TALLADEGA -- The walking track and swimming pool at the Spring Street Recreation Center will reopen Monday, June 1, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to a press release issued Friday by City Manager Beth Cheeks.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines will be observed, she said in the announcement. The swimming pool will be open for adult lap swim and water aerobics only Those using the walking track are expected to practice social distancing The gym, tennis courts, playgrounds and park restrooms are still closed.

The pool will be open for adult lap swim, with one swimmer per lane (up to six at a time) from 8 to 9 a.m., noon to 1 p.m., 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. and 3 to 4 p.m.

Water aerobics classes for up to 12 people will be from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. and from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. in the shallow end of the pool. The pool area will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after each activity.

CDC guidelines state that there will be no showers, Cheeks said. There will only be one at a time in the restrooms, and the restroom must be sanitized after each person. As you can see, this is a very labor intensive process for the employees.

Cheeks added, These restrictions are subject to change as new guidelines are issued by the CDC and the Governors Office.

Those wishing to use the pool will have to sign up for a specific time slot. To reserve a slot or for more information, please call the Talladega Parks and Recreation Department at 256-362-0514.

Read more here:

Spring Street Recreation walking track, pool will reopen Monday - Anniston Star

Over the past 60 days, I have not touched my stack of presidential biographies or baked a single loaf of sourdough bread. Nor have I acquired new muscle definition, signed up for a 12-week Russian course or embarked on the slow but fulfilling process of practicing a new hobby.

I dont have the fortitude or patience for any of that right now.

In the midst of this pandemic, with my days split between work and Zoomschooling, I can barely manage to keep everyones schedules straight, let alone learn how to trim a bonsai tree. I need quick wins these days, not focused concentration on a new skill that may require weeks or months of my time in order to achieve competence.

While advice columns have urged us to find respite in deep study or passion projects, Ive gone in the opposite direction. Rather than devote my sliver of nightly leisure time to a single, purposeful activity, I have instead taken on 1,000 of them. Im channeling my listlessness into activities whose outcomes mean absolutely nothing to me, but which give me a small sense of accomplishment. I want to try everything and master nothing.

Since early April, Ive sowed seeds in the cold spring that were meant to be planted in the hot summer. Ive cooked recipes with little regard for the ingredients, substituting ricotta for parmesan depending on whats in the fridge. Ive run a trivia night for friends in which I awarded points at whim. I dusted off old programming skills to build something truly pointless: an animated digital robot whose arms rise and fall in panic.

I commit to nothing; I am wildly promiscuous in my tastes. I signed up for a community-supported agriculture program and canceled it the moment brussels sprouts appeared in my delivery box. I made a face mask with honey and yogurt and ended up eating it instead. I played exquisite corpse with an artist friend and cheated halfway through (Sorry about that, Matt!).

Through it all, I suffer no physical or mental strain. I skip past the 1,000-piece, single-color jigsaw puzzle in favor of an easy, 300-piece Map of the United States, half of the pieces still assembled from a previous pass. I do online fitness videos on YouTube that I abandon around the 20-minute mark, just when I am starting to sweat. Why should I work that hard? No one is going to see my abs for another 18 months.

Only the most generous judge would award me a participation ribbon for these feats; nowhere on my tombstone will I be recognized for my green thumb, cooking skills, athletic ability or sharp engineering talent.

But at the same time, these quick, one-off projects have all kinda, sorta worked. Half of the seeds have sprouted. The food Ive been cooking is wildly off but still edible. The panicked robots arms dont properly connect to its torso, but instead wave urgently from its head. I may not have a six-pack, but dance hall aerobics do provide a nice rush of endorphins.

Im not learning any new skills; there is no self-improvement happening here. There is no exciting, frustrating or meaningful experience of grappling with something truly new and unexplored. In fact, I rarely do the same activity twice.

Perhaps such a distracted approach would feel emptier in more normal times. Or maybe doing something aimlessly with no intention at all is the very definition of leisure, and its leisure, not focused projects, that some of us need right now.

Whatever the case may be, Ive been pleased by my short-lived, fruitless endeavors. My projects if one can even use such an ambitious word to describe them are fun and quick. They may be sloppy half-wins, but they are activities with a start and an end. They make me feel productive at a time when all the normal and truly important stuff can feel slow-going and difficult. Unlike my children or my job, I can abandon them at a moments notice with little consequence or feelings of guilt.

