during which it lost three major artists -- Joel Shapiro, Robert Mangold and Donald Judd -- to the Pace Gallery.

The best-known name is Andres Serrano, who will have his first show at Paula Cooper in January. In June, Mr. Serrano sued the Stux Gallery in SoHo, where he had shown for five years, for more than $250,000 he said the gallery owed him from the sale of his works. The artist and the gallery each say the suit was settled amicably, but insiders say that part of the deal included allowing Mr. Serrano to break his contract with Stux.

Summary: Hammer Museum Pact   The Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center is about to come under the management of the University of California at Los Angeles. The contract under which the two-year-old museum will give up its independence is expected to be signed in a few weeks, Arthur Groman, the museum's lawyer, said this week.


When David Bowie died on January 10, just two days after releasing a final album, he left many fans hungry for more. 60 Minutes searched its archives and found several interviews with the rock star, part of a story that never aired. The day after he died, the broadcast posted excerpts online here and later offered our television audience more here -- but viewers weren't satisfied, so we decided to add to our offerings.

In the clip above, Bowie describes how he approached making albums. "I have such a wide interest in different forms of music," he said, "I've found that the making of an album really changes from piece to piece."

In 2003, 60 Minutes filmed him recording songs for his album "Reality" in a studio in Woodstock, New York. In one of them, "Never Get Old," Bowie seems to proclaim his intention to live forever. He assured our producers the song was tongue in cheek.

"It doesn't bother me in the slightest, growing older," he said. "I just thought the subject matter was kind of funny for a song."

By the time 60 Minutes spoke with Bowie, his Ziggy Stardust days were long past. He said he was glad he was no longer doing those types of performances. "I don't miss the spectacle of doing shows like those one iota," he said. "I would have huge anxiety attacks every night, wondering if somebody is going to fall down, or somebody's going to forget to do something, or whatever."

But Bowie also mentioned his interest in writing a theatrical piece for someone else to perform, which he ultimately did. In 2015, "Lazarus," starring Michael C. Hall, debuted off-Broadway and sold out within hours.

Bowie's own performances weren't always as confident as they seemed. The first night of a new tour "I'm just jelly, you know?" he told 60 Minutes. "Until I've got that first half hour, say, behind me."

And it wasn't just big shows. Appearing before a small audience of diehard fans in a club called "The Chance" in Poughkeepsie, he told 60 Minutes he was nervous to go on. "It's all new songs, and I've never done them before," he said. "And this is a tough crowd, believe it or not. This is a really tough crowd."

Interviewed in 2003, Bowie, who lived in downtown New York City, was still processing the events of 9/11. "If I didn't have my family - especially my daughter - whose eyes I do look through a lot these days, I think it would be very easy for me to slip into despondency and negativity about the current times," he said.

He said his daughter, Alexandria, kept him optimistic. "I owe it to my daughter," he said. "I want her to know that she has a father who's enthusiastic and looking forward to the things she's going to do when she grows up."

© 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Summary: Last week, 60 Minutes broadcast clips from never-before-seen interviews with David Bowie. Our viewers demanded more, and we answered the call


Which is all very concerning, particularly given we quite smugly thought sun screen and oxidant-busting lotions and potions were rescuing us from the apparent dangers of blue light as well as pollution and the sun's harmful rays.

So, until that gap in the market Dr Zokaie mentioned is filled (and he says companies are looking into it as we speak), for now let's look short term. Regardless of how often you spend gazing into your phone, the following products will ensure that even if you are being slowly dragged into the jaws of premature-ageing, you will look the picture of health, if only temporarily.

Summary: At the Facial Aesthetic Conference and Exhibition held in London last week, dermatologists dropped a bomb on the millions of us for whom selfie-taking is a daily occurrence.


Victoria’s Secret recently unveiled its “Fireworks Fantasy Bra” valued at $2 million, CNBC reports.

The bejeweled lingerie was designed by multinational jewelry company Mouawad. Sapphires, diamonds, and blue topaz make up just a few of the 6,500 precious gems that are encased in 18-karat gold. The bra will be featured at the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which will take place in New York City on November 10, and air on CBS on December 8.

The L Brands-owned company features a Fantasy Bra every year during its highly popular runway show. Last year, there were two, both worth $2 million. This year’s Fantasy Bra will be worn by Victoria’s Secret Angel Lily Aldridge.

For those of you who can’t afford to drop $2 million on a piece of lingerie, this one was inspired by the brand’s “Sexy Flirt” bra, which will be available in stores and online starting November 11 and have a much more reasonable price tag.

Summary: It's called the Fireworks Fantasy Bra.


Jul 8, 2016 5:33 PM EDT World

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's legendary philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, who devoted his life to the poor and the destitute, died on Friday at a hospital in Karachi following a prolonged illness. He was 88.

Edhi's family announced his death and his son, Faisal Edhi, asked all people to "pray for the departed soul" of his father.

Earlier in the day, the family had said that Edhi's condition deteriorated and that he was breathing with the help of a ventilator. Edhi had been hospitalized for the past several weeks and his son said he was suffering from kidney- and sugar-related problems.

Known in Pakistan as "Angel of Mercy" for his social work that also won international acclaim, Edhi had established a welfare foundation almost six decades ago that he oversaw together with his wife, Bilquis Edhi.

The foundation owns and runs Pakistan's largest ambulance service, as well as nursing homes, orphanages, clinics and women's shelters, along with rehabilitation centers and soup kitchens across the country.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his condolences and sorrow over Edhi's passing and said he prayed that God will give the charity worker "the best place in paradise."

Edhi was a "real gem and asset for Pakistan," Sharif said in a statement. "We have lost a great servant of humanity. He was the real manifestation of love for those who were socially vulnerable, impoverished, helpless and poor."

"This loss is irreparable for the people of Pakistan," the prime minister added.

Pakistan's powerful army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif also expressed his condolences to Edhi's family, lauding him as a "true humanitarian."

Crowds of people were gathering outside the Karchi hospital late Friday night to express their condolences to the family.

Edhi came from humble origins and remained a quiet and modest man all his life, which in part was what inspired the nationwide love for him among Pakistanis. His son said that before his death, he asked that his eyes be donated to a person in need.

Born in 1928 in a small village of Bantva near Joona Garh in Gujarat district of then British-ruled India, Edhi was deeply affected by the death of his mother when he was 19. He never finished school but later said that the world of suffering became his tutor.

Edhi migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and made a living at first by working as a commission agent selling cloth at the Karachi wholesale market. A few years later, he started a free Bantva dispensary with the support of some community members. That was the start of his charity work.

In time, he turned his vision of developing a systemized welfare service and drew a persistent and wide response for donations, expanding the trust at a remarkable pace. He first set up a maternity home and the emergency ambulance service in Karachi, which at the time had a population of over 10 million.

In 1965, Edhi married Bilquis Bano, a nurse who worked at the Edhi dispensary. The couple has four children, two daughters and two sons. Bilquis ran the free maternity home and organized adoption of abandoned and out-of-wedlock children across Pakistan.

As their work spread across the country, Edhi remained involved hands-on in the Edhi Foundation, from raising funds to helping with ritual bathing of the bodies of the deceased poor. He also personally drove one of the network's ambulances across Karachi to help anyone in need.

Edhi's foundation also provides technical education to the disadvantaged, religious education for street children, consultations on family planning and maternity services, as well as free legal aid, financial and medical support to prisoners and the handicapped.

Despite the vast sums of money that passed through his foundation, Edhi lived modestly with his family in a two-room apartment adjacent to the headquarters of his foundation.

His work earned him numerous awards at home and abroad, including the Gandhi Peace Award, the 2007 UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Prize, the 2011 London Peace Award, the 2008 Seoul Peace Award and the Hamdan Award for Volunteers in Humanitarian Medical Service.

Known in public as Maulana Edhi - a respectful title for a religious scholar, usually an elderly person with a beard - he supported and promoted working opportunities for women. Out of the 2,000 paid workers of his Edhi Foundation, around 500 are women.

Prime Minister Sharif also announced Saturday as a day of mourning in Pakistan and said Edhi would be given a state funeral on Saturday in recognition for his services.

Sharif, who is returning to Pakistan from London where he underwent open heart surgery, expressed regret that his health would not allow him to personally attend the funeral.

Summary: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif: "We have lost a great servant of humanity"


Someone get Tituss Burgess some Pinot Noir to get over this horrible moving experience.

The "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" star unleashed a scorching Yelp review about a harrowing experience with a New York moving company, claiming one worker called him a "f----g f--got" on Wednesday.

"My name is Tituss Burgess. I'm an Emmy Nominated Actor for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt currently streaming on Netflix," he kicked off his epic review.

"That's besides the point. But watch it," he noted.

Martha Plimpton is pro-choice, pro-Tituss, pro-'Real O'Neals'

The actor went to great lengths to describe how a Brooklyn-based company, called Franks Express, failed to show up after an agreed-upon appointment to move his couch.

