Tag: Clothes

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Sif Saga may hail from Iceland, but there’s nothing cold about this stunner—just check out sizzling photos in the gallery above. 

Now based in New York City, Saga’s modelling career began totally unexpectedly.

“I was scouted when I was in boarding school in New Hampshire by my best friend’s older brother, who owns a mother agency called New Version Models,” she tells Maxim.  

“He asked me if he would meet him and his wife in Florida to talk about this prospect. A month later they signed me, and the rest is history!

Saga’s beauty and talent are apparent in her portfolio, which includes  spreads in high-end fashion mags like Marie Claire Hong Kong, Elle Argentina and L’Officiel Latvia. Most recently, she landed the cover of Harper’s Bazaar Turkey. 

Unbelievably, some idiot actually tried to pick Saga up by comparing her to a dog. Get that story and more below: 

How can a man catch your attention?

A hot body… just kidding! Of course that doesn’t hurt, but what is most important to me is kindness and respect. I have a kind and gentle older brother and an amazing dad, which is lucky because they taught me how a women should be treated. I also hate dishonesty. so no lies or gimmicks. Just be yourself!

That’s sound advice. What’s the worst pick-up line you’ve ever heard?

Oh, there are definitely some gag-worthy lines. But I think the funniest, strangest, and outright awful was, “I don’t know who is cuter. You or my dog”? Sorry, but there is no way you can get someone’s attention by comparing them to your pet.

No kidding! How do you let a man know you’re interested?

I’m not great at hiding my emotions, or so a lot of people have told me. I give off a vibe that is very obvious if I am interested.

Good to know. What’s your ideal date?

Going out to eat. It’s a lot easier to talk and get to know someone if you’re sitting across a table with not too many distractions (aside from the food, of course).

What about a man turns you on the most?

100 percent confidence. There’s nothing sexier than a man who knows who he is and what he wants.

And when do you feel sexiest?

I think when I am most comfortable. It’s one thing to put on a nice tight dress, but if I’m not comfortable that’s going to show and makes me feel awkward and a bit stressed.

What’s your secret to taking the perfect selfie?

Good lighting makes all the difference in the world. It’ll highlight your features in the best way. Also: angles, angles, angles.

What’s your favorite thing to do in the bedroom?

Laying in bed and cuddling. There’s nothing more relaxing than that for me. 

And what should a man never do in the bedroom?

Ignore me…

Do you have any sexy fantasies? 

My sexiest fantasy will always be my secret. The right person will find out.

Lastly, what’s your guiltiest pleasure?

It’s a bit dorky, but watching Disney or Pixar films while eating Domino’s. I’m definitely at my happiest then.

For more, head to Sif’s website and follower her on Instagram.

UFC 229 will be the most lucrative MMA pay-per-view fight ever–at least according to Dana White.

The UFC president predicts that more than three million people will buy Saturday’s lightweight championship megafight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, based on internal metrics and engagement trends on social media. 

The build-up to McGregor’s return to the UFC Octagon has been marked by a raging beef between the two fighters, especially after McGregor hurled a dolly at Khabib’s bus back in April. And all that drama is set to fuel seriously historic pay-per-view sales. 

“Conor has such a massive fan base that it’s hard to move the number that much, so the increase we’ve seen from him is incredible,” White bragged to Yahoo Sports. 

“Khabib, man, his audience is eating it all up. … He’s Muslim and he’s Russian and he’s hitting two huge audiences we haven’t really gotten a lot previously. He’s hit the big-time now and his fans are totally into it.”

McGregor claims he could personally rake in $50 million, which, if remotely true, would be the biggest UFC payday ever…by far. 

“We are estimating between three and three and a half million,” McGregor said during Thursday’s UFC 229 pre-fight press conference. “I say I will close in around the $50 million dollar mark.”

In addition to shattering financial records, UFC 229 could be nipping at the heels of the reigning pay-per-view boxing matches: 2015’s Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao and 2017’s considerably more entertaining Mayweather vs. McGregor. 

