#also 10/10 recommend hamburger hill

[blood-mocha-latte]

thanks to the lovely @georgieluz and @l13bg0tt for the tags!

rules: post 7 comfort movies and tag 7 people

no pressure tags: @merryandrewsworld, @musicalfreak24601, @ariesbilly, @laceyamethyst, @dcyllom, and anyone else that wants to do it

[trivialbob]

Today was scorching hot and very sunny. I doused myself with suncreen, filled a backpack with water, more sunscreen, and dental floss, and went over to the "Great Minnesota Get-Together," otherwise know as the annual Minnesota State Fair.

When I arrived at 10:00 AM the place was packed. If you do not revel in big crowds, sweaty people, fried food, food on a stick, high food and drink prices, farm animals, or tractors, this place is not for you. I can tolerate this mixture of things if I go to the fair every few years.

Lots of people. Did I already say that?

Getting there is easy if one takes a bus. $5 buys a round trip ticket from one of several park-and-rides around the cities. Both the bus ticket and the admission ticket can be purchased online ahead of time. Very easy.

People watching is excellent. Food smells are delightful. The assortment of eats is interesting. It would never have occurred to me to make deep-fried pickles. I didn't try them but I heard some people raving about how good they were.

French fries and huge tubs of chocolate cookies are popular and available in several stands. I shudder thinking what a nutrition label on those cookies would look like. It likely would indicate a serving size as "one small bite" just so the amounts of sugar, sodium, and fat didn't exceed 200% of the recommended daily allowance.

For my lunch I tried the HotDish-on-a-Stick. Hot Dish is a Minnesota thing, made with a tater tot topping over a mixture of meat, cream of mushroom soup, and maybe some veggies. The stand selling hotdish-on-a-stick didn't have a line of people. That is not a good sign. It did have a sign explaining what you got for $7 (a bargain compared to other food stands).

I liked the concept, but results didn't work for me. It tasted like deep fried batter. The mushroom-hamburger dipping sauce was too salty, and I only dipped into it one time.

Some food stands had enormous lines. There must have been 150 people waiting for a new-this-year doughnut stand. "The Doughnut" was $5. Based on the long line, they easily could charged more. The Peanut Butter Cream doughnut was $10. At that price I would have thought it would be served on a stick. This stand had me curious, but I wasn't going to wait in that line.

On Machinery Hill there were collections of vintage farm and garden tractors. Very cool. There were also lots of trucks, modern lawn equipment, side-by-sides, ATVs, and travel trailers on display. I sat on a swell little John Deer tractors and made revving noises with my mouth, much like I did as a 5-year-old in Sears stores long, long ago. I thought it was funny, but an actual 5-year-old boy today looked at me and backed away.

There are also a lot of the "as seen on TV" displays, selling items you didn't know you had to have!

The 4H people had farm displays. I like those kids. The Miracle of Birth Center had newborn calves, chicks, goats, and lambs.

After several hours of walking around my feet were burning and my back hurt a little. As I made my way back to the gate where the buses were, I stopped to try some deep fried mac and cheese bites and have a beer. Those bites were delicious. The beer, while a little pricey, was extremely refreshing and frankly worth the price in that heat.

I plopped into a seat on the articulated bus. The air conditioning worked very well. I actually started to nod off as we waited to leave.

Four blondes and a brunette get on a bus...

No, this isn't a joke. It really happened. As my bus started to pull away and take us back to our cars, an adorable young woman, the brunette, walked up to the driver.

"Wait, where does this bus go?" She apparently missed the large banners with park-and-ride names and the those same names flashing on the bus LED signs.

The driver explained that we were going to the Bloomington park and ride, next to the Mall of America.

The brunette turned to her similarly cute cohorts, the four blondes with nearly identical haircuts, who sat midway down the bus.

"What bus did we take to get here?"

The other four came up to the front of the bus. They discussed it. I heard one blonde say she was sure they had not parked in Bloomington.

"Ohmygosh, will let us get off this bus?"

We hadn't left the parking area yet so the driver politely said he could do that. The brunette turned to address the rest of the passengers.

"I'm so sorry you guys, to make you wait like that." (It had been under a minute.)

Everyone said it was no problem and wished them well finding the correct bus. I smiled, then dozed off for the ride to Bloomington.

[manorlake22]

The Touchdown Of Canton Assisted Living And Memory Care Neighborhood Receives Deficiency-free Survey

Overall, the place is just really pretty and it’s comforting. My dad said the food is pretty good and that he will get options if there’s one thing on the menu he doesn’t like. You can get the standard hamburger, cheeseburger, or whatever canton assisted living. They have somewhat snack room so you might get ice cream everytime you need or a snack too. Between that and a happy hour, he mentioned, it’s fairly good.

Prefer to plan a global trip with friends? The better part about living at Cedarhurst is the new connections you may make with neighbors and group members. We've created a community with loads of nooks, rooms, and other shared spaces which are hubs of connection between neighbors. Our event calendar provides you the chance to share an experience with others, maybe striking up a dialog alongside the greatest way.

Memory care focuses on caring for the cognitive capability of each resident, in addition to any and all bodily needs they've. Welcome to Cedarhurst of Canton, where we imagine in providing extra than just all-inclusive, maintenance-free living. Here, life is all about experiences, friendship, and independence. We made a visit to the Burger Bus in Ballground, GA, and the meals was so delicious!

The staff was helpful on the questions that we had on the care that is supplied. They do provide a good number of actions for the residents to take part. We would suggest a tour of the community for families get the care that's wanted for a beloved one.

Bickford has managed to attenuate the unfold of COVID-19 in its facilities, stated Canton Director Sue Vincent, by practicing preventative strategy steps in its sixty three senior care sites in 10 states. Our good friend assisted living canton resided here for round 18 months. She was so well taken care of and felt very settled and comfy. The employees were all fantastic, very often going over and above their duties.

We advise you to always verify with individual services for specific senior living providers offered and we recommend personal visits and reference checks. Many kinds of senior living facilities are rental residences for seniors, but you may additionally discover some communities where properties are bought and bought. We perceive there are numerous decisions and that selecting the best senior housing facility is essential, so ensure to reap the advantages of the Resources for Seniors on SeniorHousingNet. Also strive our Senior Care Assessment Tool if you are not sure which kind of senior care is best for you or your beloved one and learn about the variousTypes of Senior Housing. Seniors can get pleasure from an active and interesting retirement at Wingate Residences at Boylston Place. The neighborhood presents a range of culturally numerous activities and programs and is conveniently positioned simply minutes from purchasing, restaurants, leisure and top medical amenities.

They should also meet your altering health and bodily wants. From actions and garden maintenance to meal packages and transportation, it’s essential to pick a senior housing group that gives the right services for you. Chapel Hill is a trusted senior living group in Canal Fulton, Ohio, providing compassionate assisted living services assisted living in canton in a welcoming and faith-inspired setting. If you or someone you know may profit from assisted living, now is a great time to assume about Chapel Hill. As a revered healthcare and rehabilitation provider for older adults, Chapel Hill maintains a robust popularity for high quality care and resident satisfaction.

Manorcare Health Services-Belden Village is located at 5005 Higbee Avenue NW in Canton, Ohio. With a median family earnings of $66,576, the community is in a usually center class space. Genworth's 2021 Cost of Care Survey reveals that the average price for assisted living in Canton is $4,905 per thirty days. In Ohio total, the median price is $4,635, and the nationwide common is $4,500. Many of the major cities in Ohio have assisted living prices which might be near those in Canton. The median price is $4,993 in Akron, $4,940 in Cleveland and $4,738 in Youngstown.

[wolfy58]

1839 July Saturday 20

Got up 5 20/.. Went to bed 10 50/..

Pother with Gross about the 4 Francs a day – 8 Marks notes = 4 Francs

Off from the hotel d’Öresund, 13 Rigsgelds, Elsinaur at 2 5/.. in an open boat with the carriage (too large for it) fore wheels over the side.

Beautiful day – hot sun – water quite smooth – scarce a breath of air to inflate our sail – one man at the oar – landed on the pier at Helsingborg at 3 35/.. (5 miles across) – would not wait for the little passengers-boat at 4 p.m. because would not leave our carriage – Adney afraid at first

Helsingborg picturesque little town, brick and painted wood houses – long pother about duty 10 per cent on value of carriage – not knowing of this having to be paid and not being provided – Gross sure the man (on landing) from the wrong Inn was the right – he left with the carriage we got to the wrong place – soon found that out thro’ a Frenchman told us it was the best Inn in the town, Hotel M’olberg or some such name, the diligence starting from there –

Hotel Munthe  was built 1799 and demolished 1916 and a famous establishment.

Found Munthe and luckily the right one for are 2 of this name and both have about equally good looking houses, ours nearest the harbour nearly at the bottom of the Grande Place and the other at the top – lucky our landlord speaks English well and got us well thro’ all pother and gave us a large clean airy room and good dinner –

Much obliged to Löbel – Munthe bought us harness and saddle = about 50 Dollar Banco and paid duty for carriage valued at 500 Dollar Banco = 50 Banco and trinkkeld (and valuing 2 Banco) = 5 Banco more and our bill 8 Banco and gave the servants at his suggestion 2 Banco for all trouble about baggage etc – Munthe also hired us a Swedish coach man and sent off forebud and did all and was giving me 10 Banco per Sovereign for 15 Sovereigns –

All this and counting out sovereigns etc etc took till after 6, Adney and I then strolled out first to the little harbour and neat new bathing establishment and then to the borg thro’ the picturesque little town – up the hill which is now all around the castle covered with corn potatoes etc –

The master of the Danish boat (little neat benched open sailing boat we should have come in at 4 in less then one hour) a nice civil Dane, speaking a little English happened to be there and fetched a man to open the huge old iron padlock –

The tower “Kärnan” before the restauration in 1893-94.

1 brick tower about 15 yards square outside and about 20 or 25 yards or more? high – with in ground floor and donjon keep (or hole)! to be as deep as the castle is high up - and 4 stories above the ground floor – the premier a wood floor said to have been used as a coach – the 2 next I think all the 3 next brick arched floors.

A tour of Kärnan (press the globe to change language).

Little recess chamber each upper floor in the thickness of the walls – wide good newel stairs projecting a little outside reminded me of McBeth’s castle – top arched over with brick and grown over with grass and blue burdock and a sort of dark blue hellebore common here –

Very fine view over the picturesque town and sound counted upwards of a 100 mast vessels – very beautiful view – Kronborg (Elsineur) looks oblong – the green island of Hven (Ween as pronounced) and the wooded wast[?] of Denmark very pretty –

Picture of the medieval castle of Helsingborg in Scania, Denmark (now Sweden) from 1588.

Came in at 7 ½ beautiful evening – dinner immediately good weak soup pork cutlets and boiled pike and peas and potatoes and good bread and cheese and butter and currant jelly and sort of gooseberry fool and excellent strawberries and very good water – had the remainder of our Copenhagen wine and seltzer water –

marginal notes:              Helsingborg

                                         Borg

                                         Exchange of money

1839 July Saturday 20 (diary)

SH:7/ML/E/23/0087    

Got up 5 20/..  Went to bed 10 50/..

