#and no online work (until summer bio course in July)

[what-even-is-sleep]

We KNOW I’m on break from college cause ya bish is reading for fun again!!!!! (Atm: The Martian by Andy Weir— VERY GOOD!!!)

[wellesleyunderground]

Wellesley in STEM: Jenn Wiegel ‘08, Veterinarian

WU STEM series editor Katie Kinnaird interviews Jenn Wiegel ‘08, a practicing veterinarian.

WU: Jenn, thanks for taking time to chat with us! You are a practicing veterinarian in Gibsonville, North Carolina. What drew you to being a vet?

JW: Every since I was a little girl I wanted to be a veterinarian. I always loved animals and this loved was sealed when I received my first kitten for my 7th birthday.

WU: Do you have a favorite part of your job?

JW: I most enjoy surgery and pleasant clients. :) Puppy and kitten visits are usually fun too. My favorite appointments are those with young children (though not so young that mostly all they do is fuss). I always offer to let them listen to their pet’s heart with the stethoscope. I usually ask them if the pet’s heart sounds okay and they almost always answer with authority that it does. It’s so cute!

WU: You majored in Econ with a minor in Astronomy at Wellesley. This seems like a less tradition pre-vet major. How did you decide to go into veterinary medicine? Did your major prepare you to be a vet in unexpected (or expected) ways?

JW: I’ve always wanted to be a veterinarian, but during my first year at Wellesley, I attended a pre-professional meeting that made it sound next to impossible to get into some of these professions (vet, MD, JD, etc). So I lost a little confidence in myself. It wasn’t until the summer before senior year that I decided I would go back to the dream of being a vet. I don’t know that this really influenced my major choice, however. I was never very interested in being a biology major because I never wanted to teach biology or work in a lab. I’m sure there are more things you can do with a biology degree than that, but 18 year-old me didn’t know this. I am a very practical person, so majoring in Econ was logical in that I could always fall back into any sort of business or finance job with this degree.

And Astronomy? Well, Astronomy was just fun! And I love math! Also, while I do love Star Wars, I will always chuckle at Han Solo’s line about making the Kessel run in “12 parsecs” because parsecs are a measure of distance, not time. Oh Astronomy nerdiness!

WU: How did Wellesley more generally prepare you to work with animals and their human caretakers? Where there any courses or professors at Wellesley that had a particular impact on you and your chosen career?

JW: I had many great professors at Wellesley who helped me along the way with recommendations, but I can’t say I think there was a certain course at Wellesley that helped with the animal or “pet parent” aspect of my job. I recall Professor Marc Tetel being very encouraging when I was the only senior in Bio 101. He was a great professor! There were other professors that I still regard as influential in my life path (Prof. Ryan Frace in history and Prof. Randall Collaizzi in Classics), but I think they just helped contribute to my lifelong love of learning and not specifically anything to do with veterinary medicine.

WU: What is the process for becoming a vet? What is the schooling like? Is there residency?

JW: Becoming a vet requires a 4-year undergraduate degree and then a 4-year veterinary medical doctorate. There are prerequisite courses that all veterinary schools require (the usual sciences and often public speaking as well), but many schools also want you to demonstrate animal or veterinary work experience as well. There are residencies for veterinarians. We essentially have all the specialties that physicians have and they all require a residency with the exception of being a general practitioner. All veterinarians graduate as GPs. If a vet does want to specialize, she would need to do an internship for a year prior to residency.

WU: A prerequisite in public speaking for working with animals is super surprising! Could you say a bit more about how this requirement fits into your veterinarian life?

One of the biggest and most important aspects of my job is client education. Veterinarians spend a lot of time speaking with people in order to help their animals. Taking public speaking as a course helped me be more comfortable speaking in public, particularly strangers (I took public speaking at UConn one summer and knew no one in the class). It’s very important to be clear and concise with what you’re saying and to be able to present medical conditions or treatments in a way that is easy to understand.

WU: What is the most interesting experience that you’ve had as a vet? What was the funniest or most unexpected experience?

JW: I’ve had so many incredible experiences on this journey. Prior to graduating from veterinary school, I did multiple study abroad trips where we worked with native wildlife/animals and people in those countries. These places included Australia, South Africa, Jordan, Ecuador & the Galapagos, Hawaii, and the Florida keys. In Ecuador, I got to draw blood from the jugular vein of a jaguar and in South Africa, took part in an enrichment program for cheetahs. I really love big cats and so these experiences were incredible. In Florida, I did an externship at a 24 hour hospital that sees a large amount of exotic animals (birds, reptiles, small mammals, etc). While there, the Animal Planet TV show “Gator Boys” brought one of their gators to have his jaw repaired by the owner veterinarian of this practice. I got to be the anesthetist for the alligator which was awesome and nerve-wracking at the same time. I may have even been on TV! (I don’t have cable, so I don’t know!) I would say that was the most unexpected experience I’ve had.

The funniest experience I’ve had as a vet happened my second year out of school. I had an appointment on my books for a wellness cat visit for a 10 year old female spayed kitty named “Tabitha”. This cat had been with the current owners for about 8 years and had been to 3-4 previous veterinarians. I had the documents from this cat’s previous visits so I knew her history. When we perform physical exams, veterinarian usually do a “nose-to-tail” evaluation. Well, I got to Tabitha’s tail, lifted it, and,to my surprise, saw that Tabitha was actually a neutered male cat. Luckily the owner had a good sense of humor when I announced “It’s a boy!” Somehow it had been missed that Tabitha, who had wandered up about 8 years prior, was actually a neutered male and not a spayed female. The owner and I certainly had a laugh about that one for quite some time.

WU: For those of us who considering adding an animal into our families, what recommendations do you have for making this decision? Do you have any suggestions for making the decision and/or preparing our homes?

JW: Actually, there are some great online resources for this. For first time pet parents, they may want to check out this page. The AVMA is our national professional organization and they are very devoted to public education, so they have several pages to help individuals decide what kind of pet is right for you. If you already have an established relationship with a veterinarian, then you may want to ask him or her for a recommendation. If your vet knows you well, they may know whether a cat or dog or a certain breed of pet would work best for you and your family.

WU: Healthcare for humans and the associate costs are big talking points in the US right now. Are there similar conversations or issues surrounding animal healthcare?

JW: Yes and no. There is health insurance for animals, but it works completely differently than human health insurance. I would encourage pet parents to consider getting pet insurance. It does not cover routine care (exams, vaccines, etc), but would could accident or illness and might make having to make a tough decision a lot easier. I worked as an emergency veterinarian full time for about 13 months and unfortunately there is a lot of finance-driven euthanasia because people are not financially prepared for an emergency. Having accident/illness insurance (which is basically what pet health insurance is) could mean life or death for a pet.

There are some veterinarians who are worried that animal healthcare will become as crazy as human healthcare, but I just don’t see how this could happen.

WU: Wellesley Alums seem to be everywhere! Where’s the most unexpected situation where you’ve met a Wellesley alum?

JW: Actually, I just bumped into a Wellesley alum (even an ‘08er) at the top of the Seattle Space Needle in July! I happened to be wearing a Wellesley hat that I bought my husband at reunion. Berenice Rodriguez stopped me and asked if I had gone to Wellesley. I realized I recognized her and we discovered that we were the same class year. We never knew each other well at Wellesley, but well enough to recognize each other! Neither of us live in Seattle, we were both there on vacation!

WU: So many STEM fields are mostly male, and as a result, many women experience challenges breaking into and being part of their chosen communities. As a female veterinarian, have you faced any challenges? What helped you keep moving forward to become the effective vet that you are?

JW: I have not personally experienced any challenges to becoming a veterinarian as a woman. The vast majority of veterinarians are female. In veterinary schools nationwide, 80% of the students are female so it's a lady-dominated field. There are plenty of women-owned practices, etc. I really only find that the biggest issues come when other strong-willed women (as clients) try to play a virtual spitting game to try to one up me intellectually. I have experienced a lot of negativity from these female clients. Whenever I’ve had a client complaint, it has always been a woman. Unfortunately, the general populous is not as supportive of successful, strong women as Wellesley.

