Latest news with #SimonSays
New York Post
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Flight attendants are allowing sky-high ‘airplane yoga' — but there's a sneaky reason why: ‘This is insane'
Is it air-robics? Flight attendants are helping people unwind in the friendly skies by holding impromptu yoga classes in flight, as seen in multiple viral TikTok videos. In one video from June with 1.5 million views, a flight attendant on an EasyJet flight is heard guiding passengers through a series of poses in their seats while the 1980s dance hit 'Maniac' by Michael Sembello blares in the background. 'Lean to the left,' he instructs. 'Now come to the middle, hands up in the air. Lovely.' 3 An EasyJet flight attendant guides passengers through an inflight flow session. @user1118383829333/TikTok The crew member then commands the travelers to turn their heads to the left and right and touch their knees as they go with the flow. Another clip, filmed aboard Spirit Airlines, shows another flight attendant leading this stretch-based game of 'Simon Says.' However, after guiding them through the motions, the flight attendant reveals that this so-called airplane yoga class was an elaborate ploy to get them to clean up around their seats. 'Touch your toes and stretch your back out c'mon,' the crew member-cum-yogi instructs. 'Now, while you're down there, get all that trash you threw on the ground.' 3 Spirit Airlines flight attendants are getting flyers to clean up around the seat under the guise of a yoga class. REUTERS 'It (the plane) was clean when he came on, it's gonna be clean when you leave,' he sasses as the passengers erupt into guffaws. The Post reached out to Spirit Airlines for comment. TikTok commenters were amused by the trick, with one writing: 'Oh Spirit got jokes, huh?' 'This is INSANE hahaha,' another amused commenter remarked. 3 'It (the plane) was clean when he came on, it's gonna be clean when you leave,' sassed one Spirit Airlines crew member after tricking flyers into picking up around their seats. @dontworryaboutmeever/TikTok This in-flight yoga fakeout became a trend a couple of years back with budget carriers holding mini flow sessions that ended with an instruction to pick up trash — such as in this clip from 2021, the Daily Dot reported. High-jinks notwithstanding, flight experts recommend staying active in flight as remaining sedentary for prolonged periods can potentially lead to a host of health problems, including joint stiffness, fatigue, dehydration and even life-threatening blood clots, the Points Guy reported. 'This can lead to clotting of the blood in the veins (deep venous thrombosis) and can pose a severe threat to one's health,' explained New York City orthopedist David T. Neuman, CEO and co-founder of told TPG 'A blood clot that travels to the lungs can cause shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and even death (pulmonary embolism).' To avoid immobility-induced complications, NYC physical therapist Dr. Karena Wu recommended that travelers 'stand up every hour to stretch their legs and decompress the spine a bit.' 'The aisles of the plane are tight but any standing-in-place exercise can be done without bothering your plane mates too much,' she explained. 'Calf raises activate the calf muscles to help use them as a pump to help with venous return to the heart. Standing backbends help to reverse the curve in the low back and stretch the front of the hips open.' Just be sure not to treat the cabin as your home yoga studio like certain folks have done in the past. In 2016, an airliner flying from Hawaii to Japan was forced to return to its destination after a passenger insisted on doing yoga in the galley in defiance of the crew.
