Athletic clothing brand Under Armour has unleashed muscled actor Dwayne Johnson in a year-long marketing campaign that spotlights eight trailblazing athletes.

The “Will Finds a Way” campaign is pitched as “a motivational journey” in which Johnson profiles the athletes in a series of films.

They are world champion sprinter Natasha Hastings, Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini, Dennis Smith Jr of the National Basketball Association, taekwondo national champion Zoe Zhang, world champion judoka Teddy Riner, stuntwoman Jessie Graffm triathlete Johnny Agar and state boxing and gymnastics champion Javon “Wanna” Walton.

Johnson can cite his own life as an example of how willpower can beat the odds and produce success. He carved a new path for himself when his dream of becoming a pro football player was crushed. He ended up with less than $7 in his pocket.

“Over the years, I’ve failed hard and had my back up against the wall,” he says. “Through the struggle on my way back up, I’ve learned there’s one undeniable constant to success and that’s to always be the hardest worker in the room.

“Our ‘Will Finds a Way’ campaign celebrates the power ‘will’ has to overcome the odds and achieve the unthinkable. I’m honoured to work alongside some of the most hardworking everyday women and men and kids for this campaign, all of whom have risen to greatness through unwavering will, determination and being the hardest worker in the room.”

In the films from creative agency Droga5, directed by award-winning directors the Malloy brothers and Nathalie Canguilhem, Johnson explains how the athletes overcame social anxiety, escaped turmoil and war, or battled physical disability.

Hastings missed out on quintessential childhood experiences to focus all her energy on running and has had to face those who criticised her strong, athletic build. Those realities, driven by her will to reach her full potential, propelled her to become one of the best and most elite runners in the world, where she’s known as “the 400 Meter Diva”.

Mardini experienced war in her home country, Syria, but her sheer will for survival powered her strokes across treacherous ocean waves, when she saved other refugees by swimming their boat to safety. She went on to compete as a swimmer with the Refugee Olympic Team and continues to train to meet her next goal – competing in the 2020 Olympics.

Smith Jr suffered a knee injury that threatened to end his dream of making it to the elite collegiate level in basketball and then on to the NBA. After learning to dunk on the playground and ignoring the trappings of outside influences, he made it to the courts of the NBA.

Zhang experienced a devastating injury that forced her into early sport retirement as a winningclass champion on the national taekwondo team, but instead of stopping there, she changed course and took advantage of her hard-earned skills to become one of China’s most famous actresses with a focus in martial arts.

Riner devoted his life from a young age to judo and is aiming to become the greatest judoka ever seen. People think it comes naturally to him, but no one sees how early he starts his day, how many hours he spends in the gym and how he keeps his body and skills topnotch.

Graff is a real-life superhero. Despite her supernatural abilities to navigate prominent elaborate obstacle courses and handle stunts for prominent films and television shows, she believes her true superpower is her will, as she continues to surpass her competitors, both male and female.

Agar is an inspiration to Under Armour, having become a partner in 2017 and starring in his own homemade version of an Under Armour commercial. He faces enormous challenges daily. With cerebral palsy comes the loss of ability to walk or feed himself, but he gets up every morning to train for athletic competitions most people without the constraints of disabilities wouldn’t approach.

Walton is all too familiar with the word “no” after hearing it repeatedly from doubters not believing in his dreams. His uncompromising approach to training and becoming a champion in both gymnastics and boxing fuels his vision of becoming heavyweight champion one day.

To see all the “Will Finds A Way” content and the springsummer 2018 UA Training collection, visit http://www.UnderArmour.com/willfindsaway and download the UA Shop App. The campaign will feature hundreds of items of content created for the digital and social platforms.

To view the campaign films, go to YouTube.com/UnderArmour and learn more about it at UA.com or Facebook.com/UnderArmour and join in the conversation on Twitter and Instagram.

In Thailand, check out http://www.UnderArmour.co.th and “UnderArmourThailand” on Facebook.

