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Make-up artist posts shocking before-and-after photos of the porn stars she styles

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melissa murphy makeup artist porn star

Ten years ago, make-up artist Melissa Murphy left her job working at the cosmetics counter in a Boston mall for the bright lights of the erotica industry.

When the actresses and models settle into her chair, she snaps a before and after photo to capture the transformation. You would be amazed to see how much make-up these beauties actually wear.

Murphy shared some of her Instagram photos with us. The results are incredible.

Make-up artist Melissa Murphy has been dolling up adult film stars for more than 10 years.

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She photographs her subjects in natural light and posts the juxtaposed images to her Instagram account.

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Her account has more than 75,000 followers.

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9 reasons why I'm ready to love Windows 10

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Windows 10 event

Back in February, Business Insider's Steve Kovach declared that after years of being an Apple kind of guy, he was ready to love Microsoft Windows again.

"Even though we're months away from the final version, Windows 10 already feels seamless, friendly, familiar, and actually kind of fun to use," he wrote after trying Microsoft's free Windows 10 preview.

Now, we're a few months closer to the launch of Windows 10, and the anticipation is building.

In my own tests with Windows 10, there's a lot to like — I'm still not sure if it'll be enough to get me to switch from my own Mac and go Windows full-time, but there's a lot to like in Windows 10, and the heat is on. 

Here are some of the coolest features you should be looking forward to in Windows 10. 

Cortana, the digital assistant

Cortana, Microsoft's digital assistant (based off the character of the same name from the Halo video game series), has been available for Windows Phone for a while now.

But by building it in to Windows 10, it makes it a lot easier to get answers to simple questions, like "Hey Cortana, what's the weather today?" from the desktop — something that Apple's Siri can't do. Plus, since Cortana is coming to iOS and Android phones, too, it's a new way for your Windows computer to play nicely with your existing smartphone, whatever it happens to be.



Windows Store for multi-device purchases

The worst part about the Windows Phone is its lack of apps. With a new Windows Store in Windows 10, users can buy apps once that work across their computers, smartphones, and tablets.

Microsoft is working to make it as simple as possible for app developers to make the good stuff available on Windows 10.



Windows Hello's facial recognition sign-in

Windows 10 will let you log in to your computer just by getting a look at your face in the webcam.

It's called "Windows Hello."



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This is what it's like in one of the biggest and fastest growing Chinatowns in the world

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food tour flushing queens chinatown 114

New York City contains the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia. And while Manhattan's Chinatown gets most of the hype — with its cheap wontons and cheaper knock-off designer purses — many would argue it's not the most authentic enclave.

Flushing, Queens, has emerged as New York's bigger and better Chinatown. Home to more than 30,000 people born in China, the out-of-the-way neighborhood boasts mouthwatering street food, bubble tea cafés on every corner, and entire stores dedicated to ancient herbal remedies.

I set out to explore Flushing's culinary offerings during a recent visit. I won't soon forget it.

My adventure began in the gutters of Manhattan – its subway system.



The number 7 subway line is sometimes called the "International Express" because it connects Times Square to outer-borough neighborhoods with heavy immigrant presences.



One hour and two podcast episodes later, I arrived at Mets-Willets Point station, on the western border of Flushing.



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7 rules of dog park etiquette to keep you and your pet out of trouble this summer

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begging dog

Summer is finally here, and no one is more excited than your dog. 

A dog park is the perfect place to let your four-legged friend interact with other dogs and run wild.

But not too wild.  

Yes, there are rules of etiquette — for you and your pet — at the dog park.

Here's what you need to know to not be that dog owner.

1. Don't hand out dog treats.

Every dog loves a treat, but make sure to keep them out of sight at the park. Treats can make the other dogs jealous, and sharing the treats with other dogs doesn't always go over well with other owners. But feel free to bring water and a bowl to keep your dog hydrated.

2. Don't let playtime turn into fight club.

If you know your toy poodle doesn't interact well with larger dogs, don't go to a park full of big dogs. As noted by WebMD, an ideal dog park has a designated small-dogs section to avoid this scenario. Barking and growling are considered normal social interactions, but it's your responsibility to decide when playful rough-housing starts to escalate to a fight. If that happens, remove your dog from the social setting. 

rough play at dog park

3. Don't forget to bring a plastic bag.

Just like everywhere else, you're responsible for cleaning up after your pet at the park. Some parks have plastic bags available near the waste cans, but you should always carry a few extras.