"These guys are the absolute most UNPROFESSIONAL workers I have EVER DEALT WITH," he explained.

The 37-year-old, beloved by Netflix viewers for his feisty role as Titus Andromedon, says the company tried to push him into leaving a good review before arriving to move his couch.

After a day of back-and-forth, Burgess claimed he was insulted via text with a homophobic slur.

"You messed with the wrong queen," he wrote, adding brilliant hashtags like "do not threaten me, I will win."

The actor then took his war of justice to all his social media pages and added a screenshot of the derogatory exchange with the worker — going as far as to include the phone number of the hateful employee.

"Try Jesus, don't try me," he captioned a video rant detailing the nightmarish experience.

The slammed company, which has since been flooded with negative reviews, frantically replied to Burgess' review and pleaded with the actor to contact them.

"It is fatal mistake," they wrote back.

"We believe that you had bad experiences with other Company. As you can see our reviews on the Yelp you can find us as professional," they continued.

Burgess has yet to reply back.

Summary: Someone get Tituss Burgess some pinot noir to get over his horrible moving experience.


Man discovers 6'9" basketball prodigy in Yemen.

Man signs prodigy to contract promising to develop him into an NBA caliber-player in exchange for 10% lifetime earnings ... and also helps him leave Yemen.

Prodigy becomes 7th overall pick in 2011 NBA Draft ... becoming overnight millionaire.

Man sues when player blows off the deal.

... these are the allegations Charlotte Hornets player

is facing in a brand new lawsuit obtained by

Long story short ... a guy named

says Biyombo owes him more than $2 MILLION in unpaid commission for his help in "developing" him into an NBA talent.

In the suit, Crespo says he met Biyombo in Yemen back in 2009 ... and he signed a contract promising him 10% of all pro basketball earnings for the rest of his life in exchange for Crespo's help. The contract was allegedly signed in Spain, where Crespo says he helped Bismack get a job with a pro team in Madrid.

He later got drafted into the NBA and allegedly stopped paying.

We reached out to Biyombo for comment -- so far, no word back.

Summary: Man goes to Yemen. Man discovers 6'9" basketball prodigy in Yemen. Man signs prodigy to contract promising to develop him into an NBA…


“No university is better than any other — each offers something different,” he says.

“Better” is an awkward concept. League tables may indicate, for example, that one university is stronger for veterinary science than another. Student satisfaction surveys may show that one institution offers a better experience than another, while employers may even favour graduates from a certain establishment. But the universities that come out on top in all these measures can change from year to year, and when it comes to naming them there may be surprises in store.

In the most recent national Research Assessment Exercise, which ranks universities according to the quality of their research, the University of Essex came ninth in the UK, above Bristol, Leeds, Sheffield and other red-brick institutions. “In social science we were top in the country, so those wanting to study politics, economics or sociology could do well here,” says the university’s spokesperson Jenny Grinter. “In economics, 100 per cent of our research was internationally recognised. In politics, 45 per cent was world-leading. Those figures eclipse Oxford, Cambridge and some other leading universities.”

There are other unsung heroes. Bournemouth University, for example, won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2011 for world-leading excellence and pioneering development in computer animation, and has, says Vinney, “one of the best media schools in the world”. The Complete University Guide 2013 puts Strathclyde fourth in the UK for accounting and finance; Hertfordshire sixth for anatomy and physiology; and the University of Bath second for accounting and finance, third for business studies and fourth for both politics and psychology.

Non-red-bricks thrive in vocational and professional courses, too. Aspiring teachers assemble at Edge Hill University in Lancashire, those seeking careers in sports sprint to Loughborough, and would-be fashion students flock to Central Saint Martins. The University of East Anglia, meanwhile, is known for its creative writing programmes, which have nurtured acclaimed novelists Ian McEwan, Tracy Chevalier and Kazuo Ishiguro.

When it’s a question of university life and the student experience, it’s a little more difficult to measure quality. Rachel Winzer is director of research at the 1994 Group, which represents 19 UK universities — among them Essex, Bath, Leicester and Surrey. Winzer says their member institutions have “a long heritage in providing high-quality student experiences” and that the organisation has “championed the concept of the holistic student experience”, which she points to as a key measure of quality. In the 2011 National Student Survey, the University of Cambridge took first place among universities when it came to overall student satisfaction, with Oxford and St Andrews in Scotland — a member of the 1994 Group — among those in joint second place. The 2012 survey released yesterday saw Open University top the rankings.

“One of our key selling points is our well-established placement scheme that leads to high employability,” says Will Marsh, a spokesman for the University of Bath, which was named Sunday Times University of the Year 2011-12.

The university has strong relationships with leading international organisations, including Nike and Google. “Many of our graduates go into jobs earning well above the national average,” adds Marsh.

Employability is also a priority for the 20 Russell Group institutions. According to Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, their graduates are particularly sought after by employers. While UK graduates overall can expect to earn at least £100,000 more during their working lives than their counterparts who do not have degrees, “Russell Group graduates receive on average a 10 per cent salary 'top-up’ over those from other universities”.

But Grinter at the University of Essex says employers know the courses that suit them — and those may not exclusively be from big-name institutions. She advises applicants to dig a little deeper. “Consider what you want to study and how strong a particular university is in that subject, rather than just looking for an institution that you recognise. For example, big human rights organisations, such as the United Nations, are full of our graduates. People wanting to work in that field know that going to Essex opens doors.”

Marsh says: “We would like to think that employers prick up their ears when they see a degree from Bath on a CV. We have seven students applying for every place here, and while Ucas applications in the country overall have fallen this year, ours have gone up.”

The University of Worcester similarly bucks the trend. Applications to this new university have risen at a faster rate than applications to any other UK university over the last five years.

While academic reputation and performance are certainly important, students really need to consider the whole experience before making a decision. Are there top-notch sports facilities and state-of-the-art labs or workshops? Which universities are best for students who want to study part-time? How many contact hours do students get?

How are courses taught and assessed and what’s the accommodation like?

“We’re a campus-based university, on a hillside overlooking Bath, with social and academic facilities all in one place,” explains Marsh. He compares this set-up with that of the nearby University of Bristol: “It has buildings spread across the city — the two universities offer very different environments.”

“Prospective students should have the freedom to choose which type of university suits them best,” Vinney concludes. “It is time for us to challenge this deep-seated notion that one type of university is 'better’ than another. The most important question is, which university is the best fit for you?”

After getting straight A*s in her A-levels, Lucy chose a marketing degree at Bournemouth University.

“I considered lots of courses before deciding on marketing. I wanted to do something new and creative. My head of sixth form was keen for me to apply to Oxbridge to study English literature. He said a lot of the London marketing agencies would prefer to hire an Oxbridge graduate, but I didn’t want to go into a job feeling I knew an awful lot about books but not a great deal about the business. I think my teachers felt that if I could get in but didn’t apply, it was a waste. I don’t see it that way.

“My parents were supportive of my decision. They were impressed by the relationship Bournemouth has with industry. I’m now on my sandwich year, and the university has helped me get a placement doing creative marketing for Warner Bros.

“With any course, you get out what you put in. I’ve been really pleased with mine. It’s vocational, but with bits of economics and psychology, so I haven’t had to give up on the academic subjects. I feel I’ve definitely made the right decision for me.”

University open days: How to make the most of university open days

National student survey: UK student satisfaction reaches new record

University rankings: British universities on the rise

Summary: Anyone thinking about higher education in 2013 should take into account more   than surveys and league tables, advises Jessica Moore.


LONDON—GlaxoSmithKline PLC has scored a minor victory in the battle to keep sales of its $9 billion-a-year asthma treatment Advair from being lost to generic competitors.

The company has obtained a preliminary injunction to prevent Sandoz—the generic-drug division of Novartis AG—from selling its rival inhaler AirFluSal Forspiro in Germany, because of its color. The Cologne regional court made the ruling.

Summary: GlaxoSmithKline scored a minor victory in the battle to keep sales of its $9 billion-a-year asthma treatment Advair from being lost to generic competitors.


Just after midnight on Oct. 1, 1966, Albert Speer, the former armaments minister of the Third Reich, walked free from Spandau jail. Barely acknowledging Margarete, his long-suffering wife, the mother of his six children and the once-proud bearer of a Nazi award for fertility, Speer faced the flashbulbs and cameras of the world’s media from the back seat of a luxurious black Mercedes provided for the occasion by an old industrialist friend. Condemned by the Nuremberg Tribunal for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Speer was saved from the death penalty by an artful defense that separated him from the other Nazi...

Summary: Adam Tooze reviews “Speer: Hitler’s Architect” by Martin Kitchen.


When Dean Durrant, 33, and Alison Spooner, 27, of Fleet, Hampshire, were told they would be having twins in 2001 they imagined that they would look similar even if they knew they would not be identical.

"But we are just delighted that it has."