The Running Festival of Food, Fun, Friend, and Family is the second face of the “Kilorun 2018” series and is being held in Bali, Indonesia over the weekend of June 23. This upcoming marathon will offer ambitious participants the opportunity to indulge in gastronomic experiences while keeping on the go to reach outstanding athletic achievement. Tickets can now be purchased online on http://www.KiloRun.com. Find out more at https://thth.facebook.com/KILORUN/ and Instagram KILORUN2018.

EDM from Down Under

Uberjak’d, who is at the forefront of the new wave of Australia club producers impacting the global electronic scene, will come to Thailand for a show at Onyx on RCA next Friday (May 25). The Australian DJ and producer mixed Ministry of Sounds flagship compilation “The Annual 2014” and has also remixed for Deorro, Fatboy Slim, Riva Starr, TJR & Vinai and New World Sound. The party starts at 9.

Book your table at (081) 645 1166.

A date with DJ Nano

DJ Nano, one of the most popular spinners on the dance music scene, takes the decks at Insanity Nightclub on Sukhumvit Soi 11 on June 1 from 10pm until late.

The Spanish DJ and producer has played at wellknown clubs worldwide and worked with David Guetta, Fatboy Slim, Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, Nervo and Afrojack.

Find out more by calling (082) 731 8885.

Burgers of the world

Hard Rock Cafe Bangkok takes fans of the pattie on a World Burger Tour this month and next. Bite into an “Aussie Burger” topped with caramelised onions, crispy bacon, cheddar cheese and a fried egg or munch on a “Hollywood Burger” with melty brie cheese, caramelised shallots, garlic aioli, fresh arugula and tomato. Or go German with a “Schnitzel Burger”, a breaded schnitzel topped with bacon, lettuce, tomato and sauerkraut, topped with Dijon mustard on a warm pretzel bun. For a more oriental taste, opt for a “Sweet & Sour Burger” from Hong Kong, China, with grilled pineapple, crunchy fried onions, bell peppers and crisp lettuce, drizzled with sweet and sour sauce. All are served with seasoned fries.

Book a table at (02) 658 4090 or visit bangkok_social@hardrock.com.

A Thai costume for Spidey

Disney Club, an entertainment programme for children airing on Channel 7 HD 35 every Saturday and Sunday at 6.55am, is inviting kids to take part in an activity, “Marvel’s Spider-Man”, from now until May 30. This activity is designing and painting the superhero Spider-Man’s new costume with a Thai style together with your reason, then sends to Disney Club Channel 7HD, 998/1, Soi Suamsiri, Phaholyothin Road, Chatuchak District, Bangkok 10900. Each of five winners, who will be announced at the programme on June 2, will receive a SpiderMan backpack. More information, please visit http://www.facebook.com/ch7disneyclub.

Led by “Bamako” star Aissa Maiga, they also launched their new book “Being black is not my job” (“Noire n’est pas mon metier”), denouncing the prejudice they have suffered from directors and casting agents.

But the heavens opened as they stepped out onto the red carpet from their cars wearing spectacular gowns by Balmain’s mixed-race designer Olivier Rousteing.

Their march follows hot on the heels of an historic red carpet demonstration Saturday by 82 Hollywood stars, women directors, producers and scriptwriters, led by Cate Blanchett, demanding equal pay and status.

“I was moved to act by the spirit of the times,” Maiga told AFP, who said quotas “could be a possible option” for combatting the lack of black faces on screen, even if that would spark vehement opposition in France.

One of the actors who took part, Nadege Beausson-Diagne, said in the book that she had been asked if she spoke “African” at a casting.

She was also told, “You can’t play her, she’s a lawyer” and “Luckily you have fine features and you are not negroid, not too black…”

The actress, who appeared in France’s biggest ever film at the box office, “Welcome to the Sticks” (“Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis”), said she was also told she was “not African enough to be African” and that “for a black, you are really very intelligent. You should have been white.”

The 2019 edition to be released at the end of this year will feature Thailand’s vibrant food scene along with a wealth of accommodation. Bangkok’s inner zone and its neighbouring provinces of Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon and Samut Prakan will also be substantially covered in this new edition.

“Thrilled by the culinary and hospitality scene of Phuket, which offers unique and fascinating characteristics with its blend of various different cultural influences, Michelin inspectors are excited to discover and reveal the best dining and lodging experiences,” says Michael Ellis, the international director in charge of the Michelin Guides.

