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CHENNAI: Around 11-km from Coimbatore is the quaint Tho p p a m p a t t i Poonga Nagar. The o t h e r w i s e nondescript village is slowly gaining fame because of an 82-year-olds good green deed. When you reach here, ask for kaikari paati veedu, and anyone in this village can guide you to S Nanjammals one-bedroom house. Enveloped by plants, climbers and creepers, her house is a treat for every city slicker. Her love for plants and distributing free seeds and saplings to anyone and everyone have rightfully earned her the moniker kaikari paati. She invited us into her garden and we were greeted by a burst of green dotted with purple brinjals, red tomatoes and yellow flowers of ladies finger.

I have around 17 varieties of plants including chillies, tomato, brinjal, bottle gourd, snake gourd, curry leaves, moringa, and greens like ponnangani and thandan keerai. I use gardenfresh vegetables to cook my daily meals, she says beaming with pride. She also has fruit-bearing trees like papaya and guava. Gardening invokes happy memories in Nanjammal, who used to practice farming in childhood. The space in her house might not be big to cater to many plants, but she tends to them affectionately. She has placed a fence around the plants, waters it and checks for any pest attack regularly. She uses extract of neem leaves and custard apple tree leaves to spray and control the infection. She also makes natural fertilisers using waste vegetables and other ecomposable waste.

Self-sufficient village Nanjammals son Bharathi Chinnasamy, an author, follows the Gandhian way of life and he was particularly attracted by one principle the need or self-sufficient village communities to better the balance between man and nature. He began walking on this path ten years ago and has worked with many self-help groups and dreamed of implementing this idea. My idea of making villages self-sufficient is by inspiring people to grow vegetables in their own gardens. This will help them have good health and it also makes them responsible towards nature.

I have tried this concept in more than 30 villages across Tamil Nadu but didnt get the expected results, he says. Bharathi has shared his experiments in his book Ellame Illavasam published last year. Nanjammal believed in this cause and started supporting her son in his mission two years back. She started working towards making Thoppampatti a self-sufficient village. Bharathi has travelled a lot across Tamil Nadu and worked hard to make this concept relevant.

So, I wanted to try this in my village and distributed seeds free of cost to villagers. While some of them planted those seeds, some of them threw it away. I took efforts to make them understand why I was doing this and suggested that they grow at least one vegetable plant in their garden that will cater to their need. But even that went in vain. Then I decided to give saplings of brinjal plant instead of seeds as I had those aplenty. I made necessary arrangements for brinjal saplings to grow in my garden and once it attained a particular height, I gave it to the villagers for free, says Nanjammal. Four months back, she gave brinjal saplings to 37 families. Seeing the plants bear brinjals, many villagers came forward to purchase saplings from her. Nanjammal also makes it a point to visit the villagers houses to help them plant and maintain the saplings, at regular intervals.

Till families see the result, they do not want to plant trees. I go to their houses once a week to look at the growth. If it has any pest attack, I use natural pesticides like neem leaves extract to control it. I also cut the infected leaves of the plants. Sometimes, family members also come to help me, she says. After planting brinjal saplings, she distributed seeds of snake gourd and bitter gourd plants. Now, she is distributing saplings of curry leaves. I come from an agriculture family in Erode. I started going out into the fields at the age of seven. So, growing vegetables is not a difficult task for me. I enjoy it and like creating awareness of sustainable living. My vision is to make my villagers grow at least 10 varieties of vegetables and greens in their garden. I want people to make farming a habit, she shares.

Bond with plants Nanjammal chooses saplings to be distributed based on the size of the family. All the seeds are procured from the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University in the city. This cause is not so expensive. A packet of seeds costs `10 and you can get around 200 saplings. Growing vegetables in your garden will make you realise how fresh vegetables look, free of chemicals, says Bharathi. The mother-son duo also insist people to grow plants in public places.

A few families can join hands and grow plants like moringa or creepers like pumpkin in public places near their houses and share the vegetables. It will also help create a bond between them. The state government can take our village as a model and implement the concept in other villages too, says Nanjammal. Bhuvaneshwari R, one of the villagers, says, Initially when she gave us the sapling, we didnt take the cause seriously. She supervises the growth of the sapling and helps us take care of them. When we started reaping the benefits from the plants, we felt happy.

Every day I get around one kilogram of vegetables needed for our family from my own garden. She has made the village green and self-sufficient. Under her care, the future of Coimbatore looks green, healthy and self-sufficient. It is not hard to grow your plants. While people in villages and independent villas can maintain a small garden, people in flats and complexes can grow it in public places and split the vegetables, she says.

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Grandma goes green - The New Indian Express

Jon Francetic and Dr. Jessica Griffin spent a lot of time together during Married at First Sight in Season 6, for all the wrong reasons. As a then-groom on the arranged marriage reality show, Jon Francetic seemed just as handsome, humorous, and charming as he is today, and Dr. Jessica Griffin remains the same as a relationship expert, but the relationship between the two now is drastically different. In addition to being partners in life, the unusual Married at First Sight match is merging combined talents in a new business venture.

According to an exclusive report on October 12 from Monsters and Critics, Jessica and John have launched a new web-based relationship skill training business called Love Builder.

Fans will certainly remember Jon Francetics failed pairing with Molly Duff in Season 6. On the surface, the two seemed to have much in common, but the bride never developed any sense of true attraction to her new husband, no matter the interventions by Dr. Jessica Griffin. Not to belabor the bad memories, but when the name-calling became vicious and toxic, the expert insisted that the negativity had gone too far. Fans rallied to Jons corner by the end of the difficult season.

