Updated / Thursday, 5 Dec 2019 15:23

Always looking for fun things to do with my kids that do not involve screens. Unless Man Utd are playing.

More from Your Days Out

It's hard to avoid Shane MacGowan or Maria Carey at this time of year...especiallyif every radio in the house and car have been retuned by your childrento Christmas FM.

The radio station is aiming to raise over 250,000 which will go directly towards Barretstown and you'd have to have a heart of stone not to sing-along.That's what my children keep telling me anyway!

There are also lots of other ways to give back something this Christmas and Leisureplex are hosting a brunchon Sunday with all proceeds going to Children's Health Ireland.

Whatever you do this weekend, have fun!

1)Curry and Hip Hop night at The Bernard Shaw If you need a break from all things Christmas, check out Tara Stewart's brand newCurry and Hip Hop night at The Bernard Shaw. The 2fm presenter, along withMango Dassle, will have you dancing the night away along withtwo very special appearances from Irish rappers Celaviedmai and R3D.

2)Brunch with Santa | Leisureplex Come and meet Santa at Leisureplex on Sunday morning with onehour of playtime, delicious brunch buffet for parents and children and lots of goodies and treats for the little elves. All proceeds will be donated to Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin. Booking essential.

3)RediscoverChristmas Fair The Rediscovery Centre is hosting its own Christmas Fair on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There will be a large selection of stalls with independent suppliers who sell sustainably made products. There will also be plenty of activities for all the family each day with Christmas movies, karaoke, carols, demonstrations and festive food.

4)Elves Workshop at Delta Sensory Gardens The Elves'Workshop at Delta Sensory Gardens in Carlow has lots going on including face painting, arts & crafts, games, a selfie with Santaandentrance to gardens to see the lights display. Book your preferred time slot for Saturday or Sunday in advance.

5)'Twas The Night Before Christmas Inspired by the classic poem, this bilingual show combines storytelling, original live music and puppetry to create a fun and magical festive show for audiences aged 5 and upwards in Pavilion Theatre this Sunday.

6)Forever Young Winterfest The 80s are back in the INEC on Friday & Saturday

Grab your leg warmers, shoulder pads, double denim and scrunchies, because this festival is for grown-ups who want to let loose for a weekend and party like it's 1985 all over again withHoward Jones, Tony Hadley, Nik Kershaw and more.

7)Winter Market The annual Winter Market at The Dock in Carrick-on-Shannon this Saturday & Sunday will be full of gorgeous gifts, yummy food and festive cheer. Start off the season by supporting local craft workers, artists and food makers!

8)Howth Tree Lighting & Free Concert A fun festiveevent in Howth for the annual turning on the Christmas Tree lights with support from Main Street Flowers & The Country Market. Live music, entertainment, family fun, carol singing with a special visit from Santa.After Santa'sreturn to the North Pole, you can enjoy a free performance from the Young Dublin Symphonia in Howth Church from 7pm.

9)Christmas @ Playtown Featuring three popularChristmas experiences on Saturday includingParent & Toddler Christmas Experience on Saturday 7th December from 10am 12pm, The Christmas Experience at 12pm and 2pm and The Sensitive Santa Experiencefrom 4pm 6pm. Advance bookings only.

10)Drogheda Christmas Festival On West Street visitors can expect to meet Mr. & Mrs Claus, enjoy a fabulous Christmas Market and stunning light show on St. Peters Church whileon the Quays there will be a fabulous Vintage Carousel, a Christmas Cinema, Live Music & Entertainment, a mini Christmas Village and a spectacular Fireworks display on the last night.

11)Christmas Crooners Now in its 12th record-breaking year, "Christmas Crooners" in the Nenagh Arts Centre on Saturday night is jam-packed with festive favourites including the Christmas hits of Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and Ol Blue Eyes himself- Frank Sinatra.

A fantastic cast of West-End Singersbacked by The Jazz- All-Starsperform over thirty well known Christmas hits. A perfect evening out to get in the Christmas spirit!

12)Hansel & Gretel It's Christmas Panto weekend in Cork where children can enjoy the CBeebies Christmas Show: Hansel and Gretel on Saturday and Sunday in the Gate Cinemas in Cork City, Mallow and Midleton.

Three things to do next week:

1)Skate with Santa Santa Claus is coming to RollerJam for his annual skate! Santa will meetall the kids on the rink, and parents can take photos of their little ones skating with Santa!

There will also be a private meet and greet option available (for a small extra cost), where the child will get to sit and chat with Santaand receive a special gift.

2)Santa's Cottage Santa's Cottage offers a traditional experience, full of Christmas spirit, in a warm and friendly atmospherein Milltown, Galway. Itis a voluntary community project set up to provide a magical, affordable Santa experience and at the same time raise funds for local charities.

3)A Crafty Little Christmas Enjoy a weekend of family fun and crafts next weekend intheNational Museum of Ireland | Country Lifein Mayo.Craft your own Christmas decorations, enjoy choral performances in the galleries, take on a festive challenge with our activity sheets and watch a seasonal classic in our audio-visual theatre.

Continue reading here:
12 things to do this weekend | Dec 6th - 8th - RTE.ie

Devin Redmond, Susan Schafer and Sarah Prineas share their top picks of books for both children and young adult readers.

George Bernard Shaw said, "make it a rule to never give a child a book you would not read yourself."

With that in mind, we asked some knowledgeable bookworms to create a recommendations list for the best new books for this winter.

Suggestions blow are provided by Sarah Prineas, who is an author and bookseller at Prairie Lights Bookstore, Devin Redmond, who is a teacher-librarian at Coralville Central Elementary School, and Susan Schafer, who is proprietor of The Book Shoppe in Boone.

