Author: bestmedeal

A sigh before Kurt Cobain entered the eternal hunting grounds, in April 1994,he gave us the phenomenal Nirvana song ‘Heart-Shaped Box’, a pistil with atreacherous lyrics.

Sasha Van Der SpeetenSeptember 17, 202203:00

In the 1990s, few rock stars wallowed in ambiguity as sardonically as KurtCobain. But he left little doubt about ‘Heart-Shaped Box’: for the mostsuccessful single from Nirvana’s third and final album in Utero he got hisinspiration from a documentary about children with cancer. “Every time I thinkabout it, I get sadder than I’ve ever been,” Cobain said in Michael Azerrad’sCome As You Are biography. It would be the lyric “I wish I could eat yourcancer when you turn black” explain. In addition, the American grunge singerclaimed, the chorus “Hey! / Wait! / I ‘ve got a new complaint!” refer to theblunt way the media treated him.

That could all be fine, the biographer Gillian G. Gaar thought in her analysis_in Utero_ a booklet from the renowned 33 1/3 series, “but the song is moreabout the physical and emotional dependence that is inherent in romanticrelationships.” The imagery is especially striking. Cobain sings aboutcarnivorous orchids and an umbilical cord, “mostly feminine symbols thatharbor potential danger and that generate a fear that properly equatesintimacy with a suffocating claustrophobia”.

Are you now spontaneously thinking of Courtney Love? Cobain’s widow, who isalso the frontwoman of the band Hole, was the only mortal to attend the birthof ‘Heart-Shaped Box’. Her bereaved husband is said to have written the songin 1992 when he and she had moved into a house in the Hollywood Hills, morespecifically “in a built-in closet where I heard him play the basic riff,” shesaid in a statement. Rolling Stone. “I asked him if I could have that rifffor one of my own songs. He just said _ ‘fuck you!’_ and shut the closetdoor.”

Does ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ shed light on the turbulent relationship between Loveand Cobain, the Sid and Nancy of the nineties? We know that Love once giftedhim a heart-shaped perfumed box that contained a decapitated porcelain doll,rose petals, a mini teacup and some sea shells. What about “I wish I couldeat your cancer when you turn black”? Is that lurid lyric “one of the mostcomplicated routes any songwriter has ever taken to say you love someone,” asNirvana biographer Charles R. Cross suspects? To eat your lover’s illness tosave her from evil? Or save the _ ‘cancer’ and the ‘ pisces’_ from the texton the constellations of Cobain and Love?

Abortion

The well-thought-out text somewhat reflects the difficult creation of thesong. When Cobain showed the demo for ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ to his comrades DaveGrohl and Krist Novoselic, they came up with little more than a lot of ragingnoise. Ironically, bassist Novoselic later complained during the recordingthat Cobain’s atonal guitar solo sounded “like an abortion slamming to thefloor.” Appropriate, since Cobain sings the song from the point of view of anaborted fetus who wants to crawl back into its mother’s womb.

The final note is – how could it be otherwise? — for Courtney Love. “You doknow that ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ is about my vagina, right?” she tweeted in 2012after Lana Del Rey covered the song. “Come on guys: “Throw your umbilicalnoose so I can climb right back”? uh…? I came up with a lot of thosecomparisons myself. So the next time you sing that song, think about my

After more than three decades, “The Phantom of the Opera,” the longest-runningshow in Broadway history, is closing.

A representative verified the show will play its final performance on Feb. 18,2023. It will have played 13,925 performances.

Directed by the late theater legend Harold Prince and featuring the music ofAndrew Lloyd Webber, “Phantom” opened Jan. 26, 1988. At that year’s Tonys, itwas nominated for 10 awards, winning 7 — including Best Musical. One of theshows it beat that year? Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods.”

“As a British producer who has been lucky enough to have been producing in NewYork for over 40 consecutive years, it has been an unparalleled honor to havepresented the longest-running musical in Broadway’s history,” said producerCameron Mackintosh in a news release . “That this legendary show has thrilledNew York for nearly 35 phenomenal years is quite astounding to me.”

‘ MAS*H’ turns 50: How Alan Alda’s wartime CBS dramedy changed TV, andset ratings record

As much a part of the city landscape as the Empire State Building and theStatue of Liberty, the blockbuster phenomenon has long been a New York Citylandmark. While not a critical hit, the tourists kept coming year after toyear to see the show’s lavish sets and costumes, large cast and Broadway’slargest orchestra.