Some rain in the night, but fine in the morning F 72° at 6 ½ a.m. had dressed and written out all but the first 7 lines of Thursday and the whole of yesterday now at 9 35/.. – 

On coming in last night, sent Mr Heunebert’s letter to his son or son-in-law ‘Consul Löbel Esquire à Elsineur’ Danish consul here who would come and advise and help us etc. if necessary – sent word by our laquais that I had not time to write but should be glad to see him this morning and should be ready at 9 – we do as well without people’s help as with it? tell us a good hotel and we not trouble people further – 

I had just written so far when Mr Löbel was ushered in – a good sort of civil obliging good-countenanced man apparently about (or not quite) 40 – intelligent – pleased with him – our consul Mr McGregor came here from Teneriffe and perhaps said Löbel might not know so well how to help us – recommended us to go Chez Mu[n]the at Helsinborg who spoke English and would help us better than anyone else there – would give me a letter to him – would see about the boat to take us over – and would return – 

Breakfast at 10 – Löbel returned before we had finished breakfast – all ordered about the boat – and gave me the letter – he is in the house of Farwick and company – they  do business on commission – no good map of Sweden to be had at Elsineur – 

Sent for our valet Peter Cronevall to pay him – to give him what I pleased – No! he must name a charge – pother – sent for Mrs Briggs – she whispered 2 or 3 shillings – then asked her to get me change for a species dollars = 2 dollars pother – long while – by shillings I of course understood Danish silver marks – she then said give him a dollar – the hotel bill very fair – but we do not now much like Mrs Briggs a Dane – would not give the valet more than 4 marks – 

Just before leaving the house letter from Mr Parker forwarded from Hamburg to Messrs Frolich Copenhagen and by them to their agent here – left a dollar for the servants and off at last from the Hotel d’Oresund (Briggs) at Elsineur and on board and pushed off out of the little harbour at 2 5/.. – 

Gross had foolishly come at one to say the carriage hung over the side of the boat and he thought we had better go by the passage b[oa]t at 2 – No! No! I would first look at our boat – the passage boat would not be off before 4 or 5 – 

Adney frightened – but our boat clean and good (open boat) and seeing me determined to go with our baggage Adney stept in with me and was afterwards well satisfied – the water quite smooth – scarce a breath of wind to fill our sail therefore one oar to help us and still the about 5 English miles across took us 1 ½ hour – 

Left Gross to pother with the carriage – wrong Inn – how odd to me to find with and without tongue! not one word could we understand or make understood – save in broken German – got to the right Munthe (for there is another higher up in the same square) and a good room – but now the use of Löbel’s letter – I had silently wondered at a letter to mine host – equipage and servants all nothing to the letter – he was very civil – would do all for us at the custom house etc. – advised us – but when he found us so poor in Swedish money well! but Löbel had said nothing to him about furnishing us with money – duty on the carriage would cost more than all I had – then there was harness and posting etc. had we not had English and other gold we must have waited for money from Copenhagen! at last all settled by a little after 6 and we were out from 6 20/.. to 7 1/2 – 

Nice little town – strolled up to the borg, high square brick tower or castle – very interesting interior – ground floor and donjon keep (hole) below and 4 stories above, each having small chambers in the thickness of the walls (3 or 4 in each story) reminding me of Macbeth’s castle – the premier boarded over heavyish joists – the other floors and the top brick-arched – very fine view from the top, grown over with grass and blue burdock and a sort of hellebore very common hereabouts – counted above a hundred sail of vessels – beautiful evening – Elsineur seems quite near its Kronborg presenting an oblong front – 

Dinner immediately on our return (straight down thro’ a garden and private house) at 7 ½  – very much better than we expected – the cheese excellent – kept it and the remainder of our bread and butter for tomorrow – the long sofa had been turned into 2 comfortable small beds – very fine hot day –

[bflogolfblog-blog]

NYSGA Qualifiers and Am Series Sites

NYSGA 2019 Calendar

As the calendar flips and the New York winter tapers down, one of my go to signs of Spring is the release of the NYSGA (New York State Golf Association) schedule. For those who are unaware the NYSGA is the entity responsible for conducting the New York State Championships and the Amateur Series. The amateur championships are reserved for the upper tier golfers with the required handicap level but the Amateur Series offers golfers of any level, gender, and age a platform to compete against similarly skilled flights of competitors. The Amateur Series awards prizes and points to both Net and Gross winners which culminate in a season ending championship.

Not only are these events run very well and a great way to get out and compete with your peers it’s also an excellent way to gain access to some clubs which you would otherwise need some help or know someone to get access to. Ever since I moved back to New York I have been competing in both types of events and have played some excellent courses and had a great time with my competitors.

Looking forward to 2019 here are some of notable sites in the 2019 schedule:

 Amateur Series Events

May 7 Wanakah CC, Hamburg, NY – For anyone familiar with the NYSGA events this one shouldn’t be a surprise. The club recently wrapped up a master plan renovation executed by architect Chris Wilczynski and since then has been very open to NYSGA events over the past years hosting Amateur Series, Championship Qualifiers, and a Championship Host Site. The excellent work by Chris makes this a must play to anyone in the Western NY area. While the renovation was mainly done to improve draining but the restored green complexes and bunkers really shine here. While most of the greens don’t have much noticeable internal contouring the subtle break and slopes make them quite tricky at times but still fun.

May 9 Shenendoah GC and May 10 Kaluhyat GC, Verona NY – Turning Stone resort has three really solid courses on property with two of them ranked in the Top 100 public courses (Kaluhyat and Atunyote). With back to back days it sets up for a great little get away at a decent price compared to typical greens fees. In addition to the golf the casino has a few restaurant options and obviously plenty of gaming options for when you’re off the course.

May 13 Irondequoit CC, Pittsford, NY – Irondequoit is one of the many private courses in Pittsford suburb of Rochester with Oak Hill and Country Club of Rochester all within less than 5 minutes of each other. The front 9 at Irondequoit was designed in 1916 by Donald Ross and is a fantastic stretch of holes over very hilly ground with great green sites. The back 9 was added in 1950 and is on flatter less interesting land, but still maintains a few decent holes. All in all the front 9 alone is worth playing in this event and makes up for the lack luster back 9 holes. I would also recommend doubling up and playing a round before at Ravenwood or some of the other private courses (Monroe, CCR, Oak Hill) in the area if you can swing some access.

May 21 Leatherstocking, Cooperstown, NY – While Leatherstocking may not be a private course it is certainly on the higher end of public courses with typical greens fees exceeding $100, so you’re already seeing a savings with the registration fee. As for the course, the first two-thirds of the course is set on some pretty hilly land which makes for some great golf holes, I especially like the loop of 10-12. After that stretch it starts to flatten out and works towards the lake before finishing on a neat Cape hole. If you’re in the area this is one you should definitely mark on your calendar.

June 17 Brook-Lea CC, Rochester, NY – Want to play a course that is host to a professional tournament? Brook-Lea is just that, host of the Symetra tour Danielle Downey Classic. I played in this one a few years back and can’t wait to get back in 2019. Brook-Lea is a fun course with some great risk reward holes leading to exciting tournament golf.

July 29 Stafford CC, Stafford, NY – Keeping the theme going with golden age architecture Stafford is a Walter Travis design opened in the 1920’s. Similar to many Travis designs the course has a spectacular set of greens, and some quirky features not seen in many of the modern designs. This course to me is a must play.

NYSGA Qualifiers

NYS Am – Crag Burn Golf Club, East Aurora, NY

While the host site is a pretty decent RTJ course the qualifiers leave a lot to be desired. I have only played Glen Oak and Chautauqua which are the Buffalo and Jamestown sites and neither is the greatest courses and is public access so doesn’t really do much for me. I can’t comment on any of the other sites but have heard decent reviews about Yahnundasis and according https://www.top100golfcourses.com/ none of them are in the top 40 of NYS rankings. Quite frankly in whole the lineup may be the most disappointing in the last 6 years. Typically NYSGA does a great job of site selection but 2019 didn’t pan out.

NYS Mid-Am – Tuscarora Golf Club, Marcellus, NY

Will be updated when the host sites are released.

NYS Women’s Am and Mid-Am – Lancaster Country Club

Lancaster Country Club – Really not much to say about this one, I have played here a few times and it’s just not a good or fun course. Outside of 2 or 3 holes it’s not worth the time.

USGA Qualifiers

US Am – Pinehurst Number 2 and 4 Village of Pinehurst, NC

Whippoorwill Club, July 8th – Originally laid out by Donald Ross but very shortly after opening was renovated by Charles Banks moving some of the holes across the street. With an intriguing routing where very few holes on the front 9 are parallel to each other and the blend of typical Ross features with some Banks template hole features makes for an interesting combination and one I’d love to see.

Mendon Golf Club, July 8th – I honestly don’t know much about this site but the website doesn’t inspire much hope or interest. My guess is this one isn’t anything special.

US Women’s Am – Old Waverly Golf Club, West Point, MS

No sites in New York

 US Mid-Am – Colorado Golf Club, Parker, CO and CommonGround Golf Course, Aurora, CO

Glens Falls Country Club, August 12th – The Donald Ross trend continues and shows how lucky we are in NY to have so many of his great works. Glens Falls is an under the radar great Ross course, which many rank in the Top 10-15 of his 300+ courses. To me this makes this site the preferred Mid-Am qualifying site in NY.

Lancaster Country Club, August 16th – Really not much to say about this one, I have played here a few times and it’s just not a good or fun course. Outside of 2 or 3 holes it’s not worth the time.

US Women’s Mid-Am – Forest Highlands Golf Club, Flagstaff, AZ

No sites in New York

[golicit]

Top Ten: Paris   

April in Paris

Next week, after the holidays are well and truly over, I will be publishing my annual survey of the Top Ten Stories in the World of D&O for 2018. In the meantime, during the holidays, I have been posting a series of alternative Top Ten lists. Yesterday, I posted my list of top ten things to see and do in London. Today, I am publishing my list of the top ten things to see and do in my all-time favorite city, Paris.

  I have been to Paris many times and have strong views about the place, as my list below reflects. There are also a number of obvious omissions from the list below, as well. Most first time visitors to the city know they want to see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, Notre Dame, Sacré-Cœur, and the Arc de Triomphe. Every first time visitor to Paris should definitely see all of these sites. Just the same, I have left these top destinations off of my list, to make room for some other destinations that might or might not make their way on to visitors’ itineraries. I have set out my list below. Please also see the additional top ten list below, as well.

  10. Place des Voges: An atmospheric square located in the Marais district and built in the early 17th century, this beautiful brick residential development built along harmonious and uniform lines is now a quiet retreat. On a sunny day, it is great just to visit the Place and to stroll around the square or to take in the atmosphere on one of the benches, and then afterwards leave the square by the southern archway and walk down to the Rue Saint-Antoine enjoy one of the many sidewalk cafés along the way.

          The statute of Louis XIII in the square at Place des Voges

  9. Le Grande Epicerie: The Grand Epicerie is a food emporium adjacent to the famous Le Bon Marché department store. The grocery store has several floors of gourmet foods and beverages. The place is frankly a little bit dazzling but it is a lot of fun just to walk around in and to look around. There are several dining counters in the store where you can sample a wide variety of foods, but the best thing to is select an array of foods to take away, and then to enjoy a picnic meal in the Square Boucicaut, in front of the department store’s main entrance.

          8. Fondation Louis Vuitton: The Fondation is one of the newest museums in Paris. The modern art exhibits in the museum change all of the time, but in any event the real reason to visit the museum is to see its dramatic exterior and fascinating interior design. The beautiful building was designed by famous architect Frank Geary. It is also beautifully situated within the Bois de Boulogne. There are a number of terraces within the museum affording views of the park and the city. An interesting place to visit.

        7. Buttes Chaumont: In far northeastern Paris, far off of the tourist grid, is the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, a huge park with a manmade lake, a picturesque temple perched on steep hilltop, and a series of wide promenades. The lake was built on the site of a former gypsum quarry. A stone grotto with a waterfall adjoins the lake. For someone interested in seeing a different part of the city, this park is a great place for strolling and on a sunny day for people watching.

          6. Village St-Paul: In the middle of the Marais district and just off of Rue Saint-Antoine, behind the St. Paul church, is a quiet, hidden district of narrow streets and alleyways. The area has the feel of a small rural village. It is full of antique shops and of small cafés and restaurants. This quiet area is a very special secret place, only steps away from a busy avenue but entirely off of the tourist grid. Don’t tell anybody else about this place, it will just be our little secret.

      The Apse of St-Paul,viewed from within the village

  5. Île Saint-Louis: At some point, most visitors to Paris make their way to the Notre Dame Cathedral on the Île de la Cité. Not many visitors cross over the footbridge behind Notre Dame leading to the adjacent island, the Île Saint-Louis. The smaller island is only a few steps away but it might as well be in a different city. By contrast to the busy, tourist-crowded streets around Notre Dame, the streets on Île Saint-Louis are calm and quiet. The island is a great place for a leisurely lunch after touring around Notre Dame, or anytime you want a quiet meal away from the crowd. The residential streets are beautiful and the walkways along the waterside afford great views of the river, of Notre Dame, and of the city nearby.

