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The new 'Captain America: Civil War' trailer was viewed more than 110 million times in the first 24 hours after its release. (Photo: Marvel)
6 movie and TV trailers that broke the Internet
From 'The Force Awakens' to 'Game of Thrones,' these promos prove the marketing power of a good teaser.
by Michael d'Estries | Thursday, March 17, 2016
by Michael d'Estries
If the Internet's handling of our everyday needs from email attachments to dog videos is akin to a walk along the beach, its management of a hotly anticipated movie or TV trailer might as well be an intense Iron Man triathlon. Of all the streaming videos placed online, movie and television trailers (in addition to the latest music videos) hold the top spots for viewer engagement in a 24-hour period. Internet users don't just like trailers and teasers, they absolutely love them.
Below are some of the biggest movie and television promos to have hit our digital world – and almost bring it to its knees in the process.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJZ846YkK78
Back before Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo or any other video sharing sites existed, the only way to watch movie trailers with any measure of quality was through Apple's Quicktime portal. On March 11, 1999, this site and the Internet as a whole received its biggest test in the form of the full-length trailer for "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace." Over the next 24 hours, the two-minute preview would be downloaded an unprecedented 1 million times, with Apple's Steve Jobs later calling the moment "the biggest Internet download event in history."
The film, starring Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman and Irish star Liam Neeson, would go on to become the second-highest grossing film worldwide behind "Titanic" at that time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuH3tJPiP-U
Just how hot is the anticipation for "Game of Thrones"? Released on March 8, 2016, HBO's first full trailer for Season 6 of its hit fantasy series pulled in an incredible 30 million views in less than 24 hours, smashing the network's previous record (set, no less, by Season 5's first full trailer in 2015), and raising the bar for engagement with a television drama.
So why is there so much interest? Part of the reason this season has to do with the mystery surrounding the series' various plot lines. Due to novelist George R.R. Martin's delayed sixth book, everyone is officially in the dark over the fates of characters both old and new. What power will Bran Stark, played by British actor Isaac Hempstead-Wright, wield to protect his family? What pivotal roles will veterans of the Israeli television and theater scene, Ania Bukstein and Yousef Sweid, play? Will the White Walkers finally be overcome? All will be revealed in April.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE
If "The Phantom Menace" trailer was a glimpse of where the Internet would one day take movie promotions, American director J.J. Abrams' final trailer for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was the fully realized vision. The highly anticipated preview, released on Oct. 19, 2015, racked up an astounding 112 million views during its first 24 hours online. While streaming video sites managed to cope with demands to view the trailer, online ticket vendors such as Fandango were completely overwhelmed; with many facing unprecedented downtime over a rush to buy tickets.
"The Force Awakens," starring British actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, went on to become the biggest-ever blockbuster in North America. The second film in the new trilogy, tentatively titled "Episode VIII," will again try to break the Internet under the guidance of Israeli producer Ram Bergman and American producer Kathleen Kennedy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WWzgGyAH6Y
Released on July 11, 2015, in celebration of Comic-Con San Diego, the nearly 4-minute full trailer for "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" helped to prop up the highly anticipated superhero showdown as something worth waiting for. Over the course of 24 hours, 30.1 million people viewed the trailer, with another 30 million hitting play in the months after.
Starring British actor Henry Cavill, Israeli actress Gal Gadot and American actor Ben Affleck, "Batman v Superman" will reportedly offer a much darker tone than previous superhero yarns. Besides the epic battle looming between the caped crusader and man of steel, the film will also mark the big-screen debut of Wonder Woman.
"I don't want people to think she is perfect," Gadot, a former Israeli law student, told Empire Online. "She can be naughty."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhInIOKwGXU
Go ahead and chalk this one up to a healthy splash of nostalgia. After Netflix debuted the trailer in December 2015 for its "Fuller House" original series, fans of the beloved '90s sitcom immediately devoured it with over 14 million views. According to the streaming giant, the preview quickly became the most-watched trailer for any of its original series, topping such hits as "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black."
"I never really got emotional until I saw the first promos that Netflix put together," American actor John Stamos told the LA Times. "The one with the Miranda Lambert song. Seeing that stuff has really hit me that this is something special. I remember getting up early in the morning and they emailed me the promo and I just started crying. That was the first time it hit me."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKrVegVI0Us
The second trailer for Marvel's "Captain America: Civil War" racked up a record 114 million views in the 24 hours after it was released on March 10, 2016.
While the idea of superheroes turning against each other appears to be something of a theme this year, fans insisted this trailer alone would "break the Internet" due to the first appearance of Spider-Man. Played by British actor Tom Holland, the Spider-Man we see in "Civil War" will reportedly join up with Iron Man, Black Widow and Black Panther.
"There's an intensity in this film," American director Joe Russo told Collider. "We dug deep to find motivations that were extremely personal and very emotional to the characters."
Michael d'Estries covers science, technology, film, and the beautiful, unusual corners of our incredible world.
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago:
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago:
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From 'The Force Awakens' to 'Game of Thrones,' these TV and movie trailers prove the marketing power of a good teaser.
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New Australian Disability Strategy Welcomed
Australia's peak disability representative organisations have lent their support to the new Australia's Disability Strategy 2021 – 2031 (the strategy) which was released today in Canberra by the Australian Government to coincide with the International Day Of People With Disability.
The new strategy – which replaces and builds on the previous National Disability Strategy 2010 – 2020 – is Australia's national disability policy framework and sets out a plan for governments and stakeholders across Australia to improve the lives of people with disability in Australia over the next ten years.
For the first time, the strategy's implementation and monitoring will be overseen by a government-appointed council comprising people with disability from the community and disability sector (these members are listed below).
The strategy – which has been endorsed at the highest level by the Australian Government, state and territory governments and the Australian Local Government Association – was developed in consultation with community members and stakeholders across the disability sector over the last two years, including a range of disability representative organisations (please see below for the list organisations endorsing this media release).
These organisations welcome the new strategy and the new features it contains to drive action and change over the coming decade. The organisations all look forward to working with community members, governments, industries and other stakeholders to maximise its value and impact.
Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) CEO Mary Mallett said: "Disability advocates welcome this robust new strategy that has been agreed to by all governments and which will be used by advocates as they work to support people with disability who are battling discrimination or abuse or experiencing harm."
The members of the Advisory Council are:
Dr Ben Gauntlett, Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission. (New South Wales)
Carolyn Frohmader, Executive Director of Women With Disabilities Australia (Tasmania)
Jane Spring Director of Sydney University Sport & Fitness and of the Paraplegic Benefit Fund (New South Wales)
Liz Reid AM, Executive Officer of YouthWorX NT (Northern Territory)
Seriako Stephen, Board Director, First Peoples Disability Network Australia (Queensland)
Natalie Wade Founder and Principal Lawyer, Equality Lawyers (South Australia)
Cindy Liu, Founder and Co-chair of Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network's Youth Disability CaLD Collective (Victoria)
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Kathy Hough, Chair of Council for Regional Disability Services in WA and Far North Community Services CEO (Western Australia)
Read the full media statement on the People with Disability Australia (PWDA) website.
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Are Draft Reaches Really Reaches?
By John B Apr 20, 2012, 1:57pm EDT
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ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 10: Running back Chris Johnson #28 of the Tennessee Titans carries the ball against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium on October 10, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. The Titans won 34-27. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
You will hear a lot next week during the Draft among football talking heads about the biggest "reach" in the Draft. The idea is that a player is taken too high. Many fans get caught in the trap of valuing players based on how some writer ranks them. If a number of mock drafts have a guy going in the second round, a team picking in the middle of the first round will get heat for taking that player.
Few think about how subjective this is. Mel Kiper might give a player a third round grade, but a team might think otherwise. Everybody has his own board. If you think somebody is the best player available and do not think he will be around the next time you pick, it is in your interest to take him. Over the past decade, many players have been called reaches. Chris Johnson and Logan Mankins are two such players. They have ended up justifying the picks. Many analysts stated they were not first round talents. They proved their doubters wrong.
The reverse is true also. If a player rated highly by the media falls, there might be a reason. Teams might be worried about character concerns after speaking with a player and those who know him. There might be medical issues of which the public is unaware.
We put so much stock into what guys like Kiper and Mike Mayock say. Nobody really knows how these players will turn out, though. When a team has a different board for the consensus in the media, the team is not always wrong. It is something to remember next weekend.


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We may charge a fee for pickups of electrical equipment, broken items, items not suitable for reuse and business pickups.
Pick-up details: Resource Work Cooperative Community pickup service can pick up your reusable goods in the greater Hobart region. To arrange a pickup, please ring the Pickup Service on 1300 575 866.


We are pleased to announce registration for the 2019 CSTM Annual Conference is now open.
If you have already created an account for abstract submission, click on the teal LOGIN button to login and proceed. If you do not have an account click on Attendee Registration at the top of the webpage to create your account.
Once the account has been created or you have logged in, scroll down the page and click on the Buy Tickets button to proceed with registration. You will need to choose tickets for the type of conference registration, workshops you wish to attend, and guest tickets for the special events.
If you have a discount code to use to obtain CSTM member rates, please ensure you enter the code and click on the green Apply button after you select your tickets and before you select the blue Checkout button.


