Meghan Markle celebrates Princess Lilibet's 4th birthday with rare photos
Meghan Markle has shared a rare photo of her and Prince Harry's daughter, Princess Lilibet, to mark her fourth birthday.
'Happy birthday to our beautiful girl!' Meghan wrote in the caption of an Instagram post.
'Four years ago today, she came into our lives - and each day is brighter and better because of it. Thanks to all of those sending love and celebrating her special day!' she continued.
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A post shared by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (@meghan)
The photo carousel has two black and white photos of Meghan and Lilibet together, one of them on a boat ride. In the second photo, Meghan is cradling Lili close to her chest as a newborn.
In February 2021, the Duke and Duchess announced they were expecting their second child. This came after Meghan shared her experience of suffering a miscarriage in July 2020 in an essay published in the New York Times.
In May, the 43-year-old also shared a snap of their eldest, Prince Archie, in celebration of his crown birthday.
In a 2024 interview with CBS, Meghan said of her children:
'They're amazing. But all you want to do as parents is protect them. And so, as we can see what's happening in the online space, we know that there's a lot of work to be done there, and we're just happy to be able to be a part of change for good.'
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New York Times
12 minutes ago
- New York Times
The Surprising Joy of Lego's $5 Mini Builds
Early on the morning of my 34th birthday, I found myself at Target in search of shampoo to get through a weeklong trip visiting a friend. There I was, standing in the checkout line, when something small caught my eye. Without hesitation, I grabbed it. It was a $5 Lego Mini Build of a Star Wars TIE Interceptor. This was no ordinary impulse purchase. It was a bell tolling me back to a long string of elementary school birthdays, when Lego sets always made their way into my hands — an occupational hazard of having two grandfathers who were engineers. I couldn't pinpoint the last time I'd bought myself a Lego set, but the year certainly began with 19. As soon as I got back, I spilled the mere 48 pieces of the TIE Interceptor set across the desk in my friend's guest room. Hour by hour, I'd return to it over the course of the day, snapping together a few more pieces, following one more half step in the instruction booklet, until finally, just before midnight, the build sat completed in the palm of my hand. These small sets — known in the Lego community as polybags — have since become a checkout-aisle purchase on every Target trip I make. For the low price of $5, I can briefly go back in time and enter the meditative trance of clicking bricks. Before that fateful Target run, I hadn't consciously decided to stop buying Lego. It was a thing that just kind of happened. First, people stopped buying sets for me, assuming I'd grown out of them. Then I stopped spending what little money I managed to make as a kid on Lego. And gradually the habit left my life entirely. It certainly didn't help that, as an adult, I've almost always lived in small New York apartments, which offer relatively little space for me to spread out and assemble massive sets and even less space to store them once completed. The other issue is that most of the sets I might want — the sprawling Rivendell set from The Lord of the Rings, or the mammoth Titanic, or a Millennium Falcon the size of a large pizza — cost several hundred dollars. An X-Wing Starfighter in pursuit of a TIE Interceptor. Rebecca Hartje Polybag sets represent, for me, the perfect balance of everything I loved about Lego without any of the obstacles that made me stop buying sets in the first place. They are so small that I can effectively build them on my lap. Once completed, they take up virtually no space, fitting neatly in a drawer or discreetly on a shelf. I don't mind looking at them, and their diminutive size makes them oddly adorable as I stash them away in surprising corners of my apartment. Most importantly, they are $5 — a sum of money just below the threshold where I begin to mentally account for my spending. Considering the cost of some big sets, you might think that $5 wouldn't get you very far in the world of Lego, but these are some of the most rewarding dollars I've spent. These sets are the perfect impulse purchase. I never finish one and ask myself, 'Did I really need this?' Rarely do quick, little treats deliver so thoroughly on their promise. Polybags usually have anywhere from 50 to 100 pieces. Some include a minifigure. And almost all of them are from big, banner Lego themes, like Star Wars or the Lego Creator line. They often include an ingenious repurposing of pieces from other sets: The thrusts on an X-Wing Starfighter, for example, seem to be lightsaber hilts from larger Star Wars sets. This season, I'm particularly fond of the Botanicals Mini Build, Field Flowers, four stalks from different plants that now live in a tiki cocktail glass in my living room. And as a bird nerd, I also like the Lego Creator Tropical Toucan and the bed of flowers sitting at its feet (which has crept up in price to roughly $10). A tropical toucan with a bed of flowers is one of three builds possible in this set. Alexander Aciman/NYT Wirecutter And I am not alone in my love of these little sets. 'I do often grab a Lego polybag in the checkout aisle if the theme catches my eye,' says Wirecutter writer and resident AFOL (Adult Fan of Lego) Joshua Lyon. 