text:
Kelly Jo Karnes, Center for Student Involvement & Leadership, 319-335-3059
Each spring, the University of Iowa Greek-letter community spends a week coming together around social events, community service and philanthropy efforts, and educational programming.
Greek Week is a celebration of and for all 40 of Iowa’s sororities and fraternities. And this year, the community is shining a spotlight on its growing number of culturally based groups as it wraps up the week with the NPHC Stroll Competition.
The show is at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 21, in the Main Lounge of the Iowa Memorial Union. Admission is $7 for students, $9 for nonstudents. (There’s a $2 discount on admission with the donation of a canned good item.)
Strolling is a synchronized, rhythmic dance, typically performed in a line. Teams put together story lines, costumes, music, and choreography to create a complete routine. Like stepping, a similar dance form, strolling is a longstanding tradition among culturally based Greek-letter organizations.
The UI’s five historically African-American sororities and fraternities, all of which are affiliated with National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), have held a stroll competition on campus for the last three years.
Members of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority learn “the wobble” dance step from members of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
This will be the first time the event is a part of Greek Week. And this year, strollers will come from every corner of the Greek community.
Iowa’s Greek chapters fall into four councils: the NPHC (historically African-American sororities and fraternities), the Multicultural Greek Council (other culturally based fraternities and sororities), and the two “traditional” councils: the Interfraternity Council (fraternities) and the Panhellenic Council (sororities).
During Greek Week, chapters from different councils team up to compete in events together.
“I think Stroll is going to be a really good unity experience. We’re teaching each other our traditions, and that’s been really fun,” says Sri Chockalingam, a junior from Rockford, Ill., and current president of the Multicultural Greek Council. “There’s been some great collaboration across the councils.”
In addition to seeing stroll teams strut their stuff on stage, audience members at the stroll will learn about the history and evolution of strolling and stepping from emcee Rick Daniels, a motivational speaker and the leadership advisor for Greeks at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
The University of Iowa has a long history with culturally based sororities and fraternities, says Kelly Jo Karnes, associate director of the Center for Student Involvement & Leadership, and advisor for UI Fraternity & Sorority Life.
“Kappa Alpha Psi, a historically African-American fraternity, was started in 1911 at Indiana University. In 1914, the third chapter nationally of their organization started at Iowa. That’s a huge, long history,” Karnes says.
Today, the UI has five NPHC chapters (and a sixth in the process of starting up), two historically Asian chapters, two historically Latino/a chapters, and a gay men’s progressive fraternity.
“Historically, these types of organizations were founded because other groups were exclusive to certain folks, often based on race,” Karnes says.
That’s not the case any more. Chapters in every council welcome students of all backgrounds.
But students who join a culturally based sorority or fraternity say they value their group’s rich history of promoting and supporting diversity on campus along with the sense of solidarity and belonging found in any Greek sister- or brotherhood.
“In Iowa, where our minority populations are small, a culturally based sorority or fraternity can be a great opportunity for students to connect with other students who look like them, or have similar experiences as them. Or where people from different backgrounds can learn about a culture that’s different from their own,” Karnes says. “Either way, the biggest benefit of joining any Greek organization is that it becomes an immediate family, an immediate sense of home away from home. Greek Week is a time to celebrate that.”

domain: sociology


text:
Guests are received in the inviting lobby, which houses a reception. Culinary options include an à la carte restaurant.
This hotel is located in the holiday area of Llanes just a few minutes walk from the centre with its various bars, restaurants and nightlife venues.
The rooms all come with an en suite bathroom, in addition to a direct dial telephone and central heating.
Direct dial telephone

