Latest news with #BedChem
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
The Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz for Aug. 9
Greetings, quotes readers! It was another newsy week, so let's get right into it. Lollapalooza wrapped up Sunday in Grant Park following four days of music and can't-miss performances. Sabrina Carpenter closed out the festival with a jam-packed set, featuring her hit songs 'Espresso' and 'Bed Chem' and a special appearance from Chicago's own Earth, Wind & Fire. Sunday also kicked off a weeklong saga over Texas' redistricting efforts. Dozens of Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives fled to Illinois and other blue states to deny their Republican colleagues the quorum needed to redraw five congressional districts in the GOP's favor. The House responded by issuing civil warrants to arrest those absent politicians and bring them to the state Capitol. In a joint news conference Tuesday, Democratic leaders expressed support for the Texas lawmakers, and Gov. JB Pritzker made an appearance on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,' saying they were welcome in Illinois. On Thursday, the FBI agreed to assist Texas law enforcement in locating the politicians — despite the fact that their civil warrants are unenforceable outside of Texas. By Friday, officials took another route in their bid to bring the Democratic House members back to Texas, asking a downstate Illinois court to compel state police to enforce those warrants. President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs took effect Thursday, raising import taxes on dozens countries. The president also announced that he will impose a 100% tariff on computer chips made outside the United States. Economists say American consumers will likely foot some of those increased business costs in the form of higher prices. Here's what to expect. In other news from around the globe, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that Israel intends to take full control of the Gaza Strip, Trump announced that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet next Friday in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine and the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings that killed more than 210,000 people. Locally, Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago ceased most of its operations, following Medicare funding cuts. United Airlines issued a ground stop Wednesday evening for departing flights nationwide due to a tech issue with the system that houses flight information, causing more than 1,000 delays at the Chicago-based carrier. And on Friday, a federal judge denied bond for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan pending his appeal on corruption charges. Meanwhile, in the world of Chicago sports, the Bears are preparing for their preseason opener Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, the Cubs are hoping to make a postseason run and, after wearing No. 88 for 16 seasons with the Blackhawks, Aug. 8 has officially been declared Patrick Kane Day in Chicago. The unofficial end of summer is marked in Chicago with the annual Bud Billiken Parade, a back-to-school celebration that showcases Chicago's talented young residents. The parade kicks off Saturday in the Bronzeville neighborhood, but if that's not your speed, there's no shortage of events going on around the city this weekend, from Northalsted Market Days to Wilco at The Salt Shed and the Windy City Comedy Fest. So get out there for some fun this weekend, Chicago! That's all for now. Here's the Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz for Aug. 3 to 9. Missed last week? You can find it here or check out our past editions of Quotes of the Week.
Los Angeles Times
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
When a life coach manifests nothing for you but debt and delusion
When Anela Pasalic moved from her rural hometown in Småland, Sweden, to study in the capital of Stockholm, she remembers feeling isolated and severely depressed. It was then that she happened across a glamorous spiritual guru. Pasalic watched on her phone screen as Kathrin Zenkina shared, from roughly 5,500 miles away in Los Angeles, how she turned her life around through manifestation, which is the philosophy that we can will things into existence by believing they'll happen. 'It just felt like she was an ordinary girl who went for it and had amazing shifts in her life. She also seemed very kind, caring and understanding,' Pasalic says. For Pasalic, Zenkina felt like an online best friend — one who boasts almost 450,000 followers on Instagram, identifies herself as a 'seven-figure entrepreneur' and sells manifestation courses through her business, the Manifestation Babe Academy. Pasalic, who first encountered Zenkina in 2018 when she was 23, took out a payment plan to cover a $1,300 program that Zenkina advertised as the only course one would need to manifest their dreams. Now 30, she estimates she has spent more than $6,000 on Manifestation Babe Academy courses. To pay for them, she borrowed money from family and skipped payments on other bills, like student loans. This was partially due to Zenkina's suggestion that behaving as though you have money is a technique for attracting it. 