  The Île Saint-Louis in the foreground, with Notre Dame in the background

      4. Saint-Germain-des-Prés: Notre Dame is more famous, but the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés on the Left Bank is older and more atmospheric. There often are concerts in the old church, and if you are willing to attend a service in French, it is a great place to take in a mass on Sunday morning. Across the square from the main entrance to the church is the famous Les Deux Magots café, whose famous patrons have included Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Pablo Picasso, and James Joyce. After a beverage at the café, stroll around the neighborhood and along the Boulevard Saint-Germain, it is one of the great districts in the city.

          3. Canal Saint-Martin: The Canal Saint-Martin is part of the series of canals linking Paris to distant rivers bringing freshwater to the city. The Canal remains a working canal. A series of locks allow barges to make their way down to the Seine River. Walkways line the canal and bridges cross back and forth, affording great viewpoints from which to watch barges make their way through the locks. The Canal is not far from the Marais but just the same it is pretty much completely off of the tourist grid. On a sunny day the Canal is about as special of a place to stroll as there is in all of the city.

          2. Rue Mouffetard: The Rue Mouffetard is a very special street away the busier environs of the Latin Quarter. At the northern end of the street at the top of Mont Sainte-Geneviève is the Place de la Contrescarpe, a large quiet square ringed with cafes and brasseries that has something of a small village feel. The Rue Mouffetard itself – which is lined with small shops selling wine, cheese, tea, clothing and books – has rolled downhill toward the south since the Roman era. The area is also now laced with student bars, including one called (I am not making this up) “Student Bar.” A great way to end an afternoon in Paris is to stroll down to the bottom of the Rue Mouffetard and then back up the hill for a cool beverage at a sidewalk café in the Place de la Contrescarpe. (The Place made my list of the ten great places to have a beer.)

  Rue Mouffetard, in the early evening

    A winter evening in the Place de la Contrascarpe

  1. Jardin du Luxembourg: Paris is a great city full of beautiful places to visit, but in the entire city, as far as I am concerned, the most beautiful and the one most worth seeing is the Jardin du Luxembourg. The Jardin made my previously published list of top urban parks – but it is more than that. It is the place that most embodies the spirit of the city. The most essential Parisian spirits inhabit the gardens, where romantic couples slowly promenade and little children sailing their boats in the central fountain shout happily “Regardez, Maman! Regardez!” There is no better place anywhere for a stroll, to enjoy the view, to take in the air, to walk the many others enjoying the atmosphere, to feel fortunate that you have been able to travel to Paris, just to see and walk in the Jardin.

                  A Picture Gallery: I admit that more than once I have made wise-cracks about people who  post pictures of their food on social media. Over time, these kinds of remarks have turned me into a hypocrite, because the fact is that over time I have posted lots of pictures of food in various travel posts. Sometimes, food is an interesting and even an important part of the experience in some travel locations. I have taken lots of pictures of my meals as I have traveled around. Here are some of my favorites below.

  Uma feijoada, in São Paulo, Brazil (the traditional black bean and pork stew — in this picture, the beans are in the ceramic bowl).

    A traditional meal of Tatties, Neeps, and Haggis ( potatoes, turnips, and haggis), in a pub in Edinburgh

    When I travel alone in Germany, I often have trouble with the menu. No matter what I order, I wind up with breaded pork cutlets. In a lunch restaurant in Frankfurt, I decided to ask  the waiter what he recommended. He suggested the daily special; I said OK. When it arrived, it was a big sausage on a pile of green mush, with some potatoes. Next time, the pork cutlet.

    In fairness, I have had some enjoyable meals in Germany. This tasty (albeit heavy) meal of turkey ham, scalloped potatoes, sausage, and salad was at the Gröninger Privatbrauerei in Hamburg Aldstadt.

    There are a lot of great reasons to visit Mumbai, but among the best reasons is the amazing food. Here’s a picture of one of my breakfasts, a serving of Uttapam (a rice batter pancake with a variety of cooked-in ingredients and a number of accompanying relishes and spices).

    Smoked salmon and champagne at the Oyster Bar in the Food Hall at Harrod’s in London

    A Bibimbap at a small family restaurant in Seoul. (That is, a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul, gochujang, and soy sauce, with a fried egg on top).

    At a shabu-shabu restaurant in Tokyo (the name shabu-shabu is onomatopoeic and refers to the sound made when the beef and vegetables are swished back in forth in the pot of boiling water).

    An octopus at a fado club in Lisbon. (Yes, I ate the whole thing).

    This is a picture taken at a wonderful dinner at my good friend Aruno Rajaratnam’s house in Singapore. The menu included brown basmati rice with ghee and lemongrass; lentils with thavasi, long beans, and broccoli; chicken marinated with ground herbs  and spices; prawns cooked with red chilies and tomato chutney; cabbage cooked with turmeric and herbs; and cucumber salad with yogurt spiced dressing.. Many of the herbs and spices were from Aruno’s garden.

  The post Top Ten: Paris    appeared first on The D&O Diary.

Top Ten: Paris    published first on

[allaynaflavor]

JAPAN: Themed Cafés

One of my favorite things about Japan would be the thoughtful attention to detail put into the presentations of their attractions. This truly sets the nation apart from others through experiences unique to Japan. In particular, the country has become known for the abundance of cafés set up in various areas. Often inspired by pop culture characters and franchises, Japan is also well known for their animal cafés (i.e. cats, owls, hedgehogs, etc). Below are just a few (of MANY) that I’d like to share with you.

POMPOMPURIN CAFÉ (HARAJUKU)

Address: 1-7-1 Jingumae, 渋谷区 Tokyo 150-0001, Japan

Seeing as one of my friends, Caitlin, is a fan of Sanrio, she made sure to include this cute café on our list of places to eat! The café was snug amongst the many other shops compacted into the various buildings lining up on Takeshita street. Walking into the shop was like walking into another world dedicated to the character; plushies on display for both purchase and decoration. No wall was left untouched by Pompompurin.

Though many of the menu items were dessert based, there were savory dishes to enjoy for dinner as well. Each dish featured Pompompurin as it’s star in some way or form.

Taco Rice (¥1,290)

Pancake Tower (¥1,490)

French Toast with Berry Sauce (¥1,290)

MAIDREAMIN’ (AKIHABARA)

Maidreamin’ is one of the largest chain of maid cafés in Japan, with multiple locations in Akihabara alone. My friends and I were ushered in by a worker promoting in the populated street of tourists and locals alike looking to find their favorite manga and anime merchandise.

But before you get weirded off by the idea of a maid café, hear me out for a second. What you’re paying for is an experience not common outside of Japan’s popular culture. Amongst the guests (the ones I saw at least), were those apart of the ‘otaku’ social group, businessmen, and students looking to wind back and enjoy the cute atmosphere. 

Bunny pancake drawn on by our made as it was served to us!

Root Beer Float

Bear Hamburger Steak (¥1,340)

(We actually wanted the Bear Omelette Rice, but they were unfortunately out at the time.)

Hopping Parfait (¥770)

Ft. my friend, Christian, sporting the cat ears we were instructed to wear for the duration of our meal.

They offered set meals as well, one of which included a personalized picture with your maid.

SAILOR MOON CHIBIUSA CAFÉ (ROPPONGI HILLS)

Address: 6 Chome-10-1 Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo 106-0032, Japan

As a Sailor Moon fan, I was especially excited for this one— but more so anxious since it was a pop-up cafe and the day we went happened to be it’s LAST day of operation. As it was located in the Roppongi Hills Observatory, there was a small fee in order to get up to the restaurant. Though it did not guarantee seating, admission to a small exhibit located next to the restaurant was included. Like the Pompompurin café, there was also a gift shop, but we didn’t make it in time to visit following our meal.

Roppongi Hills Observatory switches out their café theme often (just a few months prior to our visit, the café was Pokémon themed) so make sure to keep a look out for the ones you really want to visit!

Heavenly Miracle Romance Parfait (¥1,250)

Five Four Sailor Senshi Beauty Juice

Tuxedo Mask’s Nihilistic Pasta (¥1,300)

(Our personal favorite of the dishes ordered!)

Three-Variety Talisman Curry (¥1,450)

Bonus: Sailor Moon and the beautiful view of Tokyo Tower from the exhibit

Overall, the food is, admittedly, a bit pricier than other foods you can purchase all over Japan and probably aren’t as strong in taste as they are appearance. However, they’re definitely more memorable dining experiences than just sitting at a table. I would highly recommend visiting at least one that peaks your interest when in Japan.

[loiswolf]

Day 7 May 22 Ballyvoy - Larne 62kms

Day 7 May 22 Ballyvoy - Larne 62kms

There was no hurry to leave this morning and I actually slept in until 7:30! Bliss!

I managed to waste plenty of time trying to sort out some accommodation ahead then enjoyed a late breakfast.

Finally ready to leave at 10:30 I farewelled my lovely host, Michael and cycled off from my favourite stay so far. I have realised that when a review says the place is cosy and comfortable, it means it is cluttered and cramped. Oh yeah, and the bathroom is always shared. Last night I had a lovely modern room with an ensuite which was about the size of my whole room the night before.

Unfortunately, I can’t always afford to be choosy. The hotels here are all about £140 - £200 a night!! I just have to find the best Airbnb I can. One day I might investigate the BnB places you see by the side of the road but I’m always uneasy if I haven’t booked something ahead.

So first stop was just across the road to photograph these unusual cows.

Then I rolled down the hill, turned right onto the main road and enjoyed one of the most beautifully scenic rides I’ve ever done. I highly recommend cycling in Ireland, it’s just stunning! Especially when it’s not raining.

Todays photos are nearly all of the views, it was just so lovely.

The first 20kms were overland to Cushendall. Since it was a short ride today I stopped here for a break. The cafe had a special for Pancakes with bacon and a coffee. My breakfast had been pretty light so I indulged.

The cake selection over here is not great. The best thing about it is the little pot of whipped cream they serve with everything. Once you’ve had the Mars Bar slice and the caramel slice you are really over it. They became too sweet even for me.

I really enjoyed the pancakes and set off again to ride the road which hugged the coast. Once again beautiful scenery!

The wind was against me but because the road wound around the headlands, I was protected at times. It was also flat, so not really hard to ride. The worst thing today were the motorbikes. Being a Sunday all the local gangs were out for a ride and some of them went terrifyingly fast. From the time I spotted them in my helmet mirror ( you could hear them coming) to the time they were about 50 metres in from of me, was about 3 seconds. They must have been going at around 150kph. I stayed well to the left and was glad I was wearing my highly visible oversized pink spray jacket. ( Pinky)

Just after I had gone about 40kms I came to a little beach town called Glenarm. There was a coffee and ice cream van and a hamburger van. I just settled for a Diet Coke and a chocolate bar from my food bag and sat on the bench enjoying the seaside atmosphere.

Back on the bike for the last leg to Larne and the miles slipped by quickly. Soon I was at my next Airbnb. It’s ok…nowhere near as nice as last night. Shared bathroom, filthy microwave….at least the room isn’t filled with kitschy junk.

I’ve been for a walk into the town but most places were closed because it’s Sunday afternoon.

Well my Irish adventures are just about over. 12 midday tomorrow I’m taking the ferry over to Scotland. I’ll tell you about it when I’m it Scotland!

[thewanderingboomerang]

  We visited Vienna at the end of February 2018. We arrived in Vienna at lunch time on a bus from Bratislava.

https://thewanderingboomerang.com/2018/04/16/bratislava/

The taxi from the bus station to our hotel was 15 euro. We stayed in 25 Hours Hotel after a long search on Air BNB and booking.com. I read about this hotel on a Vienna travel blog and made a note of it. I did my usual accommodation research and found that the Air BNB options were more expensive than 25Hours Hotel. The other hotels were also more expensive and old fashioned in comparison. I can’t recommend this place enough. It’s modern, the staff were friendly, it’s right beside the town hall/museum quarter and close to the metro.

The icing on the cake was the spa, the free yoga classes and the eco friendly shampoo and soap that was cruelty free! This hotel was made for me.

