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The Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
The West End Hercules is full of wit and energy – but Hades stole the show
I WAS swept headfirst into Ancient Greece like a thunderbolt from Zeus himself - straight into a world of gods, grandeur and glittering choruses. Inspired by the iconic '90s cartoon, this modern revamp of Disney's Hercules was a visual feast packed with sass, sparkle and out-of-this-world vocals. 8 8 8 It's got laugh-out-loud comedy, whip-smart one-liners, and enough feel-good vibes to make even Hades crack a smile. It's a mythological mash-up bursting with energy, attitude and family-friendly fun - no matter your age, you'll leave grinning like Hercules after lifting Mount Olympus one-handed. It had all the songs you loved from the original film - plus fresh new tunes that hit harder than Hades' mood swings. While the show bursts with insane vocals and dazzling visuals - it's the villain who steals the limelight. With a devilish grin, razor-sharp one-liners and show-stopping swagger, Hades lights up the stage like the underworld on fire. Hades gave full pantomime villain - and I was living for it The sass, the sneers, the deliciously devilish energy - it all reminded me of another Disney icon: Scar from The Lion King. You know, the shady uncle with the silky voice, major superiority complex and a flair for the dramatic. So when I clocked that the actor Stephen Carile once played Scar on Broadway, it all made sense – the evil excellence was second nature. Sure, I missed the classic flaming blue hair - but the menacing energy was spot on and he owned that stage! The actor took Hades to a whole new level – becoming the ultimate scene-stealing baddie we love to hate. From the moment the Muses belted their first note - I was hooked Those talented ladies lit up the stage with god-tier vocals, sparkling stage presence and storytelling. They delivered powerhouse performances packed with soul, sass and serious talent. You felt like witnessing something truly magical. Pure vocal perfection - and easily the highlight of the whole night. Meanwhile, Hercules (Luke Brady) had the god-like charm and vocals to match - but let's just say emotional depth wasn't exactly his superpower. Meg (Mae Ann Jorolan), on the other hand, was a total scene-stealer. She brought back all the iconic sass we loved from the original - but dialled it up with killer sarcasm and added one-liners about dating that had the crowd howling. The sets were bigger and bolder than you can imagine They whisk you from the moody depths of the underworld to a rose garden so romantic it would make Cupid blush. It was a full-blown visual feast – a riot of colour, dazzling lights and eye-popping textures. The special effects were pure magic as mythical beasts were brought to life. And the character costumes? On point. Hera finally gets her moment Unlike the film - where she barely gets a word in - the stage version lets the queen of the gods strut her stuff. Dressed to slay, she delivers some brilliant banter with Zeus and even dishes out the advice that sets her son Hercules back on track. About time, eh? Meanwhile, Zeus is as helpful as a sunbed in the Sahara. Why not 5 stars? As a Disney superfan, I love it when an adaptation is faithful to the original story, but there were a couple of major moments from the animated classic that were nowhere to be seen in the stage show. Some of the magic got left behind - including the flying favourite Pegasus. The mythical winged horse is a huge part of the 1997 film, and I was hoping to see him soar above the stage. But no such luck. Sure, I get that it's tricky - but Wicked manages to levitate a broom, and Back To The Future has a flying DeLorean. They could've made it work. Also missing? The epic Titans battle, which was completely scrapped - despite being one of the film's most jaw-dropping sequences. It would've been a visual knockout - but instead, it felt like the show fizzled out just when it should've peaked. So, if you're expecting every magical moment from the film, prepare to be a little underwhelmed. The plot also felt a little rushed - sprinting through scenes faster than Hermes on a caffeine high. Although it was action-packed and bursting with brilliant one-liners, there was barely a second to breathe – or laugh – before we were hurtling into the next big moment. The pace was so full-on, I was scared to blink in case I missed something golden. The story missed those quiet, soul-searching moments where the characters could reflect and reveal more of their inner worlds. Still, if you like your theatre like a double espresso - quick, punchy and full of flavour - this one's for you. Disney might've hit pause on their live-action remakes, but thankfully, that rule doesn't apply to gods or stage shows - because Hercules was an absolute musical feast for the ears and eyes. Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London ★★★★ 8 8 8 8 8
The Guardian
17-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Archimedes knew the golden power of boredom – so why can't we stop bringing our phones into the bathroom?