domain: travel


text:
News From OCLC
Compiled by Jay Weitz
For the Music OCLC Users Group/Music Library Association Conference
2016 March 1-5
Cataloging and Metadata
Cataloging Defensively Series
Two presentations in the “Cataloging Defensively” series are now available on the OCLC Web site’s “About RDA” page (http://www.oclc.org/rda/about.en.html). The first is the general 2010 “Cataloging Defensively: ‘When to Input a New Record’ in the Age of DDR” slides and recorded Webinar. The second is the PowerPoint “Cataloging Maps Defensively,” which was presented to the Map and Geospatial Information Round Table (MAGIRT) Cataloging and Classification Committee (CCC) at ALA Midwinter in Boston in January 2016. This session will be repeated at the MAGIRT Cartographic Resources Cataloging Interest Group at ALA Annual in Orlando in June 2016. “Cataloging Videorecordings Defensively” is scheduled to be presented at the Online Audiovisual Catalogers (OLAC) membership meeting also at ALA Annual in June. “Cataloging Sound Recordings Defensively” will be presented at the Music OCLC Users Group (MOUG) meeting in Cincinnati in March 2016. It is expected that a series of “Cataloging Defensively” presentations for various specific types of bibliographic materials will be created in coming months. The “Cataloging Defensively” presentations are not cataloging workshops, per se, but are designed to give some background to how OCLC’s Duplicate Detection and Resolution (DDR) software deals with bibliographic records, both generally and for the specific bibliographic format in the title. They should help catalogers use MARC 21 and the instructions in both RDA and AACR2 to the best advantage in making sure that DDR performs appropriately when encountering a record that is legitimately unique according to the descriptive conventions.
Discovery and Reference
WorldCat Discovery Simplifies Access to Resources and Ownership Information
January 2016 WorldCat Discovery changes will help users more easily get the resources they identify in search results. Records now display library ownership and availability information together, so searchers can more quickly determine how to obtain needed items. Links to materials available electronically appear first, so users can conveniently connect directly with available online resources. For items not available online, users can view a list of libraries that own an item, with the closest libraries appearing first. Emailed lists of records now contain the following information (newly added data indicated in bold):
- Title (now hotlinked)
- Format, Date, Peer Reviewed
- Source (Journal name and information)
- Publication information
- OCLC Number
- Database Name
- Call Number and Shelving Location (for libraries with the Availability option only)
Additional details about January 2016 WorldCat Discovery enhancements is provided in WorldCat Discovery Release Notes January 2016 at http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/support/release-notes/discovery/discovery_release_2016-01-21.pdf. New content now available in WorldCat Discovery, WorldCat Local, and WorldCat.org includes:
- International Law & World Order: Weston’s & Carlson’s Basic Documents from Brill
- LUP Publications from Liverpool University Press
- Theological Research Exchange Network E-Documents from Theological Research Exchange Network
- JSTOR Arts & Sciences XIV Collection from JSTOR
- Schattauer Publishers from Schattauer
New content now available in WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local includes:
- Popular Medicine in America, 1800-1900 from Adam Matthew Digital
A complete list of databases in the central index can be downloaded from http://oc.lc/indexDiscovery (Excel, 962 KB).
OCLC Signs Agreements with Leading Publishers Worldwide
OCLC has signed agreements with leading publishers to add metadata for books, e-books, journals, databases, and other materials that will make their content discoverable through WorldCat Discovery Services. OCLC has agreements in place with more than 200 publishers and information providers to supply metadata to facilitate discovery and access to key resources. OCLC recently signed agreements with the following content providers:
- Adfo Group, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a market leader in the field of marketing and communications publications. Its program includes magazines like Adformatie and Tijdschrift voor Marketing, newsletters, and training programs.
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), based in New York City, USA, is a not-for-profit membership organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, career enrichment, and skills development across all engineering disciplines. ASME seeks to deliver locally relevant engineering resources to advance public safety and quality of life throughout the world.
- Artstor, based in New York City, USA, provides the Artstor Digital Library of more than 2 million high-quality images for teaching and research, and Shared Shelf multimedia collection management software for institutions to manage, catalog, and share their digital media locally or on the Web.
- Blackstone Audiobooks, based in Ashland, Oregon, USA, is one of the nation’s largest independent audiobook publishers, offering over 10,000 unabridged audiobook titles, plus more than 150 new releases each month, including titles from Blackstone, Hachette, HarperCollins, Harlequin Audio, christianaudio, and Penguin Random House.
- Henry Stewart Publications, LLP, based in London, UK, is a leading publisher of peer-reviewed, vocational journals that support employability and career development.
- Klett-Cotta, based in Stuttgart, Germany, publishes journals and books from a broad range of subject areas such as literature, fantasy, general non-fiction, history, politics, philosophy, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, psychology, and education.
- ODILO, based in Madrid, Spain, is a leading solution in Europe and Latin America, offering a comprehensive product suite for the discovery, management, and distribution of library print and digital materials.
- Schattauer, based in Stuttgart, Germany, publishes in Medicine and Natural Science. The main pillars of the publishing house are its renowned textbook program with over 1,200 available books, ebooks, and digital data, and 21 national and international scientific journals.
- Ulverscroft, based in Leicester, UK, specializes in publishing unabridged large print books and unabridged audiobooks, and supplies these shelf ready copies to public libraries. Ulverscroft also distributes ebooks to public libraries.
- Wolters Kluwer, based in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, is a global leader in professional information services. Professionals in the areas of legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and healthcare rely on Wolters Kluwer’s market leading information-enabled tools and software solutions to manage their business efficiently, deliver results to their clients, and succeed in an ever more dynamic world.
- Wolters Kluwer Health, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, is a leading global provider of information for the healthcare industry and publications in Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health.
Metadata from some of these publishers will also be made available to users through other OCLC services based on individual agreements. Details about how this metadata may be used in library management workflows will be communicated to OCLC users as the data is available. By providing metadata and other descriptive content for more than 1.9 billion resources, these partnerships help libraries represent their electronic and physical collections more completely and efficiently.
Management Services and Systems
OCLC Sustainable Collection Services Extends GreenGlass to Support Groups
OCLC Sustainable Collection Services (SCS) now supports shared print monograph projects through its GreenGlass application. GreenGlass group features extend collection visualization and interactivity to consortial or regional collections, enabling participating libraries to better understand and manage their shared collection. GreenGlass, an interactive decision-support application, has been used by individual libraries to identify retention, transfer, and withdrawal candidates for individual libraries based on usage and holdings in other libraries. Guided by input from librarians, SCS has extended GreenGlass capabilities to support group data sets, and to introduce new group-level tools. New GreenGlass group functionality includes real-time modeling of retention scenarios based on multiple factors, and a suite of group-level collection visualizations. These are designed to inform and facilitate decision-making among shared print partners. As library collections move from print to digital, and spaces once used to house books are now dedicated to users, librarians need data and tools to help curate onsite collections, and to collaborate on retention and storage. GreenGlass group features offer a tool built expressly for that purpose. SCS services use WorldCat to inform which titles should be kept locally, which can be discarded, and which can be considered to be kept in shared collections. SCS is the leader in analyzing print collection data to help libraries manage and share their materials. OCLC acquired SCS in January 2015.
Erasmus University Rotterdam Selects OCLC WorldShare Management Services
Erasmus University Rotterdam, one of the largest universities in the Netherlands with over 24,000 students and a research community of approximately 1,400 scientists, has selected OCLC WorldShare Management Services as its library management system. WorldShare Management Services (WMS) (http://www.oclc.org/content/mainoclc/unitedstates/en_us/worldshare-management-services.en.html) is a complete, cloud-based library management system that offers all the applications needed to manage a library, including Acquisitions, Circulation, Metadata, Resource Sharing, License Management, and a single-search Discovery interface to connect library users to the information they need. WMS also includes a range of Reports based on local data that help libraries understand their activities and track key metrics over time. The EUR is a member of the UKB-consortium, which comprises 13 Dutch university libraries and the National Library of the Netherlands. In 2014, the UKB has signed an agreement with OCLC to move library services to the WorldShare platform. Today, more than 380 libraries worldwide are using WMS to share bibliographic records, publisher, and knowledge base data, vendor records, serials patterns, and more. With WorldCat at its foundation, WMS enables libraries to draw on the collaborative data and work of libraries worldwide for more efficient workflows. WMS also provides libraries with the unique opportunity to share innovation, applications, infrastructure, vision, and success in serving their users.
College of Europe Selects OCLC WorldShare Management Services
The College of Europe (Bruges campus), an independent university of postgraduate European studies, has selected OCLC WorldShare Management Services as its library management system. The College of Europe is the first Belgian institution to join the WorldShare Management Services community.
Digital Collections Services
Washington State Library Illuminates Rural Digital Collections with Visual Mapping
With OCLC’s CONTENTdm, libraries can increase the visibility of digital collections and make them more discoverable. CONTENTdm enables the storage, editing, and display of digital collections, making them accessible online for searchers worldwide. In 2015, the Washington State Library added a visual mapping tool to several of its digital collections, which are powered by CONTENTdm. The Washington Rural Heritage Collection and the Colville National Forest Heritage Collection use StoryMap JS, a free, open source tool for geo mapping created by Northwestern University’s Knight Lab. The Washington State Library has embedded this tool in its CONTENTdm websites, allowing users to browse maps and explore collections geographically. Users can click on map locations of Washington state, and can view links and short blurbs about digital collections from specific areas. Digital items such as images and videos are available from these collections. This visual mapping makes it easier for users to find what they are looking for in the digital collections sites, and it provides for novel uses of the state library’s data. The state library’s institutional partners, such as the United States Forest Service, are helped by the sites, which draws attention to lesser known communities and collections in Washington. In the near future, the state library’s items will also appear in the Digital Public Library of America’s (DPLA) map. The visual mapping functionality is made possible by adding geo-referenced information (latitude and longitude coordinates) to the digital collections. The state library works with library staffers at institutions throughout the state to add these coordinates; interns and volunteers also contribute to the effort. The Washington State Library also uses the CONTENTdm API and Timeline JS, also from Knight Lab, to tell the story of a pioneer family. This collection, the Mount Baker Foothills Collection, features a timeline that calls up images directly from the library’s digital collections using the CONTENTdm API.
WorldShare Interlibrary Loan Fee Management Changes
On 2015 December 1 at 12:01 am US Eastern time, IFM payments began to be triggered when the lender marks the request as Shipped. The ability to grant IFM refunds is targeted for an early 2016 release. In the History tab for each request, you can review IFM details and track success or failure of IFM payments.
WorldShare Interlibrary Loan Users:
- For WorldShare Interlibrary Loan requests placed 1 November through 30 November that are in Shipped status, but not yet marked Received, OCLC will retroactively trigger the payment on those requests on 1 December. No action from the library is required.
- For WorldShare Interlibrary Loan, requests placed between 1 January and 30 November with “problem” statuses (e.g. Received? Not Received), no payments will be triggered.
- For ILLiad requests placed 1 November through 30 November that are in Shipped status, but not yet marked Received, OCLC will retroactively trigger the payment on those requests. No action from the library is required.
- For ILLiad requests placed between 1 January and 30 November with “problem” statuses (e.g. Received? Not Received), no payments will be triggered.
- Note that ILLiad libraries should be diligent when marking items as Shipped to ensure IFM charges are rendered appropriately. ILLiad libraries that change a request status from Shipped to Undo Shipped within the same day of setting Shipped will automatically receive a refund for that change. This action does not require the refund service or a dummy request.
If you have any questions about the new IFM trigger, please reach out to OCLC Support at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Member Relations, Advocacy, Governance, and Training
31 New Webinars Added to the WebJunction Catalog
The WebJunction Course Catalog (http://learn.webjunction.org/) provides free access to library-focused self-paced courses and webinar archives. Through the generous support of OCLC, the Gates Foundation, and many state library agencies across the U.S., WebJunction continues to provide timely and relevant learning content for you to access anytime, from anywhere. Covering the topics of outreach, programming, technology, social media, and so much more, 182 webinar archives are currently available, produced by WebJunction or by one of our content collaborators: TechSoup, Infopeople, NCompass Live, and ALCTS. And with each course or webinar you complete from the catalog, you will earn a certificate of completion. Visit http://learn.webjunction.org/ to browse all courses and webinar archives.
Data Modeling and Reuse Project Receives NEH Grant
OCLC Research joins colleagues from Stanford University, the University of Michigan, and the Institute for Field Research (IFR) in assisting the Alexandria Archive Institute (AAI) on a three-year data modeling and reuse project that has been funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). This longitudinal study of archaeological data creation, management, and reuse practices in three geographical areas (North Africa, Europe, and South America) will investigate data quality and modeling requirements for reuse by a larger research community. The project, which launched 2016 January 1, will improve the quality of information collected during archaeological excavations across the globe, preserve this information, and share it with the public. Outcomes include exemplary open datasets, an expansion of Open Context’s data publishing services, and online educational modules. By funding this project, the NEH is showing a strong commitment to making quality humanistic research more accessible to the public. The Alexandria Archive Institute is a non-profit entity that supports research and development to enhance scholarly communications and instruction through innovative use of the Web through Web-based publication with a focus on primary data—information that rarely sees dissemination. OCLC Research is collaborating with project partners to share outcomes that consider the entire data lifecycle when developing approaches to align data creation and field management practices with preservation, dissemination, and reuse requirements. As a co-investigator on the project, Research Scientist Ixchel Faniel, Ph.D. is working with the team to interview and observe archaeologists doing field work in the three geographical areas and archaeologists interested in reusing data from those areas. See the AAI news release at http://alexandriaarchive.org/2015/12/14/aai-receives-neh-grant-to-bridge-data-creation-and-reuse/ for more information about this project.
OCLC Research and ALISE Announce 2016 Research Grants
OCLC Research and the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) have awarded research grants for five projects to be conducted by 10 researchers. The awards were presented 2016 January 7 at the ALISE 2016 Annual Conference Awards Luncheon in Boston, Massachusetts.
- Iris Xie and Rakesh Babu, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will investigate universal accessibility of digital libraries with specific work on design of Help mechanisms for blind users. This project provides not only a theoretical contribution by helping to understand the blind users’ help-seeking behaviors, but also a practical contribution by offering an iterative design of accessible and usable Help features for blind users.
- Abdulhussain Mahdi and Arash Joorabchi, University of Limerick, will pursue the development of an algorithm for automatic mapping of FAST subject headings to their equivalent Wikipedia articles or topic. The proposed mapping algorithm deploys various text mining techniques such as string matching, explicit semantic analysis, and citation analysis to find the best matching article for a given FAST term.
- Besiki Stvilia, Florida State University, Dong Joon Lee, Texas A&M University, and Shuheng Wu, Queens College, CUNY, will investigate the social aspects of participation in online research identity management systems. The study’s findings can inform the design of research identity data/metadata models, data quality assurance activities, mechanisms for recruiting and retaining researchers for provision and maintenance of identity data. The study can also inform teaching of data curation and research data repository management in Library and Information Science schools.
- Pengyi Zhang, Peking University, will investigate collaborative sensemaking in online knowledge groups. This research aims to answer the question, “How do people with collaborative tasks construct knowledge structures and fit data into the structures collectively in online knowledge groups?” The proposed research will advance theoretical understanding of collaborative sensemaking and provide guidance for empirical research and education of sensemaking skills.
- Denice Adkins and Heather Moulaison Sandy, University of Missouri, will identify ways in which multiple Latino populations use mobile technologies for information-seeking; use social media for information-seeking; and based on that knowledge, create “profiles” for various Latino communities (i.e. rural, urban, established communities, newcomer communities, etc.) that can be used by libraries to tailor their social media and mobile information campaigns.
OCLC/ALISE Library and Information Science Research Grants support research that advances librarianship and information science, promotes independent research to help librarians integrate new technologies into areas of traditional competence, and contributes to a better understanding of the library environment. Full-time academic faculty (or the equivalent) in schools of library and information science worldwide are eligible to apply for grants of up to $15,000. Proposals are evaluated by a panel selected by OCLC and ALISE. Supported projects are expected to be conducted within approximately one year from the date of the award and, as a condition of the grant, researchers must furnish a final project report at the end of the grant period. More information about the OCLC/ALISE Library and Information Science Research Grant Program and a list of previous grant recipients are available on the OCLC website at http://www.oclc.org/research/grants.html.
If You Build It, Will They Fund? Making Research Data Management Sustainable
Some research libraries have been proactive in taking on the new role of supporting the research data management needs of researchers and the university, whereas others have been assigned this role without having sought it. Either way, additional financial or personnel resources rarely are in place to implement and sustain this activity. The brief document, If You Build It, Will They Fund? Making Research Data Management Sustainable by Ricky Erway and Amanda Rinehart (http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/publications/2016/oclcresearch-making-research-data-management-sustainable-2016.pdf), explores the pros and cons of seven possible funding sources. It also describes the current circumstances in seven countries outside the United States. Among the highlights:
- Because some research data is a valuable university asset, institutions should build ongoing funding into their base budgets to provide resources to the units responsible for managing that asset.
- The seven funding strategies include obtaining institutional budgetary support, adding to grant budgets, charging data depositors, charging data users, establishing an endowment, using existing funding for data repository development, and making do with existing budgets.
- Another option is to outsource to external data repositories, although many make no effort to meet digital preservation standards.
Data management underpins current and future research, funder mandates, open access initiatives, researcher reputations, and institutional rankings. While it is widely recognized that data management support is necessary, recognition that it requires sustainable funding is slower in coming. Even as the community is beginning to understand the costs, it must begin to address how data management might be funded. This brief report provides an overview of seven funding strategies and their standing in the US. Circumstances in seven other countries are described in the appendix. This work is part of our research collections and support efforts to inform current thinking about research collections and the emerging services that libraries are offering to support contemporary modes of scholarship. We are encouraging the development of new ways for libraries to build and provide these types of collections and deliver distinctive services. For more information about this specific effort, see our role of libraries in data curation project at http://www.oclc.org/research/themes/research-collections/datacuration.html.
OCLC Research Library Partnership Welcomes Three Recent Additions
- OCLC Research is delighted to announce three additions to the OCLC Research Library Partnership:
- Stellenbosch University, a leading public research university, is our first Partner in South Africa. The Partner Representative is Ellen R. Tise, Senior Director, Library and Information Service.
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) is the largest private university in Europe and the largest Catholic university in the world. It extends our partnership to southern Europe. The Partner Representative is Dr. Ellis Sada, Head of Central Library, Milan Campus.
- The University of Sheffield, a member of the Russell Group of 24 leading research universities in the United Kingdom, ranked number one in the UK for student satisfaction in the 2014-2015 Times Student Experience Survey. The Partner Representative is Tracey Clarke, Associate Director for Academic & Digital Strategies.
We look forward to collaborating with these three institutions’ library staff on projects that benefit all research libraries and their users. The OCLC Research Library Partnership currently comprises 170 Partner institutions around the world (http://www.oclc.org/research/partnership/roster.html).