Ben Crawford as The Phantom in

Mesmerized by the talents and beauty of the young soprano Christine, ThePhantom lures her as his protégé and falls fiercely in love with her. Unawareof Christine’s love for Raoul, The Phantom’s obsession sets the scene for adramatic turn of events where jealousy, madness and passions collide.Featuring songs like “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” “All I Ask of You”and “The Music of the Night,” the show played to nearly full capacity (1,655)decades after opening.

Based on the classic novel “Le Fantôme de L’Opéra” by Gaston Leroux, theshow’s lyrics are by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe,and a book by Richard Stilgoe and Webber. It has played to over 145 millionpeople in 41 countries and 183 cities in 17 languages.

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But before it closes, the show at the Majestic Theater, 245 W. 44th St., willcelebrate its 35th anniversary on Jan. 26. The on-sale date for tickets forthe final four weeks of performances — including the 35th anniversary,Valentine’s Day and the final performance — as well as details on allcelebrations, will be announced at a future date.

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Photo signage of the Broadway play

“Phantom” became the longest-running show in Broadway history on Jan. 9, 2006— when it surpassed the nearly 18-year run of “Cats,” another musicalfeaturing the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Representatives say it has beenseen by 19.5 million people and grossed $1.3 billion. In New York, the showemployed an estimated 6,500 people (including 450 actors) during its more than30-year run.

The musical changed the landscape for touring across the country, inspiringthe renovation of theaters and opera houses. The three original US nationaltours combined grossed over $1.5 billion, playing 216 engagements in 77 citiesto 31 million people.

As Broadway bids farewell, the show is still playing in London. A productionrecently appeared at the Sydney Opera House, and the first Mandarin languageversion of the show will open in China in 2023, the release said. AntonioBanderas wants to create a Spanish language production, the release added.

The New York production currently stars Ben Crawford as The Phantom and EmilieKouatchou as Christine. Ticket prices range from $29 to $169, with premiumtickets also available. Call 212-239-6200 or visit Telecharge.com for moreinformation.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: ‘ Phantom of theOpera,’ Broadway’s longest-running show, to close

Kings, presidents, an emperor and a million citizens have bid farewell toQueen Elizabeth in London. In Westminster Abbey there was modest mourning, butespecially thanks for a life of service to the Queen who died at the age of96.

“Few leaders receive as much love as we have seen for her,” the Archbishop ofCanterbury typified ten days of mourning. “The sadness there is – in herfamily but also around the world – stems from her rich life and the lovingservice that we now have to miss.”

The Archbishop said that loving service is rare, especially among those inpower. “But they are remembered long after those who clung to power andprivilege are forgotten.” The archbishop also prayed for strength for thebereaved as they face their grief “in the brightest spotlight”.

Emotions were seen among members of the royal family:

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King Charles at Westminster Abbey, where the state funeral was

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Charles during the service. He was moved when singing the national anthem

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The brothers William and Harry. William, the crown prince, wore his uniform

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Princess Charlotte, daughter of William and Kate, cries after mass

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The ceremonies started early in Westminster Hall, where the public had beenable to say goodbye to the Queen for five days. At exactly 6:30 am, the lastmourner passed the bier.

It turned out to be a woman who came by for the second time: yesterday at 5.15pm she joined for the first time and when it was her turn at 1.15 am she wentstraight back.

“I just had to go one more time,” said Christina Heerey, a member of theBritish Armed Forces. “I have sworn my allegiance to her. I am very proud as amember of the Air Force and as one of its subjects.”

After Heerey, the Black Rod, Parliament ‘s highest official, took a solemnfarewell:

Last citizens pass Queen Elizabeth’s coffin

A few hours later, King Charles accompanied his mother’s bier on foot fromParliament to nearby Westminster Abbey, along with his sons, brothers andsister. It was the first time since George II’s funeral in 1760 that thechurch had been used again for a royal funeral; other princes chose Windsorfor the ceremony.

The location was one of the many personal touches Elizabeth had added to theceremony. The Queen had a special bond with the Church, where she married in1947 and was crowned six years later. The personal touch was also evident inthe choice of music, with chants from her own wedding service and from lastyear’s funeral service for Prince Philip.

