Labor Day is the last long weekend of the summer, and everyone's dying to get away for those three days.

Over 34 million Americans are planning to travel for Labor Day this year — the highest number since the recession, according to AAA.

We found the best all-American getaways to celebrate Labor Day this weekend.

From the Gulf Coast to the San Juan Islands, these destinations are all near major U.S. cities, making it easy to jaunt over for a long weekend.

Kennebunkport, Maine

Under two hours from Boston and just across the New Hampshire-Maine border is one of the most picturesque fishing towns in all of New England.

Kennebunkport is home to numerous unique gift shops and restaurants, and you just might catch sight of President George H.W. Bush — his summer home is minutes from town.

Go on a whale-watching expedition and eat the freshest local seafood at Noonan's Lobster Hut in neighboring Cape Porpoise.

One of the top places to stay is The White Barn Inn, a charming inn with a European feel; rooms here start from about $460 per night over Labor Day weekend.

Hilton Head, S.C.

Just 45 minutes from Savannah and about four hours from Atlanta, Hilton Head is ideally located for southerners looking for a beach getaway on the Atlantic coast.

The laid-back island has top-rated restaurants, world-class golf resorts, packed beaches which are great for either laying out or riding bikes on the sand, and the charm and hospitality you'd expect from a southern destination.

There are tons of hotels, inns, and apartments for rent, but one of the most popular places to stay is the Inn at Harbour Town - Sea Pines Resort, where rooms start at about $260 per night over Labor Day weekend.

Carmel, Calif.

About 120 miles south of San Francisco, Carmel-by-the-Sea is a picturesque dot on the Monterey Peninsula with a population of just 3,722.

It's dog-friendly and known for its kitschy local arts and culture scene. It also has great fishing. Think twice about wearing high heels, though; Carmel law requires a high heel permit.

La Playa Carmel is a grand, old hotel that's allegedly haunted by the ghost of a woman who drowned herself in Carmel Bay — but that doesn't seem to stop vacationers from staying there. Rooms at La Playa start from about $450 per night over Labor Day weekend.

Humans have remarkable control over their own happiness.

In her book, "The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want," psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky says a person's happiness is 50% due to genetics, 10% due to circumstances, and the remaining 40% is "within our power to change."

But it takes work.

That's why we've compiled 25 different ways to boost your mood. Happiness is different for each person, but hopefully at least one of these methods will help you find your inner sunshine.

Draw pictures of unhealthy food.

Studies have shown that eating high-calorie comfort foods can make your happier. The downside is this will also make you fat.

As an alternative, a study published in the Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science in May 2013 found that simply drawing pictures of foods high in fat, like cupcakes or pizza, and foods that taste sweet, like strawberries, can also boost your mood. The positive reactions were independent of subjects' weight and hunger level.

"These results extend a growing body of biobehavioral research on the positive impact of food images on mood by showing that this impact can be applied to enhance mood when expressing food images through art," the researchers concluded.

Be both an optimist and a realist.

People who have the positive attitude of optimists paired with the rational outlook of realists tend to be more successful and happy, according to psychology researcher Sophia Chou.

That's because so-called "realistic optimists" have the perfect blend of personality types to succeed. Unlike idealists, they are willing to face challenging situations with a clear view of reality, but will use creativity and a positive outlook to try to work their way out of the problem.

Get your hands dirty.

Breathing in the smell of dirt may lift your spirits, according to a study which found that a bacteria commonly found in soil produces effects similar to antidepressant drugs.

The harmless bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, stimulated the release of serotonin in the brain after it was injected into mice. Low levels of serotonin is what causes depression in people.

In a human test, cancer patients reported increases in their quality of life when they were treated with the bacteria.

The findings "leave us wondering if we shouldn’t all be spending more time playing in the dirt,” lead author Chris Lowry of the University of Bristol in England said in a statement.

On a recent European vacation, Jason Feifer and his wife, Jen, were on a tour of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam when Mr. Feifer made an interesting observation. Many of the tourists were using their phones, and very often their phone's front-facing cameras, to document themselves at this historical, solemn, location.

They were taking selfies at the Anne Frank Memorial. 

Feifer, a senior editor at Fast Company, immediately sent himself a one-sentence email he would read when he returned to New York.

"Inappropriate selfies," the email read.

Initially, he thought about just sharing this observation on Twitter, but decided showing, and not telling, might be a better idea. Taking to Twitter, Feifer searched for the words "selfie" and "holocaust" or "9-11 Memorial," "Chernobyl," "The Berlin Wall."

Thus began "Selfies at Serious Places," the tongue-in-cheek Tumblr Feifer created yesterday afternoon to document his findings.

Here's one from Pearl Harbor:

 ... at the Sept. 11 memorial:

 ... and the Holocaust Memorial:

It was a trend: people, mostly young adults, were taking selfies at all of these places. 

"Some of them were totally respectful, and I didn't use those," Feifer said in an interview with Business Insider. He went on to explain how there were people who were taking photos of themselves clearly just to show they had been there.

"Those people would stand by signs or descriptive plaques and not smile."

But when it came to the many tasteless photos he saw where teenage girls were making the popular "kissy-face" (also known as "duck lips"), or young men throwing up the peace sign, Feifer gave no pause to putting those on the Tumblr. He even began to search "selfie" and "funeral," "car crash," "house fire," finding similar results each time.