The nation may need a collective therapy session when all of this is over. (Ill probably need an individual one to address my ever-present need to feel occupied.) But in the meantime, for those of you who arent making any headway on writing your pandemic novel or reorganizing your closet, I encourage you to remember this: All those projects will still be there when all of this is over. So rather than punish yourself with a slow and meaningful undertaking that will transform you into a better and more fulfilled individual, why not instead just spend 10 minutes learning how to kind-of-not-really-sort-of do a roundhouse kick?

Jessica Powell (@themoko) is the author of The Big Disruption: A Totally Fictional but Essentially True Silicon Valley Story.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

See the rest here:

Why Have One Pandemic Hobby When You Can Have 1,000 of Them? - The New York Times

The Big Brother Australia reboot will premiere on Channel Seven in early June.

AndMelbourne-based Zoe George, a well-known blogger and creator of website The Subtle Mummy, was the latest housemate to be announced on Wednesday.

She will join the likes of AFL prankster Daniel Gorringe, raunchy model Chad Hurst, Think Tank star Mat Garrick and 80saerobics icon Marissa Rancan in the house.

The 38-year-old brunette has two kids and is a woodwork teacher from Melbourne.

If you havent had things under your nail and, like, wondered if its Nutella or poo then youre not a mum! Kids have changed my life, Zoe says.

Zoe documents her home life with kidsAri and Ambrosia and husband Bob to her 17,700 Instagram followers and on unfiltered blog,The Subtle Mummy.

She says shes as subtle as a brick in the face and aims to show people shes fun.

The 30-year-old has been dubbed the shows outback tradie after filming his promo in Broken Hill, focusing on his country lifestyle in far west New South Wales.

However, he failed to mention his year as a panelist on ABCs Think Tank from 2018 to 2019.

My beautiful fiance Jess is the best thing thats ever happened to me. Its a bit of a running joke that Im Don Bradman and bat above my average with Jess, he says.

When asked how hell go in the house, Mat says: I hope Im a pretty likeable guy. Got to keep my wits about myself. Some people are conniving and backstabbing.

Housemate Daniel, 27, retired from AFL in 2017.

Since then hes amassed 76,000 Instagram followers by stripping naked for bizarre stunts, as well as taking part in some very questionable comedy skits.

One of his longest-running gags involves placing random items down his trousers. In past videos, hes wedged a lemon between his buttocks, and a golf ball.

Marissa Rancan was announced as a housemate for the reboot earlier this month.

The 61-year-old makeup artist from Sydney found fame in the 1980s as one third of aerobics icons The Rancan Sisters with her twin siblings, Adele and Lisa.

We were the first three to bring aerobics to Australia. It started back in 1983 and we were known for our morning TV appearances, Marissa says of her showbiz past.

The 27-year-old splits his time between photo shoots in Los Angeles, and working as a roofer in Sydney.

While Chad boasts about appearing in Vogue Australia in his promo for the show, he forgot to disclosethe X-rated full frontal nude shoots he did back in 2013.

I think Ill be able to adapt to most personalities in the Big Brother house. Ill be weaving my way in there, seeing whats going on, he says.

Sophie is hoping her good looks will help her win the Chanel Seven reality show.

After being announced as a housemate on Saturday, the 25-year-old from Darwin said: Using my looks will be one of my strategies.

The glamorous brunette is a former gymnast who now works as a part-time grid girl and makeup artist while studying at university.

She fractured her back at the age of 13 while trainingfor the Olympics in London. It was all over. I was out of the sport overnight, she says of her sad past.

Feisty Angela, a 37-year-old events manager and mother from Perth, says she wants to be the last one standing and that Big Brother has met its match with her.

She claims shell sweet talk housemates during the day, and vote them out at night.

I came from Africa with nothing but a suitcase. My family is everything. At home, Im a mum. At work, Im a boss. I can be all of that and more, she says.

View original post here:

Big Brother 2020 line-up: All of the confirmed housemates so far - Brinkwire

by Wendy Turrell

On April 24, Walter BudWisneiskicelebrated his 100thbirthday with the same attitude of gratitude and enjoyment that have been histrademarkthroughoutalong life.In reply to Happy Birthday and congratulations on reaching 100 years,Wisneiskicheerfullyreplied, Imstarting on my second 100!

He added, Physically I dont feel any different than I did yesterday, the day before, or the day before that. I am happy to have arrived at 100. Ive had a great, enjoyable life. Im really appreciative of all of it, the bumps in the road and the high spots.

