Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again: Three Comments on the Executive Order

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A draft of an executive order titled Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again is moving forward towards possible signing by President Donald J. Trump. The proposed document favors Classical Greco-Roman design typologies for federal buildings in Washington, DC and elsewhere throughout the USA. This order would revise the current rules that regulate the design of federal buildings contracted through the GSA (General Services Administration a Federal agency managing the construction, administration, and upkeep of US Government buildings and real estate). It was initiated by the National Civic Art Society, a Washington, DC based nonprofit organization that disapproves of what the US government has been building for decades. According to the New York Times, the chairman of the National Civic Art Society, Mr. Marion Smith, stated that: For too long architectural elites and bureaucrats have derided the idea of beauty, blatantly ignored public opinions on style, and have quietly spent taxpayer money constructing ugly, expensive, and inefficient buildings.

By Michael W. Mehaffy, Ph.D.

Whether or not one is a supporter of President Trump (and I personally am not) this action is likely to provoke a much-needed debate about the mandating of style. It is interesting to hear some architects howling over this proposed action, at the same time that they have often sought to impose their own preferred style a variant of modernism or neo-modernism. Often this has been done through interpretation of the Venice Charters Article 9, that new works must bear a contemporary stamp, which they interpret as mandating modernism. (They conveniently ignore Article 6, which states that wherever the traditional setting exists, it must be kept... No new construction, demolition or modification which would alter the relations of mass and color must be allowed.)

Now that the shoe is on the other foot, perhaps we should all step back and take a deep breath, and assess what really matters in new design. Is it solely the predilections of the architect community, in their sovereign judgments of what is good (often modern) architecture? Or are there broader goals, and a broader community that should have a voice? Is there a necessity to consider the evolutionary gifts of the past, and the evidence for their continued ability to deliver beautiful, enduring, sustainable habitat?

The time has come that the profession must produce a better answer to this question.

Michael W. Mehaffy is Senior Researcher with the Ax:son Johnson Foundation and the Centre for the Future of Places at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and an author, educator, urban designer, planner, and strategic development consultant with an international practice. He has held teaching and/or research appointments at seven graduate institutions in six countries, and he is on the editorial boards of two international journals of urban design. After graduate study in architecture with pioneering architect Christopher Alexander at U.C. Berkeley, he received his Ph.D. in architecture at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. He recently wrote about the Venice Charter and its use to enforce style here:

By Nikos A. Salingaros, Ph.D.

It is well-accepted that the publics preference for a wholesome, restorative architecture in our greatest public institutions has been ignored during the past several decades. In its stead, we have seen monstrous, unfriendly buildings funded by the US Federal Government. Worse than the erection of inhuman and ugly environments is the fact that those images have come to represent the Nation. In their visual impact, how different is the impression they give of American Democracy from the totalitarian dictatorships that have used the same brutal and faceless architecture to express their power over their citizens?

As soon as word of the presidents executive order on creating a more beautiful and human official face for the United States as expressed in its major government buildings was out, all hell broke loose. The usual group of architectural bullies who had intimidated past administrations into accepting absurd or totalitarian designs for public buildings felt their continuing hegemony threatened. They of course are protesting, crying out about loss of freedom of expression and other stock justifications for their past bullying. Journalists and architectural critics joined in the chorus of protests, again with the usual emotional trigger phrases about pluralism, deceptively ignoring how for years those architectural bullies stamped out any attempts at pluralism.

This has become an attack on traditional architecture, using the president as a target, which is a smoke screen. The architectural problem for public buildings is serious but not political, and this proposal is the first optimistic solution to be offered in decades.

Nikos A. Salingaros is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a well-known architectural theorist and urbanist. Author of several books on architectural and urban theory, he directs Masters and Doctoral students in architecture at universities around the world. He shared the 2018 Clem Labine Traditional Building Award with Michael Mehaffy, and is the Winner of the 2019 Stockholm Cultural Award for Architecture. He received a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Stony Brook University. He was the principal editor of Christopher Alexanders four-volume book The Nature of Order. Salingaros recently published a review of James Stevens Curls book Making Dystopia.

By Ann Sussman, R.A.

President Trump and the National Civic Art Societys recommendation to make federal buildings beautiful again shunning modern architecture and reverting to classical traditions is a very good one. Not only because it will make the nations capital more coherent, it will make Washington, DC a more memorable place generally, and one which people enjoy seeing and being in.

We live in a remarkable time in the early 21st-century where we can better understand how the human experience functions, including how perception happens. New biometric tools let us track in real time how stressful or soothing new buildings are, and how the body implicitly responds without our conscious awareness to our surroundings. This new science has brought to the fore the fact that though we live in modern times, our bodies remain ancient, and that evolution has pre-set our response to visual stimuli more than most realize. Classical and traditional architecture meets our bodies and brain where they are, in an evolutionary sense, providing the bi-laterally symmetrical, hierarchical facades that we are hard-wired to easily see and enjoy taking in. Modern architecture, with its blankness, random arrangements, and asymmetries, does not.

We now know that many post-war buildings stress the brain and that creates stress responses, leading to everything from headaches to pedestrians avoiding entire new sections in a city. Apple founder Steve Jobs once said: The broader ones understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have. That is true not only for computers but also for the places we call home. The more we know about ourselves, and our animal nature, the more we can accommodate it by creating successful human habitat.

Ann Sussman, RA, an author, researcher and college instructor is passionate about understanding how buildings influence people emotionally. Her book, Cognitive Architecture, Designing for How We Respond to the Built Environment (2015) co-authored with Justin B. Hollander, won the 2016 Place Research Award from the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA). In 2019, she co-sponsored the 1st International Conference on Urban Experience and Design at Tufts University (Ux+design2019), bringing together creative thinkers to explore evidence-based design practices and biometric tools for assessing the human experience of place. She has given more than 80 lectures at regional conferences and universities, including at Greenbuild/Berlin in 2018 and Greenbuild/Amsterdam in 2019. This year shes scheduled to present a biometric workshop at the AIA National Conference in Los Angeles in May. Currently, she teaches an introductory course on perception, Architecture & Cognition, at the Boston Architectural College. Her articles explaining how biometrics reveal how the human brain and body respond to architecture include:

This article was originally published on Architexturez.net.

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Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again: Three Comments on the Executive Order - ArchDaily

Feb 22, 2020 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of Fiverr International Ltd earnings conference call or presentation Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at 1:30:00pm GMT

Fiverr International Ltd. - VP of Strategic Finance

Fiverr International Ltd. - Co-Founder, CEO & Director

Fiverr International Ltd. - CFO

* Bradley D. Erickson

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Research Division - MD and Senior Internet Analyst

Good day, and welcome to the Fiverr Q4 Fiscal 2019 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Jinjin Qian. Please go ahead.

Jinjin Qian, Fiverr International Ltd. - VP of Strategic Finance [2]

Thank you, operator, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us on Fiverr's earnings conference call for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2019.

Please note that this call is being webcast on the Investor Relations section of the company's website. Full details of our results and additional management commentary are available in our shareholder letter, which can be found on the Investor Relations section of our website at investors.fiverr.com. Joining me today on the call are Micha Kaufman, Founder and CEO; and Ofer Katz, CFO.

Before we start, I would like to remind you that certain matters discussed today are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties relating to future events and/or the future financial performance of Fiverr. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information that could cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements can be found in Fiverr's periodic public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including those factors discussed under the Risk Factors section in Fiverr's final prospectus under Rule 424(b) filed with the SEC.

The forward-looking statements in this conference call are based on the current expectations as of today, and Fiverr assumes no obligation to update or revise them whether as a result of new developments or otherwise.

And now I'll turn the call over to Micha.

Micha Kaufman, Fiverr International Ltd. - Co-Founder, CEO & Director [3]

Thank you, Jinjin. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for taking the time to join us on the call today.

2019 was a fantastic year for Fiverr. We delivered 3 consecutive quarters of consistent and strong financial results as a new public company. This exceeded the aggressive goals that we set at the time of the IPO.

For the full year, revenue grew 42% year-over-year, and our EBITDA margin improved by nearly 1,100 basis points. This is even more impressive when we consider the pace of our product launches throughout the year and the scaling of operations as a public company. Fiverr is a company that delivers on its promises, and we have a solid business model with high levels of consistent buyer behavior.

The freelance economy is growing rapidly around the world. Fiverr is enabling and harnessing this momentum. Our business model is seen as a simple and beautiful 2-sided marketplace. We are a technology company at core, and we had an amazing year of product innovation in 2019. From Fiverr Learn, which directly connects learning with work opportunities, to Fiverr Studios that enables virtual collaboration among our skilled freelancers, to the recent Fiverr Logo Maker that puts the power of AI into the hands of our design community, we made some bold strategic bets that reimagine how work can be done on our platform.

User response to these initiatives have been strong, and you should anticipate continued innovation from Fiverr in the years ahead.

Our continued investment in quality, matching and improving the buyer and seller experience has also paid off. This accelerated momentum in the second half of the year. We also executed well against both our category and international expansion strategies. During the year, we launched over 100 new categories and 7 new industry stores. This served as a strong engine for pushing top-of-funnel growth and provides our existing customers with many reasons to explore our new options and return to buy more.

During 2019, we expanded our team's footprint in the U.K. and in Germany. Our marketplace has always been global. However, having a team on the ground that executes localized product and marketing strategies, combined with our enhanced ability to transact in multiple currencies, puts us into a completely different level, and we are already enjoying these benefits. As we kick off 2020, we will continue to execute on our growth strategies, growing our buyer base, going upmarket, expanding categories, innovating our products and international expansion.

We are currently focused on several areas that we are very excited about, and I would like to highlight a few of them now. First is international expansion. Until now, our website was only in English, but that is changing. A few days ago, we launched our first 2 localized sites: de.fiverr.com for German language speakers and es.fiverr.com for Spanish language speakers. This is just the beginning. What we plan to do next is to convert all user-generated content, including gig listings as well as the seller experience.

We're also going to start optimizing localized marketing to become more efficient and effective in driving local adoption. Localization is a long-term investment for us. And we are super excited about the potential market opportunities beyond the U.S. user base. I'm happy that we were able to roll out these 2 new languages ahead of what we promised.

Next is going upmarket. Today, Fiverr has over 2.4 million active buyers, the majority of whom are entrepreneurs in very small companies, with 15 employees or less. There are over 30 million SMBs in the U.S. alone. So we are barely scratching the surface. As with many disruptive technologies, we see a natural path of adoption from the bottom up. Small businesses are typically more cost-conscious and are naturally early adopters who take advantage of new technologies first. As we go upmarket, we want to expand our addressable market and extend our reach to the next tier of users, which we define as organizations of up to 200 employees.

We have invested in tackling these new buyer segments with products such as Fiverr Studios, which help accommodate larger projects; team accounts that allow larger teams to collaborate on Fiverr; Fiverr's VID program, which provides dedicated support for our high-value buyers; industry stores that grows awareness among business users and targeted performance marketing campaigns to acquire these business users. All of these products and marketing investments are geared towards growing market share among larger businesses without the need of a sales force. And you should expect to see more of this theme throughout 2020.

