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How To Cook The Perfect Salmon

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Nothing compares to a dish made with fresh salmon. People enjoy this delectable fish worldwide, and it’s used in a variety of dishes. However, according to salmon-lovers across the globe, this fish can be challenging to cook. Luckily, we’re here to help!

Keep reading to learn how to cook the perfect salmon, no matter the method!

Choose Your Cooking Method

Before learning how to cook salmon like a pro, you need to choose your cooking method. There are several different ways to cook this delicious fish—all of which can result in beautifully cooked salmon!

Check out the popular cooking methods below, including how to cook this fish to perfection!

Baking

Baking salmon is quick and simple, and the results are incredible—as long as you follow the right steps. First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and put foil on a baking sheet. Bake your salmon with the skin-side down for 12-15 minutes. You’ll want the fish to look pink and opaque.

When it comes to flavoring your salmon, there are several amazing options out there. Lemon, garlic, thyme, and honey are excellent flavors to add.

Baking salmon is a fantastic choice if you want something quick, easy, and healthy!

Broiling

Broiling salmon is one of the fastest methods to consider. The process is also incredibly easy. You’ll begin by making sure the oven rack is in the third notch in your oven; you want the fish to be about 5 inches away from the broiler coils.

The next step involves grabbing a baking sheet, lining it with foil or parchment paper, then placing your salmon filets on top. After seasoning with salt, pepper, and any other variety of seasonings, plop the fish in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes. The salmon is ready to eat once it flakes with a fork.

Poaching

If you want to ensure your salmon is moist, shoot for the poaching method. As long as it’s cooked properly, this method results in moist salmon every single time. To start the cooking process, bring 1 cup water and 1 cup dry white wine to a boil in a large skillet. Lower heat and throw in the salmon. Cover the skillet and cook for around 10 minutes. Use a large slotted spoon or fish spatula to remove the fish, then check for doneness. For more flavor, try adding some fresh herbs and garlic to the skillet while cooking.

Grilling

Grilling takes food to a whole new level, including salmon! Additionally, nothing compares to firing up the grill on a perfect summer day. To grill the perfect salmon, you’ll want to turn on your grill to medium-high heat and oil the grilling surface. Add the salmon skin-side down and cook for 6-8 minutes. Make sure the bottom half of the fish appears opaque. The last step is to flip the salmon and cook for another 4-6 minutes until the fish is flaky and cooked.

Not only is salmon fresh and delicious, but it’s also healthy! You can also add some rice and veggies to make this dish even more nutritious. For an easy, nourishing dinner idea, salmon does not disappoint

5 Against-the-Odds Military Victories

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We’re all familiar with the underdog story of David and Goliath. However, David was far from the only dark horse to come from behind…and come out ahead. In fact, military battles around the world throughout history have shown us again and again that there’s no such thing as a shoe-in or “easy” win.

Not convinced? Read on for a round up of five examples of extraordinary military victories despite overwhelming odds against them.

1. The Battle of Carrhae

Marcus Licinius Crassus may have taken down Spartacus, but the uber-rich and widely detested Roman came up short against the Parthians. While the soldiers from northeastern Iran were vastly outnumbered by their opponents, horses were one of the deciding factors in this battle. The Parthians were heavy on cavalry—which was unlike the infantry-dominated battlefields the Romans were accustomed to.

As you’d expect from one of history’s greatest powers, the defeated Romans learned from the loss and adopted many of the Parthians’ tactics as their own.

2. The Battle of Vítkov Hill

This massive battle fought during the Middle Ages saw just 12,000 Hussite peasants take on between 50,000 and 100,000 crusaders recruited by the Holy Roman Empire. Despite being monumentally outnumbered upon entering the city of Prague, Hussite leader John Zizka strategically set up ranks at a vineyard that was naturally defended by a steep cliff on one side. Using tools which included pointed sticks, the Hussite forces pushed more than 300 members of the advancing opposing army over the side and to their deaths, which led to  a chaotic retreat by the crusaders.

3. The Great Siege of Malta

Malta may have been just a tiny island-nation when it came up against the superpower of the time, the Ottoman Empire. However, the combination of strategic leadership by Jean De Valette, unbridled willpower, and lots of cannon-fire helped the 8,500-strong Maltese forces conquer the 45,000-strong Ottoman troops.

“Nothing is so well known as the Siege of Malta,” Voltaire once famously said of the heroic—and unexpected—victory.