Just before noon in Great Britain, the Last Post announced two minutes ofnational silence, for which even air traffic at Heathrow was suspended forhalf an hour. The church then set God save the king in.

Charles, who of course did not sing along, was visibly moved:

King Charles emotional as national anthem ‘God save the king’ is sung

The service was carefully followed along the route that the funeral processionwould follow. In some places in the city large screens had been erected,elsewhere the ceremonies were followed on mobile phones.

The 11-year-old Alex had already picked a spot along the route with his motherLaura yesterday. “The Queen was there all my life, and my mother’s whole lifeas well. That’s why we have to be here today,” he explained. “I hope I don’tforget it for the rest of my life.”

Shortly afterwards, the funeral procession of 3,000 soldiers, a motley crewfrom all the countries of which Elizabeth had been the head of state, passed:traditional beef eaters , Asian gurkhas, Canadian mounties and a delegationfrom Jamaica. Employees from the merchant navy, fire brigade, ambulanceservices and police also followed. All armed units held their weapons upsidedown as a sign of mourning.

Impressive procession travels through London with coffin Elizabeth

The centerpiece of the procession was Elizabeth’s coffin with the symbols ofher power: the Imperial State Crown , scepter and orb. 148 sailors pulledthe gun carriage on which the coffin rested, the base of a cannon that hadbeen used for the funerals of Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill andElizabeth’s father.

In silence the crowd waited for the procession of veiled drums and bagpipes topass, accompanied by the sound of Big Ben and salutes from Hyde Park. En routeto Wellington Arch, where the car journey to the burial chapel in Windsorbegan, the procession passed Buckingham Palace, a final salute to the palacewhere the Queen lived for seventy years.

Broken staff

The funeral procession is now on its way to Windsor, where the Queen will beinterred in St. George’s Chapel, the resting place of ten other Britishmonarchs, but above all her parents, sister and husband Philip. A burialservice will follow to which 800 people have been invited. Among them, besidesthe family, are members of her court and representatives from theCommonwealth.

Million dollar huntWith an offer of 314,000 euros in _Million dollar hunt_many people would have gone home satisfied, but the 61-year-old Bertha couldnot resist the temptation last night and let herself be carried away foranother round. Her courage was rewarded: she left for home in front of morethan 1.3 million viewers with almost half a million euros. “I’m so happy withthis,” she exclaimed.

In the third episode of the new season of Million dollar hunt last night,61-year-old Bertha stood behind the well-known desk next to Linda de Mol. Shechose – unlike many candidates who preceded her – without reason a briefcase,number 26. Prize money would be more than welcome: Bertha wanted to pay offher daughter’s student debt of 12,000 euros. De Mol asked whether she also hadsomething in mind for herself if she would win a nice amount. A new kitchenwould be nice, but Bertha had one dream that made her eyes twinkle. ,,A camperseems great to me.”

And so Bertha, who accompanies young people with dementia in daily life,started playing with the suitcases in good spirits. The first round didn’t gotoo well for her. For example, 500,000 euros fell off, but the 2.5 millioneuros also disappeared from the list. The first offer from the bank wastherefore not very exciting: 47,000 euros. Bertha didn’t mind.

Stop

The second round went a lot better. ,,What a top round, he was great’, De Molexulted, as she summed up the amounts in the right row. Another bid followed,this time for 99,000 euros, but Bertha didn’t like that either. Once again,briefcases with favorable low amounts were played away and the 5 million wasstill present, but Bertha remained sober. “We’re not there yet”, she respondedto the enthusiastic De Mol.

The game progressed and there were fewer and fewer briefcases left. The bankcame up with an attractive offer of 314,000 euros. This caused Bertha to havedoubts: to stop or to continue? Her daughter, a friend and much of theaudience advised Bertha to stop, but her curiosity won out in the end. “Let’stry it”, she took the gamble.

Bertha then played the 1 million away, but the 5 million stunner was still inone of the briefcases. The bank responded to this, because Bertha received anoffer of 488,000 euros. That was when she chose eggs for her money. “Deal,”she exclaimed. A good choice, because her own briefcase turned out to contain’only’ a thousand euros.

And so Bertha left with 488,000 euros, with which she can pay off herdaughter’s student debt, but also finally buy her dream camper. “I’m so happywith this,” he said enthusiastically.

