All posts tagged: comfort

Amid war, inflation and sinking approval ratings, Trump takes comfort in giving Washington a face-lift

Amid war, inflation and sinking approval ratings, Trump takes comfort in giving Washington a face-lift

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON — As they walked through the bowels of the Kennedy Center, President Donald Trump asked Sen. Lindsey Graham his opinion on something that might mean a lot one day to an audience sitting through three hours of “Les Mis.” Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. Try out some of the new seats being considered for the building’s renovation, Trump told the South Carolina Republican. Graham obliged, plunking himself down in different chairs and telling Trump which one he liked best. “He couldn’t make up his mind,” Graham said of the president, recounting a trip to the performing arts center earlier this year. “I don’t know which one he [ultimately] picked, but only in America would I be picking the seats for the Kennedy Center,” laughed Graham, a Trump ally. Facing one of the roughest patches of his second term, Trump is devoting outsize energy to giving Washington its biggest face-lift in living memory. He is punctuating his public appearances with long digressions about the ballroom …

Yohei Kono, who apologized for Japan’s wartime sexual abuses of ‘comfort women,’ dies at 89

Yohei Kono, who apologized for Japan’s wartime sexual abuses of ‘comfort women,’ dies at 89

Published by Sam Flores

TOKYO — Yohei Kono, a veteran Japanese politician who as top government spokesperson offered a historic apology to Asian women over sexual abuses by Japan’s wartime military, has died, officials said. He was 89. Kono had placed great importance on promoting friendly ties with China, South Korea and other Asian countries that suffered Japanese atrocities before and during World War II. He died of old age Monday, according to the office of his son, former Foreign Minister Taro Kono. As chief Cabinet secretary in 1993, Yohei Kono apologized to tens of thousands of so-called “comfort women,” acknowledging Japanese military involvement in forcing them into work at front-line brothels. He spoke following a government investigation. His statement led to Japan’s broader apology over its wartime atrocities in a 1995 statement by then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama. Both statements were regarded internationally as signs that Japan had come to terms with its wartime past, and they helped to improve relations with its Asian neighbors. But the statements have become unpopular among Japanese conservatives who say Japan should stop focusing on …

Sony 1000XX the Collexion headphones review: supreme comfort and quiet luxury for your ears | Sony

Sony 1000XX the Collexion headphones review: supreme comfort and quiet luxury for your ears | Sony

Published by Sam Flores

Sony’s latest noise-cancelling headphones are a special anniversary set made to celebrate a decade of its prized 1000X series, designed to be plusher, slimmer, more comfortable and the best sounding yet. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. The original 1000X launched in 2016, igniting a fierce rivalry with the dominant Bose and its QuietComfort line, which would push noise-cancelling technology dramatically forward as each tried to outdo the other with subsequent releases. Now Sony has taken the comfort, sound and technology from the last six 1000X iterations to create something more refined, not to replace the current kings of noise-cancelling headphones, the WH-1000XM6, but to offer a more luxurious set with plusher materials and sleeker design. Smooth metal arms and plush pleather replace the standard hard plastics used in most headphones for a softer feel. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian The WH-1000XX the Collexion cost £549 (€629/$649/A$1,000), sitting above the £349 1000XM6 and directly competing with high-priced luxury headphone rivals such as Apple’s …

Tiffany’s “Pop Life” blends Beatles fandom with comfort food nostalgia

Tiffany’s “Pop Life” blends Beatles fandom with comfort food nostalgia

Published by Sam Flores

Pop singing sensation Tiffany joined host Kenneth Womack to talk about combining her passions for music and cooking to enrich her career and much more on “Everything Fab Four,” a podcast co-produced by me and Womack (a music scholar who also writes about pop music for Salon) and distributed by Salon. Born Tiffany Renee Darwish (and known professionally as Tiffany), the singer is most recognized for her ‘80s covers of two ‘60s hits: Tommy James and the Shondells’ “I Think We’re Alone Now” (which was recently introduced to a new generation of fans thanks to “Stranger Things”) and of course, The Beatles’ “I Saw [Him] Standing There.” As Tiffany told Womack, “I’m a Beatles fan. They were played in my house as a kid.” Her parents had a huge record collection, and her “dad loved The Beatles and Buddy Holly; mom loved Elvis.” She said she was “a dancer from the age of two” and was “constantly singing” – so much so that family members would often send her off to get cookies to be …

The Strange Comfort of a Rewatch

The Strange Comfort of a Rewatch

Published by José Betancourt

This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning. A familiar dilemma: You open Netflix, determined to watch something new. Twenty minutes of scrolling later, after having rejected dozens of perfectly fine options, you land on a movie you’ve seen many times before. We do this constantly—rewatch TV shows, replay albums, reread favorite books until entire scenes or lyrics are committed to memory. Part of the reason is comfort. Familiar things require less from us; they deliver the emotional payoff we expect. But repetition is also a way of revisiting earlier versions of ourselves. Old songs, movies, and shows become emotional time capsules, preserving not just the stories but the person we were when we first loved them. “We like repeating pop-culture experiences because they help us remember the past, and the act of remembering the past feels good,” Derek Thompson wrote in 2014. In a pop-culture …

Mark Gatiss: ‘The British used to take comfort in the myth that fascism was not to our taste’