4. The Battle of Okehazama

Discussions of Japanese military history usually center around World War II. But military historians point further back to the hereditary leaders known as the Shogunates. During the  Battle of Okehazama, local warlord Oda Nobunaga took on challenger Imagawa Yoshimoto despite being outnumbered 10:1—and won.

So how’d Oda Nobunaga do it? With a combination of sleight of hand and an offensive tact. While the opposing troops were unarmed and celebrating their wins, Oda’s men crept up, flanked, and routed them.

5. The Battle of Jena-Auerstedt

While Napoleon had his work cut out for him with the twin battles of  Jena and Auerstedt, the famed French emperor was known for being anything but under-confident.

Aided by his equally brilliant corps commander, Marshal Louis Nicolas Davout, Napoleon led his outnumbered troops in besting the armies of Prussia and Saxony—all while taking a mere fraction of the casualties suffered by their inferior opponents.

This decisive defeat led to the French Empire’s occupation of the Kingdom of Prussia. Today, the triumph is heralded by many as Napoleon’s most impressive victory.

5 Spreadsheet Hacks You Can Use To Save Time At Work

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Time is one of life’s greatest commodities. Which is why we’re always on the lookout for ways to do more with less of it—especially at work.

If you use spreadsheets as part of your job, you already know that they’re an excellent tool for collecting and organizing data. But the odds are you’re not using it to its fullest capacity.

The good news? You can be with these five time-saving hacks for Microsoft Excel.

1. Keyboard shortcuts

This isn’t just one hack. It’s hundreds of them. (Yes, you read that right.)

Rather than using the pull-down menu to perform functions, keyboard shortcuts can help you save seconds—which adds up to some serious time savings.

Some examples of our go-to keyboard shortcuts include:

  • Ctrl+ A Select All
  • Ctrl+B Bold (apply or remove)
  • Ctrl+F Find
  • Ctrl+O Open file
  • Ctrl+Y Repeat last command
  • Ctrl+D Fill down

Looking for even more commands to speed up your Excel use? A quick Google search will turn up an abundance of keyboard shortcuts for common tasks and actions.

2. Total columns or rows

Need to quickly tally up a row or column? Forget highlighting. Instead, just click in the last cell of the worksheet and select “Alt + =.”

3. Move up and down without scrolling

If you’re working with a large data set, scrolling from the top to the bottom (and back again) can feel like it takes forever. Rather than endlessly scrolling, use these two hacks:

  • Ctrl+ Up Arrow (1x) Jump to the last line of data preceding a blank row
  • Ctrl+ Up Arrow (2x) Jump to the top line of the worksheet

4. Insert multiple rows (or columns)

Manually inserting more than a single row or column can be a time-consuming chore. This hack lets you bypass the drudgery with a single click.

Start by determining the number of columns or rows you need to insert. Then, highlight that number in your worksheet. Next, hit right click and choose insert. Voila! You’ll instantly have the exact number of rows or columns you need.

5. Copy your worksheet

Let’s say you have to create the same worksheet on a weekly or monthly basis. Rather than starting over from scratch every time, you can simply use this hack. It carries over all of the existing parameters, so you don’t have to waste time recreating formatting and other elements. All you have to do is update whatever needs to be updated.

Ready to learn this time-trimming trick? Just right click on the tab at the bottom of the worksheet and select “Move or Copy.”  Since your goal is to copy the existing worksheet, check the “Make a Copy” box and you’ll have an exact copy of the worksheet to revise and use.

The best part? These five hacks are just the start. There’s a near-endless array of tips, tricks, and techniques that can help you optimize Excel for user-friendly and speedy results.

We recommend mastering these five, then moving on to learn five more. Before you know it, you’ll be an Excel hacks expert.

A Core Psychological Principle Debunked? How Important Is Delayed Gratification For Future Success?

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Imagine a fairy godmother comes along and offers you a delicious cookie that is magically free of calories. It smells so good! Your mouth is watering. Just as you are about to take it, she says, “Wait! I have another offer. You can either take this cookie now or wait until tomorrow. If you wait 24 hours, I will give you a cookie every single day for the rest of your life.”

It would be very tempting to take the cookie that’s right in front of your eyes (assuming you like cookies). But it would be a much better deal to wait a day and get cookies for the rest of your life. This is the principle of delayed gratification. 

There’s a famous experiment in psychology known as the “marshmallow test,” that was conducted at Stanford University back in the 1970s. The researchers, like fairy godmothers, made offers to preschool children that tested their ability to delay gratification. In one variation, the children were able to eat a marshmallow as an immediate reward, or if they chose to wait, they would get two marshmallows instead of just one.

