#places to celebrate new year in India

[ipsittravels]

Top 5 Places to Celebrate New Year in India

Looking for the perfect places to celebrate New Year in India? You're in luck! India offers a diverse range of exciting destinations to celebrate this special occasion. From the vibrant streets of Delhi and Mumbai to the serene beaches of Goa, you can choose from bustling city parties to tranquil getaways. Shimla and Manali in the Himalayas are great for snow enthusiasts, while Udaipur's lakeside charm adds a touch of royalty to your celebrations. Experience cultural richness in Jaipur, and indulge in delicious food in Kolkata. No matter where you choose to welcome the New Year, India has something for everyone. So, gather your loved ones and prepare for a memorable start to the year at these fantastic New Year's destinations across the country!

[myflighttrip1]

6 Best Places to Celebrate New Year 2024 in India

Bid this year a happy farewell and get ready to welcome the New year with a bang, let`s turn the celebration vibe up a notch and welcome the arrival of New Year 2024 with friends and loved ones. New Year isn`t just a regular day-it`s like a big carnival of celebrations.

Do you know where the biggest celebration of New Year takes place in India? India is a land of many different celebrations. There are many amazing places to visit in India for experiencing the best New Year celebrations.

From the lively beaches of Goa to the bustling streets of Mumbai and the cultural richness of Kolkata, the country offers amazing places where people go crazy with joy during this happy time!

Most Popular New Year Celebration Destinations to Visit in India

In this article, you will get to know about India`s ultimate New Year celebration destinations where the fun never ends-

Goa - India`s Best Party Destination

Goa is India`s unofficial party destination. It is the most happening place throughout the year but during the time of Christmas and New Year, Goa is something special. On New Year`s Eve, the beaches become like big dance floors. There`s music, fireworks, and lots of fun. Goa`s Nightlife & Casinos are the major attractions on New Year`s Eve.

Mumbai - The Big City Fun

Mumbai, the city of glamor in India is an exciting place to celebrate New Year. On New Year`s Eve, Mumbai is packed with fancy parties. Some take place in tall buildings with amazing sea views. Others happen in luxurious hotels. People here love to celebrate! If you too want to be a part of luxurious New Year celebrations then book your Mumbai tour package with MFT now!

Udaipur - Where Romance is in the Air!

If you are looking for a romantic destination to celebrate New Year with your loved one then Udaipur in Rajasthan is the picture perfect dreamy destination for that. Celebrate New Year`s Eve in Udaipur by exploring the city`s beauty, from the grand City Palace to the beautiful lakes. At night, go to special parties or events at hotels. There will be music, dancing, and lots of fun!

Manali - The Hills Are Alive Here!

Manali in Himachal Pradesh is one of the most popular hill stations to visit in India. New Year is the time of snowfall in Manali that makes it one of the must-visit destinations. Do join the special events happening around the town. Go for a Manali sightseeing tour. Hotels, clubs, and resorts throw lively parties on New Year`s Eve.

Nainital - The City of Lakes

Nainital is one of the best places to celebrate New Year in India especially for couples. There are many parties or events happening in famous hotels, lake resorts, and clubs of Nainital. In the evening, go to Mall Road and join the celebrations with the crowd. Dance, listen to music, and count down to the New Year with everyone. To experience the best of Nainital on New Year`s Eve book a Nainital tour package for couples.

Agra - The City of Taj

Agra, the most visited tourist city in India is home to the world-famous historical landmark - The Taj Mahal. You can celebrate New Year in Agra with the sightseeing tour of the Taj Mahal. After that you can also visit the historic Agra Fort. Try Agra`s local food like sweets and special Mughlai dishes. Later, go to the Yamuna Riverfront for a calm evening. Join the parties at hotels or clubs for the fun celebrations. Watch the fireworks at night as everyone welcomes the New Year.

The above-mentioned are the best and most popular places to visit in India for celebrating New Year 2024. Each destination has its own charm and beauty, promising a memorable start to the upcoming year.

Original Source : https://www.myflighttrip.com/blogs/6-best-places-to-celebrate-new-year-2024-in-india

[sewaktravelscabbooking]

Top 10 Places to Visit During New Year 2024 in India

The New Year celebration in India is the ideal commencement to embrace fresh prospects and aspirations. These consecutive celebrations, nestled within a week, offer ample reasons for jubilation. And what could be more enticing than commemorating these festivities by exploring the Top 10 Places to Visit During New Year 2024 in India with an array of perfect places to visit during the New Year in India, the country beckons individuals to bid farewell to the departing year and welcome the New Year surrounded by positivity alongside friends and family.

[hellovisitprashant]

10 Places to Celebrate New Year 2024 in India

New Year in India is not just a change of date; it's a celebration of culture, diversity, and joy. Here's a curated list of the top 10 places in India where you can welcome the New Year with unparalleled enthusiasm and excitement.

[twnenglish]

12 Most Spectacular Places To Celebrate New Year's Eve In India

Celebrations for the New Year are unique, and India has some of the most breathtaking locations to mark the beginning of a new year. India has something for everyone, from the vibrant metropolis of Delhi to the stunning beaches of Goa. Each of these locations, from the majestic Taj Mahal to the breathtaking backwaters of Kerala, has something special to offer. These 11 magnificent locations will provide you with the best New Year’s Eve experience, whether you are seeking an adventurous setting or a laid-back ambiance. You're guaranteed to have an unforgettable and one-of-a-kind unique New Year’s Eve experience whether you choose to remain in one of the cities or take a road trip to discover some of India's most breathtaking locations. So, if you want to get the most out of the New Year's festivities, be sure to visit these 12 most spectacular places to celebrate New Year Eve in India.

