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“Venezia è l’unico, vero, grande amore che ha resistito nel tempo. Sta cambiando e vi è la necessità di una sinergia tra internazionalità, politica, cultura e impresa”Adele Re Rebaudengo, Presidente Venice Gardens Foundation Li si scopre come un’inaspettata macchia verde avvicinandosi a S. Marco dal vaporetto. Affacciati sul bacino marciano, i Giardini Reali coprono una superficie di circa 5.000 mq, sono collegati a sorpresa alla piazza da un ponte levatoio e circondati da canali sui quali prospettano il Museo Correr, le Sale Imperiali del Palazzo Reale, il Museo Archeologico Nazionale e la Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana. Il loro restauro, concluso nel 2019, ha restituito alla città un luogo caduto in disuso, una vera scoperta per chi visita la zona monumentale di Venezia e un piacere ritrovato per i cittadini. Il progetto…

SARDINIA IS OFTEN mistaken for a tropical island or confused with Sicily,’ sighs viticulturist Salvatore Mura at his family’s estate in Gallura. ‘Sometimes it’s missing from Italian maps altogether.’ Mercifully, Sardinia’s stunning beaches attract tourists from around the globe, though few explore inland beyond her turquoise waters. They are missing out. Inhabited since Paleolithic times, Sardinia is a treasure trove of mysterious artefacts and traditions. It is also the second largest island in the Mediterranean. ‘It’s like a continent,’ says Daniela Pinna, owner of Tenute Olbios. Shaped by winds from every direction and created over several eras, ‘Sardinia’s soil and climate are completely different between the north, centre and south’, she explains. This diverse terroir, coupled with a long history of occupation by various cultures, yields a rich viticultural landscape.…

Parade problem My town has an annual animal parade, and I was so excited to take my dog, Luna! She’s a dachshund, so I dressed her up as a hotdog and I dressed up as ketchup to match. When the parade started, all of the dogs started walking with their humans, but not my Luna. She lied down on the ground and refused to move! After a few minutes of trying to encourage her with no luck, I started lightly tugging on her leash. But she still wouldn’t move. All of the people and pets behind us had to wait because we were holding up the line. In the end, I had to pick up Luna and walk her through the parade! — Taylor, NY Goat goof I have a…

La préservation de nos environnements naturels sur notre continent en effervescence est une tâche fort complexe. À mesure que les villes prennent de l’expansion et que les modes de vie évoluent, il faut continuellement trouver de nouvelles stratégies vertes pour respecter les objectifs de conservation. Cet impératif est applicable dans nos méthodes de travail, mais touche aussi le financement d’activités lors des étapes initiales. Canards Illimités Canada (CIC) et ses partenaires se tournent continuellement vers l’avenir pour financer les besoins pressants en matière de conservation. Le partenariat « Habitat Joint Ventures », lancé il y a près de 40 ans, a mis en commun de nombreux partenaires et leurs ressources respectives. Il s’agit d’une innovation transformatrice en matière de financement qui a permis de sauver des populations de sauvagine qui…

63% of Bihar’s population are either EBCs or OBCs 12 No. of seats the RJD-led Grand Alliance lost by in 2020 despite a near-identical vote share IT WAS A SWELTERING SATURDAY IN PATNA ON MAY 3, but the heat wasn’t just from the rising mercury in the summer. At the Miller High School Ground in the centre of the city, Tejashwi Yadav was whipping up some serious passion of his own. The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader was addressing a rally—the ‘Ati-Pichhda Jagao, Tejashwi Sarkar Banao (Wake Up the EBCs, Elect a Tejashwi government)’ rally organised by his party’s EBC (Extremely Backward Classes) cell. “No EBC community has prospered, while Nitish has flourished,” Tejashwi thundered, mounting a salvo against his once grand ally—Janata Dal (United) supremo and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. He…

An estimated 15 billion tonnes of soot spread through the atmosphere creating one long night that lasted several years, making photosynthesis all but impossible and heralding an endless winter that saw average temperatures fall by as much as 28oC. This was the fate awaiting those few wretched creatures that survived the initial impact of a 14km-wide asteroid 66 million years ago – and the earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires and volcanic eruptions that swiftly followed in its wake. Around three quarters of all species went extinct and no animal bigger than a Labrador dog survived – but things could have been very different say researchers at the University of Texas. They reported findings that had the asteroid struck Earth just a few minutes earlier it would have hit deep ocean, rather than…