Archimedes, the ancient Greek mathematician and inventor, was tasked with solving a tricky problem for King Hiero II of Syracuse. The story goes that the king suspected his new golden crown had been mixed with cheaper metals, but he didn't want it damaged. Archimedes had to figure out whether the crown was pure gold without melting it down. Tough brief. Then, one day, while sinking into a public bath, he noticed something: the water level rose as he slid in. The volume of water displaced was equal to the volume of his body. That was it! The key. He could weigh the crown and measure its volume by how much water it displaced. Archimedes was so thrilled he reportedly leapt out of the bath and ran naked through the streets screaming, 'Eureka!' – the sudden flash when your brain wanders off and comes back holding the answer like a prize. These moments don't usually happen when you're trying: they happen when you're not. When your brain is doing nothing, or at least pretending to. Walking. Driving. Showering. Zoning out in a university lecture. Or, say, a wife on the brink of divorce, nodding along while her husband's mouth foams at the sides as he monologues about cryptocurrency. 'I'm done,' she whispers. Eureka. There's a scientific name for this wandering mind magic: the Default Mode Network (DMN). It's your brain's background mode, active when you're not. It switches on when you're daydreaming, reminiscing or imagining fake conversations you'll never have. When you're 'doing nothing,' the DMN is doing everything. It's where creativity, reflection, and unexpected insight come from. And one of its greatest allies? Boredom. Boredom is not the enemy. It's the invitation. A quiet stage your brain builds to see what might show up. But these days, we don't let it. Boredom tries to knock, and we shove a screen in its face. The moment a little stillness arrives, in line, on the train, on the toilet, we reach for stimulation. Our brains never get to drop into the DMN. No daydreams. No deep thought. Just dopamine on loop. Even Reddit noticed the death of the idle mind. r/Showerthoughts, the subreddit born in 2013, was a shrine to those aimless, brilliant, dumb observations that bubble up when you're bored and wet. At its peak, it was full of lines like: 'Your stomach thinks all potatoes are mashed.' 'Clapping is just hitting yourself because you like something.' 'Is Sand called Sand because it's in between the sea and land?' It was silly, accidental genius. The internet's record of DMN activity. But over time, it changed. The posts got shinier. Less 'I just thought of this while shampooing' and more 'I've been drafting this for three days in photoshop.' People in the comments began calling it out: these weren't shower thoughts anymore. They were scheduled thoughts. Viral bait. Branded content in bullet point form. The shower thought had been domesticated. Trademarked. Monetised. But maybe it's simpler than that. Maybe it's not that the thoughts changed, maybe it's us. The shower and the toilet used to be our last bastions of solitude. Now we bring our phones. People listen to full albums while exfoliating their scalp. Take business calls while walking the dog. Check emails mid-poo. There's no more empty space for thought to wander through. We've filled every corner. And when there's no space, there's no spark. No boredom, no Eureka. No quiet, no insight. Just us, endlessly occupied. Expecting our next big idea to load, buffering behind five open tabs. So stop taking your phone to the toilet! Allow yourself that loo-time clarity! Miski Omar is a speech pathologist, writer and director from Sydney
Geek Girl Authority
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
The Best Progressive Jackpot Slots in 2025
In the expansive iGaming industry, there are various ways for players to place their stakes on their favourite games. An increasingly popular method of iGaming is online slots that feature progressive jackpots. Progressive jackpots have similar elements to traditional slots, incorporating the same themes and designs, as well as bonus features. These slots differ in the potential of triggering jackpot return values. A progressive jackpot slot, in particular, increases the jackpot amount each time the reels are spun without a jackpot being triggered, adding small shares of each spin to the total. The realm of online casino slots is constantly growing, making it a challenging task to find a specific progressive jackpot slot, therefore, this article will cover some of the most popular progressive jackpot slots available. Age of the Gods: God of Storms The Age of the Gods: God of Storms is an online slot released by the renowned developers Playtech in 2017. This slot game takes players on an adventure through a mythological world with an Ancient Greek theme. It features high-quality visuals and innovative game mechanics that provide a delightful gaming experience. The gameplay occurs on the floating island of Aeolia, a significant figure in Greek mythology, regarded as the home of the god of winds, Aeolus. The playgrid is arranged in a 5×3 layout that boasts 25 fixed paylines, enabling players to form matching symbol combinations. The progressive jackpot in this slot introduces an intriguing dynamic and an unpredictable gaming experience for players. The Age of the Gods: God of Storms slot utilises bonus features to elevate the play in this slot. The main bonus feature is the Wild Wind Respin feature, which can be triggered if players land a Ship Wild