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Epic Game Store: Totally Reliable Delivery Service FREE + Spring Sale

Totally Reliable Delivery Service FREE (download before 4/8)
 

The Spring Sale is now here with fresh offers across a range of top content! Don't forget, Epic Coupons acquired in our Holiday Sale are expiring May 1, 2020 2:59am EST and able to be used on any eligible purchase $14.99 or above!

Spring Sale - ends 4/16

 

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    FamilyDick: Brotherly Affection – Chapter 2: Virtual Presentation

    Working from home is tough, and when Isaac Parker tries to have a productive meeting with his team, his annoying younger stepbrother, Johnny Ford, refuses to leave him alone. Pretty soon, the businessman puts the virtual meeting on mute and lets the little guy suck his cock while he works! See more at FamilyDick.

    The post FamilyDick: Brotherly Affection – Chapter 2: Virtual Presentation appeared first on QueerClick.




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    testing... testing... my con pics! yatta!!

    as my office's server is based overseas or whatever i think i can access here while i'm working thus a great reason to O.T. here are my trip's pic^^http://www.flickr.com/photos/fybabe/sets/72157624890186184/




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    everyone love 'em^^ oricon style fav artist!

    congrats!!2010年09月09日18時00分音楽ファン2万人が選んだ好きなアーティスト 毎年恒例となった好きなアーティストランキングの結果が、ついに発表となった。2万人にアンケートを実施し、栄えある第1位に輝いたのは、男女ほぼ全世代から支持されたモンスターグループ、嵐だ。10代総合、20代総合、30代女性、40代女性ランキングで軒並み1位に上り詰め、さらに女性総合ランキングでも1位になるなど、その人気はとどまることを知ら




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    Political Ads, No Filter

    As the primary season heats up, the spotlight is back on political advertising and social media. Recent controversies over “fake” ads on Facebook raises questions about the ethics of campaign strategies that target voters with misinformation. It doesn’t help that many of these tech companies are not exactly transparent about processes for addressing biased or […]




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    Social Inequality, Medical Fears, and Pandemics

    Who’s afraid of a global pandemic? We all are, at the moment. But like so many other forms of fear, concern about medical issues is much more acute for people in precarious and vulnerable social positions. The privileged—particularly those who are white and upper class—can more afford not to be preoccupied with health and medical […]




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    Partisanship and the Pandemic

    Can political leaders put partisanship aside to govern in a crisis? The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be a crucial test of politicians’ willingness to put state before party. Acting swiftly to slow the spread of a novel virus and cooperating with cross-partisans could mean the difference between life and death for many state residents. […]




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    Of Course It's The Pandemic, Stupid!

    In 1992, Bill Clinton’s campaign manager James Carville came up with one of the most famous campaign slogans in history when he pinned a note to the bulletin board of the campaign headquarters that said “It’s the economy, stupid.” There was a lot of stuff going on at the time, the tail end of the first Gulf War, the Rodney King Riots, Ross Perot’s quixotic campaign among other things. But we were in a recession that wasn’t particularly deep but it seemed to be hitting certain people very hard. Carville understood that everything flowed from being able to address that problem.

    It seems that the Trump administration thinks that slogan applies to their circumstance. And it is true that the record high unemployment claims and the small business crisis is as acute as anything we’ve ever seen. They believe they can just “open the country” and everything will fall into place as people just go back to normal, maybe with a few adjustments and people over 60 staying inside their houses for the foreseeable future.

    But, as always, they are missing the point. This piece in The Atlantic explains why:

    read more




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    New Banksy Art Depicts Nurse As Superhero

    It's true what they say. Not all heroes wear capes. They wear gloves, masks, and gowns. That's especially true these days.

    Source: Reuters

    LONDON (Reuters) - A young boy chooses a nurse as the superhero he wants to play with over Batman and Spiderman in a new artwork by Banksy that encapsulates the gratitude Britons have felt toward the country’s National Health Service during the coronavirus crisis.