Wisneiskiwas eagerly anticipating the following day, when nearly all of Richfield would turn out in a parade past his house to honor him. A total of 78 cars, a bicycle or two, and the Richfield Police and Fire Departments honoredthis longtime Richfield resident, who has given alifetime of community service.

Wisneiskiserved in the Army Air Corpsin World War II not as a pilot, but as a meteorologist, then called an aerologist.He gatheredweather information from the North Atlantic to guide the delivery of fighter planes from the U.S. through Newfoundland, Iceland, Greenland or Scotland to London and France;and togather data forEuropeanmaps that wouldaidAllied troupe deployment, including the famous D-DayLanding inNormandy.

WhenWisneiskiwas discharged from the servicein 1946, he and his wife Mildred had two children.He began his career as a teacher at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School, where eventually he would become principal.They settledinwith her parentsin a household that included Mildredsbrother Elmer,whowasmarriedtoWisneiskissister,their child, and his mother-in-laws mother.

We out-populated that house, he recalledwith a laugh. He took the $2,000 he got from his army discharge, and the young couplebrieflyrented a house in Brecksville,before buyingan old farmhouse in Richfieldfor the princely sum of $9,900.TheWisneiskiscontinued to live in Richfield, with a lively family that ultimately included sixchildren, and aseventhlost tragically soon after birth.

Wisneiskistwo daughters, Jane in Denver and Ellen in New York state, had tickets to join their father for his momentous celebration but, I asked them to stay home, with the danger of flying with the Coronavirus outbreak,Wisneiskisaid.

Son Doug fromSan Diegoisstayingwith his father. I havent been out of my house for 17 weeks at this point, and having my son here has been a lifesaver, the centenarian said.

Completingthe Wisneiskifamilyare oldest son Phil, who lives in Naples, Florida; second oldest son Jeff, a doctor who lives in Pepper Pike; and son Jack, who lives in Denver.Wisneiski isalsograndfather to five.A sixth grandchild is deceased.

Wisneiskisbirthday parade began from the parking lot of his longtime church, the Richfield Church of Christ, where he assumed many leadership roles over the years. These have included moderator, which in UCC parlance is the lay leader, and Chair of the Stewardship and Administrative Board.

Wisneiskislegacy of service includes being a Bath-Richfield Kiwanis Club President of Distinction, and starting the Richfield youth baseball team, back when he had to borrow equipment from the Akron Athletic Association.

Wisneiski used to be an avid golfer, buthegaveit up at age 95, When I couldnt hit a fairway shot more than 75 yards. Eighteen years ago, Wisneiski was instrumental instartingthe annualBrecksville-Broadview HeightsBud WisnieskiAlumniGolf OutingatSt. Bernard Golf Club on Streetsboro Road,whereWisneiskis home abuts the 15thgreen. He is quick to give credit to others,insistingBBVH alum Bob Miller, whom Wisneiski taught in high school, did the hard work tostart thetournament.

In 2008, Wisneiski needed to have a Peg tube placed in his abdomen, through which he has taken all liquids, medications and nourishment ever since. Agregariousman, even this hasnt slowed down his delight in going out for dinner with friends. He jokes, The rest of them cant talk with their mouths full, so I have a captive audience!

Although Wisneiskis fathers family lived well into their late 80s and 90s, he is the first to reach 100. He attributes it to good luck and good living. By the time he got out of the service, he had developed duodenal ulcers. The doctor told him to give up smoking and drinking caffeine, which he promptly did. The other factors to whichWisneiski attributes long life are a reflection of his positive outlook:

1. Dont hold grudges. Be able to forgive. It takes a lot of pressure off you.

2. Be grateful. Wisneiski quotes the 1960s inspirational speaker Zig Ziglar with a saying he lives by: Be grateful for what you have. Dont complain. It bores everybody else, does you no good, and doesnt solve any problems.

3. Be curious. It gives you a zest for life. Wisneiskis zest for life continues, amidst Coronavirus or reduced circumstances. He concluded, I enjoy life, even though now my day consists of getting up, feeding myself, putting on compression hosemy isometric exercise for the day! I sit in my chair and think. I have difficulty with my eyes, so I cant read much, but I answer my emails. I usually have a lot of visits from friends, which makes the time pass so quickly. We enjoyeach otherscompany.