4. Don't unleash your dog and lose track of him/her.

It seems obvious, but sometimes you get distracted while talking to other dog owners. Make sure you know where your dog is at all times to avoid problems like fights. As with a child, you never know what your dog might get into.

5. Don't bring unvaccinated puppies, unneutered males, or females in heat to the park.

While it may be tempting to bring your little ball of energy to the park, PETA suggests waiting until your puppy is at least four months old and has had all the necessary vaccinations. Unneutered males have higher testosterone, meaning more aggressive behavior, and unspayed females in heat can make you a fast grandparent. 

puppy

6. Don't infest the park with fleas.

If your dog has fleas, parasites, or is sick, stay home. Owners don't want their dogs catching anything just as you don't want your dog catching anything. Wait until your dog is healthy to bring him/her to the park.   

7. Don't bring your dog to a park that you haven't checked out first.   

There are a few things you need to evaluate before you actually bring your dog to a new park. Is it fenced in? Are the dogs there playing nicely? It's wise to get a sense of the atmosphere so you can judge whether it's a good fit for your dog.

SEE ALSO: The 'Rich Dogs of Instagram' are living the dream

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NOW WATCH: Watching This Dog With Deformed Legs Run For The First Time Will Make Your Day

12 documentaries on Netflix that will make you smarter about business

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Freakonomics documentary

Here's a quick and fun way to enrich your business knowledge: streaming documentaries on Netflix.

The online movie and TV service has a vast cache of business and tech documentaries that anyone with a subscription can watch instantly. The topics range from profiles of great tech innovators like Steve Jobs to deep dives into industrial design.

Each of these 12 documentaries offers an entertaining storyline, as well as valuable insights into business success. 

Alison Griswold contributed to an earlier version of this article.

How lifelong dedication and obsession with quality can pay off

"Jiro Dreams Of Sushi" profiles Jiro Ono, a Japanese sushi chef and restaurant owner who is widely revered for his skill and $300-a-plate dinners. It follows the 85-year-old master as he works with vendors to secure the finest ingredients, manages and mentors his staff, and prepares his son to succeed him when he retires. The movie brings viewers inside the dedication, obsession, and decades of hard work it takes to achieve perfection.



The best tricks to transform your life

"TED Talks: Life Hacks" is a collection of 10 popular TED lectures that offer tips and insights for success in life and business. You'll learn body-language secrets from Harvard psychologist Amy Cuddy, research-backed productivity tricks from positive psychology expert Shawn Achor, and more.



How to stage a dramatic turnaround

"Inside: Lego," a short 2014 film by Bloomberg, takes viewers inside one of the greatest turnaround stories in recent history. Lego, the Denmark-based toy maker, was in trouble in the early 2000s. It had overextended, lost its identity, and was bleeding money. After executing CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp's strategy to refocus on the core business, Lego rebounded to become the world's fastest-growing toy company.



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Here's our first look inside Google's huge show today

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Google's biggest public event of the year, Google I/O, kicks off today in San Francisco. About 5,000 people will be here.

The show is mainly for software developers who build products on Google's Android, Chrome, and other platforms. But it's also the time of year when Google announces the new products it's been working on for the last year.

The show starts in a couple hours, but we just got inside. It's quite a scene. Here's what we saw...

Here's the line outside Moscone Center in San Francisco. This is more than two hours before the keynote starts. We heard of one developer who got here at 4 a.m.



Here's the big Google I/O sign. We don't have to wait in line with those folks.



We get to take the special press elevator.



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Here's what people eat for breakfast around the world

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Pancakes, Bacon, Eggs

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, keeping us healthy and sharp.

But breakfast foods vary wildly from place to place.

Inspired by a HostelBookers.com post by Victoria Philpott and a Quora post,  we took a look at some classic breakfast choices from countries around the world.

Whether it's bread and cold cuts in Germany or baked cheese pancakes in Russia, each country does their first meal of the day a little differently.