We have also curated lists for adult fiction and for nonfiction for both kids and adults.

Small in the City by Sydney Smith

You think its a story about being a small child in a big city. You realize theres another story in the illustrations as you read. Get to the end of this book, and it leaves you at a point where the story is not quite resolved. Its absolutely moving.

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The Fate of Fausto by Oliver Jeffers Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Pokko and the Drum by Matthew Forsythe

It is a funny, quirky, really singular book. There is nothing else out there like this. It's about a little frog named Pokko. And it begins like this the biggest mistake Pokkos parents ever made was giving her a drum."

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The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper, illustrated by Carson Ellis

This is a book that is about the winter solstice and how darkness comes into the world this time of year and what we do in the face of it. Its all about bringing the light back into the world on the winter solstice.

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Spencer's New Pet by Jessie Sima

This book is about a boy and a balloon animal. One of them pops, and it may not be what you think it is. Its weird.

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Love and the Rocking Chair by Leo and Diane Dillon Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Mr. Scruff by Simon James

This is a very cute and sweet story for the tiny dog lovers in your life. It does have a happy ending and maybe even a surprise ending.

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The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad, illustrated by Hatem Aly

This is a compelling and vibrantly illustrated story about two sisters. The young girl named Faizah admires her oldest sister Asiyas first-day hijab, and how beautiful she looks in her bright blue hijab. However, once Asiya arrives at school, she discovers not everyone is as accepting, and she has to learn how to be strong.

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My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero, illustrated by Zeke Pea

This is just a fantastic book about a girl who loves her neighborhood that she grew up in. The author writes in the authors note that "its a love letter to both my father, who showed me different ways of experiencing home, and to Corona, California, a city that will always be a part of me."

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Sweet Dreamers by Isabelle Simler

This is a book where animals are beautifully drawn in their sleeping habitat.

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Beastly Puzzles: A Brain-Boggling Animal Guessing Game, by Rachel Poliquin, illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler

This is kind of like a scientific "I Spy" book. I think kids will really like trying to figure out what each animal is.

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How I Met My Monster by Amanda Noll

Ethan is typical little boy. He'd rather play after bed time than actually go to sleep. One night he is looking under his bed for his truck, and he finds a note that says monster meet here for final test. He is like yeah right, my folks are just trying to get me to stay in bed. Then he sees five pairs of eyes looking out at him.

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Because by Mo Willems, illustrated by Amber Ren

This book is about how small things can have large consequences. The book follows a little girl who has never been to an symphony orchestra. Her aunt takes her because her uncle got sick, and her aunt had extra tickets. So this little girl got to go and experience the first concert shes ever heard, and it changed her life.

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The Bear, The Piano, The Dog and the Fiddle by David Litchfield

This book is about friendship, good times and sad times. Theres a lot of different lessons in here.

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My Footprints by Bao Phi, illustrated by Basia Tran

"My Footprints" is about a little girl whos bullied at school because shes a girl. Shes of Asian descent, and she has two moms. On her way home from school one day, she tries to imagine herself as a bird who gets to fly away. When she gets home, her moms sense she's had a bad day at school. When the little girl storms off to the backyard, they come and talk with her and make big footprints. They imagine a strong grizzley bear, and they make up an animal thats strong, brave, and clever, just like her.

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Thurgood by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Bryan Collier Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreno Played the Piano by Margarita Engle Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Moth by Isabel Thomas Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America by Steve Sheinkin

This is about women who were early pilots. Some of these people do not have good ends. The women in this book are brave and strong and mighty, and theyre awesome. They really had to overcome a lot to get into that pilot seat. One of them built their own plane!

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What Miss Mitchell Saw by Hayley Barrett, illustrated by Diana Sukyka Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Wild Honey from the Moon by Kenneth Kraegel

This would be a really good bedtime story book, and you could do it for a couple of nights because it has different chapters. Its about a brave mom, a mouse mother, whose son is sick. To cure him she has to go and get wild honey from the moon. It has a happy ending. This is the kind of book you'll want to examine and look carefully at every picture because theyre detailed, beautiful and colorful.

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Fox and Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

This book is divided into three short stories. In the first stories, Chick is afraid of sea monsters, pirates and shipwrecks. But when you look at the pictures, they are really only sailing in the smallest of ponds.

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Guts by Raina Telgemeier

Guts is a story about anxiety, and every kid will relate to the anxious feelings the character has. Every adult will relate to those experiences well - the hamster wheel you cant jump off of, the what ifs, and the desire to avoid anything that might cause those anxious feelings.

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Bad Hair Day: Frannie K. Stein by Jim Benton

This is a younger chapter book. Its number eight in a series. She is not a girly girl by any means. She makes all sorts of experiments and all sorts of formulas.

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Greystone Secrets #1: The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix, illustrated by Anne Lambelet

Theres a lot of plot twist in this book. Its told from the third person point-of-view. Theres all kinds of things about their house and their parents.

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Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers by Anna James, illustrated by Paola Escobar

This is about Tilly Pages. Shes raised by her grandparents. They own a little bookshop in London called Pages & Company. She never really knew her mom; she left when she was a baby. Her dad died before she was born. Tilly is what is called a bookwanderer. She can use the magic in books to go in and out of them and bring the characters out into her world.

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Elizabeth Webster and the Court of Uncommon Pleas by William Lashner Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Reaching for the Moon: An Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Graphic Novels And Comics

The Crossover, Kwame Alexander, pictures by Dawud Anyabwile Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Stargazing by Jen Wang Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Cog by Greg van Eekhout

I think a younger middle grade reader can take this on. Its about a boy, sort of. Cog is short for cognitive development, and the boy is a robot. His programming adapts as he learns; hes built to learn. His mother figure disappears from his life, so he has to basically go on a quest to find her. Its very funny, on one hand, but its also really heartwarming. Its all about home and family and trying to be a real boy.