'The bag tends to sit unopened on my desk. Months, sometimes years later, I'll find the little treasure buried under office detritus, and that's what delights me — Lego polybags are small and inexpensive enough to become a surprise treat at some point down the line.' Something about the constraints of the size, and the need for polybags to be both satisfying to build and satisfying to behold when completed, traces along the edges of minimalism. They're like the haiku of Lego sets. They always feel very thoughtfully designed. As a result, polybag sets rarely seem incomplete, too small, or dissatisfying. A polybag set is exactly what it is supposed to be, no more, no less. They certainly never feel like tawdry, corporate money grabs. Some fanfare surrounds polybag releases, too. According to Joshua, many of the most sought-after polybags are Star Wars –themed. The downside of their popularity is that some polybags tend to sell out quickly. (I had to visit three different Targets before I finally found a mini Millennium Falcon. ) This set is surprisingly complex and rewarding to build for how few pieces it uses, and it yields a colorful and adorably small display piece. What I like most about a polybag is that putting one together is a bit like a mindfulness exercise. If I go slowly, building one can last for an entire hour-long episode of TV. If I am away on a trip, something about sitting in a hotel room alone and snapping bricks together over the course of an hour can feel grounding. I am always present when working on a polybag set, even when I am physically elsewhere. Although I usually find mine at Target, they're also available for purchase at Walmart and Barnes & Noble. If there's a particular set I'm after that is either sold out in stores or from a previous season, I can usually find it on eBay for slightly more than the $5 retail price. All 77 pieces of the Field Flowers polybag prior to assembly. Alexander Aciman/NYT Wirecutter The botanicals don't look quite like real flowers, but they are also impossible to overwater. Rebecca Hartje All 77 pieces of the Field Flowers polybag prior to assembly. Alexander Aciman/NYT Wirecutter At times, these smaller sets can feel like a gateway to more aggressive investment in larger Lego sets. I certainly feel a greater magnetic pull toward the Lego aisle in stores now, whereas previously I would have absentmindedly passed it by altogether. The fact that Lego officially calls polybags Recruitment Bags only reaffirms that their true purpose is to reel in lapsed Lego fans and still-uninitiated children. But larger sets will always lack the ephemerality of polybags — the fleeting, paper-crane-like nature of a Mini Build, which is the reason I love them so much to begin with. They enter my life almost as quickly and as easily as they come together. Fortunately for me, the constraints of real estate and square footage also help keep me in check. But if you ever come over to my apartment and dare to open my medicine cabinet, you might just find a TIE Interceptor pointed right at you. This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Megan Beauchamp. From a van Gogh piece to a retro radio, these are our favorite Lego sets for adults. Our kid testers, and their parents, loved these Lego sets. Our resident Lego obsessive tested nine sets of the flashy, fake flora. Here's what to know before you make (or give) your own garden of earthly delights.
Forbes
17 minutes ago
- Forbes
What Format Should You Choose For How To Train Your Dragon 2025?
How To Train Your Dragon will be getting an HDR by Barco release for true HDR presentation but with ... More only a few capable screens worldwide IMAX and Dolby Cinema will be major quality choices. The How to Train Your Dragon franchise has been a great success story for director Dean DeBlois in the animated world, but taking a leaf out of Disney's playbook, it has now taken the leap into the realm of live action. It retains Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast, with Mason Thames as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Nico Parker as his love interest, Astrid Hofferson. Among the other cast members, we also get Nick Frost as Gobber the Belch, who was also recently announced as Hagrid in the upcoming TV remake of the Harry Potter franchise. Resembling to my eyes, a child-friendly version of House of the Dragon, the new How to Train Your Dragon is big, bold family entertainment, so it's no wonder that it is being released in a plethora of formats, so we'll run through them here to help you decide which one to choose. With a behind-the-scenes trailer IMAX to accompany it, DeBlois says that the film has been made 'specifically with IMAX in mind.' Captured using the Arri Alexa 35 and Arri Alexa LF IMAX, both of which are 'Filmed For IMAX' certified, for over 50 minutes of its runtime, the film will expand to the 190:1 aspect ratio in all IMAX screens. This is likely to be for the big action sequences. Note, though, that this isn't the full-fat IMAX experience that you'll get with films shot with IMAX film cameras with 1.43:1 aspect ratio sequences, but there's no doubt that the flying sequences will be impressive on the extra-large IMAX screens. Also, note that not all IMAX screens are equal. The best ones will use laser projectors for a brighter picture, and most of these will also have 12-channel sound, which does better with overhead effects for more immersiveness. The movie will also get an IMAX 3D release, but my local cinema only has two showings in this format, so you'll have to hunt for this if you're a fan of stereoscopy. Sadly, I found IMAX 3D to be disappointing for the recent Marvel Thunderbolts movie, but technologies such as TrueCut Motion can help with motion blur and perceived brightness, so unless it's confirmed that this tech has been used for this release, I wouldn't recommend 3D in this case. What can be confirmed is that it has had an HDR by Barco grade —the projection technology that makes full use of the dynamic range that the digital cameras used are capable of capturing. As such, this will be the top choice for image quality. Sadly, the projectors are only available in six screens worldwide, and not all of them are showing the movie on their HDR-capable screens. This includes Cineworld London Leicester Square, which is instead showing the new Ballerina movie (which does have an HDR by Barco grade at least) and Mission: The Final Reckoning, which is top draw but doesn't have an HDR grade. At least you'll get more consistency if