The next initiative I would like to highlight is Fiverr's technology infrastructure. Fiverr's mission is to change how the world works together. And our marketplace is evolving from a simple transaction platform to an ecosystem of products that bring businesses and freelancers together. You've already seen us releasing products like Learn, And Co and ClearVoice to our marketplace to help our buyers and sellers become more successful.

In 2020, we will invest in strengthening our core infrastructure so we can unlock our data assets, innovate even faster and create more synergy among our products. You will see continuing investment in proprietary quality search and catalog technology. You will also see us investing in personalization and recommendation engines.

And finally, we have made strong internal progress on promoted listings. This will be the first time we give our sellers a tool to proactively promote themselves on our platform. It is something our sellers have requested for a long time, and we believe they will be excited about the product as well. We are taking sufficient time to make sure we get this right from the user experience perspective, and I'm happy to announce that we will be rolling out the beta for promoted listings in April. The rollout of the beta of this product will be an important step in the evolution of the Fiverr marketplace. To sum up, these investments will allow for continued growth, enable more rapid international expansion and the development of new technologies in automation, advertising and collaboration.

I am very excited about 2020. We expect another strong year of growth and progress towards profitability. I look forward to our next call and to sharing our progress with you. We look forward to seeing many of our investors on the road and at the JMP Securities conference in San Francisco next week.

With that, I'm going to turn it over to Ofer, who will share with you a few highlights and our financial outlook for 2020. Ofer?

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Ofer Katz, Fiverr International Ltd. - CFO [4]

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Thank you, Micha, and good morning, everyone. We are very happy with the financial results we delivered in 2019 and the growth we are experiencing across all underlying metrics.

As Micha mentioned, full year 2019 revenue grew 42% year-over-year to $107.1 million. This was driven by 17% growth in active buyers, 17% growth in spend per buyer and a 100 basis point improvement in take rate.

The growth in active buyer and spend per buyer is consistent with the balanced approach we have spoken about before. More importantly, we saw acceleration trends in those 2 metrics in the back half of the year. The investments we've made in quality, matching and personalization are paying off. We also continued to see strong organic and paid trends at the top of the funnel. Going forward, we expect we would continue to grow active buyer and spend per buyer in balanced fashion.

Our take rate for Q4 was 26.7%, up 100 basis points year-over-year. To break it down a little more, the 26.7% take rate primarily consist of approximately 25% we charge on the marketplace transaction. The remaining contributions come from Fiverr Learn, And Co, ClearVoice and incremental revenue from currency fees on the marketplace, which we expect can continue to make modest contribution to the overall take rate throughout 2020.

Moving to expenses. In 2019, we made a significant progress on our path for profitability. Our gross margin continues to be strong and consistent at 80% level. Adjusted EBITDA for the year was negative $18 million, an improvement from the loss of negative $21 million in 2018. Adjusted EBITDA margin gained 1,100 basis points from the prior year, primarily driven by a 330 basis point improvement in R&D and 780 basis point improvement in sales and marketing.

On a full year basis, we saw a modest increase in G&A as a percentage of revenue due to IPO and public company related costs, but these costs have stabilized and showed improving leverage in Q4, a trend we expect to continue into 2020. Overall, we expect continued leverage gain across all operating expenses in 2020 narrowing EBITDA loss on both dollar and margin basis.

We are providing strong guidance for the year. We expect 2020 revenue in the range of $139 million to $141 million, representing year-over-year growth of 30% to 32%. We expect adjusted EBITDA to continue to improve to negative $15 million to negative $13 million, representing a negative 11% to negative 9% of adjusted EBITDA margin. This is an improvement of 680 basis points over 2019 at midpoint, and we intend to continue making progress towards profitability.

We expect 2020 quarterly revenues will be distributed with a similar cadence to 2019 revenue.

In Q1 of 2020, we expect revenue of $32 million to $33 million, representing 35% to 39% year-over-year growth. Q1 adjusted EBITDA guidance is negative $5.5 million to negative $4.5 million. We expect adjusted EBITDA margin to increase throughout the year, consistent with prior year pattern.

As part of our 2020 revenue guidance, we are taking the following key factors into consideration: first, consistent revenue contribution from our existing cohorts; second, organic revenue growth from new buyers through a growing network effect; third, incremental revenue from new buyers from paid marketing channels. This is based on planned marketing budget and payback efficiency consistent with historical level; and lastly, continued take rate expansion from products such as Fiverr Learn, And Co and ClearVoice.

We've been able to build a diversified business, and as part of that, we added new components to our platform with several product offerings. Some of them were introduced at the end of 2018 or beginning of 2019, which will be lapping a full year by the end of Q1 2020. We expect the impact on the overall revenue growth will be normalized starting from Q2 2020. The potential revenue impact from new products such as promoted listings, the additional gains from our continued investment in marketing efficiency, incremental revenue from global expansion efforts and potential conversion improvement from new products in our pipeline are not included in our guidance as the timing and magnitude of these contributions are uncertain.

We ended 2019 with excellent results, and the strong business momentum give us confidence in driving continued growth in 2020 and beyond. With that, I will now turn the call over to the operator to open it up for questions. Operator?

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Questions and Answers

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Operator [1]

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(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Doug Anmuth with JPMorgan.

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Douglas Till Anmuth, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Research Division - MD [2]

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First, I was just hoping you could talk about your marketing and customer acquisition a little bit. You talked about tROI the last 2 quarters at less than 4 months. So maybe you could just expand on some of the key drivers there, in particular some of the growth in the affiliated program as well.

And then secondly, can you just talk more about how you're balancing growth and profit going forward? We've been thinking about EBITDA positive some time in 2022. Is this something you can pull forward? If you could just talk about your kind of outlook and philosophy there.

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Micha Kaufman, Fiverr International Ltd. - Co-Founder, CEO & Director [3]

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Doug, thanks for the question. So when we think about the marketing and customer acquisition, what we've really pushed during the year that has been very effective for us is the right balance of how we invest across different channels and how we use marketing automation to optimize every campaign that we're running. And that has yielded a great result, that some of that reflects in tROI that was kept very low and some in the quality of the buyers that we were acquiring. What we've done along the lines of opening new channels is pretty much doubled our affiliation program, and that has been a very successful driver for us.

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Ofer Katz, Fiverr International Ltd. - CFO [4]

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In terms of the second part of the question about growing profit going forward, I think that you've probably noticed we made a significant progress in 2019 in terms of improving EBITDA margin. It has been improved by 1,100 basis points all the way from 28% in 2018 to 17% by the end of 2019. But having said that, growth continued to be our top priority. Bear in mind that despite of the impressing financial result of last year, we are still a very young company, and we think that the TAM -- the big TAM is ahead of us.

So we've been very consistent about our commitment, but also our proven ability to increase the efficiency as we scale. We run a marketplace model with a very high gross margin and highly scalable so that we plan to continue to be committed to push for profitability in a very consistent and a steady pace as we have done in the last few quarters all the way to breakeven and beyond.

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Douglas Till Anmuth, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Research Division - MD [5]

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Okay. If I could just follow up quickly, Ofer. I think, at the end of your remarks, just talking about the outlook, you mentioned a couple of things that were not included in the guidance. Can you just repeat that? I think you said promoted listings and maybe a couple of others. I just want to make sure we got that.

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Ofer Katz, Fiverr International Ltd. - CFO [6]

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So the way we build the guidance is based on the things we know. And we have enormous community -- repeat community that keep being active in the marketplace generating a fixed stream of revenue over a very long period. Then we also know, based on historical data, how efficient is our marketing spend. And we keep -- we plan to keep the investment looking forward and bringing more cohorts on top of the existing. But we do plan to release a few product [that will help] us. Those that we have already spoken about includes promoted listings that we plan to release for beta on April, within a few weeks. Because we are uncertain of magnitude and our plan to softly release in a very -- certain categories at the beginning, we didn't include this type of product into our guidance.

Same goes to international expansion. We've just released a few days ago 2 language. It's the first time that Fiverr enabled buyers to engage and buy in different language other than English. We have, on the road map, a few additional improvement of this experience, a few more language. But yet, the guidance doesn't include impact of this type of product release.

Having said that, bear in mind that the product -- the road map of -- the product road map includes few more product, but it's too early to discuss. So all in all, I think, just to summarize, just to recap, the guidance is based on what we know and future products are not included in this aggressive plan for next year.

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Operator [7]

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Our next question comes from Ron Josey with JMP Securities.

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Ronald Victor Josey, JMP Securities LLC, Research Division - MD and Senior Research Analyst [8]

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Micha, I wanted to follow up on your commentary, and Ofer as well, just around promoted listings, what you're just talking about. With the rollout -- the beta expected in April, can you just talk about what you've seen in early testing that gives you the confidence it's ready to go in April? And then maybe any insights on the actual data, how you plan to continue to test the product to make sure it's doing what you think it would be helpful to understand just the rollout for promoted listings. And also just on the tROI question that Doug was asking, clearly, we're seeing improvement in brand awareness and the industry as a whole continues to move online. Any insights on just Fiverr's brand awareness just given the marketing spend this past year would be helpful as you perhaps reach outside of some of the major cities out there.

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Micha Kaufman, Fiverr International Ltd. - Co-Founder, CEO & Director [9]

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Ron, thanks for the question. So as to promoted listings, we've been talking about that in the previous few quarters. And I think that we shared with you that we've studied this matter and have been learning how other marketplaces have been successfully rolling out the system. And I think that based on these learnings, we have been able to develop the system internally. It is worth noting that this is going to be the first time in which Fiverr actually gives its sellers the ability to promote themselves and participate in increasing their success. And so we get a lot of excitement from the community and high interest in doing that.

And the rollout plan, essentially, is to start with a number of categories: first, test the system, but test it with real services and real sellers to see the impact and to start optimizing. I think we -- I've mentioned before that optimizing a system of promoted listings is a journey and it will take a few good quarters to get it right. And this is one of the reasons why we're not factoring any wishful thinking around that into our guidance.

As to -- I think the second question was about brand awareness. So this is an area where we've invested in 2019, including the fact that the IPO itself was a pretty big brand awareness event. And we've done brand awareness campaigns in Germany and in the U.K. And what we see is we see an increase in brand awareness that translates into organic traffic in a way that has been very successful for us. And if -- a couple of years ago, when we started doing brand awareness, we were really starting from awareness. Now a lot of our branding campaign are going down to consideration and to conversion. And that has been translating also into the efficiency of our paid marketing.

Brand marketing and paid marketing go side by side and have a strong influence on each other. And I think that what we've seen is we've seen that paid off really well and also resulting in a lot of organic activity that has to do with the virality of the service. All of that, as I've said, translated into mostly organic traffic, which is the way you typically measure brand awareness.