Grand Blanc Township, Mich. Anti-Mormon attack: A gunman driving a four-door pickup truck flying two American flags slammed into a Mormon church building during Sunday worship services this week before spraying the area with bullets from an assault rifle and igniting a fire that burned the church to the ground. At least four congregants were killed, and eight more were injured, the youngest being a 6-year-old boy. The attacker, who died in a parking lot shoot-out with police, was identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, a Marine veteran who had served a four-year tour in Iraq. Friends and acquaintances recalled that Sanford had developed a deep hatred of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints after a devout member he had been dating in Utah ended their relationship. Sanford…

Dailan Pugh was born in 1955 in Melbourne, Victoria; and raised in a shack built by his parents in bushland at Dunmoochin, near Hurstbridge on the outskirts of the city. The shack evolved into a rambling house as he grew. He currently lives and works at Byron Bay in northeast New South Wales. “I have drawn and painted all my life,” the artist reveals. “I had some tuition from my father Clifton Pugh; but no formal training. Being raised in an artistic environment and spending lots of time in the bush provided my artistic education.” Growing up, playing and exploring in the bush, as well as raising injured and orphaned native animals, has made this man passionate about Australia’s natural environment. A strong nexus between art, the environment and conservation…

ON THE EVENING OF DECEMBER 14, a short message from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national media office announced Nitin Nabin, the low-key minister for public works in the new government in Bihar, as the party’s ‘working president’, a preliminary step before taking over the top post nationally. At just 46, he’ll be the youngest BJP president in history (breaking Nitin Gadkari’s record, who was 52 when he took over) when he takes over as the party’s national chief next year. Born after the BJP was formally constituted in 1980, Nabin will also be the first millennial leader to enter/head the party’s national organisational core. For many outside the party (and inside it too), the name had little recall. Inside the BJP, though, the appointment brought clarity, as it had…

THE 7th Annual Mangakino Lake Hop was held on the weekend of September 26th. The Friday night cruise to Taupo had a very good turnout of hot rods, custom cars, and a mix of vehicles from the ‘50s to the ‘90s, as well as some American Muscle cars just a few years old. After the night cruise, everyone headed back to the Mangakino Golf Club Rooms for an evening meal and a catch-up with friends & family. The week leading up to this year's event was hampered by rain, and like many, I wondered if the event would be rained off like another event in Matamata. However, the committee of Katie, Bryan & Barry had that local Waikato knowledge that the sun would shine on the day, and it did.…

Lisa Su CEO AMD Lisa Su is acutely aware that technology is all about making the right bets. In her 10 years at the helm of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), she has steered one of Silicon Valley’s greatest turnarounds by focusing on its strengths and strategic dealmaking. When she took over at the company in 2014, its share price was languishing around $3. By leaning into making central processing units (CPUs) for laptops and PCs, and graphics processors, used in gaming consoles and PCs, Su brought AMD onto more stable footing, strengthening tactical partnerships with companies including Sony and Microsoft. In recent years, AMD has closed the $49 billion purchase of competitor Xilinx—the largest semiconductor deal ever—as well as the $1.9 billion acquisition of data-center networking company Pensando. The…

“THE AIR IS HEAVY WITH SEX AND DEATH, NOT VIOLENT DEATH BUT DEATH BY DECAY, OVERRIPENESS, ROTTING, DEATH BY DROWNING, SUFFOCATION, FEVER.... ” THE PROSE of Joan Didion is a kind of fog, rendering everything opalescent with fresh, weird light. It’s the world you know, except not quite. Her idiosyncratic genius is in full evidence in South and West, a slim new volume that collects two fragments that never quite turned into published essays. Ideas and images come into quick relief: the “morbid luminescence” of New Orleans, the entire notion of California summoned up with unteachable prose: “Rattlers in the dry grass. Sharks beneath the Golden Gate.” The first fragment in South and West, and by far the more substantial of the two, is the record of a journey the…

LENGTH OF TIME: 4-5 HOURS LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: MEDIUM 1 DISMANTLING RIGHT PEOPLE, we need as much room as we can possibly get out of this case. Liquid-cooling can be a fiddly operation with tight angles and impossible gaps. To make life easier, we start off by taking as much of the case apart as possible. You may be thinking, “well why have you left the front radiators in?” These work in our favor as we’ll be installing a 360mm radiator behind them. Other than that, the side panel wing doors come off with one screw holding each one. The front panel pops off with a gentle pull from the bottom and the same applies to the top panel. Now that’s stripped, on to some more tearing down. 2 GPU TEARDOWN…