We stayed in the standard double room (98 euro). You can stay in a room with a bathtub on the balcony for 187 euro. Sadly that was out of our price range, but the outdoor bathtub nearly tempted me. I suggested we stay one night in the room with the bathtub and one night in the standard, but they don’t let you use the bathtubs in the winter months 😦

I should also note that I write this blog purely because I enjoy it and I don’t get paid to advertise hotels. I only recommend places I truly love. Thankfully they have hotels Berlin, Cologne, Dussledorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Paris and Zurich. I will definitely stay in 25Hours again in future.

https://www.25hours-hotels.com/en/hotels/vienna/at-museumsquartier

We checked into the hotel and walked to Naschmarkt. This outdoor market is 1 mile long and has been running since the 16th century. It was such good fun bantering with the vendors. They shout at you “where are you from” and “try this, it’s an aphrodisiac”. You will get bombarded by vendors giving you free tasters. We nearly had enough samples to fill us for lunch. They vast array of hummus and olives in all different flavours and colours is worth a visit alone. With plastic free fresh produce, falafels and walls of spices and teas it’s a vegans delight. Don’t miss this! On Saturdays they have a flee market at the end of the mile long strip. I was also pleased to find hot mulled wine stands along the market as it was below zero temperatures that day!

http://www.naschmarkt-vienna.com/

We walked to the Opera House in the hope of getting tickets, but we were unsuccessful. I would suggest researching online before your trip and booking in advance. The tickets can range from approximately 45-150 euro. You can get tickets for 3-4 euro if you are willing to spend half a day queuing for standing tickets, and then willing to stand for the entire show. It was a bitter cold day and our time was limited in Vienna, so we opted out! The queue is indoors for the most part.

We took a walk around and stumbled across Hofburg Palace and the Palmhaus. Go in for a nosey or make reservation to make sure you get a table.

Café Demel is another tick on the tourist list. You can walk in and buy from the shop or queue at the back to get a seat in this beautiful café. We didn’t fancy the queue and opted out!

After exploring on foot all we were exhausted and slightly numb. It was an extremely cold day, so we went back to the hotel to warm our bones in the sauna, before heading back out at night time to the Town Hall. Over the winter months this Town Hall Ice Rink runs daily. You can pay for the whole day of skating, but we were pretty wrecked after an hour of fast skating around the rink and through the trees. This was probably our highlight of Vienna. Do not miss this!

Thankfully our hotel was 5 minutes from the Town Hall or we nipped back to the hotel for dinner at 1500 Food Market. I was able to request a vegan pizza. We went up to the 25Hours hotel rooftop bar to check out the snowy balconies before bed. The restaurant and rooftop bar were busy. I reckon it’s a popular place for the locals at the weekend.

The hotel staff suggested we go to the Burggasse area for Breakfast. It was a 5 minute walk from the hotel. This is a popular place for the locals, and we had breakfast in das mobel café. It had vegan options on the menu and vegan brownies so I was in my element.

I ordered the vegan black bread (coloured with charcoal) with coconut carrot spread and pink chickpeas. Really delicious! I wish we had time to come back here so I could try the rest of the vegan options.

Burggasse is right beside the metro so we jumped on the train to Schonnbrun Palace.

Schonbrunn Palace is a UNESCO world heritage site. The palace has 1441 rooms, and Mozart played here at age 6. You can stay in the palace, if you are willing to part with a good chunk of your spending money.

We walked around the grounds in the snow and sunshine, and found ballet dancers, water features, a zoo, and a café in a monument at the top of the hill to the rear of the palace.

The grounds also have a palmhouse and botanic gardens (7 euro), an orangerie (3.50 euro), maze, labyrinth, playground (5.50 euro), Hapsburgian Imperial Stables and rose gardens, but we had tired ourselves out by then. You could easily spend a whole day here and it’s free to walk around. There’s an apple strudel show outside the Café Residenz every hour (6 euro). You get a sample, the recipe and a free hotline service when making it yourself at home and need help. They also have a panorama train that takes you around the grounds (7euro, 50mins). If you have a Vienna Pass everything is free!

We booked the short tour to go inside the palace and I got a sneaky photo inside the main hall. The audio guide for the tour was interesting and helpful to understand what you were looking at. Don’t do the tour without this!

14.50 euro (short tour 22 rooms)

17.50 euro (long tour, 40 rooms),

or free with a Vienna Pass.

We got the metro back into the city centre and jumped off at St. Stephens Church. It’s free in, but you pay to go to the roof in the smallest lift I’ve ever seen. If your claustrophobic, climb the 343 steps instead. I went up to see the tiled roof but be warned it was bitter cold up there. You can also do a tour of the catacombs below.

There’s also a rooftop bar called ‘Lamee‘ that has a free view of the church roof tiles, although you’ll have to buy a glass of wine or a coffee to sit there.

  We walked to Vegiezz for lunch. This is a chain vegan restaurant and we saw two on our walks around the city.

After a long day and a lot of walking, we went back to the hotel for our last go in the spa before dinner.

We went to Glasc briesl for dinner. It was a 5 minute walk from the hotel and suggested by the travel guides provided by the hotel. Good food and decent prices. The Vegan dish only 9.80 euro. I was surprised by the prices. I was warned how expensive Vienna was, but our most expensive meal was in Bratislava.

Our flights were in and out of Bratislava so we booked our train back to Bratislava for 10 euro. When booking the train back to Bratislava we booked online with ‘Go Euro’. It told us to use the ticket machines at the station and use the code to print our tickets. This didn’t work and we ended up in the help desk. They only printed them for us out of pity! I would suggest printing the tickets in your hotel or buy the tickets on the ‘OBB‘ website only. You can also buy tickets at machine in Haubanhof Train Station really easily. There was a Starbucks in the station with a vegan option! They had run out unfortunately. Bring food with you!

There were no vegan options in Bratislava airport! In fact the two food options left a lot to be desired. Eat before you go or bring food with you, vegan or not!

Things we missed in Vienna

Belvedere Palace – (UNESCO) 20 euro or Free with Vienna Pass

Vienna Opera http://www.viennaconcerts.com

St. Peters Church – oldest (and apparently nicer than St. Stephens)

St. Michaels Church – large crypt, 4000 corpses including mummified corpses.

Hofburg Palace – in between the church and the gate, there is a small excavation with a glass covering. Archaeologists found remnants of a roman settlement.

Vienna City Hall – (we didn’t enter the building, just ice skated in front of it! In the summer there is a film festival where the ice rink lives in winter.)

Votivkirche Church

Austrian Parliament Building

Burgtheater – Austrian National theatre

Hundertwasset Haus – It is considered cultural heritage. You can visit the house for free and take pictures from outside. The museum is 12 euro or free with Vienna Pass.

Kunsthauswein Museum

Church of Assisi

State Hall, Austrian National Library – (7 euro or free with VP, 10am-6pm) 200,000 value books and a beautiful building.

Albertina Museum – Monet and Picasso and highly recommended (12.90 euro or free with VP)

Time Travel Vienna – multimedia shows, 50 cinemas (19.50 euro or free with VP)

Capuchin Church + Imperial Burial Vault – resting place of emperors and empresses (free with VP)

Leopold Museum – (13 euro or free with VP)

Mumok Museum – Pop art, cubism futurism, surrealism (11 euro or free with VP)

Natural History Museum – largest and oldest meteriote collection (10 euro or free with VP)

 Bank Austria Kunstforum – Modernism, Impressionism, Avant Garde and Van Gogh ( 11 euro or free with VP)

Melk Abbey Church

Johann Strauss Apartment

Sigmund Freud Museum

Kunsthistorisches Art History Museum

Zentralfriedhof Cemetery – 2.5milion tombs including Beethoven)

Karl Marx Hof – 1km long. Longest single residential building in the world (19th district)

Watch an Ice Hockey match

Palais Coburg Wine Cellar Tour – stunning according to a travel blog I read.

Outdoors

Prater  – large public park with 250 attractions  including a Ferris wheel, Madame Tussauds, Prater Museum, Planetarium, indoor skydiving, bungee jumping etc. Free entry, pay per ride. Closed Nov-Mid March, however the Ferris Wheel remains open.

Vienna Ringstrasse – former medieval city walls, 5.3km. You can rent bikes and cycle or there’s a tram that covers the route.

Volksgarten + Augraten parks

Lainzer Tiergarten – Hike (U4 subway, end of the line Huttledorf 25 mins from Vienna) red line = longer route and orange line = shorter route. Lunch at Rorhaus after.

Krapfenwald Outdoor Pool – 4 euro

Oberlaa Therme Wien – Indoor + Outdoor thermal pools

Kahlenburg or Cobenzi  hills – good views.

Wienerwaud – Viennese forest and Heuriggendof Grinzing restaurant (expensive)

Am Himmel – outdoor area with Celtic horoscope tree and Oktogon Restaurant (bus 38a/U4 towards cobenzi)

Danube Island – recreational area, sports and beach activities, water playground, swimming. restaurants and free concerts in the summer.

Wakeboarding at Donaukanal – summer only

River Cruise

  Shopping

Mariahilfer Strasse – shopping street

Karntner Strasse – Vienna High street

Kohlmarket – luxury Shopping

Kirchengreasse, Lindengrasse, Neubaugrasse – hipster shops

Spittelburg street – shops/cafes, closed sundays

  Local food + Drink to try

Apple strudel

Chicken Schnitzel – Figlmuller’s has repution for being the best schnitzel, so expect a mass of tourists.

Goulash

Chocolate Torte Cake – Café Demel

Mineral Drinking water from the taps comes straight from the alps

Wine – Vienna is one of the few capitals in the world that produces it’s own wine

  Food and Drinks

Café Central – UNESCO building

Café Speri

Lugeck – recommended for traditional Austrian food (reservation required).

Wratschoko Gatwirkschaft – Austrian style food in 1800’s pub

Gasthaus Kopp – recommended on a travel blog I read.

Mini Restaurant – Hungarian food recommended on a blog, reservation required.

Hotel Sofitel – roof garden + sunset views

57 Lounge + Restaurant – tallest building in Austria

Lamee Rooftop – views of St. Stephen’s Church

Miranda Bar

Sign Lounge

7th + 8th district – night clubs and bars

Vegan food spots we missed

Le Burger – Austrian chain restaurant that drove out mcdonalds from the main shopping street. They serve low card lettuce wrapping instead of bread.

Tian– wonderful vegetarian restaurant

Vegetasia – 100% vegan Taiwanese

YAMM – vegetarian, self service (2.70 euro per 100g) expensive, near Opera

Kostlich – 1-2 vegan options, lunch only

Weltcafe – ethically sourced and organic, 2 vegan options

Brass Monkey – vegan Cupcakes

Harvest – vegetarian, vegan options. Lunch menu (weekdays) and Sunday brunch.

Veganista – vegan ice cream

Pinocchio – Pizza with vegan cheese option (hole in the wall)

Deli Bluem – vegetarian, lots of vegan options + organic breakfasts

Swing Kitchen – 100% vegan fast food (8 euro meals)

Fett + Zucker – vegan cakes

Nom Nom Vegan Bakery

Bio Bar – vegetarian, ask for vegan options

Blue Orange – bagels + sandwiches with vegan options – English menu

Cupcakes Wien – vegan options

Delicious Vegan Bistro – beside Naschmarket but hard to find. Lunch + dinner Pizza and juice bar.

Easy Going bakery – vegan cake pops and cake

Landia – vegetarian with vegan options

Pirata – 100% vegan sushi

Dr. Falafel – vegan options

Mikkamakka – 100% vegan, self service local dishes

Rupp’s – vegetarian Irish pub with cheap vegan options

Café Telegraph – Omni – Serves Avocado Burger

Simply Raw Bakery – zoodles, savoury crepes, raw pizza + cupcakes

Die Bio Bar Von Autun – 100% vegan across the street from Simply Raw Bakery. Serves Schnitzel and Goulash

Hollerei – vegetarian with vegan options

Motte Am Floss – beet burgers on the Danube rover. (The café upstairs is cheaper)

Nimmersatt – 100% vegan + Organic take out

Maran Vegan Bistro – 100% vegan supermarket + deli counter

Formosa food – 100% vegan Asian food including curry soy schnitzel

Loving Hut – 100% vegan on Favouritenstrasse

Vegana Indiana – 100% vegan, gluten free + seasonal

Voodles  – 100% vegan

Elmira – 100% vegan

Uli’s Veganeria – 100% vegan

Tuwi – 100% vegan

Salonpafond – vegetarian options, organic locally sourced food

  vegan in Bratislava – http://www.thewanderingboomerang.com

  You can have a look at my Bratislava and Vienna Pinterest Board

https://www.pinterest.ie/wanderboomerang/bratislava-%2B-vienna/?eq=bratislava&etslf=5933

If you have any more tips or good vegan places we missed in Vienna, I’d love to hear! Please comment below.