Yahoo Sports has further details: 

The bout is looking as if it may be the third-largest pay-per-view in history, in terms of sales, behind only the 2015 bout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, which sold 4.6 million; and the 2017 bout between Mayweather and McGregor, which did 4.4 million.

The 2007 fight between Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya sold 2.48 million while the 2013 Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez fight sold 2.2 million. Two Mike Tyson fights, his second bout against Evander Holyfield and his fight with Lennox Lewis, did 1.9 million sales.

Because the UFC isn’t jacking up their standard $64.99 PPV price, there’s a chance that it could even hit 4 million buys. But even though more UFC fans will be watching than ever before, the event’s $17 million gate will be less than that of UFC 205, which hit $17.7 million.

“There are going to be celebrities like you’ve never seen,” White said. “I knew this was going to be massive, but it’s even blowing me away what this is doing.”

“This is going to be a monster show,” White added. “It’s hard to wrap my head around how big this thing has gotten.”

Meanwhile, oddsmakers are giving Khabib (26-0) an edge over McGregor (21-3), who is looking to reclaim the lightweight championship belt. 

McGregor was previously the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts in two weight classes (featherweight and lightweight) but was later stripped of both. 

As of Friday morning, Nurmagomedov was favored to win, according to OddsShark, which has Nurmagomedov set at -160 and McGregor at +155.

Khabib has never been defeated and is believed to have superior grappling skills over The Notorious One. 

But given McGregor’s ferocious stand-up skills and his history of ending things early, it could easily go the other way on Saturday night. 

For so long, we’ve been sold on the idea that masculinity is related to factors such as physical strength, how much we earn, the car we drive, how many beers we can drink, how many women we’ve slept with…Basically, how much of an alpha we can be — as if that’s what validates us as men.

And if we reject that version of masculinity, we risk being left in no-man’s land – where we’re so determined not to be an alpha that we become the opposite – a doormat. Or worse yet, a SNAG (Sensitive New Age Guy).

I believe there’s a new way for us to be: the way of the modern gentleman. I call it the Return of The Gentleman. 

Being a gentleman is about something far beyond opening car doors and having great manners. It’s about being who you are with no shame and no apology. It’s about making amazing connections with others — men and women alike. 

It’s about knowing you always have a wealth of choices available to you, and it’s about having the confidence to make those choices based on what’s interesting to you, and more importantly, what actually works for you.

Essentially, being a gentleman puts you firmly in the driver’s seat of your life. Here’s how you do it.

1. Drop the act

As guys, we have this tendency to present ourselves to the world as an image, rather than living as who we actually are. We construct this image based on qualities we think we should have — usually to meet the expectations of others: our families, friends, girlfriends, co-workers, employers… the list goes on. We’re so busy trying to please everyone else, we lose ourselves in the process.

Is it possible you could be playing a role? Or two, or three? Funny guy at work. Dependable friend. Wild guy at parties. The list goes on and on…

My advice is to become really aware of how often the word ‘should’ influences your decision making. “I should go to this work thing because if I don’t, I’ll let the team down.” Or, “I should stay out late, or the guys will think I’m boring.”

When you live your life obligated to others, you become a paler version of yourself, and you constantly have to modify your behavior. In essence, you end up squashed into a box which is way too small for you.

Let ‘should’ be your red flag: a warning for when you’re doing something out of obligation, and not out of choice. As a gentleman, you always have choice.

2. Know that vulnerability is strength

Rather than being about weakness, vulnerability is very much about strength. Why? Because lowering your barriers and letting people see the real you, including your flaws, fears and doubts, takes guts.

It’s the avoidance of vulnerability — avoidance of being our real selves — that keeps us weak.

One of the most empowering choices you can make as a man is to take off your mask and say, “Hello world. Here I am. If you’re with me, awesome. If you’re not — still awesome.”

There is something so fearless and so confident about that.

3. Stop the self-criticism

As a society, we’re addicted to judgment. Most of the time we’re not even aware we’re doing it. It’s as if we’re programmed to constantly assess our performance: how we look, how we sound, how funny we’re being… and when we don’t meet whatever standard we set for ourselves, we beat ourselves up.