Since August the intensity of war in Yemen has ratcheted up, and with over 4000 civilian deaths already the situation is looking more precarious by the day.
As urban centres buckle under this onslaught life, already precarious in this unforgiving landscape, is something you cling to.
Gomaa lives in a very basic dwelling. She and her husband, Mohamed, called it home, but now she lives here alone.
"He was leaving with his car when they were targeted by a rocket, they were targeted and the taxi was hit. He was burned, trapped in the taxi. We didn't know until that night, they told us he was completely charred," she says.
Facilities to cope with the 37,000 wounded have been damaged or their vital infrastructures and supply chains wiped out.
One airstrike in particular has closed the only hospital for a city of 100,000 people, in Abs.
Planes of the Saudi-led coalition pursued a taxi believed to be carrying a wounded target to the hospital's arrival area. It has been described as a war crime by some witnesses, and is being investigated.
"The coordinates of the hospital are with the coalition, every day, and up-to-date. And despite that, the hospital itself was hit, and 19 people were killed here in this place. And 24 injured. There are people who are still missing, we can't identify the remains, because they were ripped to shreds," says the hospital director, Doctors Without Borders' Ibrahim Ali.
Any sort of ceasefire right now would be too late for many people in Yemen, even the able-bodied, where a rupture in food, medical, and utility supplies has reached critical mass. No power for most, and no water, either. Little to eat, and increasingly exposed to the elements or the risk of infection and disease. There is every likelihood that civilian fatalities will continue to outstrip those of combatants.
The government, backed by the Saudis bombing its Houthi rivals, is right now the only protagonist in the conflict saying no to a pause in the fighting. Even if it did say yes the country would require urgent intensive care.


We've talked a lot here about noticing what makes us feel bad; what gives us that "urgh" feeling, when something's not quite right.
But what about the flip side?
After all, our compass works both ways. We notice it when it's off but we can also notice it when it is perfectly in line.
And when that happens, we feel amazing.
Indeed, we might even get that tingly sensation when our body – everything – is aligned with what our soul desires.
That shows we are going in the right direction.
The secret then is to follow that feeling. To follow your desire. To keep that compass pointing to your true North.
Your inner compass never fails – we just have to listen to it.
And listening to it begins with stopping and noticing our feelings and asking: What can I do right now to feel just a little bit better?
For the full process, see the free one-page guide: How to Live in Alignment.


Weaving through the RPG industry with the grace of a seasoned thieves' guild leader [but an altruistic one, I assure you], Mike Myler has worked his pen into several different hardcover books like Tome of Decay for Black Crusade from Fantasy Flight Games and Rise of the Drow from AdventureAWeek.com, and over four score digital products (many still in publisher development), including the daily updated, ENnie-nominated, Pathfinder-focused blog he moderates—the AaWBlog.
You can see Mike's bizarre [some might say...genius?] approach to game design in The Spring of Disorder, but chances are good you've stumbled across him somewhere already. To keep tabs on Mike and see what he's done (and download a some free stuff!), check out his website.


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WAR: The Thread
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 8:32 pm Post subject: WAR: The Thread
I didn't want this forum to be lonely... thought I'd keep hope alive for Warhammer Online.
I'm hoping for Q1 2008... but I don't think I believe it.
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 9:05 am Post subject:
Sorry for the double double double... but perhaps some of you haven't seen this: PvP from the PoV of the zealot (Chaos heals and buff/debuff type)
http://web.mit.edu/jaster/Public/Random/Zealot%20RvR.avi
The guy gets into the PvP zone about 2min into the movie.
mchicken is dejected.
Cover of Rush's Seminal Album
Shadow priest?
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:51 pm Post subject:
mchicken wrote:
Kind of but not really... The zealot isn't meant to dps at all really. They have some bad nukes, though they're primary form of dps is meant to be melee. In group pvp, the have a bunch of AoE spells that do things like... heal all allies and slow all enemies in the area, or buff all allies and dmg all enemies in the area. Given that it's a support class, it seems to be wildly popular among the beta testers.
Sounds kind of like a bard played by a scrub who tries to melee instead of just twisting songs like a madman.
So is the preferred acronym for Warhammer Online WAR or what's the deal with that, because clearly if it's going to be better than WoW it has to have at least as good an acronym.
WAR is the preferred and most commonly used acronym.
It's also appropriate... Warhammer: Age of Reckoning
Ah, I didn't know the title of the game.
It seems to me that all games with titles like that failed as MMORPGs and the good ones like Everquest and World of Warcraft didn't have a colon in the name of the original release, whereas crap like Dungeons and Dragons Online did.
No response?
Um... WAR owns bitches? I mean, you point out two games that where good and one game that was bad and pick out one (of the multitude of things) that separates them. What's to respond to; the implied statement that WAR is likely to suck like D&D online? Meh


