Nowadays, there are a ton of resources available to learn Japanese, most of which are geared toward the beginner level — providing a platform for new learners to get their feet wet before they move on to more complex material. The most well-known of...
Guest blog written by 2017 Environmental Visual Communication student Cristina Bergman
Every year, 10,000 tonnes of plastic enters the Great Lakes. Imagine 55 jumbo jets of plastic crash landing in the lakes each year. In this province alone, 3 billion plastic bottles are sold annually, but only half are recycled. The other 1.5 billion bottles end up in landfills or littering the environment. As the only province that borders the Great Lakes, Ontario has an obligation to protect this vast, irreplaceable resource. But is the province stepping up?
In 1981, Ontario’s Blue Box program debuted in Kitchener, ON. It was the world’s first curbside recycling program and a blueprint for recycling programs in more than 150 countries around the world. The Blue Box program provides service to more than 13 million Ontarians and over 97% of households.There is no doubt that this program has diverted millions of tonnes of waste, but two issues are clear. First, 1.5 billion plastic bottles end up in landfills or littering the environment each year—not into a blue bin or another recycling program. Second, Ontario has had the lowest overall recycling rates in the country since 2004.
A container deposit system is one which the consumer pays a deposit on the bottle or packaging upon purchase (usually between 5-20 cents). When the bottle is returned to a designated location, the consumer is refunded the deposit. Ontarians are familiar with this system as a result of the ‘Bag it Back’ initiative for alcohol containers introduced in 2007.
An international study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers AG WPG concluded curbside collection and recycling systems achieve lower recycling rates than deposit systems. According to this study, the collection rates (return rates) of beverage containers collected through deposit systems are over 80% on average and, in some countries, higher than 95%.
In Canada, deposit return systems and recycling rates are also aligned. Where deposit systems exist across the country, recycling rates average more than 80%. As you can see on the graph below, Ontario and Manitoba are the only provinces without deposit return systems for non-alcoholic beverage containers, and they have the lowest overall recycling rates in the country. As a result, a growing number of voices are urging Ontario’s provincial government to introduce a container deposit system for single-use plastic bottles.
Currently, the management and funding of Ontario’s Blue Box program is shared evenly between municipalities and the producers of the packaging materials that end up in curbside Blue Boxes (or the “stewards”). Meaning, 50% of the funding comes from industry, while the other 50% comes from the taxpayer.
Recently, industry has been encouraged by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Chris Ballard, to improve recycling rates in the province of Ontario. On August 14, 2017, he issued a letter directing Stewardship Ontario and the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority to prepare an amended Blue Box program plan by February 15, 2018. This amended Plan will result in individual producer responsibility, meaning the stewards will be 100% financially responsible for Ontario’s Blue Box program. By taking full financial responsibility for their products, the province hopes to encourage producers to further consider the end-life of their packaging.
The power has been placed in the hands of industry to determine what this new Blue Box program will look like and whether or not a plastic bottle deposit system is in the cards for the province of Ontario. Every single day they delay, another 4 million bottles are ending up in landfills and littering the environment in this province alone. These are valuable resources that can be converted in to other products such as park benches or public garbage bins that are treated as trash. But is industry up to the task? And why do they need a “push”?
Environmental Defence is one of the organizations advocating for a plastic bottle deposit system in the province. In an interview with their water campaign manager, Ashley Wallis, explains the complications they have faced getting big bottle companies on board.
Environmental Defence focuses on issues of protecting freshwater resources. Ashley Wallis states "a plastic bottle deposit system is a tangible solution for improving Ontario’s recycling rates and reducing plastic pollution…With a plastic bottle deposit system, Environmental Defence hopes that the revenue generated by the unredeemed deposits (i.e. the deposits from bottles that weren’t returned for refund) will go to a provincial environmental fund that will support initiatives that will improve the health of the Great Lakes.”
If Ontario had a 10-cent deposit on plastic bottles and achieved an 80 per cent recycling rate, over $100 million a year in unredeemed deposits could be generated and spent cleaning up the lakes.
In May, Ashley wrote an op-ed for the Hamilton Spectator offering a deposit system as a potential solution to increase funding for the lakes. Jim Goetz, president of the Canadian Beverage Association (CBA), wrote a letter to the editor in response. According to Ashley, the letter “was full of misleading industry talking points and inaccurate arguments. She has since released a series of blogs ‘debunking’ the beverage industry’s claims.
In June, Environmental Defence reached out to the largest bottlers in Ontario, Canada Dry Mott’s, Cott Beverages Canada, Red Bull, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, to invite them to the table to discuss supporting a plastic bottle deposit system. In response, they received a letter from their trade association, the CBA, stating they do not believe a plastic bottle deposit system is the right solution. They believe “a more practical option is to build on the success of the Blue Box program in Ontario, which beverage companies are helping to do right now.”
I contacted three of the top bottlers, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Pepsi to ask what their perspective is on a plastic bottle deposit system. I received a response from Nestlé and Coca-Cola stating my question has been forwarded to their trade association (the CBA), but received no response from Pepsi.
I then contacted the CBA and spoke with their senior director of communications, Jeff Rutledge. Jeff stated: “The CBA and our members are committed to our responsibility under the Waste-Free Ontario Act and are focused on increasing the recovery rate of beverage containers while supporting efforts to increase overall waste diversion rates in Ontario and across Canada…In the province of Manitoba, the CBA has improved recovery rates of materials by 28% in just six years by providing away-from-home and multi-residential recycling infrastructure.” They did not comment on whether or not they support a deposit system, or what they are doing to improve recycling in the province of Ontario.