When asked if he planned on continuing the Tumblr, Feifer said he didn't think so.

"I really like the form of the single-topic Tumblr because there's something powerful in seeing the visual repetition of an idea," Feifer explained. "But now the statement has been made, and it's a pretty obvious one."

What's the best filter for an incredible lack of self-awareness and respect?

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What makes a small town "great"?

According to CNNMoney, which just released a list of the 50 best small towns in America, great small towns are thriving economically, and have good schools and a strong sense of community.

Based on those and other factors, including average income and home price, weather, crime rates, and commute times, the publication named Sharon, Massachusetts the best small town in America.

The publication looked at places with populations between 10,000 and 50,000 to compile its list.

We're taking a closer look at the top 10. See CNNMoney's complete list of America's best small towns here.

#10 West Goshen Township, PA

Population: 22,241

2012 Median home price: $321,500

West Goshen has four main parks, and is home to the headquarters of QVC. It's not far from sprawling King of Prussia Mall, and is within commuting distance of Philadelphia.

Source: CNNMoney

#9 Apex, NC

Population: 40,205

2012 Median home price: $225,000

A suburb of Raleigh, Apex is near NC's Research Triangle Park, the largest research park in the world with more than 170 companies. The town has 400 acres of parks and hosts an annual jazz festival.

Source: CNNMoney

#8 Papillion, NE

Population: 19,837

2012 Median home price: $141,000

Papillion, outside of Omaha, is  home to massive Halleck Park, a recreation area with trails, pools, tennis courts, and more. In addition to great public schools, Nebraska Christian College is located in the city.

Source: CNNMoney

It's National Bow Tie Day — a great day to celebrate famed bow tie-wearers from Winston Churchill to Bill Nye the Science Guy.

And if you don't know how to tie one, it's also a good opportunity to pick up on what many consider to be a lost art (Not sure you can rock a bow tie? Here's how.).

David Goldberg, Founder and CEO of Freshneck.com (a Netflix-like subscription service for ties, bow ties, and other accessories) recently gave us step-by-step instruction how to properly tie a bow tie.

Watch below for step by step instructions:

Produced by Daniel Goodman

SEE ALSO: How To Pack A Suit

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Anyone can cut an onion. But cutting an onion properly – you know, the way you see a chef on a cooking show effortlessly do it – is another story.

Watch below to find out how to chop an onion like a pro. Click for sound.

Produced by Robert Libetti

SEE ALSO: Food Hacks That Will Make Your Life Infinitely Easier

Follow Us: On YouTube

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Everyone hates annoying sales calls, but one British man grew so tired of them he came up with a way to actually make money with every ring, according to the BBC.

Lee Beaumont paid £10 (about $15) to set up a premium phone number — known as an 0871 line in Britain — so every time someone called, they had to pay roughly 20 cents, with his cut being ~11 cents.

Writes Joe Kent in BBC:

He said: "I don't use my normal Leeds number for anyone but my friends and family."

Once he had set up the 0871 line, every time a bank, gas or electricity supplier asked him for his details online, he submitted it as his contact number.

With his new number, he made nearly $500 and ended up reducing his usual 20-30 calls to only 13 in the last month.

Genius? Maybe. For the rest of us in the U.S., of course, there's always the Do-Not-Call registry.

NOW: Read the full story over at the BBC

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Minutes ago, President Barack Obama delivered his highly anticipated speech on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. 

It was every bit as inspirational as it was a call to action – to celebrate the progress America has made in closing the gaps of racial disparity while also remembering how very far we have left to go.

"To dismiss the magnitude of this progress, to suggest, as some sometimes do, that little has changed – that dishonors the courage and the sacrifice of those who paid the price to march in those years," Obama said. "But we would dishonor those heroes as well to suggest that the work of this nation is somehow complete. The arc of the moral universe may bend towards justice, but it doesn't bend on its own." 

With Obama's message in mind, we decided to turn to a recent study from the Pew Research Center, which sheds a lot of light on how Americans themselves feel about how far we have yet to come in closing the fault lines along racial disparity. 

Here are several charts showing exactly where we have succeeded and where we are falling behind. 

When it comes to household income and wealth, the gaps between blacks and whites have only widened over the last half century. 

In some areas, such as the poverty line and homeownership rates, we are barely meeting the 1960s status quo. 

Poverty peaked for blacks during the 1980s and has significantly decreased over time, however, the poverty rate for blacks is still barely better than it was 50 years ago.

Since 2009, blacks ands whites actually feel much worse about blacks' socioeconomic progress. 

And most would agree that we have a long way to go to truly bridge the gap. 

Fifty years after the March on Washington, more than one in three blacks and one in five Latinos say they've experienced discrimination in the past 12 months. 

When asked to compare their financial situation to the average white person, the majority (60%) of blacks said they are worse off.  Just 39% of whites agreed.

The numbers prove that blacks are right. Compared to whites households, which average a net worth of more than $91,000, black households are barely worth $6,500.

And if owning a home is still part of the American dream, blacks have barely made progress since the 1960s.

Still, like Obama cautioned, we can't talk about setbacks if we don't also acknowledge our successes. Since the 1960s, high school graduation, voter turnout, and life expectancy rates among blacks and other minorities have soared. In fact, blacks are outnumbering whites at the polls. 

College graduation rates still leave much to be desired, but blacks have seen steady progress.