Feature image photo caption: Bud Wisnieski

Read more from the original source:
Walter "Bud" Wisneiski marks 100 years of positive living | Scriptype - scriptype.com

We became friends in 2008 when I assumed office as the pioneer Executive Director/CEO of Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation, Lagos, where I initiated media parley with the management of the foundation. Waheed Bakare was among the several Muslim journalists that honoured my invitation even though he knew me not before that time. Waheed as popularly called was an unassuming person. That was the first impression I got from him on the first day of our meeting and remained consistent until his demise.

Within the span of those years, it was either we met at one of the events of the foundation or another Muslim programme. On other occasions, we spoke on phones about upcoming events of the foundation or Nigerian Project or how to support the Muslim journalists by building their capacity. Waheed was a selfless journalist who put the interest of his colleagues in the media profession above his. Any opportunity he had with me, he always centred his conversations on the need for the Muslim Ummah to work insidiously either through collaboration or partnership with local or international organisations on the human capital development of Muslim journalists. I recall a particular day when he called me on phone to express his joy upon hearing that our foundation had muted the idea of sponsoring Muslim journalists abroad for training. He was very excited and appreciative of the initiative and wished that many other Islamic faith-based organisations could emulate our footstep.

Waheed was also a reliable, trusted and loyal friend. During the wedding of one of my daughters, he was among those I sent late invite to. In spite of his previous commitments which clashed with the date of the wedding, he honoured my family with his attendance from the beginning to the end of the ceremony. Waheed demonstrated his loyalty as a true friend.

To say Waheed Bakare was a Muslim activist and core professional in the media sector is an understatement.

Aside being a practising Muslim, he used the pen to propagate Islam, defend its image and represent the interest of the larger Ummah without infringing on the rights of non-Muslims. He was able to balance Islamic activism with professionalism. Like the sayings of Ali bn Abi Talib, the value of every person is found in what he is best at, inspired by altruistic motive, I can say that Waheed was never found wanting in his journalism profession by any of his employers and within the space of the Muslim Ummah till his soul returned to its creator.

My tribute to Waheed will not be completed if I do not mention that he was humane, kind-hearted and generous. Many people have wrong impression about journalists. Majority will even throw caution to the wind by associating beggary with journalism. Of course, this is far from been true. Again, I recall early this year, 11th January 2020, when I created a WhatsApp group named A Helping Hand used for crowd funding to bail out a young school certificate girl that lost her father and her family were ejected from their apartment because they could not afford the rental fee among other existential challenges. Though I dont know the girl before our conversation, I promised to assist her.

At that time, I was financially constrained. I thought of what to do for this girl that wolfs in human skins wanted to take advantage of. Allahs guidance came at hand. In my own words, quoting from the wall of the group However, due to the urgency and circumstances beyond my control at this period, I am unable to do the needful. Hence, I have to reach out to kind-hearted people like you for a FAVOUR on behalf of a distressed Muslim sister, who needs urgent assistance of #500,000.

The late Waheed Bakare was among the few kind-hearted friends I added to the group. Within 24 hours, I was able to realise N750,000 for the distressed girl. Waheed kept sending private sms explaining the difficulty he was experiencing from network failure which caused his inability to make his donation. I was impressed that some men such as Waheed from the fourth estate of the realm could be so passionate and moved by altruism to support the distressed girl. He never rested until his payment transfer was successful. He donated handsomely. Indeed, in the words of Abubakar, the first Caliph, Taking pains to remove the pains of others is the true essence of generosity Without mincing words, Waheed Bakare contributed in removing the pains of others. He was indeed a generous person.

Waheed Bakare did not stop after his donation; he was also a strong advocate of crowdfunding for the benefits of others. In his words when I initiated the crowdfunding, he said: This should not be a one-off thing please. Five months after he uttered the statement, Waheed never had any premonition that his journey on the path of humanity would be terminated so soon. Succinctly put, the fourth Caliph, Ali bn Abi Talib said: Days are the pages of life, so make them eternal with your best deeds. Waheed had paid his dues on the path of goodness to his creator and fellow human beings.

Despite the great pains his exit has caused us in the last day of the month of forgiveness, mercy, blessings and period of Eid-il-Fitr celebration, one is hopeful and prayerful that Allahs mercy will be on his soul and Jannatul Firdaws will be his final abode. For, Allah is with the doers of goods. Q29:69.