WU: What about your life, beyond your work as veterinarian, are you most proud of?

JW: Most proud of? I guess I’m not sure. Oh wait - maybe it was the epic road trip I took in 2010 prior to going to veterinary school. (Blog here: http://lifeisahighway2010.blogspot.com/) I still love telling people about that. Enjoy the most? That’s easy - travel! I love going to new places and experiencing new things. I’ve been to all 50 states (by the age of 27) and 20+ countries. My husband and I love going to the movies, playing trivia, and taking day-trips. I enjoy cross-stitching and crafting.

WU: Okay, time for the big controversial question. Are you a cat person or dog person? … Just kidding! What I meant to ask is “do you have a special animal companion in your life?”

JW: No controversy here! I am 100% a cat person. Always have been, always will be. Don’t get me wrong, I like dogs and I certainly enjoy seeing them at work, but kitties are where my heart is! My (most recent) best kitty companion passed away suddenly last year. His name was “Major Tom” and, boy, was he handsome. Big yellow eyes, fluffy orange tail, and huge paws. I’m still a bit misty eyed about his passing, but got to be his cat-mom for a glorious decade. I do have some great kitty companions at home right now - Smokey Jo (Major Tom’s sister and my little shadow), Carolina Jane (a princess cat if I ever met one), Sergeant Boots (the shy, gentle, sweet type with an arresting meow), and Marigold Marie (who despite her permanent limp, is very handicapable, thank you very much!). They’re all very sweet, loving companions. They greet me and my husband each and every day as we get home from work, can hardly wait for you to sit down before they’re in your lap (and I mean all of them, at once), and stand guard patiently outside our bedroom in the morning for food and affection. I’ve always had great cats who do all these things.

[deehollowaywrites]

I excerpted part of a chapter from Losing the Bug in July’s rewards, and now I’m posting it here, mainly for noted Benthusiast @lilbit4point0.

The sets at Natural Art were solid that morning, a thick white-capped wave rolling in every twenty minutes or so like we’d ordered them special. Dario sat next to me on his board and we hung out for a minute while a couple of the other regulars peeled off.

“You’re wasting time,” he called. The wind blew wet tangles across his face. Blond as he already was, in a month or so his hair would be Barbie-bleached thanks to the sun and salt water and the chlorine of the pool on his parents’ back patio. “What are you waiting for, dude?”

I shrugged, curling my legs up under my board beneath the water. “Not in any hurry. Calm your tits, Kelly Slater.”

“First good waves in a month and you’re not in any hurry,” Dario repeated. He clipped the side of his hand across the water to splash at me. “You better be. We need to leave in like ten minutes if you don’t want to be late for your date.”

“Uh-huh. Fifteen hands tall, long black hair…” I laughed, thinking of the first colt slotted onto my morning work-out schedule. “Shitty temper. Exactly my type.”

Dario laughed too, his face turned south to where a tiny figure was barely visible carving the froth off a wave. “I can’t be your conscience, Benjamin. Leave it up to me and we’ll just hang out here all day.”

That sounded ok, actually--better than ok, a day spent surfing and swimming and walking up to the snow cone hut on the bend. Watching the sky get light, working on my tan, checking out guys. It was June and that was what summer was for. It was the other reason kids from school still blew up my phone, requests for tips and cajoling to get them into the fancy lounges at Gulfstream one day, then gossip about the upcoming Surfriders competition on Fourth of July weekend the next day. What was the point of living in a place everyone else vacationed if you didn’t avail yourself now and then?

I slid down into the water until my chest pressed the grit of my board and started paddling. After a minute Dario did too, calling, “You’re no fun!” into the breeze at my back.

“You really aren’t,” he continued when we hit the sand and picked up our boards. “Seriously, you used to be Ben the good-time boy and now you’re, like...dour.”

“Get the fuck out of here with your SAT vocabulary. I’m a shimmering delight.”

“I hate to be like this,” he said, digging in the zipper pocket of his board shorts for his keys. “But like, if I don’t tell you, who will? That’s what best friends are for. Ben. Seriously. You need an intervention.”

“If my parents thought I was working too hard I’d be hearing about it from Mom.” I levered my board into the rack on the roof of his car. “As it is, I’m pretty sure Dad thinks I don’t work hard enough, so what’s your point?”

Dario snickered as we got into the car. “Man, I don’t care how hard you work. I care how boring you are lately. You think it’s fun to surf with some uptight princess who won’t shut up about how he’s winning the riding title, not Joel Canseco?”

I frowned at my reflection in the car’s side mirror, even though the salt water was doing nice things for my hair.

“Who the hell is Joel Canseco anyway?” Dario leaned his arms on the steering wheel and stared at the line of cars inching down 3rd Street. “God, look at that, we left at exactly the right time. Ben, for real, usually you’re just bitching about that redneck homophobe or whatever.”

“Mason Waller,” I muttered. That asshole should’ve been riding Guava Grove in Tampa, or better yet hauling his ass out of the state of Florida altogether, maybe to Mountaineer or some shit. “Whatever, Dario. Look, this is how it goes, if there’s more than one apprentice around that’s who your competition is. Same weight allowance, all the trainers want that. So it starts being about who’s actually better, not just who’s tacking less than the regular jocks.”

Dario blinked at me as we waited for the light. “So kick his ass, Ben. This is kindergarten math.”

Dario had managed to be friends with me since middle school without really figuring out how horse racing worked. I scrunched my toes up inside my flip-flops, wiggling them so that sand scattered across the floor mat. “God, why didn’t I think of that?”

“Look, if he’s as high and mighty as you keep saying, he’ll fuck up eventually,” Dario said. He hit the gas to squeak through the four-way stop sign at US1, throwing me back against the seat. “Snap, you know, Jockeys Gone Wild.” He giggled, glancing at me over his Ray Bans. “No offense, but I’d probably watch that.”

“You’re mixing metaphors,” I grumbled, then dug in the center console for my phone. “He’s just...a dick. I try to be nice, why shouldn’t I be, and he’s just a dick! He’s a dick, Dario.”

“So you’re saying he’s a dick.”

“Total dick.” My phone displayed its morning reminder from Dad not to be late, a few spam emails, something from the community college about autumn classes. I flipped to Twitter. “And boring. God, he’s boring.”

“If he spends all his time bitching about you to his best friend, yeah, he’s boring.”

“Just, like--he rode in New York, right, that’s pretty tight, bugs who start off at Aqueduct and Belmont usually get really good mounts. And his fucking Twitter is one hundred percent class, all retweets of trainers whose horses he’s on and--” I waved my phone at Dario. “You know. Nothing embarrassing. He’s making me look bad, man.”

“You do that all on your own,” Dario pointed out. “Like, for real. The tiniest bit of finesse, just a thought. You need a social media manager? I’ll run your Twitter account, keep you from wrecking your career with too many accidental dick pics.”

He took a hand off the steering wheel to make air quotes, just in case I missed the heavy sarcasm.

“That was one time, and there were extenuating circumstances.” Dario scoffed. I flipped him off, grinning. No apprentice avoided jock hazing, and social media made it easy to capture the egg-drenched hair, the water-soaked breeches, the pantsing and shoe polish. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure he’s a robot. Can robots win riding titles? I’m pretty sure it’s in the Florida statutes that they cannot.”

“Google it,” Dario said.

I tapped Gulfstream’s official account and scrolled down to where they’d tweeted something about Joel. I wasn’t following him, of course--I had been, because it was usually fun to chat with apprentices at different tracks, and then I’d promptly unfollowed him about two minutes after meeting him in person. “You know he told me I’m--”

“Sloppy,” Dario filled in. “I remember you mentioning that about twelve times this morning, actually.” He snorted and braked for the Hallandale Beach exit. “Maybe he’s just shy.”

“Shy?” I stuck my head out the window and howled. “I never met a shy horseman in my life. You can’t be shy in this business. You either know how to talk to people or you think you’re too good to need to.”

“Ok,” Dario said, ignoring my dramatics. “Maybe he thinks you’re cute.”