You be the judge. Has America really come far in eradicating racial disparities?

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It's hard to imagine paying more for a phone case than you would for an actual phone, but it could happen. An iPhone, which starts at about $199.00, is cheaper than all of the cases you're about to see here.

Ranging from brand names to fashion faux pas to the utterly ridiculous — solid gold and diamonds! — these iPhone cases are among the most expensive in the world.

We've arranged them in order of escalating price.

Swarovski crystals, via Etsy - $239.00. Warning: Do not stare directly into this case.

Buy it here.

You, as a cartoon, on your iPhone case - $250.00. You can send this artist a photo of yourself, which she will then stylize onto your cell phone case.

Buy it here.

Zoe's House of Crystal My Little iPony - $259.00. Admit it. You want this bedazzled piece of 1990s kitsch.

Buy it here.

This stunning building proposed for Sydney’s Darling Harbour precinct is being flagged as a possible future home for Google Australia.

The concept for “The Ribbon” takes advantage of cutting-edge building technologies that allow for twisting glass facades — as seen in London’s The Shard — and is being marketed as a prestige home for a major company.

It’s at the current location of Sydney’s IMAX theatre and is right next to Commonwealth Bank’s new complex at Darling Quarter, which houses over 6,000 personnel.

Australia’s largest private developer Grocon and property management company Markham announced they had submitted a development application for the project this week. They say they are aiming to create a landmark similar to The Shard or the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Grocon’s NSW general manager Chris Carolan told Business Insider the design drew on an emerging trend for “these innovative curved structures, all around the world, including in the Middle East and China. We want to bring it to this country.”

Sydney’s corporate architecture is generally conservative, and statements tend to be matters of height or signage rather than creative design. The Ribbon sweeps upwards and outwards from the ground along its east-west axis, with an undulating facade made entirely from glass wrapping around the building.
The building leans in towards the heart of the CBD and its roof, visible from the expressways that pass it, has varying curves designed into it as it approaches the upper storeys. Grocon worked on the design with architects HASSELL.

Inside, the furthest you can get from a window is 12m. The windows have a particularly slick feature that will excite any desk jockey: they are triple glazed and contain a venetian shade sitting in a cavity between the glass panels to keep the sun out when needed. Oh, they’re computer-controlled, too. No cord-wrestling.

This gets around one of the drawbacks of many modern offices which have large window areas but rely heavily on the use of overhanging ledges, fixed slats and other shading devices which, while keeping out the harsh summer sun, also block the view.

“Our research has shown that some of what people see as internal comfort is the ability to see outside,” Carolan said.

The Australian reported that Google has “looked hard at the site” as a potential future location if it outgrows its current offices in nearby Pyrmont.
If the development is approved by authorities it would take around three years to build. Assuming it was ready to occupy around 2017, its first openings would line up closely with the expiry of Google’s current property commitments which expire the following year, in 2018.

A spokesman for Google said the company did not comment on speculation.

Google is growing quickly – it now has 800 employees in Australia, up from 350 in 2010. The Ribbon has just over 41,000 square meters of office space. Carolan said their standard measure was 13 metres squared per person in office space, which would allow it to fit around 3,200 people.

However, another commercial property source told Business Insider the building could “easily accommodate 4,000 workstations and 5,000 people in an agile work style [like] activity-based working”.

Either way it would likely comfortably fit Google Australia even if the company was to continue at its recent rate of expansion.

Alternatively The Ribbon could fit a bank, or one of the major accounting firms. EY’s current office is nearby on George St, but it announced plans to move to the north end of the city by 2017 earlier this year.

Corporations’ increasing demands for “activity-based working” office environments have been integrated into the design, Carolan said. For example, the air conditioning is highly localised, allowing companies to save money on areas that aren’t being used.

The complex will also have some retail space, and the IMAX gets to stay.

The west side of the CBD is the focus of intense development activity. Following the Commonwealth Bank’s development of Darling Quarter, the nearby Sydney Convention Centre is being demolished and rebuilt in a $1 billion makeover, and Mirvac Group is in the process of acquiring the Harbourside shopping centre. Only a few blocks further north, there’s Barangaroo, the site of more major developments including James Packer’s proposed casino.

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If you've ever ruined an entire meal because of a seemingly tiny mistake in timing or ingredient proportioning, than we have an app for you.

SideChef, an advanced step-by-step cooking app, provides voice instructions that guide you through the steps of any given recipe, ensuring a near-perfect outcome every time. It's still in its Alpha stage (and is raising funds for further development via Kickstarter), but is bound to be a hit with tech-savvy amateur chefs.

We spoke to Kevin Yu, CEO and founder of SideChef, who began his career at the company responsible for creating World of Warcraft. He went on to co-found Superplay Games, and began developing SideChef in early 2013. Yu's background in gaming is apparent in SideChef's design; the app is highly social, and users can earn badges, achievements and titles while they interact with one another. Keep an eye out for SideChef for iPhone and iPad in the app store later this year. 

BUSINESS INSIDER: How did you come up with the idea for SideChef?

KEVIN YU: A few years ago I was trying to impress a girl by cooking her a fancy 3-course meal. Let’s just say the results were pretty embarrassing! But I realized the mistakes I made in the kitchen were as common as getting the timing wrong or forgetting an ingredient. They could’ve been avoided if there weren’t so many time sensitive tasks for me to keep track of at the same time. So it was my desire to prevent and simplify that experience for others that inspired the idea for SideChef.