Enjoy your trip, and return safely,

the wandering boomerang 🙂

Check out my other vegan + travel blogs…

  Vienna We visited Vienna at the end of February 2018. We arrived in Vienna at lunch time on a bus from Bratislava.

[starfiresupernova]

11 Questions

I was tagged by both @jiyamarrii & @chasethesun18 to do this, so I’ll be answering 22 questions. But I love these things so I’m totally okay with it LOL. Anyway, let’s get started!

Laura’s Questions

1. Marvel or DC? TV-Verse or Film-Verse? Why? — The easy answer to this question is that I like all superhero stuff. I tend to watch more Marvel, but I’m a big fan of both. MCU? Yes please. Smallville? Sign me up. I haven’t watched the Marvel Netflix shows yet, but I really want to. Cloak and Dagger on Freeform is pretty good so far! I watched the first two seasons of Arrow and most of the Flash, but since the CW added all the other DC shows to their programming, I’ve been a little overwhelmed, but they’re still good! So yeah, long story short, I like it all :)

2. I’m looking for new TV shows to watch. Recommend me a show and tell me why you think I’d like it. — I can’t remember if you’ve watched Gilmore Girls or not, but I recommend it to everyone who wants something funny and heartwarming, but heartbreaking sometimes, too. Lorelai is my SPIRIT ANIMAL. Otherwise, I recommend Lost in Space on Netflix if you’re into Sci-Fi stuff (it’s also funny, and the characters are amazing). One Tree Hill is amazing if you’re into soapy teen dramas (like 90210 or Gossip Girl). The awesome thing about OTH though, is that it’s obviously drama, but it deals with other serious topics and it isn’t bitchy like GG. The characters are all different in their own way, and it’s my favorite teen drama show of all time.

3. Watch a random episode of Timeless. Tell me your opinions on the episode and I’ll try to guess which episode you watched. — Okay, so I know each episode like the back of my hand, so let’s go. It’s my second favorite episode of the entire show. The music is A+. (You’ve probably already guessed it by now lolol.) It has one of my top 5 favorite Lucy outfits. I’ve seen this episode so many times I’m pretty sure I can almost recite it word for word (and I’m not sorry about that).

4. Do you have a skin care routine? If yes, what is it? — Not really. I don’t use much on my skin to tell you the truth. I use the St. Ives Blackhead Clearing green tea scrub every other day, and once in a while I’ll use a Biore charcoal pore strip. Other than that I don’t use anything.

5. What are your favorite pair of shoes? Why? — This might sound completely childish, but I LOVE my shoes that have daisies on them. I got them at Payless, and they’re Minnie Mouse brand, but they’re black with little daisies printed on them and I love them so much. I need a new pair soon because they’re a few years old and they’re worn, but I love them to death.

6. What is your phone wallpaper? What is your desktop wallpaper? — My lock screen on my phone is a picture I found on Google Images of Timeless. It’s blue and has the Time Team and the Timeless logo with a cloud. My home screen on my phone is a cotton candy-esque background. My desktop wallpaper is the Timeless edit I made with the Taylor lyric “Time won’t fly, it’s like I’m paralyzed by it.”

7. If you could have dinner with one person, dead, alive, or fictional, who would it be and why? — I really want to say Lorelai Gilmore (or anyone from Gilmore Girls, honestly..) for this one. Eating at Luke’s Diner? Yes. Please. I’m all in.

8. What’s your favorite smell? Why? — This is very oddly specific, but I have this notebook that I got for Christmas last year. And every book/notebook/paper smells good, but THIS NOTEBOOK. It’s my favorite kind of paper smell. I know, it’s weird, but it’s amazing. Otherwise I love lemon, vanilla, and peppermint scents and the smell of the grill when we grill hamburgers/hot dogs.

9. Do you have any tattoos? If yes, what are they? Do you regret any of them? — I do not have any tattoos, but I want to get one in the near future.

10. What is your horoscope for today? —  Jun 11, 2018 - You enjoy caring for others and you intervene regularly in their lives to guide them. Ironically, today you're the one who needs advice. You'll probably need to get away from it all in order to get a clear view of your own life, Leo. You could even decide to make the necessary arrangements for a trip abroad.

11. Beards: Yes or No? — UM YES.

(OBVIOUSLY I NEEDED TO INCLUDE WYATT’S MAGICAL BEARD)

I also love Xavier from No Tomorrow, Hugh Jackman, and John Krasinski. Their beards are also pretty magical.

Ryan’s Questions

1. If a book becomes a movie do you read it or watch it first? — Most of the time I don’t realize a movie was a book until after I see it. And then I always end up liking the movie better. (IE the Twilight saga) I always try to read the book first, but sometimes I’ll just watch the movie. 

2. What’s your favorite Disney movie? — OOH OKAY LET’S GO. Tangled is my favorite all-animated Disney movie. Meet the Robinsons comes at a second. Enchanted is my all-time favorite Disney movie EVER. My Favorite Martian is my favorite all-non-animated Disney movie. Also The Princess Diaries comes at a close second.

3. If you could have one superpower what would it be? — If I got to choose I would want to have telekinesis. Matilda has solidified that dream LOL.

4. Do you believe in soul mates? — I’m not sure, to tell you the truth. I don’t like to think that there’s only ONE person in the entire world that I’m meant to be with, and that they’re my other half. I mean, it’s a nice concept, but also I feel like I would just be too worried that I won’t ever meet my soulmate because it could literally be anyone in the entire universe. I’m meh on the subject.

5. What’s your happiest memory? — Honestly I think my most happy memories are when I was really little, like in early elementary school? Like, ages 5-11 is when I think I was most happy. And don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy now and whatever, but I have more responsibility now and I was more carefree back then. One memory that sticks out is Christmas of 2010. I got my DSi XL and I was at my grandparents house with all of my cousins. We played around on the DS and took pictures, and I still have them saved on it. The very first picture I ever took on it. It was just such a happy time for me, and I love thinking back on it.

6. Most embarrassing memory? — I threw up in front of my entire classroom in 4th grade. It was terrible. And it happened so long ago, but I still can’t get over the fact that there are people my age who saw me throw up on the floor of our classroom. Nope. Let me go hide forever LOL.

7. Where do you see yourself in five years? — I don’t really like to plan that far ahead into the future, but in five years I’d like to be moved out of my parents’ house and working on getting my book published. (I’m still working on writing it at the moment, so hopefully I’ll be done with it by then and in the process of finding it a home.)

8. Who is/has been the most influential person in your life? — I have to go with my parents on this one. But only personality-wise. I’m not interested in what my parents do for a living, but I try to model my work-ethic and values after them. I’ve obviously grown my own personal tastes, but I see more of myself in them every day and I’m very proud of that.

9. If you could time travel to the start of this year and tell yourself something what would you tell yourself? — You won’t have everything figured out yet, and that’s okay. You’ll be pressured, but take things at your own pace. There’s nothing wrong with taking time to figure things out, no matter what everyone is telling you. You’ll get to where you want to be, you just have to take your time, and set your own pace.

10. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? — Wow, okay, this is going to sound lame. Are y’all ready? I stole a toy camera from Goodwill when I was, like, 6. I wanted it but I didn’t think my dad would let me, so I hid it in my coat pocket and never told anyone. That was literally the first thing that came to mind.. 

11. What’s your favorite thing about yourself? — I love that I don’t waver in my enjoyment of things. My sister mainly, always makes fun of me for wearing what I wear, for reading, and for listening to the kind of music that I listen to, but I’m very proud of all of those things and I don’t let it bother me. Yeah, it gets annoying when she tells me my taste in music sucks, but I will very happily listen to Two Weeks Late by Ashley Monroe at a high volume and sing along proudly. No shame. As Jessica Day so proudly states, “I break for birds! I rock a lot of polka-dots. I have touched glitter in the past twenty-four hours. I spend my entire day talking to children. And I find it fundamentally strange that you’re not a dessert person. That’s just weird and it freaks me out. And I’m sorry I don’t like Murphy Brown, and I hate your pantsuit; I wish it had ribbons on it or something to just make it slightly cuter. And that doesn’t mean I‘m not smart and tough and strong.” 

Thanks for the tag, guys! This was fun :)

[popradar]

Weekend Planner: 20 Awesome Events to Do in Los Angeles, Jan. 26-28

Here are 20 of the coolest events happening in L.A. this weekend. Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow editor @christineziemba on Twitter or Instagram.   

If you like what you’re reading, consider donating to PopRadarLA.com to help defray the costs of the site. Thank you! 

FRIDAY, JAN. 26

Nan Lawson’s solo show Meet Cute 2 opens at Gallery 1988 this week. | Image: Courtesy of the gallery and artist.

NAN LAWSON: MEET CUTE 2 (Art)

On Friday night, Gallery 1988 holds an opening reception for Nan Lawson’s latest solo show at the gallery: Meet Cute 2. View prints depicting some of the best/fav/adorbs couples in pop culture history as they become available from 7-9 pm in the gallery and online the next day. The show will be online 

CHUCK WAGONS: THE FIRST FOOD TRUCKS (Food + history)

The Autry Museum's Flavors Series returns on Friday at 7 pm with the pop-up dinner and program, Chuck Wagons: The First Food Trucks. Taste both traditional chuck wagon cuisine, and then then “experience a new fusion as contemporary chefs update the menu with Pacific flair.” Tickets: $55 Autry members, $65 for nonmembers. Space is limited, and reservations are recommended.  

NEON RETRO ARCADE 2.0 (Gamest)

The grand opening of the Neon Retro Arcade Northridge takes place on Friday from 7 pm to midnight. Get there early because the first 50 in line get free swag. Admission is $10 per person for an hour of free play (no quarters or tokens needed). Opening night is on a first come, first served basis, and the arcade staff will issue hourly wristbands starting around 6:30 pm. You must be in line to buy the wristband, and they’re not selling multiple wristbands to customers. It’s an all ages venue, but the recommended age is 6 and older. 

The Los Angeles edition of the stARTup Art Fair is at The Kinney in Venice all weekend. |  Image: Krisztina Lazar, performance artist, stARTup Art Fair SF         

STARTUP ART FAIR (Art)

The third edition of the stARTup Art Fair takes over The Kinney hotel at in Venice Beach, from Friday through Sunday. More than 50 artists from across the country transform hotel rooms into solo exhibitions of their works. The opening night party runs from 7-10 pm on Friday, with performances and panel discussions throughout the weekend. The fair runs from 2-10 pm on Friday; 12-9 pm on Saturday and 12-7 pm on Sunday. Tickets: General admission: $15-20; students/seniors: $10-$15. General admission with valet parking: $40 in advance/$50 at the door. VIP: $100. 

DON'T LOOK NOW (Film)

On Friday night at 7:30, American Cinematheque screens Director Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. The 1973 film is an adaptation of a Daphne Du Maurier story about a couple in mourning after an accidental drowning of their young daughter. They travel to Venice and meet up with two strange sisters who lead them into “shadowy back alleys and deserted canals and onto the radar of a warped serial killer terrorizing the city. A brilliant variation on Italy’s homegrown giallo thriller genre then enjoying success in early 1970s European cinema.” Discussion follows the screening with cinematographer Tony Richmond. Tickets: $12.

SATURDAY, JAN. 27

The 12-story Earth Harp returns to Night on Broadway on Saturday. | Image: Courtesy of William Close and the Earth Harp Collective

NIGHT ON BROADWAY (Festival)

The fourth annual Night On Broadway celebration returns on to DTLA on Saturday from 3 pm to midnight, taking over nine blocks of historic Broadway between 1st Street and Olympic. The free party features hundreds of performers, vendors and four stages and six theaters along Broadway. The night features William Close and the Earth Harp Collective playing the Earth Harp, a 12-story instrument; the Los Angeles Derby Dolls, Two Bit Circus, a lowrider car show; and a music lineup that includes Dead Meadow, B-52’s, WAR, La Santa Cecilia, Metalachi, DAM Funk and so much more. Free. Free. Free. No tickets required. 