“Everyone thinks I’m cute,” I said. “Because I am. It usually works in my favor.”

“See,” he said, sighing. “That’s the problem. You’re spoiled, Ben, you’re used to smiling and people dropping their shit to get you a drink or let you copy their homework or throw a horse at you or whatever. Cute guys never have to work like the rest of us.”

“Please,” I said as we paused at the light for the horsemen’s lot. “This from Coconut Grove’s own Dane Dehaan.”

Dario pulled into a visitor’s spot and leaned across the seat to look at Twitter with me. “Oh my god. Thinking you’re cute isn’t the problem, clearly.” He grabbed my phone, Ray Bans sliding down his nose. “Is he Cuban?”

“Cuban-American,” I said. “I think. He’s from Miami, so...I guess it’s unfair, really, for me to feel all threatened. He’s got as much right to be riding here as anyone else.” I brooded for a minute while Dario started up his commentary over the pictures on Joel’s Twitter. “Still. He could’ve stayed in New York. No one would have minded.”

“So I don’t think he’s a robot,” Dario said. “Or if he is it’s the kind where they have multiple emotional settings. His Instagram is a little more human.”

I snatched my phone back. “How’d you find his Instagram?”

Dario cocked his head, smiling like I was a newborn. “There was a picture link in one of his mentions. God, Ben, do you understand how Twitter works?”

I scrolled slowly through the Instagram feed. “I just figured he didn’t have one since it’s not in his bio.”

“Not all of us put our entire life stories in a Twitter bio,” Dario said. “Cultivate some fucking mystique, hon, I swear.”

I didn’t say anything back, being a little distracted by how different Joel’s Instagram was from his Twitter. His name wasn’t in the handle, jjockeyc, which I guessed made it harder for creeps like me and Dario to find. There were track shots, sure, kind of artsy-lite pictures of horses at weird angles and sunrises, but it was mostly other stuff: bookstores and alley cafes captioned things like ‘pho yeah @ tha strand’ and New York skylines and marquees of movies. I hadn’t heard of most of them. Here it was, a whole little world that was hard to imagine him fitting into. My skin felt strange--almost crawling--like I was peeking through his window, even though it wasn’t like the Instagram was private.

Not many of the pictures featured him, a lone selfie for every five basically-identical shots of Aqueduct’s main track. For some reason I was glad.

“Shit,” Dario said. “I thought you said he was gay.”

“Pretty sure he is,” I said. “I told you about that interview, right? And like...people are sometimes nasty to him online. You know how it goes.”

“So who’s that girl? Maybe he’s bi.”

I tapped the photo Dario was pointing at, a picture of Joel and a girl with their tongues stuck sideways, arms looped over each other’s shoulders and the phone held out from the girl’s hand. She was pretty, fantastic skin and a pair of silver door-knocker earrings poking through wavy brown hair.

“‘Mi hermana la supermodelo,’” I read off the caption. “His sister, I guess.”

The shot bothered me, Joel’s eyes creased like he was about to laugh, or had been laughing before his sister took the picture. He didn’t look like himself at all.

“Awww,” Dario cooed. “See? Not a robot.”

[gibsongirlselections]

Will New Yorkers Get Desperate Enough To Vote for Trump?

With elderly Caucasian Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate, November 3 will be less about the rise of progressive politics than the noise of the last four years would have you believe. But while the shine of AOC and her ilk winds down, progressive thought will find at least a petri dish to fester in during a Biden administration, and perhaps even a second media wind if Trump wins.

Since it’s not going away, seeing what would happen if progressives escape the lab and go viral is important. For that case study, we’ll look to COVID-laced New York.

COVID is supposed to be, finally, Trump’s white whale, the thing that will bring him down after he wriggled out from under the Russians and the Ukrainians and Stormy Daniels. Not enough ventilators! Not enough tests! Mass graves in Central Park! And it is all Trump’s fault. (See the headline: “Donald Trump is the Most Successful Bio-Terrorist in Human History.”) That set the stage for Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio to craft a response far more political than medical. New York today is a laboratory for what happens when progressive ideology displaces reality.

But first a quick reality check: For every death in this global epidemic, it is critical to remember the virus did not strike masses down in the streets like the Black Plague, and did not create hideous sores like the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s that tore through this city. It is unlikely to infect a third of the world’s population like the Spanish Flu. An overwhelming number of those infected today never even know they have COVID, surprised by an antibody test months later. Most infected people do not pass on the virus. On July 12, New York had zero virus deaths for the first time since the pandemic started. But keeping the emphasis on “cases” and not conclusions keeps the fear alive.

But enough of reality; we’re talking progressivism here. Lockdown has left New York economically devastated, mired in “the worst economic calamity since the 1970s, when it nearly went bankrupt,” according to the New York Times. The unemployment rate nears 20 percent, a figure not seen since the Great Depression (during the 2008 recession it was about 10 percent). The newly unemployed strain food banks and soup kitchens. Policy described as a “pause” in March morphed into a semi-permanent state to keep things bad ahead of the election. While de Blasio authorized nail salons to reopen, he’s kept the city’s core sectors, the stuff that symbolizes New York—Broadway, tourism, conventions, restaurants, hotels, and museums—shut, sacrifices to The Cause. Look what Trump wrought!

So people are leaving. More than 10,000 Manhattan apartments were listed for rent in June, an 85 percent increase over last year. The super wealthy neighborhoods have seen 40 percent migration out, the biggest outward migration from the once economically strongest neighborhoods in midtown and the Upper East Side. Enough rich New Yorkers have left that it is affecting the census. The situation mirrors the outflow of the 1970s which decimated the tax base and led to landlords torching buildings to collect the insurance because they could not collect rent.

So it matters that 25 percent of New York tenants have not paid their rent since March. Those overdue payments left 39 percent of landlords unable to pay property taxes. A new NY law prohibiting landlords from evicting tenants facing pandemic-related financial hardships may help on the micro level while contributing to the destruction of the greater economy, which of course will eventually devastate everyone. Progressive zeal created an economic tide to sink all boats.

The mayor who threw his city out of work also banned large gatherings through September. He did however say Black Lives Matter protests would be allowed, claiming “the demonstrators’ calls for social justice were too important to stop.” The mayor himself, maskless, took time off to help paint “Black Lives Matter” on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower. The central thoroughfare in Manhattan was then closed to traffic to let the paint dry. Some are more equal than others; the mayor criticized Trump for putting politics first in his coronavirus response.

De Blasio is also allowing an “occupation” to continue at City Hall, where a mix of activists and homeless (attracted by donated food) live in makeshift tents. It stinks, a throbbing health-hazard island of human feces and drugs and food scraps even before you get to the COVID part. The city allows them even as, until recently, it sent goons to chase unwoke citizens in twos and threes from playgrounds. A woman at the occupation asked my preferred pronouns while behind her a half-naked homeless man screamed. A few cops stood in front of a graffitied courthouse and laughed. Maybe they just like graffiti; it too is back across New York.

So what else are the cops up to? A former police commissioner criticized city and state leaders for abandoning the police (de Blasio pushed through a $1.5 billion cut to the NYPD on BLM demand) and for helping create a “crime virus” to go along with the coronavirus. Amid defunding elite NYPD units in spite of a 205 percent rise in shootings this year (one of the most recent shootings was a one-year-old caught in gang crossfire), so many NYPD officers are seeking retirement the department has been forced to slow-walk applications to get out. The state legislature meanwhile is proposing a new law to hold cops (not the city, as it is now) personally liable for events on duty even as New York City made the use of certain restraints by cops a criminal act.

De Blasio and Cuomo found ways to put more criminals on the streets. New York state recently eliminated bail for many crimes, claiming alongside BLM it was unfair to POC without resources to pay. Adding to the criminal population, Mayor de Blasio supported the release of some 2,500 prisoners due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. At least 250 of those released have been re-arrested 450 times, meaning some have been re-arrested more than once. Since they cannot be held for bail, most are returned to the street under Governor Cuomo’s fairness policy.