    The painting by the secretive street artist was unveiled at University Hospital Southampton, in south England, on Wednesday.

    An image of the work was also posted on Banksy’s Instagram page with the caption “Game Changer”.

    Hospital chief executive Paula Head said: “So proud to reveal this amazing piece of art ‘Painting for Saints’, created by #Banksy as a thank you to all those who work with and for the NHS and our hospital.”

    “An inspirational backdrop to pause and reflect in these unprecedented times,” she added on Twitter.




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    Michigan: Latest updates on Coronavirus

    Here's a look at the latest on the coronavirus in Michigan.




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    Where Things Stand: Political Prayers

    President Trump plans to participate in the White House’s National Day of Prayer service in the Rose Garden this afternoon....




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    The Paramount Leader is Ready for Sacrifice: Your Sacrifice

    This week President Trump had a new message: he’s bored with the COVID19 epidemic. Or perhaps putting it a bit...




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    HyperX Teams up with Ducky and Launches HyperX x Ducky One 2 Mini Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

    The HyperX x Ducky One 2 Mini mechanical gaming keyboard features HyperX red linear mechanical switches built for performance, longevity and an 80 million lifetime click rating per switch.

    The post HyperX Teams up with Ducky and Launches HyperX x Ducky One 2 Mini Mechanical Gaming Keyboard appeared first on ThinkComputers.org.




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    ASRock Z490 PG Velocita Motherboard Technical Preview

    Today we will be taking a look at the ASRock Z490 PG Velocita Motherboard. While we are not allowed to tell you about performance of these parts, we are able to give you a technical preview.

    The post ASRock Z490 PG Velocita Motherboard Technical Preview appeared first on ThinkComputers.org.




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    The moon isn't 'dead': Ridges on lunar surface show signs of recent tectonic activity

    The moon isn't "dead" after all: Newly discovered ridges on the moon's surface are leading scientists to think that the moon might have an active tectonic system.




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    On This Day in Space! May 4, 2011: 1st official 'Star Wars' Day celebration

    On May 4, 2011, the first organized "Star Wars" Day celebration happened in Toronto. See how it happened in our On This Day in Space video series!




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    Pictures from space! Our image of the day

    An astronaut on board the International Space Station captured almost all of Mexico in a single shot while photographing planet Earth from inside the station's Cupola observatory.




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    Disney Plus drops epic 'Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga' trailer for May the Fourth

    "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" arrives on Disney Plus for Star Wars Day today (May 4), putting all nine films from the Skywalker saga in one place for fans and yes, there is a trailer.




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    Chaos reigns in detailed new views of Jupiter's icy moon Europa

    Scientists have gotten their best look to date at three chaotic patches on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa thanks to decade-old images from a long-defunct spacecraft.




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    Official: Taika Waititi to co-write and direct 'Star Wars' film

    "Thor: Love and Thunder" writer/director Taika Waititi has signed on to write and direct a "Star Wars" film.




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    Could life thrive on hydrogen-rich alien worlds?

    Life can thrive in a 100% hydrogen atmosphere, according to a new study. The finding could completely change our understanding of how (and where) life might exist in the universe.




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    Nickelodeon debuts first footage of iconic green slime in space

    Nickelodeon used its Kids' Choice Awards show broadcast to premiere the first footage of its trademark green slime floating on board the International Space Station.




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    Please Support Civil Liberties and Public Policy During the Covid-19 Crisis: An Appeal from Judy Norsigian

    These challenging times require fierce, broad, and intersectional activism – which is just what Civil Liberties and Public Policy (CLPP) has been doing for the past four decades. This now-independent nonprofit, which used to be affiliated with Hampshire College, continues its unique movement-building work preparing younger activists to work on the front lines of today’s struggle for reproductive justice. Please consider supporting CLPP today with a generous donation. 

    As we know, the Covid-19 pandemic is disproportionately harming those in our communities who were already facing ... More

    The post Please Support Civil Liberties and Public Policy During the Covid-19 Crisis: An Appeal from Judy Norsigian appeared first on Our Bodies Ourselves.