domain: library


A survey conducted by Dan Ives has found a spike in interest in Tesla vehicles in China following the recent price cuts.
The Tesla price cuts were not taken well in China, with hundreds of previous buyers storming Tesla showrooms, demanding the automaker make amends for the abrupt price change. Nonetheless, according to a survey by Dan Ives of the Wedbush Securities investing firm, interest in the brand has spiked in China despite the outrage.
According to the survey conducted by Mr. Ives, initially reported by Barrons, “Our survey found that 76% of EV Chinese consumers are considering buying a Tesla in 2023, with the nearest domestic competitors BYD in second place followed by NIO in third place.” This data coming only days after the China Merchants Bank International announced that Tesla sales had skyrocketed according to its payment data. Furthermore, this renewed interest in the Tesla brand is backed up by the ordering times listed on the Tesla China website.
Order times for the base model Tesla Model 3 and Model Y extend roughly a month, while the long-range trims for both vehicles have been pushed out even further. And while Performance variants of both models have remained fairly unaffected by the new demand, if the recent trend is anything to go by, this lull may not last very long.
The surge in demand has even extended outside of China as well. Late last week, it was found that order times for the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y in Germany have been pushed out by a similar amount as their Chinese counterparts. While even here in the United States, wait times for most Model 3 trims extend into next month, while Model Y customers have reported wait times as long as multiple months.
Following this recent surge in demand, investors have responded in turn, ending the week with a rare positive movement for the Tesla stock, up nearly 5% on Friday and up almost 15% over the week. It’s no wonder many now believe this is the beginning of a larger rebound for the automaker. Though it should be noted that with the consumer price index’s recent gradual decline, many stocks, including those in the automotive industry, also saw their stocks recover towards the end of this week.
But outside of Tesla and its customers, perhaps the most significant change that has occurred following the American automaker’s move is the reaction of other brands. In the second half of last year, many automakers followed the steps of Tesla by raising prices for the new electric models. Most infamously, the bastion of affordable electric trucks, the Ford F150 Lightning, saw its Pro trim balloon above $50,000 for the first time. However, many automakers have now been forced to follow Tesla, cutting prices to remain competitive.
The most aggressive price cuts by other brands following Tesla have been seen in China, where Tesla implemented its price cut first. Still, many analysts anticipate that these price cuts will come to Western markets in the coming month(s) as the increasingly competitive EV market pushes prices lower for the first time in a long time.
William owns Tesla stock but is not invested in any Wedbush products, nor are his funds managed by the firm.
What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at email@example.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at firstname.lastname@example.org!


text: I was born in Medellin, Colombia. I lived in the Seattle area since I was 8 years old. I graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Theoretical Math. I got married and became a certified Wedding and Event Planner in 2010. In 2012 I gave birth to my little hero and angel, who has Pfeiffer Syndrome Type 1. Currently, I am a certified Refit Revolution dance instructor, artist, an actress, and the Founder/CEO/President of ‘BORN A HERO, Pfeiffer’s Health and Social Issues Awareness’ nonprofit organization. Most importantly I am a stay at home mom and all my life revolves around my faith. My hobbies include being with my family, volunteering and giving back to the community, singing, dancing, painting, traveling, experiencing different cultures, playing volleyball, basketball, tennis, rock climbing, surfing, hiking, watching movies, playing the guitar, and being immersed in nature.

domain: hobby


text:
Belgian real estate firm Mitiska Reim will enter the French retail market with its recent acquisition of a retail park near Caen. It has been an eventful year so far, with acquisitions in Germany, Romania and Spain as well.
Local convenience shopping hub
Val Saint-Clair retail park, close to Caen (in Northern France), has 13,500 sqm of store space, spread across eighteen locations. Retailers like Electro Depot, Action, Sport 2000 and Maxi Zoo are already present in the retail park.
Mitiska Reim said it wanted to achieve a stronger local footprint, with more attention towards the consumer’s daily needs. The site already offers a direct route to the Carrefour Hypermarket nearby, but Mitiska wants to attract more local retailers to help meet consumer demands.
This first French acquisition helps Mitiska consolidate its position as an investor in European retail parks. “Our philosophy is to invest and create added value for mature and financially healthy retail parks”, CEO Axel Despriet said. “This philosophy is paying off, because France is now the third European country, following Spain and Germany, where we have introduced our success formula this year alone. Over the past few months, we have also expanded our portfolio in other countries like Romania. Each of these acquisitions leads to new opportunities: this French acquisition is just one of many planned acquisitions.”
Mitiska Reim now owns 47 retail parks across Belgium, Germany, France, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Spain and Czechia. The Caen purchase is the first move made by investment manager for France, Pierre Rochard. He only moved to Mitiska last month, having worked for Carrefour previously.

domain: economics


text:
1 4 to 5-pound whole chicken
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning
Note: I chop fresh herbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place
a baking rack in the lower rack of the oven, and bring the chicken to room temperature. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
2. Place the chicken breast side up in an oven-safe pan Truss the legs. Drizzle with oil and use your hands to rub it all over the chicken.
3. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, patting the seasoning in with your hands.
4. Roast the chicken for 70 to 90 minutes, or until the juices run clear. Double check doneness with an instant-read thermometer placed in the thickest part of the thigh. It should read 165°F . Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board before slicing and serving.

domain: food


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A rooftop is covered with solar panels at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York last February. The Trump administration is considering whether to impose tariffs on imports of solar materials.
A grande Cafe Nero, large Costa Coffee and venti-sized Starbucks to-go cups sold in London. The U.K. Parliament is considering a tax on disposable cups in an effort to cut down on waste.
Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images
A family from Haiti approach a tent in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec, stationed by Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as they haul their luggage down Roxham Road in Champlain, N.Y., last August.
People walk through the empty streets of Boston as snow begins to fall last week. Sometimes there is no way to prevent a slip and fall on the ice, but there are things that can reduce your risk of serious injury.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A tractor-trailer rolls along the highway in Miami last November. The trucking industry needs to hire almost 900,000 more drivers to meet rising demand, according to an industry analysis.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Palestinian security forces push away demonstrators from the convoy of Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, during a protest against his visit to the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Saturday.
Migrants wait to be rescued from a rubber dinghy by members of the Spanish non-governmental organization Proactiva Open Arms during an operation on the Mediterranean Sea last September.
Questions surrounding President Trump's temperament intensified this week after excerpts from the book, Fire and Fury: Inside The Trump White House, detailed chaos inside the White House.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Academics and students shout slogans during a protest against the dismissal of academics from universities following a post-coup emergency decree at the Dil ve Tarih Cografya campus of Ankara University last February.
Adem Altan /AFP/Getty Images
Since the 1990s, a rising number of college students have been seeking treatment for serious mental health problems, according to the American Psychological Association.