The Voice

Two weeks ago, De Mol returned to television after months of absence with_Million dollar hunt_. In January of this year she stopped all her work afterit became known that her now ex-partner Jeroen Rietbergen was accused ofsexually transgressive behavior behind the scenes at The Voicemail e orHolland. She was also not on the cover of her magazine for months Linda.

Bertha and Linda de Mol in Million Hunt. © Talpa

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Also listen to the AD Media Podcast with this week ‘s Evening Show by ArjenLubach, the riot around B&B Vol Liefde, the mediocre scores of RTL and themany talk shows. Listen below or subscribe via Spotify or iTunes.

Three friends stroll past the long line of food stalls in Hyde Park and marvelat the Burger Shack, the Hog Roast, where they sell “crispy pork baguettes,”and the Doughnuts & Coffee. “Hello, it’s not a festival today or something?”says one of the boys.

Yet Hyde Park, a large park in the middle of London with large video screensso that Brits can follow the farewell of Queen Elizabeth II, has somethingfestival-like. There are food trucks, there are blocks of dixies, water pointsand endless streams of walking people. The lines at the coffee shops arelongest on Monday around half past nine in the morning, when the officialstart of the funeral takes a while. Yet enough Brits are already ordering ahamburger or a portion Fish & Chips.

The United Kingdom said goodbye to the late Queen Elizabeth on Monday afterten days of mourning. She had a church service with hundreds of invitees fromall over the world, with music and psalms that she had partly chosen herself.It was a day full of marches and great display of about 4,000 soldiers.

Sorry about Charles

The only time the crowds in Hyde Park stop for a moment is during the latemorning church service. The security guards are still trying to keep thefootpaths free of people who want to sit, but they are not successful, it istoo busy. Families sit on picnic blankets drinking beer from paper cups withthe British flag on them. Dogs are urged to sit, children lifted on the hipand hopped to get them still.

As if it was agreed upon, while playing The Last Post, everyone stands up andthen keeps silence for two minutes. There aren’t many tears – ten days isapparently long enough to handle the worst shock of the death of the onlyqueen the average Briton has known.

Still, Sandra O’Brien does have a lump in her throat, she says. She’s eating abag of chips after everyone has sung the national anthem—the first verse, thesecond hardly anyone knows—and the Queen’s coffin has just been lifted out ofthe church. “Her life is so intertwined with ours. I strongly associate herwith family life. All the street parties we held to celebrate heranniversaries, none of that will come back.” O’Brien regrets that Crown PrinceWilliam has not become king, but that it is Charles’ turn first. “Someone fromthe younger generation, that would be nice.”

“A little toast is in order,” says Greer McDonald who traveled to London> with girlfriend Jackie Reynolds especially to say goodbye

Toast to the Queen

A little further south, towards the Wellington Arch square where the Queen isbeing transferred from carriage to funeral carriage, friends Greer McDonaldand Jackie Reynolds and their families are waiting for the Queen to drop by inthe funeral car. On a hill, so that they have a good view, they are drinkingsparkling wine. “A small toast is in order,” says McDonald. “Because 96 years,wow I wish my mother had lived that long.”

They came from Wirral especially for the funeral, which is next to Liverpool.“We told each other we would regret it if we didn’t,” McDonald said. Theyslept in a hotel and were here around eight in the morning. That was alreadytoo late for the really good places anyway, the police no longer allowedpeople in the area where the first procession was held. “Ah, it’s about seeingher come by.”

Also read the obituary about Elizabeth II: The Queen Who Outlived EveryoneBy Silence For 70 Years

If it had been up to Jackie Reynolds, stores across the country would haveclosed today. “We all work hard enough. That way you give everyone the time toreally honor the queen.” Monday could be an official day off in the UK,companies could decide for themselves whether they really gave their staff offor not. Most shops were closed, some only in the morning or during churchservice. Cinema chains had no regular programming but broadcast the funeral,just like many pubs opened earlier to show the service.

Shame on Center Parcs

In any case, in recent days there has been a lot of talk about how thebusiness community dealt with national mourning. “I thought it wasexaggerated, also typically British,” says Greer McDonald, she can laugh aboutit. Supermarket chain Morrisons had lowered the beeps at the self-helpcheckout “as a sign of respect and mourning”, but with the result thatcustomers had trouble checking out because they did not notice whether theirproducts had been scanned or not.