    • Abortion & Reproductive Rights
    • Activism & Resources

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    Review: Linguistics: why it matters by Geoffrey Pullum

    It's National Writing Day (for another 48 minutes) and I've reali{s/z}ed that I haven't written anything but emails and tweets today. So a blog post is needed. But a short one. Luckily, I have a very short book to review.

    The book is the linguistic installation of Polity Press's 'why it matters' series, and it's by the exceptionally clear Geoff Pullum. Here come the full disclosures: I know Geoff and I got this book for free. But I wouldn't say nice things about the book if I didn't mean them. (I'd just save myself the trouble of writing a blog post about it.)

    So, since it's by the exceptionally clear Geoff Pullum, this is an exceptionally clear book. It's just 120-something pages, divided into five themed chapters on why linguistics matters: for what it tells us about what makes us human, about how sentences work, how meaning, thought and language intertwine, how it uncovers social relations, and how it might help machines understand humans. I particularly admire Geoff's ability to write short sentences about complex topics. (That's lesson 1 in making things exceptionally clear—complex topics aren't helped by grammatically complex sentences!) The real value of the book is in the examples that show how linguistics does matter—for expanding human understanding, for uncovering and undoing prejudices, and in applications that can help people.

    Here's the bit that I most enthusiastically underlined:
    [T]o a large extent the importance of linguistics has turned out to lie not so much in the results it has achieved (those evolve over time and are often overturned or contradicted) but in the change in the general view of what's important enough to study. It lies in our moral evolution of our perception of what we should be looking at and what we should value. 
    That leads into a discussion of the shift from thinking of signed languages as gesticulations to their recognition as complex languages that are as languagey as any other human languages. But I think it could have introduced many of the sections. I do believe that linguistics has done a lot of good in the world in the past 50 or so years, and a lot of that is about valuing people and their languages. Though the book is only long enough for a few examples of that, they're great examples.

    The ideal audience for this book? I think it would make an excellent present from any students studying (or planning to study) linguistics to their parents. When your parents' friends ask them "What's your kid up to?" and they say "Studying Linguistics", the conversation usually DIES. Give them the gift of knowing how to talk up your fascinating studies! It'd also be great for anyone considering studying linguistics, or who just thinks: "That sounds like an interesting subject, but I don't quite know what it's for." (It's mostly not about translation or language teaching, by the way.)

    Geoff blogged about writing the book, which you can read here.
    Here's a link to the publisher's site. It's only giving me the UK buying links, but I hope that if you approach it from another country you'll get the appropriate page!




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    Book week 2019: Jane Setter's Your Voice Speaks Volumes

    Welcome to the first review post of Book Week 2019. See the intro to Book Week 2019 to understand more about what I'm doing this week.

    I'm starting with the most recent book in the ol' pile of books from publishers:

    Your voice speaks volumes
    it's not what you say, but how you say it

    by Jane Setter
    Oxford University Press, 2019


    Jane is Professor of Phonetics at the University of Reading (UK) and a recipient of the prestigious National Teaching Fellowship. (As you can see, we are on a first-name basis, as we travel some of the same Public Linguist circles.) I mention the teaching fellowship because it is relevant: Jane is excellent at making linguistics, particularly phonetics, crystal clear for the uninitiated. She uses that talent to great effect in her first book for the general public. 

    This book speaks squarely to a general British audience — and to those who want to know more about English-language issues and attitudes in this country. I'm writing this on a day when my social media feed has given me (a) the story of a man wrongly arrested for public drunkenness in Brighton—because the police had mistaken his Liverpool accent for slurring and (b) a misreading of the relevance of accent in the US (as a means to say something about how accents are read in the UK). But I'd have at least two such things to tell you about on any other day when I might have written this post. Accents make the news in Britain because they matter inordinately. Differences that might not be discernible to those from other countries are imbued with layers and layers of meaning and subjected to piles and piles of prejudice. 