text:
I was also chatting with my friend Stacey there, who I got into the Dresden Files. She's just finished Death Masks and is eagerly awaiting Blood Rites when she gets enough money for it, or when she comes over and borrows it from me. Which should be soon, since I discovered she still hasn't seen all the episodes of the TV show, so she will have to come and watch them with me and Ama. We chatted about Book vs. TV Murphy (she likes Book!Murphy better) and about Susan (we both think she's kickass) and Marcone (who is awesome) and it made me very happy. She said 'So, have you written any fanfiction for it or anything?' and I just burst out laughing. Why yes, yes I have. By my reckoning, I'm up to about 35 Dresden stories, not including drabbles done for dresdenfiles100 which I should probably post one of these days.
I've been trying to write lately, and I'm out of inspiration. Even when I have an idea, I can't get it down to my satisfaction. I might do a request post soon to see if I can get back into the groove.
Anyway, Merry Christmas Eve all! Or, if you don't celebrate Christmas, Happy Monday!

domain: entertainment


text:
If the caravan of thousands of prospective illegal aliens marching for our Southern border like an invading army has succeeded in one thing, it is that the wall finally will be built.
You can book it. People are fed up. And they damn well should be. If it gets any worse — and it could — we might see an army of of our own citizen volunteers heading down to the border themselves to build it.
Talk about unintended consequences. Try that one on your piano, George Soros or whatever assembled reactionary leftwing creeps instigated this escapade.
And let’s not forget Univision’s professional prevaricator Jorge Ramos, who insists most of these “caravanserai” are legitimate “asylum seekers,” as if there were some kind of genocide going on in Honduras as in Pol Pot’s Cambodia. Yet somehow these same “refugees” are waving the flags of the very countries they are supposedly fleeing while burning ours, the very place they seek succor. Go figure.
But let’s examine the numbers. Since 2005, with only a year or two of minor exceptions, slightly over one million people per annum have been granted lawful permanent residence status in our country. That’s a far greater total, year over year, than anywhere else in the world. In fact, the U.S. has a hair under twenty percent of the world’s foreign born population. We’re incredibly generous.
But a million people a year being admitted legally is evidently not enough for our friends on the left who seem to favor open, unvetted borders on top of that.
Talk about not fair, the so-called “fairness” crowd is now supporting fourteen thousand or so people who want to enter the U.S. illegally by force while millions of others from all over the world waited, often for years, to get their papers.
Those law-abiding immigrants have a mighty good reason to be pissed and the rest of us have an equally good reason to want to see that wall erected pronto.
Building the wall will also help solve the number one healthcare problem in our country, far beyond insurance difficulties — fentanyl. It will simultaneously undercut the world’s most powerful terrorist organization, Hezbollah. For those who missed it, Iran’s favorite terror army is heavily involved in the cross-border drug trade, as revealed recently in what may be the year’s best piece of investigative journalism — “The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook.”
Building the wall might take Obama off the hook by cutting the flow of fentanyl that, by itself, is likely responsible for the horrifying slide in life expectancy among Americans the last few years.
But back to the actual construction of the wall. How will it happen? If the Republicans hold the House, which is now a possibility thanks to both the caravan and Kavanaugh, Trump will be on the honeymoon he deserved when first elected. Funding for the wall will be top of the agenda.
If they lose the House, Trump will be motivated to have the military build it through the defense budget. The advent of the caravan will give him plenty of justification for that.
As I said, the wall — book it!
Roger L. Simon – co-founder and CEO Emeritus of PJ Media – is an author and an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter.

domain: news


text:
The Brown Hog family are busy rooting in the dirt when a new pig arrives. She is white and beautiful. The small brown hogs go to see her up close but in their rudeness end up running away. What will the lonely little pig do?
It’s the first day of kindergarten and Amanda and Jeremiah don’t know what to do. They both try what they are used to doing but it doesn’t work out so well. With the teachers help they learn all about sharing!
Marcella is taking care of the French doll who is sick. The other dolls watch and hope she gets well soon. When Marcella leaves them for the night they realize that Doctor Raggedy Andy will need to save the day.
Long ago there dwelt on the shores of the Great Water in the west a young man and his younger wife. They had no children and they lived all by themselves far from other people on an island not far from the coast.
One day the Prince heard the most wonderful song and followed the sound to his garden. He found a bird singing and sat to listen. Everyday he came back until the bird disappeared.
This weeks episode features the voice talents of Marlena Jean.
Underpants, thunderpants, look at them fly! Funny silly rhyming story of a dogs underpants, perfect for kids who find underpants funny. Great for early readers.
Words by Peter Bently
Troll two, three, four is a story of a little troll who lives in Troll Land. Boogaloo, the little troll, is very lonely. He wants a friend to play with. One day something shiny floats by and Boogaloo follows it. Boogaloo is about to meet a very good friend.
Ben and Sue wanted to go and play at the playground. They both loved playing on the see saw and rushed to take turns. Tip, the dog, ran with them to the see saw and had a lot of fun playing with the things he found there.
About Sleep Tight Stories
Sleep Tight Stories brings you new and captivating bedtime stories every week. The stories range from retellings of fairy tales, folk stories, classic Canadian works, and original stories written by guest authors. Each episode is usually less than 20 minutes long and suitable for kids of all ages.
Sleep Tight Stories is produced by Sheryl and Clark MacLeod.

domain: artistic


text: Ni-B coatings have been deposited directly on commercial purity magnesium and evaluated by means of sliding wear and friction testing. The nickel and boron are distributed throughout the whole thickness of the coating. Parametric optimization has been carried out using design of experiment based on Taguchi analysis. The friction coefficients of the coatings vary between 0.01-0.3, depending of the evaluated conditions. The lowest wear rate of the coating was 0.19 × 10-5 mm3 N-1 m-1. Wear and friction coefficient maps of Ni-B electroless coatings formed on magnesium surfaces are reported. Nanoparticles present in the lubricating fluid acts as a third wear body increasing the wear of the electroless coating.

domain: design


text:
Another week in Canadian Comics news and things, curated for you from the feeds! Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the latest.
By Salgood Sam
Item: Cartoonist Jay Stephens makes a villain of crude oil in this cover for the latest True Patriot superhero comics anthology...
Item: The talented Francis Manapul is one of the top profesional artists in Toronto today, he talked to the CBC this weekend about how he learned English from comics and other things, in the course of talking about his participation in DC’s new series ‘Trinity’!
Item: Joe Ollmann Hamilton Launch for The Abominable Mr. Seabrook is January 25!
Item: Ty Templeton’s Bun Toons returns with a kvetching tribulation!
There’s art in fart! Did this for Martin/Olivia Olson’s #adventuretime Enchiridion, a milestone in pen-and-ink afflatus. pic.twitter.com/4Xos7NRFe3
— mahendra singh (@mahendra_snark) January 10, 2017
Item: If you published in QC in 2016 you’ve got till the first of Feb to submit your comics to the Bédélys!
Item: John McCrae leads a team of crack Canadians on secret WW I mission! “Dr. John McCrae, the physician and poet who wrote In Flanders Fields, is the star of an upcoming comic that imagines him leading a team of Canadian luminaries on a secret mission during the Battle of Vimy Ridge.”
Item: A preview of Salgood’s Revolver Quarterly Vol.4, to be published by Spilt Ink in March!
Item: Some new interviews to keep an eye out for! John Higgs, Chester Brown, Seth, Alan Moore, and Jaime Hernandez! Conducted by By open-book.ca’s writer in residence, Koom Kankesan! There are already some up on the page now too, no need to wait for them!
Item: Breaking Into Comics Panel with Pia Guerra, Kaare Andrews, Brandon Graham and Ty Templeton, on Inkstuds!
Item: Been seeing posts like this for a couple days, Cloudscape Comics’ ‘Bones of the Coast’ have been arriving to backers, looks like a really nice looking book! [this copy belongs to Doug Savage!]
Item: Adam Gorham is painting something…
Item: Calgary Herald reports on Lovern Kindzierski and John Bolton’s “haunting” trilogy, Shame. Published by Alberta based Renegade Arts Entertainment. Here Broken Frontier’s Jason Wilkins wrote ‘3 Reasons Why You Need to Read ‘Shame’ by Lovern Kindzierski and John Bolton‘.
Item: Enter the Bulgarian Brothers on Conceptual Heist!
Item: Ronn Sutton reports that his site has been freshly updated with new pictures, a partial index of his published comic work, and new posts to the Horror, Commissions and Latest Artwork sections, thanks to the help of some of his friends/fans.
Item: Robin Bougie drew Michael Sullivan for the intro to cinema sewer issue 30!
Item: Aislin’s cartoon for the Thursday Gazette.
Item: Jeff Lemire will be at the Windsor Public Library Jan 28 2PM-4PM. Talking about the creative process behind, ‘The Secret Path’ and his collaboration with Gord Downie, of the Tragically Hip. This FREE event is open to the public.
Item: Renee Nault posting cool things!
That is all for now!
If we get any, it’ll help pay
for hosting and
We raised $156 to cover our site’s domain and hosting renewals last month, enough for over half the bill for the next 3 years on Hostpapa!
Thanks to everyone who pitched in!
Help us cover comics in Canada. Tell us about your news!
Aspirational Funding Goals: Starting between $50 and $100 cnd, we could put that into commissioning & paying for original content. If we raised $450 cnd in a short time, we could spring for a year on a VPN!