BI: Where will you get the recipes that are used in the app?

KY: We’re launching with over 100 recipes, covering a wide range of ethnic regions and dietary preferences, curated from several awesome blogs such as Closet Cooking, Oh Bite It!, and Feed Me Phoebe. All the recipes feature beautiful step-by-step photos and instructions, while the app guides you through the whole process. SideChef also comes with an easy-to-use recipe creator tool that encourages users to upload their own recipes for others to try.

BI: So is SideChef a social app? Can users interact?

KY: Absolutely. Food brings people together, and, knowing that, we have created SideChef to be a social platform for cooking and culinary exchange. Say you love a lasagna recipe that you found on the app; you can choose to “save” that recipe to your favorites list, or follow the creator so that you’re subscribed to their activity and new recipe uploads. Users can also interact with their friends or make new ones by rating other recipes, complimenting other profiles, and sharing their latest dishes. Similar to LinkedIn or Facebook, we hope people can search someone's SideChef profile and learn about a whole new side of your friends and colleagues as well, like that they secretly have a clam chowder recipe with thousands of downloads. 

BI: SideChef has an interesting gaming element - users can earn different accolades based on their use of the app. Could you elaborate a bit on how that works?

KY: We offer a fun program of badges, titles and achievements for users to collect as they grow as SideChefs. The more you cook and interact with other users, the more progress you'll make. Some of the titles will be exclusive, awarded to users who have shown real expertise in a certain area or cuisine. Be the 'BBQ Grillmaster' in your neighborhood!

BI: What do you feel differentiates SideChef from other recipe apps or cooking apps out there?

KY: We want to make cooking easy and worry-free, similar to using GPS when driving somewhere new. SideChef guides the user through the entire cooking process from aggregating shopping lists to simple step-by-step voice-guided cooking instructions. Timers are also automatic, so there is no need to worry about the multiple tasks going on at the same time. We also hope that with an easier cooking experience, users will be inspired to cook more, and eventually create their own recipes.

BI: Who is your target market?

KY: Whether the closest you’ve come to cooking is microwaving a hot pocket, or you are an experienced chef, I believe everyone will enjoy using SideChef. You can learn how to cook through step by step instructions, try new recipes, or even upload and share your culinary creativity and knowledge with others. More and more people look towards the internet to learn how to cook, but I want to deliver an accessible, easy-to-use app that you can actually bring into the kitchen with you.

BI: How do you think the app will change the cooking experience for its users?

KY: SideChef is a solution to the challenges and mistakes that make cooking seem overwhelming, especially for those people without much experience. SideChef acts as a virtual sous chef that makes sure you don't forget to add the egg or leave something in the oven too long. While you are using SideChef, the cooking process is simply easier and more fun.

SEE ALSO: The Secret To Perfectly Deboning And Cooking A Whole Fish

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Swedish authorities shut down the elite Swedish boarding school Lundsbergs this week, following multiple disturbing reports of an institutionalized culture of hazing.

Lundsbergs was closed in order to insure the safety of its 200 male and female students after "nine older students burned two younger students with a hot iron as part of a new semester initiation ritual," the Associated Press reports.

This is far from the first instance of reported hazing at the school, as over the past few years students have come forward with stories about being forced to eat manure, fight other students for entertainment, and generally act as servants to older students.

Last year, one former student told Swedish television that he suffered hearing loss after having a rifle shot too close to his ear and was "kicked so hard that his anus split," according to The Local, a Swedish news website.

Another student has spoken about how — after some alleged infraction — "some of the older students acquired electric fly swatters following an excursion to Ikea which they subsequently used to burn the boy's nipples with as punishment," also according to The Local.

The student also said that he was beaten after failing to bow when he left a room and was forced to do push-up while being watched by students holding baseball bats. "It was reported that the boy was bullied for, among other things, not sitting correctly at school meals, his diet, and sometimes for no reason whatsoever."

The Local reported that the principal of the Lundsbergs school has "admitted that there is a pecking order at the school and that it is important for the students to work their way up through the hierarchy in order gain use of a 'slave' themselves."

Lundsbergs is one of Sweden's three elite boarding schools, and the AP reports that alumni of the school "include many famous politicians, business leaders and royals, most recently Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip, who graduated in 1999."

Petter Sandgren, an expert on Swedish boarding schools, told The Guardian that despite the many allegations of bullying, "Lundsberg could not be closed earlier because of the 'old boys' network' surrounding it."

"Previously when the system of 'fagging' got too intense, it was resolved by the lawyers of the different families ... This is the first time in the school's history that pupils have gone to the press. There is less loyalty to the school among its nouveau riche students," Sandgren said.

There have also been reports of hazing at Sigtuna, another Swedish boarding school. According to The Local, "a young female student was forced to perform oral sex on a snowman in front of her fellow pupils ... a student was thrown in a freezing shower for five minutes and another beaten for not turning off the light at bed time."

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The quality of a New York bagel is unlike anywhere else: Some say it has something to do with the water. Others say it's a matter of using the best ingredients.

At Ess-A-Bagel, the second-best bagel shop in New York according to Yelp users, it's also about process, precision, and practice.

Videographer Paul Lin went behind the scenes at Ess-A-Bagel to see how they make this light, chewy New York food icon.