Some viewers wrongly assumed that Dr. Jessica Griffin and Jon Francetic form chemistry during filming, but Jon insists that never happened, mainly because her visits were always at a crisis point of the current marriage. The Married at First Sight dejected groom didnt really like any of the esteemed experts during filming, and he even said I hope I never see that woman again! regarding Dr. Griffin.

The two formed a bond after the show, when Francetic realized how great she was, and eventually, locked that down into a committed relationship.

The idea for Love Builder came out of the experiences, both positive and negative, between the Married at First Sight veterans from both sides of the experiment. Jon Francetic is an analyst for a credit union, and he determined that presenting Internet webinars with Love Builder would not only be the most cost-effective but also could have a worldwide reach.

Francetic runs the back end of the business for Love Builder, making sure the logistics and everything technical runs smoothly. Jessica Griffin devotes her decades of expertise to help participants learn to build love like a house. Prior to taking courses, participants fill out extensive questionnaires and all identities are kept completely confidential.

The first two webinars began two weeks ago, and the couple plan on developing more advanced courses as Love Builder grows.

Jon Francetic also divulged that his marriage to Jessica Griffin is set, but the couple has decided to not give the date about a year out. They plan to exchange vows at Ventosa Vineyards in New York.

In a social media post, Dr. Jessica Griffin writes that most of what is written: in the self-help books on finding relationships is wrong! She then announces the October 24 evening webinar.

One thing is certainthis couple knows that love can grow out of a very painful situation. It comes down to a choice to decide to be vulnerable, according to Francetic.

Season 10 of Married at First Sight premieres in January on Lifetime, and the love gets bigger because five couples will take the leap in Washington DC.

Tresa has been a passionate and prolific online writer for years, publishing thousands of articles and features in music, television, theatre, and to honor those who bring light to the world in wonderful ways.She is also a teacher, a cancer survivor (so far, by God's grace), an advocate for children, and a devoted pet parent.She never tires of telling the story behind the stage, from the core of the artists heart.She has cerebral palsy but refuses to let it have her.Tresa lives out her faith and music is her life- force.

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Married at First Sight: Jon Francetic and Dr. Jessica Griffin Excited with Launch of Love Builder and Future Together - TV Shows Ace

Its impossible to say what the top nonfiction books are. What method could possibly tell us which books, of the millions available, are the best? This post is an attempt to use Goodreads to come to some sort of answer.

Ive already created my own list of the top nonfiction books, but that list is very subjective and based only on my own opinion. Here, Im letting Goodreads users have a say. To be clear, this list is also subjective. What Goodreads can tell us is how many of their users have rated a book and what the overall average rating is. But that only gets us so far.

The information is based on Goodreads users only, which limits the set of readers by a lot. Even accepting that limitation, another problem arises: sometimes the the number of ratings and the average rating dont match up. Some books have many ratings but a low average and others have a very high average but not many ratings. Which metric matters more? An older book may have more ratings than a newer one and therefore have an advantage. How to account for that?

In the end, a person (me) has to decide how to balance ratings and averages to determine which books to include. My method was to look for books with at least 100,000 ratings and an average rating of 3.90 or higher. I also tried to include a variety of genres to cover a range of the top nonfiction books.

Take a look at the list and see what you think!

Average rating: 4.13; 2,454,072 ratings

No surprise, this is the nonfiction book with the most ratings and the highest average of all the books I found. Its the hugely important, widely read diary of a young girl in Nazi-occupied Holland.

Average rating: 4.26; 806,101 ratings

The Glass Castle is one of the most memorable entries in the crowded field of memoirs about unhappy families. Wallss parents were idealistic and unconventional to an extreme, eventually sinking deeper and deeper into dysfunction.

Average rating 3.97; 796,899 ratings

This is the story of Chris McCandless, who walked into the Alaska wilderness and four months later was found dead. Krakauer explores what drove McCandless to set out on this journey.

Average rating 4.11; 347,156 ratings

When she was 15, Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban on her way to school. She went on to speak before the United Nations, become a symbol of peaceful protest, and win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Average rating 4.22; 365,266 ratings

This is the first and most famous installment of Maya Angelous autobiography. Its a powerful, inspiring tale of struggle and determination in the face of abandonment, violence, and racism.

Average rating 4.48; 406,224 ratings

Tara Westover was born in Idaho, the daughter of survivalists who kept her away from doctors and out of schools. This memoir tells the story of how she educated herself, making it all the way to Harvard and then Cambridge.

Average rating 3.99; 540,718 ratings

At the age of 22, reeling from her mothers death, Cheryl Strayed decided to go on an epic journey. She set out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail and made it over a thousand miles from California to Washington, finding adventures everywhere along the way.

Average rating: 4.40; 164,415 ratings

Written as a letter to his son, this book looks at what it means to be black in America. It covers Americas racial history, Coatess own experiences, and his analysis of our current situation. Its a short but rich and illuminating.

Average rating 4.35; 328,601 ratings

At the age of 36, Kalanithi got a diagnosis of stage IV lung cancer. This book is his attempt to grapple with mortality and to face his own death, which occurred in 2015.

Average rating 4.60; 285,747 ratings

Published not even a year ago, this book was a huge bestseller and already has almost 300,000 Goodreads ratings. In it, you can learn about Michelle Obamas life and journey to the White House.

Average rating 4.25; 142,678 ratings

Persepolis is a graphic memoir about Satrapis life growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. She describes living in Tehran during a time of great political upheaval and violence.

Average rating 3.90; 152,954 ratings

This is Kalings follow-up toIs Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?It contains funny personal essays on finding contentment in adulthood, including thoughts on love, work, friendship, and more.