He told The Sun: "The odds must be a million to one."

Miss Spooner added: "I was shocked when I first found out I was pregnant with twins again - but I never thought for one second they would turn out the same as last time."

When the couple announced earlier this year that they were having another pair of twins, friends placed bets on the same happening again - but few believed it would actually happen.

It was not immediately obvious as the girls were initially taken to a special care unit and kept in separate cots because of breathing difficulties after they were delivered three weeks early last month.

"It wasn't until about five days after they were born that we saw them side by side for the first time," Miss Spooner said.

"And when they were together it was clear that one was darker than the other. It was unbelievable."

"Now the girls are back home with us and are very healthy.

"Lauren and Hayleigh think the new arrivals are fantastic."

Summary: A couple who took doctors by surprise seven years ago by having one black twin daughter and one white have defied "million-to-one" odds by doing it again.


Correction Appended, April 18, 2016

When Maria Andrews’ mother came home with a load of heavy groceries and found a broken elevator at the modest brick Tysens Park Apartments on Staten Island, she wasn’t expecting to get much help from building management.

But then she saw Fred Trump pull up in an elegant black limousine. She put down her groceries and rapped on the limo’s tinted window to complain to the real estate royal who owned her building. To her surprise, the elder Trump came out and helped her carry her groceries up five flights of stairs, Andrews says today — and he stayed for coffee.

Forty years later, the daughter is voting for the son.

At a Staten Island fundraiser for the Republican Party of Richmond County on Sunday, Andrews recalls seeing Fred and Donald strolling around her childhood apartment complex, chatting with her mother.

“He was just a nice man,” Andrews says of Fred Trump. “And Donald was with him a lot. So I was a fan of them from back then.”

Trump has been a national celebrity for decades and his gold-plated name has propelled him to victory in far-flung states from Georgia to Michigan. But as the primary comes to Trump’s home state on New York on April 19, there are few places where he is as big a force. In Staten Island, New York City’s most isolated borough, where the Trump family’s roots run deep, his support is as strong as anywhere in the country.

The locals grew up in his father’s buildings, saw him on television, commuted to Manhattan to work in his towers. Trump conjures up the combativeness, the straight-talking bluntness and success prized among New Yorkers, particularly in the heavily Republican borough.

At a press conference at the Hilton Garden Inn fundraiser lunch on Sunday, Trump recalled the days when he drove with his suited father in a limousine around the island. “In the summers I used to work on Staten Island,” he said. “The greatest people. These people are incredible people.”

If New York City is a microcosm of the national demography, then Staten Island is a holdout of mostly white conservatives in a city that is quickly diversifying. Staten Island went for McCain in 2008, even as the rest of the city voted for Barack Obama. And the borough, a blue collar county with heavy Italian and Irish heritage where the Trumps owned Tysens Park and apartments in Grymes Hill, has long been Trump land.

At the event on Sunday, Staten Island’s women in four-inch heels and men in jerseys with “Trump” written across the back gave him a standing ovation when he arrived, and they didn’t sit down for the entire speech.

Trump repeatedly appealed to the concerns of white voters who feel increasingly marginalized as a political minority in New York City, even though they’re not a racial one. During the event, he got big cheers for saying we need “less political correctness,” and accused China of waging an “economic war” against the U.S. And he recast Ted Cruz’s now infamous dig at “New York values” in his own way. “We’re New Yorkers, we’re smart,” he said matter-of-factly. “We have New York values.”

The family real estate empire was largely built by his father Fred in the post-World War II building boom and included low-to-middle-income housing across the boroughs, some of it built with government assistance. The family faced repeated allegations of racial discrimination and was sued by the federal government in 1973 for refusing to lease apartments to African Americans.

Shelomo Alfassa saw the Trump developments growing up near Coney Island in Brooklyn and still sees the Trump Pavilion developments in Jamaica, Queens, on his commute to work. “I lived right near Coney Island. I grew up hearing the name Trump,” said Alfassa, the director of marketing at a security company.

Because Trump is both a national celebrity and a local businessman, everyone who’s crossed his path has a story to tell. Donald Pagano, a Staten Island-based contractor, said he worked a job in the Trump Tower on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue as a 23-year-old and once rode an elevator with Ivana Trump. He didn’t recognize her as Trump’s wife, so he started flirting with her.

“I said, ‘You have the most beautiful blue eyes, enveloping bigger than the Pacific Ocean,’ something like that,” Pagano said, laughing. “So I always like to refer to myself as ‘the other Donald’ in her life.”

Despite his name recognition, Trump is as controversial in Staten Island as he is anywhere else. The protesters outside his Sunday event carrying anti-Trump signs called him a fascist and a racist. “If greed and avarice and chicanery are New York values, then yes,” Trump is a New Yorker, said Pete McParland, who works in maintenance at the College of Staten Island. “Unfortunately, it’s a very racist borough.”

It helps that in a city that is grappling with racial tensions over police brutality, Staten Island is cop country. On Sunday, Trump accepted an award from the New York Veteran Police Association and told a group of retired NYPD officers he had a “tremendous amount of respect for the work you do.”

“He understands and is sensitive to how tough our job is,” says Lou Telano, president of the New York Veteran Police Association, who says he has spoken with Trump several times on this issue. Telano presented Trump with an award for his “dedication, concern and support for America’s law enforcement.”

With Trump looming larger than life over Staten Island, Democrats have come to contest his popularity. “Donald Trump was here today but he certainly wasn’t welcome in my part of Staten Island,” New York State Assembly Member Matt Titone said at a Hillary Clinton event later that day. “We have to show the world what Staten Island truly is about. And we are about inclusion.”

Yet perhaps more on Staten Island than anywhere else, Trump is still a byword for success.

“All of the stuff Trump had going on in the ’80s. The hotel. The board game. The football. He’s synonymous with wealth,” said Richard Luthman, a Staten Island man who is registered as a Democrat but plans to write Trump in. “Trump is New York.”

Luthman was one of several registered Democrats in the audience who had chosen Trump over their party’s candidates. “I don’t like any of the Democrats running,” says Angela Gianino, a second-grade teacher and registered Democrat. “From the very first day when they threw his name out there, I thought he would be a great President.”

Her sister Jacqueline Allen, a pediatric nurse practitioner, put it this way: “Everything he touches turns to gold.”

Yet despite his family’s history in the borough, Trump rarely crosses the Verrazano Bridge to this part of the city. When he was asked by a reporter what his favorite pizzeria in Staten Island is, he was decidedly vague.

“I have a lot of them,” Trump said. “I have, like, 12.”

Correction: The original version of this story misstated the 2012 presidential election results in Staten Island. President Obama beat Mitt Romney there.

Summary: His family’s roots run deep in the borough.


BEIJING—A handful of Chinese executives are raising their voices on social and political issues to burnish their reputations, an unusual move in a country that has long been hostile toward public debate.

But the executives are treading carefully on more controversial matters, aiming to avoid a renewed crackdown on dissent by Beijing.

A number of companies have taken issue with China’s fading one-child policy, under which the...

Summary: A few Chinese executives are raising their voices on social and political issues to burnish their reputations, an unusual move in a country that has long been hostile toward public debate.


Yet in the aftermath of Melania Trump’s speech, campaign advisers have fretted that they do not know for sure where Mr. Trump gets his ideas and language — whether they are his own, in other words, or are picked up from Twitter, television, or, say, a best seller by Bill O’Reilly of Fox News, a commentator whom Mr. Trump likes.

Borrowing or adapting may not always be tantamount to plagiarism, but several Trump advisers, who also insisted on anonymity, said that after the furor over Ms. Trump’s remarks, the campaign cannot allow a similar blowup.

Ed Rollins, a Republican strategist who is advising a “super PAC” supporting Mr. Trump, said that the candidate could not afford any mistakes.

“His speech is the whole game,” Mr. Rollins said. “Viewers have to watch it and say, ‘There is the next president of the United States.’”

In the interview, Mr. Trump said his speech would center on his vision of a strong and secure America that “once existed and no longer does, but can again under a Trump administration.”

His greatest challenge, he said, was “putting myself in the speech” — discussing his upbringing and early experiences and relating them to the hopes and aspirations of other Americans.

“I was never comfortable getting personal about my family because I thought it was special territory,” Mr. Trump said, glancing at a picture of his father on his desk. “It can feel exploitative to use family stories to win votes. And I had a very happy and comfortable life growing up. I had a great relationship with my father. But my focus needs to be on all the Americans who are struggling.”

He said he was unsure if he would discuss his older brother Fred, who died as an alcoholic in 1981 at 43 — and whom he has described as an example of how destructive choices can damage lives that seem golden.

“Without my brother Fred I might not be here,” Mr. Trump said. “He was really smart, great-looking. I don’t drink or smoke because of what happened to him. I focused on building my business and making good choices. I may talk about that, but I don’t know if I should.”