Researchers conducted follow-up studies on the children for decades. They found key differences in the two groups, between those who waited for the better reward and those who didn’t.

When the children were teenagers, researchers found the “waiting” group had higher SAT scores and were described, by their parents, as more competent. Later, they had fewer mental health, drug use, and weight problems. They were more likely to graduate from college and earn more money. 

It seemed like their being able to resist temptation when they were kids was a strong predictor of their success in later life. But was it really?

A new follow-up study casts doubt on that idea. Scientists found that the kids’ choices in the original experiment did not predict their success when they were in their 40s. There was no difference between the two groups in income, net worth, education, or weight.

This is good news if you were a child who did not have the self-control to wait patiently for rewards. Your impulsive behavior as a preschooler doesn’t doom you to a life of poverty.

Being able to exercise self-control is still an important skill and one that is learnable. Parents can model this trait for their children by keeping their promises and having negative consequences for bad behavior and positive consequences for good.

People of any age can teach themselves to be better at delaying gratification by becoming mindful of their impulsive feelings, setting goals, journaling, and looking for opportunities to practice self-control in their daily lives.

Neuroscience also has some lessons. Two areas of the brain appear to play a major role in delaying gratification – the prefrontal cortex, associated with self-control, and the hippocampus, associated with memory, in this case, the “memory” of the future. Both areas become activated when people merely imagine a bigger and more distant reward. So, when you are faced with a choice between a tempting immediate pleasure and a later reward that is even better, deliberately focus your imagination on the later reward to fire up the supporting parts of your brain.
 

5 Surprising Facts About The World Of Pro Gaming

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The world of professional gaming sounds like all fun and, well, games. However, it’s also big business—AND growing bigger by the day.  Interested in learning more about the fast-paced and wildly popular world of esports? Read on for a roundup of five things you may not have known about the booming world of esports.

1. Pretty much any video game can be played competitively.

In the sports world, only certain sports are played professionally. Furthermore, most professional athletes only play a single sport (although there are some very rare exceptions to the rule). In the brave new world of esports, however, almost anything goes.

For starters, nearly any video game with a competitive element can be played as an esport, including multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) and first-person shooter (FPS) games.

Additionally, many esports athletes compete in different game types and games.

Of course, not all exports are created equally in terms of their money-making potential. Some games and tournaments are much more lucrative than others.

2. Professional gamers ARE professional athletes

There are lots of jokes about the unhealthy lifestyles of gamers. While some professional gamers may indeed still live in their parents’ basements, this is far from the case for others, who actually live like athletes. Not only do they spend hours a day playing and training, but they also study other players’ and teams’ games, strategies, and methodologies—just like professional athletes do. Some even suffer career-ending injuries, including everything from debilitating neck pain to carpal tunnel syndrome.

In the US, meanwhile, top esports players are officially categorized as professional athletes with access to the same legal benefits.

3. An esports arena is underway

People love watching esports so much that a next-gen esports stadium, Fusion Arena, is currently under construction in Philadelphia.

Seating up to 3,500 spectators, this $50 million, first-of-its-kind facility will  be the home base for the Philadelphia Fusion esports franchise while also serving as a destination for global competitive gaming events.

4. Celebrity investors love esports

The rich and famous are always looking for the next opportunity to become even richer and more famous, and esports has proven to be an enticing venture.

Everyone from iconic athletes like Magic Johnson to red-hot musicians like Drake have infused the esports industry with capital out of their own pockets. Some, like NBA champ Rick Fox, are even esports team owners!

Also getting in on the exports action as investors? Professional sports titans like Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

5. You can major in it

Professional gaming is forecast to become a $4.75 billion industry globally by 2030. Given the industry’s massive size and potential, it’s not surprising that academia is also cashing in.

Big name universities like UC Irvine and Ohio State Universities currently offer degree programs in esports covering everything from sports teams management and other business aspects to strategic statistical analysis. Additionally, the field also needs many other professionals, including everyone from game designers to broadcasters to marketers.

Many colleges and universities offer extracurricular opportunities for esports enthusiasts, while some even field their own competitive esports teams.

The Culture Guide: 5 Things You Should Not Do When Visiting Ireland

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Are you planning a trip to the Emerald Isle? With so much to see and do there, you are sure to have a wonderful time. However, if you want your vacation to go as smoothly as possible, here are five things you really ought not to do.