Average rating: 3.98; 578,388 ratings

David Sedaris is one of the best to turn to if you want to laugh, andMe Talk Pretty One Day is probably his most-loved essay collection. The title essay covers what its like to move to Paris and try to learn French.

Average rating 4.19; 469,265 ratings

This classic of self-help promises to help you get the job you want and make any situation you find yourself in work for you. It teaches how to make people like you, influence their way of thinking, and get them to change.

Average rating 4.09; 432,895 ratings

Here is another self-help classic that promises to help in your work and personal life. Covey has seven suggestions for examining your assumptions and learning to think in a new way to solve problems and work well with others.

Average rating: 4.08; 266,146 ratings

Duhigg dives into the nature of habits to help readers figure out how to develop the habits they want. The key to creating change, he argues, is to understand how the brain forms a habit and use that knowledge to ones advantage.

Average rating: 3.91; 119,616 ratings

In this book, the author of Eat, Pray, Love offers her theories of creativity and demonstrates how to foster creativity in our lives. She shows how to face our fear and harness inspiration to do the work we want to do.

Average rating: 4.38; 675,005 ratings

Unbrokentells the story of Louis Zamperini, a lieutenant in World War II who crashed into the Pacific Ocean. He pulled himself onto a life raft and began an adventure that took him out on the open sea and into enemy territory.

Average rating: 3.99; 455,948 ratings

The book is set at the Chicago Worlds Fair of 1893. Erik Larson intertwines the stories of the architect who designed the fair and a murderer who built a torture palace near the fairgrounds.

Average rating: 4.07; 476,175 ratings

In Cold Bloodis one of the most influential works of true crime ever written. Truman Capote tells the story of four murders that occurred in Kansas in 1959, describing the murders, the investigation, and the killers themselves in vivid detail.

Average rating: 4.45; 291,495 ratings

Harari has written a history of the entire span of human existence, in less than 500 pages. He tackles big questions such as how our species emerged and how we developed religion, nations, money, books, and so much more.

Average rating: 3.96; 618,728 ratings

The argument ofThe Tipping Pointis that one small but well-timed event can lead to tremendous change. Gladwell explores how these cultural changes happen and what types of people are most likely to be the driving forces behind them.

Average rating 4.06; 273,490 ratings

Here is the introverts manifesto. Susan Cain defines what it means to be introverted, how extroverts have come to dominate our culture, and the many contributions introverted people have brought us.

Average rating: 3.96; 635,553 ratings

Looking at the stuff of everyday life, Levitt and Dubner use the study of economic incentives to overturn conventional wisdom. Covering everything from drugs to parents to sumo wrestlers, this book will make you think in a new way.

Average rating: 4.45; 128,258 ratings

This book is an essay, adapted from a TEDx talk, about why feminism is important for everyone and why we need it in our world today. Its a great overview of feminism for every type of reader.

Average rating 4.06; 517,967 ratings

Henrietta Lacks was a poor southern farmer whose cells became important in modern medicine, although Lacks herself never found this out. Skloot writes about Lackss life and how her cells came to play such a vital role.

Average rating 4.06; 318,383 ratings

A Walk in the Woods is a humorous account of Brysons attempt to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, which is over 2,000 miles and stretches from Georgia to Maine. He also describes the history and ecology of the trail and argues for its importance.

Average rating 4.06; 155,920 ratings

Mary Roach can make any topic entertaining to read about, even dead bodies.Stiffis a description of what happens to bodies after death and how people have treated cadavers through the centuries.

Average rating 4.45; 107,003 ratings

Gawande is a practicing surgeon, and here he takes up the topic of aging and death. He looks at what medicine can and cant offer those approaching death and those keeping them company along the way.

Average rating: 4.16; 251,527 ratings

Published in 1988, this has already become a classic of science writing. Hawking covers many topics in physics, including black holes, quarks, antimatter, the big bang, the nature of time, and more.

Looking for more of the best nonfiction? In addition to my list of the 50 top nonfiction books, you might also like this list of free essays available online, and these 50 short nonfiction books.

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30 of the Top Nonfiction Books on Goodreads - Book Riot

The days get shorter. The nights get chillier. Pumpkins appear on porches. All across America, spider webs are strung and ghoulish figures flutter in the breeze. It can mean only one thing.

Halloween is upon us.

Tis the season to revel in all that is spooky and dreadful culminating in one great national night of fright. Estimates suggest 172 million people will collectively celebrate the holiday on October 31st with candy, creepy costumes, haunted houses, and jump scares. Halloween is an American institution.

And its not just for kids. Halloween has become an increasingly popular holiday among adults. As sociologist Linus Owens has noted, Halloween, with its emphasis on identity, horror, and transgression, can tell us about who we want to be and what we fear becoming.

Festival of FearWhile the scary spirit of Halloween is generally good fun, the observance is based on something most people are pretty uncomfortable confronting.

Fear.

Psychology Today explains that fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger with strong roots in human evolution. Our innate fight-or-flight responses aided us in mastering dangerous environments, avoiding harm, and ensuring the survival of our species.

A healthy amount of fear still helps us stay safe and motivates us to manage lifes difficulties.

But there are many manifestations of fear and not all of them are beneficial.

Since 2013, Chapman University in Southern California has annually conducted a national Survey of American Fears, reporting last year that the extent to which Americans are afraid, in general, appears to be on the rise.

Clinical fear disorders can cause serious health damage in numerous ways, but even less-lethal fears can take a pernicious toll on personal development and quality of life.

Fear FactorsAccording to sociologist Margee Kerr, The biggest source of fear is often related to the workplace. This type of fear can manifest in excessive focus on avoiding failure or making mistakes; aversion to public speaking, networking, or contributing during meetings; reluctance to ask for help; or even relinquishing vacation or sick time.