First, a little history. Ess-A-Bagel, which means "eat a bagel" in Yiddish, was founded in 1976 at its first location on 21st Street and 1st Avenue. It later added a second location on 51st Street and 3rd Avenue.

Ess-A-Bagel's bagels are so popular that the line is usually out the door. The staff is super friendly, quick to strike up a conversation while they expertly work behind the counter.

The dough is made with yeast and, after it rises, it's cut, rolled, and formed into rings. Unlike other breads, bagels don't just get thrown in the oven—they're boiled first.

It appears that writing is all about making lists these days.  

So, having recently covered Tips for Surviving a Goldman Sachs Internship and Attending a Sporting Event With Your Boss, my latest attempt (by request) is a fresh, succinct, and definitive guide to dressing like an investment banker.

The genesis of this post is simple; American men dress like s---.  

It doesn’t matter where you look, from the endless stream of bright-eyed but hopeless-looking students vying for the ever-shrinking number of analyst positions on Wall Street, to the haggard, white-collar, middle class masses traipsing their way from airport lounge to departure gate, while getting Hilton Reward Points rich and Chipotle fat.

Who better to help than the aggregated and infinite wisdom ofGSElevator, with a comprehensive list of business fashion tips from the halls of Goldman Sachs?

So, here we go…

Shoes

• No brogues, wing-tipped, or square-toed shoes.  

#1: He's really wearing square-toed shoes...

#2: Wait, it's intern season already?

• Stick with loafers; they’re more comfortable and convenient.  And the conventional wisdom that they lack the formality of traditional lace-ups has long-since expired.
• If you aren’t confident in your innate fashion sense, keep the shoes black when wearing a suit. There’s no need to attempt hazel Bottega Venetas and a matching belt with a monastral blue suit.  In most cases, you can’t pull it off.
• Prada and Gucci; start and end there.  Decent $700 shoes will last you 3-4x times longer than something you pick up from Bloomingdale’s for $300. Do the math.
• Cedar shoetrees are an absolute must.  They absorb moisture, stiff-arm the signs of aging, and otherwise materially extend the life of your shoes.
• Don’t forget to get your housekeeper a decent shine kit for Christmas.  And make sure she uses it.

Socks

• Unless you are married to a Sloane Ranger or studied Classics at Cambridge, leave the pink Richard James socks at home.  It’s not Ladies’ Day at Ascot.

#1: Most Brits aren't gay, but their socks are.

• Calvin Klein or Giorgio Armani makes some great calve-high plain black socks that never change with the season.  And just as Michael Jordan insisted on a new pair of shoes every game, you need to keep the socks fresh. 
• Buy at least 20 identical pair every six months. 

#1: I wear a brand new pair of socks every day. That's probably my only indulgence. That, and watches... And wine.

• The ‘no socks’ look is disgusting, and is actually a stated violation of many corporate dress codes, particularly for banks.

Pants/Trousers

• No cuffs and no pleats; pleats are for guys with gunts (front asses).  
  

#1: Dude, cuffed pants are for limo drivers.

• Belt loops are optional.  If you have a decent tailor, rock the side tabs. 

#1: Did you forget your belt today?

#2: I don't need one; did you forget to get your suit tailored?

• Actually, side tabs are rather convenient if you are a junior banker. You’ve got less time for the gym and spend many a lunch and dinner hunched over your desk.  Throw in the boozy nights out and extravagant client dinners and it’s a recipe for looking like 2011 Alec Baldwin.

Belts/Suspenders

• This is pretty obvious - nothing garish or obnoxious, and this includes those ridiculous monogrammed silver buckles that all boys in Greenwich get for their 14th birthday.
• A few years ago, we had a 1st year analyst walk across the trading floor with a Gucci ‘G’ belt buckle.  “Hey bubba, I didn’t know The Gap made belts,” bellows out a trader. “Um, it’s Gucci,” the kid snaps back.  The words are barely out of his mouth before he realizes he’s being mocked in front of half a dozen guys and just made it a lot worse.  That was all it took; the kid was never able to earn even a modicum of respect after that, and ended up leaving the firm less than a year later.
• No suspenders, period. Who do you think you are, Matt “GG” Defusco?

Shirts

• The infamous blue shirt and white collar is acceptable, as long as the shade of blue isn’t too deep and accompanied with a power tie. This ode to Gekko works much better today in a light pink, baby blue, or lavender shirt, and without a tie.
• Skip the monograms… Unless your initials are D.I.K.
• No shirt pockets or collar buttons. This isn’t a 1994 Brooks Brothers catalogue.
• Make sure your shirts are tapered appropriately.  If you want to see how ridiculous ‘blousy’ looks, go back and watch some old Seinfeld reruns.
• Have new shirts made every year and donate the old ones to Career Gear, a great non-profit that provides interview clothes to low income individuals.
• French cuffs are fine, provided that the cufflinks aren’t straight out of the Donald J. Trump collection.
• And if you sweat, wear a damn undershirt, you slob.  Besides, a $50 t-shirt will save numerous $200 dress shirts from your disgusting armpits.

Ties

• It’s all about the Windsor knot, with the perfectly symmetrical triangle.  A half or full Windsor are both fine, depending on the thickness of the tie and the spread of the collar.

MD#1: Handshakes and tie knots. I don't have time for someone that can't master those basic skills.