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text:
- What are the six design elements?
- What are the 10 elements of architecture?
- What are the five elements of design?
- What is basic design in art?
- What are the 12 principles of design?
- What are the 5 basic principles of design?
- What are 3 methods of graphic design?
- What are the 4 principles of graphic design?
- How many elements of design are there?
- What are basic design principles?
- What are the 8 elements of design?
- What are the 7 elements of graphic design?
- What are the 14 elements of art?
- What are the 7 principles of landscape design?
- What makes a good design?
- What are the 10 principles of art?
- What are two basic designs?
- What is basic graphic design?
What are the six design elements?
In Graphic Design there are six basic elements that are used in order to have a good design.
The six elements are space, line, shape, value, texture, and color..
What are the 10 elements of architecture?
10 Architecture Design Elements For Great iPhone Photos Of BuildingsShapes. Geometric shapes are very pleasing to the eye, and they help you to create bold and striking compositions. … Lines. … Curves & Spirals. … Angles. … Symmetry. … Color. … Contrast. … Pattern.More items…
What are the five elements of design?
Elements of the design of the artColor.Line.Point.Shape.Texture.Space.Form.Unity/harmony.More items…
What is basic design in art?
In Basic Design, students investigate form and the delineation of space within a two-dimensional field, with an emphasis on hand skills and traditional design media. Students develop an understanding of basic design elements and principles and how these are used to formulate clear compositions.
What are the 12 principles of design?
The elements, or principles, of visual design include Contrast, Balance, Emphasis, Movement, White Space, Proportion, Hierarchy, Repetition, Rhythm, Pattern, Unity, and Variety. These principles of design work together to create something that is aesthetically pleasing and optimizes the user experience.
What are the 5 basic principles of design?
There are 5 important principles to take into consideration which are: balance, rhythm and repetition, emphasis, proportion and scale, and last but not least, harmony.
What are 3 methods of graphic design?
The 8 types of graphic designVisual identity graphic design. — … Marketing & advertising graphic design. — … User interface graphic design. — … Publication graphic design. — … Packaging graphic design. — … Motion graphic design. — … Environmental graphic design. — … Art and illustration for graphic design. —
What are the 4 principles of graphic design?
Four basic principles you can find in every well-designed piece of artwork—contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity—which are affectionally referred to as CRAP in the design industry.
How many elements of design are there?
seven elementsThe elements of design can be thought of as the things that make up a painting, drawing, design etc. Good or bad – all paintings will contain most of if not all, the seven elements of design. The Principles of design can be thought of as what we do to the elements of design.
What are basic design principles?
The principles of design are the rules a designer must follow to create an effective and attractive composition. The fundamental principles of design are Emphasis, Balance and Alignment, Contrast, Repetition, Proportion, Movement and White Space.
What are the 8 elements of design?
All visual designs are composed of eight elements (Point, Line, Shape, Form, Tone, Texture, Color, and/or Text). These elements are combined and arranged to create a desired visual appearance.
What are the 7 elements of graphic design?
These basic building blocks, the 7 elements of design, are line, color, value, shape, texture, space and form.
What are the 14 elements of art?
The elements of art are color, form, line, shape, space, and texture. The principles of art are scale, proportion, unity, variety, rhythm, mass, shape, space, balance, volume, perspective, and depth.
What are the 7 principles of landscape design?
The Seven Principles of DesignSIMPLICITY. Elements that do not provide improvement or impact on the design can be omitted. … VARIETY. Shape, size and form selections should be diverse in order to create visual interest. … BALANCE. Everything that is placed in a design will carry a certain visual weight with it. … EMPHASIS. … SEQUENCE. … SCALE / PROPORTION. … UNITY.
What makes a good design?
Good design is innovative. Good design makes a product useful. Good design is aesthetic. Good design makes a product understandable.
What are the 10 principles of art?
The posters visually convey each of ten select core values, including balance, hierarchy, pattern, rhythm, space, proportion, emphasis, movement, contrast, and unity. Additionally, purposeful typography, set below each colorful arrangement, is used to explain the expectations of each fundamental idea.
What are two basic designs?
Form and Colour—Two Basic Elements of Design.
What is basic graphic design?
Graphic design is the art or profession of visual communication that combines images, words, and ideas to convey information to an audience, especially to produce a specific effect. In other words, graphic design is communication design; It’s a way of conveying ideas through visuals and design.


It’s official: The first flight of Angara has been postponed for at least a week or more.
“The rocket will be removed from the launchpad and transferred to a technical stand for comprehensive analysis,” RIA quoted the Khrunichev center as saying, adding the new launch time would only be decided after the checks.
Though no information was released that describes the cause of the scrub, that they are going to give the rocket a major look-over suggests that at least one of the problems reported by Anthony Zak at Russianspaceweb are likely true. To quote him again:
According to a veteran of Baikonur Cosmodrome and the Russian space historian Vladimir Antipov, the scrub at that moment could indicate a failure in the pneumatic and hydraulic system activating the rocket’s propulsion system. A screenshot of the launch countdown clock, which had surfaced on the Internet, indicated a scrub at T-1 minute 19.7 seconds. It then transpired that the loss of pressure in a flexible gas line of the propulsion system caused the delay.
It could take as long as a week to fix the problem, industry sources said on the Novosti Kosmonavtiki web forum. GKNPTs Khrunichev, the Angara’s manufacturer then posted a one-line press-release saying that the date of the next launch attempt would be announced later.
According to other sources, a valve on the oxidizer line failed, which could require to return the rocket to the assembly building, to cut out the device and weld in the new valve. Due to a built-in nature of the valve, the return of the rocket to the manufacturing plant in Moscow could also be required, likely postponing the mission for weeks.
From the press release: From the moment he is handed a possibility of making the first alien contact, Saunders Maxwell decides he will do it, even if doing so takes him through hell and back.
Unfortunately, that is exactly where that journey takes him.
The vision that Zimmerman paints of vibrant human colonies on the Moon, Mars, the asteroids, and beyond, indomitably fighting the harsh lifeless environment of space to build new societies, captures perfectly the emerging space race we see today.
He also captures in Pioneer the heart of the human spirit, willing to push forward no matter the odds, no matter the cost. It is that spirit that will make the exploration of the heavens possible, forever, into the never-ending future.
Available everywhere for $3.99 (before discount) at amazon
, Barnes & Noble
, all ebook vendors, or direct from the ebook publisher, ebookit
And if you buy it from ebookit
you don't support the big tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.


text:
Hard to review when it hasn’t arrived
This is an excellent product. Have done a 1/2 acre. Already sprouting up. Look forward to ground cover and Spring planting
Looking for a delicious and unique addition to your culinary repertoire? Sorrel seed is your perfect solution! This heirloom plant has been widely used in France and England for centuries, and provides huge harvests of delicious, lemony leaves through the growing season, even into the winter. Whether you enjoy sorrel in salads or soups, these vigorous perennial plants are sure to make your meals more memorable. So why wait? Add some Sorrel seed to your garden today! 750mg ~ 500 seeds.
Plant seeds directly in the garden 1-2 weeks before average last frost date. Optimum soil temperature for seed germination is 65-85°. Or, start seed indoors 4-6 weeks before transplanting into the garden. Transplant to the garden 1 week after your average last frost date. Harvest as baby greens or full size leaves. Can be used as salad greens, cooked in soups and mixed with swiss chard and spinach. Sow again in mid-late summer for a fall harvest. Or, plant in late fall for an early spring crop. Harvesting outer leaves encourages new growth on the plant. Great for container and in-ground gardening.
Scientific Name: Rumex acetosa
Days to Maturity: 40-60
Seed Depth: 1/8"
Days to Sprout: 5-10
Plant Spacing: 8-12"
Row Spacing: 12-18"
Light Requirements: Sunny / Partial Shade
Plant Height: 12-24"
Life Cycle: Perennial
Frost Hardy: Yes

domain: agronomy


The medisun UV-Check Hand radiometer enables users to make rapid and precise measurements of UV sources in the range of 250 – 400 nm. It has a special UV-Sensor. Up to 5 different UV spectrum ranges can be calibrated, e.g. UVB-311 narrow band or UVA broadband.
In the standard version, the medisun UV-Check is delivered with 2 calibrated UV spectra. Three further UV spectra can be calibrated optionally.
• Therapy device control, e.g. required as part of Balneo-phototherapy
• Comparative measurements at various measurement points
• Homogeneity measurements of surfaces
• Measurement of the performance drop in UV bulbs
• Checking of reflector characteristics
• Transmission measurements of filters
• Digital display with 3 ½ digits
• Up to 5 UV spectra can be selected
• Sensor diode with filter