So getting all of that success and seeing how that was contributing to the acceleration from the first half of last year to the second half, we're seeing that momentum carried over to the first quarter of this year, which is influencing our guidance for Q1 as well.

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Operator [10]

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Our next question comes from Jason Helfstein with Oppenheimer.

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Jason Stuart Helfstein, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Research Division - MD and Senior Internet Analyst [11]

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I have 2. So clearly, you're seeing good marketing leverage and you've talked about that. You talked in the letter just about the expansion of the German and Spanish local websites. Will that weigh -- you talked about that being a long-term investment. Will that weigh on marketing efficiency during 2020? And just how do you think about those opportunities relative to the current marketing flywheel? And then second, what do you think is the most important factors for growth in 2020 as you think about the new products that you launched last year because there were a good amount of things that you'd put out in the marketplace?

Read the rest here:
Edited Transcript of FVRR.N earnings conference call or presentation 19-Feb-20 1:30pm GMT - Yahoo Finance

The next decade will determine what kind of a world we will create.We can do nothing in the face of a climate crisis that is showing its strength through devastatingfires, floods and extreme heat,and usher in a dystopian world of choking pollution and huge swaths of unliveable land.

Or we can act. Everyone, from individuals, to companies, to cities, to countries, works to cut their emissions in half by 2030, steering us away from catastrophe and towards a low-carbon, healthier, happier world.

These are the two worlds Christiana Figueres sets out in her new book The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis, written with her former senior adviser Tom Rivett-Carnac.

Figueres has every reason to feel despair. As the lead U.N. negotiator for the landmark Paris climate summit in 2015, she pulled off the seemingly impossible. She wrangled with 196 nations to produce a historic climate agreement, with countries agreeing to genuine commitments to slash emissions.

AP Photo/Markus Schreiber Christiana Figueres at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 20, 2020.

Fast forward to 2020 and the world is a different place. President Donald Trump will pull the U.S. out of the Paris agreement if he gets a second term, the Madrid climate summit in December ended in failure and watered down promises, and most global leaders are refusing to step up to the urgency of the climate crisis.

Yet Figueres remains stubbornly positive. Here she talks to HuffPost about the dire situation we are in, and why she has written an ode to optimismin the face of an existential crisis.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Whats at stake over the next decade is nothing less than the future of the planet and of humanity on the planet. Thats no exaggeration, that is no hyperbole. That is actually scientific fact.

It is in this decade that we will either reach a concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that is so dangerous that we will not be able to manage the negative consequences for years to come and the increasingly destructive forces of nature will wreak havoc upon, not just infrastructure and biodiversity, but also on the ability of humans to live on this planet.

Or, the other choice is that we wake up to the fact that during these 10 years we can decisively change the course of those greenhouse gases, we can bring them down to one half of what they are now, and along that journey, we can actually do a lot of good.

AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali A protest against climate change, in Parliament Square, London, on Feb. 14, 2020.

We can increase public health, we can increase the quality of urban life, we can increase the comfort and smartness of transportation. And actually, I also think that we can rise as a human species; we can rise to a higher level of consciousness and a higher level of understanding of who we are on this planet.

So its a pretty simple choice if you ask me, we just have to make the choice!

I put fear into a broad family of sentiments: fear, grief, despair, hopelessness, helplessness. All those sentiments that we usually think of as being negative sentiments, I actually think that theyre very helpful, because what they do is they raise the alarm, they raise the flag that something is wrong. They wake us up and force us to come out of our comfort zone.

The question then is, where do we go from there? If we wake up from that comfort zone and push ourselves on to a meaningful path toward constructing a different world, then we have done the right thing by future generations.

Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images A firefighter sprays water while battling the spread of the Maria Fire as it moved quickly towards Santa Paula, California, on Nov. 1, 2019.

If we realize that were in grief, despair and helplessness, and we consciously choose to stay there and we give up, and we say actually this is too much, this is overwhelming and were not up to it then that will become our reality, it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

We stand at the most crucial crossroads, not only in the evolution of the planet, but in the future human experience on this planet, and we need to make a conscious wakeful choice. Because if we dont, we will be dragged by business-as-usual forces that take us to the first absolutely horrible world.

Optimism has actually become a very controversial term within the climate field. So its important to understand what we mean by optimism.

We dont mean naive ignorance of what the consequences are. We also dont mean an irresponsible sense that things are going to work out and we dont have to do anything.

What we mean by optimism is, firstly, a conscious choice to acknowledge, understand and educate ourselves about what the reality is out there and the consequences that we may be facing.

The second part is to make a mindful decision that we are going to change the course of where were currently going. It is like weve been going down a highway at full speed and all of a sudden we have an exit sign, and we have to decide, are we going to exit or we just going to go down the highway?

We call it a stubborn or gritty optimism because we have to understand that taking this exit and constructing a completely different trajectory is not going to be easy. It is difficult. Anything that is new and different and unknown is always difficult. So we have to be gritty; we have to be determined; we have to be very focused on what we want to attain and how were going to attain it.

Theres absolutely no space for giving up. We have to construct a different future. But the good news is that we can and we have 10 years, and it is amazing what we can do in 10 years if we make the decision now and start right away.

Well, the fact is that these dont operate in completely unlinked universes. They feed on each other.

I cannot tell you how many CEOs tell me that they are preparing for a low-carbon future for two very clear reasons.Theyre recognizing consumer demand [for low-carbon products] is increasing, certainly in industrialized countries, but also in developing countries. And secondly, they want to be able to access young brains and young brains do not want to work for companies that are irresponsible.

The same thing can be said for governments, and the ultimate individual power that we all have, in democracies at least, is voting. When we begin to see that there is a critical mass of people for whom climate change responsibility is a voting issue, governments begin to act accordingly.

The United States is a very interesting case. Four years ago, there was barely any mention about climate change, even among the Democratic candidates. Today, four years later, every single aspirant to be the Democratic nominee has a solid, climate change platform. Why? Because they know that voters in the United States are beginning to get more and more concerned, and they know that they have to be responsible in order to get those votes.

What individuals do trickles up both to corporations, as well as to government.

I would say that is completely wrong. There is much more quality of life to be had from a low carbon economy.

Lets start with cities. Cities that turn their transport systems, their infrastructure, their built environment, their living spaces to low carbon are actually much more livable because theyre less congested, theyre less polluted, they have more greenery all leading to much better breathing conditions. They will be cities that are more energy self-sufficient, more water self-sufficient. Its just a much much better quality of life.

Dan Friedell/WTOP via AP Flowers bloom on the green roof at the World Wildlife Fund building in Washington D.C.

A world that goes beyond two degrees [warming], to three or four degrees, is a world of increasing health challenges: whether it is pollution that causes asthma, causes all kinds of respiratory diseases, causes a diminishment in IQ because brains cant develop. Or if it is the rampant increase in dengue and malaria and other diseases that will spread due to warming temperatures.

[If we dont tackle climate change] we will have hugely escalating health costs. If we avoid all of that, we will have health savings that we can then invest into smarter energy, more green in cities, better food we will be able to support the funding of many measures that address climate change.

So, it is not true that a low carbon society is a poor quality society, it is exactly the opposite.

It is simply a choice, an active choice of starting with small things in our daily lives and being much more mindful of the impact, and making a decision to have a smaller impact on what you buy and how much you buy.

Oh my goodness. Do we really need everything that we buy? When is enough, enough? Do we really need the fourth or fifth or sixth pair of shoes? Or the fourth or fifth or sixth sweater?

We are alreadygetting out of single-use plastics in many countries. Thats a really good start. But we should move away from single-use anything: single-use fashion, single-use appliances, single-use furniture. We should get out of that single-use mentality and understand that a sharing economy, a circular economy, is the only way to go.

And we reach that conclusion as soon as we are much more mindful about our carbon footprint and how we walk upon this earth.

Figure out what your carbon footprint is per year, then start to identify what you can do today, tomorrow and the next day to begin to lower that carbon footprint.

Food is a very clear one. If youre still eating red meat every single day, you do yourselves a favor, you do your body and your health a favor, by starting to diminish red meat. Choose one day where you dont need red meat, and then a second day, a third day.You can also start to be much more mindful about the foods that you eat, which, in as much as theyre seasonal and local, have a lower carbon footprint.

In your home you can be much more conscious about energy consumption. We dont tend to think about energy, which is amazing because we do track our finances, and we know where our salary goes and what we spend it on. We should also know what we spend on energy.

J. Lawler Duggan/For The Washington Post via Getty Images Solar panels on the roof of a house in Rockville, Maryland.

Be mindful of the fact that you dont necessarily have to have all the lights on in every single room in the house when youre not in that room. Be mindful of the fact that you can insulate your home much better so that in the winter, you can heat your home more efficiently.

You can also choose what quality of energy you use. Move toward more renewable energy, whether you use it from the grid or whether you put solar panels on your roof.

Then of course transport is a big issue. Are we being conscious about the way we transport ourselves, whether by land or by air? There are just so many things that we can do to just cut down on unnecessary transport. And if it is necessary, then share that transport mode, so that the emissions are also shared.

I would actually point to two things. The first is the fact that just a few days ago, we had confirmation that global greenhouse gases, contrary to all expectations that they were going to be increasing in 2019, were flat. And that is very good news.

It doesnt mean that with that flattening out of emissions that weve actually done our job.One year does not a trajectory make, so the question to be answered over the next few years is: Have we started to de-link economic growth from growth in carbon emissions? Because that is what we need to do.

And the second cause for optimism is the fact that financial markets seem to finally have understood that investments in high carbon assets are just hugely risky, and that there is less risk and more reward in shifting capital over to low carbon assets.

You have the asset owner Alliance, which is a group of the largest institutional investors in the world, totaling more than $2 trillion, which has already come out and said we understand that in order to protect the value of our assets we have to move over to a net zero carbon portfolio by 2050.

You also have the letter from Larry Fink,who heads up the largest asset management company in the world, BlackRock, which manages $7 trillion. He says he has understood that high carbon is highly risky. BlackRock will no longer be investing in coal, they will be shifting their investments, and theyre asking all other asset managers to do so.

The conclusion that climate change is real, and it is affecting us already, we have 10 years to address it, and I personally can contribute to the solution.

The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac will be published on February 25, 2020 and can be preordered here.

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We Have 10 Years Left To Save The World, Says Climate Expert - HuffPost

Janet Li is Wealth Business Leader for Asia at Mercer, which is one of the very largest advisory and service providers to the global institutional investment industry, with its clients handling more than USD15 trillion of assets under advisement. Remarkably, Li finds time to play with her three children, aged between three and 10, as well as handling the hefty responsibilities of her prominent leadership role and volunteering with industry groups. She met with Hubbis to offer her invaluable insights into the evolution of wealth management in this region, to define Mercers position in Asia, and to highlight how she has never felt held back by being a female, despite being more of a rarity during her early career.