FOR OLDER RESI-DENTS OF REHRA MAAFI, a village on the outskirts of Utraula town in Balrampur district, old images of Jamaluddin—now known as Chhangur Baba—are still vivid. A thin, swarthy man from the Pankhiya Muslim community, with six fingers on his right hand (hence the moniker Chhangur), cycling between villages, selling trinkets and rings. Once elected pradhan, he is remembered for bridging the Yadav-Muslim divide. On July 5, however, following a manhunt, when the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested the 70-year-old along with an associate, Neetu alias Nasreen, in Lucknow, they described him as the head of an elaborate and organised illegal conversion racket with wide reach across the state. Indeed, Chhangur had long exchanged his bicycle for a Toyota Fortuner, moved with armed guards and owned multiple properties.…

Even before the jump ball, the basketball game, held at 10:30 p.m. on August 2 in a small village in southwest China was already in the spotlight, with the cameras of live-streamers all lined up and rolling courtside. It was the final match between teams from the counties of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou Province. There were no superstar players, no advertising, and no tickets. The basketball court in Taipan Village, where the event was hosted, is open to all. Temporary lights were put up to illuminate the grounds for the nighttime battle. The stands were packed with “over 10,000 people,” according to the China Central Television journalist reporting live from the scene. “If it hadn’t been for pandemic prevention and control measures, there would’ve been over…

INDONESIA In Jakarta’s prestigious Pantai Mutiara neighbourhood, a tale of two realities unfolds. On one hand, it’s a picturesque waterfront area populated with palatial homes with direct and private access to the sea; on the other, it’s a community grappling with persistent flooding and land subsidence. Amid this paradox, one homeowner sought to transform her cherished property into a resilient abode. She came across K-Thengono Design Studio by chance, spotting the architect’s name on a construction project board in the neighbourhood during her morning runs. What started as a phone call turned into a two-year working relationship that yielded an exceptionally crafted home which has future-proofed its site while addressing her lifestyle needs. “We designed with resilience in mind, ensuring that the structure could withstand future environmental changes,” shares the…

The Zisha teapot, produced in Yixing, Jiangsu, is well known throughout China. These teapots are mainly classified according to their typical shapes into Smooth-bodied and Floriated Zisha teapot. Rather than having ornate decoration, the Smooth-bodied Zisha teapot emphasizes its geometric shape and spatial form and relies on bright lines and plain, natural forms to embody the features of the shape of the teapot. By contrast, the Floriated Zisha teapot, based on the spatial modeling of the smooth-bodied Zisha teapot, is created by mimicking the vivid shapes found in nature (such as those of flowers, birds, insects, and fish). These floriated teapots have designs of bionic pictographic models delivered through relievo, demirelievo, and round carving in various parts of the teapot, such as the spout, handle, and base. Their external features,…

創業者面臨各種混亂的需求，從產品開發到尋求投資，比比皆是。忙於應對危機時，企業文化的塑造常被忽視，但這卻十分重要。自第一天起就建立價值導向的「不苛刻」文化，能夠促進永續成長、適應變化並贏得員工信任。精實決策與5％法則能讓團隊在明確的指導下自主作業，培養出以人為本的韌性組織。 Founders face chaotic demands, from product development to securing investment. Amid crises, cultural formation is often overlooked but essential. Instilling a values-driven, "Not Mean" culture from day one enables sustainable growth, adaptability, and employee trust. Lean decision-making and the 5％ Rule empower teams with guided autonomy, fostering resilient, people-centered organizations. 1 首先決定什麼是重要的 1 Decide first what's important 1984 年，阿尼爾．K．辛格爾與合夥人共同創立NetScout 時，便承諾採用一種不同的管理方式：決策精實但不嚴苛，他們稱之為「精實而不苛刻」。隨著時間過去，這個理念演變為他們的核心指導原則「5％法則」：在每個專案開始時做出清晰的前期決策，然後授權員工執行，給予充分的信任與自主權。這種簡單的方法不僅節省時間和資源，還維繫了員工士氣，並將浪費降到最低。 When Anil K. Singhal and his partners cofounded NetScout in 1984, they committed to a different management approach: Lean decision-making without the harshness, which they termed being "Lean But Not Mean." Over time, this evolved into their guiding "5％ Rule," a method of setting clear, upfront decisions for every project, and then empowering employees to execute with trust and autonomy. This simple approach not only saved time and resources…