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Gothenburg, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam
Caitlin and I decided to do a whirlwind tour of Scandinavia. It's quite expensive, so we didn't want to stay for too long, but still wanted to get a taste of it. We decided to go to Gothenburg, Sweden, then to Copenhagen, Denmark, then pop into Amsterdam in the Netherlands (technically not part of Scandinavia). We, of course, had a spot of trouble with trains, though (is anyone else noticing a theme….?). We left Berlin at about 6:30 am to take the metro to the train station. We've of course taken the train everywhere around Berlin, so we're old pros at this and know it should take about 20 minutes. We left ourselves a little better than an hour. But there was construction, and since neither of us speaks German, we didn't understand the announcement for how they were rerouting metros. We eventually figured it out, but it cost us a good bit of time. We made it to the train station, ran to our train, and with Caitlin's hand on the door it pulled away. So close. There was another train later, but the connection time with the later train left us 18 minutes, so it would be close. We got some coffee, bought snacks for the train, and caught the next one. We were going to Gothenburg via Copenhagen, then doubling back to Copenhagen to actually see the city on our way to Amsterdam. But the train itself went on a ferry to get to Copenhagen. I had no idea whatsoever they could do that. But with weather conditions and all, our train was 45 minutes late, and we missed the connection to Gothenburg by a long shot. But that's the thing about travelling – you have to go with the flow and enjoy wherever the adventure dumps you. So we found a hostel in Copenhagen and decided to just catch another train in the morning.
We finally arrived in Gothenburg, and the Swedes definitely have style. It would have been a great city for shopping, if only I were rich. We stayed at a bed and breakfast, since it was only a few euro more than a hostel, and it was a lovely respite – they even provided robes and slippers. We walked about a bit, went to a steakhouse for dinner Donal had recommended (Caitlin was kind enough to humor me, vegetarian that she is), and went to a suggested pub called The Rover. They have the largest whiskey collection of any bar in Gothenburg. I had a smoky Ardbeg Alligator whiskey which was incredible, and we just enjoyed the evening. And sleeping in giant, comfy beds. And proper showers in the morning. And a more quality breakfast. Sadly, we didn't enjoy the rain the next day, but the B&B lent us umbrellas. It's funny how such a small thing can make such a big difference in your day. We did do a bit of shopping and admiring, and Caitlin replaced her boots (the soles had peeled off with all our walking). There was a restaurant the Gothenburg lads had recommended while we were in Berlin called Heaven 23, which is on the 23rd floor of a tower and looks at all over the city. They also sell Swedish dishes. We had hoped to go there, but it was just too miserable being out, and we found delicious salads where we were. We took a taxi back to the rail station, and landed back down in Copenhagen. I really like Sweden, but I want to go there again when I actually have money to spend.
In Copenhagen we followed a trail on the map that took us all around the city. It was quite beautiful, especially by the water. We got to see the Little Mermaid statue, erected in honor of Hans Christian Anderson, as he was from Copenhagen. We concluded our walk with a late lunch/early dinner by the water, and I tried an open-faced sandwich with herring – very Scandinavian. It wasn't bad, though it's not something I would continue ordering off the menu given other choices. We took a night train to Amsterdam, one of the ones with couchettes. That actually worked out pretty well, and we got enough sleep that we weren't completely exhausted the next day. Sadly, I left my phone on the train somehow, which isn't the end of the world, but certainly an inconvenience. Amsterdam is actually a beautiful city, and there's so much going on there. We decided to take a tour on the coffee shops, since it's such a part of the culture there. We learned all about the history or marijuana, the laws in the country surrounding it, all the different kinds there are and forms it comes in, proper coffee shop etiquette should you choose to go in and purchase something, etc. It was quite interesting and informative. We went to dinner at a restaurant our tour guide recommended for local dishes, and called it a night. Again, a very short trip, and it would have been nice to spend longer in each Gothenburg, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam, but I'm glad we got to see a little bit of each. Tomorrow it's off to London….
Krakow, Auschwitz, and the Salt Mines
Krakow is to date my favorite stop on our trip. We stayed at the Mosquito hostel as close to downtown as you can get, which had some great staff and all sorts of activities going each day. We arrived on Sunday, which was pizza and baked good days….since, as we were informed, you should relax and enjoy Sunday. That was welcome news after our troubles getting to Krakow. We decided to not lose the whole day to our disaster though, and after a bit of rest headed to St. Mary's to go on a free walking tour. We grabbed some food on the way – they had another market place in the main square and delicious food cooked in big black pots. Loads of vegetables and mushrooms and meats. It smelled unbelievable and tasted even better. I started to like Poland much more right then. The walking tour turned out to be one on Jewish history, and took us to different synagogues, the Jewish quarter, the former Jewish ghetto, and ended at a monument of chairs placed where the Jews were shipped off in trains to concentration camps. The guide had all sorts of knowledge, but the thing I found most interesting was when she talked about Oskar Schindler, of Schindler's List. We were only a stone's throw from his factory at the end of the tour, but he's actually a bit of a controversial character in Poland, rather than the idealized cinematic version I knew of him. (I'll tell anyone who wants to know more about it elsewhere, or you can Google it.) We decided to go in for some traditional Polish dinner, and ate pierogies (Polish dumplings for those not from Pittsburgh or familiar with Polish culture) at what translates to the "Raspberry Grandmother's Kitchen"….suggested by our helpful hostel staff, because no one would ever find the place unless someone told you where to look. The roasted pierogies stuffed with cabbage and mushrooms were out of this world. Then to bed.
Monday we went Auschwitz. It's not something you do on holiday for fun and entertainment, but it is something you have to do while you're in Krakow. And it's very difficult to describe the experience. There aren't really testimonials from the survivors, or pictures of humans suffering, as you might expect after seeing these in a documentary. The place stands for itself, and the remnants of the belongings of those who died there. The sun was shining while we were there, and trees grow outside many of the buildings now, in such stark contrast to the horrors that occurred there. You're given a bit of background about the war, the concentration camps, and then you begin to see things that impact you in a way words just can't: the suitcases carefully packed with all the things a family would need to live in a new place while starting their new"job", the tens of thousands of shoes the dead removed before entering the gas chambers for a "shower", the 400 kilos of human hair harvested from the dead to be made into textiles – some still in plaits. You see the rooms of the German officers compared to those of the Jews. You see rooms where it is impossible to sit, rooms where you cannot stand, rooms in complete darkness, all used to gain"confessions" or for punishments. You see the wall where the "unfit" were immediately shot. You see the gas chambers and crematoria. Then you're taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau. This is where the scale, the magnitude of it all, sinks in. The plot-shapes and chimneys are all that remain of most of the buildings that housed hundreds of thousands of Jews, expanding out and out and out. The bunks and bathrooms of a few buildings still remain, evidencing the atrocious living conditions. The barbed fences and the watchtowers still stand, dividing the camp into"controllable" areas. The train tracks leading straight to the gas chambers still run through the camp.
The day didn't leave us wanting to explore Krakow's nightlife, but we did still have enough of an appetite later in the day to eat dinner. The hostel staff recommended a place called Koko, which had a basement pub with old stonework. I enjoyed my duck stewed with apples, though nobody else seemed to get what they thought that ordered (I don't think the menu translated particularly well to English), and Niamh, who hates sauce on her food was slightly horrified when her"vegetables" turned out to be 3 different types of coleslaw. My "salad" was the same thing, though I quite enjoyed it. So Niamh and Caitlin got dessert elsewhere to assuage their stomachs, and I ordered mulled mead – yum.
Our last morning in Krakow we toured a bit of the cathedral at the castle, explored the Dragon's Den (cool old caves leading to a dragon statue that breathed fire every now and again), and returned to Schindler's Factory to actually go through. There are only about 2 rooms of the original place – Schindler's office rooms – but there are a lot of artifacts from the war. I think to get the full value of the place you need to speak Polish or have an interpreter, though, but still quite interesting without. We also ate some traditional zapiekankas while walking around town, which are bread with cheese, mushroom, ketchup, and meat if you prefer. Then we took an afternoon tour of the salt mines. I don't know that I ever realized salt is mined before. You can obviously obtain it by boiling salt water down, but it's strange to be licking cave walls and having them taste salty, or to see stalactites and stalagmites of salt. We only went down some 120-metres, but apparently the mines go down past 300-metres. And the part you tour is full of old mining equipment, chapels where the miners would pray before and after their shifts, the occasional dragon or dwarf, and underground lakes. One cavern has such great acoustics it's used for concerts. And one chapel is absolutely magnificent (check out the pictures below…..whenever I get them attached…..).They even have chandeliers and statues made of salt crystals. You walk down nearly 400 steps to start the tour, but at the end you get to go up an elevator, a dodgy elevator indeed, though even Caitlin (who hates elevators and heights) survived being crammed in like sardines and shooting up at 4-metres a second. Quite a unique place.
We went back to the place where we'd gotten dessert the night before, but this time for dinner. There was more mulled wine, and I had the best dinner so far of the trip – roast venison that was so tender it just fell apart on the fork, potato dumplings, and cabbage with raisins and honey. Now it's off to Berlin!
A Kindness in a Catastrophe
This is the part of the tale where the dragons enter. Not literal dragons, mind you, but every story has the part where things start to stray from how they'd go in an ideal world. Saturday morning we made it up despite a late night, got breakfast and we're out of our room by 9:35. We were aiming for 9:30, so not too far off. Our train was at 10:17. We've travelled between our hostel and the train station twice, and it's never taken more than 25 minutes, so this seemed fine. We were waiting for the tram, but it was taking a while and we decided we knew the metro better, even though it's technically a bit longer. But the waits for metros this morning we're just much longer – like 6 minutes for the first one and another 6 minutes at our connecting metro. So in the end we arrived at the train station as our train was leaving. It was a bit frustrating, but there was another train at 1:12. Niamh and I left Caitlin with the luggage and went up to the ticket counter to sort out new tickets/reservations for the later train. Unfortunately, then man at the counter wasn't having the greatest day and English wasn't his first language. We explained we needed 3 reservations because we were travelling with a friend, he may have yelled a bit. We got all 3 tickets in the end. So we did a bit of shopping and got some lunch, and actually made it onto the 1:12 train.
We made it through our first connection in Ostrava just fine, and were on our way to Katowice. This is where it gets more interesting. Katowice is a small hub station in Poland, but our tickets didn't connect in Katowice, but in Zebrzydowice, which we deemed "Zebraville" since we hadn't a clue how to pronounce it. Zebraville was a stop on the way to Katowice, and since we also lack any extensive knowledge of trains and train stations, we accepted this for what it was. About an hour into our train ride Caitlin spotted the sign for our stop so we got off. Trains often only stop briefly, so we hurried off and then the train pulled away as we got our first real glimpse of the area. It looked like a depressed Polish village during one of the world wars. There was a building, but nobody was inside save for a few homeless. And boy was it cold outside. There was a schedule posted on the door of the station, and there was a train to Krakow, but only one train per day: at 3:33 am. It was only 5:15 in the afternoon.