The next battleground will be the schools. With only weeks to go in summer, the mayor announced the nation’s largest public school system will reopen with an unspecified mix of in-person and online classes. Teachers say crucial questions about how schools will stay clean, keep students healthy, and run active shooter drills while maintaining social distancing have not been answered. There have been no directives on how to handle online classes, no published best practices, not much of anything. Quality of education, like quality of life, is not on the agenda.

One certainty is New York’s students will have fewer options—26 Catholic schools will not reopen due to low enrollment and financial issues. That affects more than religion. Many of those schools represent the only neighborhood alternative to the failing public system. Closures will drive middle class flight.

And there’s always something more. With indoor restaurant dining prohibited, many places are setting up sidewalk tents. In addition to adding to the Hooverville atmosphere, all that food has brought out the rats, who are attacking patrons.

There is no sense we will ever end this. It’s easy to criticize places that have moved too fast, but they had the right underlying idea: we can’t live like this forever. People need to work, not just for money (though they need the money) but to have purpose. So much of what has been done in the name of justice feels more like punishment—suck on this bigots—racial score-settling under the guise of progressive social justice.

A lot of us are just sitting around like the Joad family, waiting for something to happen. The thing is, we’re not sure what we are waiting for. The lockdown was, we were told, to flatten the virus curve. We did that. COVID hospitalizations and actual deaths in NYC are at their lowest levels since March. But the lockdown is still here and nobody seems to know when to declare victory—is the end point zero new cases before we can re-open Broadway? A vaccine? We just wait, the days violent, hot, and liquid. De Blasio and Cuomo are waiting, too, but for November 3 to free us. No need for a continuing crisis after Biden wins.

But maybe the New York case study will serve as a different turning point in the election. Imagine enough purple voters who look at New York and become frightened of what the Left will do with power in Washington. They want to work. They want their kids in school. They might just vote for Trump.

Peter Van Buren, a 24-year State Department veteran, is the author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People, Hooper’s War: A Novel of WWII Japan, and Ghosts of Tom Joad: A Story of the 99 Percent.

The post Will New Yorkers Get Desperate Enough To Vote for Trump? appeared first on The American Conservative.

[evnoweb]

Last Chance: Differentiated Instruction Online Class (MTI 563)

MTI 563: The Differentiated Teacher

MTI 563 starts Monday, July 6, 2020! Last chance to sign up. Click this link; scroll down to MTI 563 and click for more information and to sign up.

Differentiation in the classroom means meeting students where they are most capable of learning. It is not an extra layer of work, rather a habit of mind for both teacher and student. Learn granular approaches to infusing differentiation into all of your lesson plans, whether you’re a Common Core school or not, with this hands-on, interactive class. Ideas include visual, audio, video, mindmaps, infographics, graphic organizers, charts and tables, screenshots, screencasts, images, games and simulations, webtools, and hybrid assessments.

Assessment is based on involvement, interaction with classmates, and completion of projects so be prepared to be fully-involved and an eager risk-taker. Price includes course registration, college credit, and all necessary materials. To enroll, click the link above, search for MTI 563 and sign up. If you don’t find the listing, it means it isn’t currently offered. That usually occurs in May-September-January. Email askatechteacher@gmail.com for upcoming dates.

What You Get

5 Activities (topics)

tech ed videos

tech ed Lesson plans

Hall of Fame tech ed articles

5 weeks

4 virtual meetings

Unlimited questions/coaching during virtual face-to-face meetings and other pre-arranged times. We stay until everyone leaves.

3 college credits

Course Objectives

At the completion of this course, you will be able to:

Use technology to differentiate for student learning styles

Understand how differentiating content and presentation engages a great proportion of learners

Ensure that the outcome of student learning demonstrates understanding

Vary assignments to address all learners’ needs

Create an inclusive learning environment in the classroom

Who Needs This

This course is designed for classroom teachers, tech teachers, integration specialists, media specialists, LMS, administrators, principals, homeschoolers, teachers of teachers, and pre-service professionals who:

Are serious about integrating tech into their class

Worry about integrating tech into their class

Know what to do, but have questions

Want creative approaches to using tech

What Do You Need to Participate

Internet connection

Accounts for online tools like a blog, Twitter, various web-based tools

Google account (can be your school account or your personal one)

Ready and eager to commit 5-10 hours per week for 5 weeks to learning tech

Commitment to review materials prior to the virtual meeting (so you are prepared to address questions with classmates)

Risk-takers attitude, inquiry-driven mentality, passion to optimize learning and differentiate instruction

NOT Included:

Standard software assumed part of a typical ed tech set-up

Tech networking advice

Assistance setting up hardware, networks, infrastructure, servers, internet, headphones, microphones, phone connections, loading software (i.e., Office, Photoshop).

Activities include:

Differentiating with Audio/Video

Class Warm-up and Exit Tickets

Differentiation

Gamify Your Classroom

Visual Learning

Click to view slideshow.

@MTI_Edu_Online

More online classes coming up this summer:

MTI 558–Teach Writing with Tech  Starts July 20, 2020

Teacher Bio

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

Last Chance: Differentiated Instruction Online Class (MTI 563) published first on https://medium.com/@DigitalDLCourse

[corpasa]

Last Chance: Differentiated Instruction Online Class (MTI 563)

MTI 563: The Differentiated Teacher

MTI 563 starts Monday, July 6, 2020! Last chance to sign up. Click this link; scroll down to MTI 563 and click for more information and to sign up.

Differentiation in the classroom means meeting students where they are most capable of learning. It is not an extra layer of work, rather a habit of mind for both teacher and student. Learn granular approaches to infusing differentiation into all of your lesson plans, whether you’re a Common Core school or not, with this hands-on, interactive class. Ideas include visual, audio, video, mindmaps, infographics, graphic organizers, charts and tables, screenshots, screencasts, images, games and simulations, webtools, and hybrid assessments.

Assessment is based on involvement, interaction with classmates, and completion of projects so be prepared to be fully-involved and an eager risk-taker. Price includes course registration, college credit, and all necessary materials. To enroll, click the link above, search for MTI 563 and sign up. If you don’t find the listing, it means it isn’t currently offered. That usually occurs in May-September-January. Email askatechteacher@gmail.com for upcoming dates.

What You Get

5 Activities (topics)

tech ed videos

tech ed Lesson plans

Hall of Fame tech ed articles

5 weeks

4 virtual meetings

Unlimited questions/coaching during virtual face-to-face meetings and other pre-arranged times. We stay until everyone leaves.

3 college credits

Course Objectives

At the completion of this course, you will be able to:

Use technology to differentiate for student learning styles

Understand how differentiating content and presentation engages a great proportion of learners

Ensure that the outcome of student learning demonstrates understanding

Vary assignments to address all learners’ needs

Create an inclusive learning environment in the classroom

Who Needs This

This course is designed for classroom teachers, tech teachers, integration specialists, media specialists, LMS, administrators, principals, homeschoolers, teachers of teachers, and pre-service professionals who:

Are serious about integrating tech into their class

Worry about integrating tech into their class

Know what to do, but have questions

Want creative approaches to using tech

What Do You Need to Participate

Internet connection

Accounts for online tools like a blog, Twitter, various web-based tools

Google account (can be your school account or your personal one)

Ready and eager to commit 5-10 hours per week for 5 weeks to learning tech

Commitment to review materials prior to the virtual meeting (so you are prepared to address questions with classmates)

Risk-takers attitude, inquiry-driven mentality, passion to optimize learning and differentiate instruction

NOT Included:

Standard software assumed part of a typical ed tech set-up

Tech networking advice

Assistance setting up hardware, networks, infrastructure, servers, internet, headphones, microphones, phone connections, loading software (i.e., Office, Photoshop).

Activities include:

Differentiating with Audio/Video

Class Warm-up and Exit Tickets

Differentiation

Gamify Your Classroom

Visual Learning

Click to view slideshow.