ALARM WILL SOUND’S 1969 (Music + theater)

UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance presents the West Coast premiere of the multimedia concert-meets-theater piece 1969 from the 20-member music ensemble Alarm Will Sound. 1969 tells the story of a fabled meeting between avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (Robert Stanton) and John Lennon (Jon Patrick Walker) of The Beatles. The single performance takes place at 8 pm on Saturday at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Tickets: $29-$59. 

UNCORKED WINE FESTIVAL (Drinks)

Uncorked: Los Angeles Wine Festival is back at Union Station on Saturday for the third annual Fest. There will be more than 200 wines, a bubbly bar, gourmet food trucks, live music and extras available for participants. VIP admission ($70) is at 5 pm and includes exclusive pours from select wineries. General admission ($60) is at 6 pm. Tickets include all tastings, but food is sold separately. Cocktail or dress attire is requested (but not required). 21+. 

THE LOST AND LONG-GONE GRAVEYARDS OF LOS ANGELES (Tour)

Atlas Obscura Society Los Angeles presents the walking tour The Lost and Long-Gone Graveyards of Los Angeles on Saturday from 10 am to noon. The approximately 2.5-mile walk is a tour of lost cemeteries of LA, meaning no active cemeteries will be visited. Learn of the burial practices, residents and history of the city’s first graveyards, including the Catholic Cemetery, Fort Moore Hill Cemetery and the City Cemetery. Tickets: $20. Meeting location will be disclosed upon purchase. 

The Hammer Museum opens its Winter Exhibitions on Saturday night. | Image: Courtesy of the museum

WINTER EXHIBITIONS OPENING CELEBRATION (Art party)

The Hammer Museum opens its winter exhibitions Stories of Almost Everyone and Unspeakable: Atlas, Kruger, Walker on Saturday with a free, public celebration. The galleries will be open late, there’s music by Awesome Tapes from Africa, cash bar and food trucks. Please RSVP, but there’s no ticket or check-in required for entry.

L.A. BEER AND FOOD FESTIVAL (Drinks + eats)

The Los Angeles County Brewers Guild holds its 2nd annual L.A. Beer and Food Festival at Mack Sennett Studios in Silver Lake on Saturday. Get a chance to sample the products of some of the 50 indie craft brewers from LA County with complimentary bites from some local restaurants and vendors. General admission is $60 (3-6 pm) and includes: beer and food samples. VIP tickets are $75 with and early entry at 2 pm. 

THE MUSIC OF EAST L.A (Music)

The Music of East L.A. is a music event that takes place at 7:30 pm on Saturday night at LACMA’s Bing Theater. The concert complements the PST: LA/LA exhibition A Universal History of Infamy. There’s a concert with Chicano singer Chris Montez and DJ & documentarian Melissa "Lil Smiley" Dueñas. Dueñas will spin tunes from the 1970s compilation East Side Story and will screen a short preview of her documentary where she explores the origins and impact of this iconic record collection. A panel discussion follows. The second set features Montez and his band. Tickets: $15 general admission, $12 members and seniors (65+); $10 students with ID. 

CALIFORNIA WINE FESTIVAL (Wine + horse racing)

The California Wine Festival is at Santa Anita Park on Saturday from 11:30-5 pm. The $45 general admission ticket includes admission to the club house, a racing program, $5 betting voucher, tip sheet, wine glass, grandstand seating and 12, 2-oz samples. The $75 VIP package includes the aforementioned items plus, a $10 food voucher, a wine festival T-shirt and samplings for each participating winery. 

Kelsey Grammer as Voltaire in LA Opera's 2018 production of ‘Candide.' | Photo: Ken Howard / LA Opera 

CANDIDE (Opera)

Saturday marks LA Opera's company premiere of Candide, the 1956 musical comedy classic by Leonard Bernstein. Music Director James Conlon will conducts a cast led by Emmy winner Kelsey Grammer and Tony winner Christine Ebersole, who both make their company debuts with the production. There are six performances scheduled for the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Tickets are still available for Saturday’s 7:30 performance. We spotted some balcony seats available for $29.

NOODSNOODSNOODS (Noodles + foodles)

It’s a bit of a hike, but if you really love noodles, then head down to Santa Ana on Saturday for Foodbeast’s Noods Noods Noods. The Asian Food Festival, of course features lots of noodle dishes, but there are also desserts, sandwiches, tacos and more. The VIP sessions are sold out, but the Marketplace—the pay as you eat option—is open from noon to 11 pm. Tickets: $10. 

SUNDAY, JAN. 28

PREACHER LAWSON (Comedy)

Comedian Preacher Lawson, who first got noticed on America’s Got Talent, brings his talents to Burbank for one night only this weekend. Lawson performs an all-ages show at 5 pm on Sunday at Flappers Comedy Club. Tickets: $20 with two-item food and/or drink minimum. 

NEIL HAMBURGER (Comedy)

Neil Hamburger LIVE returns to The Satellite in Silver Lake on Sunday at 8:30 pm, featuring a great lineup: Kurt Braunohler, Jon Daly, James Adomian, DYNASTY HANDBAG, Caitlin Gill, and Anna Seregina & Kyle Mizono. Tickets: $8. Ages 21+. 

SILENT SUNDAYS: THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS (1927) (Film + music)

The Silent Sundays film series returns to the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse on Sunday at 2:30 pm with a screening of The Complete Metropolis (1927). Fritz Lang’s sci-fi classic screens on the big screen with live Wurlitzer organ accompaniment. Tickets start at $10. 

PASADENA COMIC CON (Comics + toys)

Pasadena Comic Con 2018 is at the Pasadena Convention Center [Lower Conference Center] on Sunday featuring comic books, toys, collectibles and cosplay. Dozens of artists and celebrity guests are expected as well as panels such as We the Geeks of East LA: “From Fandom to Career.” The show is open from 9 am to 5 pm. Tickets: $10-$15. Free to kids 12 and younger. 

MUSEUMS FREE-FOR-ALL (Arts)

On Sunday, more than three dozen Southern California museums will offer guests free general admission for the 13th annual Museums Free-For-All, including the Annenberg Space for Photography, California African American Museum, MOCA, LACMA, Japanese American National Museum, Natural History Museum, La Brea Tar Pits and Museum and many others. The USC Fisher Museum offers free admission on Saturday, Jan. 27, instead of Sunday.

—Christine N. Ziemba

[calorieworkouts]

Five Ways Of Losing Fat

" I'm not fat - I'm well built." " I'm not fat - I'm simply in the wrong century." " I'm not fat - everybody else is slim."

It's meant to be a more inclusive, much less judgemental world we're living in, yet the concept of "fat shaming" still flourishes. And also that's quite unreasonable on those people that are normally on the hefty side.

If we're obese we need to warrant ourselves, which commonly means lying to ourselves.

Because the trouble is, medical science gets on their side. There are no wellness advantages connected with being overweight, and also loads of benefits to be had from being slim, or at the very least slimmer.

The finest means to deal with something like weight management is to do it on your own. Do not do it because other individuals state being fat misbehaves, do it due to the fact that you're mosting likely to profit from it. Your clothes are mosting likely to fit far better and also feel more comfortable. You'll be able to strip off in public (at the swimming pool or the coastline, that is) as well as not be stressed concerning individuals believing you ought to cover again since you're a strolling eyesore.

The weird point is, overweight people are frequently satisfied individuals who are not burning the calories via anxious power due to the fact that they're normally loosened up. There's a song my Dad used to play called Fat Male, created by a thin person that understood he was lucky to be naturally skinny. The last line goes, "Roll us both down a mountain and also I make certain the fat guy would certainly win."

Well thanks, yet we do not require a mountain-rolling contest to really feel excellent concerning ourselves. And yet ... much of us do intend to reduce a little.

It's got a lot to do with self-control, from compeling yourself to get some workout to making that workout include walking past a hamburger joint instead than right into one.

Why does being healthy and balanced need to appear like such effort? Do not consume this, do not consume that, do not sit there viewing TELEVISION, get out and go for a run. All that things. You can not battle the facts and you don't have the option of returning to the 17th century when the Dutch painter Peter Paul Rubens took terrific pleasure in painting wonderful, spherical women who would certainly today be rejected as even more than a little porky.

However, do not be hopeless, because there are means of doing this that make it a lot less complicated. And also below are five of them.

1. Discover What Foods Are Causing Your Excess Weight

You need to end up being a bit of an expert on this (and if you already are, forgive me for teaching to the converted.) What foods make you fat? Sweet ones! Yes, but not only sweet ones. Carby ones. Sugar is a carb. So are potatoes, rice, as well as pasta, so in this specific instance those things have actually to be treated the very same way.

Do not drink full-sugar sodas - this is a very fundamental no-no, however it ought to be carefully complied with by this: do not eat the fries that feature the burger. Or eat a few of them. And don't have a hill of pastas or rice. The bolognese and also the curry are maybe not so negative, although they are loaded with fat, it's those carbs you have to be careful of.

On the topic of sugar, the noticeable point to do is replace it with sugar, either man-made or natural (like stevia, which you can discover in many supermarkets, and Lo Han Kuo, additionally understood as monk fruit, which is a whole lot much less typical. If you utilize the artificial ones, you will encounter the sensible people that inform you they're even worse for you than sugar, but what they probably indicate is several of them are believed to trigger cancer.

Well, it's your option. If your instant worry is excess weight and the opportunity of developing diabetic issues, you require to remove the sugar at all costs.

Having developed that, in your life, carbohydrates are bad (really they're wonderful for professional athletes that melt the fat off at a rate of knots), think about the remainder of the food globe. Healthy protein, for example, is vital for building muscle, so you require lots of that (meat, cheese, seafood and so on) as well as vegetables are the saints of the dietary world, loaded with minerals and vitamins as well as with no apparent drawback at all.

Fruit is a weird one: at once nobody had a bad word to state concerning it, but the truth that it is pleasant methods if contains sugar, particularly tropical fruits such as mango and watermelon. So do not overdo it on them - and also I have additionally seen grapes called "Little bags of sugar", which is an interesting method of putting it, so be careful with them also. And also the containers as well as containers of fruit juice, which typically contain added sugar, as well as also if they do not, there is a lot of the sweet things in there.

2. Trick The Carbs

Here's a terrific one. We have checked out the demand to lower carb consumption. Now we take it to one more level in an effort to outsmart the body, which is something you do not hear around also often. The important things is if you reduced the carbohydrates substantially, your body notices as well as decreases its procedure of managing them (it's a chemical thing involving something called leptin, as well as it's a little bit complex, but we do not require to end up being boffins to use the trick). Your decreased carb consumption causes your metabolic rate decreasing as well as also you'll feel hungry. Offer the body a pair of higher-carb days each week as well as it will carry on dealing with the carbs at a comparable rate to how it utilized to when you were eating pasta by the load. Desire the full technical image of leptin?

3. Lose The Booze

I'm sorry to lay this on you like Mr. No-Fun, yet think what alcohols have: yes, sugar. And it's not simply noticeable perpetrators like piña coladas. Cocktails nowadays are simpler to make, thanks to the innovation of "mixes" which contain a lot of the taste and a bucketload of sugar.

Beer is well-known for its fat-making top qualities as well as even wine is not excluded, although the drier it is, the much less sugar it includes, so a glass of ice-cold white so completely dry it offers you neck aches is the very best bet. Red is usually not generally billed as being sweet or completely dry, however especially with the cheap ones, they're mixed to attract all tastes buds and when you truly taste a mouthful of that $5 merlot, there's fairly a great deal of sweet taste there.

If you find this a little bit tough to believe, don't just take my word for it: review this reliable article on alcohol as well as sugar.

More than a little alcohol misbehaves for you, lots of people concur, as well as it makes you keep water, which looks like a fat, so if you're severe concerning shedding weight, shed the booze.