While a 28% increase in recovery rates in Manitoba over six years is a significant accomplishment, Manitoba had very few public garbage bins and no multi-residential recycling (i.e. no recycling in apartments and condos). These initiatives have improved ‘recovery rates’, but Manitoba’s 'recycling rates' still remain the second lowest in the country at 55%. ‘Recovery rates’ are simply the amount of waste that has been collected. A significant amount of this waste still ends up being diverted to landfill due to food and other contaminants. ‘Recycling rates’ include items that have been collected and will be repurposed and/or converted into other products.
Unlike Manitoba, Ontario already has well-established multi-residential and away-from-home recycling initiatives, yet still has the lowest recycling rates in the country. The CBA is committed to improving the Blue Box program, but are not supportive of a plastic bottle deposit system. However, single-use plastic bottles are generally designed to be consumed on the go and are largely disposed of in public waste bins not curbside recycling programs. The province needs another tangible solution to stop the 1.5 billion bottles annually from ending up in our landfills, littering the environment or making their way into our lakes.
The ball has now been placed in the court of industry to come up with a solution by February 15, 2018. Unfortunately, they do not currently support a plastic bottle deposit system, which is the most effective system for achieving high recycling rates and increasing the after-life of materials. If this is a system Ontarians would like to see in the future, pressure needs to be put on industry in the coming weeks as they generate the revised Blue Box plan. If their customers openly support a plastic bottle deposit system, these organizations will too and we can take the steps necessary to preserving our lakes for generations to come.
It’s the season of New Year’s resolutions, and for 2018 Ontario’s resolution needs to be about stopping the more than 4 million plastic bottles a day from ending up in landfills and littering our environment. By giving this ‘garbage’ value, we can decrease the detrimental impact it is having on our ecosystems.
Ok, saying it’s “moist like a French vagina” is sexist and uncalled for. Rather, it’s moist like any nationality of vaginal or penile secretion. The crust is all crusty and flaky and nice whereas the filling is liquid. How liquid depends on how much agar agar you add. I’m keeping it very liquid, like those fast-food apple pies that burn your tongue.
Instructions from France
The dough
6 dl of flour
250 g of butter
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
6 tablespoons of ice water (or a little more if needed)
Mix salt, sugar and flour in a bowl
Dice the butter and mix with the dry mix. Use your fingers and just squeeze it over and over again until the flour mix has a sand like texture. Have you ever made scones? Well, that way.
Put some ice cubes in the water to keep it cold. Add a little water at a time, and incorporate it with the flour and butter mix. Why cold? Because you don’t want the butter to melt! When the dough comes together, don’t add any more water. You want a hard ball of dough that you cut into two. So… Two balls of dough!
Wrap the dough balls in plastic and put them in the refrigerator for at least an hour
Peach filling poured into the pie crust
The filing
5 kg of peaches
1 vanilla pod
Half a stick of cinnamon
3 dl of sugar
2 tablespoons of agar agar (you can use gelatine, but it gives a somewhat different texture when it sets, more of a gelatinous thing… derived from the word gelatine… so… yeah)
Two pinches of salt
Juice from half a lemon
Peel the peaches and cut them into nice chunks.
Put them in a sieve over a saucepan and sprinkle with salt and sugar and coat them with it by stirring them around
The peaches will release liquid into the saucepan.
Now, set the peaches aside
As for the liquid in the saucepan, cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape its content out. Put the content as well as the pod halves into the liquid. Add half a cinnamon stick. And the lemon juice.
Boil the liquid until about half evaporates.
Add agar-agar and make sure it dissolves
Remove the cinnamon stick and the vanilla pod, and mix the now reduced liquid with the peaches
The top nicesly attached
The assembly and baking
Peach filling
Two cold dough balls
Milk
Pine nuts
Set oven to 180 degrees C.
Roll the dough balls into two somewhat round and thin (about 0,5 cm) pizzas
Place on of them in a pie tin. A pro tip here… Roll it up on the rolling pin and roll it out over the pie tin.
Use your fingers to push the pie dough down onto the pie tin, up on the edges. Cut of excess dough and use it to fill in any holes you might have created because you suck at handling the dough!
Now, some would add weights (e.g. beans) and prebake the bottom half of the pie. I don’t do that because I’m lazy and I don’t really think the bottom is that soggy from not doing it. So I just pour the peach filling in here.
For the top layer, I sprinkle some pine nuts on top and push them in by rolling the ruling pin over it. No need to but I like them. Now put the top layer on top, and make sure to seal it nicely.
Smear the whole top with fat milk. Why? Because it gives a nice feel to it.
Into the oven, and let it bake for about 75 minutes. If it’s too brown before you reach 75 minutes, put some tin foil on top to protect it from direct heat.
Take the pie out and let it cool so that the agar agar sets. Remember, it’s still liquid (unless you added more, then you’ll have a firmer texture)
Meanwhile, whip some cream. No need to add sugar, just whip it as is. The pie is sweet enough
Le public de la région concernée doit porter une attention particulière aux conditions météorologiques potentiellement dangereuses et prendre les mesures de sécurité qui s'imposent. Émise à: 12h42 HAE dimanche 19 juillet 2020
My language learning philosophy is “always give 80%”.
Wait. What? Let me explain.
Yoga class helps keep me sane. Mostly, I think it’s because of my yoga teacher, Marie.
[caption id="attachment_24851" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Photo by Betty Chan[/caption]
She’s a very hip thirtysomething small business owner, mom, yoga teacher and part-time voice of the universe all rolled into one. I’d like to share one bit of her wisdom with you today: Always give 80%.
If you are like me, that will sound absolutely insane.