About Mercer

Mercer delivers advice and technology-driven solutions that help organisations meet the health, wealth and career needs of a changing workforce. Mercers more than 25,000 employees are based in 44 countries and the firm operates in over 130 countries. Mercer is a business of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC), the worlds leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people with 76,000 colleagues and annualised revenue approaching USD17 billion.

Mercer is the worlds largest institutional investment advisor with more than USD15 trillion in assets under advisement and USD304.5 billion in assets under delegated management. The firm is also a global leader in the provision of actuarial and related services.

Li begins by explaining why Mercer has, in recent years boosted its commitment to global private wealth management.

Historically, we have been focussing more on institutional clients, including some of the biggest players such as sovereign wealth funds, government entities and corporate pensions. But we have seen the opportunity to move into the private wealth space, where wealth is being accumulated so very quickly.

She reports that Mercer has an on-the-ground presence in 10 Asian markets, including key hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore. Mercers colleagues working across retirement, investment and asset management solutions include actuaries who help pension schemes, researchers, and also consultants who work directly with the clients, delivering advice on their portfolios. We also have portfolio managers where the clients delegate the management of their assets for us to manage, she notes.

First institutional clientsand now private wealth

Li reports that Mercers institutional business centres on specific services to the retirement and investment services sectors. For example, each defined benefits pension plan needs actuarial services, so Mercer advises on retirement scheme structuring, benefits review and harmonisation. And on the investment side, Mercer helps institutional clients with their portfolio design, from asset allocation to portfolio construction, selecting the right managers, the right providers, as well as providing delegated management to suit the clients needs.

There are so many fund managers globally, she remarks, and every organisation only has limited resources, so they need external support in finding the optimal investment opportunities. Our clients come to us because we are independent and manage any potential conflicts carefully.

She explains that the Mercer research operation is reckoned to be the largest globally. The role of Mercers research team is to analyse fund managers, to look at their products, and then formulate a view on the product, but it is not a quantitative-driven process. We have a four-factor research process where researchers examine asset managers by qualitative review, Li reports. The quantitative factors are used more to validate their research.

Leveraging resources

She elucidates, noting that institutional investors and private banks nowadays are all resource-pressured and time-constrained, hence Mercers role to support them in finding the best investment opportunities. In some cases, she notes, clients actually delegate the full function to us because outsourcing may be more efficient for them, and it means we are answerable for the returns.

Mercers range of services spans from simply providing its database of asset managers, through to advisory, and at the other end of the scale, Mercer offers delegated management, where their clients can outsource everything to Mercer, which then becomes accountable for whatever objectives the clients set.

The Mercer FundWatch service

Mercer launched a new service for the private wealth side in 2018, called Mercer FundWatch, which rates funds using easy-to-understand star ratings and which is available openly through the website.

The mission here is simply to support private wealth in making better selection of products and to support the gatekeepers in choosing products for their platforms.

Li explains that there are stringent requirements for private banks and other private wealth platforms with regard to selection and due diligence. Accordingly, being able to reference Mercers research helps internally and with the regulators.

We differ from our peers in that we are more qualitative-driven and forward-looking, and they are typically more quantitative, Li elucidates.

Challenges offer opportunity

Li sees great challenges and yet, opportunities ahead. She notes that the private banks are increasingly challenged by other wealth management platforms and fintech arrivals offering AI-enabled robo-advisory, making it ever more vital from their brand perspective that they become more relevant to their clients.

Their end-clients, she explains, are therefore seeing a much broader range of potential providers and products that they can access directly. So, in order for the private wealth banks and other firms to differentiate themselves, they must become more innovative, more quality-driven, and make sure they can bring in better investment opportunities faster than their competitors, as well as offering better service and experience. Mercer can help them in these areas, so there is great opportunity.

Li agrees that fee compression on products is taking place, as products become more easily available and more commoditised. There are perhaps too many products and funds out there, actually, she adds, and allied with the product-pushing mentality in Asia, there is not a sufficiently long-term approach for the end-clients, which in many cases results in resources being spent on chasing product fees for the short-term.

But there is a rapidly growing focus on performance, which has become more acute in the more difficult global financial markets since 2018.

Enhancing the offering

Clients call us most often when their asset managers underperform, which opens the door for us to mine into the research side to see whether the criteria developed for their fund manager selections are being followed, she said.

In other words, we can assess whether performance weakness is short-term, or more fundamentally flawed.

Li says that on the institutional side, there is a greater understanding of the ebbs and flows of investments, but on the private wealth front there is more pressure to take action in the event of weak performance. Actually, she explains, we often advise against stop-loss selling, as often under-performance is an opportunity to buy more. So we frequently counsel against too much short-term trading, especially as there are always entry and exit costs to consider, and we also try to help clients leverage their positions with the fund or product providers and negotiate lower fees.

Objectivity central to the value-added

Li concludes the discussion by reiterating Mercers core proposition as the identifier of high-quality asset managers and good products for their clients. We have a long history of success in this regard, she states, and we are objective, and of course we cover the entire spectrum from small to the largest funds and providers. We have a unique position in being able to offer these solutions to our end customers.

Janet Lis Three Key Priorities for Mercer in Asia

Asias retirement savings gap

The ageing population of Asia means a major challenge to the savings culture here, Li reports. We all need to ensure there is sufficient money going into the system.

This can take the form of, for example, mandatory contributions to provident schemes, which are tricky politically for governments, funding private sector pensions, and the third pillar, which must be strengthened significantly by means of voluntary contributions into products designed specifically for retirement during the accumulation stage of life as well as in the decumulation stages, Li continues.

Li explains that Mercer is offering advice to governments and corporations in the region. For the governments, she reports, it is more system development and system design. For the corporations, it is all about helping them devise better retirement schemes and solutions for their employees, for talent retention, and to attract talent. And on the private wealth side, we look at product design, and inflows.

The diversification process

The second priority is to help clients build portfolio diversification. Many investors here actually do not have a very clear or in-depth understanding about what they are investing in outside the mainstream, or about the risks they are taking on. Expertise and knowledge need to be enhanced amongst investors in the whole alternative investment space.

Li explains that this is particularly important given the difficulty of finding alpha in the public market space, and asset managers, especially the fundamental research asset managers, are struggling because markets are more momentum-driven and less fundamental. With this environment and the search for return, clearly many institutional clients are seeking to diversify, but often have a limited understanding of how these asset classes work in practice. The J-curve can often be deeper than originally expected.

Disruption opens new doors

The world of digital and fintech disruption also presents both challenges and opportunities for Mercer. Whilst investment return is still important, investors are also looking at their user experience and ease of access. Li reports. When users are provided the right tools, the money is sticky and we have already seen successful cases of such in the region. The ability to spearhead and bring innovative design to fintech will make the winners of tomorrow, and, as a technology-driven firm ourselves

Getting Personal with Janet Li

Born in Hong Kong, Li studied there all the way through to graduation from The University of Hong Kong with a degree in Economics and Finance. Before joining Mercer, she worked in another consultancy company, Willis Towers Watson, for some 17 years.

I have been lucky to work and partner with many different senior individuals from various organisations. This has helped me grow in knowledge, skills and more importantly as a person, she reports.

Married with three children aged 10, seven and three, Li has little time for hobbies outside work. My exercise is chasing the children around the park, she jokes, it is pretty exhausting, running around with them, playing hide and seek, just keeping up with their energy.

Li says she enjoys the challenge in developing people and forming high performing teams. Diversity is important, but without inclusion, it means nothing, she explains and cited seeing many businesses and teams fall apart because inclusion was not observed properly. It is easy to say than do and it requires conscious understanding of unconscious bias, which is an important leadership quality.

Li recalls that in her early career there were few women in leadership positions in the industry and particularly Asian local faces. Today, she reports, there are many more home-grown professionals and many more women. My father passed away back in 2011, and I recall with gratitude that he raised me to be able to forge my own way in life, not to be limited in any way by being female, he taught me to drive towards achievement. With a family of my own now, I appreciate his support and advice more and more.

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Asian Wealth Management and Asian Private Banking - Mercer Asia - Building out the Institutional and Private Wealth Business - Hubbis

It's something you have to hear to believe.

Frost area farmer Blake Weber, 43, is a fourth-generation farmer who has a side hobby that has helped him calm the trying stressors of farming. Weber uses a multitude of soothing instruments to create relaxing, meditative sounds.

The Blue Earth Area graduate lives in Spirit Lake, Iowa, with his wife Megan and eight-year-old daughter, Kaity. When he's not in Spirit Lake with his family, or out at the Frost farm helping his dad, Barry Weber, you can find Weber in his sound studio located in Elmore.

Local farmer Blake Weber sits in his music studio where he experiments with sounds to reduce stress and anxiety. Weber uses a number of instruments including sound bowls, hand drums, synthesizers and more.

When he is not at his home in Spirit Lake, Iowa, or farming with his father in Faribault County, Blue Earth Area graduate Blake Weber likes to relax in his music studio in a house in Elmore. Weber finds playing music helps to destress from all the things going on in the world.

In Elmore, Weber has a small house filled with beautiful, intricate instruments and sound equipment to create incredibly mellow soundscapes that help him and those who enjoy his music with decompressing, relaxation, and relieving stress.

Some of the instruments he uses are hand pans, Native American flutes, kalimbas, rav-vasts or singing bowls, and a multitude of synthesizers to create his unique tones and rhythms.

"Tonal therapy is actually something lots of cultures use," he says. "You use resonant frequencies that can affect the cell structures of your body. Certain tones, called binaural tones, have been used with Buddhist monks for hundreds of years. The singing bowls I use were hand-hammered in Nepal."

Weber also has a tongue drum, which is like an inverted steel drum, that was hand-cut in Russia.

Some of the work he has been able to do outside of benefiting himself and his friends and family include playing for Beers and Yoga classes at Lake Okoboji in Iowa, helping with a guided meditation seminar, and has recently been commissioned to create soundtracking for a student film.

For Weber, music is not just about self-expression, but it has also helped him physically with symptoms of stress in his life.

"I started really getting into, and experimenting with, tonal sound a few years ago. We have high blood pressure in our family, and I was not exempt from that. I had high blood pressure," he shares. "Not anymore. My heart rate has gone down from 80 beats per minute to about 60 beats per minute. I track my heart rate and using music to relieve stress and express my feelings has been beneficial."

Weber has no formal musical training. He says his love of music started when he was just four years old, when he sat at his Grandpa Wayne's organ and just started tinkering with keys and pedals.

"When I was a little older, I found my mom's acoustic guitar and started fiddling with that," he shares. "In high school, I saved up my bean walking money to purchase an electric bass and my friends started a band. I really liked just meeting with my friends and practicing music."

Around 2010, Weber came back to his family farm to help out full-time with his dad after leaving a job that left him unsatisfied.

"I mean, technically I've been working on the farm since I was eight years old," he says. "But I've been helping my dad begin his retirement from farming back in 2010. That's when farming was pretty good."

Recently, the stressors of farming have become all but too evident to himself and his farming friends across the community.