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Surprise Lily by Sharelle Byars Moranville

This book is about generations of women in this family, and in some ways, inherited trauma and trying to figure out where you fit in a complicated family. Its a really good read for a reader who really likes character. It evokes farm life really well, including Iowa farm life.

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Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

Seventh-grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend, Eddie, in a bus accident. One day Tristan started reading his best friends journal, and somehow, the journal allows Tristan to see African American folk characters as gods.

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Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds

I was really excited to read this, and I gave it a resounding five stars. This book is divided into different chapters, and it tells about different groups of kids from the same school who all walk home. Jason Reynolds is always a poet with his words. I think that all of his characters feel different and unique. They did in this book as well.

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The Rest of the Story by Sara Dessen

Emma is a seventeen-year-old girl who doesnt remember a lot about her mother, who died when Emma was only twelve. Life for Emma was good and predictable until she has to spend three weeks with her maternal family, who she hasnt seen since she was a little girl, while her dad is in his honeymoon vacation.

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Frankly in Love by David Yoon Find From Your Local Bookseller | Find At Your Local Library | Find On Amazon

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

This is a dark book. It is heavy, and it is young adult. The author, Akwaeke, asks us readers to reexamine our monsters.

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The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

In gaslit Garner County, women and girls are said to harbor powerful magic to lure a man. They believe their skin releases a powerful aphrodisiac that drives men crazy. That is why they are exiled while they released their magic into the wild for their sixteenth year, in order to return purified and ready for marriage.

Read more:
The Best Books For Kids And Teens This Winter - Iowa Public Radio

Mohammad Zubair Ali was also the official guide for famous food blogger Trevor James when he came on his food hunt in Hyderabad.

George Bernard Shaw once famously said: There is no sincerer love than the love for food.

Hyderabad man Mohammad Zubair Ali, it would seem, has applied the maxim to his life with utmost devotion.

Running the popular page Hyderabad Food Diaries on Facebook, Zubair is that Hyderabadi who doesnt need an introduction to the food lovers in the city. A food reviewer and blogger, Zubair started reviewing food on social media three years ago, around the same time that he began hisfood blog.

Today, Zubair has two significant awards in his kitty - Best Food Blogger and Best Social Media Influencer in the state. The awards were given by the Telangana Artists Association, which is supported by the state government. Zubair also takes pride in being the only Hyderabadi to have been invited by Trevor James, the famous Cannadian food blogger who runs the YouTube channel, Food Rangers.

The young man has many gastronomical adventures to share, and most importantly, believes that food reviews should never be dishonest.

This I say because food reviews are taken very seriously and as a food lover, I would never want others to have a bad food experience, he laughs.

Zubair laid his hands on the culinary map of Hyderabad when food blogging and food videos on social media were still gaining traction. He'd always loved food but had never nurtured thoughts on documenting cuisines or writing about them.

I was in the second year of my hotel management course when I discovered my penchant for different cuisines. I was working at Hotel Marriott as part of my internship and I saw how beautifully the chefs made exotic dishes with just a few vegetables. Thoughts wandered to all the different cuisines, home-made food and street food that were lying unexplored in my city. And I just wished I could go and try all of them, Zubair recounts.

Soon after completing his course, he landed a job. But he quit after a while because all that Zubair wanted to do then was to explore food.

I started travelling and reading about food as soon as I left my job. I was clueless about how to promote content on social media and wasnt even sure if my idea of starting a blog would help me earn a living. Its during this time that some of my friends, who were on a trip to Hyderabad, asked me on their fourth day in the city about the best biryani they can eat here. I was annoyed because this city is much more than just biryani. So instead of people calling up and asking for recommendations, I decided why not just put them all under a single-roof, Zubair says.

Restaurants in Hyderabad await the spread of word through Zubairs social media pages for customers to flock to their outlets. From food festivals, menu launches and new eateries, Zubair does it all. However, he hasn't gotten into doing cooking videos.

Cooking is something I do not know. My mother doesnt allow me to enter the kitchen. I am banned. But if need be, I can cook for survival, Zubair laughs.

It wasnt and still isnt easy for Zubair to run his social media accounts. He posts content on his Instagram page every single day, because, There is so much competition around me. I visit a restaurant almost every day to keep the page running. You decide to relax for one day and its very easy for your followers to start following another page. To stay relevant, you need to flood your social media pages with content for followers to not get distracted, Zubair says.

Zubair doesnt discriminate among food. From 5-star restaurants to street food, he reviews anything tasty available in the city. Typically, his posts are 1-2 minute videos on the taste of the food item, the ambience of the restaurant and then the price. He tastes a minimum of 4-5 dishes at a restaurant and doesnt prefer fusion or experimental food.

I usually take a night to decide on the content and most importantly, the right pictures to post. Taking great photographs of food is a hard-earned skill. After all, thats why some people are lucky enough to get paid for it. Details like composition,lighting, and styling, will apply regardless of whether you are using a DSLR or a mobile phone, says Zubair.

On Canadian food blogger Trevor James and his wifes visit to the city last year, Zubair was their official guide who took the couple on a food hunt.

Trevor roamed around the city for six days. I took him to Shah Ghouse, Pista House and the street food stalls along Charminar. Trevor was in awe of our cuisine and for me, it was a rare honour, Zubair recalls.