I was raised in the era of “go strong or go home.” I can’t even tell you how many times I attempted to give 110% only to fail because, let’s face it, that is not mathematically possible.
Here’s What 110% Looked Like for Me
A deadline is looming. So, I’ll skip a meal, sleep less, cross off all self-care from my to-do list and push through until the project is finished.
Fast forward to one week past the deadline and you would see an exquisite vision of me: sick in bed with a runny nose, used tissues filling my wastebasket and a grumpy facial expression because I’m missing out on all the fun. My vision of a 110% success ends with a 100% chance of me saddled with illness.
For many language learners, 110% equals complete burnout. Learning 50 words a day for 30 days is often followed by never touching that target language again. Are you an overachiever turned dropout? Some of the tips in this article can help.
How My Life is Different With the 80% Rule
The 80% output rule helps me live a more fulfilling, manageable life. It even changed my language learning habit. My seemingly slow but steady progress has astonished many people including me. More on that in a bit.
What is the 80% Rule?
My yoga teacher Marie explains the 80% rule when going into a new pose for the first time during a session. She’ll usually have us try the pose firstly at 50% of our range. Then she’ll guide us a second time at 60-70%. Lastly, she tells us that if we’re feeling especially limber to go to 80% but never more than that.
As one friend tells me, I’m pretty bendy. The idea of not keeping up with the young whippersnappers in the room is not something that comes easily to me. My internal dialogue left unfettered goes something like this, “I want to touch my forehead to my knee. I will touch my forehead to my knee!” And then I hear Marie’s feathery voice float through the room, “This is not about a physical goal, yogis. We are here to honor our bodies exactly as they are in this moment.”
Ah, yes. Honor my body. Dignity with grace. Practicing self-care by getting to 80% of my expectations.
My brain recalibrates. I go to 80% of my range. Sometimes, that happens to include the forehead to knee experience. Other times, it doesn’t and I get to be middle of the road physically while excelling spiritually by accepting where I’m at.
How I Use the 80% Rule in Daily Life
I glide out of the yoga studio yoga taking with me the lesson of 80%. The next day, I’m smack dab in the middle of feeling overwhelmed. Sleep wasn’t the best. I booked my day with more than I can handle peacefully. My old pattern would be to cut out all things beautiful and lovely in my life. Language learning would have been at the top of the list.
With the 80% rule, things are different now. On the walk to my first appointment, I call a trusted friend and leave a quick message of affirmation for myself, “Hi. It’s Elizabeth. I’m exhausted and feeling overwhelmed today. I commit to doing just 80% of what I think I need to bring to the table. I give myself permission to do the bare minimum throughout the day and I promise to practice self-care by keeping my acupuncture appointment today. One more thing, I’m going to doing just five minutes of my grammar exercises instead of my planned 15. That’s enough for today. Thanks for letting me share.”
Reframing my expectations of energetic output helps me do more good in the world while also staying healthy and less stressed. 80% is the new black for me. When I let go of the need to always do my absolute best, I find that the potential for creative flow moves through me with ease.
80% in Language Learning
I had a strong foundation in my 80% rule before starting language learning. Otherwise, learning French would have been yet another avenue of self-induced stress leading to complete burnout. And if you want to become fluent in a new language, burnout is not an option.
My modus operandus is list-making. If someone gives me a list of what they’ve done to accomplish my current goal, all the better. However, that doesn’t work in language learning.
Here’s why:
No Two Language Learners Are the Same
My language learning friend in San Francisco likes to translate poems. She thrives on this.
Now, if I try to sit down and translate poetry, my brain goes on strike. My mind is filled with a crowd of picket signs, “Hey, Hey. Ho, Ho! Translating Poems Has Got To GO!”
My language exchange partner in France thinks five-minute podcasts in her target language are the best. I prefer podcasts longer than 15 minutes because I’m usually on a walk and I don’t like fiddling with my phone.
My polyglot language exchange partner in Belgium speaks five languages but hates grammar books. Does that mean I have to throw out my beloved Language Hacking French book? Absolutely not.
Take What Works and Leave the Rest
When I began learning French last year, I read nearly every article on Fluent in 3 Months. After failing 10 times at learning a language, I was not interested in yet another disappointment. Benny Lewis and Kerstin Cable became my two favorite people while chopping veggies in my kitchen. I’d listen to Benny’s amazing Q&As on YouTube and Kerstin’s entertaining podcast The Fluent Show.
I happen to be the world’s slowest cook and not in the fashionable slow-cook-movement way but rather in the mortal-fear-of-cutting-a-finger way. So, I have lots of free time for filling my brain with interesting talks. Nowadays, I listen to Kerstin and Benny as a treat because nearly all my podcast listening and TV watching is in French. Thank you, Netflix and Français Authentique!
Standing on the Shoulders Of Giants
During this very early stage of my language learning, I was taking notes. With the Fluent in 3 Monthsarchive and my Fluent in 3 Months Premium membership, I learned that acquiring a second language was completely doable even if I had a job. Even if I was a grown-up with a busy life. Even if I failed 10 times before this attempt. Benny gave me hope. It was here that I first heard about Duolingo and italki teachers.
Being a good student, I scheduled italki trial lessons with three teachers before I did anything else. Armed with Duolingo and my teacher, I started speaking from day one. Okay, I wrote that because that’s the name of the method. In reality, I started speaking from day five because I had to schedule my lessons on my days off. “Speak from day five” just doesn’t have the same twinkling ring to it.
I found Kerstin from an interview she did with Benny. From her, I learned about finding your own study style, touching the four cornerstones of language (reading, writing, speaking, listening) and slowing down the pace to what works for you. She’s a slow cook learner whereas as Benny is more high velocity.