Then there was the energy company Ecotricity that put a photoshopped photo ofthe queen in bright green company clothing online, “Thanks Liz”, which wentwrong with many. And CrossFit VK posted a high-intensity workout on socialmedia in honor of the Queen: 70 lunges, 96 double-unders with skipping rope,“1 minute of peace in silence.”

But the Center Parcs bungalow park received the most derision because theywanted their guests completely off their sites on Monday, so that the staffcould also pay their respects to the Queen. After much commotion, Center Parcsreversed the measure, but they did ask guests to stay in their house.

In Hyde Park the atmosphere is relaxed, friendly for the rest of theafternoon. A neat older couple drinks white wine from real glasses, further ontwo girls march in circles around their parents exactly to the size of thecorps. As the car with the coffin drives to Windsor, where the Queen is buriedin St. George’s Chapel, applause erupts.

Token pearl gestures – symbolic of grief – were omnipresent at the funeral ofQueen Elizabeth II on Monday. Both Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Meghan,Duchess of Sussex both chose pieces created with the natural gemstone.

Often referred to as ‘mourning jewellery’, the soft, subtle polish andcolorless nature of pearls, along with associations of purity, are consideredan appropriate choice to represent the grieving period.

The Queen, too, was rarely seen without her signature three-strand pearlnecklace, and some of her favorite pieces from her private jewelery collectionfeatured the gemstone.

But the Queen would often wear pearls herself, the poignant reason whilst whyroyals wear pearl jewelery at funerals and during mourning actually goes backmuch further than the late monarch’s reign.

Why do female members of the Royal Family wear pearls during times ofmourning?

The tradition of pearls as ‘mourning jewellery’, in fact, dates all the wayback to Queen Victoria.

After the death of her husband Prince Albert in 1861, Queen Victoria was soovercome with grief that she famously wore only black for the next 40 yearsuntil the end of her own life, accessorising her colorless outfits with pearlswhich were said to represent tears.

Victoria wore several strands of pearls for the remainder of her life, and thetradition of wearing the gems during the mourning period has continued in theRoyal Family into the modern day.

A portrait of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) wearing black mourning dress and apearl necklace painted in 1900 by Bertha Muller. (Getty Images)

Queen Victoria’s complex, and sometimes rigid rules around the rites ofmourning inspired the same etiquette throughout the course of the late 19thcentury.

“By the 1860s, a widow was expected to dress in black for a year and a dayafter her husband’s death, wearing minimal black matte ornaments, usually ofunpolished jet,” writes Clare Phillips, jewelery curator at the Victoria andAlbert Museum, in her book Jewels and Jewelery.

“Gradually she was allowed more elaborate mourning jewellery, then diamondsand pearls, and finally a return to colored stones,” she adds. “Some widows,following the example of Queen Victoria, never returned to more light-heartedpieces.”

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Queen Victoria’s choice was ingrained in tradition and the demure, respectfuloutward gesture of grief became a historic choice for members of the RoyalFamily during periods of mourning and at funerals.

Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Queen Mary wearing traditionalmourning wear as they greeted the coffin of King George VI from Sandringham.(Getty Images)

The Queen wore her signature three-strand pearl necklace to her mother’sfuneral in 2002. (Getty Images)

The late Queen Elizabeth II herself wore pearls to the funerals of herPrincess Margaret, King George VI, the Queen Mother and Diana, Princess ofWales, and most recently, to the funeral of her husband Prince Philip, Duke ofEdinburgh in 2021.

And other members of the Royal Family have closely followed the late monarch’sexample.

Diana, Princess of Wales chose a simple string of pearls for the funeral ofPrincess Grace of Monaco in 1982, and again for the funeral of Gianni Versace10 years later.

Diana, Princess of Wales, wearing pearls to the funerals of Gianni Versace (L)and Princess Grace of Monaco (R). (Getty Images)

Catherine, Princess of Wales, wore the Queen’s four-string pearl and diamondchoker for the Queen’s funeral which was also worn by her late mother-in-law,Princess Diana in the past.

Kate previously borrowed the choker to wear to the Queen and Prince Philip’s70th anniversary celebration in 2017, and later to the Prince’s funeral in2021. Given the sentimental backstory behind the necklace, it’s no wonder shewore it again to honor the late monarch.