One of Zubairs most watched videos on Facebook is of Kharoof Mahshi, an oven-roasted whole lamb rubbed with seasonings inside and out, stuffed with rice and ground spices, almonds, pistachios, pine nuts and a variety of spices. Costing Rs 8,000 per plate, Zubair calls it one of the most expensive items he has ever tasted till date.

Though there are a large variety of non-vegetarian items available in the city, Hyderabad also has a sizeable variety when it comes to vegetarian food. Very recently I visited Masala Republic in Gachibowli. They had this dish called Boti Roti. I was surprised to see that they are serving meat in a pure vegetarian restaurant. When I enquired, the chef said that it's a mock meat (vegetarian food that tastes like meat) made from soy, textured vegetables and wheat gelatin. It absolutely tasted like mutton, Zubair laughs.

We asked Zubairs for some of his favourite food spots in the city and these are his recommendations:

1.Biryani at Meridian in Panjagutta

2.Pocket friendly place for college-going students: Iron Hill caf in Hi-Tech city

3.For occasional dinners and fine dine: Aish Restaurant at Park Hyderabad

4.Street food: Undisputedly at Charminar

See the article here:
Meet the Hyderabad man on whose food reviews gastronomes in the city swear by - The News Minute

Shihab Sarkar | Published: December 07, 2019 20:52:27

The nearly obsessive act would have suited linguistically sensitive nations like the French or the Germans. Both the nations are said to be highly protective about their mother tongues. But in an unusual turn of linguistic developments, it is the English language which also had to experience it. Involving the whole gamut of the language, however, would be an overstatement. But waging a virtual war for retaining a particular usage of English and purity of the language has brought the episode under wide focus. The matter amply speaks of the love and passion a Briton and some like-minded people nurture for their language. Incidents like this has occurred rarely in the history of English, a language used by greats ranging from Shakespeare, Milton, Bernard Shaw, the Romantics to TS Eliot, DH Lawrence to Dylan Thomas and many others.

It was Mathew Arnold who could have sparked a row over incorrect use of an English phrase or idiom. Paradoxically, the English-lovers had to wait for nearly two centuries to encounter such a debate in the second decade of the 21st century. In the meantime, the language in Britain has undergone many changes in use. Thanks to the imperial power's colonisation of vast swathes of the world, the influences of the colonies' languages have left their mark on English. Apart from words, phrases and syntaxes, lots of grammatical rules have been found bent to suit languages used in the colonised lands.

The protagonist of the latest saga of the English language is a consummately groomed Englishman. He won't compromise on even any negligible irregularity in the use of English. He is John Richards, 96, a retired British journalist. Outwardly, Richards appears to have conceded defeat in his fight to preserve the correct use of the sign of apostrophe. A digressive question pops up. Has Richards been really defeated? Lots of English-knowing and speaking people will respond with an emphatic 'No'. It's because he has not given up on his fight. The uncompromising journalist's closing down the campaign to save the pure form of apostrophe was, undoubtedly, a heroic step. It showed the world that in what circumstances Richards had to withdraw from a fight against "ignorance and laziness".

According to the media, the founder of the platform Apostrophe Protection Society, starting in 2001 --- the retired journalist, and his comrades had been engaged in an all-out fight to save the "much abused punctuation mark of apostrophe". In a span of a quarter of his career as a 'copy editor', the elderly journalist found to his dismay the practice of freestyle and wrong use of the punctuation by the press people. Some from his community might dub him 'fixated'. But Richards has discovered the error among the general people, too. None could blame him if he had expressed doubt about the future of English, much touted as the global lingua franca.

The ironical aspect of the episode is when Richards was about to retire from journalism, he was said to have been "spotting the same linguistic error in daily life". It prompted him to decide to "take action". With a feeling of hopelessness and disillusionment, he identified apostrophe as an endangered species which needed protection. But later, disillusioned and shattered, he closed down his Society instead.

The use of apostrophe (') is not at all tricky. It mainly denotes possession, namely, Selim's book, the rich nations' club etc. It is also used in omission of letters or numbers. Examples --- can't (cannot), they're (they are); or 16 Dec, `71, 21st Feb, `52 etc. Given the instances of sheer carelessness in the use of a rule of English, how can we justify the atrocious spellings used in Bangla sentences? They're simply an affront to the spirit of the 1952 Language Movement.

shihabskr@ymail.com

Read this article:
Love for one's mother tongue - The Financial Express BD

JEAN-PAUL PELISSIER

Cycling in the rain is one way to make you appreciate life anew.

A few weeks ago I did something I would never normally do: I cycled back from work in a torrential downpour... on purpose. I could have jumped on a bus, but instead, I decided to offer myself up to nature's wrath via a bone-rattling rental bike. And yes, it was horrible, the needle-sharp rain pricking my cheeks, a relentless horizontal gale turning exposed extremities to ice; with every passing bus a tidal wave of brown gutter water dousing me in misery. By the time I arrived home, frozen to the core, I felt like bursting into tears. In a way I wish I had, because it would have made what followed even more delicious.

The misery I had just endured was all part of a plan to inject some much-needed perspective into my relatively trouble-free existence. Sure, I have the usual 21st century anxieties mortgage repayments, what I'm going to have for dinner, the futility of existence but compared with the hardship and struggle that plagued previous generations, I'm like a pampered poodle. Or, as they say in northern England:"I don't know I'm born."

And therein lies the problem and the reason for my masochistic cycle ride: when you "don't know you're born", you don't know you're alive. In theory we should be exceedingly grateful that many of us no longer have to worry about where our next meal is coming from or whether we might freeze to death through lack of heat, but it is only by experiencing and overcoming such hardships that we are able to fully appreciate the good stuff.