Acceptance speeches seldom seem complete without anecdotes about personal trials and triumphs: Mitt Romney, trying to persuade voters to see him as more than a rich businessman, devoted about a fourth of his 2012 address to his parents’ unconditional love, his Mormon faith and reminiscences about watching the moon landing. In 2008, Barack Obama described how his grandfather benefited from the G.I. Bill and how his mother and grandmother taught him the value of hard work. And Bill Clinton’s 1992 speech vividly recalled the life lessons he learned from his mother about fighting and working hard, from his grandfather about racial equality — and from his wife, Hillary, who, Mr. Clinton said, taught him that every child could learn.

Mr. Clinton finished his speech with a now-famous line tying his Arkansas hometown to the American dream. “I end tonight where it all began for me,” he said. “I still believe in a place called Hope.”

James Carville, a senior strategist for Mr. Clinton’s 1992 campaign, said that if Mr. Trump hoped to change the minds of those who see him as divisive or bigoted, he would need to open himself up to voters in meaningfully personal ways in his speech.

“If he’s really different than the way he seems in television interviews or at his rallies, Thursday’s speech will be his single greatest opportunity to show voters who he really is,” Mr. Carville said.

Paul Manafort, the Trump campaign chairman, said that Thursday’s speech would be “very much a reflection of Mr. Trump’s own words, as opposed to remarks that others create and the campaign puts in his mouth.”

“He’s not an editor — he is actually the creator of the speech,” Mr. Manafort said. “Mr. Trump has given Steve Miller and I very specific directions about how he views the speech, what he wants to communicate, and ways to tie together things that he has been talking about in the campaign. The speech will end up being tone-perfect because the speech’s words will be his words.”

Mr. Trump prefers speaking off the cuff with handwritten notes, a style that has proved successful at his rallies, where he has shown a talent for connecting with and electrifying crowds. But his adjustment to formal speeches remains a work in progress: He does not always sound like himself, and reading from a text can detract from the sense of authenticity that his supporters prize.

One question is whether, or how much, he will ad-lib.

He has sometimes seemed unable to resist deviating from prepared remarks, often to ill effect — ranting about a mosquito, or joking that a passing airplane was from Mexico and was “getting ready to attack.”

“Ad-libbing is instinct, all instinct,” Mr. Trump said. “I thought maybe about doing a freewheeling speech for the convention, but that really wouldn’t work. But even with a teleprompter, the speech will be me — my ideas, my beliefs, my words.”

Summary: Mr. Trump’s campaign is said to have given orders that any language in his speech even loosely inspired by essays, books or Twitter posts must be rewritten or attributed.


Bad news for men popped up in news media all over the country this week, based on a study from Northwestern University reporting that cases of advanced, aggressive prostate cancer had risen sharply from 2004 to 2013.

Newsweek, NBC, CBS, Fox News and United Press International were among the organizations that covered the study. The reports suggested that recent medical advice against routine screening might be to blame for the apparent increase in advanced cases, by leading to delays in diagnosis until the cancer reached a late stage. Another factor cited was the possibility that prostate cancer had somehow become more aggressive.

But the frightening news appears to be a false alarm — the product of a study questioned by other researchers but promoted with an incendiary news release and initially reported by some news media with little or no analysis from outside experts.

The claim of an increase in advanced cases does not hold up, according to the American Cancer Society, which posted a statement on its website challenging the findings. The main concern is that the study’s methods do not pass muster with statistics experts, so the increase may not be real.

In an interview, the cancer society’s chief medical officer, Dr. Otis W. Brawley, called the study “misguided epidemiology” and said its authors “don’t know that they don’t know.”

The episode began late last week when Northwestern University emailed an attention-grabbing news release to reporters. “Metastatic Prostate Cancer Cases Skyrocket,” it said, and described a study published Tuesday in the journal Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases.

The study’s authors wrote that routine use of blood tests to screen for prostate cancer had declined, and that they wanted to find out if the decline had led to changes in the incidence of advanced disease at the time of diagnosis.

Prostate screening has long been a subject of intense debate, with advocates insisting it saves lives and detractors saying it leads to too much unnecessary treatment of tumors that would never have progressed. The operation can leave men incontinent and impotent. In recent years, expert groups have advised against routine screening, saying the risks outweigh the benefits. But some doctors worry that the drop in screening will leave some men with disease that is found too late to be easily cured.

The senior author of the study, Dr. Edward Schaeffer, a prostate cancer oncologist and the chairman of urology at Northwestern, said in an interview that he believed screening saved lives.

In the study, the doctors examined the records of 767,550 men with prostate cancer diagnosed from 2004 to 2013. Using the number of cases of metastatic disease in 2004 (1,685) and 2013 (2,890), they reported an alarming increase of 72 percent.

But for the United States population, that percentage could be meaningless. On the cancer society website, Dr. Brawley said that to measure whether a disease was becoming more common, researchers could not rely on just the absolute number of cases. They need to calculate rates, meaning the number of cases per a certain number of people.

“Epidemiologists learned long ago that you can’t simply look at raw numbers,” he wrote. “A rising number of cases can be due simply to a growing and aging population among other factors.”

Another expert expressed similar doubts. Dr. Christopher Filson, an assistant professor of urology at Emory University School of Medicine, said: “I don’t want to claim their results are wrong. They may be true, but the way they looked at the question brings in too many possible alternative explanations.”

The authors acknowledged in their report that the lack of rates was a “limitation.” But they said that because the number of patients was large, their findings probably reflected national patterns.

Dr. Schaeffer emphasized that the researchers did not claim a link between their findings and the advisories against screening; they noted that advanced cases started rising even before those.

Most of the initial news articles about the study reported the supposed increase without caveats, and few quoted the cancer society or outside experts. In some cases, online versions of the articles were amended to tone down the message and add comments from Dr. Brawley.

Maggie Fox, a reporter for NBC, said she reported on the study because “prostate cancer is a huge issue in this country, and the question of screening has been greatly controversial.” Dr. Schaeffer, she said, is influential. “What he says will make waves, and we felt it was important to report and include criticism of the study.”

Dr. Brawley said that even if further analysis found an increase in advanced cases, it would probably be from improvements in magnetic resonance imaging scanning. In other words, rather than reflecting more cases of advanced disease, the increase would mean doctors had become better at finding it.

A version of this article appears in print on July 21, 2016, on page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: Study That Reported a Sharp Rise in Prostate Cancer Is Questioned. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Summary: Widespread reports of a big increase in advanced prostate cancer were based on a study whose methodology has been criticized.


Beirut, Lebanon â In 1994, as Beirut was brushing off the dust and rubble of the countryâs devastating civil war, MasrahÂ al-Madina (al-Madina Theatre) was born. The iconic theatre was established to resuscitate the artistic and cultural life that Beirut was famous for before the war.

Now, 20 years later, Beirut is going through a different set of changes, led by unfettered real-estate giants ripping down the cityâs historical landmarks. Public spaces have been privatised, and Starbucks, McDonalds and other Western food chains have sprung up across the city.

Amid this rapid change, Masrah Beirut (Beirut Theatre), one of the oldest theatres in the capital, closed its doors last year - despite popular protests to keep it open - after the building was sold to a real-estate developer. Now, al-Madina Theatre is one of only three theatres left in Lebanon to offer non-commercial, artistic events.

"We are a cultural theatre. We only host works that are based on artistic cultural expressions," said Louay Ramadan, 39, who has managed the theatre since it was first established by artist Nidal Achkar in 1994. Speaking to Al Jazeera from his office, as artists arrived to start rehearsing for a dance show, Ramadan explained that by avoiding commercial shows, which generally bring in the most money, the theatre struggles to stay afloat financially.

"Three quarters of the Lebanese audience today look merely for entertainment at commercial shows and perhaps a quarter of people still look for cultural venues to attend; the latter are our bloodline that keeps us busy," Ramadan said.

RELATED: Baalbeck - Lebanon's show must go on

Facing financial troubles, and without any subsidies from the Lebanese government, al-Madina Theatre turned into al-Madina Theatre Association for Arts and Culture in March of 2005. As a non-profit organisation, the theatre receives private and institutional donations from Lebanon and across the Arab World

The theatre aims to promote dialogue and create a space of free expression. In addition to plays and performances, al-Madina Theatre organises festivals, exhibitions and film screenings, and hosts cultural events such as conferences, seminars, lectures, book signings and workshops.

The main problem in Lebanon for theatres is that they cannot sponsor an event or cater for events that wonât have a financial turnover.

- Roy Dib, Lebanese artist and art critic

Roy Dib is a Lebanese artist and art critic, whose work focuses on the subjective construction of space. The 30-year-old told Al Jazeera that while al-Madina theatre is trying to appeal to young artists and broach new ideas, the steep cost of renting theatre space remains a problem.

While there is no fixed rate, Ramadan told Al Jazeera that al-Madina charges artists between $600 and $800 to use the theatre as a rehearsal space, while rental costs can go up to $2,000 on performance days. He added that the theatre sometimes offers its space up for free when artists cannot afford to pay.