What we fear is being vulnerable to judgment, ridicule, rejection. The result is unnecessarily self-limiting behavior that can prevent you from acquiring new skills, experiencing greater fulfillment, and reaching your full potential.

Facing FearIt should come as no surprise that fear is the subject of numerous TED Talks, the global clearinghouse of inspirational speakers presenting their powerful ideas. One of my favorites on dealing with insidious work-related fear is author Tim Ferris discussing why you should define your fears instead of your goals.

Ferris advocates for Fear Setting exercises aimed at recalibrating your perception.

The exercise is pretty simple: For whatever it is that youre putting off or are afraid of doing, he proposes creating a What if I. list. Define what you fear will happen, determine how you might prevent the likelihood of each negative outcome, and imagine how you could repair damage if it did occur.

Next, make a list of the benefits of even partial success at doing what you fear. For example, could it build your confidence or help you develop a new skill?

Finally, sketch out an answer to the question: If I avoid this action or decision, what might my life look like in 6 months, 12 months, or 3 years?

Fear Setting is designed to strip inhibiting fears of their power. And perhaps most importantly, it encourages shifting focus to the cost of inaction.

As Ferris says, Humans are very good at considering what might go wrong if we try something newwhat we dont often consider is the atrocious cost of the status quo of not changing anything.

With Halloween approaching, its the perfect time to question what scares you and whether it is holding you back. It just may give you the courage to speak up about your ideas, ask for that promotion, or finally try something youve always wanted to do.

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What are you afraid of? - Thrive Global

WARRENTON, Va., Oct. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Appy Pie launches its own online learning platform - Appy Pie Academy that is aimed at offering a wide range of free online courses to entrepreneurs and learners from around the world. Appy Pie Academy hosts courses from a variety of fields, including app and website development, website design, search engine optimization, social media marketing, app monetization, copywriting, office productivity, management, marketing, personal development, project management, sales, and others. These courses are focused on equipping learners with industry specific knowledge and skills to work more efficiently.

Appy Pie Academy has a library of thousands of courses with new additions published every day. Course content is provided in short, well-defined modules and each course is focused on a unique area. This online learning platform from Appy Pie has great things to offer to the beginners as well as to the advanced learners, from any industry or background. With top rated online courses, Appy Pie Academy helps students, businesses, and individuals gain the skills they need to compete in today's economy.

"We have launched Appy Pie Academy with an aim to help small and medium sized businesses or entrepreneurs gain the latest and greatest industry knowledge and run a successful business enhancing their bottom line," said Scot Small, CEO Appy Pie. He further added, "Appy Pie Academy provides you with the best online learning experience, with a focus on dependability and high-quality content for free. It is one of the best online learning platforms for anyone looking to learn anything in reference to starting a website, blogging, copywriting, internet marketing, app monetization, app development, marketing, sales or other industry skills. Each course on our platform has been hand-tailored to teach you a specific skill in clear and easy-to-understand language."

Appy Pie has offices in London, New Delhi, and Virginia, with a combined staff of more than 300 people. The company's sole aim is to empower small businesses and help them achieve success in this cut-throat competition. A simple, yet powerful DIY platform, Appy Pie also helps startups save thousands of dollars with its workflow automation services, enabling them to create a greater impact with less efforts by adding speed, consistency, and visibility to their workflow.

About Appy Pie

Appy Pie, a Trademark of Appy Pie LLP, is an unrivaled leader in the mobile app bandwagon that allows anyone to transform their app ideas into reality, without any technical knowledge. Simply drag and drop the features and create an advanced Android or iOS application for mobiles and smartphones, as easy as pie. You can also install Appy Pie's Android and iOS App and start creating your app on the fly. You can also download the PWA version of your app through PWA Store.

Media Contact

Scot Smallsales@appypie.com +1 888 322 7617

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http://www.appypie.com

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Appy Pie Academy Announces Free Online Courses on Business and Tech - PRNewswire

Patrick Beverleys mission every day is to read a book for at least 30 minutes in an attempt to find his inner peace, help control his behavior and enhance his leadership skills.

The Clippers point guard spent the summer at home in Chicago working with his trainer, Jeff Pagliocca, the two of them intertwining the work on Beverleys game and his mental approach to his behavior on and off the court.

Even with the Clippers acquiring transcendent stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George over the summer, Beverleys role as one of the teams leaders does not diminish.

In order to have the right influence on his teammates, Beverley said he had to work on my mind over the summer. Reading the Bible and one of his favorite books, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomons Secrets to Success, Wealth and Happiness, is helping him evolve as a player and person.

The more I mature as a man the more I grow, Beverley said. I read the Good Book, follow those rules, those laws in [the Bible] and I know the better basketball player Ive become. Thats been my whole thing. I gain knowledge. If I gain knowledge, then Im able to get knowledge from everywhere else and itll work out in my favor.

My trainer made it an emphasis that I do 30 minutes of reading every day and thats kind of changed the way I look at things and the way I carry myself and my behavior slow to temper and all that stuff. I just try to go from there. I read every day. Its mandatory. Its all mental and thats all behavior, you know?

Beverley pointed out that he had 14 technical fouls last season, tied for fifth most in the NBA. That, Beverley said, cant continue.

He was quicker to point out the $25,000 fine the NBA levied against him last season for bouncing a basketball at a fan sitting courtside in Dallas for cursing his mother. Its something he doesnt want to happen again.

Me and Jeffs biggest thing this year is, Behavior is greatness and greatness is behavior. If you watch the guys who have been great, you didnt hear about them getting in trouble, Beverley said. You didnt hear about them being [fifth] in the league in technical fouls. Thats not cool. I want to fix that. And if I fix my behavior, I think my game matures also.