And that’s where I had to take what works and leave the rest. I am too much of a turtle to take on the level of study Benny was doing, but his organized approach composed sonnets for my list-making soul.
Kerstin’s a bit of rebel when it comes to scheduling what to study when, and that totally freaks me and my day planner out. She’s more of a weekly/monthly planner. So, I take her sage wisdom about self-compassion with me while firmly grasping on to my daily checklist.
But how do I incorporate the 80% rule to my language learning?
Okay, calm down. I’m getting to it.
Take One Expectation and Chop That Mamma Jamma Down
If you’re like me, you often put too much on your plate. I’ve lost a lot of joy trying to do it the right way, the best way, the smartest way. For me, the smartest way is if I’m invigorated by my work.
Having expectations thats cause me undue stress zaps the zest out of any activity. So, I chop those mamma jammas down! Here are some practical ways I’ve resized my expectations into reasonable chunks.
How Assimil Broke Me -- Then I Broke It!
I bought the Assimil French With Ease book because I finished my favorite beginner book, Language Hacking French, and wanted to continue with a bit of grammar study. The instructions in the book told me to do one exercise a day for the length of the book. I think it was something like 113 lessons. Opening my new book, I was amazed by how thorough the lessons were.
By week two, I was beginning to grumble to myself every time I sat down to open the book. By week four, I was complaining to my study buddy about how the authors of Assimil are pure evil. By week five, it dawned on me. Assimil is not a malicious book of brain torture. I’m just bored with my daily routine. It didn’t interest me.
So, I chopped the expectation down. I started doing only one Assimil lesson per week. Suddenly, I looked forward to finishing the book. It was as if someone gave me permission to truly relish the lessons. And wonder of wonders, the Assimil police didn’t come knocking on my door. With that being stated, if you don’t hear from me in a week, they might just be reading this blog. (Insert spooky suspenseful music here.)
I Want to Speak French, Spanish and Chinese -- All to Intermediate Level -- Right Now!
Ahh, B2! The upper intermediate level! My very own holy grail.
Why? Because a video with Benny Lewis and Olly Richards told me so. I want to learn Spanish, and eventually, Chinese.
During my carrot-cutting listening time, I kept an ear out for what the real deal polyglots had to say about learning a third language. Many (including Olly and Benny) suggest learning your current target language up to level B2 before embarking upon a new language. That made sense to me because I wasn’t quite ready to give up half of my French time to Spanish. I really enjoy French. However, I was impatient. After all, I wasted 30+ years unsuccessfully trying to learn languages. I want it all and I want it now.
And it was with that completely irrational mental state that I made my first fluency goal: I will reach a B2 level in French in six months. Then I started looking for DELF exams in my area. Within three months, I was beginning to panic. There was no way I could pass a B2 exam in three months time, I was going too slow. Shoulders up around my ears, frown on my face, I had to change something. Light shining down from the heavens, I became momentarily enlightened.
“Wait just a gosh-darn minute! I don’t need to reach B2 by January. I’m doing this for fun. I can stay focused and also settle down a bit.” Oh, sweet relief! I then looked at what I wanted to do. I had already reached some of my goals.
I Want to Read an ENTIRE Book in French
This actually turned out to be one of my more realistic goals.
I wanted to read an entire book in French by the end of the first year and I did that within the first few months thanks to LingQ.
Reading is a favorite pastime of mine in English, so I just switched it over to French. I read much slower but I’ve read 17 books in French in that last 16 months. And my passive vocabulary has exploded which is, of course, seeping into my active vocabulary!
I also wanted to converse easily with people in my target language. As I was already having bumpy French conversations with my teacher, this goal was well on its way to being achieved.
Lightbulb Moment: You Can Change Your Goals!
After a few months of learning, I re-evaluated my goals. I realized that;
I hate taking exams. Why on earth am I doing that to myself?
Speaking with others really motivates me. Why don’t I do that more?
I can change my deadline again and again if necessary.
And so, I added weekly language exchanges with three lovely people who have now become lasting friends. I also moved my deadline of B2 to one year. After re-evaluating once again, I moved my B2 goal to 2 years. Regardless of hitting an official B2 by the two-year mark, I’ll begin my Spanish journey confidently because I will have had two very solid years of touching French every single day before moving forward in my polyglot-to-be journey.
My teachers tell me that I’m very close to a B2 level in French and I still have five more months of enjoying my serious study of French without the self-imposed (aka unnecessary) pressure. And my hobby is quite fulfilling now because I have gained so much already.
My Ultimate Goal (And Why Right Now I’ll Settle for Adorably Funny)
My ultimate goal is to be conversationally fluent in French. Here’s the kicker. Fluency is relative. If you plopped me down in France today, I would be able to not only order my breakfast. I could actually make friends with relative ease. At my current level of French, I’d be the adorably funny foreign chick, but that works for me.
Over to You
What expectations do you need to chop down? I’m interested in hearing about your moments of enlightenment.
Comme Pokémon GO se joue toujours partout dans le monde, Sarah Elliott, notre productrice de contenu éducatif, a pensé à vous donner plus de détails sur les PokéStops situés un peu partout au Musée. Certains joueurs ont pu constater que le GPS du jeu n’est pas aussi précis qu’ils auraient aimé. Voici donc une liste de PokéStops en lien avec le ROM et un peu plus de renseignements à leur sujet.