New York Times V Sullivan
The paper’s involvement in a 1964 libel case helped bring one of the key United States Supreme Court decisions supporting freedom of the press, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. In it, the United States Supreme Court established the “actual malice” standard for press reports about public officials or public figures to be considered defamatory or libelous. The malice standard requires the plaintiff in a defamation or libel case to prove the publisher of the statement knew the statement was false or acted in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. Because of the high burden of proof on the plaintiff, and difficulty proving malicious intent, such cases by public figures rarely succeed.
How I Landed A Job At The New York Times
Adrian Hopkins, a business development strategist for T Brand Studio at The New York Times.
Over the past 11 years, Ive gone from cofounding a magazine with a few fellow undergraduates to working as a strategist at the intersection of storytelling and business development. After college, I worked in business development at Viacom then, after a grad school stint, I spent the next six years in strategy at a boutique creative agency. Last year, I found myself drawn to the branded content work The New York Times’ T Brand Studio was doing and to the companys overall mission. I knew I wanted to be a part of it, but I certainly didn’t have a clear in T Brand Studio didnt yet have the exact content strategy role I was looking for. But I gave myself the same advice I give to anyone exploring a new opportunity: I skipped the immediate urge to do cold outreach and went into research mode, arming myself with all the background I needed to understand the organization and the value I could bring to it. If you are gearing up to apply for or interview at your dream company, here are a few steps to do the same.
1. Go deep in your research.
2. Align yourself with the companys vision.
3. Look to leverage second-degree connections.
4. Demonstrate how you are right for the job and the team.
5. Ask for help.
Images courtesy of Adrian Hopkins
How To Apply For A Job In New York City
Like with any job, it’s always advised to prepare before applying for a job in New York City.
Heres what you need to get in order before applying for a job in New York City:
- Resume/cover letter: Writing a good resume and cover letter is crucial if you want to stand out in New York City. The city is notorious for its competitive spirit, so a good understanding of resumes and cover letters is needed to get ahead of the curve. You can find more details in the section below, Resume and cover letter tips.
- Job search engines: Youre probably familiar with plenty of the job search engines used to find a job in New York City, but we have a few more in the chapter below, New York City job search engines.
- Sponsorship: If youre a foreigner and want to work in the US, the most popular path is by getting a company to sponsor your H-1B visa. You can find more information in the section Work visa in New York City.
- Visa: The United States can be a difficult place to obtain a work visa in. Its important to apply for the one that fits your criteria. You can also find more information in the section Work visa in New York City.
Read Also: How Much For Health Insurance In New York
The San Francisco Company Is One Of The Worlds Most Ambitious Artificial Intelligence Labs Heres A Look At Some Recent Developments
- ChatGPT: The new cutting-edge chatbot is inspiring awe, fear, stunts and attempts to circumvent its guardrails, our technology columnist writes.
- GPT-3: With mind-boggling fluency, the natural-language system can write, argue and code. The implications for the future could be profound.
Just five years ago, for example, the biggest story in the A.I. world was AlphaGo, a deep learning model built by Googles DeepMind that could beat the best humans in the world at the board game Go. Training an A.I. to win Go tournaments was a fun party trick, but it wasnt exactly the kind of progress most people care about.
But last year, DeepMinds AlphaFold an A.I. system descended from the Go-playing one did something truly profound. Using a deep neural network trained to predict the three-dimensional structures of proteins from their one-dimensional amino acid sequences, it essentially solved whats known as the protein-folding problem, which had vexed molecular biologists for decades.
This summer, DeepMind announced that AlphaFold had made predictions for nearly all of the 200 million proteins known to exist producing a treasure trove of data that will help medical researchers develop new drugs and vaccines for years to come. Last year, the journal Science recognized AlphaFolds importance, naming it the biggest scientific breakthrough of the year.
Or look at whats happening with A.I.-generated text.
I think three things could help here.
Look Online And Not Just On Linkedin
LinkedIn is by far the biggest job-searching tool, and youll want to make sure your profile is up-to-date and well tended. But its not the only place you should look many employers are soliciting candidates on other social platforms, too, like Facebook and Instagram.
Were constantly looking for new ways to market our jobs, Ms. McCulloch said. To do that, we have to meet candidates where they are and many of them are on social channels.
That goes both ways. If youre looking for work, it can be helpful to share that with your own online network. A friend or connection might be able to refer you to a job opening. We fill a lot of positions through referrals from existing employees, Ms. McCulloch said.
Finally, dont be scared of online networking events. Many offer useful services like résumé reviews and interview coaching.
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Work Visa In New York City
To work in New York City as a foreigner, you need to apply to one of the many work visas available through the U.S. Department of State.
The most popular visa being the H-1B specialty occupation visa. This visa is given on a point system and is available to foreign nationals who have at least a bachelor’s degree or 12 years of experience. In order to obtain this visa you must work in specialty occupations, such as computer science, research or engineering.
The best path to obtain an H-1B visa is by searching for companies that sponsor H-1B visas. Normally these are mid to large size companies, as smaller companies have issues with the costs and the legal knowledge involved.
Also, only 85,000 H-1B visas are available each year, so its good to get started on your application as soon as possible.
There are other visas you can consider for working in New York City, such as:
- L-1 visa: Foreign nationals working for a US company outside of the US can request a transfer.
- EB-3 Green Card Permit: Professionals, Skilled and Other Worker
Another thing you can do is apply for the Diversity Visa Lottery each year. Small chance, but free and literally no downside to applying.
And of course, falling in love with a U.S Citizen and getting married is also a great path.
For more info on United States work visas.
Summer Jobs In New York City For Foreigners
Assuming youve already obtained your visa to work in the US, you can find summer jobs in New York City in the following websites:
A good rule of thumb for those wanting to apply for a summer job in New York City is to apply for a J1 visa, as the requirements for such a visa can be less demanding.
Also, keep in mind that even if its just a summer job you should prepare for the job interview by practicing for questions like Why should we hire you? and Where do you see yourself in 5 years?.
Also Check: Where Is Nyu Located In New York
Accusations Of Liberal Bias
In 2004, the newspaper’s public editor Daniel Okrent said in an opinion piece that The New York Times did have a liberal bias in news coverage of certain social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. He stated that this bias reflected the paper’s cosmopolitanism, which arose naturally from its roots as a hometown paper of New York City, writing that the coverage of the Times‘s Arts & Leisure Culture and the Sunday Times Magazine trend to the left.
If you’re examining the paper’s coverage of these subjects from a perspective that is neither urban nor Northeastern nor culturally seen-it-all if you are among the groups The Times treats as strange objects to be examined on a laboratory slide if your value system wouldn’t wear well on a composite New York Times journalist, then a walk through this paper can make you feel you’re traveling in a strange and forbidding world.
Times public editor Arthur Brisbane wrote in 2012:
When The Times covers a national presidential campaign, I have found that the lead editors and reporters are disciplined about enforcing fairness and balance, and usually succeed in doing so. Across the paper’s many departments, though, so many share a kind of political and cultural progressivism for lack of a better term that this worldview virtually bleeds through the fabric of The Times.
We Translate The Values Of The New York Times Into Educational Programs
We seek to bring together a diverse group of intellectually curious people whose varied backgrounds make for a wide range of views and perspectives. We place students in an engaging, informative and inspiring setting. Together we take on the critical issues and problems of the day with the analytical skepticism of a news reporter. We teach with the goal that the lessons learned will withstand students lifelong pursuit of truth and civic engagement.
We believe that diversity in all its forms in opinions and ideas, in cultures and countries, as well as in the races, religions, sexual orientations and backgrounds of our students is integral to education.
As such, our students have investigated the Black Lives Matter movement. Theyve practiced the art of interviewing to learn the stories of Holocaust survivors. Theyve reported on the challenges of covering current events like the 2020 election and the impact of COVID-19. All while studying under reporters, editors and other experts who guide and empower students to find their own unique voices.
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Week : Ask For Job Search Referrals From Your Connections
If you made any good connections during your informational interviews in week three, ask your contact for a referral before you apply to the role at their organization. This is important because getting a job search referral shows potential employers that another person is confident in your skills, and its usually a guarantee that your application will be seriously considered which increases your odds of getting called in for an interview. Its best to follow up with your contact no sooner than one week after your informational interview to avoid bombarding them.
Glassdoor recommends being honest from the start about your goals while providing your contact with ideas for how they can assist you in your professional job search:
Thank you again for talking with me about . Learning about during our conversation made me realize how much Id like to work for your company. Im interested in applying for the position of , and I wanted to ask whether you could refer me or if youd be willing to pass my résumé on to the hiring manager.
As The New York Times notes, the pandemic has become the great equalizer in todays economy. Job candidates are no longer selected based on location or attendance at live networking events. If you have references who can speak to your experience and abilities, youll go further than candidates who dont.
Brush Up On Your Digital Communication Skills
If you havent spent the past year in Zoom meetings, you didnt exactly miss out, but you still need to be able to present yourself as savvy and professional onscreen. A lot of interviews are virtual now, even if the job itself will be done in person, Ms. Weitzman said. People whove been out of the work force should practice setting up Zooms with their friends or family, so that they feel comfortable on video.
Even if youve had plenty of experience chatting with people on FaceTime, thats not quite the same thing. Ask for feedback on how your background looks, and know where to look in the camera or on the screen in order to come across as engaged, Ms. Weitzman explained. It takes practice to be able to shake off nerves when youre going through the process.
Also Check: How Many Tolls To New York
‘this Isn’t A Ridiculous Millennial Crybaby Thing’
Still, one ex-Times employee who was set recently to move into a new role told Insider they sought approval for an outside project that had been paying them more than their Times salary. It was denied, this person said.
The employee, whose identity is known to Insider but requested anonymity to speak openly about their former employer, left the Times for a job at a news organization that allowed for the outside project.
“This isn’t a ridiculous millennial crybaby thing. This is being reasonable and responsible about finances,” the former Times staffer said. “You take a generation that grew up during the financial crisis and suffers serious financial shocks and tell them, ‘No, don’t have multiple income streams?’ No, of course not.”
The issue of outside work has bubbled up in the press. The Daily Beast reported last year that infighting at the Times derailed a film project based on a reporters’ book on the GameStop stock frenzy. Other newsrooms have faced pressure too, like The Wall Street Journal, where reporters griped about the paper’s push to retain rights to their book deals, the Daily Beast reported.
Now, as The New York Times Guild negotiates a new union contract with management, the topic of outside work and the extent to which Times staffers can solicit and negotiate offers to option their work is being hashed out at the bargaining table.
Disclosure: Taylor Lorenz has previously worked at Insider.
A Recruiter Shares What He Looks For
Here are four things you need to do to make your resume stand out:
Be committed. Take advantage of every opportunity given to you . If you have a passing interest in journalism because you like to write, newsrooms in 2018 dont have time for you.
Get newsroom internships. This is a no brainer, but even in 2018, its the best way to gain real-world experience. Most of the people we seriously consider for our internship program already have at least two internships under their belt.
Write for your campus publication . A lot. You need to learn how to write and report basic news stories and build up good news judgment. The more practice, the better. You can see it in clips. I cannot stress this enough.
Think about your narrative. If you came to journalism late and dabbled in other careers or held non-journalism jobs, thats okay. Just make sure that your story makes sense to recruiters and shows your progress as a journalist and as a person. Yes, I worked at Trader Joes when I was younger to make ends meet, but my real passion has always been journalism. Actually, I found that working at a grocery store gave me the chance to interact socially with all kinds of characters. Ive really leaned on those skills in my current internship at XYZ News.
Support high-integrity, independent journalism that serves democracy. Make a gift to Poynter today. The Poynter Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, and your gift helps us make good journalism better.
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How To Get A Job At Google Part 2
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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. HOWS my kid going to get a job? There are few questions I hear more often than that one. In February, I interviewed Laszlo Bock, who is in charge of all hiring at Google about 100 new hires a week to try to understand what an employer like Google was looking for and why it was increasingly ready to hire people with no college degrees. Bocks remarks generated a lot of reader response, particularly his point that prospective bosses today care less about what you know or where you learned it the Google machine knows everything now than what value you can create with what you know. With graduations approaching, I went back to Google to ask Bock to share his best advice for job-seekers anywhere, not just at Google. Here is a condensed version of our conversations:
Youre not saying college education is worthless?
Once there, said Bock, make sure that youre getting out of it not only a broadening of your knowledge but skills that will be valued in todays workplace. Your college degree is not a proxy anymore for having the skills or traits to do any job.
Well, what about creativity?
Are the liberal arts still important?
How do you write a good résumé?
Whats your best advice for job interviews?
For parents, new grads and those too long out of work, I hope some of this helps.