Beverley and Pagliocca agreed that no details were too small including how they trained on the court, and how they sought to improve his behavior, including when hes critical of himself. Details that Beverley says will show hes no longer a wild and reckless guy on the court.

There are certain obstacles that could happen during the season or things that hes faced in his past, said Pagliocca, who runs Evolution Athletics, in a call with The Times. How do you handle those things like a pro at all times? How can you be mature at all times? How can you make sure youre prepared at all times? And I think those conversations that weve had, the mental training, is building that preparation. It was important to him that no stone was left unturned.

Im always trying to find ways that hes advancing as a person. I think that the more hes reflecting and evaluating himself, I think the more growth thats there. I think thats what we tried to target all summer, just to make sure youre getting sharper mentally, because the basketball I think will take care of itself. How can you be the greatest player you can be? I think that comes a lot with making sure youre growing and thats behavior again.

In two-plus seasons together, Clippers coach Doc Rivers has watched Beverley blossom.

He watched how the 6-foot-1 veteran improved his game on the court, going from putting up 7.6 points, 3.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 40.7% from the field and 39.7% from three-point range during the 2018-19 regular season to averaging 9.8 points, 4.7 assists and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 43% from the field and 43.3% from three-point range during the playoffs against Golden State.

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More importantly, in Rivers eyes, is the personal development of Beverley, 31.

I want him to be just great all-around, not just on the floor. He has really bought into his leadership role with me. Now there is another step, Rivers said. There is the human step now, and I think in the long run that will help with his game as well. And hes doing that, being more thoughtful, just a lot of stuff. I just think all that helps him as a person because hes going to be a person a lot longer than hes going to be a basketball player.

The Clippers rewarded Beverley with a three-year, $40-million contract over the summer, leaving him nearly speechless as he tried to comprehend the team showing faith in him.

As such, he wants to show them his gratitude by displaying improved behavior and leadership.

Paul George, Kawhi [Leonard] and Lou [Williams], we understand that they are our bucket-getters and we understand Paul and Kawhi are our leaders, Beverley said. So, its up to everybody else to understand their role and be the best in your role. My role is different from Lous role. But Im going to make sure Im on top of my role. Im just really trying to be great. Ive learned over the years that the more I mature as a man, the more my game matures and it trickles down.

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Clippers' Patrick Beverley changes approach to life and game - Los Angeles Times

Here are the stories you shouldnt miss today:

TOP STORIES

Elizabeth Warren in the Spotlight

A record 12 Democratic candidates took to the debate stage in Westerville, Ohio, last night, and there was one thing they mostly agreed on: denouncing President Trump. Beyond that, they struck a more fractious tone on a range of issues, including healthcare, gun policy and money in politics.

But while Trump has hammered away at Joe Biden (and son), the Democratic candidates on stage took aim at Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who now leads Biden in many polls, testing her strengths and vulnerabilities as a candidate. Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders looked none the worse for wear in his first debate since a heart attack this month, and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg tried to position himself as the moderate alternative to the more left-leaning Warren and Sanders, if Biden stumbles.

Here are seven takeaways from the night.

More Politics

Amid growing political pressure from Republicans, House leaders began seriously gauging support among Democrats for holding a vote to formally establish the impeachment investigation of Trump. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided Tuesday there would be no House vote for now.

Trump has vetoed legislation that attempted to overturn his use of emergency powers to divert military base construction funding to pay for his long-promised border fence. Congress is unlikely to have the votes to override the veto. In all, 127 military construction projects totaling $3.6 billion would lose funding.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leading voice of the Democratic Partys liberal wing, plans to endorse Sanders for president, according to his campaign.

Exit, U.S.; Enter, Russia

In northern Syria, there is a race to control the city of Manbij, which is part of the territory overseen by Kurdish fighters backed by the United States until Trump decided to pull that support. Turkish troops and Syrian rebel proxies appeared on the verge of rushing in, while the Kurds have turned to Syrias government. Filling the void left by the U.S. is Russia, which is taking over as a power broker in the Mideast. And as this news analysis shows, an emboldened Russia is far from the only geopolitical fallout; even Israel is worried about whether Trump would turn his back.

How Californians Think About Immigration

Heres something most California Democrats and Republicans agree on: Immigrants make the U.S. a better place to live. More than 80% of registered voters here say as much, per a UC Berkeley poll conducted for the Los Angeles Times, including 92% of Democrats and 60% of Republicans reflecting the states long rift with the Trump administration on immigration. But voters are more split on how immigrants are treated. On that question, 56% say theyre treated unfairly, while 28% disagree.

The Future, and the Foes, of #MeToo

A British-Greek billionaire heir to a Coca-Cola bottling fortune has fashioned himself the ambassador for men who consider themselves wronged by #MeToo. As Alki David fights the seventh sexual harassment case against him in as many years, hes working with a lobbyist to draft legislation to keep such cases from becoming public. With his penchant for litigation, hes an improbable emissary for the cause, even as he says he relishes his villainous image. Meanwhile, as the #MeToo movement turns two, its founder Tarana Burke unveiled a new hashtag #MeTooVoter to mobilize people heading into 2020.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

On this day in 1995, hundreds of thousands of black Americans converged on the Mall in Washington, D.C., for the Million Man March, where strangers embraced as brothers in a celebration of their new image of unity and hope, as The Times reported at the time. The tidings were of redemption and reconciliation: The Rev. Jesse Jackson said that each man should leave the rally with the declaration, I turned pain into power and promise.