When our needs are constantly being met, we lose sight of who we are and become over-entitled, grumpy and dissatisfied. We forget that overcoming obstacles not only gives life purpose and meaning, but also offers us precious snippets of fulfilment with each battle won. Despite our fragility, we humans are remarkably resilient creatures but every now and then we need to be reminded of that, or we become complacent. It may be a clichebut we really do have to experience darkness in order to appreciate light.

The Greek philosopher Epicurus taught us that real pleasure comes not from acquisition but from the removal of pain and I can certainly attest to that. Who knew that the removal of sopping socks could elicit such intense pleasure or that a simple hot shower could feel like a sousing from God? And I can't begin to describe the bliss of wrapping myself in a warm dressing gown, glass of whisky in hand, as my frozen extremities tingled back to life.

None of these little shudders of joy would have been possible without having first put myself through the grinder. So now, every day, I try to throw myself in the way of some unpleasantness or other so that I might emerge on the other side smiling. I like to think that a gratification deferred is a gratification earned.

Take nature for instance. Although I adore the natural world, I was becoming blaseto her beauty; I'd stopped noticing the majesty of trees, the wonder of birdsong, the lilting landscape. Familiarity hadn't bred contempt exactly, but it had certainly bred indifference.

Last weekend, before heading to the country for my weekly hike, I spent the afternoon in a grotty part of my home city,surrounded by bleak industrial estates and grey concrete tower blocks; when I did finally make it back to nature the following morning everything appeared more vivid the greens were greener, the trees more fantastical and the birdsong sweeter. Clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Stephen Blumenthal understands the importance of my "forced perspective". He sees a lot of depression and anxiety, especially in men, and believes that material and sensory abundance can have a numbing effect on the human psyche.

"When we no longer have to struggle for things, we lose motivation and our capacity for joy. Human beings need hurdles to overcome in order to feel renewed," he tells me. It is also worth remembering George Bernard Shaw's advice to "choose the line of greatest advantage instead of yielding in the direction of least resistance".

I'm not suggesting masochism as a road to nirvana, but there are lots of little adjustments we can make to roughen things up a bit, just enough so that we don't become numb to life's little elations.

My own light bulb moment came a few months ago when I realised how little I was enjoying food, due to a long period of overindulgence and under-appreciation, which prompted me to change my habits.

These days many of us eat simply out of boredom, or because we're used to it: food is so plentiful that mealtimes are often just a way to break up the monotony of the day. When was the last time you felt gut-gnawingly hungry? Most of us plough through three meals a day with plenty of snacking time in between, meaning we simply don't have time to feel hunger, which is a shame because food tastes so much more delicious when you deprive yourself a little.

I used to be in such a hurry to get through mealtimes I'd often forget to chew, which meant I missed out on the most pleasurable part of eating. But not any more. Once or twice a week I purposely skip breakfast or lunch or both, not because I've signed up to some faddy diet, but because it makes dinner so much tastier.

I actually look forward to mealtimes now rather than just going through the motions. You could even take it further by fasting once a week and drastically reducing portion size. I guarantee your enjoyment of even the humblest of food will increase dramatically.

Epicurus urged moderation for the maximisation of pleasure, understanding that once you strip away all the excess guff, our needs are remarkably modest pleasure is finite, after all. And if you don't believe me, try an all-you-can-eat restaurant and see how it makes you feel.

The Telegraph, London

Read more here:
The secret of happiness is doing something you hate - Stuff.co.nz

(MENAFN - iCrowdNewsWire) Dec 6, 2019

An alarming rise in obesity disorder impelled by insalubrious diet and the hectic pace of modern lifestyles among the urban population has become a global concern. Approximately 650 million adults were obese in 2018 worldwide. With fewer calories, less fat and carbohydrates content, almost no sugar, and more proteins, drinkable meals are the eminent food item for people with obesity disorder. Switching from regular food to a calorie-restricted liquid meal once or twice a day has been proved to help people lose weight in less time. In that context, growing consumer preference towards replacing their routine meals with nutrient-rich diet that contain low fiber content and high-quality ingredients are the key factors fueling the growth of the drinkable meals market. Surging demand for low calorie and protein-rich food which helps to maintain a healthy weight have augmented the intake of drinkable meals. Subsequently, increasing demand for personalized nutrient combinations is also a key factor fueling the demand for drinkable meals market.

The global drinkable meals market size was valued at $41.5 million as of 2018 and is expected to grow with a CAGR of 5.8% throughout the forecast period 2019-2025.

Easy eating: Drinkable Meals are vital in an On-the-go World

Changing healthy food habits and food convenience are the most influencing factors aiding the growth of the drinkable meals market. Nowadays, consumers are becoming more health-conscious and looking for food items with more nutritional values. Ready-to-eat food products are being considered as the closest alternative to regular food in order to save time and which can be consumed at any meal time such as during breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Drinkable meals are processed food products that provide a blend of macronutrients and energy to the consumers replacing the main meals. They are also used to provide extra nutrition for patients during and after treatment for several diseases to attain dietary balance. Moreover, the evolution of novel meal replacement formulations made with non-GMO food ingredients having optimum nutritional properties is boosting the drinkable meals market. The lack of appetite in the elderly population and those with digestive issues such as ulcerative colitis, gastritis, and others turned as a barrier for preparation of fresh food, thus increasing the growth of this market in the global front. Thus, the time saved by drinkable meals along with their nutritional benefits are spurring the drinkable meals market growth. On the other hand, the increasing number of health clubs around the world also has a positive impact on nutrient-rich drinkable meal products. In 2017, the health club market size of the U.S. alone was valued at $30 billion. These sturdy health club sectors are further amplifying the awareness of the drinkable meals market.

