Sportswear has become a popular style of clothing lately, with people wearing sneakers and workout clothes in their day-to-day lives. People refer to these clothes as “athleisure” but we all know what the reality is—people wear sweatpants and sneakers because they’re feeling lazy and it’s also comfy.
While these sort of clothes making it into the mainstream have no apparent explanation, fashion experts believe that the comeback of the “dad sneakers” is due to our sense of nostalgia and our current obsession with all things 80s and 90s.
“There’s no real sign of that going away. It’s effectively how everybody wants to dress now and it’s got a lot to do with comfort rather than actually being active,” says fashion trend forecaster Emily Gordon-Smith.
Famous brands such as Reebok and FILA have been re-issuing ancient shoes for new generations, making everyone look as if they stepped out of a 90s sitcom when they’re walking down the street.
Workout clothes have also made their mark on the runway, with models wearing extravagant yet comfortable versions of these types of clothes. The style referred to as “ugly clothing” is becoming more and more famous among celebrities, and is a big reason why the shoes are trickling down to us, average citizens. But when GQ is praising Justin Bieber for his “dirtbag grooming,” maybe we shouldn’t be that surprised.
“It sounds slightly bizarre, but it’s true to say that things that are ugly have really become quite cool and chic,” Gordon-Smith said.
According to fashion experts, the fact that you cringe a little every time you see a different version of these shoes is part of the reason why they’re so coveted in the first place. “We’re all dressing in such a generic homogenized way. The need for something that is a little bit unexpected—a little bit slightly unattractive, in its own way—has just suddenly got an appeal.”
That makes sense. The shoes are still ugly, though.
Many believe that cannabis stocks are experiencing a “bubble,” meaning that market valuations are unjustified, unrealistic and based on investor hype as opposed to typical fundamental markers such as revenues, assets and profit.
Some, like The Motley Fool, believe this is a bubble ready to burst. The Wall Street Journal includes quotes from new entrants in the space suggesting this is much like the Internet stocks of 1997 or 1998, remembering that in 2000 the Internet stocks crashed mightily, taking years to recover after many companies did not survive the shakeout.
The cannabis data analytics company New Frontier Data reports that, year to date, seven of the top 12 cannabis stocks have posted more than 200% gains. The data company also seems to be recommending that, “As cannabis stocks continue to rally, prudent investors should consider taking profits and exercising caution.” The AP just quoted a stock analyst warning, “[i]f there is a bubble, larger investors will protect themselves and won’t overinvest in single companies, but smaller investors who see a chance to get rich quickly could suffer painful losses.”
It is true that, in particular in Canada, cannabis stocks are trading at extremely high valuations relative to the companies’ financial condition and results. One company, for example, with around $20 million in first half revenues, is trading at the same valuation as Macy’s, which has $25 billion in annual revenue. In the US the valuations are a bit more down to earth, but also considered by most to be high given performance.
Many others, including leaders of companies with these high-flying stocks, strongly believe these valuations are justified based on the tremendous future potential of the cannabis industry as we get closer to federal legalization in the US and global growth proceeds as well. They believe that as long as investors continue to believe in the future of the very rapidly growing industry, the valuations will continue to stay strong and be justified, and performance will grow to further support the bubble pricing. But that’s the thing about bubbles: they persist for as long as people believe in them.
Though we always knew that Phil Murphy’s promise to legalize weed in New jersey within his first 100 days in office was ambitious, the delays that have built up in passing a bill to do it have just gotten even longer. It’s now looking like it will be closer to the end of the year before we see anything finalized or signed.
Some proponents of legalization don’t see this as such a bad thing, however. As the bill’s timeline gets drawn out, so does the bill itself, with added features like expungement of records for low-level marijuana offenders and the leg up it would give small businesses who want to enter the cannabis space. Had there been no delays, social clubs wouldn’t be a possibility either.