12 Most Spectacular Places To Celebrate New Year's Eve In India

1.  Delhi – The Busy City

One of the most happening cities in India is Delhi, particularly around the time of the New Year. If you're seeking for something unusual to do and want to avoid the customary New Year's Eve parties, you could go to Delhi and have a whole new experience of the city. Delhi is a place you should visit at least once in your lifetime, whether it's to see the iconic Red Fort or to wander through the chaotic lanes and shops markets of Chandni Chowk. Delhi is hosting a number of celebrations and activities to commemorate the beginning of the new year. The Red Fort Fireworks Display, the Yamuna River Boat Show, and the India Gate Performances are a few of the most well-liked occasions.

2.  Agra – The Magnificent Taj Mahal

Agra is one of the most exotic locations to celebrate the beginning of a new year with your special someone. Everyone should see the stunning Taj Mahal at least once in their lifetime since it is an amazing experience. You may also go to visit Fatehpur Sikri, one of India's most stunning deserted cities, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. To learn more about this city's rich history and past, you may also tour its stunning palaces and forts.

3.  Goa – The Beach Lover’s Paradise

Goa is a haven for people who enjoy unwinding and relaxing. Goa is a terrific destination to celebrate New Year's Eve with your friends and loved ones since it has some of the country's most gorgeous beaches and a laid-back atmosphere. In Goa, the New Year's celebrations are extremely lively and colorful. Goa is a terrific spot to travel to for New Year's celebrations because you can enjoy the Goa Carnival and party at some of the top nightclubs in the nation. Other neighboring Goa attractions include Dudhsagar Falls, Cola Beach, and Arambol Beach. You may also go to the Ethno Village in Goa to enjoy the charm of New Year's Eve and learn about the local way of life and celebrations.

4. Manali – The Adventure Lover's Hub

Manali is among the greatest locations to go if you're an adventure enthusiast seeking for a spot to spend the New Year. In Manali, there are several experiences to check out, like white water rafting and hiking to the adjacent Rohtang Pass. You may also go to Shimla, which is close by and a wonderful area to enjoy winter and dew droplets in nature. If you enjoy the outdoors, Kufri, which is close by, is a terrific site to see the flavors of Himachal Pradesh. If you enjoy food, you may also go to the neighborhood stores and sample the regional cuisine. The finest experience is provided by the numerous religious and cultural events that are happening in Manali during the New Year's festivities.

5.  Rishikesh – The Pilgrim's Destination

Visit Rishikesh if you're seeking a more spiritual experience to take in the tranquilly and peace of the area. Due to the abundance of yoga ashrams in Rishikesh, it is sometimes referred to as the "Yoga Capital of the World." These ashrams welcome visitors who want to study the practise of yoga and meditation. One of the most well-known yoga ashrams in this city is the Sivananda Ashram, which you may also visit. If you enjoy the outdoors, you may explore the spiritual atmosphere of the local temples. You may also go to the Ganges, which is a wonderful location to experience the tranquilly of the surroundings and the visitors.

6.  Udaipur – The City of Lakes

The city of lakes, Udaipur, is renowned for its stunning gardens, lakes, temples, and palaces. Udaipur is the ideal location if you're searching for a more tranquil setting to ring in the New Year. There are several things to do in this city, from exploring the lovely Lake Palace to tasting the local cuisine. The ideal spot to go for the New Year celebrations is Udaipur since there are so many religious and cultural festivals taking place there. Additionally, you may go to the Jagdish Temple, which is one of Udaipur's most recognizable temples and is devoted to Lord Shiva. You may also go to Bhimtal Lake, one of Udaipur's most stunning lakes, which is a wonderful spot to appreciate the tranquility of the city.

Read This Full ARTICLE, Click Here

[nivea-ah]

Every time, every single time, anybody is raped in India, it gets brushed off, and when once in a while it reaches the national television, the general public stages protests and screams for justice, yet nothing truly comes out of it.

A resident doctor getting brutally raped and killed just days before India's independence day shows just how far behind India is. Economically we might be progressing but we keep on stepping back when it comes to protecting our women or people in general.

She was found in a half naked condition, bleeding from her privates and other parts with her pelvis broken. Even in such a bad state, the hospital didn't allow her parents to even see her, lied to them that she commited suicide. Only after hours of waiting were they allowed to look at their daughter.

Just last year, India had its major Shraddha Walker case. She had been cut to pieces by her boyfriend and kept in the fridge until he slowly disposed every piece off in different areas. There was widespread rahe and anger. People were disgusted, they revolted but soon the news died down and now nobody's sure what happened. And this happens every single time.

This independence day, what do we even have to celebrate? We most certainly do not feel free. A place where even my workplace could be my crime scene is not a place I would like to celebrate. This revolt will go on, and then it will die down and then, it will start all over again, every time, every single time.

[gguk-n]

can you write lando norris x desi!reader!gf where they go back to celebrate ganesh chaturthi, and yn hosts ganapati bappa in her own house in india and its lando's first time pleaseee

Festive Hearts

Jalebi- dessert made of flour or flour and rice flour fried and dipped in sugar syrup. Kurta Pajama- Indian attire for men made of various material which includes a tunic and a loose fitting pant. Shalwar Kameez- Similar to Kurta Pajama but for women. Pooja- A Hindu ritual of worship.

I'm not an expert when it comes to this so please forgive me if there are any discrepancies

Lando and Y/N had been dating for a while now, long enough that her family knew about Lando, he was very well loved. That's how he ended up in India during Ganesh Chaturthi. Lando wasn't there on the day Ganapati Bappa was being brought into the house due to the race. He got there a few days before the immersion. Lando was like a kid in a candy store. Everything was bright and vibrant. The whole house was decorated in flowers and lights. There was always delicious and new food for him to eat. "Babe, my trainer's gonna hate me" he told his girlfriend while munching on his third jalebi. "These are delicious. Do you eat these every day?" he mumbled with food in his mouth. "No, Lan, no one eats these every day." she laughed. "Your mum keeps handing them to me, I don't know how to say no." he looked at her apologetically. Y/N called her mum out to stop feeding her boyfriend.