An earlier version of this post was written by Max Rosenberg.

AUSTRALIA: The typical breakfast consists of cold cereal and toast with vegemite.



BRAZIL: Expect to find ham, cheeses, and bread, served with coffee and milk.



CHINA: Traditional breakfasts vary based on the region, but dim sum, small plates of food prepared in a variety of ways, is popular.



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The 25 sexiest cars of all time

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6. Jaguar E TypeOur picks for the most stylish cars ever made.

Sorry, Prius—you were thiiiis close.

 More from GQ:

25. Saab 900 Turbo

Things that will always be cool: looking like the preppy villain from an ‘80s movie; Jay Z’s video for “Song Cry”; all-black cars patterned after fighter jets.



24. Acura NSX

The thinking man’s supercar: fast, light, nimble, and so impeccably engineered, they barely changed it from 1990 to 2005.

Sexy enough to turn heads, but not enough to draw the paparazzi every time you go out for milk.

And its coming back.



23. Aston Martin Lagonda

It’s an outside-the-box luxury four-door, but even more sumptuous and unexpected.

And terribly exclusive, too: only 200 will be made, offered (not sold) specific clients in the Middle East and select bits of Europe.

Time to ask your real estate agent about listings in Monaco and Dubai—you’ve got a guy, right?

 



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10 brilliant management strategies that Google lives by

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laszlo bock

LinkedIn Influencer Laszlo Bock published "10 Ideas Proven to Make Work Suck Less" originally on LinkedIn.

In my 28 years of working (I got my first job when I was 14), I've amassed a random walk of jobs that could best be described as a guidance counselor's nightmare: I worked in a deli, a restaurant, and a library.

I tutored high school students in California and taught elementary school students English in Japan.

I was a lifeguard in real life at my college pool, and then I played one on TV (on "Baywatch," no less!).

Check out the management strategies here >>

I helped start a nonprofit that supported troubled teens and worked at a manufacturer that built construction products.

I earned an MBA and joined McKinsey & Company, where I rode the tech bubble of the late '90s all the way to the top — and then all the way down to the bottom — advising companies on how to grow, sell, and "scale" and then how to cut, shave, and "pivot."

But by 2003, I was frustrated. Frustrated because even the best-designed business plans fell apart when people didn't believe in them. Frustrated because leaders always spoke of putting people first, and then treated them like replaceable gears.

I had held blue-collar jobs and white-collar jobs, been paid minimum wage and a six-figure salary, worked with people who hadn't finished high school and those with Ph.D.s from the world's poshest universities. I'd worked in an environment where our sole purpose was changing the world and another where it was all about making a buck for the founder.

It just didn't make sense to me that no matter where I turned, people weren't treated better in their jobs. We spend more time working than doing anything else in the world. It's not right that the experience of work, even at some of the best employers, should be so demotivating and dehumanizing.

Crazy as it sounds (and my McKinsey colleagues indeed thought I was crazy!), I decided to leave consulting and find a job in human resources. I thought it would give me the greatest chance of affecting the most people, most quickly (vs. climbing the same ladder as the thousands of other former consultants and hoping to someday become a CEO). I was lucky enough to get an HR job at General Electric because one of their execs, Anne Abaya, rolled the dice on me. I learned a ton from her and my colleagues.

google employees

And then three years later a 6,000-person company called Google rang me up to lead what we decided to call "People Operations." The company is almost 10 times bigger today and we've won our share of recognition for our people practices. We've done what we can to advance the application of science to the people side of business, or as my colleague Prasad Setty branded the group he founded in 2007, "People Analytics."

But the best part has been realizing that Google isn't unique. Lots of other companies — places like Wegmans, the Brandix Group, Costco — in all sorts of industries do fantastic things for their people too.

Check out the management strategies that Google lives by >>

Indeed, Wegmans was the #1 "Best Company to Work for" in 2005, winning the award the year before Google won it for the first time, and continuing to be a personal source of inspiration for me and my team.

What's more, there's a tremendous amount of academic research supporting the idea that the strong results these companies achieved weren't a coincidence: that happy, fulfilled workers and business success actually go hand in hand. And we've found the same in our research at Google.