Finally, as advocated by Waheed himself, part of my tribute to him is the need to use the same crowdfunding strategy to mobilise fund for his immediate family (wife and children) in order to soothe their pains and reposition the familys economic sustainability and human capital development. As a suggestion, if the funding strategy is efficiently handled, may be by his immediate constituency the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN), I believe, a reasonable millions of naira could be realised within a short time to wipe the tears of the family Waheed Bakare left behind. In the words of William Shakespeare in As You Like It, Men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love. Indeed, those that have genuine love for Waheed Bakare, this is the time to rise and do something tangible for his family. Albert Einstein once said Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value. Let the friends and colleagues of Waheed add values to the friendship we had with him even after his demise. For, Hilary Hinto, popularly known as Zig Ziglar said You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.

Therefore, let us use crowdfunding to humanise his family. Crowdfunding is a cost-effective and impactful strategy of raising fund within a short period for an urgent and time bound challenge or event. I will end my tribute with the summary statements of the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Ogun State, Alhaji Shuaib Afolabi Salis (SAS), on the crowdfunding I used which Waheed participated. SAS said:

Before we shut down the platform, permit me to share the lessons this exercise has further reinforced in me.

1) Muslims are responsive and do donate to a worthy cause, contrary to self-denigrating narrative we like to parrot about ourselves. 2) The response is directly proportional to the credibility and social capital of the anchor. 3) Break any problem down to smaller bits, it is easier to chew the bits and solve the problem in no time. 4) Eniyan lasomi Build and network that you can always tap into, whenever there is need. The young lady did, our brother, Abdullah, just demonstrated it. 5) Dont hide the finger that hurts you and keep lamenting. Share the problem appropriately and the help may be on the way.

Less than 24 hours ago, the target was oversubscribed by 50%.

These principles are applicable to not only raising N500K but any other project.

I wish some of our numerous WhatsApp platforms will do less with copying and forwarding over circulated and irrelevant posts and use social media for more meaningful engagements.

Lastly, I thank my friend, Abdullah Shuaib, PhD, for the initiative and the window he offered to us to be part of this commendable effort.

May Allah reward us with the best of our intentions.

Dr Abdullahi Shuaib, CEO, Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation, Abuja

Vanguard Nigeria News

See the rest here:
Waheed Bakare: A clear definition of altruism - Vanguard

She has proved that age is no bar when it comes to battling hardships, no matter how unfavourable the circumstances. A 100-year-old woman who had tested positive along with other family members has successfully defeated the novel coronavirus after an 11-day battle. The woman Chanda Bai, from Nehru Nagar, Indore, was discharged from a city-based hospital after recovering from the infection. This came shortly after a fortnight when her 70-year-old son died due to suspected coronavirus infection.

The officials have termed her recovery as the triumph of her strong will power. The elderly woman was facing a lot of difficulties to move around due to her knee problems. Her 70-year-old son had died a few days ago. But due to her strong will and the treatment, the elderly patient finally recovered and returned home, they were quoted by a news agency.

The elderly woman, along with five members of her family, was screened for COVID-19 and hospitalised after testing positive. Her son, though, didnt make it. According to a family member, he exhibited COVID-19 like symptoms, including fever and cough. However, even before his samples could be taken for testing, his condition suddenly deteriorated, and he died during the treatment.

That is when the entire family of 16 members decided to get tested for the disease, which confirmed that six people from the family, including the centenarian woman and 10-year-old twinsa brother-sister duo, were infected. They were since then hospitalised at Sri Aurobindo Institute Medical Sciences (SAIMS) Hospital in Indore.

Indore is one of the worst-hit districts in the country in terms of the spread of coronavirus. On Friday, the number of COVID-19 patients increased to 2,850 in the district. Of these, 109 patients have died, while 1,280 people have recovered from the epidemic after treatment.

Photo: Representational image

Also Read: Girl Who Cycled 1200km In 7 Days During Lockdown Called For Sports Trial

Read more:
100-Year-Old Woman Defeats COVID-19, 17 Days After Losing Son To The Virus - Femina

In the absence of theatres, many film-centric organizations have been finding creative ways to show moviesand, moreover, to get movies seen. In the process, theyre overcoming one of the long-standing woes of moviegoingthe extremely limited and localized release of many of the best films. Its a constant frustration to see great movies playing, say, one week at one New York venue, knowing that theyll then drop into oblivion until, months or even years later, they come out streaming. The BBC has taken a bold step to help: on Thursday, they launched LongShots, an online film festival of seven international documentaries, all available to view for the next month, free of charge (viewers can vote to determine the winner).