There were a lot of Formula One fans in Y/N's home town which meant Lando got recognised and asked for pictures and autographs. Y/N's family was the one hosting Ganapati Bappa this year in their community. So, there was always a crowd of people going in and out of the house, and now Lando brought another crowd along too. But he wasn't complaining, he wanted to get to know the people that got to see his love grow up.

On the day of the immersion, Lando was dressed in a white crisp Kurta Pajama and his girlfriend wore shalwar kameez. The family had woken up early and were busy in preparation since the auspicious time was during the mid-day. Lando could see his girlfriend running around trying to get the things ready for the ritual. Y/N's dad handed Lando some flowers and desserts for offering and asked him to put it away. There was this energy that was running through everyone's veins as the time drew closer. A sense of emotions over took them, it was like watching your family leave for some time.

There would a huge procession leaving with Ganapati Bappa after the Pooja. There would be songs and people would dance along the way from the house to the sea, where Ganapati Bappa would be immersed in the water. Y/N's siblings took Lando along with them to dance. Y/N had only seen Lando dance in clubs and now she could see him dance along with her siblings, learning as he went. It was a beautiful sight with Ganapati Bappa over looking everyone as they partook in the celebrations. "He's a keeper" her mother said. Y/N jumped from surprise. "When did you get here?" she asked. "Just now" her mother replied fondly looking at Lando. "He has really been trying since he got here" her mother spoke more to herself. "To get everyone to like him." she hummed. "Do you like him?" Y/N asked expectantly. "We liked him when you said you loved him" her mother replied. Y/N smiled at her mother and decided to join everyone in the celebrations.

After everything was done, and everyone returned; the house in disarray. Her mother started cleaning up while the others joined. Finally, Lando laid on the cot in the courtyard exhausted from the day's events. Y/N sat near his head playing with his hair. "Do you guys do this every year?" he asked looking up; "yup" she replied. "This is so much fun but I've never been more exhausted in my life and I've driven in Singapore." he chuckled. "You'll get used to it" she hummed, checking around before pressing a kiss to Lando's lips. "Spiderman kiss" Lando mumbled as he placed his hand on her neck pulled her closer. Y/N's mum coughed making the pair pull away, a blush visible on their cheeks. "I get you two love each other, but there's still some cleaning left" she said while the two whined and Y/N got up to help her mum. "Rest for some time and then join me" she told Lando before pecking his cheek and walking away.

Sorry this was short, I felt kind of lost.

[disastress-i-guess]

Happy new year!... Again

Bonus Akechi because I forgot the baby I'm sorry

Akechi's yapping under the cut.

The New Year is the time or day at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner.In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system today, New Year occurs on January 1 (New Year's Day, preceded by New Year's Eve). This was also the first day of the year in the original Julian calendar and the Roman calendar (after 153 BC). Other cultures observe their traditional or religious New Year's Day according to their own customs, typically (though not invariably) because they use a lunar calendar or a lunisolar calendar. Chinese New Year, the Islamic New Year, Tamil New Year (Puthandu), and the Jewish New Year are among well-known examples. India, Nepal, and other countries also celebrate New Year on dates according to their own calendars that are movable in the Gregorian calendar.

An example of another new year is Chunyipai Losar, the traditional day of offering ( Dzongkha: buelwa phuewi nyim) in Bhutan. It is observed on the 1st day of the last month of the Butanese lunar calendar. This means it usually takes place in January or February in the western calendar.And this year falls on 12th of January. Some people claim that residents of Bhutan made their annual offering of grains to Zhapdrung Ngakwang Namgyel in Punakha on this day. The Trongsa Penlop is said to have led the representatives of eight eastern regions in their offerings, as the Paro Penlop coordinated the people of western Bhutan and the Darkar Ponlop oversaw the people of the south. In this regard, some people place a great significance on this New Year as a marker of Bhutan’s sovereignty and solidarity. However, some scholars contest that no clear evidence of such practice exists. In any case, many feel that before Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal’s unified Bhutan as a state, the local population in some of Bhutan’s valleys celebrated this day as a New Year. As a result, even the government instituted by Zhabdrung in the 17th century, then largely a monastic court, saw this time as an important part of the year. The retirement and appointment of high officials in the government and the monastic body took place mainly during this New Year celebration.This New Year is primarily observed in eastern Bhutan, where it also referred to as Sharchokpé Losar, or New Year of the eastern Bhutanese. However, the observance of this New Year is not limited to eastern Bhutan and today with easy communication facilities, migration of people and intermarriages between various regions of Bhutan, people all over Bhutan observe this New Year. Like other Bhutanese seasonal festivals marking a new season, the Chunyipai Losar falls around the Winter Solstice. It also falls after the agricultural work for one season is completed and before the new harvest cycle begins. Thus, it is a seasonal celebration which is aligned well with the agrarian populace.

At the end of the day this is all inane information that the artist is using to justify the fact that they are posting this drawing 12 days late and as a means to share their culture despite the fact that the artist themselves are very out of touch with thier culture and in fact forgot that it was chunyipi losar until they were reminded by thier family and did little to observe or celebrate the day outside of baking a cake with a concerningly large amount of butter.

[worstjourney]

The Millennials' Polar Expedition

A year ago today (23 Nov 2022), I launched Worst Journey Vol.1 at the Scott Polar Research Institute. This is the text of the speech I gave to the lovely people who turned up to celebrate.