Then we met Tomasz. He came strolling across the sole platform and looked at surprised to see us as we were to see him, since none of us looked like we belonged in Zebraville. He asked where we were from and how the heck we ended up in Zebraville. We told him our tale (thus far), and he replied in turn. Turns out that's Tomasz is from Poland, though he'd never heard of Zebraville before and didn't actually know where we were (he was waiting on a friend to collect him), but he had a smart phone and looked to see if there were any other trains in the area heading toward Katowice we might catch. No such luck. We'd resigned ourselves to our cold fate, regretted not buying a deck of cards yet, and settled in. Tomasz asked if we would like some tea from a shop someone had told him was few blocks away. I started to say yes, then realized we had no Polish currency as of yet, and there wasn't an ATM in sight. No tea for me. However, this lovely man returned 10 minutes later and said he would love to buy us a cup of tea, and then we could sit inside the bar (where it was warm) until our train came. You always worry about accepting kindness from strangers these days, with the sad state of our world and all, but we cautiously accepted Tomasz's offer. It was indeed warm, but we sure were a spectacle in this town. I should also mention that NO ONE, save Tomasz, spoke any English whatsoever. (Again, not judging, as I speak no Polish.) This was definitely the local old-timers bar. So while Tomasz ordered us tea and a"welcome-to-Poland" shot of vodka, the locals crowded around our table to have a look at the misfortunate travelers. Then bilingual Tomasz asked the women working the bar if there were any busses to Katowice. It may have actually taken a village to figure out, but there were connecting busses that would get us to Katowice.
Tomasz traded some currency with us, and just flat out gave us some money on top (in addition to buying us drinks and our first bus tickets), and explained to the bus driver that we needed told when to get off the bus. We bid him a fond farewell, and moved another step closer to Krakow. When we got to our stop, the bus driver indicated that we should get off, and we awaited the next bus. After about 15 minutes of waiting, and with 5 minutes until our next bus arrived, the bus driver came back over on foot, and said a few sentences in Polish. I didn't understand any of it, but he'd indicated to a parking lot around back, a car across the road, and the bus sign. When he went over to the car to get a cigarette it all made sense: he was done for the night and had parked the bus, but was waiting to go home until our bus came to make sure we got on our way. Another kindness from a stranger. He chatted in Polish to thenext bus driver, we paid for our tickets (with our money from Tomasz), and finally made it to Katowice. But not to the train station – oh no, that would be too simple. And of course no one speaks English to just ask them where it is. So I called my dear sister Kelly, back in Virginia, and had her Google our location and directions to the rail station. This was no small feat, as every street name must be spelled since they're in Polish and neither of us can pronounce them. While we were walking we found a taxi that would take us for a very reasonable price (thanks again to Tomasz and his money). We arrived at the rail station, went to the ticket counter, and asked about tickets to Krakow. The man looked at us as though we were mad, because believe it or not, the next train wasn't until 3:30 in the morning…..the same train we would have caught from Zebraville. It wasn't quite 10 pm yet. But at least we were inside. And there was food that could be purchased (yet another thanks to Tomasz).
You better believe we made that train. We didn't really know when our stop was, so I stayed watch for it while Caitlin and Niamh attempted to get some shut-eye. Around 4:45 I asked a ticket inspector what time we would arrive in Krakow, and he wrote down 6:05 on a piece of paper, since he understood the question but didn't know how to answer in English. I set an alarm and tried to get some sleep, too. It was the slowest train and stopped in all kinds of places similar to Zebraville, and we didn't actually make it to Krakow until almost 7. But it doesn't end there. Couldn't be that easy. According to our ticket we were to go to Glowny station in Krakow city centre, within walking distance of our hostel. But the train stopped one station short, on the outskirts of Krakow. We waited on the train until the ticket inspector came along, and I again enquired about getting to Glowny and he said, "No, finito, OFF!" So we got off. But still no one around here spoke English (including the women at the ticketing counter), there were no ATMs, and no one even sold maps. I rang the hostel we were supposed to be at and explained where we were and asked the best way to get to there, and the man sort of laughed. He said it was complicated to explain, and that I should ask someone to direct me towards the city centre and ring back. Great. Except no one speaks English! So we asked a taxi driver how much it would cost to go to the address of the hostel, and he said 30. We only had 20 left of Tomasz's generosity. The taxi driver said no. Another taxi driver appeared, and Niamh asked him how much to the address. He said 20, we said yes, and we finally, finally made it to the hostel. We were only supposed to be at that particular hostel one night, then we were moving to a much cooler one around the corner. But since we hadn't cancelled 24-hours in advance, we were still charged even though we hadn't made it the night before. It was 8 in the morning now, but we decided to sleep until checkout at 10. Hey, we'd already paid for it, right?
In the end it took us 22 and ½ hours to get from Prague to Krakow. It's never how you'd prefer your travels to go, but there are some experiences money can't buy. It's all part of the adventure, right? It makes you really appreciate when things run smoothly, and it's nice to know that white knights still exist…..you only get to meet the Tomasz's of the world when you're facing the dragons.
After grabbing a few last photos and a Game of Thrones book (in English, since we could find it in Budapest), we headed for Prague. Our hostel wasn't entirely a hostel – more like a hotel in disguise; it was incredibly nice….and cheap. They even had a more-or-less sports bar downstairs which was great for meeting people, and had good food. Our first night we arrived pretty late, so we just grabbed a few brews and appetizers downstairs and called it a night. The next morning we headed into the city centre, and it's just neat to see all the old buildings – literally ALL the buildings are old and have some quality architecture. The first thing we stumbled upon was an outdoor market. There was a man with a forge, anvil, and hammer shaping metal into all kinds of interesting things, people selling food and locally-made beer, unique jewelry, other hand-made goods, and even a man blowing glass. Very cool. We headed farther into town where there was a large clock tower, and a man who trumpeted out of the top of the tower every hour. Turns out you can go up into the tower and get quite the view of Prague, and a lesson on the workings of clocks. After that we meandered over to the Jewish Cemetery. Downstairs they had several rooms where the walls were filled with the name of every Jewish person from Czech Republic who died during WWII. And outside was the most overcrowded graveyard I have ever seen, literally placed one on top of another. It really impressed the magnitude of the Holocaust on you, and this was only one relatively small nation. Upstairs they mixed sadness with a bit of hope: there was a man in the Jewish ghetto who had the children express their feelings, hopes, and dreams through pictures to help them deal with what they were experiencing. Some of those pictures lasted through the war and were displayed upstairs, along with the names and ages of the children who drew them. It was really rather moving. We had a late lunch in the main square and headed back to the hostel. Our amazing hostel also hosted a pub crawl every night, so we decided to make and evening of it. We met quite a few interesting people, though none actually from Prague. It's still fun to meet other travelers, though, and in the end we spent most of the night with some American radiology students from Chicago, which was quite entertaining to Niamh who's actually from Ireland.
We had a bit of a lie in the following morning, then had to switch rooms, and had to run to the train station to reserve tickets for our train to Krakow the next day, so we didn't actually get very much done. But travelling as much as we have, it's nice every now and again to have a day off. We were getting ready to head to dinner when we met our new roommate Gavin from Australia, so we invited him to come along as well (downstairs…..to the bar….again). We got to chat with him a bit and compare travels, and then a great band started playing. They're not what I would necessarily choose to listen to at home, but man could they play – and they had a trombonist who was deadly. Prague actually reminded me a bit of Bratislava, just a bit bigger and with a lot more going on. I would definitely recommend the city – and especially the hostel – to anyone travelling this way.
We said farewell to Bratislava and moved on to Budapest, Hungary. Niamh has a few friends living out there – Niall and Bébhinn (Irish, can ye tell?) – so she stayed with them and they took us around the city. I had met them before a few times back in Ireland, and another of their friends Phil, who also joined us in Budapest. The metro here sounds sort of like a bad carnival ride and makes cheesy music at every stop, then has a loud buzzer when you leave. It was a bit rainy when we arrived, but we checked into our hostel and Niall and Bébhinn took us for a sandwich and elderberry lemonade, then up to Heroes Square with statues of the leaders of the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th centuryand a castle that looked like it was out of a fairy tale. We went back to their place and had some wine and put on a movie and just chatted for the evening.
Bébhinn had to work the next morning, and Niall had a lab for vet school he had to go into college for, so Caitlin, Niamh, and I went wondering on our own. As a bunch of biologists, we started with the Budapest zoo. It's interesting to compare zoos, and after a year of talking about conservation and the trip to Africa I don't know that I'll ever view zoos the same way again. Not that I don't appreciate them, but it's a different perspective. Anyway, this was not the dodgiest of zoos, but it doesn't compare with say the quality of the Pittsburgh zoo, and not all the animals received the proper care. My favorite part was watching one of the tigers stalking the young school children outside his cage. Niamh and Caitlin really liked the part where you got to go into an enclosure with the sloths, and we got a nice video of one of them. We had a lovely lunch by the water, and headed to the baths. They were similar to the ones in Verona, just with a lot more character and less modern – definitely liked these ones in Budapest more. They also smelled a bit of sulfur, which meant we smelled of sulfur by the time we left, too. And they had saunas of all different temperatures, which we didn't realize and went into the hottest one and only lasted about 4 minutes. It made for a very relaxing afternoon. We showered, met back up with Niall and Bébhinn and went to a delicious burger restaurant. We headed back to their place again and watched Hocus Pocus, since it is the season.
Tuesday, after breakfast, we went to Budapest's Terror Museum. Such a perspective. It's made to commemorate the acts of the brave Hungarians and those who gave their lives during the German Nazi occupation and subsequent Soviet invasion. The Hungarians loathed the Nazis, but had far more hatred for the Soviets, and rightly so when you read about all the Soviets did while trying to install socialism in Hungary. As the U.S. has never been overtaken, it was interesting to hear about the wars from a country living in terror under Nazi and Soviet rule, and to hear and see videos of survivors giving accounts of their harrowing experiences. It's strange to think that they've only been under actual Hungarian rule since the 1990s. So different from other places in Europe. It was still pouring rain when we left, so rather than sight-seeing we enjoyed the afternoon off and watched the Kurt Russel version of The Thing (what a beard!). It stopped raining somewhere during the movie, and we went to dinner at Sir Lancelot – a medieval themed restaurant. I had goulash and a salty scone, grilled meat including a goose leg (the Hungarians are all about goose, especially goose liver), a strudel of some sort, and "appetite drops" which turned out to be whiskey. The entertainment included minstrels and a sword fight, and I was asked to stand atop a table and serenaded by a knight. There was also a belly dancer. We got to see a bit more of the city by night after dinner, and I got to try honey pálinka. Not bad at all. Tomorrow we head for Prague….
Vienna and Bratislava
Vienna was pretty neat. After our late night train seat mishap, Caitlin and I were pretty tired, but we couldn't check into our room at the hostel until about noon. The hostel was great in terms of atmosphere – it had little courtyards with benches and knee-height chess sets on the ground, bike rentals, guitars and a piano for anyone who played, a bar and café inside, etc. But we ditched our bags in a storage locker and headed to a coffee shop to relax a bit until Niamh got in two hours later. Niamh arrived without any trouble, and we headed off for lunch. Afterwards we had a bit of a walk around town and a nap in the hostel. For the evening we decided to go check out the massive ferris wheel on the edge of town. The thing is massive, and the Austrians are very proud that it withstood WWII when other similar ferris wheels in Europe collapsed under duress. It offered quite a view of the whole city. We had a traditional dinner in the restaurant down the street from our hostel with great décor – wooden walls and benches, antlers on the walls, big silver chandeliers with candles, and a dog sleeping by the wood-burning stove. The food was delicious. I ended up with the mixed grill over vegetables with fried potatoes and different sauces. We headed back to the hostel and a beer at the bar downstairs, hoping to chat with some of the others staying there and see what people recommended to do in Vienna and Bratislava. Sadly, as a poor yet fairly accurate testament to our generation, there were about 25 people there and about 20 of them were sitting using their fancy phones and computers rather than talking to actual human beings. We chatted with the few actually at the bar, but went to bed fairly early as there was no craic.