Twenty years later, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, instrumental in organizing the original march, returned to lead another, one year after the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. Also on the 20th anniversary, The Times caught up with men who had marched from a young Watts teacher who wanted to be a walking example for his fifth-graders to a real-estate developer who would later create the Taste of Soul family festival in Crenshaw about the watershed events legacy.

Participants in the Million Man March gather on Capitol Hill and the Mall in Washington on Oct. 16, 1995.

(Mark Wilson / AP)

CALIFORNIA

Two moderate earthquakes in Northern California 100 miles from each other in less than 15 hours unnerved the Bay Area just days before the 30th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. They proved a stark reminder of the danger that awaits.

In a stopgap effort to block no-fault evictions and rent hikes before new state rules kick in next year, the L.A. City Council moved to institute a moratorium on both.

Dozens of new apartments for homeless people could rise in Chatsworth after the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to fund a rare proposal to build such housing in the northwestern San Fernando Valley.

One in four undergraduate women at leading universities nationwide say theyve been sexually assaulted on campus. At USC, the share is higher; one in three say they have been.

Felicity Huffman has reported to a federal prison in Northern California where shell spend two weeks for conspiring to rig her daughters SAT score amid the college admissions scandal.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

Julie Andrews spoke with columnist Mary McNamara about her new memoir Home Work and the hardest part of writing it. Next month, Andrews will discuss the book with readers with the L.A. Times Book Club. (Sign up for the clubs newsletter here.)

Joni Mitchell made a rare public appearance this week, wearing her familiar braids and gaucho hat, to attend Brandi Carliles live tribute to her canonical album Blue.

Among this years nominees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are Biggie, Whitney Houston and the MC5, plus 13 others.

Mindy Kaling is glad the Television Academy changed its rules on Emmy credits after her own bad experience.

NATION-WORLD

With the Trump administration sending Central American asylum-seekers back to Mexico pending their applications, Mexico itself has opted to bus them south in the hope theyll return home, even if that imperils their asylum claims.

The toll of death and destruction from Typhoon Hagibis that tore through central and northern Japan has climbed, as the government said it was considering approving a special budget for the disaster response and eventual reconstruction.

France is reconsidering the legacy of Marie Antoinette.

BUSINESS

In making amends for a massive data breach that affected billions, Yahoo is offering users up to $358.80 each but theres a catch, columnist David Lazarus writes.

Amid all our reporting on the streaming wars, we asked some Angelenos how they watch TV.

SPORTS

Federal agents have interviewed at least six current and former Angels players as part of their investigation into the drug-related death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, according to a person with knowledge of the interviews.

For LeBron James, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere well, except in China, columnist Bill Plaschke writes. In Hong Kong, protesters are slamming James for his comments about free speech, and celebrating Houston Rockets manager Daryl Morey for his.

The Rams, coming off a three-game losing streak, traded cornerback Marcus Peters to the Baltimore Ravens and then went all-in by acquiring cornerback Jalen Ramsey in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Rams traded three draft picks for Ramsey, including first-round picks in 2020 and 2021.

Even with the addition of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Patrick Beverley remains one of the Clippers leaders. Doc Rivers credits the 31-year-olds personal development, and looks forward to the human step.

OPINION

Rudy Giuliani wants Hunter Bidens work in Ukraine investigated but what about his own, asks Jon Healey?

That the presidents supporters decry the younger Biden for cashing in on his name while Trumps children run a global company that bears theirs only shows a new level of malignant hypocrisy, Robin Abcarian writes.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

Theres water ice on the moon, but how much? For NASA, figuring that out is only one small step. (The Atlantic)

Some colleges are tracking students even before they apply. (Washington Post)

ONLY IN L.A.

For the first episode of the show Off Menu, our food columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson spent an afternoon with Jazz Singsanong, the woman behind the beloved Thai Town restaurant Jitlada first shopping at the giant supermarket known as Thai Costco, then returning to Jitladas kitchen to make a few dishes that arent on its regular menu. In the process, he learned about her community and her journey to becoming an ambassador for it, and her family recipe for a funky, salty and fiery shrimp dip.

L.A. Times food columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson, right, dines at Jitlada with owner Jazz Singsanong for the show Off Menu.

(Cody Long / Los Angeles Times)

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Newsletter: Elizabeth Warren in the spotlight - Los Angeles Times

Bluesman and blues/rock journeyman, guitarist and songwriter, Tom The Suit Forst is part of the Buttonwood Trees 30th anniversary celebration this weekend.

Bluesman and blues/rock journeyman, guitarist and songwriter, Tom The Suit Forst is part of the Buttonwood Trees 30th anniversary celebration this weekend.

Photo: Contributed Photo /

Bluesman and blues/rock journeyman, guitarist and songwriter, Tom The Suit Forst is part of the Buttonwood Trees 30th anniversary celebration this weekend.

Bluesman and blues/rock journeyman, guitarist and songwriter, Tom The Suit Forst is part of the Buttonwood Trees 30th anniversary celebration this weekend.

Buttonwood Tree celebrates 30th anniversary all weekend

MIDDLETOWN The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center, an intimate listening room and hub of community arts and personal development offerings, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a first-ever 30-hour performance marathon and gala event, Oct. 18-19 in Middletown.

The event kicks off Friday at 4 p.m. with a free Community Harvest Party that will span indoor and outdoor locations on the block, and feature family-friendly activities, entertainment and a variety of fall-inspired snacks, treats, and drinks, in collaboration with local food and beverage partners.

Music and activities will take place inside the community room at the Community Health Center until 10 p.m., including a performance by three former State Troubadour: Kristen Graves, Lara Herscovitch and Kate Callahan; poet Kate Rushin and other performers.