symbol that covers the full reel. If achieved, a God of Storms will appear on the right side of the reels and will blow the Ship Wild symbol one position to the left until the symbol has left the reels. Each time the God of Storms nudges the Ship Wild symbol, a +1 multiplier will be added to the final respin of the reels. The Wild symbols substitute for regular symbols to create or extend matching symbol combinations. Sweet Bonanza Sweet Bonanza is an online slot released by Pragmatic Play in 2019. This slot features a progressive jackpot in a candy-themed setting. It is packed with bonus features that enhance gameplay, along with thematic imagery that contributes to the joyful candy atmosphere. The gameplay takes place in a candy land with a variety of sweet treats dominating the backdrop. The playgrid is set in a large 6×5 layout that utilises the 'pays anywhere' mechanic. This mechanic requires players to land eight or more matching symbols anywhere on the reels to form combinations. A handful of bonus features combine to elevate the play in this slot. The main bonus is the Free Spins bonus, triggered if players land four or more Lollipop symbols on the reels in the same spin. If triggered, players could be granted free spins in a bonus mini-game with unique elements. In this feature, multipliers could come into play, which players could land on the reels. Another unique feature that this slot incorporates is the cascading reels. This allows matching symbol combinations to be form and disappear, leaving empty spaces for new symbols to replace them. The cascades are limitless and will only stop once there are no more matching symbol combinations. Mega Moolah Mega Moolah is one of the most renowned progressive jackpot slots and was a pioneering title that launched the progressive jackpot genre in the iGaming industry. Released by Games Global in 2006, the slot remains popular today, with various spin-off titles drawing inspiration from this classic game. It features a safari adventure theme that is well conveyed throughout gameplay. Unsurprisingly, the visuals may appear dated compared to modern slot releases; however, the slot evokes a nostalgic feeling that most modern slots do not capture. The game is played on a 5×3 playgrid with 10 fixed paylines, allowing players to land matching symbol combinations. A Free Spins feature in this Mega Moolah slot can be triggered if players land 3 or more Scatter symbols on the reels in the same spin. If triggered, players could be granted free spins of the reels, where all return values provided will be multiplied by 3x. The feature can be retriggered if players land three Scatter symbols in the bonus game. On top of this, the Mega Moolah slot also incorporates a wild symbol that can replace all regular symbols to create matching symbol combinations. Also, if players trigger combinations with the wild symbol present on the reels, the return value could be doubled. New Release Radar: New Books Coming Out on July 15 RELATED: New Release Radar: New Books Coming Out on July 8
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Giannis gives a potential answer on his future on a YouTube live stream
The NBA offseason has been a whirlwind for the Milwaukee Bucks. From dealing with Giannis trade rumors since before the NBA Draft Lottery, to getting rid of Damian Lillard to acquire Myles Turner from the Indiana Pacers in one morning, and re-signing almost all of their key free agents except for Brook Lopez. Yet, this entire time, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been living his best life in Greece all summer long, bringing some of the young guys to work out with him, including Andre Jackson Jr., Tyler Smith, and the recently cut Chris Livingston. Yet, that isn't the only thing Giannis has been doing, as today, for over three hours, he went on a YouTube live stream with popular streamer IShowSpeed: Amidst playing basketball on the court Giannis first dunked on, viewing the ruins of ancient Greece, and sharing a meal together, Speed asked the question that all of us have wanted to ask Giannis since the season ended: are you staying in Milwaukee? The Greek Freak responded with, 'Probably. We'll see. I love Milwaukee.' While the 'we'll see' portion was a little nerve-racking, overall it seems to point to Giannis having little desire to leave the city he's known for the last 12 years. There was one last message that Giannis delivered that makes it seem like he'll be in a Bucks uniform come October. After the two departed for the day after visiting the ruins, Speed FaceTimed Giannis while driving elsewhere in Greece, and Giannis told him to come to one of his games in Milwaukee: Giannis on the phone with IShowSpeed during his live stream, saying that he should come to one of his games in Milwaukee: — Jackson Gross (@ 2025-07-10T18:30:48.694Z Advertisement ESPN reacts to the Live Stream If there's something online of relevance, you know ESPN and their band of commentators will surely give reasonable takes on what was said. Of course, they did not do that, as ESPN's Brian Windhorst gave his take on in an appearance on Get Up, where after initially saying he won't analyze something Giannis said beachside in Greece, does just that: 'The thing about it is that he didn't give a difinitive answer... but what I will say is that the 'we'll see' that is essentially what five to six NBA teams are banking on. I know it sounds trivial but for years Giannis was completley locked in, him saying we'll see backs up