La mission de Canards Illimités Canada, et son histoire qui a débuté il y a 87 ans, reposent fermement sur l’amitié. Nous avons permis d’assurer la conservation de plus de 3,6 millions d’hectares d’habitat et nous avons orienté favorablement et appuyé les gains de conservation pour 81 millions d’hectares supplémentaires de terres et de plans d’eau partout au pays. Chaque année, nous ajoutons d’autres réussites à ces résultats déjà remarquables. Ce travail important, y compris la science qui propulse nos efforts et les programmes d’éducation qui créent la prochaine génération de défenseurs de l’environnement, a un objectif unique. Nous fournissons un habitat essentiel à la survie de 70 % des oiseaux migrateurs de l’Amérique du Nord. Mais nous ne sommes pas seuls dans cette mission. En 1986, le Canada et…

You’ve finally arrived in Cuba and your pockets are stuffed with pesos. One thing and one thing only is on your mind: cigars. And you’re ready to spend some serious coin. You can hardly contain your excitement as you approach the nearest La Casa del Habano shop. Which cigars are you going to buy? How many boxes? Montecristo No. 2? Cohiba Siglo VI? The possibilities make you pick up your pace, but when you walk through the door and B-line straight for the walk-in humidor, you find8230; a lot of empty shelves. And a lot of petit coronas. Some of the Cohibas you manage to spot are approaching $100 per cigar. Confusion and panic start to bubble up from your gut. What’s happening here? CIGAR AFICIONADO visited every Casa del…

₹ 5,000 CRORE Projected budget for Amdavad 2030; it’s Rs 1,800 cr. for scaled-down Glasgow 2026 ₹ 521 CRORE Gujarat’s sports outlay in FY26, up from Rs 2.5 cr. in 2002 IN the vast hall of the Commonwealth Sport General Assembly in Glasgow in late November, beats of the dhol suddenly filled the air and garba dancers swept across the floor—an exuberant flourish after Ahmedabad was officially declared host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games. For Gujarat’s deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief P.T. Usha and other officials present, the moment carried little surprise. What it sharpened instead was the sheer scale of the task ahead. That sense had been building for weeks. Once the Executive Board of Commonwealth Sport recommended Ahmedabad in mid-October, the Glasgow ratification…

From our pets It's a dog's life, we say. But why do we think that? Because of the utter joy they get from simple activities like chasing a ball? Or the unconditional devotion and loyalty they show for one human? Perhaps it's the ability to nap whenever they need to? Or how they find pleasure from the same things, day in, day out? It's all the above and more, but it's not just dogs that we can learn from. Who hasn't envied the self-containment of a cat, curled up in the sunniest, comfiest spot in the house? Or admired ants working so efficiently as a team to survive in a world where you're one of the smallest. In his book The Happiness Of Dogs (Granta), Mark Rowlands explains how animals…

After PK Saxena moved from the southern Australian city of Adelaide to the tiny town of Booleroo Centre in January, the 36-year-old high school teacher found himself facing a daily commute of about 75 kilometers (46 miles) to and from his new school in rural Orroroo. So he decided to switch to an electric car. “Fuel costs really do add up when you move out to the countryside,” he says. Saxena briefly considered Tesla Inc.’s lowest-priced EV, the Model 3, but eventually settled on a metallic gray Atto 3 from a new entrant to the local market: China’s BYD Co. Although little known in Australia, the company is a giant in its homeland, where it’s been making vehicles for almost two decades and counts Warren Buffett as a longtime investor.…

In the fittingly named neighbourhood of Old Tuxedo in Winnipeg, home to some of the city’s wealthiest families, grand old detached properties sit sparsely placed on generous, green plots. It is here, on an empty site next to a historical home dating from 1929, that local practice 5468796 Architecture was called upon to compose its latest residential design, Veil House. ‘The old houses in this neighbourhood are becoming less and less attractive, increasingly feeling smaller and dated,’ says architect Sasa Radulovic, who co-founded the dynamic architecture studio with Johanna Hurme in Downtown Winnipeg in 2007 (Colin Neufeld joined the practice shortly after). ‘In Winnipeg, most houses of that time are timber framed, and that is not necessarily a technology that is meant to last forever. So our clients were after…