@MTI_Edu_Online

More online classes coming up this summer:

MTI 558–Teach Writing with Tech  Starts July 20, 2020

Teacher Bio

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

Last Chance: Differentiated Instruction Online Class (MTI 563) published first on https://medium.com/@DLBusinessNow

[rightsinexile]

Announcements

Conferences and workshops

3rd Conference of the German Network of Forced Migration Researchers, 17-19 September 2020, University of Cologne

The German Network of Forced Migration Researchers are organising their 3rd conference. The conference will open a forum for the presentation and discussion of current research results as well as for the promotion of interdisciplinary exchange and cooperation. The conference sees itself as a platform for discussion and networking of researchers in the field of refugee and forced migration studies. Keynote speakers will include Prof. Dr. Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, University College London, UK and Prof. Dr. Naika Foroutan, HU Berlin, Germany. The conference is organized by the Chair for Youth Welfare and Social Work at the University of Cologne (Prof. Dr. Nadia Kutscher) together with the steering committee of the German Network of Forced Migration Researchers and an interdisciplinary conference team. More information and the Call for Submissions is available here. This call is open until 31st of January 2020.

Odysseus Network summer school, 29 June to 10 July 2020, Brussels

The 20th Edition of the Summer School of the Odysseus Network will be held in Brussels from 29th of June to 10th of July 2020. This will be a special edition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Summer School. The Summer School has been designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the immigration and asylum policy of the EU from a legal perspective. The programme is organised by the Odysseus Academic Network under the umbrella of the Institute for European Studies of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Participants in the Summer School typically include PhD and graduate students, researchers, EU and Member State officials, representatives of NGOs and International Organisations, lawyers, judges, social workers and more. In addition to the classes, evening debates and visits to the European Institutions, the course provides an excellent opportunity to spend an intellectually stimulating fortnight and to network among a group of around one hundred fellow participants coming from all over Europe. The setting of the summer school in Brussels, capital of the European Union, creates a unique environment that facilitates participants’ deeper engagement with EU institutions and networking between participants. More information can be found here.

Relaunch of Odysseus Network one-year certificate on EU migration and asylum law

The Odysseus Network is relaunching its one-year certificate. The aim of this programme is to provide its participants with an in-depth understanding of the EU migration and asylum law. It will be of interest to all persons who wish to acquire a specialised knowledge in immigration and asylum law, and in particular civil servants, researchers, PhD students, lawyers, and persons working for EU institutions, International Organisations, and NGOs, all of whom frequently confront the complex legal dimension of immigration and asylum in their work or studies. The courses are given in English in Brussels at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings throughout the year. Participants are supposed to attend physically the classes, but it will also be possible to follow them live on skype upon distance. Several specific gatherings will be organised in Brussels throughout the year for participants following the courses from abroad. This course provides the opportunity to live in a unique European environment, with well-known professors coming from academic institutions in different Member States as well as speakers from the EU institutions, and to take part in an intellectually stimulating experience as part of a group of about 20 participants specialising in the area of immigration and asylum with different backgrounds from all over Europe. Participants will be involved in research activities and will in particular be trained to draft a final paper to be published on the Odysseus blog. Professional networking within and outside the group will be encouraged by the organisers. Participants will receive a university certificate if they successfully follow the programme, including some written or oral exams. You can find more information at this page. If you are interested and require any further information or want to send your pre-application, please email us your CV at the address: odysseuscertif@gmail.com. Registration will start in January 2020.

Under the European Asylum Rainbow: Intersectional Queer Challenges, 29 April 2020, Goethe University

Under the European Asylum Rainbow: Intersectional Queer Challenges 2020 will take place at the Goethe University in Frankfurt on 29 April 2020. The conference is committed to putting the lived experience of queer asylum at the centre of the conversation. It will bring together LGBTQI+ refugees and people seeking asylum, key academic scholars, activists practitioners, politicians, policy and civil society stakeholders to discuss and develop the relevance of the experiences of LGBTQI* asylum practices in Germany for the EU. Interactive panel discussions, workshop roundtables, keynotes, and performances will guide the conference's programming. Contact mengia.tschalaer@bristol.ac.uk and visit her website (where the conference details will be posted in the New Year).

Talk by Nuno Ferreira, 26 February, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford

Nuno Ferreira will give a talk entitled An intersectional approach to policy and decision making on SOGI asylum claims in Europe as part of the public seminar series of the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, UK, on 26 February 2020. His bio is here: Research Team | SOGICA.

Calls for papers

‘Camps’ across the world: Global and local perspectives, 3-4 July 2020, University of Luxembourg

The conference is organised in the framework of the REFUGOV project supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) and based at the University of Luxembourg. The conference is composed of 2 days. Academic panels will take place on Day 1, while ‘research meets practice’ events will take place on Day 2. We are now looking for academic contributions for the panels of Day 1. Please send an abstract of 250 words as well as biographical sketches to both lea.lemaire@uni.lu and lucas.oesch@uni.lu by 15 January 2020.

Call for papers for a special issue on Refugees and Work

Digital transformations are currently reshaping labour markets and employment opportunities around the world. Some suggest that online work platforms and the so-called ‘gig economy’ are now planetary in scope, promising access to work for anyone with an internet connection and some skills. However, to what extent does that hold true for the world’s refugees? Parallel to this spread of digital opportunities, refugee self-reliance has now become one of the leading mantras in global refugee governance and international development. A plethora of programmes and initiatives have therefore tapped into a pool of digital opportunities for livelihood provision and skills training among displaced persons and host communities. However, their scope, methods, and outcomes remain underexplored in both academia and policy.

This special issue will explore the diverse implications of this transformation on refugees, who often face severe restrictions to economic activity, financial inclusion, and a limited right to work. Particular consideration will be given to critical contributions that are rooted in empirical research and offer insights linking important debates in the international development literature on refugee economies, livelihoods, and digital work.

Articles might address one of the following questions: What do particular case studies tell us about the unique relationship between forced displacement and digital economies? How does the inclusion of refugees, and a perspective grounded in their experience, change established views on digital economies and the future of decent work? How do digital economies reshape the role of work within increasingly prolonged conditions of forced displacement? What are the risks and opportunities of digital work for refugees?

If you are interested in contributing to this issue, please submit the following to the issue editors (Dr Andreas Hackl and Dr Evan Easton-Calabria) by 10 January 2020.

Vacancies

Columbia University Scholarship for Displaced Students

The Columbia University Scholarship for Displaced Students is a new university-wide initiative managed by the Columbia Global Centers that will support up to 30 displaced students each year to attend Columbia. All 18 of Columbia's schools and affiliates will offer scholarships that will cover the students' full cost of attendance. The scholarships are for foreign nationals who are refugees, asylum seekers, or in the USA on Temporary Protected Status, and will be open to students from and living anywhere in the world. This is Columbia's first-ever university-wide scholarship, and it is also the world's first university-wide scholarship for displaced students. Applications for this scholarship can be made here.

Childfund looking for Country Director, Sri Lanka

Childfund is currently looking to hire a Country Director for Sri Lanka. The Country Director is responsible for strategic leadership and oversight of ChildFund operations in the assigned Country office (CO), including Strategy development and implementation, Resource Mobilization, External Engagement, Country Management, Advocacy and Communications, Partnership Portfolio Management, Program Delivery, Monitoring & Evaluation, Research and Knowledge Management, Administration and support, Enterprise Risk Management, Disaster Risk Management & Response and ensuring Safety and Security of staff and agency assets. To apply, please visit the posting website.

International Refugee Assistance Project looking for Legal Services Director

Reporting to International Refugee Assistance Project Executive Director, Becca Heller, the Legal Services Director will lead a team of five talented program directors who oversee the work of over 40 staff. The Legal Services Department focuses on protecting the rights of refugees, and the Director will provide critical strategic partnership to the Executive Director as IRAP navigates this new phase of growth. The Legal Services Director will provide direct supervision to the US Legal Services Director, Middle East Director, Director of Pro Bono, the Director of Complementary Pathways and the Intake and Legal Information Director. S/he/they will oversee staff based in New York City, Jordan, Lebanon, and remotely around the world. 