I figured that if I could bring together this research — and the experiences of Google and other companies — and share it broadly, we might have a shot at making work more meaningful for people everywhere. Out of that desire, my new book, "Work Rules!" was born.

And in the spirit of open sourcing and sharing, I've put together a brief guide with what I believe are the ten most important rules for developing a happy, healthy, and productive workplace.

If you find it inspiring, there's much more in the book, which you can find at www.workrules.net.

Hope you enjoy!

More from Laszlo Bock:







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The 13 best Google Doodles (GOOG)

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Google is famous for its Doodle illustrations that transform Google's homepage into something different in order to celebrate important anniversaries, events, or birthdays.

Thankfully Google has an archive full of all its past Google Doodles, so we combed through them to find our favorites.

From honoring the first man and woman to adventure into space to creating an interactive Les Paul Google logo that lets you record your own song, we've collected the 13 best Google Doodles we've seen so far.

2014 Olympic Games in Sochi

Google stood up against Russia's anti-gay laws the night before the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi with this Doodle that quoted the Olympic Charter and highlighted why the right to practice sports is a human right.



Playable Pac-Man

To celebrate Pac-Man's 30th anniversary, Google created its first playable Doodle that let you play the classic arcade game right from your browser. You can still play the Pac-Man Doodle by clicking here.



50th Anniversary of the First Man in Space

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first person to venture into space back in 1961. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of his journey into orbit aboard the Vostok spacecraft, Google created this beautiful and vintage Doodle with a hidden animated space shuttle.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A Native American designer is pushing back against the fashion industry that copies her culture

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bethany yellowtail native american fashion designs

Headdresses and knock-off Native American patterns on runways are controversial in the fashion industry. 

Karlie Kloss’ Native American-style headdress caused an outcry at the 2012 Victoria Secret Fashion Show — the brand would later apologize and pull the outfit from the broadcast. H&M stopped selling its “hipster” Native American-inspired headdresses after customer complaints in 2013, and rapper Pharrell Williams was forced to apologize after wearing a war bonnet on the cover of Elle UK Magazine in 2014.

karlie kloss victoria's secret

And earlier this year, brand KTZ was accused of directly copying a dress by Native American fashion designer Bethany Yellowtail’s “Crow Pop Collection.”

While the KTZ dress was geometric and had seemingly random inverted triangles, Yellowtail’s was made with Crow bead work that dated back to her great grandmother.

(Left:) #Byellowtail #Apsaalooke nights dress launched in fall of 2014. The dress as stated on my website embodies a Crow design from my great great grandmother...funny I didn't realize @ktz_official knew the Yellowtail's or the Crow people. (right) A @ktz_official dress from NYFW walked down the runway yesterday looking mighty familiar... It's one thing for designers to be unoriginal and knock off other peoples designs but what happens when you blatantly take cultural valuable designs from Indigenous people? Let's find out.... 🔥🔥🔥🔥 #CanANativeLive 💆 #boycott #KTZ #ktzofficial #boycottKTZ In an interview he also goes on to say that this collection is a "tribute" to indigenous Native American people. But What kind of honor does this bring?

A photo posted by b.YELLOWTAIL (@byellowtail) on Feb 17, 2015 at 11:53pm PST

 

Yet even in the face of stolen cultural icons, Yellowtail is pushing back with a new collection called “The Mighty Few" for her brand b.YELLOWTAIL.

“Quite honestly I'm tired of talking about cultural appropriation, I’m doing something about it,” she told Business Insider. “I simply want to carve out a space where an authentic voice and an authentic representation of Native America exists and thrives. If that means we’re combatting cultural appropriation while just being true to ourselves then that’s a bonus.” 

bethany yellowtail native american fashion designs

Her collection launched in April and features items like a chiffon maxi dress with an elk tooth pattern and a French lace top with elk teeth replicas hand stitched across the top. The designs are contemporary and flattering while also being rooted in a long and storied culture.

Yellowtail garnered inspiration from her upbringing on the Crow Nation and Northern Cheyenne Indian reservations in southeastern Montana as well as her ancestors and culture. In particular, a photo of her great aunt performing a rare Shoshone war bonnet dance — one of the few ceremonies where a young woman leader wears the symbolic headdress — side-by-side with a photo of another relative performing the same dance in 2013 was a major inspiration.