India Today
25-06-2025
- Sport
- India Today
8 brain-boosting indoor games for students entering Class 10 and 12
Students stepping into Classes 10th and 12th know that the coming academic year is no joke. The pressure of board exams, assignments, and endless revisions can be mentally exhausting. While disciplined study is essential, so is taking mindful breaks that recharge the brain without derailing your where brain-boosting indoor games come in. These aren't just time-passing activities; they're scientifically proven to enhance cognitive functions, improve concentration, and even reduce stress games don't have to be a distraction. When chosen wisely, they become tools for active relaxation and cognitive enhancement. As you prepare for one of the most important years of your academic life, allow yourself purposeful play. Your brain will thank you, and your marks might are some indoor games perfect for students entering Class 10th and 12th to stay mentally agile while having a little fun.1. Sudoku: Boost logical thinkingThis classic number puzzle is excellent for developing logical reasoning and problem-solving with easy grids and gradually move to more complex ones. It's a great way to keep the mind active in between study Enhances pattern recognition, memory, and decision-making.2. Chess: The ultimate brain gamePlaying chess improves strategic thinking, patience, and foresight—all skills that come in handy during exam a 30-minute game with a friend or sibling can be both relaxing and intellectually Sharpens focus, planning, and analytical thinking.3. Memory card gamesWhether it's a traditional card matching game or a memory app, these games train the brain to retain and recall information quickly, just like you'll need for exams!Benefit: Improves short-term memory and attention span.4. Scrabble or word-building gamesWord games not only strengthen your vocabulary but also improve concentration and cognitive you're studying languages or literature, this is the perfect fun-learning Enhances vocabulary, spelling, and verbal reasoning.5. Jigsaw puzzlesThey may look like simple pastimes, but puzzles engage both sides of the together 500 or 1000-piece puzzles enhances problem-solving skills and visual-spatial Encourages attention to detail and patience—essential for board prep!6. Math riddles and brain teasersApps like Elevate, Lumosity, or even puzzle books can offer a quick mental workout tailored to your academic games improve processing speed and numerical Builds core skills for subjects like Math and Science.7. 30-second thinking gamesPlay 'Name-Place-Animal-Thing' or '5 Things in 5 Seconds' to improve thinking under pressure—a handy skill for timed Trains quick recall and mental alertness under time constraints.8. Simon Says (Digital or Offline)It's fun, fast, and challenges your memory and focus. There are many online versions that mimic the classic light-and-sound memory Boosts auditory and visual memory, and quick TO MAXIMISE THE BENEFITSLimit game time to 20–30 minutes per breakRotate between different types of games to engage different brain areasUse them as a reward after completing a study goal- Ends
Time of India
30-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
The Storytelling CIO and the Invisible Engine of AI
At the 7th edition of the ETCIO Annual Conclave, an exclusive leadership summit that brought together India's foremost technology decision-makers, a deceptively simple game of 'Simon Says' opened the afternoon session, offering an unexpected yet powerful cue about attention, perception, and the evolving role of the speaker, Ameen Haque, founder of Storywallahs, stood before a crowd of India's top technology executives. But this wasn't just icebreaking. 'Over a game of simple 'Simon Says',' Haque later explained, 'it was thought-provoking for CIOs, moving you to a place of alertness.' It was a miniature neuroscience experiment: Proof that the brain responds more to visual stimuli than verbal ones. This insight, Haque iterates, holds the key to modern tech leadership. 'We forget facts,' he said, 'but the human brain remembers stories.' That's the paradox CIOs are navigating now. It is to narrate ideas at the intersection of tech and business clearly and quickly to stakeholders who may not understand the language of IT. 'How does one tell a story in the business context,' Haque asked aloud, 'tell it fast and simplify for the non-IT folks?' CIOs Confront the Real Test of AI The question is timely. Across India's boardrooms, digital transformation is in full tilt. Generative AI has emerged not merely as a tool but as a turning point—what Rakesh Bhardwaj, Global CIO at Lupin, calls 'a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.' Bhardwaj says, 'The bold experiments everyone is doing are paying off. GenAI has come as a hope where we can pole vault. Now we are in the game of translating volatility to opportunity. AI-led autonomy to human centricity.' Yet while India's adoption of AI technologies has outpaced global averages, the real question is not just about uptake—but impact. 