    As I warned in the intro to Book Week, I have not been able to read the whole book. But I was able to get through much more than I thought I'd be able to in a single evening (four of the seven chapters: 1, 2, 3, 7). Part of my speed was because I could skim the bits that were explaining linguistic facts that I already knew. (That's not to say that the facts here are too basic. I've just had a helluva lotta linguistics education.) But it is a zippy read throughout. Setter uses personal and celebrity stories to demonstrate the everyday relevance of the phonetic and sociolinguistic facts that she's explaining. (Hey look, I seem to revert to last-name basis when I'm reviewing someone's book.) 

    The chapters I haven't yet read are those that I'd probably learn the most from: on the use of linguistics in forensic investigations, on voices in performance (including accent training for actors and why singers' accents change in song—which she should know, since she's also a singer in a rock band), and on transgender and synthesized voices. I started with the chapter that relates most to my work ('English voices, global voices') and then went back to the beginning where I was most likely to run into things I already know. That's good from a reviewing perspective, because I can say with confidence that Setter covers well the things that I know need to be covered for her audience. But as I got further into the book, the more unexpected things I learned. I ended in the chapter on women's and men's voices, and I will tell you: I learned some things! To give an example, I liked her interpretation of a study in which women and men were asked to count to ten using various kinds of voices, including 'confident' and 'sexy'. It turns out men generally don't have a 'sexy voice' to put on, while women do, and this might tell us something about what we're sociali{s/z}ed to find sexy—and why.

    It's hard to write about sound —and especially about linguistic sounds for a general audience. Writing for linguists is easy, because we have a lot of practice in using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). But you don't want to fill a book for non-linguists with letters that don't make the same sound as they make in English spelling, or letters they've never even seen before. Setter mostly talks about accents without having to get into the kind of phonetic minutiae that excite linguists and make laypeople glaze over. Where she does need technical terms (e.g. lexical sets), she explains them carefully and clearly. But happily for all of us, Setter wrote this book in the internet age. Throughout the book, there are scannable QR codes by which one can hear the sounds she's talking about. (You can get there without a QR reader too, the web URLs are provided.)

    For readers of this blog with an interest in US/UK issues, there is plenty of comparison between UK and US and discussion of "Americani{s/z}ation". These are discussed with an assumed familiarity with British Englishes and less with American Englishes.

    This book is an important instrument for fighting accentism and other linguistic prejudice in the UK. It might make a nice gift for that person in your life who says they "care deeply about the English language", but really what they mean is "I like to judge other people's use of the English language". 

    But more than that, it is a great demonstration of what the study of phonetics can do. I really, really recommend it for A-level students in English (language) and their teachers, as it touches on many of the areas of linguistics taught at that level and would surely inspire many doable research projects. 

    Let me just end with: congratulations on this book, Jane!




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    dicing with death

    Previously on this blog, I've discussed whether BrE and AmE are different in their singular for dice. Have a look at that blog post if that's what you're interested in.

    This one is about the phrase to dice with death, meaning essentially, to take risks with one's life or safety. It's one of those things that I didn't reali{s/z}e was BrE until another American pointed it out to me. (Apologies if you were that uncredited American—I can no longer find the correspondence.)

    The OED says the use of dice to mean 'risk' is especially associated with motor sports (a phrase that itself seems to be more BrE than AmE). It is not about chopping up death into cubes, but about 'gambling with one's life' (a phrasing that can be used in either language). Though Merriam-Webster includes this use of dice with an example from Newsweek, it's nowhere to be seen in the American portion of the GloWBE corpus.

    The phrase raised two questions for me:
    • is it dicing with death or dicing with Death?
      I imagined the latter, that it's playing a game of dice with the Grim Reaper. But none of the corpus examples treat death as a proper name, so perhaps I'm alone in that.
    • what's the relationship to dancing with death
    Since not a lot of people use dice as an intransitive verb to mean 'to play dice', I was imagining that dance with death might have arisen from a misunderstanding of dice with death—an eggcorn, if you will.  And I think there's some evidence to back that up:


    In this Google Books Ngram chart (click on it for details), the blue line shows dicing with death is already in existence in BrE during (BrE) the War. The green line is American use of it, intermingling early on with dancing with death. Dancing with death eventually catches up with dicing in AmE, while also rising in BrE, perhaps getting more currency as people have more distance from the 'risk' use of dice as a verb.