Judgment is such a destructive mindset, and it’s so limiting. The only way to stop doing it… is to stop doing it! This is where YOUR choice comes in.

Next time you look in a mirror, notice what thoughts come up — and if they’re in the arena of judgment, simply say to yourself: STOP. Choose a different thought. Focus on something you like about yourself instead. Or make a funny ugly face, roar and kill the judgement with…laughter!

The point is: notice how often you judge yourself and make a conscious effort to reduce that. This is your gateway to liking yourself: the trademark of a gentleman.

4. Let go of the past

Do you ever play that old videotape in your mind? You know the one — it’s labeled, “Every Bad Decision I Ever Made!” (In Technicolor).

We can get fixated on dredging up the past, wondering why we did that, wore that, said that, didn’t say that… and it’s so draining! And it serves no purpose at all, except to get us to keep judging us as men.

Recognize this: you can only ever do your best with the tools you have at any time. Really make the commitment to stop judging yourself — past, present and future. See mistakes as lessons learned. Chalk them up as experience, be grateful for the awareness it gave you, and move on.

5. Don’t view other guys as competition

Some men have an intense need to prove themselves around each other, especially if there are females in the vicinity. Why? You could chalk it up to survival of the fittest, or the Darwinian model that the strongest man is the one that gets to procreate. Really, it’s because we’ve been taught that a huge chunk of our self-worth as a man comes from being seen as the top of the food chain, so to speak.

As a gentleman, you can choose to not participate in that. You can choose to let go of rivalry. And if you sense it coming from another guy — stay neutral. Stay YOU. You don’t have to lower yourself to it. You have nothing to prove.

One of the most amazing aspects of being a gentleman is that it’s so much easier to have relaxed and supportive friendships with other men, free of conflict. When you no longer see each other as a threat, you get to have each other’s backs, appreciate each other, and enjoy hanging out together with zero tension.

6. Stop equating getting laid with being a real man

Of all the stereotypes that we buy into about masculinity, it’s the one that links our sexual prowess to how much of a man we are that can be the hardest to shake. It’s not our fault — we’ve been fed this stuff for decades.

It comes down to this: you don’t need external validation to prove what a man you are. The number of people you’ve slept with is not an indication of how valuable you are.

Value yourself first and others will follow. And if they don’t, does it matter?

And if you do, you’ll stop having the constant need of finding a woman to have sex with as though that’s a mark of your manhood.

7. Accept that not everyone will like you

Does that idea fill you with horror? Needing to be liked by everyone means that you will, probably on a daily basis, be bending yourself out of shape to please others, and inevitably this means you’ll be less of who you really are.

Think of it this way: what does anyone else’s opinion — or judgment — have to do with you? If someone thinks you’re an idiot, how much time, effort, and energy do you really want to give convincing them otherwise? Also, ask yourself, “Has it ever worked?” Giving yourself permission to not be liked can come as a huge relief.

The ironic thing is, a gentleman has little concern for whether or not anyone likes him — and yet he’s often the most magnetic, likeable person in the room. Not because he’s the loudest, or the most intimidating. But because he is being himself.

When you’re free of judgment, you’re more relaxing to be around. When you’re confident and open, you radiate a quality that people are drawn to. When you’re trying to prove you have value, instead of KNOWING you have value, people tend to stay away.

8. Enjoy messing up

I often ask guys this question: “What if you didn’t have to be so damn perfect all the time?” I’ve asked that question to hundreds of men, and I’ve seen their entire countenance lighten right in front of me almost every time.

So, now I’m asking you: “What if YOU didn’t have to be so damn perfect all the time?”

As men we’re seen as the providers, the responsible ones, the logical ones. That makes it really hard for us to embrace making mistakes, but embracing mistakes is where freedom lies.

What if you could mess up, then hold up your hands and say, “Okay, that didn’t go as well as I hoped. Maybe I’ll do that differently next time.” And that’s it… no beating yourself up, no self-flagellating, no hanging onto regret, no adding it to the Every Bad Decision I Ever Made videotape.