The ideal candidate will be an inclusive, passionate leader deeply committed to IRAP’s mission and clients. S/he/they will be an experienced manager with the proven ability to develop and lead successful teams in delivering the highest quality legal and advocacy services. The Director will be a decisive, keenly analytical leader and thinker who will build and support healthy culture around prioritization, team communication and decision making. S/he/they will be able to lead from an anti-oppression lens and understand how to support clients and staff impacted by trauma directly and vicariously. The Director must have a law degree, and admission to practice law in the United States is a plus.

Applications including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word format), and where you learned of the position should be sent to: IRAP-LD@nonprofitprofessionals.com. More information on the position and organisation can be found here.

European Network on Statelessness looking for Legal Policy Officer

The European Network on Statelessness is looking to hire a Legal Policy Offer to help support their law and policy development work, help deliver our strategic litigation work, develop relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, and help fulfil their mission to protect stateless people and end statelessness in Europe. The full description can be found here. The application deadline is 28 January 2020.

[lindyhunt]

Headed to London This Summer? Here’s What to Do While You’re There

The week of May 19 may have been THE time to be in England (in case you forgot, a certain royal couple got married that day), but London’s always a good choice for a summer getaway, regardless of what’s happening in Royal Family Land. If you’re planning a trip across the pond, here are some of the things to do, see and experience while you’re there.

Visit: ‘Fashioned From Nature’ at the V&A Museum According to the Victoria & Albert Museum website, this is “the first UK exhibition to explore the complex relationship between fashion and nature from 1600 to the present day,” and includes pieces by Stella McCartney (one of the designers at the forefront of eco-conscious fashion), Calvin Klein (namely the dress from their Green Carpet Collection that Emma Watson wore to the 2016 Met Gala), and a muslin dress decorated with beetle wing cases, circa 1868. Be sure to also check out the ‘Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up‘ exhibit, which is a collection of the late artist’s clothing and personal artefacts, on view for the first time outside Mexico.

Take a closer look at fashion and nature’s complex relationship in this seminal exhibition – opening 21 April. Tracing 400 years, discover the true cost of fashion and see pioneering designers and innovators harnessing fashion’s creativity to make a vibrant but more responsible system that respects, protects and celebrates the natural world. #FashionedfromNature Link in bio

A post shared by Victoria and Albert Museum (@vamuseum) on Apr 18, 2018 at 4:39am PDT

Shop: Maison Birks Pop into the Mappin & Webb flagship boutique on Regent Street to check out their newly launched collection of Maison Birks jewellery. If you can’t make it to the flagship, the Canadian fine jewellery brand—and Meghan Markle fave!—is also carried across all Mappin & Webb and Goldsmith locations in the country.

With designs reimagined for the modern woman, exquisite fine jewellery from @MaisonBirks help you to radiate a newfound confidence. Explore their beautiful collection in our boutiques and online. . . . #silverjewellery #mybluebox #MaisonBirks #Birks #luxuryjewellery #beautiful #Canadianjewellery

A post shared by Mappin & Webb (@mappinandwebb) on Apr 8, 2018 at 11:32am PDT

Experience: Prince and Patron For some royal family vibes, head to Buckingham Palace for the Prince and Patron show, an exhibit with over 100 works of never-seen-before art handpicked by Prince Charles, in honour of his 70th birthday, from his own personal collection. The collection includes two oil paintings of his sons, Princes William and Harry. Painted by Nicky Philipps in 2009, the portraits depict the brothers in their Blues and Royals Household Cavalry regimental uniforms, and typically hang at Prince Charles’ private residence in Gloucestershire. Prince and Patron is part of a visit to the Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace from 21 July to 30 September 2018.

Photo credit Nicky Phillips

Eat: Mare Street Market London is basically an ever-revolving door of new restaurants, so head over to any of these new spots setting up shop in England’s capital this year. The one we’re most keen to try? Mare Street Market, a food hall/market helmed by buzzy chef Gizzi Erskine, which will offer, all under one roof, a coffee roastery, vinyl record shop, florist and pop-up boutiques. The crown jewel, of course, is Erskine’s own restaurant, The Dining Room.

Hello Hackney 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻 #marestreetmarket #fridaynight @cagdasertuna

A post shared by Mare Street Market (@marestreetmarket) on Apr 13, 2018 at 1:36pm PDT

Stay: The Montague on the Gardens For a real dose of traditional English charm, book yourself into this 18th century Georgian-townhouse-turned-boutique-hotel. It basically feels like you’re staying in a posh, aristocratic family’s home, thanks to the antique furnishings, rich tapestries and ornate cornices. And what’s a trip to England without Afternoon Tea? The Montague hotel’s daily offering in a sunlit conservatory comes complete with finger sandwiches, pastries and scones (with clotted cream and jam of course!), but we’d suggest waiting till Sunday for their special “Free Flowing Champagne” version, with bottomless champagne to go with your afternoon spread. If you’re so inclined, walk over to the British Museum—it’s just a few minutes away—where there’s a Rodin exhibit on until 29 July.

Photography via The Montague on the Gardens

Photography via The Montague on the Gardens

Photography via The Montague on the Gardens

Photography via The Montague on the Gardens

Photography via The Montague on the Gardens

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The Montague on the Gardens

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The Montague on the Gardens

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The Montague on the Gardens

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The Montague on the Gardens

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The Montague on the Gardens

[sentrava]

What’s On in Stockholm: July 2018

The sun sweetly lingers over the archipelago now, and we are finding plenty of events in Stockholm to keep us out on these luxuriously long days! July is offering up festivals, outdoor exercise, a trip to Uppsala, and the beginning of EuroPride. So much light, so much to do!

Traveling to Stockholm this month? Make sure you download our app so you can get all the best food, drink, shopping, and cultural recommendations!

Here’s what’s happening Stockholm, Sweden, this July:

Sunday 1st July

FIFA World Cup at O’Learys

Gather your friends, and book a table to watch some soccer! The first game will be Spain vs. Russia, followed by Croatia vs. Denmark. Who will you root for?

    Monday 2nd July

The Offspring at Gröna Lund

The Offspring are returning to Gröna Lund again! So brush up on the hits from the late 90’s/early 2000’s, and come with your Gröna Lund green card! The green card is 270 SEK, and allows you entrance to the park all summer long. Otherwise, you can purchase regular admission (good for one day) for 120 SEK.

    Tuesday 3rd July

AntiGravity® FUNdamentals at Hötorgsterassen

This is giving yoga a whole new twist! You won’t need any previous experience with yoga or AntiGravity®, as the class is for beginners. You will hang and swing, as well as working on the more typical yoga goals, like improving posture. To book your spot, use the BRUCE app. In the case of bad weather, the class will be cancelled.

    Wednesday 4th July

Anderson .Paak at Nobelberget

Anderson .Paak is a multi-talented artist: he raps, sings, plays the drums, and writes songs. His second album, “Malibu,” was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the Grammy Awards. The Free Nationals will also perform.

    Independence Day at Bar Brooklyn

Whether you are American or not, you can enjoy this Fourth of July party! Phogg, Sabine Women, and DJs Nine Elmi and Olivia Nordell will all perform live. Entrance is free.

    Thursday 5th July

Sunkit at Södra Teatern

This club event highlights odd, mostly undiscovered music, as well as forgotten popular music. Curious? So are we! Entrance is free.

    Friday 6th – Sunday 8th July

No Such Place Festival

Run, hike, or bike into this secret location north of Stockholm. This small festival gives you a break from technology and cars. Relax, attend workshops, do yoga, be mindful. Tickets are 1250 SEK and include meals, bag/tent, transfer to and from the festival, camping ground access, and more.

    Saturday 7th July

Outdoor Summer Yoga in Örby/Älvsjö

Swedes certainly know how to take advantage of the outdoors during summer and we can’t wait for some outdoor yoga! Because this class will be outside, it is advised that you check their Facebook page on the day to see if it has been cancelled due to weather. The suggested price is 50 to 100 SEK per person. Bring your yoga mat and something warm to wear!

    Flowers Bar Summer Workshop at The Lobby

Join Flowers Bar Stockholm for their final workshop until the fall. You will create a flower arrangement using seasonal flowers, learn the main principles of creating a flower arrangement, and take home your work. The workshop is 595 SEK; all materials and refreshments are provided.