4. Get Lots Of Sleep

This is something that shows up on simply concerning every listing of wellness ideas. Get a lot of rest and beverage great deals of water, they state, as well as it's one of those things that seems so noticeable we can rarely take it seriously. In this instance, it's not just because when you're sleeping you can not be consuming pizza and alcohol consumption Tia Maria and syrup. No, it's a technological thing. If you aren't sleeping sufficient, your body will certainly become much less conscious the hormone insulin, to ensure that will be much less effective at managing sugar in your blood. Your body will produce more insulin, and the trouble with that is that insulin likewise shops fat. You can locate the complete tale of what insulin does here.

We find out about insulin in connection to diabetic issues, so this underlines the link in between that disorder as well as being fat. It actually doesn't make good sense to be overweight.

5. Laser Power

Yes, expert treatment utilizing a clinical procedure. We have actually all become aware of lipo, sort of sucking out the fat. Well, this is a new and also advanced process that brings the same concept right into the 21st century. The laser efficiently thaws the fat, making it quicker and also less complicated to remove.

Obviously, this sets you back a little money, rather than the complimentary choices that involve depriving yourself of points you take pleasure in, but if it's available in your area and also you can manage it, why not? Lasers are exceptionally functional as well as the only limit to their effectiveness appears to our very own absence of creativity. Now that they have been assigned this unbelievable brand-new use, it would certainly be crazy to ignore it.

There is a sixth suggestion which I discovered by mishap in 2015. I crammed in my task and upped sticks for a new nation prior to I would certainly got immigration clearance, which took 10 months and also caused me accompanying no actual earnings while the politicians did their things. As well as child, does the weight drop off when you can't pay for to drink and can hardly discover the cash to eat. I wouldn't recommend it, yet it's extremely effective.

[golflounge]

Different Types of Golf Clubs

Wood: These are also referred to as long-distance clubs since the purpose of these kinds of clubs is hitting the ball a large distance towards the hole. They have a long shaft and a large head to gain the maximum acceleration while driving. Initially, the shaft developed was made of Woods, but later manufacturers started making use of carbon fiber, titanium, and scandium for making Wood shafts. Although Woods is made of different metals they are still called Woods to denote the general club purpose and type. You will find 3 to 4 Kinds of wood in a set of golf club hamburg.

Iron: They are clubs with a shorter shaft as compared to Woods and a flat angled face. These are specially designed for shots approaching the green or from difficult lies such as rough, the base of hills or over trees. They are used in the middle of each hole. There are short, medium and long irons with flat heads. IT got it to name as Irons because it was made of metal. It can also be divided into two types, cavity-back, and muscle-back.  As the name sounds, cavity-back irons have some metal removed from the head to make a cavity while muscle-back iron doesn’t have any cavity.

Hybrid: By the name, you would have already guessed that it is some kind of mix of clubs. It is a cross between the above two types of clubs, the Wood and the Iron. It delivers the long distance of Wood with the Iron’s swing. They can be used in replacement of high numbered word or low numbered irons. Most golfers prefer this as a replacement of Iron clubs. They are sometimes also referred to as Rescues.

Wedge: It is similar to a putter with few variations. The main change compared to a putter is that it has a higher loft around 30-40 degrees. It is mostly used to drag the ball out of rough to the green using an action similar to putting. It may also be used to putting the ball on the green to set it up for the second putt. The use of Wedges is limited to very few shots, mostly the short distance ones as it can damage the turf if a harder stroke is made.

Chipper: A chipper is designed for low-speed swings. It is used only to hit the ball to a shorter distance usually 20-25 meters. It is recommended that these clubs are only used on a green. As with other clubs, there were also initially developed using woods but later manufacturers started building these with metals as well.

Putter: The sole purpose of a putter is to roll the ball from a point on the green to the hole. The loft of a putter usually is between 5-10 degrees. You won’t find any putter which exceeds 10 degrees. You will find grooves on the impact area of a putter to reduce the skidding of a ball on the impact. Visit event location hamburg for more information

[brightbutnolongerbulletproofboys]

Tag Game: yoooooooo

I was tagged by @penguin-neckpillow , I see you bro <3

1) How tall are you?

5′4″

2) What are your favourite TV shows?

Sike I don’t watch TV, lmao it was Scream Queens until it was cancelled (rip my heart) and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

3) What are your favourite youtubers?

Alan Wong bless him, Dan and Phil, Cry, I think that’s all!

4) What’s your favourite feature of yourself?

My dad jokes are pretty great, I like my eyes and my hair too.

5) Cats or Dogs?

I was always strictly a cat person but dogs have also woven their way into m heart, especially corgi butts my god. Cats still prevail tho.

6) Candy or fruit?

F R U I T 100%

7) Hot or Cold?

Hot, its cold as shit rn and I miss the warmth A L O T

8) What kind of phone do you have?

A Nokia with the shitty app store I want the snapchat filters :’(( i’m looking to upgrade so if you guys have any good android recommendations please message me!!!!!!

9) Movies or music?

I like both a lot, its a tie.

10) How many kids would you like to have? Boys or Girls?

At this point in my life I'm not keen on having my own children, though I would love to open my home as a foster home and help kids who are already here.

11) Top 3 favourite foods?

Hamburgers, Kebabs/Souvlakis(skewer and wrap), This delicious spicy soup my mum makes with beef stock, I think tom yum base and vermicelli fuck I could live off that stuff.

12) Top 3 worst foods?

My primary school cooked the brains we dissected once and i’m still permanently shook from that experience, Capsicum, Creamy foods.

13) What’s something you’re afraid of?

That i’m going to die not knowing what lies in the universe and what other possibilities exist. Also people super ruining our planet with crude oil products I'm so salty if you wanna rage with me please.

14) Any Phobias?

Tokophobia, Anatidaephobia, Thalassaphobia, and huge empty spaces.

15) What makes you the happiest?

Doing stupid but hysterical shit with friends and laughing so hard you’re in physical pain, learning new things about our world, finally understanding that math fuck me, nailing a musical piece, making friends with animals, idk man a lot of things make me super happy tbh.

16) Have you eaten today? And if so, what?

Yeah man, ahahah ham and dill cucumber sandwhich and some delicious apple pie tea mmm damn.

17) What time is it currently where you are?

5:17pm aka bedtime

18) Snowy day or rainy day?

I’ve never experienced a snowy day so i’m going for rainy hahaha.

19) If you could paint your room any colour, what would it be?

ooh this is a hard one, I think either a nice orange or a mint green/baby blue but very pastel.

20) Makeup or no makeup?

I fucking love makeup that shit is fun man hell yes everyday 24/7 ya girl is on ittt.

21) Dressy or casual?

I like the comfort of casual but dressy is so much fun and you can be so creative with it so I gotta go for dressy.

22) Milk or soda?

I dislike both but I drink milk more than soda rip my digestive system i’m so sorry I've been bad to you all these years.

23) Favourite smell?

Berry/fruity perfumes, that cologne that some guys wear that gives you that warm fuzzy idk why don’t ask, grilling meat, rain.

24) How are you at meeting new people?

I’m usually not great but lately ya girl’s been doing well, except I show them memes too early sometimes and they’re weirded out for a bit and then we become good friends idk how it works but dork charm must do the trick. I’m still a little awkward in adult conversation though, especially with young people.

25) What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

Fall back asleep and end 20 minutes behind schedule honestly....

26) What’s the first thing you see when you look at someone?

I usually notice height, hair and eyes first, I fell like they’re what I focus on most.

27) Top 3 personality traits you want in a partner?

R E S P E C T, a good sense of humour/general happiness/likes memes, and I like the nerdy dorky kids like myself so you gotta be at least a little dorky.

28) Kiss or hugs?

I’ve never kissed anyone so i’m gonna go with hugs hahahahahaha.

29) Going out or staying in?

I enjoy both A L O T, it depends on the day and where i’m going I guess.

30) Lastly, tell your followers something they may not know about you.

I wanted to become an aerospace engineer at eight years old as we learnt about the Spirit and Curiosity mars rovers and they captured my heart and I've never looked back. I knew that was what I wanted to do. Also I do shitty instrumental covers of BTS and other songs on youtube I think I linked my twitter in my bio rip have fun with that hahahahah.

I’m tagging @jin-oppa cuz I know you got some juicy shit I haven’t gotten to know yet and i’m super curious, @now-a-bts-trash idk why this wont tag you properly so I hope you see this, @suga-rysmile I see you like my memes it makes my life, @duckling-tae I’m super curious about you too my broskie dude bro, @cozynamjoon we differ a lot in opinions I think so i’m super keen to see if we have any of this in common hahahahahahahal, and anyone who wants to give this baby a crack tag me tho I love learning about everyone if I could tage everyone of you I would but I feel that would be heinous ahahahahahahha.

[walterteng-blog]

Ultimate (Exchange) Student Guide + Travel Tips! [University of Surrey x Nanyang Technological University EEE]

After more than 171 days away from home, I am finally back in time for the reunion dinner in homely Singapore which is nice! :) Back to the topic, this is a short guide that I decided to put together for the benefit of the students who are going to/ interested in going for an GEM exchange programme at University of Surrey(UoS).  Writing this also serves a good time for me to reflect all the experiences and lessons learnt from my time at University of Surrey. Before I begin, I would like to mention that one of such article have been written before by getsurrey.co.uk which you can refer to as well. Academic: In case you are wondering, I am a EEE/3 student specializing in infocommunications and I did my Y3S1 at UoS. The 4 modules I took are: EEE2045 ELECTRICAL SCIENCE II Lectured by Dr David Carey and Prof Ravi Silva aka EE3001 ENGINEERING MICROMAGNETICS (4AU) - 100% Lecture and 100% 2 hour Written Paper. EEE3008 DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING A Lectured by Prof Mark Plumbley aka EE3014 DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING - 20% Weekly Flipped Classroom Assignments which are basically group presentations for your self learning of the new topic before the lectures. 80% 2 hour Written Paper - More theory explanations and derivations than calculations as compared to the usual NTU teaching style. - I realise there is a different syllabus for DSP B offered in Sem 2 while studying for my finals. I am not sure about this. EEE3033 RF AND MICROWAVE FUNDAMENTALS Lectured by Dr Peter Aaen and Dr Tim Brown aka EE4151 RF AND MICROWAVE ENGINEERING (3AU) - 20% Lab (Advanced Design System) and 80% 2 hour Written Paper - Really skeptical about taking this mod at first since I am taking Electromagnetics mod concurrently. - Lab was a little hard to grasp at first since the overall learning curve was pretty steep for me. - Glad that I have plenty of help from my EPS project mates :)

EEE3035 ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL STUDIES Lectured by Dr David Carey and Supervised by Prof Klaus Moessner aka EE3080 DESIGN & INNOVATION PROJECT (DIP, 2AU) - Probably biggest takeaway mod; an eye opener - Project on creating a wearable tech for the medical field with a group of 6 - Lectures on various industry standards was very insightful. Topics like technological adoption life cycle, hype curves and sustainability management are a few of the many materials covered. - The UoS students have stronger hands-on skills like coming out with PCB designs and testing. Their 1 year placement/internship really gave them an edge that I am still hoping to catch up on my own. - Learnt some EAGLE basics and reinforced my knowlege of 3D design which I self learnt prior to this. - Efficient use of team management apps like Slack which was also new to me. University of Surrey EEE Faculty was highly regarded in the UK and it is a real privilege to do an exchange programme there. As mentioned, the teaching approach is very different as compared to NTU. It is very vocal with its flipped classroom teaching and there is a lot of self learning to do here. I have to refer to the textbooks a lot here. However, there is a need to memorize essential formulas for the finals which I am not used to, since the formula booklets for NTU papers are specific to the mods and comprehensive.