The marathon moves to the Buttonwood Tree at 605 Main St., with a mix of samples of what the club offers, and a glance back at some of the interesting stories of the past. Highlights include a Story Share with Stephan Allison, Paul Howard, Joe Fonda, Laszlo Gardony, a family-focused interactive world music concert by the NY-based group, Heard and Kitty Kathryn. youth poetry led Elizabeth Thomas, a drum-based meditative session led by Craig Norton, piano by Greg Gaylord, Caroyn Halsted, Neely Bruce and Laszlo Gardony, Nortt End Memories by Brian ORourke and others.

The Buttonwood Tree, named after the Sycamore, will conclude the 30-hour festivities Saturday night from 5-10 p.m. at the CHC, with a A Syc Party Gala, including a rooftop performance by Badslax, a local funky jazz band. The gala will honor the performance venues roots with craft cocktails, custom food, dancing and a tribute to 30 years of providing world class performance events to the Central Connecticut region. Music and dancing to the World music band, Heard and DJ Manny with Face the Musiq.

American bluesman and blues/rock journeyman, guitarist and songwriter, Tom The Suit Forst, one of the most riveting and electrifying performers on the modern blues scene will emcee the evening and perform.

The Buttonwood Tree's Mission is to support the creative endeavors of emerging artists, nurture personal development, connect, educate, enrich lives and uplift people of all ages through the Arts.

Tickets to the gala and all-inclusive tickets also include a year's membership which gives members discounts to select shows at TBT and at restaurants and businesses in town as well as a reciprocal basic membership to the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford. Tickets may be purchased online at buttonwood.org. Call 860-347-4957 for more information.

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Buttonwood Tree celebrates 30th anniversary all weekend - Middletown Press

By: Kathleen Gaines BSN, BA, RN, CBC

Nursing associations are organizations devoted to the professional and personal development of members and to the general advancement of the profession. Joining a professional nursing association is essential due to the ever-changing field of nursing.

According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), professional development is a vital phase of lifelong learning in which nurses engage to develop and maintain competence, enhance professional nursing practice, and support the achievement of career goals.

Nursing organizations empower nurses to stay up to date on current practices, read what leaders in the field are saying, and get a glimpse at what other hospitals around the country are doing to innovate and advance patient care.

Joining a professional nursing association provides resources, information, and opportunities to nurses that might not be available otherwise. There are countless benefits to joining organizations and very few disadvantages. Associations do not require attendance at their meetings or conventions and participation is not required, but members are highly encouraged to take part in all the association has to offer.

The main disadvantage is the cost of joining multiple organizations. Nursing associations at the state and national levels can have substantial annual fees. Unfortunately, these fees can rarely be offset but if the fee is affordable, it is HIGHLY encouraged to join the associations directly related to your practice.

Joining a nursing organization has many benefits, including:

With all of the different choices, deciding which nursing association(s) to join can be overwhelming and sometimes confusing. Experts recommend joining the American Nurses Association (ANA) because it covers a broad scope of practice and offers a comprehensive way to stay on top of the trends in nursing. It also can be beneficial to join an organization that is specific to your specialty.

Each nursing organization has its own associated fees at the state and national levels. Prior to joining, it is important to determine which organizations fit your needs and help you in your professional practice. FYI hospitals generally do NOT reimburse for professional nursing organization fees, but always check because some do consider it part of professional development.

American Nurses Association (ANA)

Founded in 1896, the American Nurses Association is one of the oldest, largest, and most recognizable nursing organizations in the country. At the initial assembly convention in New York City, there were fewer than twenty nurses, whereas two years later there were 10,000 nurses in attendance.

Through organizational affiliates and different member organizations, the ANA promotes the rights of nurses in the workplace, lobbies Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues and supports a number of subsidiary organizations related to nursing including the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

National League for Nursing (NLN)

The NLN, founded in 1893, was the first professional nursing organization in the United States. According to the website, the NLN offers professional development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 40,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members.

The primary purpose of the NLN represents nursing education in healthcare organizations and institutions of higher learning. The core values of the NLN are Caring, Integrity, Diversity, and Excellence. The NLN has four main goals:

Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN)

With more than 11,500 members, the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses represents the largest subspecialty of the nursing profession and is the only professional nursing organization dedicated to medical-surgical nurses.

The ANA discovered an overwhelming need for a nursing association specifically for medical surgical nurses after a survey in 1990. The AMSN offers clinical practice resources, career guidance, professional development tools, and publications specifically related to the medical-surgical nursing role.

American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN)

The American Association of Critical Care Nurses is the worlds largest specialty nursing organization that is specifically intended for critical care nurses. The AACN is a national level organization with more than 200 chapters throughout the United States. Each individual chapter has specific requirements for membership.

The AACN offers critical care certification resources, continuing education opportunities, and networking events that help to support its core values of accountability, innovation, leadership, and collaboration.

American Academy of Nursing

Members of the American Academy of Nursing are among the most educated in the nursing profession, with 90% holding doctoral degrees and the remaining 10% holding masters degrees. An invitation to join this organization represents recognition of one's accomplishments within the nursing profession.

Members of this organization include association executives, university presidents, chancellors, deans, state and federal political appointees, hospital chief executives and vice presidents for nursing, nurse consultants, researchers, and entrepreneurs.

Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma)

Sigma currently has more than 135,000 active members in over 90 countries. There are approximately 530 chapters at more than 700 institutions of higher education. In 1936, Sigma became the first US nursing organization to fund nursing research.

Sigma awards more than $200,000 in grants, scholarships, and monetary awards, has a handful of education and research conferences including a yearly research congress, online continuing nursing education including interactive learning activities, and a career development program.