• Skip the dimple that creates that obnoxious crease; you’re not Al Sharpton.
• Sorry interns and analysts, no Hermès. 

#1: Don't show up to an interview in a Hermès tie. I don't give a f*ck if you can afford it, you have to earn it.

#1: Hermes ties are like Air Jordans for white people.

• Everyone has a favorite tie, but don’t wear it every damn week.

#1: There's nothing pretentious about keeping a tie journal. It keeps me on a solid 10-12 week rotation.

Suit Jacket

• You can’t go wrong with two-button, notched-lapel, and single-breasted.  Skip the three-button suit altogether.
• Absolutely no double-breasted herringbone.  It’s gone and never coming back.  Sorry, David Letterman.
• Avoid the peaked lapel, unless it’s on a single-button, casual suit.
• In terms of color, keep it to various shades of gray and navy, with a few varieties of pinstripes.  That’s all you need.

#1: Is that a brown suit? The back office is in Jersey City, pal.

• No need to go above 160 per inch thread count.  Between the abrasive Herman Miller chairs and the drunken nights out, they don't last.
• And it goes without saying; buy as many suits as you can reasonably afford.
• But don’t waste your money buying off-the-rack at Barney’s or Bergdorf; go bespoke.  

#1: Gucci suits are like Corvettes. They're a great way of telling people you didn't always have money.

• It’s a cliché because it’s true; the most expensive suit is the one you wear the least.

#1: I spent $2,000 on a suit I don't need or like, just to impress a sales chick I don't find attractive.

Business Casual

• If you're not in the US, lose the khakis.
• Sweaters over a collared shirt? For the most part, no problem. 

#1: Why do people wear wool if they know cashmere exists?

#1: There is no such thing as turtleneck weather.

• Stick with Polo shirts; no one cares to watch you inevitably mime golf swings.

#1: Nothing says douchebag quite like wearing an Augusta golf shirt when the Masters are on.

Watches

• I saw an Associate get picked off for sporting a new Daytona the week before bonus.  A quick "if you want watches to matter, go work at Morgan Stanley" wiped that smirk right off his face.

#1: Wearing a Rolex is like driving an Audi. It says you've got some money, but nothing to say.

• Thanks to Hank Paulson, Nike running watches and Livestrong bracelets were to 2004 what Lloyd's stubble beard has been to 2012-13.  There are quite a few senior guys that still wear a Nike sport watch, intentionally, or even no watch at all.

#1: Not wearing a watch is the new Patek.

• Forget all about Hublot.  It’s a great way to tell people that you’re an idiot who has more money than taste.  Hublot was a second-rate brand with third-rate craftsmanship until about 15 years ago when they arbitrarily doubled the price and started paying celebrities and sport figures to wear them. It's been a marketers wet dream.

#1: Hublot put the ‘whore’ in ‘horology’ 

Miscellaneous Tips

• Pocket squares are for washed-up, unemployable ex-bankers, turned CNBC guest pundits, i.e. a guy who takes himself far too seriously and has a massive chip on his shoulder.
• Wedding rings, watches, and cufflinks are the only acceptable form of jewelry for a man. Unless the Dalai Lama gave you that bracelet, leave it at home.

#1: In New York, don't trust a banker with a pocket square. In London, it's a pinky ring. And in Asia, don't f--king trust anyone.

• Like Ambien and red wine, the wrong fashion combination can become a disastrously lethal cocktail of Larry Kudlow-esque proportions. 

MD #1: A double-breasted suit and a blue shirt with a white collar? Was it a rough night in the water bed?

#1: Plaid shirt, bow tie, and pocket square is the douchebag trifecta. 

• Finally, "an architect is only as good as his builder, and a fashion designer is only as good as your tailor."

There you have it; head to toe. These tips won’t exactly get you laid at Soho House or on the cover of GQ; but on Wall Street and in business, you can’t go wrong taking this advice.

Just don’t go out and break the law or get scapegoated… Ask any juror, Fabrice Tourre’s ‘fabulous’(?) and expensive-looking fashion sense was a coffin nail come deliberation time.

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"If You Send Your Kid To Private School, You Are a Bad Person." So says a Slate article today that's already racked up thousands of hate-shares on Twitter and Facebook.

Allison Benedikt's argument is pretty simple: Sending your own kid to private school makes you insufficiently invested in improving public schooling for others, and therefore a bad person.

Instead, we should all send our kids to public school so we all feel a political imperative to make public schools better. After all, Benedikt argues, the cost isn't that high: she went to a crappy public school, and as a result her cultural literacy is poor, but she managed to get a good job writing clickbaity articles for Slate anyway.

Benedikt acknowledges that her no-exit plan to improve public schools "might take generations" to work and admits that "Your children and grandchildren might get mediocre educations in the meantime, but it will be worth it, for the eventual common good." But the academic research gives us no reason to believe that Benedikt's plan would improve public school outcomes over any time frame.

After all, she's not the first person to realize that the existence of private schools might affect public school quality. A lot of academics have looked into the question of how private schools affect public schools, and the results are inconclusive.

In 2002, Professors Clive Belfield and Henry Levin at Columbia University Teachers' College looked at the existing research and found that "across districts and counties, the effect of private school competition on public school outcomes is mixed." Of the 12 studies they identified on the topic, 3 found that private competition improved public schools, 3 found that it worsened them, and 6 found no effect.