Catherine, Princess of Wales wore the Queen’s four-strand necklace the funeralof Prince Philip in 2021 and then the Queen’s funeral in 2022. (Getty Images)

Featuring four strands of pearls and a diamond clasp, the choker wasoriginally gifted to the Queen from Japan in the 1970s and she often wore itherself, including on a state visit to Bangladesh in 1983.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex wore a pair of pearl and diamond earrings, whichwere gifted to her by the Queen following her marriage to Prince Harry to boththe procession and the Queen’s funeral.

The government parties want the cabinet to cap the high energy bills ofcitizens before this autumn. The cabinet is still consulting with energycompanies all day long about whether this is feasible.

This morning, the group leaders of coalition parties VVD, D66, CDA andChristenUnie again discussed a way to curb the rising energy costs of citizensand businesses. The four would prefer a so-called price ceiling to beintroduced as of 1 November. This means that a household that does not usemore gas and electricity than average will never lose more than a maximumamount.

The cabinet will continue talks this afternoon after a long meeting yesterday.Today, the party leaders of PvdA and GroenLinks are also joining us, whopreviously asked for a price ceiling. Their support is needed to get thegovernment’s budget plans through the Senate.

Furthermore, Minister Rob Jetten (Climate and Energy) is again negotiatingwith the energy companies today whether 1 November is indeed feasible. Themajor airlines have already said they can. But the smaller companies would notsucceed until January 1. The Netherlands has about 35 energy companies.

Energy tax

The government will compensate energy companies if the price of gas andelectricity is higher than the agreed maximum amount that they can chargecitizens. It is not yet possible to say how many billions of euros that willcost. That depends on how high the gas price will be next winter. It has beenagreed in the coalition that the proposed reduction in energy tax for nextyear will then no longer be necessary.

It is not yet clear how high the ceiling will be. In The Hague, bandwidthscirculate between 1200 to 1500 cubic meters of gas and 2500 to 3000 kilowatthours of electricity per year. Until that limit is reached, people will thenpay the rate that applied to the invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of thisyear. Anything above that must be settled at the higher market rate. In thisway, the cabinet wants to ‘incentivize’ everyone to use energy economically.

In addition, the cabinet is working on an emergency fund that can help peoplewho can no longer pay their energy bills. In this way, it should be preventedthat defaulters are closed next winter.

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Television is a fixed part of peak use in many households. For many people,the eve on TV, of which EditieNL is also a part, is still a regular fixture.Although it could help to change this habit and turn off the TV, according totelevision expert Tina Nijkamp, ​​this will not be easy.

“The eve is a very important TV moment for many people. If you look at the top10 viewing figures, many programs from the eve always score high,” explainsNijkamp. “For many people it is indeed a habit, but many people also justwatch, as they used to do, to stay informed.”

“We in the media spend all day on the internet and keep up with the news,which is part of our job,” Nijkamp continues. “But many people are justworking outside all day. They really don’t have time to follow the news allday and still want to stay informed. That’s what the evening is really meantfor.”

“I don’t think you can change much about this as EditieNL,” says Nijkamp. “Ofcourse it is a current affairs program so you don’t sit back and watch itagain the next day at 11 o’clock. It really belongs at that moment.”

shabby

Professor of energy technology David Smeulders of Eindhoven University ofTechnology is also not in favor of rigorously changing habits. “I think theidea that we have to save energy in those peak hours because otherwise thingswill go wrong is quite poor, to be honest. That we couldn’t provide thecountry with energy is bizarre. The system just has to be in order.”

“People want to decide for themselves when they shower and watch TV,” Smulderscontinues. “The citizen now has to solve the problems, while that is simplythe task of the government. If everyone turns on the television, it certainlyconsumes a lot of power, but everyone should be able to determine forthemselves how much energy and costs you want to save.”

“The energy network works just like the NS”, explains Smeuulders. “As manywagons are bought as the maximum is needed. It is the same with electricity.We must have available what is needed as much as possible. If we can reducethat maximum, there is of course profit to be made.”

Off peak

“If we travel during off-peak hours, the NS will have to use fewer trains.It’s not that they don’t have the trains, but it’s cheaper if they don’t haveto use them,” continues Smeulders. “That’s how it goes with electricity.Energy companies buy the electricity and get it sold again, that’s no problem.But it’s about the infrastructure.”