Even if it does take until December to sign a bill into law, it looks like it’s a sure thing and shouldn’t take any longer than that. Those are very good things for marijuana advocates across the state and country who have been fighting long and hard to keep people out of jail for possessing cannabis.
Politico recently reported that Governor Murphy “balked” at the idea of a 10 percent sales tax, which would be the lowest in the nation, tied with Nevada. Apparently, Murphy sees 25 percent as a closer number to what the tax rate should be. While tax dollars are one of the benefits states enjoy when cannabis is legalized, it’s still important to make sure marijuana is affordable to those who need it most, like senior citizens, vets, and the very infirmed.
Still, those with ailments will be able to utilize the medical marijuana program, but it’s a program that wasn’t built on trust to begin with. The medical cannabis program was started under Chris Christie, who was loathe to implement the law and did everything he could to keep it from prospering. Murphy has done a lot to expand the medical law and make it more accessible, but many people remain gun-shy and await legalization.
“I’m hoping we have this tied up by the end of the year, perhaps initial votes in the next month,” Senator Scutari said after a legislative hearing on Monday. “It’s a complicated issue. We’re starting from the ground up. The longer it’s gone on, the better I think it is.”
Scutari also allowed for the fact that lawmakers aren’t likely to make a loose August deadline, originally set by Senate President Stephen Sweeney, which would put forth a legalization bill by September’s end. The bill has gone up from 71 to 121 pages since that initial August prediction and it has yet to be publicly released.
One of the biggest arguments made by prohibitionists opposed to the concept of marijuana legalization is that it will lead to an increase in youth consumption rates. However, we’re finding out that this is not necessarily the case.
A recent meta-analysis from the journal Current Addiction Reports, which examined fifty-five scientific studies on the subject, finds statewide legalization does not increase cannabis use in adolescents.
This is not the first time that researchers have concluded that the problem of youth consumption should not be a deterrent for legalization. The latest exploration into this topic suggests “that passage of [medical marijuana laws] has not increased cannabis use among teenagers during the periods after their passage that has been studied to date,” researchers said.
Cannabis advocates have said for years that establishing a taxed and regulated system is the best method for preventing marijuana from falling into the hands of teens.
Yet, marijuana consumption rates have increased in some age ranges. When it comes to adult use, researchers found that more people in this demographic are using marijuana since legalization. But this increased use is considered legit. The report shows that the majority of this growth was associated with people who were permitted by a physician to participate in their state medical marijuana program.
Perhaps the next most popular argument given by those opposing forces trying to prevent marijuana from going legal is that it will lead to more addiction. This is a sensitive subject considering that the United States is presently in the grips of one of the largest drug epidemics in history.
But researchers found that marijuana wasn’t contributing to the problem.
Although it might seem logical that more people would suffer from cannabis use disorder considering elevated adult consumption rates, the study shows this should not be a concern.
“Despite the increase in the prevalence of adult cannabis use, the prevalence of cannabis use disorders among adults in the past year did not change (remaining at 1.5 percent [from 2002 to 2004]),” researchers wrote. “More surprisingly still, the prevalence of [cannabis use disorder] among adults who used cannabis in the past year declined from 14.8 percent in 2002 to 11.0 percent in 2014.”
The reason behind this phenomenon lies in the decline of adolescent use rates, researchers explained. Since this demographic is typically more susceptible to cannabis use disorder than its older counterparts, fewer are getting caught up in this behavior.
Overall, the meta-study shows the two primary fears perpetuated by prohibitionists do not have any validity. Researchers concluded that while other studies may not present accurate results from state to state, the meta-analysis has a way of cutting through the discrepancies and turning out consistent data.
When asked if a recent mash-up of Cher’s cover of ABBA’s “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” and Madonna’s “Hung Up” inspired her to record with the Material Girl and release a new duet, Cher said “Probably not. That’s the answer.”