'Who's really extracting the value?' Bhardwaj's rhetorical question remains. Ashok Jade, Global CIO of Kirloskar Brothers, knows this challenge all too well. Working within the constraints of a legacy manufacturing enterprise, he sees AI as more than an efficiency engine. 'What if AI could open a new line of business?' he asked. Imagine a future where an AI agent helps a customer select an industrial pump online, surpassing today's three-tiered architecture. 'Moving ahead, can a pump be sold as a service?' he posed. 'Can a digital factory be taken to the customer, consequently?' That tension—between operational safety and technological speed—finds vivid expression in the mobility sector. Manikandan Thangarathnam of Uber India explains, 'Today, Uber operates in 70 countries, drivers uploading vehicle documents—how quickly can we look at allowing them to drive?' But in mobility, haste comes at a price. 'The margin of error is too low; We cannot let a customer drive unsafely,' he said. The key he believes is, 'Understand the scale, depth, and complexity before applying the tech for the problem.' But innovation at Uber hasn't slowed. 'This is the era of transformation in mobility,' Thangarathnam said. 'We can solve traffic in India by more people in lesser vehicles. Lower cost, higher predictability—that's what customers want in shared mobility. So even if it takes four years to solve the problem, it remains evergreen.' If the optimism sounds radical, so does the provocation. Hitesh Sachdev, Head of Innovation & Startups at ICICI Bank, half-jokingly asked, 'Will AI be the CEO of the company?' In some ways, that future doesn't feel entirely far-fetched. The workforce, meanwhile, is undergoing its own metamorphosis. In a rapid-fire round, executives offered one-word answers to a daunting question: How are you rethinking talent in the era of AI? 'Upskilling,' 'Business-first,' and, to applause, 'The person knowing AI will take your job, not AI itself.' Despite concerns of automation replacing roles—over 300,000 jobs and counting—there is also a 2.8% productivity uptick. That trade-off defines the moment. The Invisible Engine: Making AI Work Across Business Some of the biggest wins, however, come from redefining how organizations make decisions and execute at scale. Kenny Kesar, Global CIO at Wipro, explains, 'We asked: How do we move from scattered innovation to systemic?' The $11 billion company transitioned from viewing AI as an external pilot to an internal imperative. 'We moved from AI-as-a-thing to AI-in-everything,' he said. Wipro's AI-infused go-to-market tools now include deal intelligence systems and proposal copilots, built on a platform called AI Fabric. 'True transformation happens when AI is the invisible engine.' The metaphor sticks. 'AI is a convex lens in the hands of visionary leadership,' Kesar added, explaining how Wipro deployed 70 enterprise-wide AI use cases and instituted MLOps to scale further. The next frontier? Equipping 235,000 employees with AI skills. In a room full of CIOs, the storytelling wasn't just about technology. It was about re-imagining what leadership looks like in the age of algorithms. And, as Haque suggested, the most powerful shift isn't technical at all. 'Some of the best tech leaders,' he said simply, 'are good storytellers.' The rest, after all, is just data.
Los Angeles Times
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Inside the daring L.A. party that's like Studio 54 for ‘the dreamers and the outcasts'
On the tip of Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, beyond the vape-scented sidewalks and partygoers waiting for their ride-shares, there's a velvet-roped portal to another dimension. Every first Saturday of the month, those in the know gather at the historic Spotlight nightclub for Simon Says, the city's most daring, avant-garde LGBTQ+ party. It's a scene that defies easy description: Nipple tassels twirl beside kabuki-painted faces; 'My Fair Lady' hats tilt above bodices constructed from yellow caution tape; liberty spike hairstyles collide with exposed flesh; and professional dommes in fishnet bodysuits playfully flog (with permission) their friends while goddesses with antlers sip drinks on velvet couches wedged between potted palms. This isn't Studio 54, though it shares the same spirit. It's Hollywood reimagined. And if Simon Says, you'd better bring it. Seductively clad dancers, including longtime host Love Bailey, flank the stage where DJs spin a fusion of New Wave, late-stage disco and early bloghouse that attracts L.A.'s queer creative underground. It's not uncommon for celebrities like singer-songwriter Adam Lambert, electronic-pop star Slayyyter, queer streaming network co-founder Damian Pelliccione, contestants from 'RuPaul's Drag Race' and film director John Waters to pop by for a visit. The vast majority of attendees identify as LGBTQ+, and while the door is technically open to all, it's the ones who show up transformed — glistening, feathered, glammed out — who are whisked in the quickest. Founder and executive producer Andrés Rigal, part master of ceremonies and part fairy godmother, prowls the line, handpicking the most striking attendees and sending them past the bouncer with a nod and a smile. 