    For what it's worth, it's slightly easier to find capital-D Death with dance than with dice, but it's far more common to find it lower-case.




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    Torta de Liquidificador de Frango

    A melhor receita de torta de liquidificador que já fiz! A massa é super fácil e leva poucos ingredientes! Te ensino ainda como fazer um recheio de frango que é rápido e prático! Bora fazer para dividir com a família? Rende uma torta grande ????

    O post Torta de Liquidificador de Frango apareceu primeiro em Cozinha do Bom Gosto.




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    Research Foundation Set to Study the Economic and Emotional Impact of Active Shooter/Hostile Events

    The Fire Protection Research Foundation, the research affiliate of NFPA is overseeing a two-year project on the Economic and Emotional Impact of an Active Shooter/Hostile Event – thanks to Fire Prevention and Safety Grant money from FEMA.




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    Despite relatively small numbers, more women are assuming leadership roles in the US fire service

    It will come as no surprise to women in the fire service but the number of female firefighters in the U.S. remains relatively low, according to the most recent U.S. Fire Department Profile from NFPA. The newest data was released today on the heels of a




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    Pantry Pickings

    This is my dream pantry! Sweet and savoury preserves, dried herbs, aromatics, potatoes and root vegetables harvested from the garden to last throughout the year!




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    Pantry pickings

    Time to dig into the deepest corners of the kitchen cupboards and get creative!




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    Pantry Pickings - Have a Look in my Kitchen

    I was just working on a series of packages and tins in my kitchen that I hadn't drawn during the Pantry Art Project in January, when you came up with Wanna Play Along - this is the work I love most, so yay, I'm playing along!




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    Pantry Pickings - my favourite pantry items




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    How to make a mask with fabric to wear or donate

    Crafters began making fabric masks when the public learned that COVID-19 was causing a major shortage of personal protective equipment. But since the CDC changed its recommendation on April 3 to urge that everyone wears a mask when leaving the house, sewing machines around the world have been working harder than ever. Here’s what you need to know if you plan to make fabric masks to wear or to donate.[...]




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    Costa Rican eco-lodge is made of reclaimed wood from a 100-year-old home

    Costa Rican architectural firm Gussa has unveiled a peaceful eco-lodge located on the country's beautiful Caribbean coastline. Esquina Verde is a cozy rental accommodation made out of locally sourced materials and reclaimed wood salvaged from a 100-year-old home. Surrounded by lush vegetation and native wildlife, the lodge's multiple hammocks that hang from the thatched roofs make it an idyllic place to disconnect.[...]




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    A pair of industrial buildings are reborn as a creative office in Portland

    In Northwest Portland, two former industrial structures have been given a new lease on life as Redfox Commons, a light-filled campus for creative, tech and retail workspaces. Local design practice LEVER Architecture led the adaptive reuse project that spans 60,000 square feet and is split between a west wing and a larger east wing across two floors. The architects reclaimed over 6,500 linear feet of timber and combined the salvaged material with new industrial-inspired elements — such as weathering steel cladding and ribbon windows — to pay homage to the building’s history. [...]




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    PICO microgarden lets you grow anywhere from home to car

    Indoor gardening offers all the same benefits as a garden in the ground outside. Namely, fresh food and a low environmental impact. But not everyone has the natural space for a garden, which is where indoor planting comes in for the win. While there are many systems and techniques you can implement inside the home, PICO stands out as a versatile option that you can place anywhere and still achieve growing success. [...]