Le champ de bataille du Cristal
Le gym du ROM se trouve au sommet du Cristal Michael Lee-Chin. L’architecte Daniel Libeskind a fait un croquis de cette structure massive en aluminium et en verre sur des serviettes en papier alors qu’il assistait à un mariage familial au Musée. Il aura fallu des années, 3500 tonnes d’acier, 38 tonnes de boulons et 9000 mètres cubes de béton pour ériger le Cristal, dont la construction a été terminée en 2007. À l’intérieur, vous y trouverez des dinosaures, des œuvres d’art et des objets venant d’Afrique, des Amériques et de l’Asie-Pacifique, ainsi que des expositions phares telles que Chihuly.
Le dino gigantesque
Ce dinosaure devrait être facile à trouver; il s’agit du plus gros dinosaure exposé au Canada! Appelé Futalognkosaurus dukei, il mesurait plus de 33 mètres de longueur et pesait autant que 10 éléphants. Les fossiles de ce dinosaure ont été découverts en Argentine. Le dinosaure du Musée est une réplique, un moulage du dinosaure original. Des spécialistes du moulage ont mesuré les fossiles originaux et ont ensuite créé le squelette en fibre de verre et en plastique qui orne le Musée.
Les lions gardiens chinois
Les lions gardiens chinois ont souvent changé de place en dépit de leur poids énorme. Chaque lion pèse 17 tonnes! Ils ont été sculptés à l’origine en Chine, au 17e siècle, et servaient de protecteurs et de défenseurs d’un domaine royal avant de veiller sur notre Galerie de la Chine en 1923. Par la suite, ils ont élu domicile dans un jardin extérieur, dans une galerie, dans un nouveau jardin extérieur et finalement, toujours à l’extérieur, mais là où ils se trouvent présentement depuis 2003, lorsque la construction du Cristal a commencé. Pouvez-vous différencier les lions? Le mâle pose sa patte sur une boule décorée, tandis que la femelle joue avec son petit qui mordille ses griffes.
L’histoire de deux empereurs
Lucius Verus a régné sur Rome de l’an 161 jusqu’à sa mort en 169 de notre ère, mais pas seul. L’empereur Antonin le Pieux l’a choisi comme héritier et son frère adoptif Marc Aurèle l’a nommé coempereur. Lucius a d’ailleurs marié la fille de Marc Aurèle. Des bustes comme celui-ci auraient embelli les places publiques pour que la population puisse reconnaître l’empereur et se rende compte de son allure imposante. Lucius Verus se considérait lui-même comme le plus bel empereur de tous. Il ajoutait même de la poudre d’or à ses cheveux et à sa barbe! Pouvez-vous voir qu’un trépan a été utilisé pour sculpter sa chevelure si réaliste?
A Famous Pharaoh
Thoutmosis III, le neveu de la reine et pharaonne Hatchepsout, a gouverné l’Égypte de 1479 à 1425 avant notre ère. Il est connu pour ses campagnes militaires qui ont étendu l’empire égyptien jusqu’en Asie et en Afrique. Selon une légende, il aurait conquis la ville de Joppé en prétendant se rendre et en offrant des paniers et des sacs de denrées alimentaires à la ville en guise de tribut. Les citoyens ne se doutaient absolument pas que ce « cadeau » renfermait des soldats égyptiens prêts à bondir et à prendre la ville!
La déesse grecque
Voici une réplique d’une célèbre statue grecque en bronze réalisée il y a environ
2 400 ans. Nous savons maintenant qu’il s’agit d’Aphrodite, la déesse de l’amour et de la beauté, même si la statue n’a plus de tête. Elle porte un vêtement grec appelé chiton, qui s’attache sur une épaule, et des sandales aux pieds. Pouvez-vous voir le himation, un manteau court et épais drapé sur son dos? De sa main droite, elle le tire pour cacher ses cheveux. Sa main gauche (manquante) devait tenir une pomme selon un mythe populaire grec.
Un don généreux
L’aile de la famille Weston tire son nom de la famille Galen Weston (propriétaire de Loblaws) en guise de remerciement pour l’aide apportée à l’agrandissement et aux rénovations du Musée. Dans l’aile de la famille Weston, laissez-vous inspirer par l’art et l’architecture européens, explorez les galeries réunissant des roches, minéraux, météorites et pierres précieuses, et découvrez comment les gens vivaient au début du Canada. Cette aile abrite également le Studio ROMjeunes et les nombreux programmes pour la famille, ainsi que l’Entrée des groupes scolaires Le Choix du Président, où l'équipe de l'éducation du ROM accueille les groupes scolaires.
Viser les étoiles
De 1968 à 1995, le dôme en béton de cet édifice abritait le « Théâtre des étoiles » où les visiteurs pouvaient assister à des représentations sur les étoiles et les planètes qui nous entourent. Dans les années 1980, les visiteurs du soir pouvaient danser tout en profitant d’un spectacle avec jeu de laser sous le dôme. Même si le planétarium appartient maintenant à l’Université de Toronto, le Musée continue d’amener les visiteurs dans l’espace lors de ses programmes scolaires, son planétarium gonflable et ses vitrines de météorites dans les Galeries Teck.
Voici un message de notre chef de la sécurité au sujet de l’utilisation de Pokémon GO dans le Musée. Soyez prudents!
It's gonna get a little weird, gonna get a little wild, I ain't from 'round here; I'm...
What can I say about the InstruMMents’ dimensioning pen that you haven’t heard before? The pen’s revolutionary design took over the internet, spawning thousands of videos and millions of likes across social media.