The following morning we frequented our favorite coffee shop again, then headed to the Spanish Riding School to watch their morning practice. I believe it's the last traditional dressage school in Europe, and their riding is most impressive, particularly if you've ever attempted English riding before. We ended up a little turned around because our map was terrible, but we did get to go through a lovely park that way. Our next stop was the Museum of Torture….a bit of a strange choice, but Niamh and I were deathly curious (so to speak). It was actually quite interesting. The entrance was a just a door to a 4 by 6 foot shack that covered a staircase with black walls leading underground. Good and creepy, eh? They gave us booklets in English since we don't speak German, and sent us off to meander through the exhibits. There were little galleries throughout that showed reenactments and the tools of torture used in Europe, and the booklets described not just what things were, but the history of it in Vienna. It also strongly emphasized that the museum was opposed to actual torture. Since everybody still had an appetite afterwards we stopped off at a Greek restaurant for lunch, then headed for the palace. This was by far the best palace so far. Some of the Hapsburgs had resided there, and it had the grandeur you really expected from a palace. The gardens had a labyrinth that we explored (it wasn't a very difficult maze). It was a great day with a strange array of activities, and we decided to hit up another Austrian restaurant for dinner. I got a traditional dish that I would describe as Austrian mac and cheese, but could only eat about half of it. We headed to bed, though sadly my night did not end there. At about 3 in the morning, I woke up with a stomach ache, so I went for a stroll around the hostel…..that ended in the bathroom with an unfortunate visit from the mac and cheese. It was a long night.
The next morning we were set to leave for Bratislava, Slovakia. We went back for a last breakfast at our coffee shop, but I just went with tonic water. Since I was feeling surprisingly less nauseated, we decided to attempt the train since it was a fairly short ride. The train turned out fine, but the metro to the train was touch and go from stop to stop. We made it to Bratislava, found the hostel, and everyone decided to take the afternoon off. I had some orange juice and a bit of a nap, the girls bought me some pretzels at the shop later in the afternoon, and I felt just fine – sort of a 12-hour bug. We went to a restaurant a few doors down for dinner, and watched Hostel in our room. For those of you who don't know, Hostel is a horror movie about people being abducted from a hostel…..in Bratislava.
Saturday we decided we should actually see some of the city, so we headed up to the castle. It was full of old artifacts and interesting paintings, though we weren't allowed to take pictures. And being on a hill, as castles so often are, it had a perfect view of the whole city from its tallest tower. We came down off the hill and headed for the main square. We stopped to see the Blue Church, which as you might have guessed is blue, but there was a wedding going on so we only got to see the outside. We passed a massage place and decided to get impromptu massages, since things are relatively cheap in Bratislava. We also realized we had done two of the things they did in the movie Hostel – go to the spa and to an art show. Luckily no one was abducted. I had some traditional Slovakian food for lunch, including a cabbage stew and what turned out to be the Slovakian equivalent of pierogies. The beer was my favorite part, though: a dark Zlatý bažant. The main square didn't have much to offer beyond restaurants and shops, but it had a lot of character and was just a pleasant place to spend what was left of our afternoon. We never made it to the UFO bridge, but went back to our hostel to rest. Eventually we reemerged and headed back to the main square to the Irish pub for a few drinks and to get the feel of the town. I would definitely go back to Bratislava.
A Villa in the Italian Countryside
We left Munich bright and early Saturday to catch the train at half-seven, hoping it would be less crowded. This proved true, though our car was joined eventually by two other Americans from Seattle heading for Verona. It was good to chat with them and compare experiences. The Italians at the train station, and just in general, really, are nowhere near as friendly as the Germans. Nor is their English as good – though to be fair, my Italian is far worse than their English. We got a taxi out to the villa bed and breakfast where we stayed the weekend. The view was unbelievable – winding roads, old stone, grapevines. The building itself was built over 400 years ago and still has some of the original stonework. We were greeted a bowl of grapes grown on the back patio, big smiles, a lovely room, and some of the best wine I've ever tasted. It was literally golden, and slightly reminiscent of honeyed mead. It's not exported anywhere, and only available in their section of Verona where the grapes are grown. We stretched our legs on a short walk, and sat on the patio just enjoying the sunshine and that it was warm enough to be in short sleeves. We went to dinner at a little Italian restaurant down the road, which was quite nice, but nothing too exciting, then called it a night.
Sunday we tried to sort out horseback riding, which we heard was available in the area. Sadly, the people who run the place were on a weekend riding trip, so instead we spent the day at the mineral baths. There were about 15 different baths, some inside, some out. One you scrubbed with Dead Sea sea salt before getting in, another was in a dark room with colored lights and calming music, one had a current that pushed you around a loop….you get the idea. There was even a bar in one of the pools – and yes, I mean in the pool. A very relaxing day. Then we decided to walk into town to use the ATM and maybe find a restaurant for dinner. After we found the ATM we decided we'd rather just get back to our place first before dinner, and tried to call the taxi. But the taxi fellow was out, and since there's apparently only one in this part of town, we got to walk up the hill instead. Sure gives you an appreciation for the view, and it really wasn't too bad. We also forgot that it was Sunday and many restaurants by our villa were likely closed, but fortunately there was a small café still open with some small pizzas and wine…..one of those days where nothing is quite how you expected, but it all ends well.
Monday we headed east to Venice for a night. What a city. As soon as you step out of the train station there's a canal and all of these grand buildings. There are no streets at all, such that a car would drive on, but canals all throughout the city. I somehow managed to lose the directions to our hotel between the villa and the train station, so we had a bit of an adventure finding the hostel. They also weren't entirely forthcoming about their location, which didn't help either. After hauling our luggage over many bridges, we finally found the place. The staff were very friendly and it was nicely located for a getting most places, and the beds were comfy, so not too bad despite the effort of finding it. We grabbed lunch at a little café, apparently right next to the sewer Indiana Jones comes out of in the third movie. We went for a stroll up to the Basilica di San Marco and ate dinner by the water.
Sadly, I started to get a cold on Monday, and my Argentinian roommates checked out at 4:30 in the morning, so I wasn't feeling my best the next day. Caitlin had some loud snorers in her room, and mosquitoes as well, so she didn't sleep particularly well either. We did a bit more sightseeing, but were pretty tuckered out before long.The Guggenheim Museum was closed when we tried to go, and the gondola rides were quite expensive, so we finally had one of those off days for travelling. Our dinner was amazing though – we went to a local pizza place and had a pie with roasted pumpkin, gorgonzola, and thyme…..yum! We dragged our luggage back to the train station, hung out until 1:30 am, and got onto the overnight train to Vienna. Except our seats were occupied when we got on the train. Turns out when the lady at the train station moved us from the 9:30 pm train to the 1:30 am train she forgot that would be on a different date. Luckily, we found free seats, though it still wasn't very comfortable. But we've made it to Vienna, and Niamh has made it here as well….let the next part of the adventure begin!
(Still no pictures yet.....as soon as we get to a place with a fast enough internet connectiong I'll post them all!)
Oktoberfest.....Prost!
We've just left Munich, where we got to stay at Caitlin's relative's house (Caitlin is a fellow BioCon from San Francisco, in case I haven't mentioned that previously). He and his wife were out of town for the week, but were kind enough to let us stay in their absence, and what a house it was! It's conveniently right in Munich, and they have all sorts of paintings and art, including a chair made entirely of zip ties. Our first day we actually took the train from Berlin to Munich (it was much cheaper to fly into Berlin), and I needed to activate my train pass before turning 26. By the time we were settled into Munich, we were too tired to do much else, so we just went for dinner and then turned in early.
Our next day was my birthday. We got breakfast bagels with mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, and pesto - not the most German of breakfasts, but still good. We tried going to the geology museum to see the dinosaurs, but it was closed for construction, so we headed to the shopping district where Caitlin and I perused then split a pretzel filled with cheese, as the pretzels are massive. We thought we'd head over and check out Oktoberfest, but quickly learned you must come very early (1 or 2 in the afternoon) or have a reservation to get a seat at the beer gardens. Despite being too impatient to wait ages for a chance to have a beer, I enjoyed a bratwurst from a street vendor, and decided to try again a different day.
Our third day in Munich we were still fairly wrecked and decided to relax in our luxuruious residence and make some plans for the next few weeks. It ended being most of the day, but we salvaged it by going to a traiditional German restaurant for dinner. The Lowenrau Keller was also celebrating Oktoberfest; though it was not on the same scale, there was plenty of weissbier and roast duck to go around. A very good night, all in all.
Thursday we returned to the shops (after more bagels), and I decided to purchase a pewter mug. Well, it's really more of a goblet or a chalice, but you get the idea. This time there were also a number of musicians playing in the street (check out the video below), and we happened to be there at noon when the bells chime and the figures on the town square clock dance. We purchased some roasted chestnuts from a street vendor, and reattempted Oktoberfest - much earlier. We arrived by two o'clock and got seats right away in the Hofbrau garden. We shared a litre there amongst the decorations of hops, discouraged a few German lads, cheered for those who stood on the benches and downed whole litres, and sang along to songs even though we didn't know the words. Next we moved to the Hacker-Pschorr tent, and found seats with two lads from Finland. The were much more pleasant company than the aforementioned drunken Germans, so we all moved after another litre to the Paulaner garden. This time we sat ourside, and switched to weissbier. We even decided to walk home at the end of the day instead of taking the tram - not too shabby, possibly even respectable.
Our last day in Munich the weather was gorgeous, so we strolled over to the Museum of Man and Nature and around the grounds of the Nymphenburg Palace. The inside seemed to me like most palaces, but after seeing the grounds it's not hard to imagine why they decided to build the palace there, surrounded by streams and forests. We frequented the Lowenbrau on the way home again, but this time I sampled the ox loin steak, perfectly cooked.
It's taking too long to upload pictures, but as soon as we get to better internet connection I'll add them on, so check back later. Next we're headed to Verona in the Italian countryside for a bit of relaxing, and then for a trip to Venice.....auf wiedersehen for now!
Some street musicians in Munich.
An Ending and a Beginning
After many months, my thesis is officially finished and turned in (though I won't know how I did until early December). It's good to be done. The department had a wine reception for us, and we had quite a few celebrations of our own. The week since has been full of packing and goodbyes, getting all my affairs in order to leave. I've moved out of my apartment, my belongings are on their way back to America, and I am off this afternoon on a new adventure. I've got an interrail pass for the next 2 months to go all around Europe, but I'll be home in time for Thanksgiving. And I'll not be going alone - Caitlin and Niamh (fellow BioCons) will coming with me, and other BioCons will be meeting up with us along the way. We're starting in Germany to catch the tail-end of Oktoberfest.
It's been a good year. The course wasn't exactly what I expected it to be, but it was a good experience, and now I have my masters (almost!). South Africa was amazing, and the people in my course made up for any of the course's shortcomings. I got to spend a year abroad in the Emerald Isle, now I'm off for a tour of Europe. But it will be so nice to get home and see everyone there.