"The main problem in Lebanon for theatres is that they cannot sponsor an event or cater for events that wonât have a financial turnover. In the absence of a budget to cover logistics, this kind of theatre work becomes stagnant," Dib said.

Al-Madina originally began in a smaller space, known as Metro al-Madina. Today, the smaller theatre is an extension of al-Madina and is under different management.

Hip-hop artist El-Rass will launch his second album, "Adam, Darwin and the Penguin" at Metro al-Madina on May 24. "I think Metro al-Madina is a much-needed kind of place in Lebanon," El-Rass told Al Jazeera, "[for] its mantra of pushing new forms of art, its size that allows both sophisticated performances and affordable prices for artists and audience with a cozy feel."

Lina Sahab, an artist who performs in the cabaret show Hishik Bishik at Metro al-Madina, said the theatre provides "a space to express and perform alternative shows and concerts for an audience that has been long denied such a venue".

"Metro al-Madina brought back that spirit and art, and the more we performed our Hishik Bishik show, the more we realised our audience was growing and liking what they watched," she said.

VIDEO: Walls that speak in Beirut

Throughout modern Lebanese history, theatres have served as a hub for political events. Theatres across the capital hosted politically active Lebanese artists, like Ziad al-Rahbani. They also helped resurrect Lebanonâs Hakawati (storyteller) tradition through the works of artists like Roger Assaf, who produced shows on the heroism of Fedayeen (literally, "those who sacrifice", a reference to Palestinian fighters) and their resistance to the Israeli occupation.

Clashes also broke out during the Lebanese civil war in front of Beirut Theatre, which sits in the waterfront area of Ain al-Mraisy.

Our theatre brings together people from all sects, from all regions in Lebanon, and [from all] political views and colours.

- Louay Ramadan, al-Madina theatre

Dib told Al Jazeera about an incident that occurred in April 1969 at the Beirut Theatre that cemented the theatreâs influential role in Lebanese politics: That night, Dib said, Lebanese security services interrupted a play, Majdaloun, while the actors were still onstage.

"The actors decided to continue the play in the street and resumed acting, walking with their audience up to Hamra Streetâ¦ Actors then clashed with the police one more time, finally stopping the play and ending in their arrest," he recalled.

Issam Bou Khaled - a director, scriptwriter, actor and expert on theatre in Lebanon - told Al Jazeera that in the 1970s and 80s, theatre was more interactive with its audience, many of whom were working-class Lebanese who wanted theatre to reflect the political issues of the time.

"Back then, there was the influence of the Palestinian revolution, the Left and the movements of unions and workers' syndicates. Then, Masrah Beirut presented artistic expressions that reflected concerns on the streets. People used to look forward for that interactive theatre," he said.

"The artists and audience found each," Bou Khaled added, "and that kind of theatre was a mediator [for] interacting and influencing."

According to Ramadan, al-Madina Theatre continues to serve as a centre for culture and political expression. "The theatre became a platform for various expressions, some calling for change in the political situation, and others advocating issues that concern society," he said. "Our theatre brings together people from all sects, from all regions in Lebanon, and [from all] political views and colours."

Outside the theatre, in Beirutâs traffic-filled Hamra street, Mahmoud, who runs a newsstand next to al-Madina and did not give Al Jazeera his last name, agreed.

"This theatre represents a time when Beirut shone its cultural values on the world," Mahmoud said. "Today Beirut is full of clothing shops and shopping malls. The moment theatres like al-Madina cease to exist, is the moment Beirutâs cultural image is erased."

Summary: Facing gentrification and financial struggles, al-Madina Theatre is one of Lebanon's last non-commercial art spaces.


Lucy Stephens, director of operations for SCAS clinical co-ordination centres, said: "There was no recognisable structured approach to determine medical history and no rationale for decision making.

"There was no understanding of heart failure or the ability to pick up on significant signs from the patient such as her inability to speak."

Mr Richardson was suspended from telephone duties and an action plan was put in place regarding competency of telephone triage which has since been extended to all SCAS staff.

"There was no understanding of heart failure or the ability to pick up on significant signs from the patient such as her inability to speak." Lucy Stephens

"There was no understanding of heart failure or the ability to pick up on significant signs from the patient such as her inability to speak."

The inquest heard that Mrs Walters called 111 at around 8am on December 28, 2014, asking for a doctor to visit her, and told staff she had a heart defect.

The call handler noticed her breathlessness and classified her case as an emergency, calling 999 to ask for an ambulance to be sent.

A crew was dispatched from Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra Hospital to her home in the city.

But as the paramedics were on their way, Mr Richardson called Mrs Walters back and then cancelled the ambulance when it was just a minute away.

• Health watchdog launches inspection of scandal-hit NHS 111 helpline

Mrs Walters' body was found at 6pm, almost ten hours later, by her son, Lawrence Thorpe, a 25-year-old former teacher, who had been resting upstairs in his room that day.

Ann Walters' children, Felicity Thorpe (25) and Lawrence Thorpe (24) Photo: Portsmouth News/Solent News & Photo Agency

He dialled 999 but medics who turned up pronounced Mrs Walters dead.

Mr Richardson told Portsmouth Coroner's Court: "During my conversation with her I had established she was conscious and breathing, and expressed a wish to be seen by a doctor and not an ambulance.

"I gave her advice that if her symptoms changed or got worse or if there were any concerns in the meantime to call us back straight away on 999."

He told how Mrs Walters refused to wake her son up, adding: "I heard she wanted to be seen by a doctor. I thought I was complying with her wishes.

"It was extremely busy that morning."

Mr Thorpe asked: "In hindsight, do you believe your decision was wrong?"

The inquest heard calls to the out of hours GP service were up 30 per cent on the previous year for the four-day bank holiday Christmas weekend.

Mrs Walters had declined an operation in 2007 as she was "adamant" she did not want her chest opened up, doctors told the inquest, even though her condition would leave her breathless and more tired.

Consultant Cardiologist Dr Philip Strike of Queen Alexandra Hospital said: "She was aware this would kill her."

When he last saw her shortly before her death in 2014, he gave her less than a year to live, adding: "She was at a phenomenally high risk of sudden death. It could have happened at any point."

Dr Strike said it would have "unlikely" that an ambulance attending her home or an out of hours GP could have saved her if she ultimately died from heart failure.

Senior Coroner David Horsley recorded a narrative verdict, ruling that Mrs Walters died of congestive cardiac failure.

He said there was a "strong possibility' that she died between her phone call with Mr Richardson and a call from the out-of-hours GP an hour later."

Luci Stephens, of South Central Ambulance Service, which runs the local 111 line, said: "We would like to say how sorry we are. The trust has undertaken an extensive investigation in consultation with the family, and has introduced stringent changes to its 999 clinical support desk procedures."

What is the NHS 111?

Summary: Ann Walters, a mother of two, was found dead in her living room ten hours   after she called the NHS 111 service


Most people have trouble recalling strings of numbers that are longer than their phone numbers. So how do we begin to comprehend a hundred rows of data, let alone a thousand or a million or a billion rows?

That's the dilemma so many companies face, thanks to technology advances that make it easier to routinely collect enormous amounts of data.

Humans are fundamentally different from computers—we're wired to comprehend shapes, patterns and colors. So technology companies are using data visualization to help companies turn large sets of data into pictures that lead people intuitively to the information that is most important to them.

That can mean something as familiar as a color-coded map, only with lots of interactive features. Or it can mean something unfamiliar to most people, like seemingly amorphous shapes that on closer inspection quickly yield insights into the data they portray.

One picture that's still considered effective was published in 1869 by the Frenchman Charles Minard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Minard.png). It shows the casualties suffered by the French army during Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 and 1813.

By using two colored lines—one for the army's advance and one for its retreat—and varying their thickness as the army's position and its numbers changed, Mr. Minard showed how many men advanced into Russia and how many returned at various locations. A third graph shows the freezing winter temperatures the men encountered as they retreated to France.

Today, Mr. Minard's picture wouldn't be static. We would be able to dig into it, clicking to find out how many men died on a given day and perhaps correlate those numbers with other data, such as the amount of food available or the types of weapons used. We would have more ways to visualize the data—we could lay it against a map—and we could monitor the reaction to it on Twitter.

Below are some examples of what technology companies are doing today to show us big data in pictures.

This picture combines social-media data with information from a retailer's billing systems to evaluate a marketing campaign. It compares public response to the campaign with the revenue the campaign generated. Horizontal bar charts are an easy way to compare two metrics, such as positive and negative sentiment, says GoodData Corp. Vice President Hubert Palan. (Since this is a U.S. retailer, negative sentiment is in red. If it were an Asian retailer, red would be considered positive.) The bubble chart combines three metrics—reach, engagement and return on investment. The verdict: Social-media reaction was good, but return on investment wasn't, so this campaign didn't perform as well as others.