As many of you know, my interest in the Terra Nova Expedition was sparked by Radio 4’s dramatisation of The Worst Journey in the World, now 14 years ago.  The story is an incredible story, and it got its claws into me, but what kept me coming back again and again were the people.  I couldn’t believe anyone so wonderful had ever really existed.  So when I finally succumbed to obsession and started reading all the books, it was the expedition members’ own words which I most cherished.  These were not always easy to come by, though, so plenty of popular histories were consumed as well.  Reading both in tandem, it soon became clear that, while there were some good books out there, there was a lot of sloppy research in the polar echo chamber as well.

I also discovered that no adaptation had attempted to get across the full scope of the expedition.  There has never been a full and fair dramatic retelling, all having been limited by time, budget, or ideology from telling the whole story truthfully.  I was determined that my adaptation would be both complete and accurate, and be as accountable as possible to those precious primary documents and the people who wrote them.

So the years of research began.  I moved to Cambridge to be able to drop in at SPRI and make the most of the archives.  Getting to Antarctica seemed impossible, but I went to New Zealand to get at least that much right, and on the way back stayed with relatives in Alberta, the most Antarctic place I could realistically visit.  I gathered reference for objects wherever I could.  Because Vol.1 takes place mainly on the Terra Nova, which is now a patch of sludge on the seabed off Greenland, I cobbled together a Franken-Nova in my mind, between the Discovery up in Dundee and the Star of India in San Diego.  I spent a week on a Jubilee Sailing Trust ship in order to depict tall-ship sailing correctly.  I’m sure I’ve still got loads of things wrong, but I did all I could, to get as much as I could, right.

But still, everyone I met who had been to Antarctica said, “you can’t understand Antarctica until you’ve been there, and you can’t tell the story without understanding Antarctica; you have to go.”  So I applied to the USAP’s Antarctic Artists and Writers Program, with faint hope, as they do “Ahrt” and I draw cartoons.  But I must have blagged a good grant proposal, because a year after applying, I was stepping out of a C-17 onto the Ross Ice Shelf.  The whole trip would have been worth it just to stand there, turn in a circle, and see how all the familiar photographs fit together.  But the USAP’s generosity didn’t stop there, and in the next month I saw Hut Point, Arrival Heights, the Beardmore Glacier (including the moraine on which the Polar Party stopped to “geologise”), and Cape Crozier, and made three visits to the Cape Evans hut.  Three!  On top of the visual reference I got priceless qualitative data.  The hardness of the sound.  The surprising warmth of the sun. The sugary texture of the snow.  The keen edge on a slight breeze.  The way your fingertips and toes can start to go when the rest of you is perfectly warm.  The SHEER INSANITY of Cape Crozier.  The veterans were right – I couldn’t have drawn it without having been there, but now I have, and can, and I am more grateful than I can ever adequately express.  With all these resources laid so copiously at my feet, all I had to do was sit down and draw the darn thing.  Luckily I have some very sound training to back me up on that.

Now, this is all very well for the how of making the book, and, I hope, interesting enough. But why?  Why am I putting so much effort into telling this story, and why now?

Well, it means a lot to me personally.  To begin to understand why, you need to know that I grew up in the 80s and 90s, at the height of individualist, goal-oriented, success-driven, dog-eat-dog, devil-take-the-hindmost neoliberalism.  It was just assumed that humans, when you get right down to it, were basically self-interested jerks, and I saw plenty of them around so I had no reason to question this assumption.  The idea was that if you did everything right, and worked really hard, you could retire at 45 to a yacht in the Bahamas, and if you didn’t retire to a yacht, well, you just hadn’t tried hard enough.  Character, in the sense of rigorous personal virtue, was for schmucks.  What mattered was success.  Even as my politics evolved, I still took it as a given that this was how the world worked, and that was how people generally were – after all, there was no lack of corroborating evidence.  So: I worked really hard.  I single-mindedly pursued my self-interest.  I made sacrifices, and put in the time, and fought my way into my dream job and all the success I could have asked for.

And then I met the Terra Nova guys.

What struck me most about them was that even when everything was going wrong, when their expectations were shattered and they had to face the cruellest reality, they were still kind.  Not backbiting, recriminating, blame-throwing, defensive, or mean, as one would expect – they were lovely to each other, patient, supportive, self-sacrificing; in fact the worse things got, the better they were.  They still treated each other as friends even when it wasn’t in their self-interest, was even contrary to their self-interest.  I didn’t know people could be like that.  But there they were, in plain writing, being thoroughly, bafflingly, decent.  Not just the Polar Party – everyone had to face their own brutal realities at some point, and they all did so with a grace I never thought possible.

It presented a very important question:

When everything goes belly-up, and you’re facing the worst, what sort of person will you be?

Or perhaps more acutely: What sort of person would you rather be with?

It was so contrary to the world I lived in, to the reality I knew – it was a peek into an alternate dimension, populated entirely with lovely, lovely people, who really, genuinely believed that “it’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game,” and behaved accordingly.  It couldn’t be real.  There had to be a deeper, unpleasant truth: that was how the world worked, after all.  I kept digging, expecting to hit bottom at some point, but I only found more gold, all the way down.  How could I not spend my life on this?

Mythology exists to pass on a culture’s values, moral code, and survival information – how to face challenges and prevail.  Scott’s story entered the British mythology, and had staying power, because it exemplified those things so profoundly for the culture that created and received it.  But the culture changed, and there were new values; Scott’s legacy was first inverted and then cast aside.  The new culture needed a new epic hero.  You’d think it would be Amundsen, the epitome of ruthless success, but “Make Plan – Execute Plan – Go Home” has no mythic value, so he didn’t stick.  The hero needed challenges, he needed setbacks, and he needed to win, on our terms.