“If there is more load on the grid, then new wind farms, solar farms andcables, etc. are needed,” says the professor. “When the electricity demand isspread more evenly, you don’t have to build as much. That is of coursecheaper.”

In addition, the purchase price of energy is also extra high during peakhours, explains Smoulders. “It is a question of supply and demand. If there isa lot of demand during peak hours, prices are high. More expensive powerstations are often used for that peak demand.”

Price incentive

Smoulders thinks that flexible energy tariffs could therefore be an option tomake consumers think better about the distribution of their energyconsumption. “Then you would have to pay more for energy use in the morningand evening than in the afternoon, for example. That way people also get aprice incentive to adjust their behaviour.”

Welcome to So Mini Ways Yahoo Life ‘s __parenting series on the joysand challenges of child-rearing.

Brian Austin Green was 29 when his oldest son, Cassius, was born; hisyoungest, Zane, arrived this June, just a couple of weeks before the actortuned 49.

Speaking to Yahoo Life’s So Mini Ways, the former Beverly Hills, 90210 starand father of five says fatherhood hits differently as an older dad.

“At 49, I don’t have the same physical ability, obviously, to be as hands-onas I was when I was younger,” says Green, giving credit to his Zane’s “amazingmother,” dancer Sharna Burgess of Dancing With the Stars fame. “Sharna issuch a partner in all of it that it’s just been so enjoyable.”

Brian Austin Green opens up about his five kids and prioritizing his health.(Photo: Getty; designed by Quinn Lemmers)

Green also counts himself lucky that there’s no sibling drama within hismodern family. In addition to nearly 3-month-old Zane and 20-year-old Cassius,whose mom is actress Vanessa Marcil, he shares Noah, 9, Bodhi, 8, and Journey,6, with ex-wife Megan Fox.

“All of them are so obsessed with Zane and just so in love with him,” Greensays. “And there’s been no issue with that at all; there’s been no friction inthe situation. Things that could have naturally happened in having a baby withsomeone new — the younger kids that I have taking issue with that, becausethere’s a new one that they’re not completely blood-related to on both sides —it could have been so difficult and just hasn’t been. From day one, they’veabsolutely embraced Sharna and now embrace Zane. It’s been amazing. .”

As far as his parenting style, the TV star says that while he isn’t afraid tobe a disciplinarian, he firmly believes in giving his kids the freedom to bethemselves.

“I don’t own these kids,” he says. “I don’t want to push upon them my passionsor the things that make me me. I enjoy the fact that they are individuals andI love really helping them find the individuality, and their passions and thethings that make them them. I feel like my job as a parent is to make sure,morally, that they are good people when they grow up.”

Story continues

His parenting philosophy is this: “Just love your kids,” Green says. “Justaccept them for who they are and be loving and kind and supportive ofeverything that they do. Don’t let your own experiences in your own life getin the way of allowing them to experience and live their lives. Be OK withstepping back a little bit and not micromanaging the situation.”

He points to his older son Cassius as proof that he’s done something right.

“I feel so blessed and I’m so excited watching him navigate the world himself.Hearing from people like, ‘Oh, I’ve met him, and he’s just an amazing humanbeing,’ — I feel like, OK, that ‘s one down,” he laughs. “I’ve done goodwith one so far, so four more to go. If he is any sort of [testament] of whatit is that I’m doing and have done, then good on it so far. It seems to beworking.”

Fatherhood has also been a wakeup call for Green to prioritize his health sothat he can be there for his kids. Since his early 30s the actor has sufferedfrom ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease that can causeinflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract and is linked to an increasedrisk of prostate cancer, though he admits that he hasn’t always been proactiveabout undergoing annual screenings. He’s now partnering with Depend on itsStand Strong For Men’s Health campaign, in which a portion of proceeds fromsales will be donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation from now until the endof November.

“I hadn’t really taken my health that seriously as far as doing annualscreenings and all of that,” admits Green, who recently completed a prostatespecific antigen (PSA) test as part of the campaign. “And there was a bit ofstigma for me in doing a prostate exam because it just felt very invasive atthe time. But that was before this PSA test that is now possible; it’s asimple blood draw.”