The shapes that Ayasdi Inc. data displays take are automatically generated by the company's software, which relies on a branch of mathematics called topology. This picture shows clusters of credit-card transactions; the red dots indicate fraud. By clicking on the areas that are red, users can get more information on how those frauds were perpetrated. That can help them develop ways to prevent further incidents, say by adding new rules to their transaction systems. Users can choose the colors, but the default color scale runs from blue to red—cool to hot—says Ayasdi Vice President Jeff Yoshimura.

This series of pictures tells the story of a company's profitability through commonly understood shapes and graphs. Numbers about employees, for instance, are represented by human figures. Numbers about products break down into shopping bags—the bigger the bag, the more profitable the product. Tidemark runs on iPads, and since its data is in the cloud the story can be shared and continually refreshed, "much like Facebook and LinkedIn on the consumer side," says Tidemark Systems Inc. founder and Chief Executive Christian Gheorghe.

This picture represents more than 100 million rows of data. It shows a calculation of how fluid would move through a two-dimensional space; the colors indicate the fluid's density at given points in time. Users can zoom in to examine parts of the picture and the data behind them. This picture was rendered from the data in a couple of seconds, says Pete Schlampp, Platfora Inc. vice president of products and business development.

This picture shows the global rate of infant mortality from 1950 to 2011. The world map orients viewers by geography, while the line graphs orient them by time. Shades of red draw attention to the regions where the most babies have died. The bar chart is another way to compare the number of deaths in each region. It's gray because too much color can be confusing, says Tableau's senior director of product marketing, Ellie Fields.

This is a portrayal of a corporate hierarchy, or pecking order, and infighting based on an investigation of a corporate fraud or insider threat. It is intended to help lawyers or investigators understand the inner workings of a company and jog witnesses' memories during depositions. Each chicken represents a person. The chickens are memorable and amusing, says Cataphora founder and CEO Elizabeth Charnock, making the information easier to absorb.

Ms. Gage is a Wall Street Journal reporter in San Francisco. She can be reached at deborah.gage@wsj.com .

Summary: Visualization technology can turn massive amounts of data into pictures that are far more comprehensible, allowing businesses to get the most out of the troves of information they collect.


George and Mike Kuchar, twin brothers from the Bronx, are among the most prolific and inventive American filmmakers of the past half-century, and perhaps the most eccentric. Avid moviegoers as children, they began making 8 millimeter epics, and after graduating from the High School of Industrial Arts in New York they gravitated toward the thriving underground film scene. Shooting cheaply, devising homemade special effects and casting friends and acquaintances, the Kuchars produced — sometimes in collaboration, sometimes apart — touchstones of the 1960s cinematic avant-garde like “Corruption of the Damned,” “Sins of the Fleshapoids” and “Hold Me While I’m Naked.”

Jennifer M. Kroot’s documentary “It Came From Kuchar” provides generous clips of these and later films, enough to give a flavor of the brothers’ blend of camp, melodrama, horror, psychological exploration and sexual provocation. (And also at least a superficial sense of the differences between them.) This sampling is fleshed out by interviews with George and Mike Kuchar themselves, and also with the usual talking-head parade of friends, colleagues, critics and students.

The portrait that emerges is affectionate and fascinating. The brothers themselves are un-self-consciously talkative, unassumingly odd and frequently very funny. “Did your parents get along?” George is asked. “Oh, I wouldn’t go that far,” he replies.

“It Came From Kuchar” opens Friday at the Anthology Film Archives, and will run this weekend alongside a multipart selection of the Kuchars’ 8 millimeter shorts. Ms. Kroot’s film, while more conventional in tone and structure than anything her subjects have ever done, is nonetheless a valuable and intelligent introduction and tribute to their anarchic, uncompromising and absolutely peculiar genius.

Opens on Friday in Manhattan.

Written and directed by Jennifer M. Kroot; director of photography, Christopher Million; edited by Tom Bullock; produced by Holly Million; released by IndiePix. At the Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue at Second Street, East Village. Running time: 1 hour 26 minutes. This film is not rated.

Stars George Kuchar, Mike Kuchar, Dan Carbone, John Carlson, Floraine Connors

A version of this review appears in print on April 9, 2010, on page C14 of the New York edition with the headline: Twins Who Are as Eccentric As the Movies They Made. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Summary: George and Mike Kuchar, twin brothers from the Bronx, are prolific and inventive American filmmakers of the past half-century, and among the most eccentric.


Before you go, we thought you'd like these...

Sometimes you just have to move your castle elsewhere. This is what happened to the 404-year-old Japanese

, which weighs nothing less than 400 tons. It was just lifted two feet in the air and moved 230 feet away for some restoration.

The plan was to repair the foundations of the building throughout six years of work, but the move became a really incredible looking show where a team used steel hydraulic jacks to lift the castle on the dolly that took it to its new location.

Here is the video of the impossible move:

Here's how you move a 404-year-old Japanese castle

HIROSAKI, JAPAN - MAY 4: Hirosaki Castle is seen surrounding by cherry blossom in full bloom during The Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival at Hirosaki Park on May 4, 2005 in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Hirosaki Park is one of the major cherry blossom-viewing spots in Japan. There are approximately 2,600 trees in the park of all different types of cherry blossom. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

Japan, Tohoku Region, Aomori Prefecture, Hirosaki, View of Hirosaki castle at Hirosaki park (Photo by: JTB Photo/UIG via Getty Images)

HIROSAKI, JAPAN - APRIL 20: A general view of illuminated Hirosaki Castle and cherry blossoms on April 20, 2007 Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan. (Photo by MIXA/Getty Images)

Japan, Tohoku Region, Aomori Prefecture, Hirosaki, Cherry blossoms at hirosaki castle. (Photo by: JTB/UIG via Getty Images) (Photo by: JTB Photo/UIG via Getty Images)

Japan, Tohoku Region, Aomori Prefecture, Hirosaki, view of Hirosaki Castle, Hirosaki Park and cherry tree (Photo by: JTB Photo/UIG via Getty Images)

[UNVERIFIED CONTENT] A Japanese castle covered in snow. Taken in Hirosaki northern Japan. This castle is 400 years old. The cherry blossom trees have a frozen layer of snow covering the branches.

[UNVERIFIED CONTENT] Built in 1611 in the style of Hirayama.

Summary: Watch how you move a 400-ton, 404-year-old castle in Japan


For some London bankers, if forced to decamp following the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union, the choice of where to move could come down to infrastructure—for their children.

Cities across Europe have been touting their financial infrastructure, office space and tech savvy. But for executives considering a move to Frankfurt, Paris, Dublin or Amsterdam, factors such as language and schooling options may matter more.

“People won’t accept an assignment if they think it would hurt their children’s education, if the infrastructure isn’t there,” said Simon Murray, director of the International School of Paris, which has “received some exploratory nibbles” from British-based families worried about Brexit.

There are just over 775,000 students attending English-language international schools in kindergarten through 12th grade throughout Europe, according to the International School Consultancy, which tracks the international schools market.

James Wykes, a British former banker who moved to Frankfurt with his family in 2014, said families with children enrolled in London’s competitive high-end schools may hesitate to remove them if the education abroad won’t prepare them for a potential return later.

“They’ll be concerned how easy it will be to get back in,” Mr. Wykes said.

Compounding the problem, many of Europe’s top English-language schools say they are full. Paris has many international schools and bilingual programs, but capacity at most of those schools is tight and government efforts to meet demand wouldn’t match a post-Brexit surge, say locals.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said shortly after the June 23 Brexit vote that France would build as many bilingual classes as needed.

Frankfurt, which is touting itself as a finance center and the home of the European Central Bank, has even fewer international schools, some with waiting lists.

“Should there be an influx, it will be tight,” said Daniela Wuestenberg, who helps families relocate to Frankfurt.

Germany’s financial capital has four international schools and one funded by the EU for children of staff. The city also has several bilingual private schools. All are in high demand from foreign and local families.

“In terms of capacity, we’re at our limit,” said Ferdinand Patscheider, the director of the EU’s European School Frankfurt.

The EU’s London-based European Banking Authority will probably relocate, but to where is undecided. If Frankfurt succeeds in its lobbying to land the EBA, “we’ll just about manage to accept the children of those employees,” said Mr. Patscheider. “Then we’re full.”

Relocation specialists say that the independent Frankfurt International School and International School Frankfurt Rhein-Main would probably be most appealing to families moving from Britain.

FIS, which was founded in 1961 and helped create the widely recognized International Baccalaureate program, has several hundred students on its waiting list, said Director Paul M. Fochtman. The school’s main campus, in a Frankfurt suburb, is full, but “solutions can be found” if Brexit increases demand, he said.

New schools have more room. The Metropolitan School Frankfurt, established in 2007 “can accept 100 more students tomorrow,” director Peter Ferres, the school’s founder and a former investment banker, said.