The InstruMMents pen uses the right kind of technology to upgrade an age old user experience. The pen replaces the trusty-old yet potentially-frustrating measuring tape, presenting itself as a vastly smaller, and infinitely more powerful alternative. Using a magnetic roller and a guiding light, the dimensioning pen can measure everything from straight lines, to curves and even corners. It doesn’t have an end, like a tape, so you can go on and on for meters (feet, if you don’t like the metric system!). The pen is accurate to the nearest 0.1mm, and syncs with your phone to display and even record measurements. The pen comes with a sensor that allows you to capture contours of the things you measure, so it doesn’t act as just a scale, it acts as a contour gauge too.
Aside from the pretty amazing measuring tech, the pen lives up to its name by actually fulfilling its duties as a writing instrument. It comes with pen/pencil/stylus attachments that you can easily flip between, based on your need. These attachments plug right into the InstruMMents’ measuring module, and if you don’t want either of them, you can even choose the necklace attachment that allows you to have the dimensioning module hanging off your neck, ready to seamlessly gauge, calculate, calibrate and quantify any type of distance… in a way that’ll make all your designer/architect friends supremely jealous!
You’ve seen a lot of vehicles inspired by cheetahs, jaguars, leopards, even the stallion. However, the Yamaha Nazo chooses to look at the gorilla instead. The Nazo’s frame does great justice to the gorilla’s form, with the frontal leaning posture and the heavy forearm inspired front fork.
Plus, the silver and brown combo work brilliantly well, matching the hide of the silver-backed gorilla. Loving this!
I think a lot of it is fear mongering! magafeed.com/fearmongering-vs-reality/
I am going to the Women's March in DC this Saturday
because this election and the upcoming administration feels like an assault on everything I believe.
I wanted to make a protest sign to articulate all of my thoughts, all of my reasons for protesting.
I say
No-- to a man who boasts about grabbing women and girls by their private parts, who views women and girls as objects to rate and denigrate, who thinks it's disgusting when women breastfeed or have to go to the bathroom, who jokes about dating his own daughter, who calls women he doesn't like pigs, who parades into dressing rooms of underage girls and thinks that's funny and his right because he was born wealthy
No-- to a man who mocks people who have disabilities
No-- to a man who disparages people of color and people who are Muslim and people from other countries and people who are refugees and immigrants
No-- to a man who encourages his supporters to look at others with suspicion, to harm others, to bully others
No-- to a man who calls veterans losers and insults the parents of war heroes who gave their lives for this country and shows disdain for soldiers who suffer from PTSD
No-- to a man who threatens journalists, who wants to silence his critics
No-- to a man who shows contempt for Science, who doesn't believe in Climate Change
No-- to a man who tweets insults and bullies citizens who disagree with him
No-- to a man who surrounds himself with white supremacists, who takes advice from billionaires and Oligarchs and Russian leaders
No-- to a man who mocks the poor
No-- to a man who misleads his supporters, who makes promises he can't possibly keep, who wants to make America great again but can't explain what that means or WHEN that means and refuses to level with his supporters that it is impossible to go back to a mythical time when everything was "great" because everything WASN'T great for everyone.
No-- to a narcissist who can't empathize with anyone but himself, who has done real damage to most of the people he has come in contact with-- black people who he denied apartments to, women he sexually assaulted, workers he refused to pay, students he misled in his fake university, and all of us he has lied to-- about his status as a billionaire, about who he owes money to, about his multiple bankruptcies, about his many scams, about his entanglements with Russia--
But, all of that wouldn't fit on my sign.
So I just wrote this:
When I return from the March, the real work begins. That is when I will say Yes to actively working against him and every monstrous thing he stands for.
Torna a tremare la terra in centro Italia. Tre forti scosse. Il sisma è stato localizzato a 4 chilometri da L’Aquila, 38 da Teramo, 50 da Terni, 64 da Foligno, 73 da Montesilvano, 77 da Chieti, 79 da Pescara, 95 da Perugia, 96 da Viterbo, 97 da Roma. I comuni più vicini all’epicentro sono Montereale (AQ), Capitignano (AQ), Campotosto (AQ) e Amatrice (RI). La zona del terremoto è “purtroppo nota, è un valore che può creare qualche problema alle infrastrutture già compromesse, anche se non ci attendiamo molti crolli. In quelle zone sta nevicando da diverse ore, la situazione è complicata”. Così il capo della Protezione civile, Fabrizio Curcio. Successivamente sono state avvertite altre due forti scosse, rispettivamente di magnitudo 5.4 e 5.3. A Roma chiusa la metropolitana per verifiche tecniche.
La prima, di magnitudo 5.3 è stata registrata alle 10.25 a 111 km dalla Capitale. L’epicentro si trova a tre chilometri da Montereale, nella zona dell’Aquila, a 4 km da Capitignano e a 9 km da Campotosto e Amatrice nel reatino. La seconda scossa è stata invece avvertita verso le 11.15. Secondo una prima stima dell’Ingv dovrebbe avere una magnitudo 5.4. Il terremoto è stato registrato nella stessa zona della prima scossa. La terza forte scossa, “subito successiva a quella delle 11,15 è stata di magnitudo 5.3 ed è avvenuta a 10 chilometri più a Sud rispetto alla prima di stamattina delle 10,25” la sismologa dell’Ingv Paola Montone. “Il centro più vicino all’epicentro di questa terza scossa -riferisce ancora Montone- è Capitignano, sempre nell’area de L’Aquila”.
“Ci sono stati dei crolli e sono in corso le verifiche da parte delle forze dell’ordine”, ha affermato il sindaco di Montereale (L’Aquila) Massimiliano Giorgi sottolineando che “la situazione è critica. C’è il terremoto, c’è la neve. C’è difficoltà nei soccorsi perché la statale 260 dall’Aquila è bloccata per un autotreno di traverso”.