If you upset someone, go ahead and apologize — just don’t carry the burden of it around with you for the next 100 years. It doesn’t make you any less of a man when you apologize. In fact, in my point of view, it makes you more of a gentleman.

You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to enjoy your choices. And recognize that we all screw up sometimes. And it’s ok.

If you desire to repair a relationship that’s on the outs because of something you did, you could say something like: “I’m sorry, I was wrong. What can I do to make up for the damage done?” When said with sincerity, this one sentence has the capacity to repair all types of relationships and friendships and set you free from the burden of your past screw ups.

9. Notice where you’re already being a gentleman

Take a moment to think about what being a gentleman means to you. Is it about being kind? Standing up for yourself? Trying new experiences? It could be none of those things, or all of these things and a hundred more — it’s different for every guy. For me, it’s liking the guy looking back at me in the mirror.

Just choose one thing you’d like to be more of — for you, no one else — and look over your past for a time when you were that. And give yourself some credit. Recognize you have already shown up as a gentleman in the world and know you can unlock more of it if you want to.

10. Chart your own course

When you embrace this new way of framing masculinity, you let go of the definitions that have kept you limited. You get to carve your own path in life — and that’s one of the most notable aspects of being a gentleman. You recognize that life isn’t something that happens to you; rather, it’s something you craft and forge yourself. That’s your potency.

Know that you can be at the helm of your ship, while staying open to being surprised. As a gentleman, you don’t need all the answers. Ask questions. Be curious. Ride the waves. And above all, enjoy the ride — you have nothing to lose but your limitations.

Dr. Dain Heer is a bestselling author and internationally renowned speaker. He is a co-creator and leading facilitator of Access Consciousness®, a personal development modality available in more than 170 countries that has contributed to changing the lives of tens of thousands of people. For more information about “Return of the Gentleman,” visit https://returnofthegentleman.com/. You can purchase your copy on Amazon. 

Clint Eastwood plays the world’s oldest cocaine smuggler in the moody first trailer for The Mule, in which he reunites with his American Sniper star Bradley Cooper for a tense thriller based on a true-life story. 

“I was a terrible father and a terrible husband,” Eastwood says in a voiceover. “Family’s the most important thing. Don’t do what I did.”

But besides being full of regret, Eastwood’s character is also smuggling a LOT of cocaine, as evidenced by the tense opening of the trailer, in which he appears to be about to get busted at a traffic stop. 

In his first role since 2012’s The Trouble With the Curve, Eastwood directs and stars as Earl Stone, an 80-year-old who becomes a drug courier for a Mexican Cartel. The movie is based on the real story of WWII veteran Leo Sharp, who was arrested in 2011 at age 87 for running drugs for the Sinaloa Cartel. 

Co-stars include Cooper as a DEA agent, Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Pena. The Mule kicks its way into theaters nationwide on December 14.

Two weeks ago Apple launched the iPhone Xs and two weeks ago I walked into my annual iPhone meeting with Apple. Having been doing this for a while, I knew I’d be walking out with a new iPhone Xs that would replace the iPhone X I’ve relied on for the past year. 

Now, two weeks later to the day, having put the Xs through the daily rigors of two jobs, several hellish NYC commutes, nights out drinking and everything in between, I couldn’t be happier with what Apple has accomplished…for an S update.

Before digging in, it’s important to keep in mind that the Xs is an S update like so many S updates before it. Since the iPhone 4 became the 4S, it’s been clear that an S update is not an overhaul but a high polish. 

If you want innovation that makes the new phone feel different from its predecessor, wait for the next one. If you want the better of the two phones that share a number, go for the S. In those terms, the Xs is, without a doubt, the best S update any iPhone has ever received.

Durability

My iPhone X got its first scratch within my first week of owning it. For reference here, I raw dog my phones; no case, no cover. The scratch that scarred my iPhone X’s face like a Bond villain happened in my pocket. This was a new experience, no other iPhone screen had ever felt that soft. Family and friends with the X model were riddled with scratches in the glass too. 