"A lot of us guys are out there just trimming fat to stay above water. And some guys can barely do that. People are using less fertilizer, using less seed, just to try and stay afloat. It's a pretty stressful time to be a farmer, and music has really helped me to control that stress and express my frustrations," he says. "It's something that has worked for me. Music is important because it is one of the best ways humans can communicate emotions without hurting one another, either with words or with actions. Through this journey, how I live has changed it has made me appreciate life more."

During the winter, Weber's down time in farming, he likes to head to Elmore and experiment with different sounds, different tones, and soundscapes. There's no real rhyme or reason as to how he goes about his music, he just experiments and enjoys the process.

"Meditation is a consequence of music," he says. "You have no choice but to stay in that moment. Kaity really likes playing with music, too. And I think it's incredibly important for kids to play with music, experiment with sound, and find what they like. There are so many physical and mental benefits to playing music."

He hopes his fellow farmers can potentially benefit from the therapeutic component of sound, as well.

"It's whatever kind of music you like," he says. "It doesn't have to be soundscapes, it can be a country western song, but just sit down and enjoy it. Get into it. Listen to it. Try making your own music and your own sound it is pretty great how much stress it relieves. I was in the same place as many of my fellow farmers, but it's getting better."

Weber also says he enjoys his coffee shop banter with his fellow farmers, and says showing up for coffee with the guys, or sitting down to lunch or supper with neighbors is just as beneficial as music.

"When you are around like minds, with similar situations, having that community and that connection is life-saving," he says. "Any farmer who is struggling, just get out there with your fellow farmers and start talking, you'll realize you have more in common than you think. We go through a lot of tough thinking, and when we can find an outlet that helps us continue our lives on this side of the dirt, all the better. Music is just one avenue."

So while Weber is hard at work through the spring, summer, and fall planting corn and beans for the farm, it's during the down times of inclement weather and the winter season that this local musician has learned to destress and express through his multitude of stringed instruments, sound creators, and other intricate music machines.

To listen to some of Weber's sounds, check out his Facebook page, Blake Weber Sound, and really to experience the awe-inspiring sound that resonates from his instruments one truly should check out this musician's talents first-hand. It really is something you have to hear to believe.

More:

Harvesting Sound and Reaping the Health Benefits - faribaultcountyregister.com | News, Sports, Information on the Blue Earth region - Faribault County...

Baseline Tap House A personal favorite of mine at the Disney Parks.

When I visit Walt Disney World Resort, I always look forward to spending a few hours at Baseline Tap House. People watching, listening to relaxing music, sipping on my favorite drink, and munching on a delicious pretzel. Yep, it is by far the perfectcombination.

Now, I know Baseline Tap House can become very crowded, very quickly, but if you time it right and have a bit of patience, I promise it is worth it. In my opinion, this is one of the best spots on Walt Disney World property.

Kick back, relax, sip on a good craft beer (or maybe even a glass of wine), munch on some amazing Disney food, and enjoy my favorite bar Baseline Tap House. So why do I love this little pub so much? Lets dive in.

This adorable pub is located on Grand Avenue in Disneys Hollywood Studios, right next door to Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, on your way over to Star Wars: Galaxys Edge. The theming of the bar gives off a modern-day Downtown Los Angeles vibe, yet it re-imagines the beautiful Grand Avenue area of Disneys Hollywood Studios.

If you are all for a cute little mom-and-pop pub, this is the place to be. Inside, you will find a decent size bar with seating located around the walls, but my personal favorite is the seating outside.

The terrace offers a variety of seating where you can relax those feet and shade yourself from the hot Florida sun and just people watch.

The music is also very unique. Baseline Tap House plays a variety of modern day artists, such as Justin Bieber, but it is not what you are thinking. These songs are re-imagined to a more relaxing vibe as you sip on your adult beverages, which brings me to

Baseline Tap House offers a wide variety of California craft ales, lagers and cider. Disney guests can also opt for the beer flight, in which they can choose any four beers on the menu (pictured above). I love getting the craft beer flight as I feel it is a good value and a fun experience trying all of the different craft beers offered.

I also typically opt for the Blood Orange Cider (the last choice on the right in the photo above) as I find it is extremely refreshing, especially on a hot Florida day. another recommendation of mine, the Golden Road Hefeweizen. This craft beer is very light and flavorful.

But thats not all. If you arent a beer guy, Baseline also offers California wines on tap (such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay) or specialty cocktails!

And if you are traveling with little ones, the bar also offers non-alcoholic beverages such as soda on tap. Kids can choose from a delicious black cherry soda or wild strawberry lemonade!

And of course The food! Now, Baseline does not offer a full menu, so dont think this is a great place for dinner. However, they do offer some amazing small plate and snack options that are perfect for sharing with the whole family.

My personal favorite The Bavarian Pretzel, which is served with Beer-Cheese Fondue and Spicy Mustard (but I always opt for double cheese as I am not a huge fan of mustard). Pair this with a delicious Blood Orange Cider and you have yourself the perfect afternoon treat!

The pub also offers a California Cheese and Charcuterie Plate served on a charcuterie board, a Coffee-rubbed Rib-eye Steak Puff with Olive Salad and spiced almonds.

There is just something so special about Baseline Tap House that stands out to me from the other locations on property. Maybe its because Im a sucker for a good mom and pop pub. Or maybe it is because I love sipping on a beer, munching on a pretzel, and people watching with my friends and family.

But overall, I find Baseline Tap House very relaxing and a great place to take in some of the Disney atmospheres for a little while. Instead of running around the theme parks, killing those feet and sweating in the hot Floridian sun, stop by Baseline Tap House, even for one drink, and I promise, youll thank me later.

If you want to try out Baseline Tap House on your next Walt Disney World Resort vacation, but arent sure where to begin planning, then dont hesitate to reach out to our friends over at Academy Travel.

Click here to get your free travel quote today, and to get started planning that next magical Disney vacation.

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Op Ed: Baseline Is Hands Down One Of The Best Places On Disney Property - Inside the Magic

RAVE to the mystery neighbor who softly practices jazz on the saxophone after dinner. It sounds like someone unwinding after a long day and the relaxation reaches out between our houses. Thank you for the music.

RANT to the person who threw a paver through the windshield of our car. Thanks a lot for wrecking my morning and messing up our week. Did you even think about the chaos you might cause to a busy family juggling three kids, three jobs and a parent with limited mobility? What happened to make you so inconsiderate, destructive and just plain mean? I hope you got $400 worth of enjoyment out of that moment, because thats how much we are paying for your little bit of fun.

RAVEtothe two young girls who walked around offering all the staffat an EvergreenHealth hospice center handmade beaded bracelets, some of which spelled out thank you. During an intense day as a hospice nurse, I was so touched by them. They made our day!

RANTto everyone walking in head-to-toe black clothing, glaring at me as I drive toward you. Trust me, I dont want to hit you, but I cant see you! I am driving as slowly and defensively as I can, but you need to do your part by being easier to be see at dusk and after dark. Well all be happier.

RAVEto the smiling lady who saw my need for a parking space at Alderwood mall and pointed out that she was leaving. Because of her kindness, I was able to be on time for my appointment.The world becomes a better place when we can do something to help someone else. This didnt cost her a thing, but to me, her kindness was immeasurable. I was pleased to pay this ladys kindness forward the next day.

RANT to our cable provider for canceling The Arts Channel from its list of programs. It was so relaxing to get away from the mayhem and violence of so many other channels. I realize not all the programs are enjoyed by everyone, but there was almost always something soothing at all times. Please consider returning The Arts Channel back to your list for oh so many of us!

RAVE to the Fred Meyer stores that have placed a recycling bin at their entrances for all those plastic bags and wrappers that we dont know what to do with. The instructions state specifically that they are not to go in general recycling bins.

RANT AND RAVERave to my late husband, who lived and died so courageously. Our 40 years together werent nearly long enough. Rant to phone scammers who are already preying on my loss, phishing for his information before hes even been cremated. Words cant express my disgust and despair.

See the article here:

Rant & Rave: Thank you to the mystery neighbor who softly practices their saxophone after dinner - Seattle Times

This week, our music critics have picked everything from Chastity Belt to Raphael Saadiq to Lavender Country. Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips for all of their picks, and find even more shows on our complete music calendar. Plus, check out our arts & culture critics' picks for the 73 best things to do this week.

Moe Ribbs Blues Band Five Chicago blues-loving Seattle musicians band together to play Mississippi Delta-inspired covers and originals. As the band puts it, "We can lay down some blues so greasy you had better bring a bib!"

188 Sullivan: Charlie Parker's New York in the '50s The D'Vonne Lewis Quartet will play the music of Charlie Parker (which you can also hear this week in Seattle Opera's production of Yardbird) and the Seattle Modern Orchestra will play the premiere of 188 Sullivan (which press materials describe as "Varese meets Bird").

Tove Lo, ALMA I associate Tove Lo with the horny, sweaty moments when youre collecting yourself in a club bathroom. Im wet through all my clothes / Im fully charged, nipples are hard / Ready to go, she purrs on her 2017 iconic BANGER of a track, disco tits. The Swedish princess of dark pop is touring in support of her most recent release, Sunshine Kitty. The record is a bit lighter in fare and sound for those accustomed to her grungy approach to hyper-pop, but the tropical-inflected track with Doja Cat, Equally Lost, is a punch in the face. Tove Lo will be joined by Finnish artist and frequent collaborator ALMA. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Death Cab for Cutie There is something inherently gray and rainy about Ben Gibbardled alt-rock band Death Cab for Cutie, which makes sensetheyre from Bellingham. They churn out some poignant ballads. Some barn burners. Some dark, Radiohead-flavored odes. This three-night stint to replace their September storm-out is ostensibly a hometown run, still supporting 2018'sThank You for Today, but also the super fresh (just released)The Blue EP. Three notable PNW acts open each night: Seattle blues-punk greats the Black Tones on Monday, Portland-based dreamily melodic indigenous rocker Black Belt Eagle Scout on Tuesday, and indie folk-rock singer-songwriter Laura Gibson on Wednesday. LEILANI POLK

Lyle Lovett & His Acoustic Group With 14 albums under his belt, the musician and actor has become an institution unto himself. Now, the acclaimed performer launches a new tour with his Acoustic Group. Together they cover a variety of genres, offering elements of country, folk, jazz, and even gospel.

PolyGras with Polyrhythmics and the Pulsations Spend Mardi Gras getting down to soulful, funky Afrobeat fusion with Polyrhythmics and the Pulsations (a.k.a West Seattle Soul).

Terror, The Warriors, Creeping Death, Dare, 2KLIX LA-formed hardcore heavies Terror will shred to death with support from the Warriors, Creeping Death, Dare, and 2KLIX.

Andy Shauf, Molly Sarle Toronto-based, Saskatchewan-raised songwriter Andy Shauf will come to Seattle with his new concept album, The Neon Skyline, which tells a story that takes over the place of one night. It becomes more rewarding the closer you listen, according to Pitchfork'sSam Sodomsky. He'll be joined by Mountain Man'sMolly Sarle.