In past interviews, she’s been as diplomatic as she can be when talking about the singer. She’s admitted that Madge is “creative,” but has also pointed out that “she’s not talented or beautiful” and, after spending time with her while she was still married to Sean Penn, found her “rude” and noted that she “acts like a spoiled brat,” even going so far as to call her a bitch.
“I couldn’t make it as an actress, I was bad at auditioning. I never got a job…The most challenging part of this process for me was being as vulnerable as the character needed… but [Bradley Cooper] made me feel so comfortable. He challenged me in ways I’ve never been challenged before and I am so so grateful to him for that.”
Onlookers at a Calabasas Sushi spot say that Kim yelled at Kanye when he spoke to her with a mouth full of food. A tipster reports, “Kim was scolding Kanye like he was one of her kids… She thinks it’s gross and really let him have it!”
Have you ever stumbled upon an hourlong online video of someone folding napkins? Or maybe crinkling paper, sorting a thimble collection or pretending to give the viewer an ear exam? They’re called ASMR videos and millions of people love them and consider watching them a fantastic way to relax. Other viewers count them among the strangest things on the internet.
So are they relaxing or strange? I think they are both, which is why I have been fascinated with trying to understand ASMR for the past five years. In researching my new book “Brain Tingles,” I explored the many mysteries about ASMR as well as best practices for incorporating ASMR into various aspects of life, like parenting, spas and health studios.
What is ASMR?
ASMR is short for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Enthusiast Jennifer Allen coined the term in 2010. You may also hear this phenomenon called “head orgasms” or “brain tingles.” It’s distinct from the “aesthetic chills” or frisson some people experience when listening to music, for instance.
People watch ASMR videos in hopes of eliciting the response, usually experienced as a deeply relaxing sensation with pleasurable tingles in the head. It can feel like the best massage in the world – but without anyone touching you. Imagine watching an online video while your brain turns into a puddle of bliss.
The actions and sounds in ASMR videos mostly recreate moments in real life that people have discovered spark the feeling. These stimuli are called ASMR triggers. They usually involve receiving personal attention from a caring person. Associated sounds are typically gentle and non-threatening.
Everyday real-life events that stimulate ASMR include receiving positive personal attention from teachers, clinicians, hairdressers, spa employees, family members, or simply having a friend braid your hair and speak softly to you. The combination of the focused attention, soft voice, light touch and being cared for can quickly switch some brains into a deep state of relaxation.
The popularity of ASMR videos demonstrates that simply watching a recording of a kind, gentle person pretending to give you positive personal attention can stimulate this feeling. Even a video of someone’s hands can trigger ASMR – your brain has evolved to read that as a caring person demonstrating a helpful skill or valuable item.
What does the science say?
Scroll through the comments on ASMR videos and you’ll find plenty of viewers saying that it helps their anxiety, insomnia, depression and other conditions. These comments are not hard science, but they have motivated researchers to look into ASMR in more detail.
A 2015 study reported that the majority of viewers of ASMR videos watch these videos to relax, deal with stress and fall asleep. Some viewers even felt the videos were helpful to their depression and chronic pain. A 2017 study found a majority of viewers watch the videos to relax and some felt the videos helped their anxiety. A 2018 study reported that ASMR videos helped viewers feel more calm, less stressed and less sad, and the participants were so relaxed that their heart rates slowed down in the researchers’ lab.
No one’s sure what percent of the population can experience ASMR, but there may be an associated personality type. Research suggests that being open to new experiences is a personality trait more commonly found in those who experience ASMR than in those who don’t. A 2016 study found differences between the brain connections of those who experience ASMR and those who don’t. But participants weren’t being scanned as they experienced ASMR, so brain activity during the response was still a mystery.
In a recently published study, my co-authors and I reported what happened in the brains of 10 volunteers while they experienced ASMR. We asked participants to lie still and watch their favorite ASMR videos while inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner.