'I wanted to manifest better circumstances, like me being happy, me having better friendships, me feeling aligned with life,' she explains. Zenkina declined to comment. Although manifestation has been around since the 1800s, it has moved from the margins to the spotlight amid the recent wellness boom fueled by social media. By summer 2020, Google searches for the term 'manifestation' increased, and ample books and podcasts on the practice were released. Since then, the term has been used colloquially (if often semi-ironically) in both pop culture and in everyday life: Sabrina Carpenter employed it in her song 'Bed Chem,' and in 2024, 'manifest' was Cambridge Dictionary's word of the year. At the same time, some life coaches began incorporating manifestation into their services. Their guidance, from relationship to financial to career, can cost $50 per month to thousands of dollars per course. And some followers, like Pasalic, may end up feeling cheated and confused. The life coaching arena is largely unregulated. Although coaches can receive certifications from various bodies, not all of them do, and these certifications vary in legitimacy as there is no overarching board. 'Coaching is not a regulated field, it's not a regulated practice. … When you see a licensed professional, such as myself or other psychologists, we have accountability to our licensing body,' explains Lynn F. Bufka, head of practice at the American Psychological Association. What's more, anyone can call themselves a coach. Zenkina, who doesn't advertise that she has certifications, teaches manifesting, journaling, tapping specific points on the body while focusing on particular thoughts and taking actions that feel 'aligned' with one's desires. She has clients record themselves vocalizing their wants, turning down the volume on the recording until it's inaudible, overlaying it with calming music and listening to it on repeat — a technique known as 'subliminal hypnosis.' Pasalic attended online programs that involved prerecorded webinars alongside worksheets and live Q&As. Pasalic followed Zenkina with religious fervor, but her life didn't change. She began to feel helpless and out of control, especially as most of Zenkina's teachings focused on inner work over practical change. (As manifestation is intangible, it can be difficult for clients to ascertain whether or not their coaching is 'working.') 'In many ways, manifesting takes the problems with life coaching to a new level, further moving the process away from the concrete, practical advice that coaching should be about and into the abstract, occult, less researched and even riskier realm,' says Dr. Elias Aboujaoude, a psychiatry professor at Stanford University, a research scientist at Cedars-Sinai and the author of 'A Leader's Destiny: Why Psychology, Personality and Character Make All the Difference.' Zenkina warned her followers that their lives would fall apart before they improved, and that the universe would help them in the '11th hour.' So Pasalic trudged on. Then, in January 2020, her parents convinced her to visit a doctor who prescribed her an antidepressant. The medication helped, but then Zenkina said something that made Pasalic doubt its effectiveness. On a live Q&A, according to Pasalic, Zenkina said antidepressants can help people get to a higher vibration (spiritual parlance for happiness and positivity), but then, perhaps, they should let them go. 'I had been on antidepressants for maybe 10 months. And I was just like, 'Oh, maybe she's right. Maybe I should quit antidepressants; maybe I'm better now,' recalls Pasalic. 'If you don't have any expertise in mental health, you might dangerously cross a line into a territory where you really need to have some expertise in order to be effective,' says Bufka, regarding coaches giving medical advice. Pasalic says she had a wake-up call when midway through a roughly $2,400 Sovereign Money course — which promised to help disciples 'hack the money game using the spiritual laws of money manifestation,' create 'generational wealth for lifetimes' and 'become recession proof' — didn't work. She asked for a refund, but was denied. 'I was just so delusional,' Pasalic says. 'I was stuck in my life for seven years because I believed what she was teaching.' To vent, she took to the Life Coach Snark subreddit — one of several forums where people share their experiences with life coaches they suspect are taking advantage of people — and a deluge of similar tales came in. Pasalic says members of the various subreddits fear retribution for speaking out. Nevertheless, the camaraderie was cathartic. 