Five Things You Should Never Do as a Tourist in Ireland

Number 5: Embarrass Yourself in a Pub

While the stereotype of Irish people spending all of their free time in a pub isn’t entirely true, that doesn’t mean they’re teetotalers. A vacation to Ireland will likely include at least a few nights in the pub. If you are lucky enough to be invited to go out with locals, don’t be surprised if one of them buys you a drink. But that doesn’t mean you are getting a freebie. The person who bought you a drink will expect you to pay for the next round of drinks. 

Number 4: Talk About ‘The Troubles’ 

The Troubles were the name of a conflict between the Protestant loyalists and the Catholic nationalists in Northern Ireland. Although the dispute has been mostly over for more than twenty years, it is still a touchy subject for many in both Ireland and Northern Ireland. Don’t bring up the topic, and try not to give your opinion one way or the other if asked. Whatever you do, don’t order an Irish Car Bomb in a pub as a joke. It won’t end well. 

Number 3: Trying to Talk With an ‘Irish’ Accent

The number of foreign visitors to Ireland that try out their ‘Irish’ accents or slang hovers right at about 95 percent. If you want to keep a shred of respect among locals, don’t be one of them. No matter what anyone told you, your Irish accent doesn’t sound authentic, and no one says “Top of the mornin’ to you.” Oh, and if you are looking for the bathroom, forget about calling it “the Jacks,” and stick to using the word “restroom,” or you may wet yourself before the person you asked stops laughing. 

Number 2: Refer to St. Patrick’s Day as St. Patty’s Day

Have you ever wished someone “Happy St. Patty’s Day” on March 17th? Don’t do that in Ireland. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t say “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” or “Happy St. Paddy’s Day,” but the Americanized name of the holiday is particularly grating to Irish people. After all, the holiday is named after St. Patrick, and there are only two nicknames for Patrick; “Pat” or “Paddy” — with two D’s and never two T’s.

Number 1: Say You’re Irish If You Haven’t Been to Ireland Before

Although 1 in 10 Americans can claim Irish ancestry, it is probably not a good idea to proclaim yourself Irish in Ireland unless you were born there. Few things annoy locals more than Americans doing that. And no, just because you may share a family with a local doesn’t mean you are related, so don’t ask. 

Follow these tips, and you will surely have a wonderful time in Ireland. 

 

 

4 Business Principles MBA Students Learn

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An MBA learns many business standards and practices, like finance, accounting, marketing strategy, and operations, but MBA programs also teach business principles that are just as important. An ethical, responsible, and principled business succeeds and is essential to the community, and this doesn’t go unrecognized by business professors.

Every serious business publication, like Harvard Business Review, will discuss the need to conduct principled business. The highest profile failures and value destruction have always come from companies that fail to embrace strong principles and serve all of their stakeholders. Those company leaders might have had MBAs but obviously didn’t pay attention in class.

Here are some business principles you could expect to discuss in an MBA program.

Don’t Get Full of Yourself

The greatest business disasters and value destroyers have been committed by executives that loved the wealth and prestige and thought they could do no wrong. Not only do those companies often make tremendous mistakes, but thinking you’re doing everything often means many customers aren’t being served. The little, nimble, and humble players are happy to come in and snatch those customers up.

Most companies have a definitive lifespan. Of the original Dow Jones companies, only one exists (GE) and it is no longer listed on the Dow. All of the executives in GE under past CEO Jack Welch have gone on to destroy companies simply because they thought they were the best.

Create Value for All Stakeholders

In the 80s, Milton Friedman’s economic theories said that the only people corporations were responsible for were the shareholders, and it’s probably one of the worst theories in history for expanding company value.

MBA professors counter that theory with examples of companies that have valued employees and communities as much as they do their shareholders. They show students that the overall value created by stakeholder-conscious companies far outpaces those companies that only seek to reward shareholders. The most successful companies aren’t just financially successful but successful in fulfilling a social mission.

Lead With Integrity

Business leaders accomplish more and create more value for everyone when they lead by example, listen to the opinions of their employees, and inspire people. A leader needs to be willing to spend some time in the trenches learning what employees do and thanking them for their hard work. Such leaders inspire job satisfaction and increased understanding of the company, helping them better manage and lead.

In such classes, it is not uncommon to discuss leadership failures and watch discussions between leaders who hurt companies and those who made them great. Biographies and movies about leaders that inspired, lead with integrity, and got their hands dirty are common assignments in an MBA program.

Patience

Companies aren’t built or become great overnight; even the most innovative products must first be known in the marketplace. Patience keeps the company focused on long-term goals and adjusting as needed, which are essential for company success.