'We do run an old-school nightlife door, rewarding those who show up in stunning looks,' Rigal says. 'If they're wearing an elaborate costume they've been gluing together all week just to be at Simon or are a trans person all the way in the back by themselves in heels — ouch — I will give them that special moment and make them feel seen.' Rigal is one of Los Angeles' most prolific nightlife producers, with a reputation that precedes him. Numerous Simon Says attendees told The Times that they initially came to the party simply because they saw Rigal's name on the flier. Cassie Carpenter, an entertainment reporter who identifies as asexual, makes it a point to attend every event Rigal puts on. Dressed in a revealing keyhole dress and towering beehive wig, Carpenter comes to Simon Says for the ambience and the chance to dress in drag. 'I hate to get in full glam for a subpar party; it's a waste of lip gloss,' she says. 'Simon Says is always worth it. I've met amazing people and ran into surprising old friends. Friendship is everything when you're asexual.' Mostly known for large-scale fêtes that attract the likes of Katy Perry, Kesha and Paris Hilton, Rigal has been a feature in the city's queer party scene since the mid-2000s when he revamped Avalon's former Spider Club into the boho-chic nightclub Bardot and unveiled one of the city's longest-running and most popular Pride events, SummerTramp. If Simon Says sounds familiar, it's because it had a short-lived moment in 2012 when Rigal's company, Andrés Rigal Presents, introduced it at the now-closed A-lister club Smoke & Mirrors. Grasping onto the coattails of the waning mid-aughts, Simon Says failed to conjure much interest at the time. Rigal thinks it might have been too early to cash in on the hipster-indie-sleaze era, as 'everyone was still coming out of their American Apparel hangover.' Simultaneously juggling a number of other events such as Evita, Rasputin and Mr. Black, Rigal decided to shelve Simon Says for the time being. Toward the end of 2023, pining for a more intimate party that wouldn't draw crowds in the thousands, Rigal discussed reviving Simon Says with his partners Daisy O'Dell, Sean Patrick and Mark Hunter. An opportunity to host it at the Spotlight, a new Hollywood club housed in the bones of one of L.A.'s oldest gay bars, presented itself, and the party kicked off at the beginning of last year. On Saturday, Simon Says will celebrate its one-year anniversary, with music by Felix Da Housecat and house DJs Patrick and O'Dell. The small-capacity venue sees around 700 partygoers through each night, each of whom pays $10 to dance from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Motivation for guests to arrive early comes in the form of a limited-edition zine that may contain a photo of people from the previous month's event. Co-founder Hunter, better known as the photographer Cobrasnake, has compiled these tactile time capsules printed in black-and-white since Simon Says' first iteration in 2012. The goal is to highlight the party's best-dressed guests. As the back of the zines say: 'Turn a look, get in the book.' Although the zine is free, only a handful are printed, scattered around the venue at the start of each night, and you won't know if you're in the zine until you look through it. Queer fashion designer Drew Arvizu, 25, has attended all but two of Simon Says' events in the last year. He's become a party fixture not just due to his regular attendance but because of the over-the-top bespoke outfits he dons. For the inaugural Simon Says, he wore a horned luchador mask and polka dot clown suit; in November 2024, he balanced a four-foot, 20- to 30-pound vintage Las Vegas showgirl headdress atop his head; and in March 2025, he flaunted one of his own creations: a floor-length yellow taxicab-checked tube dress with intentional cutouts across the breasts and groin area. 'Simon Says reminds me of why I love nightlife, and it's definitely an incentive to pull out my sewing machine,' Arvizu says. 'These zines are keepsakes from a moment in my life, and I hope I keep them forever.' Christian Morris, a pansexual, nonbinary artist from Inglewood, attended his first Simon Says in March dressed in a tiger stripe suit, blond mullet wig and Aladdin Sane-inspired lightning bolt face makeup. Describing the event as 'feeling plugged into a queer power source,' Morris noticed the partygoers didn't just want to go to the event; they wanted to be the event. 'From the leather and chain looks to the queens in long black and yellow spiral dresses to the woman dancing on a speaker in a gold sequin romper outfit, everywhere I looked people felt hot and haute and danced with abandon,' he says. And apparently, miracles can happen at Simon Says. Despite hardly ever meeting romantic partners on nights out, Morris left with the phone number of a 'funny, super smart, sexy' crush he met on the dance floor, and the two scheduled a picnic date for the following week. An element of romance permeates the Spotlight's interior, with an intimate dance space and a sumptuous lounge area outfitted with Persian rugs, Victorian-style furniture and steam trunks that double as coffee tables. Also, there's no need to leave your drink behind or grab your coat if you want a quick nicotine pick-me-up when you're at Simon Says. Thanks to a grandfathered-in back patio, which includes the venue's second bar, one can smoke indoors because the area doesn't have a roof. 