Shackleton!  Shackleton was a winner!  Shackleton told us what we knew to be true and wanted to hear at epic volume: that if you want something badly enough, and try really hard, you will succeed!  (Especially if you can control the narrative.)  Scott, on the other hand, tells us that if you want something badly enough, and try really hard . . . you may nevertheless die horribly in the snow.  Nobody wants to hear that!  What a downer!  I think it’s no coincidence that Shackleton exploded into popular culture in the late 90s and has dominated it ever since: he is the mythic hero of the zeitgeist. I am always being asked if I’ll be doing Shackleton next.  He has six graphic novels already!  That is plenty!  But people still want to tell and be told his story, because it’s a heroic myth that validates our worldview.

That’s why I am so determined to tell the Scott story, because Scott is who we don’t realise we need right now – and Wilson, and Bowers, and Cherry, and Atch, and all the rest.  The Terra Nova Expedition is the Millennials’ polar expedition.  We’ve worked really hard, we’ve done everything we were supposed to, we made what appeared to be the right decisions at the time, and we’re still losing.  Nothing in the mythology we’ve been fed has prepared us for this.  No amount of positive attitude is going to change it.  We have all the aphorisms in the world, but what we need is an example of how to behave when the chips are down, when the Boss is not sailing into the tempest to rescue us, when the Yelcho is not on the horizon.  When circumstances are beyond your power to change, how do you make the best of your bad situation?  What does that look like? Even if you can’t fix anything, how do you make it better for the people around you – or at the very least, not worse?  Scott tells us: you can be patient, supportive, and humble; see who needs help and offer it; be realistic but don’t give in to despair; and if you’re up against a wall with no hope of rescue, go out in a blaze of kindness.  We learn by imitation: it’s easy to say these things, but to see them in action, in much harder circumstances than we will ever face, is a far greater help.  And to see them exemplified by real, flawed, complicated people like us is better still; they are not fairy-tale ideals, they are achievable. Real people achieved them.

My upbringing in the 80s milieu of selfishness, which set me up to receive the Scott story so gratefully, is hardly unique.  There are millions of us who are hungry for a counter-narrative.  My generation is desperate for demonstrations of caring, whether it’s activism or social justice or government policies that don’t abandon the vulnerable.  We’ve seen selfishness poison the world, and we want an alternative.  The time for competition is past; we must cooperate or perish, but we don’t know how to do it because our mythology is founded on competition.  The Scott story, if told properly, explodes the Just World Fallacy, and liberates us from the lie that has ruled our lives: that you make your own luck.  What happens, happens: what matters is how you respond to it.  My obsession with accuracy is in part to honour the men, and in part because Cherry was the ultimate stickler and he’d give me a hard time if I didn’t, but also because, if I’m telling the story to a new generation, I’m damn well going to make sure we get that much RIGHT.  It’s been really interesting to see, online, how my generation and the next have glommed onto polar exploration narratives, not as thrilling feats of derring-do, but as emotional explorations of found family and cooperative resilience.  We love them because they love each other, and loving each other helps get them through, and we want – we need – to see how that’s done.  It’s time to give them the Terra Nova story, and to tell it fully, fairly, and honestly, in all its complexity, because that is how their example is most useful to us.  Not as gods, and not as fools, but as real human beings who were excellent to each other in the face of disaster.  I only hope that I, a latecomer to their ways, can do them justice.

[gunsandspaceships]

MCU Timeline: The Avengers

All events of the movie take place in May 2012.

April 2012 - Steve Rogers wakes up after nearly 70 years in ice.

May 1st:

Early morning - Loki's arrival on Earth. Avengers Assemble.

Hill reports the situation to the World Security Council.

Day in the USA/Night in Russia - Natasha interrogates the Russian mafia. Coulson calls her from the Helicarrier and sends her to India to get Bruce.

Fury's meeting with the WSC.

May 2nd:

Natasha recruits Bruce in Kolkata.

Fury briefs Rogers on the situation.

Evening - Coulson informs Tony and gives him Dr. Selvig's documents on the Tesseract.

Night - Pepper goes to Washington, Coulson - to pick up Steve.

Tony spends the night studying the information provided by S.H.I.E.L.D.

May 3rd:

Pepper in DC ("working on the zoning for the next three buildings").

S.H.I.E.L.D. evacuates Jane Foster to Norway.

Rogers, Coulson, Banner and Romanoff arrive at the Helicarrier (Atlantic Ocean).

9:40 pm (local time) - Loki in Stuttgart. Rogers, Romanoff, and Tony appear shortly after his arrival. Tony arrests Loki.

Why May 3rd: the exhibition "Conquests and Sacrifice" is open from May 4 to Oct 21, as we can see on the banners. The event Loki is attending is a private opening ceremony, a vernissage, which usually takes place the day before the opening to the public.

Soon after - Thor arrives on Earth. The fight in the forest.

Night - Everyone is back on the Helicarrier.

May 4th:

Early morning - Thor and Coulson talk.

Morning - Natasha interrogates Loki. The team argues in the lab. Science Bros find out that the Tesseract is in NYC. Barton attacks the Helicarrier (over NJ). Hulk and Thor fall. Tony saves the Helicarrier. Natasha knocks Clint out. Loki escapes after killing Coulson.

Soon after (in 30-90 min) - Fury's "There was an idea" pep talk. Bruce wakes up in a warehouse in New Jersey. Clint is back to himself. Tony figures out Loki's plan. Everyone heads to Manhattan.