Id read an enthusiastic review of one of these films, Sad Song, directed by Louise Narboni, so thats the one I started with. Its an intricate and painful docu-fiction thats as audacious in its concept as it is troubling in its substance. Elodie Fonnard, a classical-music singer (specializing in Baroque repertory), lives in Paris and is providing a temporary home to Ahmad Shinwari, a young man from Afghanistan. He has arrived in France as a refugee, seeking asylum there, and is awaiting an official answer to his application. Narboni films Fonnard and Shinwari in Fonnards comfortable home (a house with a garden) as they re-create, for the camera, real experiences that they shared.

The action is simple, staged by Narboni in spare, largely static compositionsbut its narrated by Elodie, in voice-over, and her perspective on the action is itself a crucial part of the drama. She explains that, following a personal tragedy, she became active with an organization that assists refugees; there, she met Ahmad and decided to work with him, tutoring him in French, acclimating him to life in France, getting him needed medical care, and helping him assemble his dossier to apply for asylum. Ahmad had worked on his familys small farm in Afghanistan but, under threat from the Taliban, fled first to Kabul and then, after an arduous journey on foot, eventually reached France.

Ahmad is also an accomplished musician and poet; he and Elodie bonded through their love of music and lyrics, and their artistic collaborations and mutual admiration is displayed in action. Yet it has no practical or professional outlet; Elodie is busily pursuing her career, preparing for a recital involving a varied repertory (including songs by Duparc and Szymanowski), and Ahmad, while waiting for the French bureaucracy to take up his case, is in a holding pattern, doing household chores, studying with Elodie, and thinking about his family at home. He has long suspected that, during his absence from home, his mother has been concealing from him the death of his sister; when he eventually gets confirmation of this news (which leaves him his mothers sole source of support), it complicates his plans to stay in France. Yet the greatest complication involves the possibility (no spoilers) of a romance between Ahmad and Elodie.

Sad Song is both a straightforward drama and an elaborate reconstruction that reflects, with aesthetic self-awareness, the troubling complexity of its own attempt to tell Ahmads story through the double framework of Elodies personal perspective and Narbonis cinematic one. What the movie presents of Ahmads life is largely based on what he told Elodie, and what, working with him, she carefully pieced together and then translated into French for official presentation in his dossier to apply for asylum. (Their common language is English; they speak French together only rarely, whereas Elodies copious voice-over is in French.) Ahmad acknowledges that his renactment of his life with Elodie at the time of the administrative bottleneck is itself therapeutic. Still, no less than Ahmad is subject to French authority, hes also subject to Elodies gaze, Elodies interpretation, Elodies domestic regimeand to Narbonis cinematic reconstitution of his life by way of Elodies perspective.

Sad Songs subject is subjectivity, the very possibility of presenting Ahmad as a subject who expresses himself, and the fact that every mediating presenceElodie, the French state, and Narboni herselffails in some way to render Ahmads story in his own voice. (Theres even a noteworthy, seemingly unintended pun on the soundtrack, when Elodie hopes that hell find sa voiehis waywhich is a homonym for sa voix, his voice.) The films representation and dramatization of this failure is key to its severe and anguished success; its a story of the camera as an unseeing eye, of vision as a mode of overlooking. It is more than a crucial tale of the dire personal, physical, emotional, and political circumstances that refugees are now facing in their effort to seek safe haven. Its an artistic way of thinking about the very difficulty that outsiders face in even thinking about refugees and in trying to help.

Visit link:
What to Stream: Sad Song, an Audacious French Documentary from the BBCs Online Film Festival - The New Yorker

The #FeedTheNation social campaign helps raise awareness by sharing farmers views on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to reassure the public at large that the farming community is doing the best it can to keep the country going.

Despite being classed as very high risk to coronavirus, 86-year-old Devonshire farmer Alec Burrough, is working every day to keep Britain farming and help #FeedTheNation.

What farmers do today will most likely stay in the publics mind for a generation. However, with farmers humility and self-awareness, they are not describing themselves as heroes but simply declaring their willingness to help in any way they can and be as supportive and welcoming as safely and realistically possible.

Farmers are helping to feed the nation during the coronavirus pandemic by setting up makeshift drive-through shops. Manor Farm Fruits, near Hints, Staffordshire, is growing 22 hectares of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and blackberries, and is offering its first-ever Strawberry Drive-thru.

Key players in agriculture have got behind the #FeedTheNation campaign to back UK farmers working flat out to produce safe, affordable and sustainable food to feed the nation. It has never been more important to show the British public the effort that goes into putting food on their tables.