what Shams [Charania] has been saying this entire summer which is that he might be more open minded than he was in the past and I would say the same thing. Probably Milwaukee, but we'll see and now I can quote Giannis on that, thank you very much.' I burst out laughing when I realized the contradiction of Windhorst saying that he won't analyze what Giannis said seaside in Greece, but then spends the next minute doing so. The entire time, he focuses on exactly one-third of what Giannis says and drives home the idea that Giannis is open-minded about leaving. Listen, it would be one thing if Giannis said, 'I don't know' or 'I'm weighing my options.' I would understand the the analysis from Windy, but the fact that the 'we'll see' is sandwiched in between 'probably' and 'I love Milwaukee' makes the whole thing mute. It's a laughable piece of analysis, and he's seemingly ignoring the other two parts to that answer. Advertisement If you watch the video, Windhorst seems so proud that now he can use that part of the answer against Giannis or use it as evidence later on if Giannis does decide to leave Milwaukee. It just seems so underhanded to be happy about using that bit of a quote against someone to prove a point in this context. It's the tone of voice that he uses that is very off-putting. In this line of work, of course, we want to hold people to what they say and anything they say we can use in our reporting, but the way Windy seems to be going about it is like he wants Giannis to leave so he can be right. A very self-centered and self-interested way to look at this situation that makes my skin crawl. What do you think about all of this news Giannis made overseas? What do you think about ESPN's coverage of this interview and the way Windhorst has gone about it? Let us know in the comments below. More from
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
What your snot can reveal about your health
Snot plays a powerful role in protecting us from disease – and its colour alone can provide insights into what's going on in our bodies. In Ancient Greece, snot was thought to be one of the four bodily fluids responsible for balancing human health and personality. The physician Hippocrates developed a theory stating that phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile were the four "humours". A person's balance of these humours could dictate their temperament; an excess of any of them could cause illness. For instance, phlegm was thought to be made in the brain and lungs, and during the cold and wet seasons, it could become too abundant and even cause epilepsy. Somebody with a phlegmatic personality would have a cold, damp and aloof character. Of course, we now know that snot doesn't affect people's personalities or cause diseases – rather, it helps to protect us from them. And though nobody likes a runny nose or flinging snot across the room in a sneeze, the mucus in our nasal passages is arguably one of the wonders of the human body. It protects us from intruders, and it has a unique composition that can reveal profound insights into what is going on inside us. Now scientists are hoping to hone the powers of snot to better diagnose and treat everything from Covid-19 to chronic lung conditions. The gooey substance shields the insides of our nose, moisturising the nasal passages, and trapping any bacteria, viruses, pollens, dirt, dust and pollution trying to get into our body through our airways. Aided by hundreds of tiny hairs, snot is a barrier between the outside world and our inner one. The adult body produces over 100 millitres of snot over the course of a day but children tend to be much snottier than adults because their bodies are learning to deal with being exposed to all of the world's molecules for the first time, says Daniela Ferreira, a professor of respiratory infection and vaccinology from the University of Oxford in the UK. With a simple glance, our snot's colour and consistency can already help us glean a little bit about what's going on: snot can be like a visual thermometer. A runny schnozzle with clear mucus suggests the body is likely expelling something that's irritating its sinuses, like pollen or dust. White mucus means a virus may have entered the premises, as the white is caused by the white blood cells called up to fight off intruders. When mucus turns denser and yellowish-green, it's just a lot of dead white blood cells accumulating after having gathered in great numbers and flushing out. If your snot is reddish or pink, it may be a little bloody: maybe you've blown your nose too much and irritated its insides. But looking at snot is just the first step. The snot microbiome While the gut microbiome – the ecosystem of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms that inhabit our bodies – is very much in the public consciousness, scientists think that the microbiome in our snot is equally important. In fact, scientists now believe that it's intricately linked to human health and the proper functioning of the immune system. Everybody has a unique snot microbiome. It is affected by sex, age, location, diet – and even whether you vape. The microbiome's makeup is what helps it fend off intruders, and some of these interactions are subtle. Research from 2024, for instance, found that whether potentially harmful Staphylococcus bacteria survive in the nose and infect a person, causing fever and pus-filled boils, depends on how the snot microbiome's bacteria hold onto iron. More like this:• How often should you poo?