Afternoon - The Battle of New York. While Doctor Strange performs surgery, the Avengers and the Ancient One battle Loki and Thanos' Chitauri army. Tony saves the world. Thanos' Chitauri army is destroyed, Loki is captured by the Avengers.

Soon after the battle - STRIKE (HYDRA) takes the Scepter to deliver it to Dr. List. The Hulk is not allowed to enter the elevator and he takes the stairs. Tony and Thor somehow manage to keep the Tesseract and Loki out of HYDRA's hands. The team eats shawarma.

May 5-6:

People all over the world celebrate the victory. Some people (especially politicians) debate whether their saviors are a threat. Some continue to consider them and the aliens a hoax.

Thor, Loki and the Tesseract depart to Asgard. Avengers Disassembled. Bruce stays with Tony in NYC.

May 6th - Hill and Fury are interrogated by the World Security Council.

The First week after the Battle - Tony remodels Stark Tower into Avengers Tower with rooms for each member of the team.

5-12 days after the battle (May 9-16) - "Item 47" events.

Second half of May - Department of Damage Control is formed. After cases of civilians appropriating alien weapons and technology and committing crimes with them, the federal government restricts private contractors' access to clean up the aftermath of the Battle. Adrian Toomes starts his own alien weapons smuggling business.

Iron Man (2008) Timeline

Captain America: The First Avenger Timeline

[mariacallous]

From Taiwan and Finland in January to Croatia and Ghana in December, one of the largest combined electorates in history will vote for new governments in 2024. This should be a cause of celebration and a vindication of the power of the ballot box. Yet this coming year is likely to see one of the starkest erosions of liberal democracy since the end of the Cold War. At their worst, the overall results could end up as a bloodbath or, marginally less bleakly, as a series of setbacks.

At first glance, the stats are impressive. Forty national elections will take place, representing 41 percent of the world’s population and 42 percent of its gross domestic product. Some will be more consequential than others. Some will be more unpredictable than others. (You can strike Russia and Belarus from that list.) One or two may produce uplifting results.

However, in the United States and Europe, the two regions that are the cradles of democracy—or at least, that used to project themselves as such—the year ahead is set to be bracing.

It is no exaggeration to say that the structures established after World War II, and which have underpinned the Western world for eight decades, will be under threat if former U.S. President Donald Trump wins a second term in November. Whereas his first period in the White House might be regarded as a psychodrama, culminating in the paramilitary assault on Congress shortly after his defeat, this time around, his menace will be far more professional and penetrating.

European diplomats in Washington fear a multiplicity of threats—the imposition of blanket tariffs, also known as a trade war; the sacking of thousands of public officials and their replacement with politicized loyalists; and the withdrawal of remaining support for Ukraine and the undermining of NATO. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the return of Trump would be manna from heaven. Expect some form of provocation from the Kremlin in the Baltic states or another state bordering Russia to test the strength of Article 5, the mutual defense clause of the Western alliance.

More broadly, a Trump victory would arguably mark the final dismantling of the credibility of Western liberal democracies. From India to South Africa and from Brazil to Indonesia, countries variously called middle powers, pivot countries, multi-aligned states—or, now less fashionably, the global south—will continue the trend of picking and choosing their alliances, seeing moral equivalence in the competitive bids on offer.

The greatest effect that a Trump return could have would be on Europe, accelerating the onward march of the alt right or far right across the continent. Yet that trend will have gained momentum long before Americans go to the polls. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are looking over their shoulders as the second wave of populism affects the conduct of government.

The wedge issue that is threatening all moderate parties is immigration, just as it did in 2015, when former German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed in more than 1 million refugees from the Middle East in what is now seen as the first wave of Europe’s immigration crisis. This time around, the arguments propagated by the AfD (the far-right Alternative for Germany party), Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, and similar groups across the continent have permeated the political mainstream.

The past 12 months have seen European Union decision-making constantly undermined by Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Hungary, particularly further support for Ukraine. For the moment, he stands alone, but he is likely to be joined by others, starting with the newly returned Prime Minister Robert Fico in Slovakia. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has struck a tacit deal with Brussels, remaining loyal on supporting Ukraine (against her instincts and previous statements) in return for effectively being given carte blanche in Italy’s domestic politics.

In September, Austria seems almost certain to vote in a coalition of the far right and the conservatives. A country that has (ever since the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1955) prized its neutrality and been keen to ingratiate itself with Moscow has already been uncomfortable giving full-scale support to Kyiv. We can expect that support to soon be scaled back.

One of the few countries with a center-left administration, Portugal, will see it join the pack of the right and far right when snap elections are held in March. The previous incumbent, the Socialist Party’s outgoing Prime Minister Antonio Costa, was forced to quit amid a corruption investigation.

The most explosive moment is likely to occur in June, with the elections to the European Parliament. This reshuffling of the Euro-pack, which happens once every four years, was always seen in the United Kingdom as an opportunity to behave even more frivolously than usual. In 2014, the British electorate, in its inestimable wisdom, put Nigel Farage and his U.K. Independence Party in first place, setting in train a series of events that, two years later, led to the referendum to leave the EU.

Having seen the damage wrought by Brexit, voters in the remaining 27 EU member states are not angling for their countries to go it alone. However, many will use the opportunity to express their antipathy to mainstream politics by opting for a populist alternative. Some might see it as a low-risk option, believing that the European parliament does not count for much.

In so doing, they would be deluding themselves. It is entirely possible that the various forces of the far right could emerge as the single biggest bloc. This might not lead to a change in the composition of the European Commission (the diminished mainstream groupings would still collectively hold a majority), but any such extremist upsurge will change the overall dynamics across Europe.

Far-right parties in charge of governments will see themselves emboldened to pursue ever more radical nativist policies. In countries in where they are junior members of ruling coalitions (such as in Sweden), they will apply further pressure on their more mainstream conservative partners to move in their direction.