“The two together gave me an overwhelming feeling,” she said. “It was so beautiful to clearly see the continuity of our people.”

But her designs are more than continuing great traditions and honoring the past. Yellowtail strives to display Natives as modern and fashion-forward people instead of mere stereotypes, and makes a point of collaborating with indigenous artists — her photographer, models, and video director are all Native American, as MIC pointed out.

“My favorite piece is actually one of the accessories from my collection, the Women Warrior Ledger Scarf,” Yellowtail told us. “I collaborated with an incredible Blackfeet artist named John Pepion who specializes in contemporary ledger drawings [Ed note: ledger drawings are narrative drawings or paintings traditional to the plains tribes]. I specifically brought in John to create the art which is featured on the scarf to help me tell a story.”

bethany yellowtail native american fashion designs

All of the clothes and accessories are also constructed on native land and are handmade by the b.YELLOWTAIL design team. She told Business Insider that she hopes to own a manufacturer on tribal land one day so that she can contribute to the economic development of these communities.

So far, the response to the latest b.YELLOWTAIL collection has been overwhelmingly positive. The company has received so many orders that numerous items such as a horse hair rope belt and elk tooth necklace are on back order while her team struggles to meet the demand. 

bethany yellowtail native american fashion designs

“To be honest I wasn’t fully anticipating this kind of response,” she told Business Insider. “The orders have been flying in and the support from the native and non-native communities has been absolutely astounding.”

Yellowtail hopes that within the next five years, she’ll see mainstream retailers around the country begin selling her designs, and wants to expand her brand into menswear, shoes, more accessories, and perhaps even home decor. 

“When I step back and look at the collection I see a reflection of my loved ones, my ancestors, the communities I come from, the land I was raised, and I also see me,” Yellowtail said. “Though history and circumstances have not always been in our peoples favor, time has not erased us, we are still here, beautiful, strong and resilient.”

You can see more of the b.YELLOWTAIL collection here.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This fashion brand used drones instead of models at their runway show in Silicon Valley

Science says people decide these 9 things within seconds of meeting you

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angelina jolie

Psychologists call it "thin slicing." 

Within moments of meeting people, you decide all sorts of things about them, from status to intelligence to promiscuity.

If you're trustworthy

People decide on your trustworthiness in a tenth of a second

Princeton researchers found this out by giving one group of university students 100 milliseconds to rate the attractiveness, competence, likeability, aggressiveness, and trustworthiness of actors' faces.

Members of another group were able to take as long as they wanted. While other traits differed depending on time spent looking, trustworthiness was basically the same.

 



If you're high-status

A Dutch study found that people wearing name-brand clothes — Lacoste and Tommy Hilfiger, to be precise — were seen as higher status than folks wearing non-designer clothes. 

"Perceptions did not differ on any of the other dimensions that might affect the outcome of social interactions,"the authors wrote. "There were no differences in perceived attractiveness, kindness, and trustworthiness." 

Just status.



If you're straight or gay

People can read a man's sexual orientation in a twentieth of a second — the minimum amount of time it takes to consciously recognize a face. 

"The rapid and accurate perception of male sexual orientation may be just another symptom of a fast and efficient cognitive mechanism for perceiving the characteristics of others,"wrote study authors Nicholas O. Rule and Nalini Ambady.



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See inside the little red book that is placed on the desk of every Facebook employee

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Facebook's little red book cover

In late 2012, when Facebook reached a billion users, a little red book started appearing on the desks of all its employees.

The book is full of inspirational, propaganda-style quotes about Facebook's history and values. Until very recently, its contents — even its existence — were largely unknown to outsiders. 

Now, however, former Facebook designer Ben Barry, who created it during his time with the company, has published a series of scans from the book.

Barry set up Facebook's print studio – known as the Analog Research Lab



Where he would "design logos, fuss with typography, print posters, and make books".



Facebook's corporate persona is neatly packaged in the little red book. Barry's site explains:



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The 11 best jobs for women in 2015

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women networking

Although inequality is still very much present in the workplace, women have made great strides in recent years.