Healthy Eating in a Hurry - Drinkable Meals and its Indisputable Benefit of Saving Time

The proactive interest to maintain physical health is motivating the young and adult population towards the intake of nutritional supplements in a single meal due to their hectic work schedules. Most of the meal replacement drinks serve as a means of fast weight loss. Rapid surge in the e-commerce business along with the introduction of innovative meal replacement products that offer better health benefits will also aid the drinkable meals market growth globally. Also, an increased effort by retailers to shift online to gain better visibility and offer purchasing convenience is enhancing the online drinkable meals market sales. E-commerce platforms such as wallmart.com and healthkart.com offer a wide variety of protein shakes, protein bars, meal replacement protein powders, and other dietary supplements for online purchase. Nowadays, consumers are ready to spend more on food items with more health benefits. Attractive packaging, in-store promotions, and health claims in labels are some of the common strategies that companies have adopted in recent times. A declining trend towards away-from-home dining surging the at-home cooking trend are other favorable factors constituting the growing demand for convenience food items like drinkable meals globally. As a result, the drinkable meals market is rising with the evolution of e-commerce.

North America Holding Major Share of the Drinkable meals Market

North America generated 38.8% of the global drinkable meals market revenue share in 2018. Increasing geriatric population and proactive healthcare practices of people will spur the growth of the drinkable meals market in this region. A high rate of obesity, cardiovascular, and other health-related problems among the population are other influencing factors for this market growth in North America. More than 130 million adults are estimated to have some form of cardiovascular disease by 2035.These growing numbers, which in turn, shift the focus of the American population towards healthy, nutrient-dense, and less-calorie food intake in the form of daily meal. As a result, the drinkable meals market growth in this region is surging in upcoming years.A rise in working women population has all made the practice of preparing whole meals quite infrequent. The need to replace whole meals with food that can be quickly prepared yet has equivalent nutritional value has boosted the global market for drinkable meals. Consequently, approximately 25.1 million mothers of children 18 and younger are in the workforce, representing a third of the nation's working women. Many have felt that cooking family meals, including school lunches for children, is a burden and time-consuming process, which in turn, creating the perfect storm in the North American drinkable meals market.

The application segment that will be creating the most lucrative opportunities for the drinkable meals market is the meal replacement products. This application segment is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.9% through to 2025. Increased demand for convenience products is the key trend that has strongly favored the meal replacement food products. A surge in protein bars and meal replacement protein shake intake increases the demand for more meal replacement food products. Flax milk is non-dairy milk alternative which contains no cholesterol or lactose and used to prevent and treat heart diseases. Cream of Rice is an excellent source of iron and when prepared with water it is naturally free from fat, cholesterol, sodium, and gluten. On the other hand, changing food consumption patterns among consumers, increased willingness to spend on such convenience food and the lack of time to cook at home are also catering the demand for meal replacement products. The use of numerous meal replacement products in weight-loss regimens has also lead to their widespread popularity in the upcoming years. Consequently, the nutrients available in the drinkable meals aiding the weight-loss regime are favoring the growth of the drinkable meals market.

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The Major Players in the Drinkable Meals Market :

Prominent players in the drinkable meals market include Ample Foods Inc., Ambronite, Huel, Jake Nutritionals B.V., Joylent joy, Mana Foods, Queal, and Soylent. These companies are continuously investing in research and development activities to provide innovative and cost-effective product portfolio.

Soylent, an American-based contrarian food replacement company has introduced its new product Soylent Squared, chewable mini-meal on April 18, 2019. This product is a 100 calorie snack-size protein bar. With this product launch, Soylent turned in to complete a nutrition platform in the United States.

Ambronite, Finland-based plant-based meal replacement food Products Company has introduced its new products such as AmbroGreens, Ambronite Balanced Meal Shake, and AmbroBite into the market on June 27, 2019. These products provide plenty of fiber, food-based vitamins, and minerals. These products are swiftly accepted and became a trending items by the consumers in the market.

Related Reports:

A. Vitamins And Nutrition Supplements Market

https://www.industryarc.com/Report/231/Vitamins-and-Nutrition-supplements-Market-report.html

B. Nutritional Premixes Market

https://www.industryarc.com/Report/15005/nutritional-premixes-market.html

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Drinkable Meals Market Witnessing Windfall Gains Owing to Demand from Health-food Junkies for High-Quality Cost-Effective Food Items - MENAFN.COM

Photo: Alyse Parker/ Youtube

Today in vegan-blogger drama, beloved (former) raw vegan influencer Alyse Parker declared that she was going full onnn carnivore. Meaning, not only would she begin eating meat, but she would only eat animal products a.k.a. only meat, seafood, + eggs for a full 30 days as she adopts the so-called carnivore diet. She made the announcement with an Instagram post; in it, shes posing in front of an uncooked slab of steak.