In addition to being the melting pot of cultural cuisine, Phuket is well known for excellent seafood. Similar to the food scene in Bangkok, the Pearl of Andaman offers ultimate culinary experience of both traditional and inventive creations, across all price ranges from sophisticated restaurants to street vendors. As popular tourist destinations, Phuket and Phang Nga have a range of accommodation options on offer to visitors to suit all budgets and preferences, from international-standard hotels to simple guesthouses.

“The local cuisine in Phuket is distinctive and flavourful with a wonderful blend of influences from India, Malaysia, China, and the Peranakan ethnic group. Basically, it truly offers an infinite variety of flavours worth discovering,” adds Segsarn Trai-Ukos, country director of Michelin Siam Co and secretary general of Michelin East Asia and Australia.

Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), also expects that the guidebook will help promote the country as an international gastronomic destination.

The Michelin Guide Bangkok, Phuket, and Phang Nga 2019 will be available in a bilingual edition of Thai and English, in both print and digital versions.

In the inaugural edition, three luxury establishments – Gaggan, Le Normandie and Mezzaluna – earned two stars while 14 restaurants got one star. Seven of them – street food eatery Jay Fai, Bo.lan, Nahm, Saneh Jaan, Chim by Siam Wisdom, Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin and Paste offer Thai food.

The other one-starred restaurants are Japanese eatery Ginza Sushi ichi, French establishments L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, J’Aime by Jean-Michel Lorrain and Savelberg – as well as Suhring, Elements and Upstairs at Mikkeller. No restaurant has achieved the coveted highest three-star rating.

Learn more at http://www.Guide.Michelin.com/th/bangkok

The “Glam, Glitz and Glitter” event was held at Latitude Laguna on the island’s golden west coast.

The benefit’s funds will finance 20 hospitality scholarships and traineeships for talented young Phuket residents whose parents cannot afford to pay for their education.

Phuket Vice Governor Phuket Sanit Sriwihok presided over the opening of PHAB 2, along with other senior officials and VIPs.

The glamorous Great Gatsby-themed event attracted more than 300 guests who created a fantastic spectacle with their dazzling costumes. Attendees were treated to an evening of fine dining and fabulous entertainment, including live music from Mark Zitti and the Fratelli Coltelli.

“The Phuket Hotels Association is proud to support the development of local communities, and our annual benefits are a vitally important part of our fundraising activities,” commented Phuket Hotels Association’s president, Anthony Lark. “I would like to thank all of our supporters, sponsors and guests for creating such a memorable occasion.

“This year, the money raised from the PHAB will pay for scholarships for 20 local youngsters to embark on careers in the hospitality industry. This is a wonderful way of creating income for local people and families, creating multi-generational benefits for communities, and supporting our member hotels by developing exciting new industry talent,” Lark added.

The PHAB has quickly become a catalyst for unity in the Phuket hospitality sector – a rallying call for the industry to focus on reinvestment into the island. Phuket Hotels Association members donated an array of travel and tourism prizes which were auctioned at the event, ranging from amazing international holidays to local experiences in and around Phuket.

To date, PHAB events have raised more than Bt4.5 million for charitable causes, including the 20 local hospitality scholarships. As well as the auction, funds were raised through ticket sales and generous donations.

The third annual Phuket Hotels Association Benefit, PHAB 3, will take place on April 27, 2019, with further details to be announced at a later date.

To learn more, visit http://www.PhuketHotelsAssociation.com.

The collective sensory experiment causing a Twitter tizzy mushroomed from a short audio clip originally published by a high school student on Reddit, The New York Times said Wednesday.

Roland Szabo, 18, said he recorded the seemingly innocuous audio from a vocabulary website while doing a project for his school in the US state of Georgia.

He played it for his peers, who disagreed over whether the syllables formed “Yanny” or “Laurel.”

Intrigued, Szabo sent it to a friend who posted the clip on Instagram and created a poll that quickly went viral, triggering a mass debate that has spread internationally.