    Thursday 12th July

Flea Market at Åkersberga Centrum

This flea market boasts a rooftop location, weather permitting. If you wish to sell any of your used gadgets, a table costs 120 SEK. For shoppers and browsers, entrance is free.

    Friday 13th – Saturday 14th July

Thai Festival at Kungsträdgården

Whether you’re participating in the festival’s competition for a vacation to Thailand, or simply enjoying a Thai-themed “staycation” with Thai food from Grill Streetfood and live music, this will be a tasty event!

    Saturday 14th July

Jazz in the Park at Galärparken

This annual summer festival includes Swedish jazz, activities for the kids, art, and events that bolster awareness of ecological and social values. We love the inclusivity and values of this free-entrance event!

    Saturday 14th, Sunday 15th, and Wednesday 18th July

Street Festival

These three days will be filled to the brim with street performances. Wonder at jugglers, magicians, comedians, and acrobats. Be sure to check the website for location, as it changes each day.

    Tuesday 17th July

Esther Kirabo at Gröna Lund

Kirabo has been tapped as one of the artists to look out for in 2018. Not only is she a brilliant singer, Kirabo also plays keyboard, guitar, and drums, and writes music. She will be one of the many talented performers at Gröna Lund this month.

    Saturday 21st July

Popaganda at Parkteatern in Galärparken

Pack a picnic, and head to the park to listen to live music (find the Spotify playlist here)! There will be a number of performers, including Flora Cash and Ambivalensen. This event is free!

    Sunday 22nd July

Open Mic Night at City Backpackers Hostel

Enjoy a drink from City Backpackers’ bar, NOMAD, and contribute to the open mic night. A microphone and guitar will be available on stage, and you are of course welcome to bring your own instrument, or a poem to read, or a song to sing… We’re all ears! If you plan to perform, sign up online beforehand.

    Thursday 26th July

POP Pilates at Hötorgsterrassen

Do you love the feeling of sore muscles after a workout? Come check out this rooftop POP pilates class, and get your core engaged! The event is free, all you need to do is download the BRUCE app, create an account and book your spot!

    Friday 27th – Sunday 29th July

Uppsala Reggae Festival

If you’re a reggae fan, consider catching the pendeltåg or an SJ train up to Uppsala for a weekend packed with reggae. Ticket prices vary depending on how many days you choose to attend, and how far in advance you purchase your tickets. There is a campsite at the venue if you plan to stay overnight, but be sure to book your spot beforehand.

    Friday 27th July – Friday 3rd August

The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Zita Folkets Bio

Kick off pride week with this cult classic interactive movie! A changing area and some props are available at the theater, although it’s recommended you bring your own props and costumes too. The full price for the event is 120 SEK; check to see if you qualify for a discounted ticket (price of 95 SEK).

    Friday 27th July – Sunday 5th August

EuroPride in Stockholm

EuroPride will begin in Stockholm, and resume later in August in Gothenburg. If you are traveling to Stockholm for the event, Clarion Hotel has a special offer for visitors with a ticket to the festival area. There will be a parade and performances in the park. Tickets range in price from 100 to 600 SEK.

    Monday 30th July

Social Paddling at Långholmen Kajak

Enjoy an evening out on the water, kayaking through the city. The kayak and life jacket rental cost are included in the 250 SEK price. If you’re a student, be sure to ask for the 20% discount.

    Tuesday 31st July

Run for Pride on Djurgården

Whether you choose to run 5 km or 10 km, the focus of this race is to have fun! Tickets are 395 SEK, and include a goodie bag. For every participant in the race, 100 SEK will be donated to Sweden’s Rainbow Fund.

    Ongoing in July

The Didrichsen Collection at Millesgården

This exhibition features works on loan from the Didrichsens Art Museum in Helsinki. Included in the exhibit are works from Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Fernand Léger. Entrance to the museum is 120 SEK for students, 150 SEK for adults, and free for those age 18 and younger.

    Mending a Broken World at Forum för Levande Historia

This exhibit displays the artwork of Lenke Rothman, a survivor of three concentration camps. Rothman came to Sweden when she was 16 years old in 1945, and began to study art at Konstfackskolan in 1951. If you wish to have a tour, they are available in English and Swedish on Wednesdays. The exhibit is free of charge.

    Dynamic Windsurfing Courses

Have you ever wanted to try windsurfing? Give it a try this summer! There are lessons offered throughout July in Stockholm.

    Yoga at Stockholm Under Stjärnorna

Throughout July (and August too!), Angelica Rosenstam will lead various morning yoga classes. Begin the day energetically, with yoga overlooking Stockholm, followed by fruit and juice. Classes are on Wednesdays and Sundays, and each class costs 245 SEK.

    If you’re a business or organisation that would like us to add your event to next month’s calendar, please contact us at hello [@] scandinaviastandard [dot] com. Thank you!

  Stay Up to Date with our Newsletter

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  What’s On in Stockholm: July 2018 published first on https://medium.com/@OCEANDREAMCHARTERS

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

Life is tough on Twitter when you share a name with someone in Trump's administration

The Twitter accounts belonging to members of Trump's administration receive a lot of attention, and rightfully so — Trump has proven time and again Twitter is his preferred medium for communicating just about everything.

But what about the unfortunate souls who just happen to share the same names as members of the Trump team? Innocent Twitter users who are just trying to enjoy the social media platform in peace?

SEE ALSO: Nobody is joining Twitter, so let's just blame Trump

We spoke to a number of people with a famous (or infamous) namesake, and discovered they each react to their unintentional fame differently. 

John Kelly

First up we have John Kelly, who is Trump's new chief of staff following Priebus' recent resignation — but also a Washington Post columnist. 

The other John Kelly started his Twitter account in 2008, and was "delighted" to be the first John Kelly on Twitter, he said. (Chief of Staff John Kelly is actually not on Twitter if you can believe it.) 

Looks like my life just got more complicated.... https://t.co/T60kgV0Et8

— JohnKelly (@JohnKelly) July 28, 2017

"There are a lot of John Kellys in the world," Kelly revealed. "We're sometimes confused with one another on Twitter." 

Besides Washington Post John Kelly and Chief of Staff John Kelly, there is also an Irish novelist named John Kelly and a data scientist named John Kelly. 

"I'm a journalist so I try to keep my views to myself," Kelly added. "But just because of the jobs we do, White House John Kelly and Washington Post John Kelly are very different." 

This stark difference between the two John Kellys doesn't keep our Kelly from having a bit of fun when he's hit with a case of mistaken identity. However, he can also find himself at the receiving end of a fair amount of online ire.

"Many of [the people tweeting at me] are quite worked up, either overwhelmed with extreme love for the other John Kelly or overwhelmed with extreme hatred," Kelly said. "Settle down, people. You’re not going to fix the world in 140 characters."

Amen to that.

Kelly had to clarify his identity in July with a series of tweets: 

1/ Some thoughts on the promotion (?) of John Kelly to White House chief of staff: It's always nice to see John Kellys doing well...

— JohnKelly (@JohnKelly) July 28, 2017

2/ I am not THAT John Kelly. My Twitter avatar should be a hint that I am not THAT John Kelly.

— JohnKelly (@JohnKelly) July 28, 2017

3/ I apologize that I have no way of passing your congratulations/tirades on to the OTHER John Kelly...

— JohnKelly (@JohnKelly) July 28, 2017

4/ The other John Kelly may be a great American/lousy American, but if you've tagged me, you're a careless American...

— JohnKelly (@JohnKelly) July 28, 2017

5/ I don't know if people complain to the OTHER John Kelly when I write about squirrels but I hope so...

— JohnKelly (@JohnKelly) July 28, 2017

6/ I am thinking of changing my Twitter avatar to a photo of me standing in front of the White House...

— JohnKelly (@JohnKelly) July 28, 2017

7/ Or maybe a photo of me sitting in the Iron Throne from "Game of Thrones." Or in a Nehru jacket stroking a hairless cat...