Conversely, countries that saw a surprising resurgence of the mainstream in national elections this year are unlikely to see that trend maintained. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s success in staving off the right was achieved only by cutting a deal with Catalan separatists. This led to protests by Spanish nationalists and a situation that is anything but stable.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s victory in Poland was at least as remarkable because the far-right Law and Justice party (PiS) government had used its years in government to try to skew the media and the courts in its direction. Expect PiS gains in June.

The most alarming result of 2023 was the return to prominence, and the verge of power, of Geert Wilders. The Dutch elections provide a how-not-to guide for mainstream politicians. The willingness of the center-right party of the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte to contemplate a coalition with Wilders’s Party for Freedom emboldened many voters who had assumed their vote would be disregarded.

In Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, the so-called firewall established by the main parties to refuse to govern with the AfD is beginning to fray. Already, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is working with them in small municipalities. Friedrich Merz, the CDU leader, has dropped hints that such an option might not be out of the question at the regional level.

If the AfD gains the largest number of seats in the June European Parliament elections (opinion polls currently put it only marginally behind the CDU and ahead of all three parties in Scholz’s so-called traffic light coalition), then the momentum will change rapidly. It could go on to win three of the states in the former communist east—Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg—next autumn. Germany would enter unchartered territory.

These dire predictions could end up being overblown. Mainstream parties in several countries may defy the doom merchants and emerge less badly than forecast. Given recent trends, however, optimism is thin on the ground.

There is one election, however, due to take place in the latter part of 2024 that could produce not just a centrist outcome, but one with a strong majority in its parliament. Britain, the country that left the heart of Europe, the island that until recently was run by a clown, could emerge as the lodestar for modern social democracy. The irony would be lost on no one.

[fatehbaz]

Christmas pudding [...] [is] a boiled mass of suet - a raw, hard animal fat [...] often replaced with a vegetarian alternative - as well as flour and dried fruits that is often soaked in alcohol and set alight. [...] [I]t is a legacy of the British Empire with ingredients from around the globe it once dominated [...].

Christmas pudding is a relatively recent concoction of two older, at least medieval, dishes. [...] “Figgy pudding,” immortalized in the “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” carol, appeared in the written record by the 14th century. [...] During the 18th century, the two ["plum pottage" and "figgy pudding"] crossed to become the more familiar plum pudding – a steamed pudding packed with the ingredients of the rapidly growing British Empire of rule and trade. The key was less a new form of cookery than the availability of once-luxury ingredients, including French brandy, raisins from the Mediterranean, and citrus from the Caribbean.

Few things had become more affordable than cane sugar which, owing to the labors of millions of enslaved Africans, could be found in the poorest and remotest of British households by mid-century. Cheap sugar, combined with wider availability of other sweet ingredients like citrus and dried fruits, made plum pudding an iconically British celebratory treat, albeit not yet exclusively associated with Christmas.

Such was its popularity that English satirist James Gillray made it the centerpiece of one of his famous cartoons, depicting Napoleon Bonaparte and the British prime minister carving the world in pudding form.

In line with other modern Christmas celebrations, the Victorians took the plum pudding and redefined it [...], making it the “Christmas pudding.” In his 1843 internationally celebrated “A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens venerated the dish as the idealized center of any family’s Christmas feast [...].

Three years later, Queen Victoria’s chef published her favored recipe, making Christmas pudding, like the Christmas tree, the aspiration of families across Britain.

Christmas pudding owed much of its lasting appeal to its socioeconomic accessibility. Victoria’s recipe, which became a classic, included candied citrus peel, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemons, cloves, brandy and a small mountain of raisins and currants – all affordable treats for the middle class. Those with less means could either opt for lesser amounts or substitutions [...]. Eliza Acton, a leading cookbook author of the day who helped to rebrand plum pudding as Christmas pudding, offered a particularly frugal recipe that relied on potatoes and carrots. [...] The high alcohol content gave the puddings a shelf life of a year or more, allowing them to be sent even to the empire’s frontiers during Victoria’s reign [...].

---

In the 1920s, the British Women’s Patriotic League heavily promoted it – calling it “Empire Pudding” in a global marketing campaign. They praised it as emblem of the empire that should be made from the ingredients of Britain’s colonies and possessions: dried fruits from Australia and South Africa, cinnamon from Ceylon, spices from India and Jamaican rum in place of French brandy.

Press coverage of London’s 1926 Empire Day celebrations featured the empire’s representatives pouring the ingredients into a ceremonial mixing bowl and collectively stirring it.

The following year, the Empire Marketing Board received King George V’s permission to promote the royal recipe, which had all the appropriate empire-sourced ingredients. Such promotional recipes and the mass production of puddings from iconic grocery stores like [Sains-bury's] in the 1920s combined to place Christmas puddings on the tables [...].

---

All text above by: Troy Bickham. "How the Christmas pudding, with ingredients taken from the colonies, became an iconic British food." The Conversation. 8 December 2023. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Image and caption shown unaltered as they appear published by Bickham along with the article's text.]

[accessible-tumbling]

Video description: The Quora site is displayed and the narrator, who has a British accent and is speaking quickly and excitedly, opens by reading from it: "My MacBook Air weighs 2.3 pounds. If I download more files on it, will it make it heavier?

"This is Quora," he continues. "A place where once grand intellectual questions would be mused over. But if you recall, 2 years ago we sadly bid farewell to our friend, Yahoo Answers, a place where those sorts of questions didn't happen, and in that time it seems many Yahoo users have made Quora their new home.

"Do chimpanzees get pregnant? Does anyone live on the sun? How high do planes fly when landing? What percentage of people are going to die? Do lesbians get periods?"