When people were experiencing that ASMR tingling, certain areas of the brain were more active: most notably the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. Interestingly, these brain regions are also active when people, and other mammals, interact with each other in positive ways, like during parenting or grooming behaviors. ASMR videos may be tapping into our natural ability to be soothed by the sights and sounds our brains associate with caring individuals.
Can ASMR be experienced without the stimulus of another person? Some people do report being able to stimulate ASMR in themselves by clearing their minds, focusing on themselves, focusing on loved ones or thinking about ASMR triggers. The process and result may be similar to meditation, mindfulness, or even the calmness reported with praying and religious experiences. The brain regions active during a religious experience in some individuals are similar to those we saw activated during ASMR.
Intentionally harnessing the triggers
ASMR triggers can be used on a person-to-person level to directly soothe the people in our lives. Intentionally using whispering, light touch and positive personal attention to bring on the brain tingles can be helpful for lulling a child to sleep, soothing a stressed family member, or relaxing a friend or romantic partner. ASMR relaxation techniques could also be incorporated into spas, health studios, wellness centers and counseling sessions. I wrote the book “Brain Tingles” as a how-to guide to help people create these person-to-person moments of deep bliss.
The more we understand ASMR then the better it can be used in a helpful way – and there is still a lot to be learned. It’s not yet known why just some individuals experience ASMR, what neurotransmitters and hormones are involved in ASMR, or how the effectiveness of ASMR compares to other current clinical treatments for anxiety, insomnia and depression.
Figuring out more about the biology and benefits of ASMR should make the world a calmer place.
While growing up, you probably heard of damning statistics claiming that half of marriages end in divorces. Baby boomers got married young, got divorced, remarried and did it all over again, affecting the following generation’s perception of marriage. Now, divorce rates are plummeting and it’s all because of millennials, who are taking their time when it comes to tying the knot. Some of them are also disregarding marriage altogether.
A study from the University of Maryland shows that divorce rates dropped by 18 percent between 2008 and 2016. While part of this is due to the fact that couples are getting older (older couples are less likely to divorce) and marriage is becoming less popular, millennials are taking a different approach towards marriage when compared to previous generations. “The change among young people is particularly striking,” says Susan Brown, sociology professor at Bowling Green State University. “The characteristics of young married couples today signal a sustained decline [in divorce rates] in the coming years.”
Marriage and family therapist Emy Tafelski spoke to the Tampa Bay Chronicle and explained that millennials have rearranged their priorities, considering work and personal achievements as more valuable than getting married young and starting a family. While this results in a decrease in marriages, she considers that this is something positive for her patients, saying, “The more discerning we are on who we choose to spend our lives with, the better an outcome we will have.”
The study on divorce rates concludes that couples who are currently getting married are older, more educated, and more likely to stay together. “Marriage is more and more an achievement of status, rather than something that people do regardless of how they’re doing.”
While medical marijuana can help various people cure their ailments, advocates for its legalization generally focus on certain subgroups, like the elderly, young kids with mental disabilities, opioid addicts, and cancer patients. But maybe there’s a whole gender that should be added to that list.
As Whoopi Goldberg recently wrote in the Orange County Register, cannabis can help deal with “everyday women’s health issues.” The actress and The View co-host has made it her mission to promote the specific therapeutic benefits that women receive from using cannabis. Her medical marijuana company, Whoopi & Maya, creates cannabis products specifically designed to do so.
But still, Goldberg believes many women have been left in the dark about how the plant can affect their lives.
“Cannabis is effective at relieving menstrual pain because of the high concentration of endocannabinoid receptors found in and around the uterus,” she wrote in the op-ed. “Skin care is essential to women’s health and topical products are effective for treating skin conditions and protective against environmental stresses. It is only female cannabis plants that blossom into buds, and the botanical has been documented in treating women’s issues since ancient times.”
Even those women who know how cannabis could benefit them “have been persecuted and vilified for far too long for using cannabis products,” writes Goldberg.