— JohnKelly (@JohnKelly) July 28, 2017

8/ What I will never do is give up my bitchin' Twitter handle. I was here first. Also: Democracy dies in darkness. @johnkelly out.

— JohnKelly (@JohnKelly) July 28, 2017

Unfortunately, his clarification did not do much to quell the tweets and mentions he received, and he had this to say after Scaramucci's sudden ousting: 

Two points if I may: 1. @Scaramucci is apparently gone. 2. I am still not White House chief of staff. But thank you for the shout outs.

— JohnKelly (@JohnKelly) July 31, 2017

"What this whole mistaken Twitter thing has taught me is that people need to slow down. They shouldn’t be so quick to judge – and they definitely shouldn’t be so quick to tag," Kelly said. 

"Do they really think the White House Chief of Staff would have a Twitter photo of a guy sitting at a vintage Ludwig drum set?"

Stephen Miller 

Next, we have @redsteeze — aka Stephen Miller. He's not Trump's senior advisor Stephen Miller, though he is a contributor at Fox News.  

Me accepting all the new mistaken identity follows rn pic.twitter.com/DJ3Asoelb4

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) August 2, 2017

While tweets like the one above make it seem like Fox News Stephen Miller somewhat relishes sharing a name with the infamous White House staffer, he did have some choice words for his namesake after writer Bret Easton Ellis said he wanted to write a novel about the other Miller.

I mean you did write about serial killers https://t.co/Sr6OBcDzll

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) August 3, 2017

Fox's Stephen Miller also had this to say when Ann Coulter suggested White House Stephen Miller be cloned and appointed to every cabinet position:

Please don't https://t.co/oSFCL9V1gk

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) August 3, 2017

It's safe to assume that this Stephen Miller has no plans to become a part of Trump's White House any time soon:

Trump can't afford me https://t.co/kp52BKMGrz

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) August 2, 2017

Steve Bannon

Sigh. Poor Steve Bannon. No, not that Steve Bannon, we're talking about @SteveBannon, the Scotsman who just wants to spend time with his wife and kids ...

Happy Birthday @livy_bannon xx pic.twitter.com/TQvbtivxwC

— Steve Bannon (@SteveBannon) July 7, 2017

... but has to deal with this kind of thing: 

Charming. Now go direct your lovely comments to the other Steve Bannon

— Steve Bannon (@SteveBannon) July 28, 2017

I've been added to the White House Twitter group.....pmsl pic.twitter.com/18HiteAxgO

— Steve Bannon (@SteveBannon) January 23, 2017

Not hanging by any thread my friend. Enjoying the 1st week of the summer holidays with my wife and family. Thanks for your concern though x

— Steve Bannon (@SteveBannon) July 28, 2017

Have I missed something? pic.twitter.com/ELjGK3z0E4

— Steve Bannon (@SteveBannon) February 9, 2017

Ugh.

White House Steve Bannon is one of the most controversial members of Trump's team so, naturally, innocent Steve Bannon often receives some of the nastiest Twitter vitriol. The hate became so intense, in fact, that he decided to try capitalizing on his misfortune by using the attention to crowdfund a new set of golf clubs for his daughter. 

Wrong Steve Bannon https://t.co/mWaU07rKIM

— Steve Bannon (@SteveBannon) August 26, 2016

"In the last 24 hours I have been receiving abusive tweets in a case of mistaken identity," the crowdfunding description, which was written in August of last year, read. "Donald Trump has appointed a man called Steve Bannon to help run his presidential campaign. My Twitter tag is @stevebannon and this is where the abuse is being directed."

Steve Bannon went on to explain that he's just a working class Scot living in England with his wife and three girls. His middle daughter Olivia is a strong golfer, but she needs a new set of clubs to advance her career. 

"Please make a donation towards Olivia's clubs if you have posted abuse on my twitter feed," the crowdfunding campaign said. "One day you might see her on tour."

pic.twitter.com/RhXxMPTNTS

— Steve Bannon (@SteveBannon) May 3, 2017

We hope we do see her on tour someday, Steve. We really hope we do. 

Mike Pence 

Everyone knows Vice President Mike Pence, @mike_pence, but there's also @mikepence — a progressive, atheist software developer living in Sarasota, Florida. 

I'm Mike Pence. No, not that one. https://t.co/JFtzxn197W

— Mike Pence (@mikepence) December 12, 2016

In many ways, software developer Mike Pence is the very antithesis of the vice president. 

"Having been raised a Jehovah's Witness, [I have] a healthy aversion to Orwellian thought-control cults of any political or religious origin," Pence said in a Washington Post column. 

"Sometimes you don’t value a thing until you have lost it," Pence continued. "And when people suddenly associate your name with someone you personally find to be a monster."

Pence has been an outspoken critic of his namesake and of the administration to which he belongs:

Please, Cheeto Hitler, do not march us into World War 3. :(

�� Mike Pence (@mikepence) July 6, 2017

Only in bizarro Trump world must the question be asked: How many people have been injured from bags of drugs thrown over the border wall?

— Mike Pence (@mikepence) July 14, 2017

Congrats to Anthony Scaramucci on losing his family, his dignity, and his job, all in one week! #MAGA #winning

— Mike Pence (@mikepence) July 31, 2017

His Twitter bio even reads "Software developer, grandpa and nature lover. Not a Christo-fascist politician."

Though Pence could do without the barrage of ugly notifications directed at him by mistake, he said he also views his situation as an opportunity, due to the large audience he has amassed. 

"There will come a day to explain all of this to my now year-and-a-half-old grandson," he said in the column. "How could I say anything to him except that I proudly put my fist in the air and proclaimed that I am not that Mike Pence, but I am the other Mike Pence, the one who values freedom and civil rights for all?"

Thanks for all of the kindness many have shown to me this year. May we fight together in the new year to save our country from @mike_pence.

— Mike Pence (@mikepence) January 1, 2017

Eric Trump

Finally, we have Eric Trump, one of the president's creepy sons, and also an entirely different person who is a teacher from Surrey in the UK. 

"I joined Twitter in February of 2015," UK Trump said. "At the time Donald Trump was known in the UK for his golf courses and reality TV appearances but no one had heard of his son Eric."

That blissful ignorance did not last long, and once Trump launched his presidential campaign, UK Eric Trump began receiving some unwanted attention.

"Despite my Twitter bio clearly stating that I am not Donald's son, I regularly get people following me thinking that they are following the son of the POTUS," Trump said. "Sometimes I block them straight away and sometimes, out of curiosity, I wait to see how many of my tweets (mainly about Fulham football club and pictures of loaves of bread I have baked) it takes before they realize that they have got the wrong guy."

You'd think these tweets would do the trick:

Posting this beauty in the hope that some of my followers question whether they are indeed following the son of the POTUS #RealMenBakeBread pic.twitter.com/s1CO5G1gBf

— Eric Trump (@erictrump99) June 11, 2017

Please can I reiterate: I AM NOT THIS ERIC TRUMP. Surely my avatar and bio makes this clear? https://t.co/cJMxJ9xetM

— Eric Trump (@erictrump99) June 7, 2017

You gotta roll with it... pic.twitter.com/TBpaeJo5jv

— Eric Trump (@erictrump99) June 24, 2017

Twitter's redesign is not a problem when your profile icon is a cake #newtwitterupdate

— Eric Trump (@erictrump99) June 16, 2017

His strategy has apparently not worked. 

"Trump has never been a great surname for me (in the UK 'trump' is a synonym for 'fart', especially in northern parts of the country) but the rise of Donald has taken things to a new level," he said.

"In Las Vegas it was suggested I should be checking into Dad's place further along the strip so I indicated that I was there to check out the opposition. I hope no one spat in our food on that trip."

To make things even worse for poor UK Eric Trump, he can't partake in the fun of Googling his own name, because all that comes up are pictures of White House Eric Trump posing with the latest wild animal he has shot.

"Maybe if your research uncovers more Eric Trumps we could form some kind of self help group?" Trump suggested.

Take solace in the fact you're in good company, Eric Trump. Godspeed, Twitter users.

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