Prostate cancer is diagnosed in one out of eight men in the United States, andis something that Green says “could affect myself and my family and my kids —and I personally want to be here as long as I can for them.”

Though Green says his ulcerative colitis only flares up every two or threeyears, one particularly debilitating episode came midway through Burgess’spregnancy earlier this year. The former teen heartthrob was bedridden for morethan six weeks and lost 20 pounds. That, coupled with past neurological issuesGreen has dealt with, has hammered in the importance of keeping on top of hishealth.

“I have five kids,” he adds. “I’m 49 years old. At some point I’ve got to stopthe thing of feeling like I’m a superhero and like nothing is going to affectme.”

—Video produced by Kat Vasquez

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What does a…If you look at our job landscape, you will see special functions.A field service engineer, a lab technician or an assembly worker: we obviouslyneed them badly, but for what and why? In this series, each week someone tellsabout his or her profession. Today: Nico Raat (47) is a bodyguard and has hisown training company in personal security.

What exactly do you do?

,,Most of the time I deal with the personal security of people abroad, I havemany famous clients. But I also do other things in addition to it. This is howwe spent last summer recording the TV program The Bodyguard , in whichcandidates can show who has what it takes to become a bodyguard. In the autumnI will again focus more on the training we provide in personal security andour courses. We do this from my own company Amsterdam Consultancy Group.”

How often are you abroad?

“I used to spend ten to eleven months a year abroad, so now I’m looking for alittle more balance.”

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Don’t you miss traveling?

,,People always think that traveling is what makes my job so great, that yougo everywhere and see a lot of the world. In practice, you actually only seethe airports and the locations where you have to secure someone. In addition,there is much more to it, not everyone knows that. We never go anywherewithout exploring before. How does it work from a safety point of view, whatpossible risks are there, how can we avoid them? We do this so that everythingruns smoothly for the customer.”

In the past, you’ve worked for celebrities like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, andKanyé West. How is that?

“People always want to know what such a person is like in real life. But Iwon’t say anything about that. I wouldn’t like it if people knew everythingabout my private life.”

What do you like best about your job?

“That you can ensure that protected persons can continue to do what they want.That a columnist or journalist can continue to do his or her job and an artistcan continue to perform. I am especially happy if this succeeds despite allthe hectic by, for example, hordes of fans.”

Quote >>> We think it should be possible to get a sandwich spontaneously on the way

You are not the first Dutch celebrity personal security officer. Why arethe Dutch so popular?

,,I think it is the combination of background and vision. Almost all our boyscome from the police or defense. In addition, our mission is to make thesituation as bearable as possible for the protected person. Personal securityalways affects someone’s private life. It’s annoying enough that you need it,then it’s extra sour when you also have to lead a locked life. You can indeedpush someone into the car from their home and quickly bring them in onlocation. That is the safest, but not the most pleasant.

Many security guards are trained on attacks, a very important part, but 99percent of the time you don’t have to deal with them at all. It is no fun forthe people who are being protected if the procedures are so tight. We believethat it should be possible to get a sandwich on the way spontaneously. As longas you don’t hang around too long and don’t put it on Instagram.”

What do you need to be able to do this job?

“In addition to being fit, you also have to be able to figure yourself out.It’s about the protected person, not you. In addition, you should not be soeasily impressed by fame and wealth. But perhaps the most important thing is:you should always be alert. Even if you are tired, irritated or hungry. If yousecure someone during their vacation and lie quietly on the beach, it is a lotmore relaxed. But in a crowded crowd, you have to keep an eye on the behaviorof all the people and see exactly how to get away if danger threatens. After afew hours you are really tired.”

How do you see your future in this profession?

“I see more of a coordinating role for myself in the future. I leave the restto our employees. I also want to further expand the training courses in theNetherlands. That way I can be at home more often. I missed a lot of my kidswhen they were little. I realized that when I was suddenly more at home incorona time. That has to be different. But I just need the adventure in mywork. I wouldn’t be happy with an office job.”

Do you also want a career in security?

As a security guard you can protect the biggest stars in the world, just likeNico. But the security sector is much bigger. For example, they are lookingfor security guards at Schiphol, where you guarantee safety at the airport.But you can also work at the Van Gogh Museum or work for the nationalgovernment, for example. On Nationale Vacaturebank you will find relevantvacancies in your region.