“Now that the tide is turning, women are still often in the dark about the specific and tremendous benefits they can receive from this female plant and this budding business. I’ve spent my whole life delivering messages I believe in. I’m proud to be on the front lines of women’s health with a product I believe in. I want to get the word out to everyone with two X chromosomes that there are holistic and therapeutic ways to mitigate the pain of our natural cycles.”
Goldberg’s words remind us that medical cannabis has benefits far exceeding the typical rhetoric peddled in medical and political communities, and even, frankly, the cannabis community. Moving forward, it would be wise for these industries to serve a group that constitutes one half of the population.
“Many women still believe that legalized cannabis products are all about getting stoned or high,” Goldberg writes. “Nothing can be further from the truth. In this age of feminist awareness, it’s important for women to realize that our needs are as unique as a budding flower.”
In research conducted by Four Loko (yes, that Four Loko), the most sex crazed state is one of the smallest. Rhode Island, with a population of a million people, has the most sexually curious mind when it comes to internet searches.
For its experiment, Four Loko tracked sex-related Googles searches, such as “dating apps,” “best bars for singles,” “where to buy condoms,” and “how to get more Tinder matches.” No matter the topic, Rhode Island ended up in the op spot. Rhode Islanders it seems, at least through Google, get very busy.
Other states that rank high include Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. States like New York and California, where you’d expect a lot of sex to be happening, didn’t even make the top half of the list. Michigan, Ohio, and Nebraska, however, made the top half with Four Loko assuming that this is due to the large population of college students.
The least sex-crazed states in the U.S. include Hawaii, Texas, South Carolina, and New Mexico. Mississippi takes the last spot and becomes the place where people Google the least amount of sex related questions. (Even the word they most commonly misspell is boring.)
Of course, these statistics and results don’t mean anything conclusive, they’re just Google searches and don’t actually equal the amount of sex that goes on in the area (at least we assume so). Let’s also keep in mind that the study was conducted by Four Loko so the credibility is up for debate.
“Shyness is nice, and
Shyness can stop you
From doing all the things in life
You’d like to.”
Right again, Morrissey. Millions of us suffer from debilitating shyness. The medical term is general social anxiety disorder, or SAD, and, by some reckoning, it’s the third most common psychological ailment, affecting about 7 percent of people globally. It’s also extremely well represented among cannabis users. Anywhere from almost a third to almost half of people who ever use marijuana also meet the criteria for SAD at some point.
SAD is essentially our fight-or-flight response run amok, until the act of mingling with strangers over cocktails and snacks feels as existentially threatening as facing down a ravenous sabertooth cat on an empty savannah.
Medication can lessen the symptoms, but the preferred treatment is cognitive-behavioral therapy, which focuses on training the mind to react differently to stressful situations. It may even include desensitization exercises, in which patients deliberately seek out stressful situations to confront.
This is obviously as scary as hell. It’s also a slow and potentially expensive process. That’s why many sufferers of SAD prefer to bolster themselves with a dose of “Dutch courage,” taking the edge off their anxiety with a nip of alcohol or a toke of marijuana.
Dr. Julia D. Buckner of Luisiana State University has made a career out of studying the links between extreme social anxiety and self-medication with cannabis. In the last decade or so she has coauthored at least half a dozen papers on the subject. It might seem much ado to prove something we all intuit is true, but she’s managed to put a number to it: Socially anxious people are 6.5 times more likely to be dependent on cannabis than their socially confident peers. They are also 4.5 more likely to use alcohol the same way. What’s particularly interesting, though, is that they are no more likely to abuse either drug than the general public does. In other words, anxious people find the dosage that works for them and they maintain it.
Brain scans show that cannabis is active in regions that process fear and anxiety, but our understanding is still rudimentary. In fact, in its 2015 review of medical cannabis studies, JAMA found only one specifically addressing SAD that met its criteria. The results were favorable, although the study itself was determined to have a “high risk of bias.”
Whether or not cannabis is a medically sound treatment, many thousands of socially anxious individuals currently look to it for relief.