National Student Nurse Association

The National Student Nurse Association is the official pre-professional organization for nursing students. Formed in 1953, the NSNA originally functioned under the ANA and the NLN; however, in 1968, the NSNA became its own autonomous body.

The organization has over 60,000 members in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The NSNA mentors the professional development of future registered nurses and facilitates their entrance into the profession by providing educational resources, leadership opportunities, and career guidance.

The Board of Directors comprised of nine elected nursing students that represent the interests of the members. The annual convention draws more than 30,000 students.

Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN)

The mission of the SPN is to advance the specialty of pediatric nursing through excellence in education, research, and practice. Since its inception in 1990, SPN has grown to over 3,500 members including from over 28 sub-specializations. Dedicated specifically to pediatric nursing, this association is a must join for all pediatric nurses.

A comprehensive list of professional nursing organizations can be found here.

Joining a professional nursing organization requires only four steps:

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Benefits of Joining Nursing Organizations - Nurse.org

In the past decade, psychologists have made a welcome leap, expanding beyond a narrow focus on the North America, Europeand Australiain their research to include people from all over the world. One benefit has been greater insight on global distribution of cultural featuresthe society-level differences in psychological phenomena such as happiness, individualism and aggressiveness. Greater knowledge about the distribution of such features across the earth may help us better understand the many roots of cultural similarities and differences. Powerful cases in point are studies demonstrating that countries differ substantially in terms of mean happiness and the additional finding that this pattern is anything but random. In both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, happiness is higher in countries farther away from the equator (such as Denmark or New Zealand) than those closer to it (such as Vietnam or Cambodia).

Even more intriguing, we have uncovered the same pattern for individualism and creativity. Like happiness, these cultural features trend higher as one moves away from the equator. When we looked at aggressiveness, we found the opposite pattern: the closer you live to the equator, the more likely you are to exhibit aggressive behavior. To explain these robust links between latitude and culturefrom happiness to aggressiveness and beyondscience needs a new field. Latitudinal psychology seeks to explain why societies differ so much and why location on the north-south axis of the earth is so critical.

Latitudinal psychology literally maps psychology and culture onto the world. It provides a new look at cultural differences and how they may have been developed. For example, perhaps lower happiness in locations closer the equator is primarily a function of less opportunities for economic development in the tropics and therefore fewer possibilities for personal growth. Such insights should be helpful not only to learn about the ecological roots of cultural differences but perhaps even to appreciate and respect them.

One explanation that may immediately come to mind is that climate shapes these cultural features. After all, latitude is strongly associated with climatological differences, such as annual temperature and rainfall. But climate does not work as a sole, or even primary, explanation, because it is associated with many other factors, including national wealth, the prevalence of viruses and other ecological risks, and natural hazards, any or all of which may play a role in a cultural feature such as happiness. What is needed, then, is a global perspective that focuses on key aspects of the natural or man-made environment that is shaped by climate and related factors. This latitudinal perspective seeks to understand cultural features such as happiness, creativity or individualism in terms of the global environmentthe global ecologywhich poses challenges to the individuals and groups that shape and reinforce these features. While the ecological perspective is growing in psychology, it is not extremely well documented in the literature. So a few illustrations should be helpful.

There has been some research showing that in countries farther away from the equator, people are more likely to have a clock culture, which emphasizes punctuality, as well as the overall importance of time and planning. The saying Time is money highlights a clock culture. In contrast, in nations closer to the equator, there is less emphasis on time and more on the appreciation of an event as it unfolds. Event cultures in these nations are perfectly captured in sayings such as Give time to time (Darle tiempo al tiempo) in Mexico or Any time is Trinidad time in Trinidad and Tobago, a country even closer to the equator than Mexico. An ecological interpretation is that time and planning are emphasized in cultures with large seasonal influences located at a greater distance from the equator, where one needs to plan for the next season (e.g., seasonal planning in agriculture and preparing for cold winters). Also, the potential for economic productivity may be greater in nations in those areas, and activities related to such productivity call for planning and a strong orientation on time.

There are more examples that show that latitudinal differences in location, even within the same country, are related to culture. For example, research in rural China revealed that people who live in southern regions where rice is produced tend to be more collectivistic and less individualistic than those who live in wheat-producing regions up north. Rice farmers increase economic benefit by working together, the researchers noted, whereas wheat farmers can (mostly) do the job on their own.

Turning back to the puzzle posed by the findings with which we began this article: How can we explain that happiness, creativity and individualism are higher, and that aggressiveness is lower, in countries farther way from the equator? Our analyses uncovered the importance of two ecological explanations: The first is wealth. Nations farther away from the equator are also wealthier on average, providing greater opportunities for education, along with autonomy and personal growthfeatures related to happiness, creativity and individualism. Conflict is less likely to be about survival than less urgent needs or concerns, which may help us understand why aggressiveness (often to outgroups) is weaker in wealthier countries. The second is natural threats, whether from pathogens (e.g., malaria), venomous animals (e.g., snakes) or natural hazards (e.g., flooding or drought). Such threats may not only undermine happiness and creativity but also bring about an orientation to those in a group to protect themselves from these risks, perhaps along with some aggressiveness to other groups.

Latitudinal psychology describes how cultural features are distributed over the world, with a focus on the north-south axis. Ecological perspectives are promising in explaining the origins of culture and why societies and nations can be so different from one another, in terms of happiness or aggression. Such knowledge may also help us better understand that not all populations are the same. This recognition is important because we increasingly face a new reality in which we are becoming more interconnected with other groups, cultures and societies. Indeed, psychology has to become broader and broader because the world is getting smaller and smaller.

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Latitude Adjustment: Distance from the Equator Shapes Our Thinking - Scientific American