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By this point, you probably know that I looove trying new things, running little experiments, and diving into challenges of all sorts. Some of the experiments I have run in the past... - 30 days without shampoo - 1 year without deodorant - 21 days of only fruit juice - 30 days without social media - 3 YEARS of not shaving my armpits, not wearing makeup, not using heat on my hair.. Etc. etc. you get da point Yehhh some may call me crazy.. But Im a firm believer in experiencing things first hand + getting a real feel for what something is all about before I form a personal opinion on it. The Carnivore Diet first came into my awareness when a close friend shared with me all of the benefits that he was experiencing by eating this way. Coming from being vegan 4.5 years, I was hellla resistant to the concept of eating ONLY animal foods (aka only meat, seafood, + eggs) I didnt make ANY sense to me. It actually sounded pretty f*cking ridiculous. But oddly enough, I started to hear story after story from my fellow vegan friends jumping ship, testing out the carnivore diet and experiencing amazing health transformations. I was so confused. But I had my own fair share of health struggles and eventually reached a breaking point where I was willing to try anything to function properly again. With an online community of 800,000 people ~ many of which were primarily showing up for my vegan related content... I was a bit conflicted to say the least. But I knew I needed to make decisions based on what was in the best interest for my health. I swallowed my pride + decided Id give it a shot. Full onnn carnivore. I woke up the next morning feeling more mentally clear, focused, wholesome, and healthy than I had felt in years. God bless. But also, WTF? My vegan identity crumbled immediately. This past year of my life has been a journey of remembering who I am separate from what I eat. In hopes of challenging others to step out of their current perspective ~ I documented my newest challenge of eating only meat for 30 days. Video launches next week. Whos ready? Comment below!

A post shared by ALYSE PARKER (@alyseparkerr) on Nov 29, 2019 at 2:22pm PST

Parker, who between her YouTube and Instagram profiles has over a million followers, built her social-media kingdom on her raw vegan lifestyle, including a website raw-alignment.com where you could purchase apparel, sign up for her alignment accelerator (a sort of online life-coaching program), and vegan retreats. Her YouTube channel also includes her not-diet-related lifestyle videos, such as using a fertility tracker as birth control, the pros and cons of dreadlocks, and shooting down rumors that she doesnt shower.

Her status as a vegan paragon had recently gone up for debate, though, after her followers found that she was pinning recipes of egg-based dishes on Pinterest. And this past March, Parker herself confirmed that she had quit veganism in a video titled I am not vegan, claiming it had caused her health issues because of mold exposure. In a follow-up video, she explained that shed begun eating meat again, and in an August video titled Goodbye Raw Alignment. HELLO Alyse Parker, Parker completed her rebrand from raw vegan influencer to a straightforward lifestyle influencer.

The March announcement caused extreme backlash amongst her followers, who accused her of holding off on going public so that she could continue monetizing her audience; specifically, she didnt announce it until after running a vegan retreat in Australia. That criticism has only intensified since her announcement last week that she would exclusively be eating animal foods. Her audience as accused her of hypocrisy, and being so out of alignment its ridiculous, among other things.

So far, though, Parker still has a massive following on social media, and is only the latest in a long list of vegan influencers who have defected from the diet. She, at least, seems to have gotten ahead of any rumors and managed to rebrand to without much fallout. A worst-case scenario recently unfolded when vegan blogger Yovana Mendoza Ayres (Rawvana), was caught eating fish in another persons vlog. The vegan influencer community was shaken by the scandal, and Rawvana faced an onslaught of vicious criticism for her crime.

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Oh No, a Vegan Blogger Has Pivoted to Carnivore Diet - The Cut

This week's newsletter: An OG lifestyle blogger is called out for a ridiculous and inauthentic #ad, and a former vegan announced her very dramatic dietary change.

Posted on December 6, 2019, at 8:00 a.m. ET

This is Please Like Me, BuzzFeed News newsletter about how influencers are battling for your attention. You can sign up here.

Emily Schuman is an OG blogger. In 2008, she started her fashion and lifestyle blog, Cupcakes and Cashmere, as a way to document the things she loved. She quickly became one of the most recognizable and influential personalities in the lifestyle blogosphere and quit her job in media to run her site full-time. In 2010, she designed a bag with Coach and now has a line at Nordstrom. She has written two coffee-table books and her website has a full-time staff of 10, besides Emily and her husband Geoff. In the golden age of blogging, she was an A-lister.

The online landscape is very different now than it was in 2008. Influencers are the new bloggers, and everything is on social media. While Emily and her blogging peers grew their audience through lengthy posts, sometimes multiple times a day, now all it takes is an iPhone and photos with captions to become a fashion influencer. The bar for entry is much lower, and the competition is much fiercer. Bloggers like Emily have had to convert their audiences to new platforms to remain relevant. Not that Emily has been unsuccessful in many ways she is the model example of this. She has more than half a million Instagram followers and her brand is chugging along just fine.

There are bound to be hiccups, though. And this week, Emily had a big one when she did an #ad for a new at-home company called P.volve. P.volve offers streaming classes and unique fitness equipment to go along with its low-impact training method. One piece of equipment is the p.ball, a rubber ball attached to a band that fits between your legs for glute and thigh work.

Last week, Emily uploaded a video of herself using the p.ball during a at-home workout. The caption read: Luckily wasn't feeling too intimidated when the only other members of my @pvolve workout class were my cats. #ad.

Emily immediately got completely read for filth by her followers for the ad, which you can watch here. They had two main gripes. The first is that Emily has many times written about how she doesnt really exercise. She has explained in blogs that she has a somewhat complicated relationship with fitness and has said she remains slim due to her naturally athletic build and a naturally fast metabolism, along with dabbling in intermittent fasting. So followers felt that Emily suddenly shilling an exercise product was extremely inauthentic, a mortal sin for bloggers and influencers.

Come on Emily!! Im sorry but this is SO ridiculous. It is soooooo off brand and unauthentic. It comes off like all you care about is making money, no matter the cost or how it comes off, wrote one.

The second gripe: They thought the video was just plain weird and awkward. Some of the commenters trolled her. (Maam this is the olive garden...lol.)

I see both sides here. On the one hand, I understand it can be frustrating to follow someone for years and watch them seemingly sell out with inauthentic ads for money. Fans highly value the authenticity of influencers: It builds the trust that allows their recommendations to be taken seriously. Also, I think this is a microcosm of a growing trend of frustration about how ridiculous some ads on Instagram are becoming.