(A response to that question is read in a gruff tone:) "Oh, come on! Where the hell are you getting that question?"

"You are sleeping with your partner and suddenly realize that he/she is a ghost. What would you do? Are there werewolves in Texas? Why does the sausage have two ends? What happens to the time it takes to actually time travel into the past/future? Which hole does an actress push out a baby in a birth sense?"

(Another answer is read:) "She doesn't. She acts."

"I heard that in the Middle Ages, nobles used to wipe their butts with ducklings. Is that right?"

(Response, gruffly:) "No!"

"Is it true that pregnant women should not sleep during a lunar or solar eclipse as it may cause harm to the unborn?"

(Response:) "No. That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."

"Can I sue Germany for putting my grandfather in prison for 7 years in the second world war?"

(Response:) "No, no, no, no, no!"

"Can you think of a sentence that contains the words 'book' and 'crabs'?"

(Response:) "Well, yes, I can."

"Why does the 'bros' abbreviation for 'brothers' end in 's' instead of 'th'?"

(Response:) "Because that would spell 'broth'."

"Do rich people get embarrassed that their servants know what their stuff in the toilet looks like?"

(Response:) "This is a very weird question."

"What happens when we wash vessel and use it with water in which a lizard was dead? Is it poisonous? What can we do?"

(Response:) "Uhh..."

"Why does the United States promote homosexuality and not consider what happened in the petrified village of Pompeii?"

(Response:) "Wha…?"

"How can I have sex with Asia?"

(Response:) "Pretty sure you mean an Asian girl."

"Is Israel on the world map? Are the Irish really from Ireland? My son speaks Arabic. (in a panicked, shouting tone:) What do I do? Does India have airports?"

(Response:) "Putin came to India in 2014 swimming in the ocean. I have a photo to prove." (A flash of a picture of Putin swimming can be seen briefly at this point in the video.)

"Where do animals live? Why are things? What is my date of birth? Do you know a microscope? Real mathematicians (in all caps): I have 5 live cows and then I multiply them by 0. How then do you come and tell me that I end up with 0? Where did the 5 go? Which is larger: 0 or 2+7? Math math what is angle?

(Narrator comment: "I do believe this Quora user was intending to ask 'what are the names of the most powerful angels?' but…) What are the names of moist powerful angles? I'm an atheist who believes in God. What should I do? Why do atheists watch fiction movies? During airplane turbulence, how do atheists keep calm?"

(Narrator comment: "This question I could only find an old link for, even Quora went nowhere, not even, that is way too stupid:) How do atheists know what foods are 'sweet' versus 'sour' or 'bitter'?

"I am 11 and stand at 5 foot 2. Am I obese? Do celebrities fart? What's the meaning of a single white egg left at my door? (narrator's comment: that is weird.)

"My mom slapped her own bum in front of me what does that mean? Is this correct, 'similarvgbhujkljhgtyhujk'? Why is Zelda so 'thicc' in Breath of the Wild? Do demons always say 'I am a demon' when they are introduced? Is it possible to balance your entire body on your penis?"

(Response:) " Yes, but I'm scared of heights."

"I saw the cop the gay eating a raw bird in my backyard. What should I do?" (Narrator comment: "I became a bit obsessed with this question, it's so indecipherable and googled it for clues to find apparently there was much debate on the site about whether this was a weird autocorrect from 'cat'. Which word was supposed to be cat?")

"Can deaf people laugh out loud? Can deaf people do surfing? How do def people know what facial expressions look like and how they're used outside of American Sign Language (ASL)? If so, how do they learn about them if there's no way to see someone else make that face?" (Narrator comment: "I mean, I don't think there's any intelligent questions actually left on this site, is there? Who's asking 'Can music cause candle to light?' Obviously, no!")

"Do people still eat mashed potatoes? (Yes!) Can semen travel up your foot? (No,, it cannot.) Is the word 'stay asleep' alwasy spelled 'J'? (I don't even know what that means.) Do lobsters pee from their faces? (Uh, ugh, are you mad? Obviously no!)"

(Response:) "Yes, as others have pointed out, many crustaceans have two different types of excretory organs, both near the head. Usually only one is used, depending on the age of the animal. Lobsters and crabs, etc, use their urine smell like cats, to mark territory, warn rivals, etc." (Uh..oh.)"

The screen goes white and the scene transitions to footage of the narrator walking up to a door. He places an egg on the mat, then runs away.

End video description.

[disneytva]

Mickey Mouse Funhouse Opens Doors to Season 3 Next Month With Huey, Dewey and Louie

The third season of the whimsical animated preschool series Micky Mouse Funhouse will premiere Friday, February 23 on Disney Junior (9:30 a.m. EST/PST) and Disney Channel (10:30 a.m. EST/PST) before rolling out onto Disney+ later this year.

In the new season, Mickey, Minnie and their friends embark on more imaginative journeys through the magical doors of Funny the Funhouse (voiced by Harvey Guillén), returning them to places like the Enchanted Rainforest and the Old West and taking them to new locales like Movie Magic Land, as well as culturally rich locations like Armenia, Korea and India. Along their adventures, they make new friends and meet up with beloved Disney characters like Huey, Dewey and Louie, unknow if they will be their regular versions or their DuckTales 2017 versions. The new season also includes an epic camping trip special and sees Mickey and the gang celebrating an array of holidays, including Noche Buena, Chuseok, Arbor Day and Hanukkah.

Since its premiere in August 2021, the series has amassed nearly half a billion hours of viewing across linear, streaming and Disney Junior YouTube and consistently ranks as a top 10 monthly series on Disney Junior YouTube. In 2023, the series ranked among the Top 5 most watched series on Linear TV for preschoolers.