Remarkable and rich experience which obviously served you well. Nicely told, and well arrived at conclusion. Kudos, Michael.
While I describe some of the anti-Semitism and anti-Arab sentiment, many are also outspoken against that. Also, I thought I noticed black people were treated better there than in the U.S. — they seem to live normal, unharnessed lives.
I meant to type "un-harassed" above.


Description This collection of audio recordings, texts, books, articles and photographs has been developed over many decades of research with the Kunas.
References -- Sherzer, Joel. (2004). Stories, Myths, Chants, and Songs of the Kuna Indians. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press.
-- Sherzer, Joel. (1990.) Verbal Art in San Blas: Kuna Culture Through Its Discourse. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
-- Urrutia, Anselmo and Joel Sherzer. (2000.) The Way of the Cocoa Counsel from the Kuna Indians of Panama. In Kay Sammons and Joel Sherzer, eds., Translating Native Latin America Verbal Art: Ethnopoetics and Ethnography of Speaking. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
-- Joel Sherzer and Anthony C. Woodbury. (1987). Native American Discourse: Poetics and rhetoric. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 103-139.


The Huntington County Farm Bureau Inc. is accepting applications for scholarships to be awarded this summer.
Applicants must be graduating high school seniors or current college students who are members, or whose parents are members, of Farm Bureau Inc.
Scholarship forms are available in the Huntington North High School guidance office or at the Farm Bureau Inc. (Farm Bureau Insurance) office, 2815 N. Jefferson St., Huntington. Complete rules are listed on the application form.
The application deadline is March 15. The scholarships will be awarded during the Huntington County 4-H Fair in July.


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Q: combinatorics distribution problem solution I want to know a way to solve distribution problem where n distinct objects are to be distributed to r distinct boxes/person with partition unspecified.I did not find any such case in any book till now.But I somehow found formula to be applied is r power(n).I do not know how this formula applies to my problem and where did it came from.Can anyone help me and also guide me to good reading material for distribution problems?

A: I disagree; in fact, your formula here should be $r^n$.  Why?  Because for each of your $n$ objects, you have to choose $1$ of the $r$ possible boxes... and choices for one object do not affect the rest.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Home > Updates > BookMeBus Goes Travelling!
Hello friends and fellow travelers! Welcome to the BookMeBus blog!
So a couple of weeks ago, we brainstormed and thought about how we can best offer you our services and ensure that you have a wonderful time on your trip. So we came up with the BookMeBus blog.
Due to your favorable response with our Facebook and Twitter updates on our travels, we have decided to extend our services by offering you information, tips, tricks, and other useful tidbits you can use. There is so much in Cambodia that you can explore during your travel and it all starts by buying tickets. As soon as you have booked your tickets, the rest of Cambodia is for you to conquer.
What does BookMeBus Blog offer?
Destinations – A compilation of locations you might want to check out.
Routes – We offer some route tips, popular routes taken by travelers, and some off the beaten track information.
Miscellaneous – These are some information that we might want to share apart from our regular topics.
These are only a few categories that we have in mind. If you want us to include other information, please comment below with your suggestion. We love hearing from you!
Now we are geared up for our travels and we hope that you will enjoy learning from us and us learning from you. If you have any other information or tips that you would like to share with us as well, we are all ears.
The BookMeBus Blog is now up. We hope that you enjoy what we have to offer. And we hope you have many happy trails ahead.


Every true London Lover's favourite shopping street, Cecil Court is currently home to a series of unorthodox "plaques" – adorning the windows of the eclectic shops where one can buy those most delicious of London commodities: things you didn't know you needed until you saw them. First edition books, handmade jewellery, antiques, posters, old banknotes, puppet theatres: Cecil Court is surely London's loveliest shopping enclave.
The people at tenderproduct.com (10 Cecil Court) are behind the new "plaques" – window stickers along Cecil Court reminding us that this narrow alley between St Martin's Lane and the Charing Cross Road was once the home of the fledgling British film industry – nicknamed Flicker Alley.
So hurry up and catch them – like film itself, these "commemorations" are wonderful and ethereal – a delight today but soon to be replaced by Forthcoming Attractions.
Visit Cecil Court on the Eccentric London Walk every Friday morning.


For lovers of crispy dough and fruit fillings. It's the season of persimmons and it is interesting in baked goods, succulent. For a coffee break, try my fantasy.
Mix both types of flour. The ratio can be changed in any direction.
Pour the vegetable oil into hot water and pour the composition into the flour.
Knead a steep but pliable dough into a ball.
Transfer to a Board or Mat with flour.
For filling, mix the thick cream with the egg.
Add poppy seeds and vanilla sugar.
To enter the starch or flour.
The dough is distributed over the bottom of a wide oiled form (26 cm in diameter). Bumpers are mandatory.
Pour on the bottom of the fill.
Sprinkle with thick cane sugar.
Spread out like a fan. Sprinkle the slices with brown sugar again.
Pinch the edges. Bake at 180 * half an hour until Golden.
Transfer to a flat dish.
Cut it into pieces of crunchy galette.


text:
package com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors

import com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.base.ErrorBase
import com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.{ErrorRepresenter, JsonStringErrorRepresenter}

/**
  * An immutable error container to easily represent errors
  *
  * @param errors A [[scala.collection.immutable.List]] of [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.base.ErrorBase]]s
  *
  * @see [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.ErrorRepresenter]]
  *
  * @author Mehmet Akif Tütüncü
  */
case class Errors(errors: List[ErrorBase]) {
  /**
    * Adds given error to current errors
    *
    * @param error Error to add
    *
    * @return A copy of current errors with given error added
    */
  def +(error: ErrorBase): Errors = {
    copy(errors :+ error)
  }

  /**
    * Adds given errors to the current errors
    *
    * @param otherErrors Errors to add
    *
    * @return A copy of current errors with given errors added
    */
  def addAll(otherErrors: ErrorBase*): Errors = {
    copy(errors ++ otherErrors)
  }

  /**
    * Adds errors in another [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors]] to the current errors
    *
    * @param otherErrors Errors to add
    *
    * @return A copy of current errors with given errors added
    */
  def ++(otherErrors: Errors): Errors = {
    copy(errors ++ otherErrors.errors)
  }

  /**
    * Removes given error from current errors if it exists
    *
    * @param error Error to remove
    *
    * @return A copy of current errors with given error removed
    */
  def -(error: ErrorBase): Errors = {
    copy(errors.filter(_ != error))
  }

  /**
    * Removes given errors from the current errors
    *
    * @param otherErrors Errors to remove
    *
    * @return A copy of current errors with given errors removed
    */
  def removeAll(otherErrors: ErrorBase*): Errors = {
    copy(errors diff otherErrors)
  }

  /**
    * Removes errors in another [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors]] from the current errors
    *
    * @param otherErrors Errors to remove
    *
    * @return A copy of current errors with given errors remove
    */
  def --(otherErrors: Errors): Errors = {
    copy(errors diff otherErrors.errors)
  }

  /**
    * Checks if there is no error added
    *
    * @return true if there is no error added
    *
    * @see [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors#nonEmpty]]
    */
  def isEmpty: Boolean = {
    errors.isEmpty
  }

  /**
    * Checks if there is any error added
    *
    * @return true if there any error added
    *
    * @see [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors#isEmpty]]
    * @see [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors#hasErrors]]
    */
  def nonEmpty: Boolean = {
    errors.nonEmpty
  }

  /**
    * Checks if there is any error added
    *
    * @return true if there any error added
    *
    * @see [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors#nonEmpty]]
    */
  def hasErrors: Boolean = {
    nonEmpty
  }

  /**
    * Returns number of errors added
    *
    * @return Number of errors added
    *
    * @see [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors#numberOfErrors]]
    */
  def size: Int = {
    errors.size
  }

  /**
    * Returns number of errors added
    *
    * @return Number of errors added
    */
  def numberOfErrors: Int = {
    size
  }