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Making Waves (Book) by Duncan MacGregor
Making Waves (Book) by Duncan MacGregor Limited Edition Box Set available now from Arthouse Gallery. A superb Present
Making Waves (Book)
A book containing 2 signed Limited Edition Prints
Full colour beautiful glossy coffee table book full of gorgeous paintings and interesting facts about the artist and 2 Stunning Limited Edition prints all signed numbered and certificated
Edition Size: 595
Size 12 x 11 inches
Medium: Limited Edition Box Set
Delivered to your door well boxed and ready to hang on your wall.
FREE DELIVERY Available on all artwork £250 or more today.
All artwork comes beautifully finished with certificates attached to the back of the painting
Order Today add to the basket and pay securely online.
Or give us a call and we will take your order over the phone.
It Is Your Choice. 020 8529 4406 - 07931330862
If purchasing for a specific date, please let the gallery know in advance so we can try to accommodate your needs


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Your gateway to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville (OLLI) and events is annual membership. Most member benefits are included with your annual membership fee.
M+ = OLLI membership required for participation
M = OLLI membership optional for participation
$ = Tuition or other fee required
ID = University OneCard required
- College for Seniors, a lifelong learning program offering courses during four terms: fall, winter, spring and summer. We offer courses in-person, online and in hybrid (simultaneous in-person/online) formats. M+ $
- Special events and socials where learning and community-building can happen as you share in a musical presentation, attend a lecture or participate in other activities. M+
- Additional workshops and programs focused on specific topics are offered throughout the year, and may be open to members and non-members. M+ M $
- Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) are member-led groups that gather to pursue shared interests such as aging, art, beer/wine, games, gardening, hiking, investment, meditation, music, reading and more. M+
- The OLLI Observer is our weekly electronic newsletter listing upcoming events, news, and other items of interest. M
- OLLIChat, an optional email distribution list run by OLLI volunteers, allows members to exchange general information, or to ask for or to send recommendations or referrals. M+
- Fab Friday lectures are a lunchtime speaker series held during fall, winter and spring terms. M
- Health Education Series lectures, part of the Fab Friday series, highlight speakers who focus on health-related topics. M
- The use of Ramsey Library includes public computers, borrowing books and other resources, and obtaining research assistance. M+ ID
- A campus-parking discount helps OLLI members access not only the Reuter Center but also other facilities on campus. M+ $
- A free Asheville Rides Transit pass, the same benefit that UNC Asheville faculty and staff rely on to get around town. M+ ID
- Discounted meal plans for use at campus dining facilities, including Brown Dining Hall. M+ $
Membership and Parking Fees 2022-2023
OLLI membership and campus-parking fees follow UNC Asheville’s academic year from August 1 to July 31. As an OLLI member, you may purchase a discounted decal whose fees are prorated throughout the year.
- Annual membership: $75 (prorated to $50 before the spring term and $25 before the summer term)
- Annual parking decal (1st car in a household): $100 (prorated to $75 before the winter term, $50 before the spring term and $25 before the summer term)
- Annual additional parking decal (2nd car in a household): $40 (prorated to $30 before the winter term, $20 before the spring term and $10 before the summer term)
Contact the OLLI office at 828.251.6140 or email us for more information.


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The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment executive agency is today hosting an online information event about the second call for proposals to form the basis of the 2021-27 energy program of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) – the bloc's infrastructure initiative aiming to more closely integrate member states.
As part of the CEF energy program, it was announced last week developers of cross-border clean energy projects can access a €1 million fund which will be open to applications until November 30. Applications for backing can be made to the EU funding and tenders portal here.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Dedicated to Their Craft
At Sayville Middle School, Mrs. Jean Galima’s lunch period "Crafted With Love Knit and Crochet Club" continues to create the most beautiful items for donations. Dedicated student crafters have clicked their needles to transform colorful yarn into blankets, hats, scarves, and little stuffed toys.
Recently, as a guest instructor Mrs. Margaret Hunter visited the lunch club to share her hints and stitches. “What a wonderful treat it is to have her spend lunch with us and show the members her projects,” Mrs. Galima remarked, adding: “The crafters could not get over how Mrs. Hunter can knit on a circular needle, making cable stitches and detailed pattern stitches without looking or even referring the pattern.”
During her instruction session, Mrs. Hunter proved that handmade items can last for years when she revealed she was actually wearing a sweater she had made more than 25 years ago—and it was still so stylish. The club members also appreciated all the yarn that Mrs. Hunter had donated on behalf of a friend. “We now have beautiful colors to create amazing granny blankets!” Mrs. Galima exclaimed, echoing the sentiments of her crafters.
Mrs. Galima also wanted to acknowledge the tremendous efforts of students Esra Erdogan, Lara Beth Hirsch, Lia Magliola, Emily Sneddon, Amanda Minutello, Rachel Zarett, Lia Mignolia, Sierra Graygor, Dalen Ferreiri, and Zoe Kalmiris. Thanks to their prolific talent, the “Crafted with Love Club” will have many items to donate. These along, with the pledges of many members who will spend their summer making blankets, will add to the collection of crafts slated for holiday donations in December.


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Identification of adjunctive, oral pharmacotherapies to treat type 1 diabetes (T1D) has been limited by hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis. TTP399 is a liver-selective oral glucokinase activator. In type 2 diabetes (n=190), TTP399 was shown to reduce A1C vs. placebo (PL) -0.9% (p<0.01) without hypoglycemia or ketosis.
The Simplici-T1 trial (NCT03335371) is an adaptive three-part Phase 1b/2 Proof of Concept study of TTP399 as adjunctive therapy for T1D treatment. Safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics were established in a sentinel phase (n=5). In Part 1 (n=19), TTP399 reduced A1C (-0.7%, p=0.03), improved time in range 70-180 mg/dl (TIR; 12%, p=0.04), and reduced bolus insulin vs. PL in patients on insulin pump therapy and continuous glucose monitoring.
In Part 2 (n=85), these data were examined in a broader T1D population. Insulin dose was optimized prior to randomization and throughout the 12 wk double-blind treatment period with specified pre- and post-meal targets. Participants received TTP399 800 mg or matched PL. A1C at randomization was 7.6% (SD 0.6). TTP399 significantly reduced A1C (trial product estimand: -0.32%, 95%CI -0.50, -0.13, p<0.01; ITT: -0.20, 95%CI -0.38, -0.02, p=0.03). A responder analysis (improved A1C; without severe hypoglycemia or increase in insulin dose; nor abnormal beta-hydroxybutyrate or lactic acid) revealed 42% TTP399 responders vs. 12% PL (ITT: p<0.01, hierarchically controlled [HC]). Daytime TIR improved (ITT: 7.81%, 95%CI 0.93, 14.68, p<0.05, HC). Treatment-emergent adverse events were numerically lower with TTP399. No safety signals were identified.
These data suggest that further development of TTP399 as adjunctive therapy in T1D is warranted.
J.B. Buse: Consultant; Self; Cirius Therapeutics, CSL Behring, Neurimmune. Research Support; Self; American Diabetes Association, National Institutes of Health, Novo Nordisk A/S, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Sanofi, Tolerion, Inc., vTv Therapeutics. Stock/Shareholder; Self; Mellitus Health, Pendulum Therapeutics, PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Stability Health. Other Relationship; Self; ADOCIA, AstraZeneca, Dance Biopharm Holdings, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, MannKind Corporation, NovaTarg Therapeutics, Novo Nordisk A/S, Senseonics, Inc, vTv Therapeutics, Zafgen, Inc. K. Klein: None. J.L. Freeman: Employee; Self; vTv Therapeutics. Stock/Shareholder; Self; vTv Therapeutics. Stock/Shareholder; Spouse/Partner; vTv Therapeutics. I. Dunn: None. C. Valcarce: Employee; Self; vTv Therapeutics.
JDRF; vTv Therapeutics; National Institutes of Health (UL1TR002489)