But some jobs are known for treating and paying women more fairly than others.

Jobs site CareerCast recently put together a new list of the best jobs for women in 2015. Many of the jobs that made the list defy the gender conventions of the workplace.

CareerCast looked at jobs where the percentage of women working in that field either is rising or is at a high level and hasn't fallen, making the barriers of entry for women in those fields less difficult to break through. They also considered factors such as income and growth potential.

All wages and outlooks listed are from the BLS and represent the entire labor force for each career.

Actuary

Annual median wage: $93,680 

Projected growth outlook (by 2022): 26%

Number of people who hold this job who are women: 36%



Advertising and promotions manager

Annual median wage: $115,750

Projected growth outlook (by 2022): 12%

Number of people who hold this job who are women: 66%



Biomedical engineer

Annual median wage: $86,960

Projected growth outlook (by 2022): 27%

Number of people who hold this job who are women: 20%



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Explorers' Instagram feeds will make you want to get out and see the world

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national monuments outdoors bureau of land management exploration

Your friends' Instagram feeds of selfies, brunch, and baby photos get tedious fast — unless those selfies happen to be taken with a whale or they brunch while hanging from a cliff face.

Luckily there are tons of amazing Instagram feeds from explorers and adventurers — many who have embarked on incredible journeys, set records for achieving things no person has done before, and advanced science by exploring the fascinating details of life on our planet — will add a dose of adrenaline and wonder to your day.

And in some cases, they might inspire you to drop what you're doing and go see the world.

Climber and photographer Jimmy Chin beautifully captures all kinds of adventures, but his shots of mountains — and the climbers, skiers, and snowboarders that love them — are breathtaking.

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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Salopek is taking "slow travel" back to its (and our) roots as he retraces humanity's migration around the globe, in a 21,000 mile, seven-year walk that began in Ethiopia.

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Award-winning photographer Beverly Joubert and her husband Dereck are conservationists and filmmakers who focus on African wildlife.

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20 incredibly impressive kids graduating from high school this year

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Jack Griffin, high schoolFrom finding a new way to treat breast cancer to raising awareness about mental health issues to earning gold medals at the Olympics, this year's crop of high school seniors already boast impressive resumes.

Based on reader nominations, news stories, and word of mouth, we found 20 incredibly impressive students graduating from high school this year who are already accomplishing more than most adults.

Amara Majeed is eradicating stereotypes about Muslims and empowering Muslim women.

High school: Towson High School, Baltimore, Maryland

Majeed started a global initiative, The Hijab Project, in order to promote the understanding and empowerment of Muslim women. The project encourages women from all backgrounds to try wearing a hijab the next time they go out in public and share their stories of how they feel they were treated by others. Global News and The Baltimore Sun interviewed Majeed about the project, and she was also featured on MSNBC.

She also recently published "The Foreigners," a book which chronicles the lives of Muslims around the world. "I wanted to show the world that the majority of Muslims aren’t corrupt leaders of organizations that steal, rape, and sell girls on the market," Majeed told BI. She also writes for CNN, The Huffington Post, and Bustle.

Plans after graduation: Majeed plans to double major in international relations and philosophy at Brown University in the fall, and conduct research on conflict resolution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.



Andreas Pavlou used gene therapy to test new ways to treat breast cancer.

High school: Sewanhaka High School, Elmont, New York

Last summer, Pavlou had the opportunity to research the long-term effects that night-time light exposure has on breast cancer patients, and identified a gene that showed abnormal expression in triple-negative breast cancer, and in patients exposed to light at night. Using new gene therapy concepts in conjunction with a common cancer drug, Pavlou and his lab mates noticed mainly negative growth in cancerous cells, rendering their experiments a success and pointing to new ways gene therapy can be used to treat cancer.

Pavlou is also the editor-in-chief of his high school's newspaper, the president of the student council, and the co-president of the mock trial program.

After his father died in 2014, Pavlou began helping care for his family, and recently earned the prestigious Questbridge scholarship for low-income students, which grants recipients a full ride to college.

Plans after graduation: Pavlou plans to attend the University of Pennsylvania and study international relations.



Andrew Jin created an algorithm that's helping us understand the genetic causes of diseases like schizophrenia.