  /**
    * Checks whether given error exists in current errors
    *
    * @param error Error to check
    *
    * @return true if given error exists in current errors, false otherwise
    */
  def contains(error: ErrorBase): Boolean = {
    errors.contains(error)
  }

  /**
    * Checks whether an error that satisfies given check exists in current errors
    *
    * @param check A check function from ErrorBase to Boolean
    *
    * @return true if an error that satisfies given check exists in current errors
    */
  def exists(check: (ErrorBase) => Boolean): Boolean = {
    errors.exists(check)
  }

  /**
    * Represents all of added errors using [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.JsonStringErrorRepresenter]]
    *
    * @param includeWhen If set to true, when value of the error will be included in the representation
    *
    * @return Representation of all of added errors
    *
    * @see [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.ErrorRepresenter]]
    */
  def represent(includeWhen: Boolean) = {
    JsonStringErrorRepresenter.represent(errors, includeWhen)
  }

  /**
    * Represents all of added errors using given representer
    *
    * @param representer Representer to use when representing errors
    * @param includeWhen If set to true, when value of the error will be included in the representation
    *
    * @tparam R Type of the representer
    *
    * @return Representation of all of added errors using given representer
    *
    * @see [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.ErrorRepresenter]]
    */
  def represent[R](representer: ErrorRepresenter[R], includeWhen: Boolean) = {
    representer.represent(errors, includeWhen)
  }

  /**
    * Represents all of added errors as [[scala.Predef.String]] using [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.JsonStringErrorRepresenter]]
    *
    * @return String representation of all of added errors
    *
    * @see [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.ErrorRepresenter]]
    */
  override def toString: String = {
    represent(includeWhen = false)
  }
}

/** Companion object to [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors]] */
object Errors {
  /**
    * Generates an empty [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors]] with [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.JsonStringErrorRepresenter]]
    *
    * @return An empty [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors]] with [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.JsonStringErrorRepresenter]]
    *
    * @see [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors#empty()]]
    */
  def apply(): Errors = {
    new Errors(List.empty[ErrorBase])
  }

  /**
    * Generates an [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors]] with [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.JsonStringErrorRepresenter]] and with all given errors added
    *
    * @param errors Errors to initially add
    *
    * @return An [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors]] with [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.JsonStringErrorRepresenter]] and with all given errors added
    */
  def apply(errors: ErrorBase*): Errors = {
    new Errors(List(errors: _*))
  }

  /**
    * Generates an empty [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors]] with [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.JsonStringErrorRepresenter]]
    *
    * @return An empty [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.Errors]] with [[com.github.mehmetakiftutuncu.errors.representation.JsonStringErrorRepresenter]]
    */
  def empty: Errors = {
    apply()
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Another strong week of sales has left Russian grain exports within touching distance of government targets, data from the ministry of agriculture showed Monday.
A further 1.02 million mt of grain left in the week to February 22, total exports from July 1 now stand at 33.55 million mt – 40% higher than at the same stage last year.
Russian grain exports, which needed to see around 700,000 mt leaving each week to meet the agriculture ministry's annual target of 45 million mt, remain well on track.
The most recent data shows sellers now need to export a weekly average of around 635,000 mt of grains to meet the target.
While ice restrictions remain in place at ports on the Azov Sea and the Black Sea, the logistics situation remains stable and is significantly better than during January when poor weather delayed loadings.
The ministry's target looks increasingly possible, with the list of delayed cargoes from earlier in the year clearing, while new orders are again being booked as the trade looks to take advantage of a new-found volatility in grain prices.
This includes an additional 826,000 mt of wheat in the last week, taking the total to 26.25 million mt – up 41% from the same stage last year.
Corn totalled 142,000 mt in the week, taking the marketing year volume to 3.08 million mt – down 2% year-on-year.
And 49,000 mt of barely was exported as sales slowed to a trickle on tighter supply.
Total barley sales are now at 3.08 million mt, double where they were at the same stage last year.


When NFL Vice President Eric Grubman visited last week with the San Diego task force in charge of coming up with a stadium plan to keep the Chargers in San Diego, the message was clear: With Los Angeles beckoning, time isn't just of the essence to get something done, it's rapidly running out.
Grubman met with Oakland officials later in the week, and while he didn't offer a comment on the meeting when I reached out to him, some details are beginning to emerge.
Not surprisingly, essentially the same message was delivered to Oakland that was given to San Diego.
Los Angeles is a real option. And right now we have serious issues with the plans you are promoting.
In other words, where we stand today, things aren't looking good in either city to keep their teams.
"I think the thing will come to a head in the next couple of weeks," Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty said in a story the San Francisco Chronicle.
Haggerty made the comment after a meeting Wednesday with Grubman that included Oakland City Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney, Raiders owner Mark Davis and team President Marc Badain, and developer Floyd Kephart.
"The NFL is pushing extremely hard to get some answers," Haggerty said.
The biggest question is money, according to the Chronicle.
Davis says he wants to stay in Oakland but doesn't have the deep pockets to pay for what is likely to be a $1 billion replacement for the Coliseum, even with help from the league.
At the same time, city and county officials have made it clear that they won't dip into their general fund to pay for a new stadium.
That leaves Kephart, the developer behind the proposed Coliseum City development in which a stadium will be built for the Raiders.
Much like the San Diego plan to build a Chargers stadium as part of a bigger development on the site of Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley, the NFL has serious misgivings about putting projects in the hands of developers who rely on revenue from other aspects of the project to finance the stadium.
That creates too many timing issues and raises questions about the validity of financing.
And with the Raiders and Chargers nearing entitlement on their joint stadium in Carson – full approval is expected Tuesday – Oakland and San Diego are running out of time solving issues the NFL and the Raiders and Chargers have deep concerns about.
"At this point, the league seems to be giving Los Angeles a better shake than they are giving us," Haggerty told the Chronicle.
You would think that after the Raiders departed the first time in 1982, Oakland, the team, and the Joint Powers Authority would have developed a long term plan in building an exclusive stadium for the Raiders. So here it is, it's 2015 and all Oakland has to show for its treatment for her NFL team is no progress and another hopeless plan for something that is just a pipe dream. One thing is for sure, LA , SD, Oakland, and Santa Clara is proof that no CA city will ever subsidize a new stadium with taxpayer dollars, EVER. Because of that, York has found a way to do it through private means and it will be the same model that will be used in LA (given the Carson plan is more than just leverage talk). Kroenke's method will be similar, however if St. Louis ends up paying for its new stadium, no businessman is going to walk away from that deal. It's like finding a new job out of town and forcing to buy a new home, and your current employer begs you to stay by offering to buy you a new home as an unsentimental to stay. No brainer.
And it's multi-billionaire Stan Kroenke and Roger Goodell's worst nightmare.