In the realm of foreign policy, India had an eventful half-year that may well reshape its future course. The first inflection point came in May, when the government launched Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack, accompanied by a carefully calibrated diplomatic effort to rally international support. Soon after came a far more unpredictable variable: a sledgehammer called Donald Trump. Jeopardising the India-US strategic partnership is Trump’s characteristically unilateral move to slap a 25 per cent tariff on imports from India, citing its unjustifiably high tariff regime. More damaging still was an additional 25 per cent penalty on Indian goods, ostensibly in retaliation for New Delhi’s continued purchases of discounted Russian oil, bringing the total tariff burden to a bruising 50 per cent. This economic broadside has done…

“ Loved being at a show that was packed with people who were so enthusiastic about diving, the ocean and photography. The atmosphere was infectious. ”Alex Mustard With almost 60,000 visitors from all over the world, Suntec was abuzz with ocean enthusiasm over the most important weekend in the year’s diving calendar: ADEX Singapore! There was something on offer for every ocean lover, and every ocean lover in the making, from great deals on equipment and trips to mind-blowing underwater imagery, from tek diving to mermaids, seahorse scientists to ocean artists, kid’s activities to parties that went on until dawn, the world has never seen a dive show quite like this one! SEAHORSE SCIENTISTS The world’s seahorse experts travelled from all corners of the globe to share their incredible insights…

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s long-delayed summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his first in four years, unfolds at a moment when US president Donald Trump is violently rearranging the global chessboard. A time when the world is sharply polarised by war, sanctions and shifting power centres, forcing nations to rethink old assumptions and quietly redraw their strategic maps. In this charged backdrop, Putin’s India visit is far more than a routine bilateral; it is a signal, to the West and to the Global South, about where Moscow believes its long-term partners lie and for India to tell the US that it cannot be bullied into submission. Both sides look to reboot their relationship. In a rare and exclusive interview to the India Today Group’s TV team of Anjana Om Kashyap and…

“It’s a dream!” Bicho Carrera is still beaming with happiness after winning the 3rd FAI World Paragliding Acro Championships held in Italy last July. Being World Champion in acro has been his ambition since he decided to be a professional acro pilot in 2015, when he was just 19 years old. “I feel good! It’s been a lot of work and sacrifice, but it pays!” he says with a grin. Just a year ago, he didn’t believe it would be possible. He was stuck in his homeland Chile due to the Covid pandemic and was unable to travel and train for a year. But come 2021 everything changed for the better. “Training in El Hierro and Organya I started to feel I would have a chance for the top three.”…

作為銷售人員，你需要培養以下6種心態： 1 這是雙贏嗎？ 2 有信任感嗎？ 3 你是否創造了價值？ 4 他們的直覺感受是什麼？ 5 這是最佳投資嗎？ 6 你能做得更好嗎？ There are six mindsets you need to develop as a salesperson: 1 IS THIS A WIN-WIN? 2 IS THERE TRUST? 3 ARE YOU ADDING VALUE? 4 WHAT'S THEIR GUT FEELING? 5 IS THIS THE BEST INVESTMENT? 6 CAN YOU GET BETTER? 心態 1 這是雙贏嗎？ Mindset 1 IS THIS A WIN-WIN? 雙贏銷售理念徹底顛覆了過去的銷售思惟。它不再強調推銷產品或說服顧客成交，反而聚焦在幫助顧客做出符合自身利益的明智決策，同時也兼顧賣家的目標。重點不在施壓或說服， 更重要的是對話、好奇以及尋找共同點。 A win-win sales philosophy flips the old idea of selling on its head. Instead of pushing products or talking people into a deal, it focuses on helping customers make informed decisions that actually serve their interests while also supporting the seller's goals. It is less about pressure and persuasion, and more about conversation, curiosity, and finding common ground. 4成功的銷售人員能同時展現自信與關懷。過度自信而缺乏同理心，會讓你顯得咄咄逼人；過度同理而缺乏領導力，則無法引導顧客做出決定。雙贏思惟避免走向這兩個極端，鼓勵你發掘真正的需求，公開分享資訊，打造能為各方創造價值的解決方案。 Successful salespeople show both confidence and…

Australia generates 30,000 tonnes of commercial furniture waste annually – with an estimated 95% ending up in landfill.1 To combat this, King Living incorporates sustainability and product longevity into its furniture design and manufacturing processes. Since 1977, King Living has produced modular furniture designed to adapt over time. To support this adaptability, the King-Care recovering service enables existing sofas to be repaired and refreshed, often decades after their original purchase. A first-iteration 1977 Award Sofa, which was first recovered in 1994, was fully updated again in-house in 2024. The restoration took place at the King Living Design and Support Centre in Turrella, New South Wales, involving four of King’s longstanding craftspeople with tenures spanning 18 to 26 years at the company. Phil, a foam specialist (18 years at King), renewed…