you choose to see it at a Dolby Cinema. Having seen the trailer in this format at the Dolby screening room in its London HQ (more on this coming soon), I can attest that the intense colors from the greenery and the dragon flames make it a delight for the eyes, while the Dolby Atmos audio is a great match for the swirling flight scenes. If you can't get to IMAX or Dolby screen but still want a large image and great audio, then seek out a premium large-format screen. Every chain has its own branding for these, so look out for Cinemark XD, Cineplex UltraAVX, Xtreme Xscape, Prime at AMC, Regal RPX, and in the UK, Odeon iSense and Cineworld Superscreen. These will all give you 4K laser projection, Dolby Atmos, and decent seats, so it's worth the extra. If you want something really fun, though, consider 4DX, which, for How to Train Your Dragon, is combined with 3D. As such, you might not mind the motion blur as you'll be being thrown around by the moving seats in time with the on-screen action, with rumblers in the seats will make you feel every crash landing, which to me sounds like a ton of fun. ScreenX is also available, which offers extra footage shown on screens that run down the sides of the auditorium. Save for Grand Turismo, where the side-screens were amazing for the cockpit scenes, I've yet to be convinced by ScreenX—though I could see how it could all to the immersiveness of the flying scenes. Aside from this, there's regular RealD 3D in standard screens, but there's a danger it will be an aging Xenon bulb, which could hurt the experience by delivering a dim picture. Personally, you know there's a laser projector in play in your particular chosen screen; if you're not going to choose one of the above formats, I'd avoid it and stick with regular 2D. But with so many other, much more exciting ways of seeing How to Train Your Dragon, it would seem a shame not to take advantage and jump aboard one of them.
Geek Tyrant
19 minutes ago
- Geek Tyrant
Mike Flanagan on THE LIFE OF CHUCK: Dance, Death, and Defying Genre Expectations — GeekTyrant
Mike Flanagan is no stranger to horror. Over the past decade, he's built a fiercely loyal fanbase through intimate, unsettling explorations of grief, trauma, and the supernatural, usually with a Stephen King book in one hand and a camera in the other. But his latest film, The Life of Chuck , is something else entirely. It's still strange. It's still King. But it's also joyous, hopeful, and, packed with dancing. Speaking with Variety, Flanagan explained how the story arrived at a moment of personal crisis, and how its emotional impact altered the course of his creative path. 'This story came into my life at a very interesting time, because I read it in April 2020. The pandemic lockdown is a month old... it hit close to home, to the point that I was initially reluctant to finish reading it. I didn't know if I could take it.' But something shifted. 'By the end of it, I was shocked that I'd been taken from that place into a whole different headspace of optimism, gratitude and joy. I was crying, and not tears of sadness.' That emotional shift became the foundation of The Life of Chuck , a movie Flanagan describes as possibly his most personal work. 'If I could make it into a film that could do that for one other person... then what an incredible opportunity,' he said. Tom Hiddleston leads the film as Chuck, whose life is told in reverse across three acts—beginning at the end of the world and unraveling toward childhood. The narrative structure is unconventional, and Flanagan was adamant about preserving it. 'Life only makes sense when you look back. If you started with his childhood and worked it all the way up, it doesn't seem to hold that same wisdom... the catharsis of looking back and seeing the connections.' That insistence on nontraditional storytelling was a major reason Flanagan made the movie independently. 'I'm certain that if we had tried to do this through the traditional studio system... it would have been mandated to make it far more ordinary.' The film features a major dance sequence with Hiddleston and co-star Annalise Basso, choreographed by Mandy Moore and scored by live drumming, and it was intimadating. Flangan said: 'My favorite movie of all time is Bob Fosse's All That Jazz. I wasn't going to presume to tell Mandy Moore how to choreograph... My job was to capture them creating this spontaneous, joyful experience.' To prepare, Flanagan and cinematographer Eben Bolter studied dance scenes from the silent film era all the way through Hollywood's Golden Age, crafting a sequence that 'would ideally dance with them.' 'It wasn't even so much in the filming of it, but in the editing. Finding a way for me, as the editor, to try to become the Invisible Dancer... It's one of the most complicated sequences I've ever been involved in.' Of course, no Flanagan project based on a King story would be complete without the King himself. The director described their creative partnership as respectful, loose, and built on trust. 'He's very serious that the book is the book, and the movie is the movie, and he doesn't want to influence your creative expression. 'He gets approval on all casting. He's reading the scripts and sending his thoughts... but mostly he backs off and then we talk extensively about it after the fact.' By the time Chuck came along, King gave him the green light without hesitation. 'He was very much like, 'You do you,' and he loved the movie.' As for what's next, Flanagan's tackling Carrie as a series—and that took a bit more convincing. King's initial response? ''Why?' His first response was, 'Leave her alone. She's been through enough.'' But once Flanagan laid out his vision, King changed his tune. 'Then he said, 'Ohh, now I'm interested, just as a fan.'' The Life of Chuck might not look like a Mike Flanagan film on the surface, but beneath its dance beats and surreal optimism is the same deep empathy and strong storytelling that's always defined his work. It's still about confronting mortality. It's just doing it with a little more joy.