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    Floating islands bring a new type of public park to Copenhagen

    Australian architect Marshall Blecher and Danish design studio Fokstrot have unveiled plans for a new type of public space in the heart of Copenhagen — a “parkipelago” of floating islands. Dubbed the Copenhagen Islands, this non-profit initiative follows the success of CPH-Ø1, the first prototype island that launched in 2018 and was anchored in various parts of the city harbor. Copenhagen Islands plans to launch three more human-made islands in 2020, with more planned in the future.[...]




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    Indonesian Microlibrary uses prefab FSC-certified timber

    In the Indonesian city of Semarang, international architecture firm SHAU has completed Microlibrary Warak Kayu, an inspiring new public space that raises the bar for community design and sustainable architecture. Prefabricated with only FSC-certified timber, the new neighborhood icon is the fifth built project in the Microlibrary series, an initiative to encourage reading in low-income areas by creating "socially performative multifunctional community spaces with environmentally conscious designs and materials." In addition to the exclusive use of sustainably grown and logged timbers, the project is the first library in Indonesia made entirely of FSC-certified wood. The Microlibrary Warak Kayu is also[...]




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    Grade II listed Victorian home undergoes a green renovation

    London-based firm Will Gamble Architects has breathed new life into a dilapidated building in the small village of Gretton, U.K. The complex consisted of a Grade II listed Victorian house, a disused cattle shed and a set of ruins of a former parchment factory. Although the project presented several challenges, the architects managed to strategically incorporate the existing structures, as well as several reclaimed materials found onsite, into the new design in lieu of complete demolition.[...]




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    Modern prefab retreat in Italy takes in panoramic alpine views

    Perched atop a hill in Aosta Valley’s highest municipality in northwest Italy is the newly completed House in Chamois, a modern, prefabricated home by Torino-based design and build firm Leap Factory. As with all “Leap Houses,” the home’s entire design and construction process was managed by the Leap Factory team and was constructed with a modular system built of natural, recyclable materials to allow for maximum flexibility. All of the components provided by Leap Factory for the House in Chamois were also designed and produced in Italy. [...]




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    Eco-friendly coffee range uses cork to reduce plastic waste

    These days are filled with stress and anxiety, but it’s also time to take pleasure in the small joys of life — such as a good cup of coffee. For coffee-connoisseurs, designer Samson Chung has just released a new collection of coffee and espresso makers called Kork Kafeware that, thanks to its sleek combination of stainless steel and cork accents, lets you sit down to enjoy a superb cup of joe, slowly and sustainably.[...]




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    Whimsical guesthouse uses prefab timber and corten steel

    Belgian firm Atelier Vens Vanbelle has created a stunning guest home for a client who works in the film industry. Located in the Uitbergen region of East Flanders, the Alex Guesthouse boasts an eye-catching design comprised of a unique curved volume made out of prefabricated timber and clad in corten steel.[...]




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    Red brick firehouse in Belgium runs on solar power

    Rotterdam-based studio Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven has built a charming new firehouse for Wilrijk, Belgium. The firehouse is clad in bright red bricks that stand out thanks to white grout and vertical columns made of larger bricks. The building is also incredibly sustainable, generating its own clean energy through a massive rooftop solar array.[...]




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    Brother sister duo create tropical tiny home in Hawaii

    Tiny homes are still all the rage within the minimalist and wanderlust communities of the world, and what better place to consider tiny living than in the warmth of the big island, Hawaii? If equatorial location is on your must-have list, this tiny home might be just the serving of simplicity and decadence you’re looking for. [...]




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    This Napa Valley winery has been farmed organically since 1985

    Nestled on a gently sloping segment of land on the quiet, western end of St. Helena, California, Spottswoode Estate contains a remarkable piece of environmental history. The property became one of the first vineyards in the Napa Valley to farm 100% organically in 1985, eventually evolving into a leader in sustainable farming for the famous wine-growing region.[...]




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    Climate change could lead to dramatic decline in narwhals

    Climate change is affecting everybody, even narwhals. These mysterious “unicorns of the sea” may decline by 25% by the end of this century, according to a new study.[...]