High school: The Harker School, San Jose, California

Earlier this year, Jin took home the First Place Medal of Distinction for Global Good from the Intel Science Talent Search, along with a $150,000 prize, for crafting a machine-learning algorithm that analyzes massive data sets of DNA and identifies adaptive mutations in them.

His algorithm discovered over 100 mutations related to metabolism, brain function, and disorders like schizophrenia. Not only do these findings help researchers better understand human evolution, but they can potentially be used to help develop new vaccines and treatments.

Before that, Jin and a friend created a new chemotherapy treatment that increased potency, reduced toxic side effects, and prevented drug resistance, earning him second place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and third place in the Siemens Competition. 

Plans after graduation: In the fall, Jin will start at Harvard University, studying computer science and biology. He'll also spend the summer interning at Facebook to work on machine learning with the search team. 



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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The successful lives of past National Spelling Bee champions

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Rebecca Sealfon

Teenagers and pre-teens who win the intensely competitive Scripps National Spelling Bee have brains, passion, and dedication.

For the most part, this work ethic leads to success in college and beyond. Among the decades of past winners, there are lots of graduates of top schools and many brainy professionals — such as doctors and lawyers.

There are some pretty unusual career choices too, from a professional poker player to a voiceover actor.

Many former winners have also stayed involved with the bee itself, making up the administration of the organization.

Max Nisen created an earlier version of this feature.

1992 winner Amanda Goad went to Harvard Law School and became a staff lawyer on the ACLU's LGBT and HIV rights project.

Sources: TimeLinkedIn



1981 winner Paige Pipkin Kimble, right, was runner-up in 1980 to Jacques Bailly, left. She couldn't shake the spelling bee; she serves as its executive director.

Source: Slate



Bailly, the 1980 winner, is an associate professor of classics at the University of Vermont and the bee's official pronouncer.

Source: Time



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15 gorgeous beaches that are easy to get to from New York City

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Coney Island Beach

It's getting be that time of year when the heat in New York City becomes unbearable.

Which means it's time to start planning your weekend getaways.

If you're not lucky enough to have a house in the Hamptons that you can escape to, there are plenty of beaches close enough to the city that can be reached by public transport.

Grab your bathing suit and take a look at our list of beaches that won't cost you a lot of time or money to get to.

Long Island's Jones Beach is one of the largest beaches in New York. There are 6.5 miles of sand and two miles of boardwalk, along with two swimming pools, a miniature golf course, and a nature center. The easiest way to access the beach is by taking the Long Island Rail Road from Penn Station.



If you're looking for a mix of nature and beach, Jacob Riis Park Beach in Queens is your answer. It's part of the Gateway National Recreation Area and can be reached via the M, the N and 5, or the 5 and 6 subways.



Although it can be somewhat of a tourist trap, Coney Island offers more than just sand and water. There's a ferris wheel, other amusement park rides, and Nathan's famous hot dogs. Hop on the F or Q subway and you'll be there in no time.



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Michael Jackson's restored Neverland Ranch has hit the market for $100 million

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Neverland Ranch train stationMichael Jackson's famed Neverland Ranch has hit the market for $100 million. 

Now called "Sycamore Valley Ranch," the 2,700-acre ranch in Los Olivos, California was bought by private investment firm Colony Capital in 2008 for $23.5 million. 

With millions put into its restoration, the listing is being split by Sotheby's broker Harry Kolb and Hilton & Hyland's Jeffrey Hyland.

Hyland told The Wall Street Journal that they're "not encouraging a lot of showings." Added a representative from Sotheby's, "We’re not going to be giving tours."

Alyson Penn contributed to an earlier version of this story.

Welcome to Neverland Ranch, the famed 2,700-acre property that once belonged to the late Michael Jackson.



Passing through the gates into the driveway, visitors will see a bronze statue of children playing in front of the main house.



Here is a full view of the front of the Normandy-style mansion.



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12 Marvel comics series every fan should read

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NextwaveIf you are a fan of movies or television in 2015, then the cultural dominance of the superhero will not come as a surprise to you—water is wet, skies are azure, and two “Avengers” movies have made a billion dollars each.