'It felt comforting knowing other people were validating my feelings and what I went through,' she says. Dane Schwaebe, too, was depressed and unhappy with his life when he stumbled into the coaching universe. A friend had recommended he look into Nick Unsworth, the charismatic founder of Life on Fire, a spiritual life and business coaching program which promises to help people unleash their 'god-given potential.' On LinkedIn, he boasts certifications in hypnosis; neuro-linguistic programming, an unproven form of therapy that involves reprogramming how people process information; and time line therapy, which aims to teach people to respond to current circumstances without being informed by the past. Schwaebe says he was seduced by how Unsworth presents on social media: He lives in a large house in Texas, drives a Dodge Viper sports car and, to Schwaebe, kind of resembles Channing Tatum. He's also a family man, featuring his wife and three kids heavily in his Instagram content. In 2018, Schwaebe signed up for a free introductory event in San Diego, about an hour's drive from his Temecula home. Per Schwaebe's account, it lasted from early in the morning until late at night, with a 20-minute lunch break, and attendees were asked to turn their phones off and put them away. As well as a group visit to church, Schwaebe says, the event featured new-age spirituality techniques like group meditation, Reiki and manifestation. Unsworth also allegedly regaled attendees with the story of the time he was deep in debt and turned his life around through coaching (a recurring theme in his content.) 'They offer a light, you know? They're kind of like angler fish … You're down and you're in this darkness, and you see a light,' reflects Schwaebe. Unsworth did not respond to multiple requests for comment through his website's contact form, email and Instagram. After the free event, Schwaebe says he paid $6,000 for Life on Fire offerings. Per Schwaebe, one course called 'Abundance' involved participants shouting a description of the person they wanted to become while a member of Unsworth's team evaluated how much their eyes widened as they yelled — the wider, the better. Attendees also gathered in a circle to make a confession and confront a group member who resembled someone who had hurt them. Schwaebe chose a woman who reminded him of his birth mom and, per instruction, let it all out, which involved screaming and crying. One of the testimonies on the course's website reads, 'my favorite part of the event was breaking through generational sins, shame and regret.' 'I'm a perfect candidate for this sh—. I had a credit card to cover the coaching balance and was in a depressed, wounded state. I was willing to throw money at whatever would theoretically make me better,' says Schwaebe. The title of 'life coach' could potentially cause confusion, says Aboujaoude. 'When life becomes your topic, you are a de facto therapist,' he says. 'While any new helping profession is a welcome addition to our well-being landscape, this totally unregulated Wild West risks doing serious harm.' Another Life on Fire event, Schwaebe says, guided attendees on how to manifest money, freedom and their own business. Schwaebe grew uneasy when Unsworth used it to pitch another course, suggesting those who couldn't afford it ask someone they know to help pay for it. He also offered a commission for enticing friends and family to join, framing it as a business opportunity, says Schwaebe, who had signed up for the program via his friend's affiliate link. Unsworth also offers a course teaching people how to become a life and business coach in 90 days. Indeed, over the past few years, coaches coaching coaches have become a key component of the industry's business model. Today, Schwaebe says he is doing better. He's been diagnosed with depression and ADHD; he takes medication and sees a therapist. He's also set up an online marketing business, the success of which he attributes to no one but himself. His advice for anyone considering following a life coach with a manifestation focus? 'Don't drink the Kool-Aid.' So how can people seeking life and emotional support — whatever the form — navigate that search safely, particularly given the onslaught of coaches with polished social media presences? Bufka recommends asking the practitioner all of the questions you can. 'It's very appropriate to ask questions. How do you know this is effective? When should I expect to see some changes? What will we do to adjust if I'm not seeing the kinds of changes [I need]? You know, asking questions like that can help somebody make a more informed decision,' she says. She also recommends enlisting the help of a friend, who can weigh in if things start feeling off. And if someone suspects they need mental health support, a qualified professional would best serve their needs, Bufka says. 'Seeing the professional with the education and experience in the domain in which you're struggling is going to be really important,' she says. Today, Pasalic says she still struggles sometimes because of how much she invested into (and relied on) Zenkina's teachings, but she feels more independent. 'I'm so, so much better and feeling much happier,' she says. 'I feel so much more like myself than I did before.'