The campaign is raising public awareness by highlighting the actions farmers are taking to keep the nation going during difficult times.

Response to the campaign has been both surprising and outstanding, but most of all, the comments have been heart-warming.

As part of the #FeedTheNation campaign, Farmers Weekly has created the Farmers Army initiative. The Farmers Army was created in the spirit of the 1941 competition published in Farmers Weeklys Home Section that asked for ideas about how the thousands of women and children evacuated from towns might be brought into a useful relationship with country and farming life.

In the 1940s the Land Army helped win a war through resilience and sheer stubbornness and now 80 years later Farmers Weekly is once again asking the general public to come and help farmers that need domestic seasonal workers to tackle the harvest labour shortage and be able to #FeedTheNation.

Karl Schneider, Editor of Farmers Weekly, said:

Britain's farmers are playing a vital role in this crisis. It falls to all of us to work together to do everything we can to keep our farms - and our nation - going.

Farmers Weekly is now taking the #FeedTheNation campaign a step forward and are asking all media outlets to help and work together to connect farmers that would like to donate part of their harvest with charities such as feeding low income families and our NHS heroes in cities, towns and villages across the UK.

Help with suggestions and contacts of charities all over the UK that would like to get involved and share the good work that farmers and the supply chain are doing to keep the nation fed. Use the hashtag #FeedTheNation and join the conversion on social media.

Read more:
#FeedTheNation campaign showcases the best in British farming - The Pig Site

The ability to stay strong is about learning how to keep hardship in perspective, and taking active steps to adjust to the circumstances.

MONTREAL, Quebec (PRWEB) May 30, 2020

During a crisis, the platitude stay strong is well-intended, but difficult to put into practice. Resilience is not an inherent trait - it is developed and strengthened through hardship. Recent research conducted by PsychTests.com reveals that mentally tough people nurture a specific type of mindset, and engage in certain practices in order to stay strong in the face of adversity. It seems that resilience isnt just a state of mind; its also a state of action.

Analyzing data from 12,259 people who took the Emotional Intelligence Test, PsychTests researchers focused their analysis on two distinct groups: Those who are highly resilient (in the 90th percentile and higher), and those who are not. Heres where the two groups differed:

RESILIENT PEOPLE BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES, AND HAVE A STRONG SENSE OF SELF-WORTH

RESILIENT PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS WORKING ON THEMSELVES

RESILIENT PEOPLE ACTIVELY PRACTICE SPECIFIC COPING METHODS TO DEAL WITH STRESS

RESILIENT PEOPLE STRIVE TO MAINTAIN A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

RESILIENT PEOPLE DEVELOP THEIR SELF-AWARENESS, AND STAY IN TOUCH WITH THEIR INNER WORLD

Resilience is an elusive trait, because were never really taught how to be strong, either by our parents or in school, explains Dr. Jerabek, president of PsychTests. Were told to toughen up, man up, stay positive, or that things will get better eventually, but are not told how to do that. And so we learn to simply ride out storms in our life by hanging on for dear life, or drowning out the pain, neither of which develops our resilience very much. This is because resilience is an active process. Tough people dont sit back and let adversity wash over them like a tidal wave; they take action. They consciously monitor their thoughts and feelings, summon up various coping techniques, stay in the moment rather than ruminating about the future or the what-ifs, and they face their problems head-on. So when a proverbial storm comes, resilient people become the captains of their ship. They take charge, and take steps to improve their situation, or their attitude."

"This is what we need to be doing during the pandemic," suggests Dr. Jerabek. "Dont just sit at home obsessively watching the news and worrying about what is to come. Accept what is going on, and then take steps to adapt. Ask yourself what you can do right now to make things better, even just a little. Find soothing activities, learning new coping techniques, practice mindfulness and meditation, keep yourself busy, and then at the end of the day, count every single one of your blessings. This is what it means to be resilient.