• What your earwax can reveal about your health• How often should you wash your feet? Ferreira is working to figure out exactly what a healthy snot microbiome looks like so that it can be put in an everyday nasal spray to boost snot health, like taking probiotics for gut health. "Imagine if you could alter what we have in our nose with lots of very good-guy species that stay there and colonise, and do not allow for the bad guys to come in and cause us to get sick," says Ferreira. Ferreira's colleagues have selected the bacteria they think make up the perfect schnozzle microbiome, and they're testing them to see if these bacteria can take over people's airways and last long enough to impact and improve their health. Since the snot's microbiome is so tightly linked with the immune system, says Ferreira, they are also studying it to fine-tune how to boost the immune system and even make it more receptive to vaccines. Research suggests that how a body reacts to a vaccine is altered by the type of microbiome a person has. Studies on the Covid-19 vaccine, for example, suggest it affected the snot's microbiome, and in turn, the microbiome affected how efficient the vaccine was. "The Covid-19 vaccines were great at stopping us from getting sick, but we continued to transmit the virus," says Ferreira. "We could actually develop much better vaccines [so] the next generation people don't even get sick, whether that is Covid-19 or flu or any other respiratory viruses – and it's all there in that snot immunity." The rise of diag-nosing While Ferreira's work pinpointing the exact formula for the perfect snot microbiome might take a couple of years, in Sweden, scientists have had a head start by transplanting healthy people's snot into those who are sick with a chronically blocked nose and hay fever, everyday symptoms of rhinosinusitis. The researchers asked 22 adults to shoot themselves up the nose with a syringe full of snot from healthy friends and partners each day for five days. They discovered that symptoms like cough and facial pain, for instance, dropped by almost 40% for up to three months in at least 16 of the patients. "That was great news to us, and no one reported any negative side effects," says Anders Martensson, a senior consultant in otorhinolaryngology and head and neck surgery from Helsingborg Hospital in Sweden, who led the study. These trials were inspired by work done in other laboratories about gut microbiomes, with faecal transplants, he says. That first pilot programme, however didn't gather much data about how these people's snot microbiomes changed and what happened to the specific bacteria in their nose, whether they increased, decreased, and so forth. So another larger and more precise trial is underway. In fact, snot can be a great barrier to chronic nose and lung diseases. Jennifer Mulligan, an otolaryngologist at the University of Florida, uses snot to study people with chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyps – a condition that affects about 5 to 12% of the global population. In the first years of her career, she needed to surgically extract nose tissue from rhinosinusitis patients, but that was invasive and limiting. Now, her research has shown that snot can be an accurate proxy to more closely examine what's happening inside the body when someone develops rhinosinusitis. "We're using it to whittle down who are really the guilty culprits here, who's really driving this condition?" says Mulligan, adding that every patient has a slightly different profile for what's causing their rhinosinusitis. Similarly, while treatment before was mostly trial and error – varying greatly from patient to patient, and sometimes costing tens of thousands of dollars for treatments lasting months – Mulligan suggests a snot analysis can quickly help identify the right treatment or surgery needed. Several clinical trials for Mulligan's technique are underway worldwide and companies are developing snot-analysing AI systems and devices. "We have learned so much that we could have never learned with just tissue biopsies. It's completely changed what we know about the disease, and it's going to change the way patients are diagnosed in the future and how they receive treatment," says Mulligan. Mulligan uses the same snot tools to study what causes people to lose their sense of smell, too. Her team has already found that a vitamin-D nasal spray could potentially help restore a sense of smell in people who have lost it due to inflammation from smoking. Plus, Mulligan says, what happens in the lungs happens in the nose and vice versa. So these diagnostic tools and therapies can be used for lung diseases too. New research suggests that by simply analysing how much of the IL-26 protein is present in a patient's snot, doctors can tell whether somebody is more or less susceptible to developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – a common smoker's disease, and the fourth most widespread cause of death in the world. With snot analyses, patients can be diagnosed early and treated rapidly. "Snot is the future of personalised medicine. I wholeheartedly believe that," says Mulligan. *DisclaimerAll content within this column is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. The BBC is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based on the content of this site. The BBC is not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites. Always consult your own GP if you're in any way concerned about your health. --