text:
Posts Tagged 'Kenny Baker'
The great fiddler Kenny Baker died on July 8th. Exactly one week later, the ad hoc Kenny Baker Memorial Orchestra assembled on the main stage at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival to "play homage" to this titan of American musican. The "orchestra" was the brainchild of Matt Glaser, himself a renowned fiddler and a guiding light of the American Roots Music Program at Berklee College of Music.
Since the Grey Fox program was already in place long before Baker passed, there wasn't a block of time available for a full-blown tribute. Glaser and company therefore had to make the most of a brief interlude on Friday afternoon between sets by Michael Cleveland and Tim O'Brien.
The assembled multitude managed to pack four tunes into ten minutes. In my view, the heart of the medley was the second tune, "Cross-eyed Fiddler," a Baker original, appropriately enough. Have a look and a listen…
Now, without clicking "replay," how many of the performers can you name? If you're from New England, chances are you recognize a face or two, as many are based in the region. With the likes of Baker and Hazel Dickens leaving the stage, and with players like O'Brien, Cleveland and Glaser well established in their careers, it's time for a new generation of players to make their marks. Most of the performers in the "orchestra" are in their twenties; many are in highly regarded bands such as The Deadly Gentlemen, Della Mae or the Red Stick Ramblers. For those of you who haven't updated your Who's Who in Bluegrass lately, I'm providing, free of charge, the following video guide. This clip shows the entire Baker tribute medley, with the bonus feature that all players are identified. See how many pickers you can I.D. before their names show up on screen. Extra points if you can pick out the musician who is also an MD specializing in Emergency Medicine.
Only a stone could resist being moved by that last image of the players filing out to "The Dead March," finally leaving just Cleveland on stage, like a solitary candle. Wish I could tell you more about "The Dead March." It's a late Monroe composition, a tune Glaser said that the Father of Bluegrass "remembered," but I haven't been able to dig up much beyond that. I suspect that as many people know the tune from a celebrated television performance by the meteoric supergroup Muleskinner as from any of Monroe's recordings.
"The Dead March" is a keeper, but in the end, it's "Cross-Eyed Fiddler" that really sticks with me. This seems a hugely underappreciated fiddle tune. It's not an old composition and it's under copyright, but those conditions haven't kept other tunes ("Rebecca," "Ashokan Farewell," "Josephine's Waltz") from entering the fiddling canon. Perhaps it's the title that holds it back— "Cross-Eyed Fiddler" doesn't seem to fit its jaunty tone.
In any event, I love how the players at Grey Fox really get into the swing of the tune. You can see them all, little by little, put their bodies into it, swaying and bouncing to the melody. One of the things that made Baker a great musician— perhaps the thing— was that there was at once a looseness and formality to both his playing and his compositions. If you've ever seen a photograph or a video of Baker, there's a kind of severity to the way he carried himself. He had this ramrod-straight posture, and no one— not even Bill Monroe— looked meaner in a perfectly blocked cowboy hat. His playing had a definite precision, too, but look closer and you can see how relaxed his technique remained, even when playing at speed. Like so many master musicians, he made it look easy.
Many people feel that to say that he "co-wrote" the classic tune "Jerusalem Ridge" with Monroe is to give Baker too little credit. Whatever the case, if you compare how he plays the tune to the whole host of subsequent renditions, what stands out is how spare and clean his version is. Every motion of the bow is like a punctuation mark. At the same time, however, was there ever a more baroque and passionate fiddle tune than this? There it is: the marriage of contradictions so often found in great art. For the philosophers following along at home, you could say that while there was much that was Apollonian in Baker's demeanor and bearing, a Dionysian side always came out in his music. Whatever wonders future generations of musicians have to offer us, we will miss Kenny Baker.
A Word or Two More On Grey Fox
The biggest no-show at Grey Fox this year was not Peter Rowan, who managed to make it, albeit a little later than expected. No, the big no-show was the colossal, end-of-time rain storm that shows up like clockwork— except when it doesn't. Even the storm's usual sidekick, Insufferable Heat, barely stopped by. This, combined with the usual strong line-up and the off-the-hook campsite jams, made for a glorious festival. But don't take my word for it: in a bid to put me out of business, Grey Fox has really ramped up its online media. Check out the festival blog for boatloads of videos. I'm particularly impressed by— and partial to— the several videos that capture the campsite jams. As we all know, some of the best playing goes on in these informal gatherings, and the experience is even more ephemeral than a live concert. After all, Del McCoury and his boys will play together another day, but most jams are fleeting hook-ups, so to speak. Those of us who care about this stuff need to do a better job of documenting these magical moments. Hats off to the media crew at Grey Fox for its progress on that front.
P.S. The Emergency Medicine specialist is Kalev Freeman, one of the fiddlers lurking in the rear on the right side of the stage.
P.P.S. Thanks to Nick DiSebastian, Ben Pearce, Fred Robbins, Mary Burdette and Matt Glaser for their scholarly assistance.
Posted in Festivals, Performances | Tagged Andy Reiner, Ben Pearce, Berklee, Bill Monroe, bluegrass, Brian Wicklund, Courtney Hartman, Cross-Eyed Fiddler, Dave Hollender, Eric Frey, Etienne Cremieux, fiddle, Fred Robbins, Gabe Hirshfeld, Grey Fox, Jack Devereaux, Kalev Freeman, Kenny Baker, Kenny Baker Memorial Orchestra, Kentucky Waltz, Kimber Ludiker, mandolin, Mary Burdette, Matt Glaser, Michael Cleveland, Mike Reese, Nick Barr, Nick DiSebastian, Second Cousin Curly, Stash Wyslouch, Stoney Lonesome, The Dead March, Tim O'Brien | Leave a Comment »


Home cooking had become a trend when people started to be more health conscious. By cooking our own food, we can select the healthiest ingredients and the safest cooking manner of the recipe that we wish to serve on our dining tables. This has brought the advent of safe cooking devices that has made home cooking healthier.
Using pizza stones for cooking is one possibility for healthy cooking at home. Baking our own pizza at home with pizza stones, we can make sure that all ingredients are clean and are vitamin and mineral-rich without compromising on the crispiness of the crust.
And with the ability of pizza stones to be used for other dishes, the use of less cooking oil is ensured while eliminating some oil from animal fats that is cooked on it. There are more benefits of pizza stones which should encourage us to look for the top quality pizza stones out there.
To be able to choose the best pizza stones, you should read more on the qualities and unique features of various pizza stones brands.
Pizza stones with handles on both sides improve grasp, making it easier to take out your pizza from the oven. This allows you to bring out the pizza from the oven at just the right time to eliminate probabilities of burnt pizza. Burning your hands on the process is also avoided.
An ideal pizza stone should be lightweight. Along with the handles, the chance that you are going to drop those pizzas before they find themselves on top of your dining tables is immensely reduced.
Choosing the best pizza stone is more economical. You can save on gas or electricity because it can shorten cooking time by at least 30 minutes. This is because of the high heat conductibility of pizza stones. Therefore, pre-heating them is not necessary.
Pizza stones also have heat retention qualities on all its surfaces. This will make your pizza hot and crispy for a longer period. The uniform heating of all its surfaces will guarantee even cooking of your pizza from its center to its corners.
Maintaining and cleaning of pizza stones is extra easy because it does not retain oil on it. With its non-stick feature, there will be no build-up of residues that make cleaning difficult.
Cleaning your pizza stone can only involve washing it on running water without the use of soap. You wipe it dry and store it for the next time you crave for a pizza.
Pizza stones are not limited to baking pizzas alone. They can be used to cook other dishes and snacks, heat left-overs, and as a surface for frozen pies.
When having guests over, the best way to entertain them is through food or drinks. However, it depends on your guests and what they prefer. It also depends on the kind of relationship you have with them. If it's friends from college, you will definitely need all the food you can get. These are known to have quite a keen appetite that can only be satisfied by a wide variety of food, snacks, and drinks.
Anything that's professionally fried is sure to work its magic. What you need is a fryer that is all set to make your dining table a wonderful sight to behold. The Internet is a friend and confidante to anyone who would love to get the best fryer on the market. Read on for the best possible features to be on the lookout for.
Before we go any further, the price of any kitchen appliance always happens to top the list. It would be so dangerous to settle for anything that would clearly mess up your budget. Putting your finances in order is just what you need to do to get your plans in order. Shop around especially online to get what will not stretch your budget too far.
Your chances of finding the right fryer for your domestic culinary activities are very high. For instance, useful sites, such as www.atleastwefried.com/best-deep-fryer/, have been known to have all the solutions to the fryer buying problems that you might be facing.
Rather than the usual ones that we are all used to, you can try a fryer that has some pretty amazing features to back up its attractive look. For instance, the fact that it is able to get your snack ready should be a plus for anyone that looks to make the most out of their sessions in the kitchen.
No one fancies the idea of having to stay on too long in the kitchen for some reason. Instead, we just love to have our meals immediately as the hunger pangs come setting in. This can only be made possible through your unique ability to pick a fryer that possesses impressive features that no one has seen before.
The annoying fact of having to put up with an appliance that can't last long enough can be frustrating. Why put up with it when you can avoid it in the first place? You can tell the durability of a kitchen appliance simply by the manufacturers behind it. While others depend on the material used in making it, others like to go through the ratings and reviews online. It is important to find out what previous clients have to say since they have been there before you.
When talking about housings options, usually there are only two options, which is a house or an apartment. But which one to choose? To be frank, both of the options have their pros and cons, but in this article, we're going to show you some reasons on why you should buy an apartment, compared to a house. If by any chance you're still debating on which housing options to get, then do not worry, make sure to read this article to know which one to get, and you can finally settle down be it alone or with your lovely mate.
When you buy an apartment or a condo, there are many facilities that you can get, depending on the apartment itself. Usually, the apartment will provide you with a gym, swimming pool, parking lot, 24/7 convenience store and even a communal room that you can use for small events, meeting or even a co-working space, as long as you book it first. And do not worry about paying extra as all of these facilities are included in your monthly maintenance fee.
For some people having a small space can be a significant disadvantage for them, but in this article, we'll explain why a small space can be an advantage for you. Some people love the minimalism lifestyle, they like to keep things neat and straightforward inside their living area, and perhaps you wanted to have a small and simple living space, if so, then an apartment is an excellent choice for you as it is compact.
If you're paranoid about burglars or vandals creeping in your neighborhood, you don't have to worry about it when you're living in an apartment. First of all, it usually requires a passcode or a particular card to get into the building and to make things even better; there's a security guard on the building. Some apartments, for example in South Korea, has another passcode that you need to press before getting to your unit, so security in an apartment is much safer than a house.
Repainting your house can be such a boring option, but it has to be done at least once every five to six years. Or maybe you've moved into a new house, and you're thinking to repaint the house, including all the rooms and the exterior. But you have no knowledge about colors and to make things even worse, you're not very artistic. If so, then don't fret because we're going to help you. In this article we've prepared simple color psychology, to tell you which colors suit best to a specific room. If you're going to buy your paint in a store, make sure to read this article before you go out.
The burning red has been proven to increase a room's energy level, which is perfect in case you've come home after a long tired day. This color suits best to a living room, where all the people gather or where you want to sit down with a hot chocolate in your hand and a book. Besides leaving a strong impression, it also stimulates your excitement, mainly when you're thinking to have fun during the night with your mate.
If the red color screams excitement, energy, and passion, the color blue says the exact opposite of the color red. Blue is linked to calming, relaxing and peaceful, which usually would make an excellent choice for a bedroom or a bathroom, depending on your preference. A soft shade of blue, say as a pastel blue might fit for your bathroom, so consider this as a choice if you want some calming effects on your room.
Tip: a darker shade of blue might make your room feels full of sorrow, so you might want to be careful of that.
Purple, violet, whatever you call it, is another excellent color choice in case you want a particular room to feel luxurious. This color suits well for a fancy living room or a dining room, but not restricted to a bedroom, as long as you choose a lighter shade of purple, such as lavender.


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