To schedule an interview with Dr. Jerabek, go here: https://calendly.com/ilonajerabek/30-min-meeting-with-dr-ilona-jerabek

Want to assess your EQ? Check out our Emotional Intelligence Test at: https://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/3979

Or take the free Pandemic Resilience Test here: https://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/4106

Professional users, such as HR managers, coaches, and therapists, can request a free demo for Emotional Intelligence Test or other assessments from ARCH Profiles extensive battery: http://hrtests.archprofile.com/testdrive_gen_1

The Pandemic Resilience Test is available free of charge to all ARCH Profile clients (employers/companies), coaches, and therapists) who can offer it as a screening and personal development tool to employees and clients. Businesses can request a free demo for this or other assessments from ARCH Profiles extensive battery here: http://hrtests.archprofile.com/testdrive_gen_1

To learn more about psychological testing, download this free eBook: http://hrtests.archprofile.com/personality-tests-in-hr

About PsychTests AIM Inc. PsychTests AIM Inc. originally appeared on the internet scene in 1996. Since its inception, it has become a pre-eminent provider of psychological assessment products and services to human resource personnel, therapists, academics, researchers and a host of other professionals around the world. PsychTests AIM Inc. staff is comprised of a dedicated team of psychologists, test developers, researchers, statisticians, writers, and artificial intelligence experts (see ARCHProfile.com).

Share article on social media or email:

Read the original:
Staying Strong: New study sheds light on the characteristics of resilient people - PR Web

A nifty little low-budget retro-UFO feature, The Vast of Night lands on Amazon Prime after first touching down at Slamdance and Toronto in 2019, leaving behind some impressive crop circles (so to speak). Its the directorial debut of Andrew Patterson, whos been labeled a newcomer to keep your eyeballs on; he seems as inspired by Richard Linklater as he is by J.J. Abrams, and recently got a stamp of approval from Steven Soderbergh. So does the movie match the hype, or should we tamp down our expectations a bit before pressing play?

The Gist: Cayuga, New Mexico is a small town so small, when its 1950-something and theres a high school basketball game, its deserted to the point that a flying saucer or two could stop by to top off the tank and grab a Mountain Dew and hardly anybody would notice. But Everett (Jake Horowitz) is a radio man and Fay (Sierra McCormick) is a switchboard operator, and their jobs never sleep, so theyre gonna miss the game. They dont seem bummed about that at all. These platonic teenage pals would rather break in Fays nifty new tape recorder, and banter about gee-whiz-bang gizmos of the future, like electric roads that pilot cars while drivers sleep, or tubes that whoosh people quickly across long distances, or the least plausible of them all, miniature wireless TV-phones that people will carry with them everywhere. Ridiculous!

But the movie fades in on an old tube TV set framing what were about to see as a grainy episode of Paradox Theater complete with an eerie Twilight Zoned-out musical theme so we know this isnt going to be your typical night of spinning tunes and patching in callers dedications. Fay jabs a quarter-inch plug into a socket with a resounding tactile snap and hears a strange noise, a thrumming oscillation that sounds oddly like a Tralfamadorian P-920 warp drive or something thereabouts. So she plays it for Everett, who soon shares it on the radio waves, promising a piece of Elvis carpet for any caller who might identify it.

And the phone jingles and jangles as era-specific phones do. One call is from an ex-soldier who was selected for a crazy military coverup project because hes black and nobody would listen to his wild story; hes very sick now. Another is from an old woman with a more haunting tale that nobody likely believed because a female voice was telling it. And theres no doubt Fay and Everetts little saga is about to get much weirder.

Performance Worth Watching: McCormicks performance brims with confidence. The movie wholly pivots on her axis in a long, one-take scene that steadily alters the movies tone from upbeat to eerie: Fay navigates her switchboard like a pro, popping and plugging cables and chattering like the old-timey operator she is and slowly realizing this night isnt a normal night, not at all.

Memorable Dialogue: When Fay assuredly pushes back that Everett is a bit of an overbearing jerk sometimes, he replies, You are on a stick with me tonight! (You go, girl? You go, girl!)

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: McCormicks assured work represents The Vast of Night perfectly its a thoroughly tenacious and engaging film, clever but never gimmicky, detailed but never mired down in its bobbysoxers and horned-rimmers. I went into it with zero expectations (I read up on the buzz after watching), and was caught off guard by its tenacious pace, buzzing energy and eerie atmosphere.

Its full of long takes not to flash for flashiness sake, but to draw us in, establish character and setting and elongate suspense. Listen to how its lengthy monologues hypnotize and tease us, make us a little bit tense. Notice how exterior sequences are lit by streetlights suspended across roads, hovering on cables, or the ghostly glow of a water tower in the corner of the frame. It concludes not sensationally, but with spooky and awesome visual poetry.

Our Call: The Vast of Night is a stunner on many fronts. STREAM IT!

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream The Vast of Night on Amazon Prime

Continue reading here:
Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Vast of Night' on Amazon Prime, an Earnestly Clever Neo-Throwback UFO Thriller - Decider