A patient leader also fosters long-term vision in their employees, setting everyone up for success. It’s not about how much money you make this quarter but the value the company creates over its lifetime.

Strong, patient leaders better understand customers, rebound from failures, and convey a true vision to investors.

An MBA is a primer for all business disciplines that create effective generalists and a program that instills business ethics and principles. Business professors have watched the mistakes of businesses of the past and know that instilling values makes the greatest success stories. No MBA class will ever praise the CEO that made millions from practices lacking in integrity.

Key Considerations About Cloud-based Backup Services

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For businesses in particular, a cloud-based backup service can be a godsend. Rather than procuring, installing and maintaining physical hardware on-site, you can now backup all of your critical business data to a secure third-party at a fraction of the cost it normally takes.

Still, the cloud is not a silver bullet and in order to get the most out of your spend (and stay protected), there are a few key things to keep in mind. 

The Heartbleed Bug: Breaking Things Down

One of the most important things to understand about cloud-based backup services has to do with the types of vulnerabilities that your data could be exposed to. While cloud-based systems are highly secure by their very nature, they are not impervious. Case in point: the Heartbleed Bug.

The Heartbleed Bug is a vulnerability that impacts the OpenSSL cryptographic software library. This is what is used to create the SSL/TLS encryption which is what many cloud-based backup systems use for protection, along with many websites. If exploited, that protected data can then be stolen.

Essentially, Heartbleed works by allowing anybody with the right tools to read the memory of devices that are still using out-of-date versions of OpenSSL. Information that appears to be encrypted is actually available to those with malicious intentions, creating a dangerous situation for businesses in particular.

To make sure that yours is an organization that won’t fall victim to Heartbleed, make sure that your cloud-based backup provider is using the most recent version of OpenSSL. It’s very likely that they are, but it never hurts to verify.

Likewise, make sure that all backups on the cloud are encrypted as well. That way, even if they are intercepted, a hacker still won’t be able to access the information inside. 

Practical Advice for Making the Most Out of Your Cloud Deployment

Beyond cybersecurity measures, there are a number of other practical steps that you can take to help make sure you’re getting the highest possible return on investment for your cloud-based backup solution.

In terms of performance efficiency, make sure that you or your colleagues are regularly looking at your utilization levels for things like compute, storage and more. Because you’re talking about the cloud, if you need to add additional storage (for example) it truly is as simple as picking up the phone and making a call to your provider. But before a lack of storage causes an unfortunate disruption, you need to know prior to getting to that point.

With regard to cost optimization, regularly review whether or not you are paying only for what you need – something that is one of the benefits of the cloud in the first place. Have you over-estimated what you’ll need in terms of resources or under-estimated due to seasonal fluctuations? These reviews are important to help achieve the highest possible ROI.

 By following best practices like these, you’ll be able to enjoy all of the benefits of a cloud-based backup service with as few of the potential downsides as possible. 

5 Surprising Facts About Your Trash

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Trash. It’s usually not something to which we give much thought. We create it, throw it out, have it picked up by that noisy truck far too early in the morning, and it goes to some magical place where it will stay. Well, much of it doesn’t actually stay there, and we will get into that shortly.

Your trash combines with everyone else’s to create one big trash mountain. It’s like a trash stew that tremendously impacts our lives and the world. So here are some interesting facts about your trash and what happens when combined with everyone else’s trash.

You Generate a Lot of Trash

Yes, you do, I do, we all do. Americans generate about 4.4 lbs of trash daily, almost twice as much as the global average of 2.6 lbs per day. As 4% of the world’s population, we generate 12% of the total trash produced.

On top of the 4.4 lbs of trash, the EPA says we recycle and compost another 1.5 lbs daily.

Some studies indicate that those numbers might actually be very low.

Some fundamental lifestyle changes, like reusable shopping bags or buying reduced packaging items, can greatly reduce how much we throw away.

Your Trash Travels Much Further Than You Think

Not every city buries its trash nearby. MIT researchers tracked 3000 pieces of Seattle trash in 2009 and found out it ended up all over the country. The garbage from New York City is shipped out of state to states like New Jersey, Ohio, and other areas. In Kentucky, one dump was 80 to 90 percent waste from other states.

Tell that half of a stale Twinkie in your trash to enjoy its voyage, see some sites, get some sun, and maybe send a postcard.

Lose Something in Your Trash? You Might Be Able to Get It Back

Well, unless you are that guy in England with a hard drive somewhere in the local landfill with $250,000,000 in Bitcoin on it. Some cities allow you to report a lost item after you’ve accidentally thrown it out.