Input from celebrities has inflamed the frenzy: “It’s Yanny,” horror writer Stephen King said in a deadpan tweet.

“It’s so clearly laurel,” quipped supermodel Chrissy Teigen. “I can’t figure out how one would hear yanny.”

In perhaps the most vexing element of the debate, the majority of listeners hear beyond doubt one of the two words, with few waffling between the two.

Others hear only laughter.

The US Department of Defense made light of the controversy on its Twitter account, with a photo of a US Marine Corps instructor berating a recruit: “I said it’s #Yanny, recruit, not #Laurel!”

Circulating elsewhere on the internet was the line: “Man Calls Girlfriend ‘Yanny’ During Sex, Swears He Said ‘Laurel’.”

A straw poll carried out among staff in AFP’s Washington bureau counted 17 for Yanny, and 14 for Laurel. Just three were caught in between — hearing first one, then the other when played again, or a mix of the two sounds.

– Brain game –

Poppy Crum, chief scientist at Dolby Labs in San Francisco, said the environment in which one listens, including whether headphones or a speaker are used, affects the intensity of the frequencies, and hence what one hears.

“When there is more energy towards the mid and higher frequencies, people tend to hear ‘Yanny’. When the low frequencies are more emphasized, people will hear ‘Laurel’,” Crum said.

She added that our brains want to “categorize” the elements of speech when they are ambiguous, as in this case passing them either into the “Laurel” box or “Yanny” box.

In addition, perception can be influenced by multiple factors such as age, sex or native language of the listener, she explained.

“There really isn’t a true reality, there is only our perceptual reality,” Crum said.

Jody Kreiman, Professor of Head and Neck Surgery and Linguistics at UCLA, said listeners would normally have “semantic context” to interpret what they are hearing.

“But in this case we have an isolated sound with no context,” forcing people to rely on a variety of other factors such as voices they’ve listened to recently.

The controversy recalls the similarly impassioned debate that broke out over the #TheDress: in 2015 a photo of a two-toned frock had social media users tearing their hair out over whether its colors were white and gold, or black and blue.

The audio clip causing internet dissonance can be heard here:

While a fitness regime improved physical fitness in people with mild to moderate dementia, it “does not slow cognitive impairment,” researchers reported in The BMJ medical journal.

It is generally accepted that exercise can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

But whether or not it can slow symptoms after the onset of mental decline, has been the subject of much debate.

For the latest study, researchers took 494 people in England who had been diagnosed with dementia, and assigned 329 of them to an exercise programme.

They took part in 60-90-minute group sessions in a gym twice a week for four months, and home exercises for an additional hour per week.

The average age of the group was 77.

Participants were assessed at six and 12 months after starting the programme.

The researchers noted that cognition had declined in both the exercise and non-exercise groups.

In the exercise group, the decline was steeper, “however, the average difference was small and clinical relevance was uncertain,” said a press statement.

Commenting on the study, Brendon Stubbs of King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, said its findings was “enormously important” for the care of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Whilst previous smaller studies have suggested that exercise can prevent or improve cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s disease, this robust and very large study provides the most definitive answer we have on the role of exercise in mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease,” he said via the Science Media Centre.

“The search for effective lifestyle interventions that can delay cognitive decline in dementia must continue.”

A separate study, published in the journal Jama Psychiatry, among English people aged 65 and older, said people with fewer financial resources appeared to be at higher risk of dementia.

According to the UN’s World Health Organization, about 50 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease — the most common form with about two-thirds of cases.

There are about 10 million new dementia cases each year.

Thomas Markle had been due to walk his daughter down the aisle during the meticulously-planned ceremony at Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Chapel on Saturday.

He had decided against travelling from his home in Mexico to accompany his daughter due to his health — and to spare her further embarrassment after a paparazzi scandal where he posed for staged pictures, according to celebrity news website TMZ.

Then on Tuesday, the site initially reported an about-face from Markle, who said he would try to attend after he had been contacted by his daughter via text — before he revealed once more that his health was preventing him from attending.

“I hate the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle,” he told TMZ from hospital, where he was suffering chest pains, a week after reportedly suffering a heart attack.