Mardi Gras with True Loves and Birch Pereira & The Gin Joints Birch Pereira and the Gin Joints will provide you with swing, country, and rock-inspired originals on Mardi Gras. They'll be joined bySeattle-based soul and funk group True Loves.

Raphael Saadiq A few years ago, Amy Winehouse's Back to Black (created with invaluable help from Mark Ronson and the Dap-Kings) reminded a whole bunch of (white) people about the vast aural pleasures of old-school soul. Legendary singer-songwriter-producer Raphael Saadiq has devoted most of his life to these pleasures, leading the chart-conquering new jack swingsters Tony! Toni! Ton!, producing the deep funk stew of D'Angelo's classic Voodoo, and, most recently, releasing his freakishly accomplished 2008 solo album The Way I See It. The latter is an impeccable dazzler that comes on like a one-man Motown show, with Saadiq playing all the parts, from mastermind Berry Gordy to songwriting factory Holland-Dozier-Holland to singing-songwriting superstar Smokey Robinson. That the end result manages to spring to its own 21st-century life is a testament to Saadiq's gifts. DAVE SEGAL

Kat Edmonson American vocalist Kat Edmonson makes what she refers to as "vintage pop," a genre blend of jazz and swing with traditional pop, chamber pop, '50s rock, blues, bossa nova, country-inflected pop, and folk music.

Albert Cummings Blues singer and guitarist Albert Cummings uses his decades of experiences to impart true stories and hardened tales of the genre.

Ron Artis II & The Truth The soulful blues singer and guitaristRon Artis II will come to Seattle with his band the Truth.

US3R Record Release Party with Static Shore & Jupiter Drake Seattle synth-pop artistUS3R will celebrate his newest record, Influence, with support from his friends Static Shore, Techno Mage, and Jupiter Drake.

Rapsody Grammy-nominated North Carolina MC Rapsody, who was featured on Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, will come to Seattle on herA Black Woman Created This Tour.

Alter Bridge, Clint Lowery, Deepfall On their Walk the Sky Tour, forceful hard rock quartet Alter Bridge will promote their latest album of the same name, with Clint Lowery and Deepfall.

Big Bite, Dreamdecay, Old Dark House Local punks Big Bite will supply sludgy slacker rock before they head out on tour. They'll be joined by locals Dreamdecay and spooky duo Old Dark House.

Papooz, Fruit Juice I kinda love Papooz, a French band whose self-styled tropical groove sound puts me right in the middle of yacht rocks most fruitful period, the mid-1970s to early 80s. They churn out airy, easy, rolling soft prog rock that gives off deep Supertramp vibes, but there are also some ELO and 10ecc influences in there, too. Theres some sexy sax, piano-driven segues, and high-toned earnest vocals that veer into breathy and sometimes creamy falsetto heights. You can almost see the wide-leg pants and neck scarves in songs ranging from the soft bedroom ode Safe Into My Lovers Arms to Bubbles, which feels outer-spacey and expansive even at a mere three minutes, to the laid-back grooving, late-night disco breeziness of Night Sketches, the title track from their 2019 LP. LEILANI POLK

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo have a whole bunch of guys singing bass. That's the secret to their success. Okay, Paul Simon "found" them, and that's been the secret to their success in what we loosely term "the West." By 1986, though, when Ladysmith Black Mambazo recorded and performed with Simon, they already had more than 20 albums in their native South Africa. Now they have more than 50 albums. They never stop touring, and they've outlasted the racist apartheid system under which the older members grew up. They're still ambassadors to South African culture. And they make people happyboldly, unironically, and enthusiastically. ANDREW HAMLIN

Charlie Parker's 'Yardbird' Jazz icon Charlie Parker gets the operatic treatment in this Seattle Opera production ofDaniel Schnyder'sYardbird, a journey through limbo by Parker, who struggles to complete his last masterpiece amidst a series of flashbacks that showcases the glorious heyday of iconic NYC jazz club Birdland, as well as the failures and victories of Parker's dynamic life.

Big Brass Extravaganza: Skablins, Ten Man Brass Band, The Highsteppers Keep your Mardi Gras party spirit going strong with a night of brass withSkablins, Ten Man Brass Band, and the Highsteppers.

moe. moe. brings the concept of a progressive rock jam band to a new level for their first Seattle show in two years.

Stanton Moore, David Torkanowsky, James Singleton Stanton Moore is a giant of modern drumming whos been working out of New Orleans since cofounding one of that citys more popular jazz-funk ensembles, Galactic. He is also one of the key OGs in post-jazz rock outfit Garage A Trois, among a wide range of other gigs (including keeping beats on Street Sweeper Social Clubs eponymous debut) and solo endeavors. On this date, hell be with his trio, which includes bassist James Singleton (Nolatet, Astral Project) and venerable NOLA keysman David Torkanowsky. LEILANI POLK

Robyn Hitchcock For more than 40 years, Nashville-via-London guitarist/vocalist Robyn Hitchcock has been one of rocks wittiest and wiliest surrealists. Starting with the short-lived Soft Boys, Hitchcock achieved summits of strange and hook-wise psych-rock, especially on the 1980 classicUnderwater Moonlight. A long career leading the Egyptians and as a solo eccentric ensued, with songs veering from whimsical to sinister to absurd to morbid. Hitchcock has taken the twisted aesthetics of Syd Barretts Bike, John Lennons I Am the Walrus, and Frank Zappa/Kim Fowleys Help, I'm a Rock to shape his own eldritch catalog.Robyn Hitchcock, his most recent album, is robust sexagenarian rock that proves the mans lyrical and melodic chops remain exceptionally sharp. DAVE SEGAL

Donavon Frankenreiter with Christina Holmes Prolific touring musician Donavon Frankenreiter will play everything from surf-inspired serenades to bluesy funk on this stop on his Record Player Tour withChristina Holmes.

[untitled] 2 I love the [untitled] series. The concert happens later in the evening (10 p.m.) in the lobby of Benaroya Hall. Some attendees dress more casually for the event, while others dress to the nines because they're the kind of people who do that. The people-watching is excellent, and the music is always cutting-edge and daring. At this iteration, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and pianist Cristina Valds will present the work of four contemporary Latin American composers, including world premieres fromCarlos Sanchez-Gutierrez andJuan David Osorio. RICH SMITH

Shelf Nunny, WMD One of the most interesting acts on Alex Ruders Seattle-based Hush Hush label, Shelf Nunny (aka local producer Christian Gunning) specializes in down-tempo electronic music that unobtrusively gets funky while aspiring to chill you out and tickle that part of the brain that enjoys pretty, delicate melodies. At these tasks, Shelf Nunny excels with understated brilliance. For fans of Boards of Canada, Casino Versus Japan, and Mm. DAVE SEGAL

Beats Antique, David Starfire Oakland-based Beats Antique is a prime paradigm of three people with diverse talents banding together to create something uniquely fresh. CIA grad David Satori spent many years playing in a 10-piece Afrobeat band, and he juggles viola, guitar, banjo, melodica, and various instruments from around the world like the saz and electric cmb (a sort of Turkish banjo). Lifelong dancer Zoe Jakes started in jazz and ballet, settled on belly dancing that incorporates elements of tango, popping, and Indian styles, did stints with Yard Dogs Road Show and Belly Dance Superstars, and plays strap-on bass drum. Tommy "Sidecar" Cappel picked up drums young (he was beat-keeping by 6), and his jazz, prog, and metal influences were augmented by a Berklee education, and grew to encompass world music that included non-jazz rhythmic patterns of African and Arab music. All three are involved in electro production techniques, their resulting sound heady, mesmerizing, sonically bright and exciting, danceable, and just fucking cool experimental world fusion that's heavy on samples, sequencing, and percussives. LEILANI POLK

Mike Clark, Wil Blades, Skerik As a drummer with Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters, Mike Clark manufactured some of the most complexly funky rhythms of the funkiest decade ever: the 1970s. On albums such asThrust,Man-Child,Survival of the Fittest, andStraight from the Gate, Clark proved himself a key figure in fusion while also laying down many grooves sampled by hip-hop and electronic-music producers: Go straight to Herbies Actual Proof for actual proof. In addition, Clarks sessionography boasts dates with some of jazzs greatest: Joe and Eddie Henderson, Chet Baker, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter, and many more. Now 73, Clark has made a lot of solid records since his 1970s heyday, such as 1992sThe Funk Stops Herewith Headhunters bassist Paul Jackson and 2010'sCarnival of Soul. He still packs a vigorous punch behind the kit. DAVE SEGAL

T.S.O.L., the Derelicts, Coffin Break, the Lucky Boys, Fully Crazed, Thee Deception, Kids On Fire, Convictions, the Scoffs Goddamn, yall, I can almost make my fucking word count just LISTING the bands playing across TWO stages on this big bill!!! El Corazon's stage will feature locals the Lucky Boys, denim-clad punks the Derelicts, and Coffin Break, plus Fully Crazed (metal tinged skate rock from Jaks Skate Team/ex-Dayglo Abortions/ex-ShutDownmembers). The Funhouse stage will feature local punks Thee Deception, fun pop punk from Kids On Fire, melodic punk from the Scoffs, and some Midwestern contemporary metal from Convictions. All are opening for original SoCal punk group True Sounds of Liberty! (T.S.O.L.!) Hella bands for a nice price. MIKE NIPPER

Chastity Belt, Loose Tooth The always-charming-but-also-kinda-sad post-party-punk quartet Chastity Belt is back, baby! Not that they went anywhere too far, but this is their first tour since calling off dates last year due to health reasons. Were glad theyre feeling better. Meeting as students in Walla Walla, the now-Seattle-based band hasnt released anything since their 2017 recordI Used to Spend So Much Time Alone, but they have some new stuff on the way. In the meantime, youre just going to have to play the jangly Cool Slut over and over while you tipsily get ready to go out. Ive heard that Different Now, the moody, 90s-inspired opener off their most recent album, is the perfect song to crack open a shower beer to. From a friend. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Falling In Reverse, Escape the Fate, The Word Alive Beloved by some and deeply questioned by others (Stranger staffer Mike Nipper called them "a wanna-be contemporary version of wanna-be '80s hair bands," for example), punky youngsters Falling In Reverse will come to Seattle on theirThe Drug In Me Is Gold Tour with support fromEscape the Fate and the Word Alive.

Joshua Radin & Friends with Ben Kweller and William Fitzsimmons Joshua Radin has the monopoly on emotionally resonant indie rock, and will be illustrating the reasons for his success in a set flanked by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ben Kweller and emo-folk songwriter William Fitzsimmons.

Lawrence NYC-raised sibling duo Clyde and Gracie Lawrence lead an eight-piece soul-pop band under their own name. Catch them in Seattle with LA duoMaro.

Paragon Live Presents Ruthie Craft Join up-and-coming soulful pop-rock artist Ruthie Craft and former American Idol competitor Ruthie Craft for an intimate performance.