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Sabrina Carpenter decides to tone down her concerts; switched Juno positions with a cannon to fire t-shirts
Sabrina Carpenter , the 'Espresso' singer, is renowned for her classy confidence, relatable lyrics, and one-of-a-kind concert shows. Recently, she performed at Hyde Park, London, with a crowd of 65,000, and she reportedly decided to tone down the spicy, controversial choreography. Sabrina Carpenter's backlash Sabrina has been making music for about a decade, but her viral moments were from the shows where she did 'Juno positions' or the racy choreography on 'Bed Chem' during the tour. However, she faced a lot of backlash from the critics, who opposed her dance routines, citing her influence on young teenagers. Adding to the fuel, Carpenter's album cover was heavily criticized by the fans, calling the image 'regressive' and 'violent. ' What did Sabrina Carpenter change? According to the BBC, the 26-year-old reportedly turned the level down in the recent concert show at London's BST Festival on Saturday night, making it a little more 'family-friendly.' At one point, Sabrina flashed a 'parental discretion' graphic on screen while she was performing 'Bed Chem' from her 'Short n' Sweet' album. She removed her signature position part, which was highly anticipated by fans, and used a cannon to fire t-shirts into the crowd. Despite the branding changes, Sabrina has also been shifting gears towards her upcoming album 'Man's Best Friend,' where her appearance and costumes have visibly changed during the shows. 'London, thank you so much for having us tonight, this has to be one of the biggest shows I've played in my entire life,' she said on Saturday. Recently, the 'Please Please Please' singer shared an alternate album cover for 'Man's Best Friend.' Jesting that it's approved by God, she shared an image where she is holding a man's arm in the swarm and looking in another direction.
Hindustan Times
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Sabrina Carpenter dialed back the heat during her ‘magical' Hyde Park concert: Here's why
Sabrina Carpenter knows just how to make heads turn. The Espresso singer's performance on Saturday night at London's BST Festival was no exception. She thrilled a crowd of 65,000 with her set, the BBC reported. However, she toned down her racy performances to a more family friendly show. The singer expressed her gratitude that the audience had chosen to watch her perform on Saturday, adding that "London is so fun and there's so much to do here." Sabrina Carpenter's family-friendly performance at London's BST Festival entertained a crowd of 65,000. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)(AFP) Also Read: Justin Bieber, Hailey Bieber's video from Martin Garrix's concert goes viral; netizens say 'so uncomfortable to watch' Sabrina Carpenter's London performance Sarbina's event at London's Hyde Park featured a graphic advising "parental discretion" as she sang Bed Chem. The pop icon swapped her usual sexually suggestive performance for her track Juno to utilize a cannon and fire t-shirts into the audience. For Magic Mike fans, there was also a snippet of Pony by Ginuwine, the BBC reported. Notably, the Please Please Please singer's performances have been a subject of complaints for their racy lyrics and dance routines. Sabrina also dropped a set of images from her show on Saturday. The carousel featured her in a little black dress for the event, and the caption read, 'NIGHT 1 HYDE PARK magical and unbelievable. 65,000 of your beautiful faces and we get the privilege of doing it all again tonight!! See you soon i love you.' Also read: Jennifer Aniston makes it clear: season 4 of The Morning Show 'is not Friends' Sabrina Carpenter's new album The Grammy winner is set to release her new album, Man's Best Friend, on August 29. The album's artwork was at the center of a controversy as well. The initial image showed Sabrina on her hands and knees while someone pulled her hair. As per Variety, many people had termed the image as degrading to women. Sabrina Carpenter had dropped an alternate cover for Man's Best Friend, quipping that it was 'approved by God.' The black-and-white photo featured the 26-year-old dancing, laying her head on a man's shoulder while gazing in the distance. Sabrina's new single, Manchild, was released earlier this year. FAQs What did Sabrina Carpenter say that was censored? Sabrina's performance of Please Please Please and her speech at the Grammys 2025 was censored for swear words. What TV show made Sabrina Carpenter famous? The show Girl Meets World made Sabrina Carpenter a household name. When is Sabrina Carpenter's new album out? Her album Man's Best Friend will be released on August 29.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sabrina Carpenter tones down headline show - but she's still at her best