With the hundreds of millions of dollars being pumped into comic book-inspired movies, television, and toy commercials (sometimes they are one and the same), it's easy to feel either exasperated or fascinated by it all. In the midst of all this noise, one name stands taller than the rest in the current pop culture climate: Marvel. 

Perhaps you’ve never read a Marvel comic, but you’d like to start. Lucky for you, Marvel has made it very easy to get into its comics—if you have a smartphone, tablet, or access to a web browser, you can subscribe to Marvel Unlimited: A Netflix-style streaming service with the vast majority of Marvel comics 75-plus year library ready for you to read. That’s wonderful, but daunting—75 years of continuous storytelling? Where do you start?

"Captain America" by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting

Why it’s great: Did you like “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”? Here’s where that story was first told. Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting reinvent Captain America as an espionage thriller, a propulsive and smart story that’s engrossing and hard to put down. While it does get a bit mired in a few crossovers, one of those crossovers is “Civil War”— which is the source material for the next Captain America movie.

How to read it: The issue numbers make big leaps and that can make things a bit confusing, but in Marvel Unlimited the entire Brubaker/Epting run is collected under “Captain America” (2004-2011). Start reading it here.

What to read next: Check out two other great recent runs featuring Avengers from the Marvel movies: Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca’s “Invincible Iron Man” and Greg Pak’s epic “Planet Hulk” arc in “Incredible Hulk” with various artists, listed under “Incredible Hulk” (1999-2011) #92-112.



"Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E." by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen

Why it’s great: In the early 2000s, superhero comics had taken on a certain hard-edged cynicism, a grim “edginess” that wasn’t always entirely effective. Created by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen, “Nextwave” takes everything about that zeitgeist (which you can still see in comics and comic-book movies today) and strips away all pretense.

It’s about (take a deep breath) a group of heroes who rebel against the government agency they used to work for when they find out said agency is controlled by a corporation that’s actually a front for a terrorist organization looking to test ridiculous weapons like broccoli-powered robots and man-eating teddy bears on unsuspecting civilians around the world.

But none of that really matters—it’s all just an excuse for outlandish fight scenes and laugh-out-loud comedy. Ellis and Immonen lampoon their contemporaries by exaggerating the ridiculousness of the era—and by being really, really good at making comics.

How to read it: It’s all there under “Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.” #1-12.

What to read next: For the same blend of sharp comedy and biting social critique (with a touch of Jorge Luis Borges and H.P. Lovecraft), consider Ales Kot and Michael Walsh’s “Secret Avengers” (2014). For pure, laugh-out-loud funny, you can’t get much better than Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber’s “The Superior Foes of Spider-Man.” 



"Hawkeye" by Matt Fraction, David Aja, Matt Hollingsworth, et al

Why it’s great: One of the most critically-acclaimed comics of the past three years, “Hawkeye” was a game-changer. Created by the critically-acclaimed team of Matt Fraction and David Aja (with some help from fantastic artists like Annie Wu, Francesco Francavilla, and always-great colorist Matt Hollingsworth), “Hawkeye” follows the Avenger who’s just a normal guy, and tells the stories of what he does when he’s not out avenging.

What Fraction and Aja ended up creating felt (and still feels) like nothing else in superhero comics, with a design-minded indie comics feel that led to phenomenal experiments like an issue that featured heavy use of sign language, or the one told entirely from the perspective of a dog who solves a murder. If you haven’t read it yet, now’s the time. 

 How to read it: Start with 2012’s “Hawkeye” #1 and read until the end. At the time this post is being written, the “end” is issue #20—the actual final two issues have suffered interminable delays. While #21 is available for purchase, it’s not currently on Marvel Unlimited.  #22 is currently scheduled for July 2015. Whether or not it comes out then remains to be seen. Don’t be afraid to dive in, though—#20 is a pretty good place to pause the narrative before the big two-part finale. Start reading "Hawkeye" here.

What to read next: Fraction and Aja first collaborated on another excellent book, “The Immortal Iron Fist” (which was co-written by Ed Brubaker and showcased a number of other artists). The first 16 issues are fantastic, and a good preview of what you could expect from Netflix’s forthcoming “Iron Fist” series. 



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