Niyaz: The Fourth Light Project Deemed "an evolutionary force in contemporary Middle Eastern music" by the Huffington Post, trance music artist Niyaz pays tribute toRabia al-Basri, the first female Sufi mystic and poet, on herFourth Light Project. Hear it live on this tour stop.

Jeffrey Silverstein, Ancient Forest, Cat Positive, Surething Portland guitarist Jeffrey Silversteins Nassau duo with Justin Wilcox sounds like a cross between Durutti Column and a less bombastic Fleet Foxes. Their 2017 albumHeronelicits peaceful, easy feelings. Now on his own, Silverstein has cut an EP for the great Driftless Recordings titledHow on Earth, and the feelings are even more peaceful and easy. (He wrote these pieces while serving as an artist-in-residence at Souwester Lodge in Seaview, Washington.) Backed by laid-back drum-machine beats, Silverstein looses spangly globules of six-string magic while occasionally singing in hushed tones. He calls this stuff ambient-folk songs, but the emphasis is on the former word. Against the odds, Silverstein has created a sweet strain of chill-out tapestries thats as relaxing as a trip to your favorite nature retreat which may be in Seaview. DAVE SEGAL

Clapped! Local drag performer, musician, and nightlife icon Michete will throw a party in honor of her first public appearance after getting facial feminization surgery. The twist? Something may have gone horribly wrong. Find out for yourself and enjoy additional performances from Rowan Ruthless, Femme Daddy, and other locals for a night of drag, music from DJs Jane Don't and Joe Valley, and all the Tito's Vodka drink specials you can handle.

Paw Print: A Benefit Concert for Homeward Pet Adoption Center This showcase of local hip-hop artists Grieves, Mouse Powell, Campana, JAGA, and Diveyede will donate all proceeds to theHomeward Pet Adoption Center.

Mike Dillon Band with Brad Houser and Brian Haas Traditionalist jazz heads, beware: You could call what Mike Dillon does jazz in the broadest sense of the termthere are grooves, there are rhythms, and there are vibes. But Dillon is a percussive force of nature, not content to remain within the genre lines. In fact, the longer hes played, the weirder his music has become. He grunts, howls, murmurs in a devilish growl, groans, bellows, and pretty much creates a musical ruckus while playing drums and vibraphone, sometimes both at once, in firm and calculated strokes or full-on crashing and banging modes. The music that issues forth is a punk-caked, metal-shredded, post-jazz explosion with Dillons own added salt and vinegar. Hes a fucking beast, and a must-see, especially as joined by Brian Haas, the forward-thinking leader and keysman of super-heady post-jazz explorers Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (he also plays with Dillon in Nolatet) and bassist/horn player/New Bohemians founder Brad Houser, also a member of Critter Buggin with Dillon. LEILANI POLK

Provinces by Chris Icasiano with Brenda Xu and Nic Masangkay Filipino American percussionist and composer Christopher Icasiano presents his debut solo work, Provinces; two suites that explore "the complexity of cultural identity and community as a second-generation immigrant in Seattle." He'll be joined on stage by all-star musicians Tomo Nakayama, Alina To, and Lori Goldston, with additional support fromsongwriter Brenda Xu and producer/songwriter Nic Masangkay.

'The Church' with Mortiferum Chaos ensues in Dario Argento's film The Church when the staff and visitors of a haunted cathedralthe sight of a bloody medieval massacrefall victim to an unsealed crypt crawling with unholy monsters. This screening will be preceded by a live set from Mortiferum, who promise to "spew forth anguished slabs of death-doom filth of the most wretched order."

Black Plastic Clouds, ONOFF, Crooked Looks Experimental prog-rock band Black Plastic Clouds will take over Pioneer Square with support from ONOFF, coming all the way from Dublin.

Seattle Freeze Fest 2 Float between Black Lodge and Victory Lounge for all-ages sets fromDARK SMITH, WEEP WAVE, Antonioni, Beverly Crusher, Flesh Produce, Jayomi, Medejin, and other great local punk-rock and experimental bands.

Umphrey's McGee, Andy Frasco and The UN Umphrey's McGee purvey a heady, percussive-fleshed synthesis of jazz, funk, electro, metal, prog, and rock informed by both classic and modern influences, and salted with reggae, yacht-rock, pop, and blues. They also have a way of genre-jumping from one song to the next, or multiple times within the same song, while still remaining tight and focused. These guys dont jam, but practice calculated improvisation, with pre-determined key changes and a series of hand gestures and signals they employ while on stage to communicate their next move. This is the sort of band thats as likely to play covers of Talking Heads or Radiohead as King Crimson or Frank Zappa in a two-set show (they also do cover mash-ups), and though theyre 11 LPs deepthe latest is its not usyou must experience the Chicago sextet live to appreciate their full awe factor. LEILANI POLK

William Duvall of Alice in Chains Former Alice in Chains frontman William DuVall will show you what he's made of without his signature band.

Livingroom Concert: Tiffany Wilson Join up-and-coming soul artistTiffany Wilson for a cozy concert featuring songs from her sophomore release.

Lavender Country, Ashleigh Flynn & the Riveters Lavender Countrys Patrick Haggerty is everyone's favorite gay cowboy. This will probably be true for all of time, but its definitely true right now. Haggerty has had a popular resurgence ever since Lavender Country rereleased their nearly 40-year-old self-titleddebutrecognized as the first gay country album ever createdin 2014. Since then, hes been on a roll. Haggerty opened forgay country crooner Orville Peck at his most recent show in Seattle. And Lavender Countrys I Cant Shake the Stranger Out of You was recently coveredby drag star/country singer Trixie Mattel on her latest album. Go see Haggerty whenever you can. Youll leave verklempt. CHASE BURNS

Violins of Hope Music of Remembrance will present a concert featuring the Violins of Hope, a private collection ofstring instruments that belonged to Jews who played them before and during the Holocaust that have since been restored. This program will showcase musicby composers lost to the Holocaust, with violist Susan Gulkis Assadi, cellist Walter Gray, clarinetist Laura DeLuca,and violinists Mikhail Shmidt, Natasha Bazhanov, Artur Girsky.

Global Rhythms: Marc Ribot and Haram Dont read the comments, everyone tells you. Which does bring up the question, why does everybody still comment if nobodys supposed to read it? Well, I went against hive advice and got stung, because Marc Ribot got dismissed as boring surf clichs recycled. Im not sure why these guys cant create anything truly original. Man. With whom has Marc Ribot played? Everybody! Who keeps hiring him? Everybody! He shouldnt be able to impress us, let alone frighten us if he wants to! But he does! ANDREW HAMLIN

Thundercat The music of Los Angelesbased bassist/composer Stephen Lee Bruner (aka Thundercat) is transcendent. And thats a fact. His distinct blend of jazz, soul, and funk is fresh and cosmic while also throwing back to the likes of Sun Ra and Miles Davis. Having worked extensively with Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington, Kendrick Lamar on To Pimp a Butterfly (for which Lamar won a Grammy for best rap/sung performance), Erykah Badu, and dozens of other contemporary musicians, Thundercat is as influential as he is technically accomplished. His most recent release, 2017s Drunk, is astonishing in its range and intimacylight some incense and float to Lava Lamp. JASMYNE KEIMIG

American Nightmare Harcore DIY five-pieceAmerican Nightmare will rip through Seattle with a mix of "traditional hardcore" from the American canon, British punky attitude, and emotional lyrics.

Echosmith Join indie-pop sibling ensemble Echosmith on theirLonely Generation Tour.

Excerpt from:

The 53 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week: February 24-March 1, 2020 - TheStranger.com

If "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac makes you drowsier than a few sips of chamomile tea, then science fully supports it being your sleep anthem despite the myth that falling asleep to music is counterproductive to your needed eight hours of rest.

Jennifer Mundt, Ph.D., a certified sleep psychologist at the Northwestern Medicine Sleep Disorders Centre, confirms that there's nothing inherently healthy or unhealthy about falling asleep to music.

"Your musical tastes and preferences are most important, as well as how music affects you," Mundt elaborates. "The key is to make sure that [the music] does not actually interfere with you falling asleep or staying asleep."

For some, that may mean pausing the heavy metal and tuning into a softer melody; there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for getting some shut-eye. Mundt does suggest calming, relaxing, and mindless songs, though it's best to avoid soundtracks that could cause emotional responses or trigger thoughts.

Along with a specially-curated sleep playlist, she advocates for setting an automatic timer on your phone this way your REM cycle won't be disrupted by a shift in genre after you've dozed off.

Mundt isn't the only one in support of a good nighttime queue. According to Sleepadvisory.org, falling asleep to music can impact you the same way a lullaby would a child: "If listening to background noise becomes a part of your nightly routine, the positive effects can multiply."

Consistently listening to a soothing melody will not only relax you, but it'll train your body that soft music is a signal for rest.

The site even claims music between 60 to 80 BPM (think "Someone Like You" by Adele and "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz) are in the sleepy sweet spot, as they closely match our resting heart rate and soothe on a biological level.

Michael J Breus, Ph.D., backs this idea in an article entitled "The Many Health and Sleep Benefits Of Music" for Psychology Today, stating that calming music can also trigger sleep-friendly hormones such as serotonin and oxytocin while reducing sleep-stifling hormones like cortisol.

Now that we've busted that bedtime myth, you can catch me cocooned in my weighted blanket, eye mask on, humming along to Stevie Knicks kindly do not disturb.

Click here for more health and wellness stories, tips, and news.

Image Source: Getty / Westend61

Continued here:

Falling Asleep to Music Has Multiple Benefits Heres How to Pick the Right Track - POPSUGAR UK

Services and studies

Dayspring Church Apostolic Worship begins at 11:15 a.m. at the church, 2127 Doctors Park Drive, Columbus. On Sunday, the church will be inspired by, Redemption of The Lost. This is taken from Luke 15:4 where, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? is the action taken by the jailer. Every visitor will receive a free gift.

The Sunday Education Session starts at 10 a.m. and covers Forgiveness, Faith, and Service as shared in Luke 17:1-10.

Bible Study is Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and is a group session sponsored by Heart Changers International, LLC on Depression, Perfection and Grief with hand out questions. These help build our Personal Empowerment and walk.

Our Prayer of Power starts at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and is preceded with requests and instructions on prayer. The Celebrate Recovery Group session starts at 6:30 p.m. for about an hour.

Ignite is the Youth Growth Session that happens every third Friday.

For more information please call (812) 372- 9336, or email dayspringchurch@att.net.

East Columbus United Methodist Sunday events begin at 9 a.m. at East Columbus United Methodist Church at 2439 Indiana Ave. in Columbus, with fellowship time in the foyer with beverages and snacks. Worship begins at 9:30 a.m.

Sunday School begins at 10:40 a.m. for all ages and Bible interests.

Faith Lutheran Pastor Todd Riordan will be preaching on Sunday at the 9 a.m. service, with Sunday school at 10:30 a.m.