Tutte e tre le scosse sono state avvertite a Roma dove molte scuole sono state evacuate. E’ stata chiusa anche la metropolitana. Inoltre è stata chiusa anche la A24, tra Valle del Salto e Teramo est: sono in corso verifiche tecniche sulle strutture dell’autostrada.
Il premier Paolo Gentiloni è in contatto continuo con il capo della Protezione Civile Fabrizio Curcio e ha sentito il commissario Vasco Errani e il ministro della Difesa Roberta Pinotti.
Jett apporte un kit d'archéologie à Akiiki, un garçon Egyptien. Ils vont sur un site de fouilles et utilisent les outils pour l'explorer. Ils finissent par se retrouver coincés au sommet d'une pyramide géante. Dizzy utilise sa corde de sauvetage pour les
Ich habe schon Deutsch gelernt. Also einrennst du offene Türen.
Have you ever wondered “should I learn German?” or “why learn German?”
There are plenty of good reasons to learn how to speak German.
Deutsch was the fourth language I learned to speak fluently. I got to spend three months living in Berlin, Europe’s capital of cool. I met some amazing people, and made some lifelong friends. I loved every minute of my three month German mission.
I’ve worked hard to maintain German fluency in the years since I completed the mission. It’s a language I love, and I think you would too if you learned it.
Not sure whether you should study German? Here are 10 great reasons to study German.
1. You'll Find a Whole New Internet
Got a personal blog that’s missing an audience? Perhaps you should consider writing it in German, as well as your own language.
Germans have a dominant Internet presence. Germany’s top-level country domain of .de used to be second only in the world to .com. In 2016 it ranked at around fifth, coming in after .com, .ru (Russia), .net and .org.
Some 5.8% of websites are written in German, just behind Russian’s 5.9%.
There’s a whole new Internet to be discovered for German speakers. Do you really want to miss out?
2. You Can Attend University in Germany for $0.00
Who says you have to spend a fortune to get a decent education?
It costs £9,000+ a year to study in the UK. American students, meanwhile, can end up saddled with a six-figure student loan.
In Germany? Tuition is free in most universities. Some institutions charge around €500 a semester.
And there’s no sacrifice in quality that comes with that. Many German universities are in the world’s top 100.
How has Germany got rid of fees? Two ways. First, a smaller percentage of students go to college – 27% percent, compared to the UK’s 48%. On top of that, universities are paid for by German taxpayers.
What about international students? In countries such as the UK, USA and Australia, degrees often cost twice as much for foreign students as they do for nationals. Astonishingly, this is not the case in Germany. Both domestic and international students benefit from a free education on undergraduate courses. Switzerland and Austria also offer education for much lower fees than elsewhere in the world.
What’s the catch? Although some courses are offered in English a large percentage are taught in German. Applicants have to prove their proficiency in German.
Why not learn German and get a free education?
3. Mozart
What do Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Schumann and Wagner have in common? Apart from being famous composers, they all spoke and wrote in German.
Bringing things into the present, I’m sure you’ve heard of the likes of Rammstein, Kraftwerk and Milky Chance. These bands sing in German and English.
While we’re on the arts, some 80,000 new books are published in Germany each year. Only a small percentage of these are translated into other languages. All these books are only accessible to those who have a fluent grasp of German.
Plus, you’ll be able to read Kafka and Goethe as they were originally written, with nothing lost in translation.
4. Want to Make Money? Learn German
Did you know that Germany is the largest European trading partner with the US (and has a ranking of fifth overall)? Germany exports everything from vehicles and machines, to chemical products and metals.
If you’re interested in pursuing or strengthening a career in business, you’ll stand yourself in good stead by knowing the native language of your German business partners.
5. German is Easy for English Speakers to Learn
Here’s a little known fact: German and English belong to the same language family tree. That's why German is easy for English speakers.
Unlike French, Italian and Spanish, which are Romance languages, both English and German belong to the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. Some German words and expressions are still used regularly in English, such as angst, kindergarten and kitsch.
English was later influenced by French, Greek and Latin. However, if you strip English back to basics, the language most resembles German. Not convinced? Look at words such as Bruder (brother), Wasser (water) and Freund (friend).
You’ll be surprised by how many words you already know if you choose to learn German as a foreign language. If you’re an English speaker learning German, you’re at an advantage.
6. German is the Most Spoken Native Language in the European Union
With an estimated 175-200 million speakers worldwide, German is the eleventh most widely spoken language in the world. Considering that Germany is a country with a population of about 80 million people (compared to the US population of over 300 million), that’s nothing to scoff at.
Some 95 million people speak German as a first language, meaning there are around as many speakers of German as a second language as there are native speakers. Talking of native speakers, German is the native language of Germany, Austria and a decent chunk of Switzerland. As a result, German has the largest number of native speakers within the EU. That’s why, along with English and French, German is an official language of the European Union.
Many people in Central and Eastern Europe choose to learn German as a second language. Outside the EU, it’s the third most taught foreign language.
7. Germany has the Biggest Economy in Europe
In 2015, Germany had an economy of $3.4 trillion, making it the fourth largest economy worldwide, after China, the US and Japan. As far as world exports go, it once again sits comfortably at fourth on the list.
Compared to economies in Europe, it has a comfortable lead against both the UK and France, which in 2015, sat at $2.9 and $2.5 trillion respectively.
It’s also home to many international corporations, such as Volkswagen, Allianz, Birkenstock, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens and stacks of other brands that are recognised globally.
Having German language skills on your CV can help your career in so many ways.
8. Berlin is a Hotspot For Startups and Innovation
European capitals are great places to live for many reasons. Often, it’s because they seem like places of endless opportunities, whether that be within fashion, entertainment, or business.