On the other hand, it has to be incredibly difficult to build your brand around your life and maintain that brand authentically for more than a decade while simultaneously remaining relevant from a business standpoint. The competition for #ads is incredibly tough, and Id imagine it is hard to ensure sponcon is also perfectly on-brand all of the time. I bet it has been harder for Emily to jump from blogging to Instagram influencing than we think. We reached out to Emily for comment.

I think we can all agree, though, we are all lucky we have never had to film ourselves doing as awkward a workout as the p.ball machine, and then post it to 500,000+ people.

Stephanie

If social media helped convince people to go vegan, its now creating a bit of an identity crisis especially for the people who were at the forefront of pushing the cause.

In 2019, famous vegan bloggers have either been outed or have come forward to say theyre no longer vegan. And the fallout has been explosive and difficult for their followers. Many seem to understand that people can change their diets for health reasons, but others feel flat-out duped.

In the case of Yovana Rawvana Mendoza, earlier this year, she was caught eating meat in her private life as she was still proselytizing and profiting off a vegan diet on her YouTube channel. Her fans understandably had trouble with this.

For others, its more complicated. Alyse Parker is a lifestyle influencer who became well-known at one point for advocating an all-plant diet and making exercise videos. She recently came out not only as a meat-eater she announced that shes on an all-meat diet.

The Carnivore Diet first came into my awareness when a close friend shared with me all of the benefits that he was experiencing by eating this way, Alyse wrote. She also said she woke up the next morning feeling more mentally clear, focused, wholesome, and healthy than I had felt in years.

The responses to her newfound carnivore diet was a mess. Some fans congratulated her, told her she was brave, voiced their support, and others were...profoundly mad. And took it very personally.

When I reached out and DMd with two commenters who voiced their anger, they explained exactly what upset them so much about Alyses changed diet: Both of them said she directly influenced their own decisions to go vegan.

Nicole Zach, a 20-year-old who lives in Santiago, Chile, told me Alyse was an inspiration to her, and after watching her videos, she then started a successful vegan lifestyle.

When she announced she was eating meat again I couldnt believe it, Nicole said. She used to be so devoted to veganism.

Nicoles issue, as a fan or, er, former fan was how extreme Alyse seemed to have jumped from one ship to another. And that she fears because she was so effectively convinced to change her lifestyle, that this might influence others the same way.

She can do whatever she wants of course, I just hope this change of diet and lifestyle doesnt affect others. I would hate to see some of Alyses followers getting confused and considering eating animals again, she said.

Another fan named Haley told me shes been following the influencer since 2014. Up until [Alyses latest Instagram post] I would still reference her and be proud that she inspired me, said Haley. However, now I feel as though I listened to a hypocrite.

Haley said she grew skeptical about Alyses motivations after seeing her do a complete 180 about her lifestyle choices.

Considering much of her product and basis of her career is on health and helping the environment, I do not think she has a care for anything besides herself, Haley said.

Both Haley and Nicole said they remain vegan and are happy about their decisions theyre just let down by someone who they once saw as a heroic figure.

Ive reached out to Alyse, but did not immediately hear back.

Its always a sad reality to face when youre empowered by a message, but disappointed by the messenger. And someone you almost viewed as superhuman now continues to show you theyre...just human. And that they might loosely wield their power of influence. However, it sounds like going vegan is a decision Alyses followers are now actively making for themselves, independently, and thats pretty great.

Until next time plant yourself at home this weekend, or go meat someone out. Do whatever the hell you wanna do.

Tanya

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How Fans Are Handling Their Favorite Influencer Going From Vegan To An All-Carnivore Diet - BuzzFeed News

Vegan singer Billie Eilish says that right now is the best time to be vegan. In a recent interview with Variety, Eilish explained that being vegan on tour was hard at first but is now easier as more vegan options have become increasingly available. The first tour we did, I used to lose weight because I never got to eat. And it was not my choice, its like we couldnt eat anything, almost ever. Especially in Europe, the 17-year-old singer said. But now we kind of gain weight when were on tour because we have so many people and their whole job is to get us food, and make sure that were fed and happy and stuff. Going to so many new places, I think its a really good time to be vegan in life, cause theres a lot of places. Eilishwho is a six-time 2020 Grammy Awards nomineeis an outspoken vegan activist and often urges her millions of social media followers to ditch animal products.

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Billie Eilish: It's a Really Good Time to Be Vegan - VegNews

Hungarian startup Plantcraft Innovations Ltd. recently raised HUF $150 million ($500,000) led by investment firm X-Ventures to expand the distribution of its vegan deli meats to the United States. The company was founded by Katalin Ohens and Csaba Hetnyi with the mission of providing a plant-based alternative to familiar deli meats in an effort to promote a diet with a low environmental impact. Currently, the startup is participating in ProVeg, an incubator in Berlin, Germany that is helping the company finalize its products which include pepperoni, salami, ham, and pt. We see significant market potential in Plantcraft products and the know-how accumulated by the team, since in the future it will be possible to produce foods that meet consumers needs at a much lower cost than a traditional farms meat production costsand for customers, price will always be a priority, X-Ventures CEO Levente Zsembery said. Such an economic opportunity will bring about radical changes in the food industry, new products, new business models and new companies will emerge, which is why we have seen potential in Plantcraft. According to Hetnyi, the pt is ready for market while the other meats are in their final stages of development and should be ready for the US market in the coming months.

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Hungarian Brand's Vegan Pepperoni, Salami, and Ham Coming to US - VegNews