Mens Bible study on Romans at Lincoln Square restaurant on State Road 46 West, 11 a.m. to noon Wednesday. Womens Bible study on Romans at Faith Lutheran from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Game night is Sunday, Feb. 23 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Faith.

Choir meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.

Preschool enrollment is open now and after school care is also offered, call 812-342-3587.

The church is located at 6000 W. State Road 46, Columbus.

First Presbyterian The final Sunday before the beginning of Lent is Transfiguration Sunday, when we reflect on that mysterious moment on the mountain top (Mark 8:27 9:8). The sermon will be titled Turning Point.

Worship begins at 9:30 a.m., 512 Seventh St. in Columbus. Infant and toddler care is available 9:15 a.m. to noon. The mens and womens support groups meet on Fridays at 7 a.m., and a second mens support group (working age men) meets every Monday at 6:15 a.m.

People in the community in need of a meal are invited to our hot meals offered Friday at 5 p.m. (please enter through the glass doors on Franklin). We are an LGBTQ-friendly church. Open and affirming to all.

Information: fpccolumbus.org

First United Methodist On Sunday, Feb. 23, at the 9 a.m. Traditional Service and 11 a.m. The Table, the Rev. Sarah Campbell will deliver the message, Mountaintop Views: Transfiguration Sunday at the church, 618 Eighth St. The scripture will be Exodus 24:12-18 and Matthew 17:1-9.

Sunday School for all ages begins at 10:10 a.m. Child care is available during the service.

On Wednesday, Feb. 26, the church will have an Ash Wednesday Worship Service at 7 p.m. This service marks a season of repentance and reflection leading to the joy of Easter morning.

Every Wednesday at noon from Feb. 26 to Apr. 8 there will be a Lenten organ recital at various churches throughout Columbus. Feb. 26 will feature Erik Matson at First United Methodist Church.

Information: 812-372-2851 or fumccolumbus.org.

Flintwood Wesleyan The church is located at 5300 E. 25th St.

Sunday services are Amplify (non-traditional) at 9 a.m. and The Well (traditional) at 11 a.m. Both Amplify and The Well are in the main sanctuary and led by the Rev. Wes Jones, senior pastor. Sunday School classes meet in their regular rooms at 10 a.m.

The Prayer Team meets at 8 a.m. Adult Choir Practice is 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday evenings Celebrate Recovery begins with a meal at 5:25 p.m. in The Friendship Center and the meeting starts at 6 p.m. upstairs in Curry Hall.

Connections, a ladies study group, is led by Pastor Teri Jones. The group meets the second and fourth Monday of each month at 10 a.m. in The Friendship Center.

In the Beginning, a small group Bible study, meets Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. They are now meeting in the basement of the church in the young adult classroom. They are studying the book of Genesis. You can start at any point so new members are welcome to join.

Wednesday activities begin with a meal at 5:30 p.m. The program, iKids (Ignite Kids) On Fire For Jesus! starts at 6:15 p.m. This program is for kids in Pre-K through the sixth grade. The Prayer Team meets at 6:15 p.m. in the Prayer Room and youth meets at 6:30 p.m. downstairs in the church. Bible study is at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary.

On Thursday, Cub Scout Pack #588 will meet at 7 p.m.

Small group Cover to Cover is a Christian book club that meets the second Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. to select a new book and discuss the book they just read. Group meets in The Friendship Center. If interested contact Kim Rutan at 812-343-2217 (call or text) or via email at flintwoodoffice@gmail.com.

March 8 is Baptism Sunday. If you wish to be baptized, please get in touch with Pastor Wes.

For further information, call 812-379-4287 or email flintwoodoffice@gmail.com. Church office hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Our website is flintwood.org.

Garden City Church of Christ On Sunday, at the 10 a.m. service, Garden City Church of Christ will continue the four-week sermon series called Mission: Possible (His Mission. Your World.).

This sermon series will offer clear Bible teaching designed to empower you to share your faith with people right in your own neighborhood. Discover Gods mission for your life, how to connect with people, how serving others can open hearts to the gospel, and how paying attention to your own spiritual growth can strengthen your witness.

Garden City Church of Christ is located at 3245 Jonesville Road, Columbus.

For more information, visit gardencitychurch.com or call 812-372-1766.

Grace Lutheran The Rev. John Armstrong will preach on Sunday. Worship is at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., with Sunday School for all ages at 9:30 a.m.

Alpha, an introduction to the Bible continues Tuesday, Feb. 25, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with the topic Where is God when it hurts?

Searching Scripture continues Tuesday, Feb. 25, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with the topic The Apostles Creed.

The church is located at 3201 Central Ave., Columbus.

Old Union United Church of Christ Scriptures for the 10 a.m. Sunday service will include Exodus 24:12-18, 2 Peter 1:16-21, and Matthew 17:1-9. The message will be Lessons from the Mountaintop.

Sunday school will be at 9 a.m. with fellowship at 9:40 a.m.

The church is located at 12703 N. County Road 50W, Edinburgh.

Petersville United Methodist Church Guest speaker, Jonathan Ooms, Clay Township Fire Department fire chief, will bring the message at the 9 a.m. worship service on Sunday morning at the church, 2781 N. County Road 500E, Columbus.

The congregation will celebrate and commit to their 2020 Faith Promise program of extra mile giving for missions. Lector Bill Pershing will lead the congregation in scripture and Teresa Covert will present the childrens message.

Monday at 6:30 p.m., the Bakers Dozen Bible Study group meets at the Larry & Connie Nolting home and Journey Bible Study meets at the home of Chris Kimerling. Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. is choir led by Kathy Bush. Bible Study and Prayer group meets Thursday at 10 a.m. with Barb Hedrick leader. United Methodist Mens next meeting is Sunday, March 1 at 7:15 a.m. New members are always welcome.

Information: 812-447-9357 or 574-780-2379

St. Paul Lutheran Transfiguration Sunday will be celebrated at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 6045 E. State St., with Pastor Doug Baumans sermon entitled A Lamp Shining in a Dark Place based on II Peter 1:16-21 at the 8 and 10:45 a.m. services.

Children will process with Alleluia Banners that mark the beginning of the Lenten season with Ash Wednesday.

The Spanish Worship Service begins at 10:45 a.m. in the Fellowship Room led by Vicar Fickenscher.

The theme for the 6:45 p.m. Ash Wednesday Communion service will be based on Chief of Sinners Though I Be with Pastor Baumans sermon entitled Sin is Missing the Mark. Imposition of Ashes will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the church. Dinner will be served in the Fellowship Room from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. for a freewill offering.

Open enrollment for the 2020-2021 preschool and kindergarten registration continues. Classes are for children who are 3-, 4- or 5-years old by Aug. 1. Information: 812-376-6504 or stpaulcolumbus.org.

Financial Peace University classes continue at 6 p.m. at the church. Classes teach how to beat debt and make a plan for the future together. Information: philburbrink@gmail.com

Information: 812-376-6504.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus On Sunday at 10 a.m., Will You Harbor Me? will be presented by the Rev. Nic Cable and Lori Swanson. As a caring community, we are faced with the continued question of how we remain present to one another within our community and to those beyond our walls. What would it look like for UUCCI to be a harbor for any and all people looking for a place to feel loved and supported?

The church is at 7850 W. Goeller Blvd., Columbus.

Information: 812-342-6230.

Westside Community Pastor Dennis Aud will lead the service this Sunday at 10 a.m. at the church at the corner of State Road 46 West and Tipton Lakes Blvd. This Sundays sermon will be the second in a series titled, The Malicious 7: Anger.

The childrens program for birth through sixth grade meets at the same time as the 10 a.m. worship service.

For more information on studies or small groups that meet throughout the week, contact the church office at 812-342-8464.

Music

North Christian Church The church is looking for singers to join their Chancel Choir. Rehearsals are Wednesdays at 6 p.m. at the church, 850 Tipton Lane, Columbus.

For more information, contact the Music Director, Travis Whaley, at music@northchristianchurch.com.

Events

Community Church of Columbus An eight-week parenting course entitled Parenting with Love and Logic is designed for parents of children ages 6 and under. The course will be offered at Community Church of Columbus, 3850 N. Marr Road, as part of the Tuesday Connection series. Dinner is also available each week at 5:30 p.m. along with child care at no cost.

Eckankar of Southern Indiana The meetings focus on an aspect of Eckankar and will feature readings from the books of Eckankar with group discussions of the spiritual principles at work in our lives. Please join others to bring more spiritual insight and divine love into our daily lives.

The Spiritual Discussion group meets the third Sunday of each month at 1:30 p.m. Fellowship and light refreshments will follow. The meeting is at 7850 W. Goeller Blvd. Columbus located in the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus building.

For more information about Eckankar please see eckankar.org

Information about this meeting: 812-418-8392.

Flintwood Wesleyan Our Heart of Ministries auction and dinner will be March 6 stating at 5:30 p.m. Lots of great items up for auction plus the best desserts in town. The dinner is free and all proceeds goes to fund local, regional, and global ministries.

First United Methodist Tuesday evenings through Feb. 25, the church will host a grief support group. Meetings will begin at 5:30 p.m. The group will explore grief using Julie Yarbroughs book Beyond the Broken Heart: A Journey Through Grief. It will take place in the Blue Room (Room 216) at the church, and is open to anyone. To register, or for more information, call the church office at 812-372-2851.

On Feb. 23 at 6 p.m., FUMC will have its second Life Planning Seminar. This session will focus on Help On Legal Decisions for Healthcare, with Heather Means from Hospice leading the discussion. The session is free and open to anyone in the community. Call Rob Heathcote at 812-344-8437 with any questions.

Jonesville Christian Church The church will host the South Central Indiana Christian Mens Fellowship (SCICMF) on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

A meal of fried chicken with all the trimmings, desserts, and drinks will be from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. The program lead by Steve Gommel, retired from Driftwood Christian Church, will follow at 7:15 p.m.

The church is at 609 Commerce St., Jonesville.

North Christian Church The Centering Prayer Group that meets in the North Christian Prayer Chapel, Lower Level #6, on Friday mornings from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. This is a drop-in prayer group, meaning that you can come as your schedule allows. Familiarity with Centering Prayer and its spiritual practices is not necessary. For more information, consult the Centering Prayer page at northchristianchurch.com.

The church is hosting the senior project of a Columbus North High School student who is collecting items for children who are in the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program. The CASA program helps children who have been the victims of abuse and neglect. Items being collected include things to help comfort the kids like stuffed animals, blankets, etc., and hygiene items like toothbrushes, shampoo, lotions, etc. Donations should be brought to North Christian Church 8 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Thursday.

Petersville United Methodist Church Coming up Feb. 25 will be a Fat Tuesday meal at the church to raise funds for the Clay Township Fire Department. Serving will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

St. Paul Lutheran An eight-week grief support Bible study entitled, Hope When Your Heart Breaks continues on Monday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. in the churchs Conference Room. Those learning to live without a loved one are welcome.

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Religion news Feb. 22 - The Republic