That's not terribly surprising, since you'd expect two offsetting effects: private schools might disproportionately attract the best students out of public schools, but competition might force public schools to improve so they can attract students away from privates.

Next time Benedikt decides to tell people they're bad if they don't subject their children to a substandard education as part of a generations-long project to improve public schooling, she should do a literature review first to make sure that project would even work.

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Hampton University freshmen were apparently welcomed to campus this week with an unusual message: do not twerk.

As Hampton students are in the midst of New Student Orientation, multiple photos posted on social media websites show a slideshow presentation from the school's Center for Information Technology with three distinct "takeaways":

1. Hampton Ladies Do Not Twerk!!!

2. Hampton Men Do Not Take Twerkers Home To Mother

3. Employers Do Not Discriminate Between Twerkers And Twerkees

According to MediaTakeOut.com, Hampton has banned the dance from the school's campus and will seek disciplinary action against anyone caught twerking.

"Multiple sources confirmed that [Hampton] gave a lecture to entering Freshman about the 'Dangers Of Twerking.' During the lecture they said that students who were caught twerking (presumably on Instagram) could face school penalty," they report.

In a statement to Business Insider, a Hampton spokesperson denied that the university had banned the sexy dance move, and said the word was only used "to get students' attention" in a presentation on sharing infomation and photos on social media. Here's the statement from the university:

There is a picture of a slide circulating on social media sites that was a part on a presentation to Hampton University freshmen. The slide has been taken out of context. The presentation was on social media and cyber bullying and was titled "Sharing Your World Technologically." The presenter was cautioning students about posting information and or pictures, that would tarnish their brand, on social media sites. The slide referenced "twerking" because of recent events and to get students' attention. There was no statement about banning any form of dance or expression.

One Hampton alumnus defended the school, writing in a column on theGrio:

[T]he presenter at Hampton University (which happens to be my undergraduate alma mater, so I speak from experience) is using humor and colloquialisms to do one of the most important things to be accomplished in a student’s first week at college: connect. This is especially important at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) where low teacher-student ratios and close-knit campus environments remain two of the strongest points of their appeal.

The pop culture reference to twerking was an attempt at connection with the students – a technique that has proven benefits on retention and graduation.

More importantly, the university was attempting to provide the sort of life education that HBCUs take pride in offering. At their founding, these schools were deliberate in their mission to provide an education for black students that they had been denied elsewhere. This education extended beyond mathematics and liberal arts. It also included practical skills like specialized trades and business acumen, along with normative behavior instruction like social etiquette and grooming.

This special mission has evolved into advice to students on proper dress and acceptable behavior in certain environs that will make them competitive in the national economy, instead of just in the agricultural localities that most blacks once lived in.

Twerking gained notoriety this week following Miley Cyrus' performance Sunday at the Video Music Awards and the term's inclusion in the newest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.

The OED defines twerking as "to dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance."

This post has been updated with a statement from Hampton University.

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Fiction can sweep you up into a far-off land, but nothing grounds you like reading a riveting true story.

The editors at Amazon.com recently came out with a list of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2013 So Far, which ranks the best books released between January and June 2013.

Here are the Top 10 Best Non-Fiction Books of the Year So Far, according to Amazon editors:

1. Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach: This funny science book takes us on an unforgettable tour of the alimentary canal, asking questions like: Why do we like to eat crunchy food? And why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? Roach is a witty, beautiful writer who makes the human body a fascinating and comedic subject.

2.Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff: Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Charlie LeDuff goes back to explore his broken hometown, where he finds a city in decay. He explores the current state of the city and how it affects its citizens, including his own family.

3. The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Though the Heart of the Grand Canyonby Kevin Fedarko: This book tells the thrilling adventure story of a group of river guides who secretly launched a small, hand-built wooden boat named the Emerald Mile into the Colorado River right after one of the largest chain of "superstorms" ever hit the American West in 1983.

4. The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrumby Temple Grandin and Richard Panek: Temple Grandin, one of the foremost authorities on autism, discusses the latest science behind autism in an exciting manner. She also weaves in her own experiences (she has autism herself) to make the illness more relatable.

5. Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction by Annalee Newitz: This fascinating science book focuses on humanity's long history and how it has managed to avoid mass extinction on numerous occasions from tsunamis to asteroids. It also speculates how we can learn from the past and use it to avoid disasters in the future.

6. Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure that Took the Victorian World by Storm by Monte Reel: In 1856, explorer Paul Du Chaillu set out into the wild to find and study the gorilla. He emerged successfully with the then-mythical animal and brought him back to society, only to launch right into the center of a debate on Darwin's theory of evolution. The books blends adventure and history.

7. Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws who Hacked Ma Bell by Phil Lapsley and Steve Wozniak: This book tells the story of the telephone, from its birth by Alexander Graham Bell to the rise of mega-companies like AT&T to the high-tech smartphones of today. There are also interesting anecdotes on hackers, mobsters, and telephone company wars.

8. Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism by Elizabeth Becker: Tourism is one of the largest industries today, but it wasn't always that way. Elizabeth Becker explores how travel and tourism went from a rich person's hobby to a massive empire with serious impacts on the economy, environment and culture of countries around the world.

9. Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America by Peter Andreas: Looking back at American history from colonial times to modern day, this book shows how the U.S. is built on a history of smuggling, whether it was slaves in the 19th century, illicit booze in the 20th century, or drugs today.