Mr. Wykes, the Briton in Frankfurt, said he is happy with the private school his three children attend and the region offers “a good quality of life.” Still, he questions whether the city can compete with London and Paris on lifestyle and schooling options. “It’s a different caliber,” he said.

Greater Paris boasts more than a dozen international schools and bilingual programs, spanning preschool to high school, educating thousands of children. Many of those schools, concentrated in its wealthy western suburbs, are already in high demand from both expat and French families.

“I couldn’t even have 10 families at the moment, there just wouldn’t be enough space for everyone,” said Katarina Pekkanen, Head of Admissions at Sections Internationales de Sèvres, a school west of Paris with about 900 students in its English-language section.

An influx of thousands of new students could force some schools to expand, said Kate des Places, external-relations director at Marymount International School, an English-language Catholic school in the affluent suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. The school plans to address the impact of a Brexit in its new strategic plan this fall, she said.

For Londoners looking abroad who don’t want to deal with a foreign language, Dublin is an obvious choice. But the Irish capital presents other schooling issues.

The majority of Irish schools are Catholic and relocation companies say most expat families prefer nonreligious or multidenominational education. Many expat families have focused on a narrow range of multidenominational schools, such as Sutton Park School or St. Andrew’s College, increasing competition for admissions.

“It’s not easy to get a place in those schools,” said Francine O’Byrne of the Relocation Bureau in Dublin. “Sometimes, parents’ first [choice] isn’t possible and we must look at other options.”

Amsterdam, home to about 2,700 international companies, is in a particularly difficult spot, relocation specialists say. The city has been drawing an increasing number of companies, resulting in enormous demand for international or bilingual education.

“The companies are annoyed that there are no places in the schools,” said Eline Hausel of the Young Expat School, a company specialized in helping families relocate to the Netherlands.

The greater Amsterdam area has eight public and private international schools, but those in or near the city center have waiting lists, said Kajsa Ollongren, deputy mayor of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam has responded to the problem with a program to expand capacity over coming years.

Write to Natascha Divac at natascha.divac@wsj.com and Sam Schechner at sam.schechner@wsj.com

Summary: For some London bankers forced to decamp after the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union, the choice of where to move could come down to infrastructure—for their kids.


A pair of legal scholars, John McGinnis of Northwestern University (here and here) and Ilya Somin of George Mason University (here and here), have been carrying on a spirited debate as to which would be worse from the standpoint of what is commonly called conservative jurisprudence, a Donald Trump presidency or a Hillary Clinton one. (McGinnis describes himself as a classical liberal, and Somin is affiliated with the libertarian Cato Institute. But both are exponents of conservative jurisprudence, a rough shorthand that serves the purpose for this discussion.)

It’s a somewhat peculiar debate, in part because the answer seems like a no-brainer, notwithstanding Trump’s manifest lack of knowledge about, and interest in, jurisprudence (beyond cases to which he is a party). McGinnis:

Mrs. Clinton, by contrast, would nominate reliable liberal justices, just as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both did:

To the list of potential vacancies we would add the seat of Justice Stephen Breyer, whose ninth decade will begin during the next presidential term.

If Mrs. Clinton appoints three justices—or she and Obama do so together, since a lame-duck confirmation of Judge Merrick Garland is a possibility should she be elected—the result would be not only a liberal majority but, in all likelihood, a young liberal majority. Garland, who will be 69 as of Inauguration Day 2021, would almost certainly be the oldest of the group.

That Trump would be not just less than ideal but worse in this regard strikes us as the sort of idea so absurd only an intellectual could believe it. Somin is such an intellectual. Yet his arguments are worth taking seriously, if only because they expose a fundamental flaw in the entire Nevertrump line of reasoning.

Somin’s case begins with the premise, undoubtedly correct, that Trump is not an ideological conservative in the mold of Reagan—and further, that unlike other recent GOP nominees, who’ve had their heterodoxies, he aims to change the party’s ideological orientation in fundamental ways:

This characterization seems to us overwrought in some respects, but let’s concede the basic point that Trump is ideologically something new under the Republican sun. Somin argues that even if President Trump appoints some old-fashioned conservative justices, the party’s ideological reorientation would, in the long run, have a deleterious jurisprudential effect:

Somin acknowledges that “we don’t yet know what the full contours of a Trumpist judicial philosophy might be”—no small understatement. He then offers some speculations as to what they could look like, about which it suffices to say we are with him in finding the picture he paints unattractive.

We do not fault Somin for taking the long view here, or for considering the worst-case scenario. But here is the problem: When it comes to evaluating the possible consequences of a Trump defeat at Mrs. Clinton’s hands, he acts as if the world ends in 2021. That short time horizon is convenient for his argument but potentially disastrous for his objective.

Example: He opines that McGinnis “may . . . be excessively pessimistic in thinking that [Mrs.] Clinton would get two or even three Supreme Court appointments, if she wins.” He acknowledges that Antonin Scalia isn’t coming back, but he scoffs at the idea that Ruth Bader Ginsburg would retire—after all, she hasn’t done so before. Seriously, that’s his argument:

He also doesn’t think Justice Kennedy would voluntarily leave the bench during a Democratic presidency. But then neither, one supposes, would Scalia have. At some point every justice departs, whether voluntarily or not.

If Mrs. Clinton is elected and re-elected, then by the end of her time in office Ginsburg would be 91, Kennedy 88 and Breyer 86. The likelihood of a youthful (by Supreme Court standards) and therefore enduring six-justice liberal majority seems perilously high.

It is true that conceding the 2016 election to Mrs. Clinton, as the Nevertrumplings urge, would not ensure her re-election four years later. But it would open the possibility—a possibility we have not seen seriously addressed in any of the voluminous Nevertrump literature we’ve reviewed. The plan seems to be along the lines of the Underpants Gnomes of “South Park”: 1. Throw the 2016 election; 2. ?; 3. Conservative victory in 2020!

Electoral politics beyond 2016 lies beyond the scope of Somin’s argument but is highly relevant to it nonetheless. What makes Nevertrump conservatives so confident in their ability to win in 2020? We’d venture to say it’s more a matter of complacency than confidence.

“Movement conservatism” of the Goldwater-Reagan variety has been the Republican Party’s dominant ideology since about 1980. Even presidential nominees with doubtful conservative bona fides, from George H.W. Bush in 1988 through Mitt Romney in 2012, were sufficiently beholden that conservatives found it easy to put aside their doubts and vote for them. Again, in this regard Trump is a departure.

But in the past quarter-century Republicans have had little success in presidential elections. In only one of the past six, in 2004, did the GOP nominee receive a majority of the popular vote. George W. Bush of course also won the tie election in 2000, though he might not have if the U.S. Supreme Court had declined to intervene (at some institutional cost) to stop the Florida Supreme Court’s effort to steal the election for Al Gore.

Republicans won seven of the 11 presidential elections during the Cold War (1948-88). Since the Cold War ended, they’ve won only two of six, and the only decisive victory came at a time when the country was on a war footing. Not since 1928 has a Republican won a majority of the popular vote in the absence of war, hot or cold. It is a reasonable hypothesis that the modern Republican Party—which for decades has meant the “conservative” party—is at a natural disadvantage, which it overcame in earlier decades (and in 2004) only through superior leadership in the international arena.

If that is true, why would one expect a traditional conservative nominee to beat Mrs. Clinton in 2020? Perhaps she would pursue a feckless foreign policy, à la Lyndon Johnson or Jimmy Carter, restoring the Republicans’ “war” advantage. Maybe the Bernie Sanders insurgency portends a fracturing of the Democratic coalition, creating an opportunity for the GOP. Other things could go wrong for Mrs. Clinton. But it seems foolish simply to bet on disaster.

Somin worries, not without reason, about what will happen “if Trump wins the election and manages to recast the GOP in his image”: “A president who is perceived as politically successful usually has a substantial impact on his party’s agenda, as other politicians will seek to mimic his platform in order to share in the electoral spoils.”

The GOP is likely to be recast even if Trump loses. For some time now, Republicans have agonized over how to expand their appeal. Some Nevertrumplings have written of rebuilding the “conservative movement” after purging it of all those who have been “tainted” by their support for, or insufficient opposition to, Trump. That is a plan for contracting the party’s appeal, not expanding it.

But the talk of purges is a fantasy anyway—an empty threat. Fred Barnes and John O’Sullivan still appear on the mastheads of the Weekly Standard and National Review, respectively, notwithstanding their deviations from the Nevertrump line. Even if Trump loses, it is quite possible that “Trumpism” will turn out to be an ascendant force in the GOP, just as movement conservatism did after Barry Goldwater got trounced in 1964.

As Somin acknowledges, “Trump is not completely isolated in the GOP, and there are others in the party’s base who share his commitments.” Win or lose, Trump supporters and movement conservatives will have to make some accommodation if the GOP is to remain a viable means of exercising political power. That, not the enforcement of ideological purity, is the purpose of a political party.