Sabrina Carpenter brought her signature sugary pop sound to a crowd of 65,000 at London's BST Festival on Saturday night. The 26-year-old has built a brand around sexual confidence and racy lyrics, which were noticeably toned down as the US singer embraced a more family friendly show in London's Hyde Park. At one point a graphic flashed up on screen advising "parental discretion" as Carpenter launched into album track Bed Chem. She ditched her usual sexually suggestive performance on song Juno and instead used a cannon to fire t-shirts into the crowd. Despite these changes she was still at her best, storming through a 17-song tracklist that comprised her biggest hits, charming the crowd with her Hollywood smile and incredibly bouncy hair. Carpenter writes music for women of the dating app generation and her songs are filled with the type of anecdotes you've heard over Friday night drinks with the girls - from the anger over not getting closure to the fear of a man embarrassing you when they meet all your friends. Perhaps that is what makes her so relatable. She's a talented singer and dancer who shot to fame on the Disney Channel, but she could also so easily be your mate who brings over ice cream when you're going through a break-up. Her ability to switch from a sassy upbeat dance number to a vulnerable, acoustic solo performance is also impressive. She's an accomplished performer for someone whose breakout hit, Espresso, is little over a year old. But much to the surprise of many, she's been in this game for a very long time. The Pennsylvania-born star began posting videos of herself on YouTube at the age of 10 and came third in a competition to find the next Miley Cyrus a year later. After starring in a few small acting roles, the singer became a bona fide Disney star in 2013 when she was cast in TV series Girl Meets World. She began releasing music the following year and has released six albums to date, but has only recently received global recognition. Carpenter became the first female artist to hold both the number one and number two positions on the UK singles chart for three consecutive weeks in 2024 and she also became the first artist in 71 years to spend 20 weeks at the top of the charts with Espresso. From watching her live, it appears she's been waiting patiently for this moment for quite some time, to perform on the biggest stages around the world and to thousands of fans - something she references a few times between songs. She told the crowd she was "so, so grateful" that the audience had chosen to spend their Saturday evening with her, gushing that "London is so fun and there's so much to do here". Much of the cheekiness she has built her brand on was weaved in throughout her performance, including 1950s style infomercials advertising sprays that erase no-good men from your life and mattresses that are perfect for "activities". But aside from a racy rendition of Bed Chem and a snippet of Pony by Ginuine (one for the Magic Mike fans) the show was more PG than expected. Perhaps it was due to the large volume of young children stood in the crowd amongst us Gen Zs and millennials. Or perhaps the pop princess needs a break from making headlines. The first was back in March, when her Brit Awards opening performance was criticised for being too racy for pre-watershed television. Media watchdog Ofcom received more than 800 complaints, with the majority relating to Carpenter's choreography with dancers dressed in Beefeater outfits. Then in June this year she was once again under fire for sharing artwork for her new album, Man's Best Friend, which showed her on her hands and knees in a short dress whilst an anonymous man in a suit grabbed her hair. Carpenter then revealed alternative artwork she said was "approved by God" and shows her holding the arm of a suited man. Criticism for the original artwork came from charities including Glasgow Women's Aid which supports victims of domestic abuse. It said Carpenter's album cover was "regressive" and "promotes an element of violence and control". Heather Binning of Women's Rights Network, also told the BBC that violence against women should "never be used as satire". Sabrina Carpenter fans queue for 12 hours Sabrina Carpenter reveals new album art 'approved by God' after outcry Priest replaced after Sabrina Carpenter shoots music video in his church But what Saturday's performance showed is that Carpenter is a true professional, someone who can easily adapt both her style and setlist to cater to different audiences. She ended the show perfectly, taking to a crane that panned across the huge mass of people, thrilling fans and giving them the opportunity for a close-up video to post on their social media. "Damn nobody showed up," she joked, adding: "London thank you so much for having us tonight, this has to be one of the biggest shows I've played in my entire life." She wrapped up with Espresso, marking the end of the show by downing some in martini-form from a crystal glass. There were a few mutters from the crowd, who perhaps were expecting a special guest or two, but it was clear from the offset that this would be a defining moment in the popstar's career and one where she only wants the spotlight on her.