The site later said Markle could not make the trip after all, thanks to a major operation scheduled for Wednesday to clear a blocked artery, repair coronary damage and put a stent in his heart to help keep the artery open.

Harry’s Kensington Palace office issued a brief statement that did not mention Markle’s heart drama, but said: “This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding.

“She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation.”

The palace could not be reached for further comment.

‘Positive photos’

Thomas Markle told TMZ he had agreed to pose for a paparazzi photo shoot in a bid to rehabilitate his image, rather than for money, but that he now regretted the move.

The pictures — in which he was being measured for a suit and admiring a photo of the future royal couple on his computer — sold for $100,000 (83,000 euros), according to British tabloid the Daily Mirror.

TMZ said he had suffered a heart attack last week due to stress and that he was continuing to suffer from chest pains.

Markle senior said his ex-wife Doria Ragland would be a good choice to walk their daughter down the aisle in his place, according to the website.

Meanwhile, Meghan Markle’s half-sister Samantha Grant, who has criticised the bride-to-be’s relationship with her father’s side of the family, revealed her dad was feeling “quite depressed” and had indeed suffered a heart attack.

“I don’t know as of today what his plans are, but there’s a very real concern,” she told Britain’s ITV television.

Whether he attends the wedding will be based on “whether or not it’s safe” for him to go, said Grant.

She said her father had “suffered at the hands of the media” who had presented him “in the most horrible ways”.

Staging the photos was intended to counter the way he had been “so unfairly presented in the media as being sort of shabby”.

– ‘Circus’ in town –

Kensington Palace’s attempts to project a sense of serenity around the wedding preparations have been clouded by Markle’s relatives, who have not been invited to Saturday’s nuptials following stories of bust-ups, heavy drinking and an arrest.

Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Markle Junior accused her of shunning the family in an open letter last month.

In what The Daily Telegraph newspaper called “the circus” surrounding the wedding, Tom Junior’s ex-wife Tracy Dooley — also not invited to the wedding — rolled into London with her two sons Tyler and Thomas.

“We’re here! Yay!” she said, posting pictures of London landmarks, after they were spotted pushing luggage through Heathrow Airport.

The Dooleys are reportedly appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme as part of their royal wedding coverage.

US actress Markle, 36, grew up in Los Angeles and remains close with her parents, who divorced three decades ago.

Her 73-year-old father is an Emmy-winning Hollywood lighting director who retired to Mexico, while her mother, 61, is a yoga instructor and clinical therapist.

‘Not so awful’

Ragland, who has reportedly already arrived in Britain, is expected to spend Friday night with her daughter in a plush hotel before travelling with her by car to Windsor Castle.

On Tuesday, Americans already in Windsor ahead of the wedding were sympathetic to their compatriot.

“It’s disappointing for her,” said Jean Rice, 48, from Orlando.

“But things happen. I hope they’re happy.”

Karen Yaney, 64, from Chicago, said she hoped Markle’s father would attend.

“Staging those photos, that didn’t seem so awful. I imagine she’s on the phone with him trying to persuade him to come,” she added.

The largest study of its kind, involving more than 91,000 people, also linked interference with the body’s “circadian rhythm” to a decline in cognitive functions such as memory and attention span.

The brain’s hard-wired circadian timekeeper governs day-night cycles, influencing sleep patterns, the release of hormones and even body temperature.

Earlier research had suggested that disrupting these rhythms can adversely affect mental health, but was inconclusive: most data was self-reported, participant groups were small, and potentially data-skewing factors were not ruled out.

For the new study, an international team led by University of Glasgow psychologist Laura Lyall analysed data — taken from the UK Biobank, one of the most complete long-term health surveys ever done — on 91,105 people aged 37 to 73.

The volunteers wore accelerometers that measured patterns of rest and activity and had this record compared to their mental history, also taken from the UK Biobank.

Individuals with a history of disrupting their body’s natural rhythm — working night shifts, for example, or suffering repeated jetlag — also tended to have a higher lifetime risk of mood disorders, feelings of unhappiness, and cognitive problems, the researchers found.