Somin hints at the alternative, concluding with a quote from Alexander Hamilton that is a favorite of the Nevertrump right: “If we must have an enemy at the head of government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible.”

Hamilton said that in 1800, in urging fellow Federalists to oppose the re-election of John Adams. Hamilton got what he wanted, as Thomas Jefferson prevailed. That worked out badly for Hamilton, who was killed in an 1804 duel by Jefferson’s vice president.

No such end awaits Trump’s Republican and conservative detractors in the 21st century. But consider the fate of the Federalist Party: It never won another presidential election and had gone extinct by 1824.

Vacuous Truth “Gary Johnson Says He Won’t Smoke Pot as President”—headline, Washington Examiner, June 7

Diagram This Sentence “The Justice Department asked a federal judge Monday to accept ‘additional details’ under seal about how the FBI conducted its search for records a Vice News journalist requested under the Freedom of Information Act from the law enforcement agency about the probe it is conducting into Clinton’s email set-up and how classified information came to reside in the Democratic presidential candidate’s account.”—Josh Gerstein, Politico.com, June 6

Other Than That, the Story Was Accurate “An article on Friday about Britain’s historic feeling of being apart from Europe as it considers whether to leave the European Union referred imprecisely to arrival protocols at British airports and to British passports. Only passengers from non-European countries are given British landing cards upon arrival, and they would not be directed to the line for British and European Union passport holders. Some holders of British passports—for example, citizens of overseas British territories like Bermuda and Turks and Caicos—do not hold European Union citizenship as well; it is not the case that “British passports are by definition European Union passports.’ ”—New York Times, June 8

We Blame George W. Bush

What Would We Do Without Experts? “Clinton Should Focus on Reaching Out to Sanders Supporters, Experts Say”—headline, CNBC.com, June 7

Generalissimo Francisco Franco Is Still Dead “Why Do People Still Use the Word ‘Mistress?’ A Reporter Reflects”—headline, New York Times website, June 7

Hey, Kids! What Time Is It? “McConnell: Time for Trump to ‘Act Like a Serious’ Candidate”—headline, WeeklyStandard.com, June 7

Look Out Below! “Yes, Republicans Could Still Dump Trump”—headline, Bloomberg, June 7

News of the Tautological “Jessica Valenti Confirms Feminism Is Now Just About Whining”—headline, Federalist, June 7

Bottom Story of the Day “Billionaire Environmental Activist Tom Steyer Endorses Clinton”—headline, Reuters, June 8

Civility! From Stephen Henderson, editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press (with a hat tip to Mollie Hemingway):

Because he has to write a certain number of words, Henderson repeats the murderous fantasy in the same column:

Donald Trump has certainly lowered the level of American political discourse, hasn’t he?

Join Fans of Best of the Web Today on Facebook.

Subscribe to the Best of the Web email with one click.

(Carol Muller helps compile Best of the Web. Thanks to Michele Schiesser, Tony Lima, Gene Fama, David Hallstrom, Debbie Wells, Ari Milgrom, Zack Russ, Mordecai Bobrowsky, Mike Brown, James Benenson, Bruce Goldman and Joe Dougherty. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)

Summary: #Nevertrump has a conveniently short time horizon.


Sanlikol is the director of DÜNYA, a nonprofit organization concerned with developing and learning about world music. DÜNYA took the stage at the American Islamic Congress in Boston on May 19 to perform Sanlikol’s original score “Palindrome.” Sanlikol also teaches music at Brown University, Emerson College, College of the Holy Cross, and Rhode Island College.

Q. What does DÜNYA mean?

A. It means “the world,” or “the globe.” The word itself is traditionally Arabic. Over the course of many centuries and different cultures borrowing it, it’s sort of been transformed. Sometimes it may also refer to the spiritual world, but that depends on the culture and context.

Q. Can you tell me a little bit about “Palindrome”?

A. Well, a palindrome is something — whether it’s a number, word, or something else — that reads the same way both forward and backward, like “madam” or “radar.” But the idea for the title and the music came from my personal experience as a Turkish immigrant. I left Turkey in 1993, at the age of 18, to study jazz at Berklee. After Berklee, I got my master’s at the New England Conservatory, and I unexpectedly rediscovered Turkish music. I think that’s portrayed, structurally, through my composition. It starts off quietly with ethnic instruments and just two musicians. As the music goes on, it starts becoming more and more inclusive, adding other instruments and it eventually turns into a jazz combo, with all 13 musicians. And then it ends again with quiet, ethnic instruments.

Q. When you say you “unexpectedly” rediscovered Turkish music, what do you mean?

A. I think it was early January in 2000, and I was playing a game of Risk. A friend of mind thought it would be funny to download MP3s of an Ottoman Turkish gentry band, like old bands that used to accompany Ottoman Turkish armies to battle. I heard this folk song and I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. I’d been writing and playing music since the age of 5, but I was just so stuck on this song. After that, I was hooked on learning more about their music.

Q. How does “Palindrome” speak to the larger immigrant community?

A. The piece was based so heavily on my personal experience, but the goal is providing an inspiration to all immigrants who are in the process of their own self-discovery.

Q. Has Boston influenced any of your work?

A. The city of Boston has made this possible for me, actually. I was able to come here in search of what I thought I wanted [studying jazz] and given the time and the freedom to explore that and create a much more complete version of my own self and my identity. I thought going to Berklee was like going to paradise. I was the hippest cat in town, walking around my hometown with that Berklee brochure. When I got to the lobby [of Berklee], it was a bit of a cold shower, but all I cared about was absorbing as much information as possible. And then after I was done with Berklee and I was attending the Conservatory, I was able to do an exchange program in Istanbul. Plus, having Harvard right around the corner, I could sit in on their Ottoman studies lectures.

Q. What kind of music do you teach at Brown, Emerson, Holy Cross, and RIC?

A. At Brown, I teach lessons of ethnic instruments, and a “Music of Turkey” seminar. At the College of the Holy Cross, I teach mostly Western music, intro to composition, jazz, and music theory. And at Emerson and RIC, I teach world music lectures, and some classes on Indonesian music.

Q. Do you find that you draw on your own experiences when teaching?

A. When I was in school, a professor once told me the best examples are the ones that come from personal experience, and I’ve carried that idea throughout my years of teaching. Sometimes I play my own music in the class, or talk about my roots, and hopefully students can understand and relate to that.

Q. DÜNYA’s work was nominated for a Grammy last year, right?

A. We were not among the final four in the world music category, but we were on the ballot as finalists among 60 or so other projects in the world music category.

Q. Can you tell me a little bit about the CD?

A. It was a world music CD, and ironically it actually doesn’t have any jazz on it. There’s a lot of Greek, Armenian, and Jewish music. I think that’s what most people know DÜNYA and myself for. But it seems that New England has the hots for world music and not so much for jazz. It was really interesting and kind of ironic that I came here to be a jazz musician, and at the time there were probably 10 jazz clubs. And now, it’s 2012, and there are two and a half left. I sort of lived through that decay, but I think it all worked out for the better.

Summary: Mehmet Ali Sanlikol is the director of DÜNYA, a nonprofit organization concerned with developing and learning about world music. DÜNYA took the stage at the American Islamic Congress on May 19 to perform Sanlikol’s original score “Palindrome.” Sanlikol also teaches music at Brown, Emerson, College of the Holy Cross, and Rhode Island College.


Two-time Major winner has moved on from his hoverboard to the futuristic flying machine, named the BW Air

BUBBA WATSON takes golf to new heights by strapping himself into a jetpack which he claims has been designed for him to use at the Rio Olympics.

The double Masters champion has moved on from his hoverboard to the futuristic £150,000 flying machine, named the BW Air.

It might take a while before the idea really takes off... but Bubba is certainly excited about it (although there's no footage of him actually flying it).

Watson, 37, is involved with the promotion of the amazing gadget ahead of next month's Olympics, where he will play alongside Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar for Team USA.

Bubba said: "For the first time in 112 years, golf is part of the Olympics. That's a big deal.

"So what better time to introduce something exciting for the future of our game?

"I've teamed up with Oakley to create a flying, golf cart jetpack."

The futuristic machine can fly at an altitude of 3,000ft and reach a top speed of just under 50mph.

It is powered by a 200hp engine which drives two fans, allowing the pilot to take off and land vertically.

And he jokingly reckons it will change two of golf's biggest problems: slow play, and "annoying" playing partners.

He said: "Golf is always looking to speed up play and that's what the jetpack's going to do.

"The biggest advantage is the bird's eye view. It's going to give you a perspective that you've been missing. It's almost an unfair advantage.

"You're riding by yourself. You don't have to ride with that annoying golfer that tells you all about his score."

Summary: BUBBA WATSON takes golf to new heights by strapping himself into a jetpack which he claims has been designed for him to use at the Rio Olympics. The double Masters champion has moved on from his ho…