Fully expecting to cave and cover the my new phone, the first thing Apple explained about the Xs was that it was crafted with better scratch resistant glass on both the front and the back. Emboldened by this claim, I’ve used the Xs caseless and coverless and I’m happy to report that it has remained 100% scratch free. Time will tell if that remains true but so far, so good.

Waterproof

That same screen with the boosted scratch resistance is also more effective in water. Meaning the touchscreen is actually more responsive when wet than previous iPhones. It’s a logical step for a phone with boosted waterproofing but it translates to surprising accuracy in the rain, something past iPhones have struggled to do. Full disclosure: That accuracy remains consistent in the shower too. I know because answering emails in the shower is something I actually do. 

FaceID

The iPhone Xs uses roughly the same software to unlock itself by scanning your face as the iPhone X did but there are new sensors built in to make that detection unerring and faster. This may actually be the biggest upgrade of the iPhone X over the Xs.

Impressive as FaceID was when it debuted, daily use of it in the iPhone X inevitably led to frustrations with its limited distance and speed. Those shortcomings are gone in the Xs. Now, when the phone is sitting in its wireless charging cradle on my desk and a notification pops up, a simple glance unlocks the phone. Gone is the inconvenience of awkward neck craning and squinting only to have FaceID fail anyway and make you stab in your six-digit pin instead.

Photos

The dual-lensed iPhone Xs camera is an absolute marvel. I love shooting photos on a DSLR but it’s increasingly tough to justify carrying an extra bag full of camera equipment when the phone in your pocket gives admirably comparable results. Shooting is noticeably faster. Portrait mode is better than ever. Even with the aggressive noise reduction, taking just the slightest bit of care when shooting gives crisp results. Low light shooting gives surprisingly clear images. Live Photos are still magical. 

The biggest downside of the entire camera ecosystem in the iPhone Xs is that you can’t easily share the live aspects of your Live Photos on Instagram without an awful, quality-downgrading conversion. That’s mostly Instagram’s fault for not allowing normal gifs but it does feel like Apple’s responsibility to make those fun Bounce and Loop features that are built into the camera app more compatible out of the box.

MeMoji

Simply put, animojis are a novelty and I have had no idea what to do with them since they debuted on the iPhone X. The Xs does handle them better. They’re more accurate and faster this time around and the introduction of MeMojis in iOS12 has renewed my interest but it’s doubtful that they’ll ever become a primary form of communication for me.

For now, the most fun I’ve had using MeMojis is making a slew of them that look like my friends and making them say awful things, then sending it out to the group. This is surprisingly effective for fantasy football shit-talking. Again, it’s a novelty but it’s fun and it’s better on the Xs than it was on the X.

Battery/Wireless Charging

I have put a lot of stock into wireless charging, partly out of convenience, partly because I’m pissed that Apple still uses lightning cables for their iPhone when the far superior USB-C (that Apple themselves pioneered) has been implemented fully into other mobiles devices by the likes of Samsung or Nintendo.

The Xs actually gets a revamped charging coil implanted in its back that wirelessly charges faster and requires less picky contact with the charging pad. I have a small metal plate on the back of my Xs for my car’s magnetic mount and, even with that plate, the Xs is unfazed. Battery life itself feels slightly better from Xs to X but the difference ultimately feels negligible. Anyone moving from an older iPhone will undoubtedly see a huge improvement though.

Final Thoughts

After two rigorous weeks of testing, Apple has made it easy to proclaim the iPhone Xs their best phone ever. The wall to wall screen, buttonless operation, excellent camera and overall form factor pioneered last year in the iPhone X legitimately feels upgraded in the Xs. Moderate as the upgrade from X to Xs is, the many people who will inevitably upgrade from an iPhone 6 or 7 to the Xs will feel like they’re stepping into the future. 

While the world waits for an entirely revamped (and possibly foldable) iPhone 11 to come out, the Xs sits on top of the competition as the best iPhone Apple has made, and the best phone you can buy right now.