‘Owls’ and ‘Larks’

The results held true even when the potential impact of factors such as old age, unhealthy lifestyle, obesity, and childhood trauma were taken into account, they reported in The Lancet Psychiatry, a medical journal.

The study cannot say conclusively that body clock disturbances are what caused the mental risk, instead of the other way round.

But the findings “reinforce the idea that mood disorders are associated with disturbed circadian rhythms,” said Lyall.

Measurements of people’s rest-work cycles could be a useful tool for flagging and treating people at risk of major depression or bipolar disorders, the researchers concluded.

One limitation of the study was the average age of the trial participants — 62.

“Seventy-five percent of [mental] disorders start before the age of 24 years,” said University of Oxford researcher Aiden Doherty, commenting on the paper.

“The circadian system undergoes developmental changes during adolescence, which is also a common time for the onset of mood disorders,” he added.

Humans have been shown to be either “owls” or “larks”, corresponding to so-called genetic “chronotypes” that determine whether we function better at night or during the day.

Last year, the Nobel Prize for medicine was awarded to three US scientists who pioneered our understanding of how the circadian clock ticks.

The British Embassy and Bangkok shopping mall Siam Paragon are mounting an exhibition of photos of Prince Harry and the lady he’s marrying on Saturday (May 19), Meghan Markle, and offering a chance to sign a best-wishes book that will be presented to the couple.

Unless you’ve been invited to the wedding at St George’s Chapel within Windsor Castle, drop by Siam Paragon to witness a photographic paean to royal romance and a history of British royal nuptials. The exhibition will be in the mall’s Hall of Fame on M Floor from May 18 through 21.

And Parc Paragon will be fitted with large video screens on Saturday carrying the wedding live from 5 to 7pm.

British Ambassador Brian John Davidson says the exhibition will “re-emphasise” the warm relationship that Thailand and Britain have enjoyed for hundreds of years, as have the two countries’ royal families.

Siam Paragon executive Chadatip Chutrakul says tourists from around the world shop at the mall, so it hosts activities and events of interest to them, and the royal wedding has global appeal.

“The exhibition will also impress visitors with the story of love it shares, and they can write a congratulatory message to Prince Harry and Meghan in a wedding blessing book that the embassy is providing, which will be presented to the couple at Kensington Palace.”

Also on view at the event will be a 1.5-metre-tall wedding cake from Harrods department store, decorated in the Wedgewood style with motifs referring to events over the course of 250 years of history.

As well, wedding cakes representing other famous British brands, such as Jo Malone, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Mini and Johnnie Walker – and Thai fashion brands with British followings such as Milin, Patinya and Vickteerut – will be on display.

“I lived in England for five years, so I feel a bond to it,” says Milin designer-owner Milin Yuvacharuskul.

“My wedding cake is inspired by fireworks, symbolising celebration. The lines modern in their styling, as is the Milin brand, and so is the royal wedding, which is veering away from tradition.

“I love the fact that the bride is a commoner who was married before. The British royal family’s acceptance of Meghan shows that they’re open-minded, which is very interesting.”

Patinya owner-designer Patinya Kiewkong also spent several years in London and marvelled at the art and culture on view all around the city. The cake she’s contributed focuses on Harry and Meghan’s unusual but sublime romance, using white, gold and pale blue to elegant, luxurious effect.

“The shape is feminine, which reflects the brand’s approach, and decorated with our signature floral garland. You see our four elements all represented – minimalist, feminine, romantic and classic.”

Visitors can drool over a Rolls Royce Phantom VII Series 1, one of a line of superb rides from a brand long favoured by British royalty. Princess Elizabeth, the future queen, and her husband Prince Philip were already riding in a Phantom IV in 1950.

The exhibition will be absolutely glowing with sample jewellery from 16 diamond shops at Siam Paragon. Le Beau, Gems Pavilion, Dermond, Bijioux de Louis, Karat, Xavier, Blue River, Sette, Rajadamri Gems, Mikimoto, Siam Tiara, Premiera-Exquisite Jewelry, Trez Jewelry, Prima Gems, ST Diamond Design, Marseille and Scintialla will show pieces inspired by romance and made for weddings. The display is collectively valued at Bt200 million.