'Being in the space just makes me feel at home with the couches, the rugs on the dance floor and the fact that you can often find a place to sit even if you're not paying for bottles,' says pop musician Morganne Yambrovich, 27, who came to Simon Says in March to celebrate her first night out after ending an eight-year relationship. To mark this transformation and get back in touch with a creative side she'd kept dormant during her relationship, Yambrovich spent six hours wrapping craft wire around hair extensions to create her look for Simon Says. The resulting piece was a pair of butterfly wings braided into her hair intended to symbolize her recent metamorphosis. 'If you go out in certain neighborhoods, everyone's going to look the same. But there's no such uniform at Simon Says,' she says. 'Most people show up in the most creative expressions of themselves. For instance, I would not wear a giant hair sculpture and butterfly makeup to Tenants of the Trees [a bar in Silver Lake].' As the adage goes, those who turn a look probably will get into Simon Says' book, but those who don't quite turn a look will still get into the party. That's because the event is about inspiring others as much as it is creating a safe space for self-expression. On any given night, you're likely to find three generations of partygoers at the club — Gen Z, millennials and Gen X — and yes, straight people are welcomed with open arms. 'Once we gather under the disco ball, identities blur,' Rigal says. 'On the dance floor, we become something shared, something bigger.' Rigal and his team make a point of meeting with security and staff before every event to ensure that the ethos of welcoming all is maintained throughout the night. Although the bathrooms are divided by gender — and marked with Basquiat-style dinosaur imagery — on the nights when Simon Says takes over the Spotlight, those designations are ignored, and the toilets become unisex. There are no VIP sections either, and while it can get chaotic, everyone is allowed on the stage. When this reporter descended the stage stairs to the dance floor, a security guard offered their hand for support. 'It's kind of like making a salad,' Rigal says. 'The more ingredients touching one another, the better. I want all of my spaces, especially Simon, to be melting pots of interaction. When you allow the space to be free, you are more likely to have these really incredible moments, and I don't want to rob anyone of that.' In recent months, some Simon Says attendees have funneled political statements into their fashions. Longtime friends Colin Campbell, 63, and Pat Posey, 46, coordinated red and black looks for a recent party. Posey wore a mini dress featuring the colorway, while Campbell dyed his beard red and black and donned a red and black pigtail wig and shirt with the slogan 'Resist Fascism.' After the November presidential election, the friends experienced their first hate crime in Hollywood when a car passing by shot them with airsoft pellets and yelled a gay slur. Now more than ever, Campbell and Posey stress the importance of being visible and fighting back, and fashion is their chosen vehicle for doing so. 'We dance to celebrate ourselves, to recharge our batteries, to have the energy to put up with the ignorance and hate that is spewed at us every day,' says Posey, who started cross-dressing after moving to L.A. six years ago. 'At Simon Says, everyone is welcome. Bring your true freak, and let it fly.' Inspired by Campbell and Posey, to whom he has grown close through Simon Says, Arvizu has started imbuing political messages into his clothing as well. For a recent red-carpet event, he wore a shirt with the message 'Protect trans youth,' and at the December Simon Says party, he dressed in rainbow from head to toe. As the 2001 Basement Jaxx tune 'Where's Your Head at' thumped through the speakers at the March event, one partygoer dressed as a cowboy initiated a spontaneous dance-off with another partygoer dressed in a vintage Vietnam War vet uniform. 'Work it out, work it out!' cheered the cowboy, Ricardo Logan, 36, who included light blue in his outfit for trans solidarity. His dance partner, tax and accounting professional Omarr Herrera, 44, a stranger until this moment, gurgled back, 'Ahhhh, I love you!' It's moments like these that remind Rigal why he created this party. 'Queer nightlife is a sanctuary,' he says. 'For the kid arriving in L.A. from a conservative hometown, for someone pushed out of their family, for the dreamers and the outcasts — this is where they find kinship, voice and vision. That metamorphosis is the heartbeat of everything I do.'