domain: medical


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Exhibition - now until 24th April
What are designer-makers inspired by? Is it the animals, the medium in which they work, or their local landscape - Find out in our spring exhibition 'Inspired'.
Sue gardener - 'Welcome To My World'
76cm x 61cm, Oil painting on Canvas
"Wow, you really feel like you're walking down the path in the woods, it really soaks you in" - Customer of the Gallery, admiring Sue Gardener's vibrant forest oil painting.
Immerse yourself in the realms of colour and fantasy, in the stunning oil paintings of Sue Gardener and mixed media, watercolours by Ingrid Hill. Get close to woodland animal ceramic and driftwood sculptures, handmade by Claire Brierley and Lilly Reid. Be mesmerised by the vast, vibrant skies and sunsets over the sea paintings by Beth Lever and gaze upon the colours of the ocean with Teign Valley's handcrafted, blown glass vases.
Some Of Our Favourites!
40cm x 40cm, Acrylic painting on canvas
Lilly Reid - 'Sleeping Fox'
23cm x 22cm, Handmade ceramic sculpture
Ingrid Hill - 'Morning Promise'
36cm x 10cm, Watercolour painting
Claire Brierley - 'Spring Hare'
42cm x 14cm, Driftwood sculpture
Acrylic paintings on canvas


The influential longtime leader in public broadcasting explains how he built MPR up from a small college station.
Is children’s programming the future of public media?
The early employee of Boston’s WGBH looks back on his career with the science show.
The founder of the Spanish-language radio network explains how he got into public broadcasting.
The longtime public broadcasting leader relates how she came to the field through the civil rights movement.
Hear a wide-ranging conversation with the “Fresh Air” host about the big issues facing public media.
Mitchell was the first employee of NPR and the first producer of “All Things Considered.”
In an interview for our podcast, Stamberg reflects on her long career at the network.
“Fighting for public broadcasting is like fighting for equal rights and equal opportunity for everybody and anybody in this world,” says an early leader in the field.
Should a journalist take to the mic to share a personal story? The short answer: Maybe.


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Some pics taken on my recent trip around Greece in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Some pics taken on my recent trip around Greece in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Been really enjoying Spider-man for the PS4 and decided to share some of the photo’s I took in game.
Just what!? All of them were just waiting to be exploded. Which I was wielding the Orgis, the rocket launcher, they got exploded.
Now this was sweet. A player who is rank 0, so probably only being playing for a few hours, joined a much higher level mission by mistake. But we all worked together and got through it just fine 🙂
I’ve been back on the Kuva fortress recently to farm for a new melee stance called Cyclone Kraken for Machetes (wont mention that the drop tables were broken, so it wasnt even possible to get for a few days) But dam sometimes the sense of depth is amazing
Will finally bite the bullet and type a little something about Warframe. It is a game that I have been playing for over two years now. So I’m at a point where I feel like I know enough to share some frame builds and riven set ups.
But for now I’ll post Warframe happenings. In game captures of moments and silly things I come across.
Sometimes noticing just how pretty the game can be. And yes I’m on Lua, thats right on the moon!
This gif perfectly dipicts how I am feeling about Nier Automata being released next friday. Expect fanboying/a review from moi a week or so afterwards. If the game allows me to sleep of course
And here is the latest in the line of Christmas beers, Bob Sleigh by Bishop Nick. A premium ale at 5.1% (not sure whats so premium about it). This might just be me transitioning back off of nights but I’m not feeling this one. No real smell and nothing much to the flavour. It doesn’t taste bad, just not really any discerning flavour. Which is a shame as I seem to recall having a Bishop Nick Porter earlier on this month and it being good.
On the plus side the Nier Automata demo on PSN is pretty cool. It’s a character action game (Bayonetta, DMC) with some bullet hell elements. As with all character action games, I’m rubbish at it but it was really fun. Now to try and get through all my current games so I can play the original before this is released in March.
The last two main games I have been playing are Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Neither of these are short. So it was nice to finish a game in one sitting. I played this game as the sun was coming up in the morning (work involves a mixture of day and night shifts) and it leant a bit more atmosphere to the game.
Refunct is a first person platformer. I don’t want to go into much more detail as the game is quite short. Not that it’s a bad kind of short. While I could have happily played for a bit longer, it was nice to not see mechanics repeated just for the sake of making the game longer. I finished it in half an hour, but it only costs £1.99. So it will last you the length of a pint and cost half as much.
There is a nice minimalist design to the graphics and presentation. There aren’t even any tutorials which is a nice touch as you are just left to play in the world. The only thing I found odd with the game was a low mouse sensitivity, even when I cranked it up. Then I tried a 360 pad and it stopped being an issue.
All together (it has really nice music too) its a great way to spend some time.
This took a long time to finish. Its a papercraft kit of Metal Gear REX from the Metal Gear Solid series. Some parts were super tricky and as a result I wished I’d looked into getting it printed on A3 card rather than A4.
Below is the slow process of putting it all togather.
First up, this game is not for everyone. Actually, it isn’t much of a game at all. Interative narrative? That fits better but when all you are doing is starting a long series of audio logs there isnt much interaction. This nicely brings me to the start of the mess of thoughts in my head regarding Everyone’s Gone To The Rapture.
Everyone’s Gone To The Rapture is the newest game from The Chinese Room. Previously they have done Dear Esther and Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. This is taking the Dear Esther template and putting it on far larger scale. For those that haven’t played Dear Esther, its about a person walking around finding out more narrative as they move around a rather pretty area of the English coastline area. I picked it up accidentally on a Steam sale (thinking it was To The Moon) but was more than happy with my purchase as it was not like anything I had really come across before. Even if I didn’t fully understand the ending, which, even after checking the Steam forums didn’t help.
Everyone Has Gone To The Rapture starts you off outside an observatory in a small village in Shropshire (now there’s some points for originality). As you start wondering around you eventually trigger a vision. These involve these floaty orange circles representing people while they are talking. So what is this game? As I said before, its not much of a typical game. It involves you the player walking from area to area to trigger different parts of narrative. Thats it. A lot of walking around the countryside triggering floating orange stuff to clue you in on more plot. The plot comes in two flavours. The radios give you information about the scientist in the observatory dealing with whatever has caused the outfall you are currently wondering around. The rest of the plot is from the orange circle approximations of people. While these seem odd at first, the more you dig in, the more there is to learn about the people of the village. I had two issues with this but that just might be me. The first is that I am rubbish with names. So when people are just talking a lot about other people, I find it kind of confusing. The swirling orange discs of people dont help an either! My other issue is that most of this information just isnt interesting. It’s a lot kitchen sink drama. If I wanted this then I would watch a soap opera. It’s not badly done as some parts do resonate well but these only tended to be parts that leaded back to the sci-fi storyline. It is also pretty amusing to hear a lot of West Country accents. I hate to think how it all got localised to different countires.
The graphics and sound are fantastic. While not quite photorealistic the graphics look amazing. The only time they are let down is when the game forces a time of day change. While it is in flux there are some general performace issues, most notibaly the shadows. There was also some hitching during some of the more elborate scenes with the orange ghost data. These might be fine on the pc, i just ran into these on the PS4.
Trying to overview the narrative on this is quite difficult as due to the nature of the game, you can look for as much or as little of the narrative as you want. There is an orange whisp object that will guide you to major points but if your like me you can add hours on to your playtime trying to get all the narrative (which I still didn’t manage).
Personally I find the games length to be a detriment. Where as Dear Esther and Gone Home dont outstay their welcome, I found myself looking at several of the map points in game and thinking “I hope there isn’t much to check out”.
I do find the scope of this project amazing. From modelling homes to pubs to caravans, they have done a spectacular job. I also feel they could have told the same story in a far smaller area. I was constantly walking around trying not to miss anything, and I still did. Plus you do walk hella slow.
I like that there are companies out there trying this sort of narrative expreience, hopefully thier next game will have something more.
A Bird Story is the most recent game from Freebird Games. Their previous game, To The Moon, left a real impact on me with its story telling. So maybe I went into this with expectations set a little too high. I’ll be brief about the plot as its not a long game (my Steam counter clocked me just over an hour). You play a boy that takes in an injured bird. Thats as far as I feel I can go without spoilers.
The graphics look great. I’m a sucker for that SNES style era pixel art. Maybe its because I had an Amiga. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my Amiga but it didn’t have many games that looked quite the way a lot of SNES game looked. Maybe it did and I just never got around to playing those games. Another interesting idea is that the game plays out without any text apart from the title screen.
So its £3.99 for an hours worth of entertainment. Which is reasonable. Some might get into the story more than others, personally I found it to be a little underwhelming but I found myself comparing it to To The Moon which is extremely narrative focused. While I find it hard to recommend A Bird Story, I will continue to look forward to the next game Freebird Games puts out.

domain: game