Mark Gatiss: ‘The British used to take comfort in the myth that fascism was not to our taste’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter I’m a natural optimist… but that’s taken a pounding,” says Mark Gatiss. That might not be surprising given he’s spent the past few weeks preparing to play Adolf Hitler. Well, not technically Hitler. Gatiss, the writer and actor known for TV favourites including Sherlock, Doctor Who and The League of Gentlemen, is donning a toothbrush moustache for a revival of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui – Bertolt Brecht’s 1941 parable that reimagines the führer as a vegetable-peddling mobster in 1930s Chicago. Written in two weeks, the play charts Arturo’s rise to power, with events closely mirroring Hitler’s ascent. It is, says Gatiss, “like a big sketch – it’s deliberately cartoony. It’s like if someone suddenly wrote a big play about Trump trying to seize Greenland. But there are parts of it that are chilling.” Arturo Ui is directed by Seán …

Heybike Comfort Ranger 3.0 Pro Electric Bike Review: Tough Little Cargo Ebike

Heybike Comfort Ranger 3.0 Pro Electric Bike Review: Tough Little Cargo Ebike

Published by skeptic

It came in just a few pieces (seat, handlebars, front wheel, pedals), all of which I’ve already assembled and adjusted in my analog bikes. I still wrangled two friends for assistance, which proved helpful since it is somewhat unwieldy to wrestle the heavy frame in place with everything aligned. Unlike the other bike in this line, the Ranger S ($1,099), you don’t need the HeyBike app to use the Ranger Pro. The app lets you change the bike settings, update firmware, and track rides, but it’s not necessary to activate the bike. It charged to 100 percent in just three hours out of the box and has since taken around seven hours to fully charge in an AC outlet after running down the battery, which is on par with my full-size Radster Road. Photograph: Maggie Slepian I tested this bike during a chaotic spring here in Montana, which means muddy bike lanes, drizzle, sleet, and a lot of puddles. Unlike my full-size ebike, the Ranger Pro has a fully enclosed battery and has an IP65 …

Tensions Rise Over Proposed New Zealand Statue Commemorating ‘Comfort Women’ Japan Forced into Sexual Slavery

Tensions Rise Over Proposed New Zealand Statue Commemorating ‘Comfort Women’ Japan Forced into Sexual Slavery

Published by José Betancourt

To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our Breakfast with ARTnews newsletter. The Headlines COLD COMFORT. A proposed bronze statue depicting a seated girl, intended as a symbol of wartime sexual violence, has sparked tensions between Japan and New Zealand, the Guardian reports. The sculpture, donated to the Korean cultural garden at Barry’s Point Reserve in Auckland by the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance, commemorates an estimated 200,000 women forced into sexual slavery in Japanese military brothels between 1932 and 1945, known as “comfort women.” Most were Korean, though victims also included Chinese, Southeast Asian, and a small number of Japanese and European women.cJapan’s ambassador to New Zealand, Makoto Osawa, said the planned memorial was “needlessly stirring up” this chapter of history and warned it could harm diplomatic relations, not only between Japan and New Zealand, but also between Japan and South Korea. The Japanese embassy has more bluntly described the statue as part of an “anti-Japan” movement. Since the first “peace statue” was erected in Seoul in 2011, followed by similar installations around the world, Japan …

Specialized introduces Vado 3 EVO, combining robust motor performance with advanced rider convenience and comfort

Specialized introduces Vado 3 EVO, combining robust motor performance with advanced rider convenience and comfort

Published by Jenni Sidey

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › Sign Up For Goods 🛍️ Product news, reviews, and must-have deals. Specialized has long understood that a commuter bike shouldn’t feel like a compromise. A good experience should turn a dreary slog into the best slice of your day, which is why the Turbo Vado has been highlighted in PopSci electric commuter bike coverage: it’s an ebike that means less grind, more glide. The new Turbo Vado 3 EVO takes that city bike and upgrades it for when the road gets patchy, the errand list gets ambitious, and you might want to blow off some post-work steam with a dirt detour. Just add safety accessories. See It The core upgrade is that the Vado 3 EVO gets the full-power Specialized 3.1 motor system from the Turbo Levo eMTB: 810 watts of peak power, 105 Nm of torque, and an 840 Wh battery. That means the foundational experience doesn’t change by trim. Specialized claims 0 to 25 …

Six tested for maximum comfort and support

Six tested for maximum comfort and support

Published by Sam Flores

Both Emily and I have experience testing mattresses, having contributed numerous reviews across our different mattress guides. It’s a difficult job for one obvious reason – they’re huge. So, for this guide, you’ll find a mixture of products that Emily tested at home and ones I (Rebecca) tested after a week visiting dozens of showrooms across London. I tested sofa beds at the same time, if you’re in the market. It’s important to note that the best mattress for each individual varies enormously, based on weight, height, pressure points, sleeping position and whether or not you share a bed. Memory foam mattresses tested at home were slept on for at least a month, to get a true feel for how each one adjusted to the person sleeping on it and whether it helped regulate their temperature, and how durable it was. Edge support (being able to sleep at the edge of the mattress without rolling off) was also considered. In the showroom, I judged the mattresses on more objective criteria: foam density and thickness, number …