Play (Travel):  I went a 44 days pre-exchange trip with my friends from 8 August 2016 and we mainly covered the Scandinavian countries and Central Europe. I traveled on plenty of day trips around UK during the semester and explored the Eastern Europe during the winter vacation. I did a custom google maps to detail my travels and wrote about it a few times before. It can be overwhelming at first so it is easier to refer to the legend as a guide. Article and Legend WallEEExplore v17.01.21 Map

Helsinki, Finland (09 - 11 August 2016) Hameenlinna & Tampere (11 -12 August 2016) Turku, Finland (12-13 August 2016) Stockholm & Tyresta National Park, Sweden (14 - 17 August 2016) Norway Road Trip: Oslo Trolltunga Bergen Lysebotn Larvik, Norway (17 - 23 August 2016) Copenhagen, Denmark (24 - 27 August 2016) Aarhus, Denmark (27 -29 August 2016) Hamburg, Germany (29 Aug - 01 Sep 2016) Berlin, Germany (01 - 04 September 2016) Frankfurt, Germany (04 -07 September 2016) Luxembourg (07 - 09 September 2016) Brussels, Belgium (09 - 12 September 2016) Antwerp, Belgium (12 - 14 September 2016) Rotterdam, Netherlands (14 - 17 September 2016) The Hague, Netherlands (17 - 19 September 2016) Amsterdam, Netherlands (19 - 21 September 2016) London Day Trip (09 October 2016) Windsor Day Trip with Students’ Union (22 October 2016) Oxford Day Trip (23 October 2016) Woking Day Trip (02 November 2016) Bristol + Northern Ireland + Glastonbury & Wells (04 - 09 November 2016) Scotland(Glasgow & Edinburgh) Trip with Students’ Union (11 - 14 November 2016) Cambridge Day Trip (19 November 2016) Brighton Day Trip (26 November 2016) Paris + Disneyland (02 - 06 December 2016) Manchester + Lake District Road Trip (19 - 21 December 2016) Stonehenge + Bath Tour (23 December 2016) London (24 - 27, 30 - 31 December 2016) Prague, Czech Republic (01 - 04 January 2017) Salzburg + Hallstatt + Vienna, Austria (05 - 09 January 2017) Budapest, Hungary (10 - 12 January 2017)

It will take me a while or forever to ever write about the details of all the places I have been to, so if there is any particular places that you might want some tips or itinerary, do contact me directly. I don’t bite. :))

Here are some other custom maps I did during my researches for new places to go. These are mainly within the UK.

UK Top Places to Visit (Detailed)

Lake District Day Drive Trip

: This was meant for a day trip to the Lake District from Manchester during the winter when the daytime is short. Nonetheless, it is still recommended to spend more time there and go for a hike!

*** Tips for travelling around UK 1. Get a 16-25 Railway Card first! It cost  £30 and it’ll save you 1/3 on rail fares. You’ll cover back that  £30 in no time if you go for a lot of day trips. 2. Going for day trips with University of Surrey Students’ Union (SU) is a lot cheaper (even with a rail card). It is more worthwhile if they are able to get discounted admission tickets to castles etc. However, in my opinion, it is not recommended to go for a long trip with them though. You’re more restricted in terms of time and (super) long bus trips is tiring. :( 3. Generally, you can go for a day trip anywhere as long as the ride one way is about 3 hours or less. You’ll still have enough time to explore the city/town. Avoid going those that are far away during winter as you will have little day time. Unless you want to fork out more money to find accom. 4. Get advance tickets if you are able to plan about 2 weeks ahead. It can be very cheap. However, day trips tend to be impromptu, so super off-peak tickets bought on the day itself are your best bet. But still, try to plan ahead. 5. The best part of Guildford is that, London is just 40 - 60 mins away! A day travel zone tickets covers both your travel to and fro plus unlimited London tube travel! 6. Get an Oyster card if you travel to London a lot. Don’t forget to link it to 16-25 Rail card for 1/3 off. You have to go to any station and ask the station attendants to do that. Remember that daily fares caps are at about  £6 or  £ 6.45 and it costs nothing after that. UNLIMITED POWER~ 6. I prefer the National Rail app over Trainline cos it tends to be more detailed. But you will need trainline app if you want to buy tickets online.

Where to go in Guildford?: 1. Picinic / BBQ by the university lake 2. Short hikes / Picnics around town like The Mount, Pewley Downs, St Martha-on-the-hill, Guildford Castle 3. Tea Terrace  at the top floors of House of Fraser 4. Bike / Walk along River Wey to nearby towns like Godalming, Shalford or the Riverside Park. Refer to this route guide.

Giffgaff or Three: Personally, I used giffgaff when I know I am not travelling out of UK for the month and Three if I am going to travel. Yes, in the end, I kept 2 UK lines since my android phone support dual sim anyway. Here is why: Giffgaff: Good: More data tiering than Three. You can buy data for 1, 2, 4 GB and so on, depending on your usage. Three only has 1GB and 12GB packages. (who uses 1 GB anyway?!) Three: Good: You can use your data in many other European countries. No more trying to connect wifi on the streets to upload your latest snaps or instagram stories. UNLIMITED POWER~ x2 Santander Basic or Current: Basic. I think it will still be confusing even if I explain the differences between the two here so, you should listen closely when you are at bank then. Here is the why: 1. You will get used to transferring money between your bank card and debit card in no time. 2. No  £5/mo

BTW, remitting money from DBS to Santander is free and it offers the best exchange rate. It is almost instant during office hours (both UK and SG), but it can be a nightmare if you ran out of money and it is the weekend.

Food: There are food places like Young’s Kitchen, Hillside and some kebabs stalls nearby in school, but trust me, you will get used to cooking for every meal in the end. Deals varies from time to time in Tesco and Sainsburys’ but there are 2 things that are certain. 1.  £2.50 -  £3 B&J or Haagen Dazs is irresistible 2. Poundland for your snacks, chocolates and Haribos. 

Useful Apps (Android): 1. National Rail / Trainline: For your railway timings etc 2. Santander: Banking 3. Giffgaff / Three: Check your data usage 4. Tube Map London: London tube can be confusing and there is no reception once you are inside! 5. Moovit: Shows transport route options in many European cities when Google Maps fails 6. Flixbus: Mostly used this bus service in Europe like Germany. Track its prices religiously if you desperately need a cheap getaway from studies to Paris Disneyland 7. Skyview Free: Just cos you tend to see more stars wherever you are in Europe than Singapore 8. Maps.me: If you need an alternative to Google Maps. However, I used Google Maps extensively by starring important places. You can label them for easy identification when your maps get too crowded.

Tip: Use location history in Google Maps to review the places you go before, in case you want to research further on the place you been to when you are back.

Tell me your experiences! :  While I spent a rather fruitful time in UoS, I didn’t really join CCAs or had any sort of party life. Haha. I had plenty of the “chill in the kitchen/room” life though. Besides, my housemates kept telling Rubix, the school nightclub was always mediocre anyway. There are plenty of interesting CCAs in UoS like Equestrian Club, ABACUS, the Singaporeans Society or the SurreyEARS but I didn’t get myself to join in the end because: 1. You need Surrey Sports Park membership for sports CCA. 2. I want to travel around during my free time. Hope this guide have been useful so far and do share with me your exchange stories, I would love to listen to them! Go out there and create your own memories if you started your exchange!

PS. Pardon me for any major grammatical errors etc, I am writing this at 5am, Singapore time in the morning. Jetlag is hitting me pretty bad. Haiz.

[ Teng Kok Wai (Walter) - Nanyang Technological University x  University of Surrey, Email: teng0107@e.ntu.edu.sg EEE AY16/17 Y3S1]

[robngay]

Blythe CA to Canyonlands NP

Sunday March 12 Blythe CA

WE started the day by joining the trucks and heading west on Interstate 10. Most of the time we take the secondary roads. But in these vacant areas there is sometime no choice. After 40 miles. We got off at the next exit - Quartzite. It holds a large gem and swap meet for a week n February. Fortunately we missed it. Gay did find some stores and curios to visit but no damage was done.

Back in the trek and headed North east towards the red hills of Sedona. Shy of Sedona we stopped in Prescott. We had been here before and had enjoyed the central square with civic buildings, saloons and decent artisan stores. It had been a big town in 1900 but the mines and farming petered out. Now it is a major retirement area, but not overwhelmingly so. There are many young families enjoying the park and the down town area, and we both agreed that if forced to move to Arizona, this was one area we might be able to tolerate.There was a three hour free hula hoop clinic going on on the green. We did not participate.

Onward for the night. We keep getting caught up in a late lunch, a fun activity and then , whoops, where to spend the night. This time we decided we would spend the usual $70 +/- for a bed and breakfast hotel in Blythe, Ca…on interstate 40. We made it after sundown. Blythe was the town we stayed at on Valentine’s Day two years ago when Patrick called about an empty oil tank at home. He bailed us out and we now have fond memories of the town, but only for this reason. News of New England was an oncoming blizzard, which bodes poorly for caretakers, Joan & Patrick. Yikes, again. For dinner we went to a recommended BBQ place, Rebel bbq. They had no ribs and the rest of the meat served on a paper plate left something to be desired. Alas.

Grand Canyon and Monument Valley - It was an hour drive to Grand Canyon. We were able to park in lot #3 which was lucky since we were experiencing a vacation week for the southwest and colleges. It was crowded with more than enough selfie sticks to annoy us. The light was great and the pinks and reds impressive. We both noticed our reactions to steep cliffs has significantly increased since we were here 20 years ago with the kids. We walked a couple of miles, decided it was a victory, and then headed off to the east exit. The crowds got much thinner and we had some nice stops for views and historical pueblo exhibits.

We drove east and then north into Tuba City. Twenty years ago it was depressing and it hasn’t changed: dry, dusty, dull. For some reason the hotels on Expedia wanted $130 a night and there were no apparent campgrounds on the Indian reservations. So onward on route 160 through Navajo land. It is also called Monument Valley. We saw the setting sun on soaring sandstone pillars and bluffs. A lot of WOW moments. It was getting quite dark as we zipped a cross the plateau. Finally a sign said"6 miles steep grade 8%“. We were headed into the San Juan River Valley and Mexican Hat, Utah. The river was muddy and flowing and our motel was there. We walked next door to the "Swinging Grill”. There were about five meats on the short menu and each of them were cooked on a grill that did swing over the coals. It was a good hamburger.

Tuesday March 14 We rose late and ate breakfast from the Trek. We back-tracked 20 miles to see the monuments again and stopped at the “welcome Center”. It was empty. A few Navajos had stalls with decent stuff but we were the only ones there. We considered entering the Navaho Nation Information Center, but the $20 fee to go to more shops and a casino did not entice. Apparently the fee also gave entrance to a 17 mile loop with wow views, but we did have the time and had already been substantially impressed outside the visitors center fee area. We both agreed that the native Americans could do a lot better with some good marketing and no casino. They are sitting on a natural gold mine.

We turned around and headed to Canyonlands. We arrived too late for a campsite at the park. Nevertheless we went into the scenic needles area. Gay painted and Rob walked and read. There were some people hiking and a few jeeps climbing steep paths and making a lot of noise. If we had walked 3 miles in we would have seen the confluence of the green and Colorado River. Then we would have had to walk out.At 6500 feet elevation? No thanks.

At late afternoon we left the park and entered Bureau of Land Management area where we had seen some rustic campsites. We got lucky at Hamburger Rock. The sandy ground was level and the 20’ tall rock next to us provided fine views along with privacy. At sunset we climbed up on top of the hamburger bun and many of the 15 other camp sites were represented. We both agreed, this was probably the best campsite of the trip.

Wednesday March 15 We returned to the park for two more short walks. One went to a small grain shelter built by Pueblos in 1100. The other was a cowboy shelter from 1910 when they ran 100,000 cattle on an immense piece of land. It took 200 acres per cow to keep the brood healthy, so it was very convenient to stay out on the range while herding and the rock formations gave great protection from the elements.

Before noon we were headed out the 49 mile entry road and headed towards Durango. We stopped in Delores to visit the museum of the ancients headquarters. It is probably the best site we visited. The official story has changed from 40 years ago. The Anastasia did not disappear. Instead they moved and became Hopi, Ute and other groupings due to climatic changes. Very impressive.

We drove to nearby Mancos State park and were the only ones there. It is at 8,000 feet elevation and has plenty of snow and mud, but the temperatures still remain unseasonably warm for the area, for which we are eternally grateful.. We took a handicap spot (with permission from the park host) that was dry and near the outhouse. Gay painted and Rob blogged. It got chilly by 5:30 so we opened up a bottle of Hastings white wine and thought about dinner. It was nice to be quiet and amidst the ponderosa pine trees.