10. Ship It Holla Ballas!: How a Bunch of 19-Year-Old College Dropouts Used the Internet to Become Poker's Loudest, Craziest, and Richest Crew by Jonathan Grotenstein and Storms Reback: The Ship It Holla Ballas were a group of underage poker players who won tens of millions of dollars in online poker—and then spent it all in an epic fashion. This book traces the rise and fall of online poker through one of the most successful Internet poker crews ever.

SEE ALSO: The 10 Best Books Of The Year (So Far), According To Amazon

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Red Bull has awarded top honors to a German photographer for his surreal shot of a snowboarder next to a satellite dish in its sports action and adventure photography contest.

The photograph (below), by Lorenz Holder, was shot in Raisting, Germany.

“The quality of the images in the Top 50 was amazing, so for me it is a great honour to be voted number one," Holder said. "It’s so unreal. It will take a few days for the news to sink in."

Of the thousands of images submitted to the contest, 250 were shortlisted, and 50 of those were presented to a panel of judges. The finalists' photos are currently on display in Hong Kong.

Click here to see some of the other action shots from the contest >

SEE ALSO: 20 Unreal Pictures From Red Bull's Sports Action Photography Contest

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The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) announced the winners of its Chimpanzee Art Contest on Thursday.

Six sanctuaries across the U.S. submitted an original piece of art from one of their retired chimpanzees. All of these animals have a had a rough life, having once been used for medical research, forced into acting, or locked up in zoos and circuses. Painting is one activity that is used to cheer the chimps up once they are released into a safe haven.

The chimps seem to have an exceptional talent for this medium, each with their own aesthetic.

The first-place winner, a 37-year-old chimp named Brent, for example, used only his tongue to paint a purple, yellow, and blue masterpiece. There was also a second- and third-place winner. All six sanctuaries will get a $500 grant from the HSUS just for participating.

Some of the sanctuaries apparently told the chimps that they won, Nicole Ianni, a representative for the humane society, tells us.

The paintings will be auctioned on eBay later this year to benefit the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance.

Ripley, like many chimpanzees, was used as an actor before he was dumped in a roadside zoo. He eventually found his way to the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Fla. His caretakers are impressed with his resilience and forgiveness.

Ripley took home third place and a $2,500 grant for this piece of art.

Cheetah, who was probably born in the 1970s, lived alone in a laboratory for 19 years. He was rescued by Save the Chimps in Ft. Pierce, Fla. in 2002.

The tech titans have some fantastic toys: massive yachts, sleek cars, and over-the-top homes.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' home has a pool with an underwater sound system, Square CEO Jack Dorsey's place has a 20-foot retractable glass roof, and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has his own Hawaiian island.

We found the 31 most expensive homes in the U.S. owned by the kings and queens of tech.

#31 Steve Wozniak's original Apple abode

Estimated home value: $4.4 million

Title: Co-founder, Apple

The Apple co-founder's beautiful Los Gatos, Calif., home, originally constructed just for him in 1986, hit the market this spring for almost $4.5 million, according to the New York Daily News. It's a six-bed, six-bath mega mansion of 7,500 square feet with gorgeous views of the Los Gatos Mountains, stained glass accents, and an outdoor pool with a cascading waterfall.

Wozniak's home may be almost 30 years old, but it had a major facelift in 2006, updating a lot of features but keeping the original contemporary designs.

To estimate the approximate current value of the homes, we looked at recent sales and public assessors' records, and we spoke to expert realtors and appraisers in these homes' markets.

#30 Marissa Mayer's Palo Alto place

Estimated home value: $5.3 million

Title: CEO, Yahoo

Another tech giant in Palo Alto, Marissa Mayer lives in a surprisingly modest home for someone of her stature. Her home, which was built in 2006, is worth about $5.3 million, according to the Santa Clara County assessor's office. Mayer also has a $5 million penthouse on the 38th floor of the Four Seasons in San Francisco.

It has five bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, an outdoor patio, and large backyard. While her home may be comparatively smaller to some of her industry's peers, it makes a great setting for hosting events. In 2010, Mayer held a $30,000-a-plate fundraising dinner at her home for Obama's campaign.

To estimate the approximate current value of the homes, we looked at recent sales and public assessors' records, and we spoke to expert realtors and appraisers in these homes' markets.

#29 Chris Hughes' renovated New York factory

Estimated home value: $7 million

Title: Co-founder, Facebook; Editor-in-chief, The New Republic

One of the co-founders of Facebook and currently the Editor-in-chief of politics magazine The New Republic, Chris Hughes bought his place at 30 Crosby Street with his partner in 2010 for $4.8 million, according to The Real Deal. It's a 4,164-square-foot, one-room loft divided by a row of wood columns with exposed brick walls and antique wood floors.

The 125-year-old building, which is known for having had some famous musician residents (Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Courtney Love) was formerly a corset factory, Nick Jabbour, Senior Vice President at Nest Seekers International, told us.

"Considering that Hughes likely reoutfitted and updated the space, his loft... is likely worth about $7 million today," Jabbour said. "SoHo remains one of the hippest neighborhoods in New York and is wrought with converted condos that meld old industrial accents with super-modern conveniences."

To estimate the approximate current value of the homes, we looked at recent sales and public assessors' records, and we spoke to expert realtors and appraisers in these homes' markets.