Items of significant value can be reported within several hours in some cities like Albuquerque so that there is a chance to get them back. If it is your extensive collection of giant lint balls that got thrown out, don’t plan on it having significant value.

Dogs Really Like Peeing On It

Yes, dogs see a trash bag on the sidewalk as the preferred place to take a bathroom break. It’s a new feature of the landscape and, therefore, fascinating. Also, there are certainly some exciting smells in there, so your trash bag may as well be the world’s tallest broadcast tower for dogs.

Some of Your Trash Might End Up in the World’s Oceans

An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic reach the world’s oceans yearly, which equals five grocery bags filled with plastic for every foot of the earth’s shoreline. Unfortunately, it is becoming an ecological disaster, and your reduced use of plastics or demanding recycled plastics does make a difference.

There’s much more to trash than remembering when it’s trash day. Every bag or bin we haul out signifies our usage of the world’s resources and our commitment to the environment. Our trash represents a lot to humans, not just our dogs.

5 Most Uplifting Movies that Belong in Your Watch List

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There are films that touch the hearts of broad audiences in an almost universal fashion. The following may very well be the 5 most uplifting movies, bar none. Let’s see if you agree.

1: Forrest Gump

The 1994 romance drama starring Tom Hanks, Sally Fields, Robin Wright, Mykelti Williamson, and Gary Sinise was a box office smash that earned six Academy Awards. Hanks proves convincing in his role as a low-IQ young man who inspires people he meets during his journey.

Bullied for what some see as shortcomings during his youth, Forrest Gump becomes a college football All-American, Vietnam War hero, and millionaire while doing the right thing. Forrest Gump, the man and the movie, teaches us that love, kindness, and the patience he demonstrates as a loving father are more valuable than wealth or status. Life may be like a box of chocolates — as Forest famously says — but this film delivers heart-felt emotions with certainty.

2: Good Will Hunting

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck team up to create a touching 1997 film that doesn’t shy away from the emotional turmoil broken children carry into adulthood. Damon stars as Will Hunting, a brilliant young man shackled by the horrific abuse he suffered and must overcome.

Clinging to his lifelong South Boston friends and jailed after striking a cop, his genius is discovered by a Harvard mathematics professor. A deal is brokered that he’ll undergo counseling sessions with Dr. Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), also from Southie. Together the pair help heal each other’s wounds and garner the courage to take a chance on life and love. Or, as Damon and Williams say in the Academy Award-winning film, “I gotta go see about a girl.” To some degree, we all suffer trauma that holds us back. Good Will Hunting empowers us to try again.

3: Hidden Figures

The glass ceiling women face in wide-reaching industries was not see-through when three Black women mathematicians were needed for America to win the space race. It was a brick wall. That’s largely why the 2017 feature film is based on the non-fiction Margot Lee Shetterly book by the same name.

Starring Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson, Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan, and Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson, audiences get a glimpse of the discrimination experienced by African-Americans. Katherine Johnson has to answer for her long “breaks,” which require her to walk a half-mile to the nearest “colored” restroom. Racial and gender barriers are challenged in Hidden Figures. But what proves uplifting is the way three women earn the respect they deserve from the world’s most prestigious space exploration organization in the world — NASA.

4: Remember the Titans

Based on a true story, Denzel Washington stars as high school football coach Herman Boone who is trying to integrate a team in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971. Although “whites only” schools and sports have been abolished, the practice festers across the region. A reluctant coach Boone is drawn into the controversial job because community members need racial obstacles to come down.

White and black players clash, referees try to punish the integrated team, and some in the community do not desire change. But leaders emerge among the high school athletes, and the Titans become a powerful force on the field because of their commitment to each other. Sports movies often drive an inspirational message. Remember the Titans offers hope that future generations can do better.

5: Sandlot

This 1993 coming-of-age movie places socially awkward fifth-grade Scott Smalls (Tom Guiry) in centerfield. As the new kid in town, his mom (Karen Allen) encourages him to take a break from academics and have some boyhood fun. “Run around, scrape your knees, get dirty. Climb trees, hop fences. Get into trouble, for crying out loud. Not too much, but some,” she exclaims.

Smalls joins a group of boys fully committed to the game of baseball as the adventures and antics mount. Sleep outs in a wooden fort, an encounter with a giant dog called “The Beast,” and the retrieval of a baseball signed by Babe Ruth keep you smiling. Sandlot doesn’t just make you reflect on fond memories. It makes parents want them for their own children.