If you want to live comfortably in cities like Paris and London, you’ll often find yourself paying extra for that luxury. It’s hard to focus on building a business or making a name for yourself, when you’re struggling to make rent. Fortunately, this isn’t so much the case in Germany’s capital, Berlin, a city where the cost of living is low and the quality of life is high.
Along with the cheap rent, Berlin is known for liberal thinking and is the capital of cool in central Europe. A new startup is created in the city every 20 minutes. Many of them have been hugely successful – check out SoundCloud, Delivery Hero and Clue.
If you’ve got an idea that you’re convinced is the next big thing, Berlin may be the city where you see your dream come true.
9. German is a Key Language for Science Nerds
At the turn of the 20th century, Germany was tipped to become the official language of science, thanks to the success of leading thinkers such as Max Planck and Sigmund Freud.
Then WWI happened and in the aftermath, Belgian, French and British scientists ostracised scientists from Germany and Austria by encouraging international boycotts. Matters didn’t improve much due to WW2. This led to a division between the scientific communities of Europe. German dominated central and the eastern Europe. French and English became prevalent in western Europe.
Since then, English has cemented its stronghold as the official language of science. Some scientists worry that this will affect the work of those who are forced to research and publish in a foreign language.
If you’re scientifically inclined (as I am), fluency in German will give you the upper-hand in understanding the works of the some great German minds, such as Albert Einstein. Plus, you’ll be supporting a great cause – that of keeping the scientific community multilingual.
10. Wanderlust
One thing I’ve certainly noticed as I’ve travelled the world, is that along with Canadians and Australians, Germans are everywhere.
Germans earn good money and are entitled to at least 20 days of leave a year (some get six weeks!). This gives them the time and money to travel, most commonly to foreign countries. And what do they do? They spend, spend, spend - around €80 billion a year - making them the nation with the largest outbound tourist trade in the world.
Germany has an enviable position geographically within the EU (dead centre), but that doesn’t stop them from travelling nearly everywhere else in the world – Africa, Asia and the Americas.
If you work within the tourism industry, speaking German will give you a big advantage.
And if you suffer from a severe case of wanderlust? You’ll have more opportunities to make friends with the German speakers you bump into on your travels.
Your Call: Why Learn German
There are countless reasons why learning the German language can be beneficial in the long run. From increasing your career prospects to broadening your mind, the opportunities that await you know no bounds.
Have I convinced you on the “why learn German” question?
What’s your top reason for wanting to speak German? Let me know in the comments.
Nous devons croire en le futur, il sera notre seul guide dans les ténèbres
La pâle silhouette indigo se détachait dans les lumières de l'aube. Les pierres s'élevaient, semblable aux tombes de morts oubliés par le temps lui même. Akasan était conscient que venir ici n'était pas une bonne chose. Mais, même si les LibreLunes tenaient ici leur conseil, pourquoi ce lieu serait-il interdit d'accès ? Les Terres Solitaires n'était domaine d'aucun loup. Ceux qui y vivaient en paix étaient semblables ...
It has become a pretty popular tradition in Montreal. It’s the day of the year where we give the mingle finger to the weather by defying the cold temperatures in...
The Tectonic Clock earns its namesake from the moving keys which it uses in place of hands. Each passing hour and minute is represented by a shift in the surface. Free of frill, this minimalistic timepiece offers an entirely new twist in telling the time that can be both seen and felt!
When Montrealers were laughing at the Christmas tree in Place des Arts, that was one thing. We’re allowed to make fun of ourselves. But then the rest of the country...
When food trucks finally came back to Montreal after years of being banned. It was a really big deal, but like everything else, we tried them and now we don’t...
L'Ontario ajoute plus de service de train GO sur la
ligne Barrie pour gérer la congestion, fournir plus d'options de transport en
commun et améliorer le navettage pour les familles de la région de Barrie et de
Simcoe.
As I’m sure we’re all aware, it’s Montreal’s 375th anniversary is in 2017. Which might still seem kind of far away to some of you, but just keep in mind...
Nowadays, there are a ton of resources available to learn Japanese, most of which are geared toward the beginner level — providing a platform for new learners to get their feet wet before they move on to more complex material. The most well-known of...
Photo by Betty Chan[/caption]
She’s a very hip thirtysomething small business owner, mom, yoga teacher and part-time voice of the universe all rolled into one. I’d like to share one bit of her wisdom with you today: Always give 80%.
If you are like me, that will sound absolutely insane.
I was raised in the era of “go strong or go home.” I can’t even tell you how many times I attempted to give 110% only to fail because, let’s face it, that is not mathematically possible.
Torna a tremare la terra in centro Italia. Tre forti scosse. Il sisma è stato localizzato a 4 chilometri da L’Aquila, 38 da Teramo, 50 da Terni, 64 da Foligno, 73 da Montesilvano, 77 da Chieti, 79 da Pescara, 95 da Perugia, 96 da Viterbo, 97 da Roma. I comuni più vicini all’epicentro sono Montereale (AQ), Capitignano (AQ), Campotosto (AQ) e Amatrice (RI). La zona del terremoto è “purtroppo nota, è un valore che può creare qualche problema alle infrastrutture già compromesse, anche se non ci attendiamo molti crolli. In quelle zone sta nevicando da diverse ore, la situazione è complicata”. Così il capo della Protezione civile, Fabrizio Curcio. Successivamente sono state avvertite altre due forti scosse, rispettivamente di magnitudo 5.4 e 5.3. A Roma chiusa la metropolitana per verifiche tecniche.
Vive Montréal!
Vive Montréal!
! 