Project by WILMOTTE & ASSOCIÉS All the output of Wilmotte & Associés, the Paris-based firm (also with offices in Milan) active on an international level for almost 50 years in various disciplinary ambits – from architecture to interior design, museum design and urban planning, as well as product design – stands out for a common denominator, in spite of the diversity of scales and programs: an expressive language of sober lines, avoiding spectacle and favoring quality materials, in total integration with the context. This modus operandi is particularly visible in historical urban settings, where the contemporary compositional signature of the studio is grafted into the existing fabric with elegance and harmony. This can be seen in the project of about 3000 square meters for the offices of the Kresk cosmetics…

It was a very big deal on Sept. 14, 1966, when astronauts Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon flew their Gemini 11 spacecraft to a record altitude of 850 miles. It has remained a big deal for 58 years, while that benchmark for a crewed spacecraft in Earth orbit remained. But things are changing: the crew members of the Polaris Dawn mission are set to fire their thrusters and climb to a new record of 870 miles, venturing farther from home than any other astronauts on a nonlunar mission have ever traveled. The Polaris Dawn crew look to notch other achievements too—becoming the first commercial astronauts to perform extravehicular activity (EVA, also known as a spacewalk), and the first to test communications between a spacecraft and the satellites that make up…

I have had many clients like the Roy family. Their money is discreet; they don’t want it out there for all to see. So when I was first contacted by Succession director and executive producer Mark Mylod, who was looking for locations for two big scenes in the third season, my head was full of ideas. There was a large celebration in central Italy and a visit to the villa of a new character up north. I channeled the types of people involved in the show. Lady Caroline is an English aristocrat. She’d accept shabby chic. She’d accept a bad bathroom in a beautiful estate. But the Roy kids are American. They wouldn’t. They would want everything to be more sleek, more buttoned-up. Within a month, we were zipping around…

In 2024, both cutting-edge technology and the companies controlling it grew increasingly powerful, provoking euphoric wonderment and existential dread. Companies like Nvidia and Alphabet soared in value, fueled by expectations that artificial intelligence (AI) will become a cornerstone of modern life. While those grand visions are still far into the future, tech undeniably shaped markets, warfare, elections, climate, and daily life this year. Perhaps technology’s biggest impact this year was on the global economy. The so-called Magnificent Seven—the stocks of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla—thrived in large part because of the AI boom, propelling the S&P 500 to new highs. Nvidia, which designs the computer chips powering many AI systems, led the way, with its stock nearly tripling in price. These profits spurred an arms race in…

Acoustic Signature Invictus Neo Turntable and TA-9000 Neo Tonearm THERE’S THAT WORD AGAIN—“NEW.” Probably the most overworked adjective in high-end audio and merchandizing in general, you see it everywhere and constantly—in advertisements, in manufacturer copy, in showroom banners (and salesmen’s mouths), and, God knows, in equipment reviews (including this one). Everything is new and, explicitly or impliedly, improved. Even if it isn’t. In this case, that word is also the name of the product itself. “Neo,” after all, is Ancient Greek for “new.” So, what’s so new about the Invictus Neo turntable and its TA-9000 Neo tonearm—die successors to Acoustic Signature’s highly praised original Invictus and TA-9000—that justifies a substantial rise in their already lofty prices? If you want a long form answer to tins question, skip ahead to page…

夏夜在海邊的小屋裡，一個小男孩躺在床上，感覺有人把他抱了起來。他還在半睡半醒中，恍惚聽見母親低聲說時間已晚，也聽到父親在笑。接著如同做夢一般，他一下子被父親抱著走下門廊階梯，走向海灘。 頭頂是燦爛的星空。「看！」父親說時，一顆星星不可思議地移動了，在令人驚奇的天空閃現一道金色火光。這奇景尚未消逝，另一顆星星又一躍而下，然後是另一顆， 猛然衝向騷動不安的海面。孩子悄聲問：「那是什麼？」「是流星，每年都會在八月的某個晚上出現，我想你一定想看看這場大秀。 就只有這樣：眼睛只是出乎意料地瞥見了某種神祕美麗的東西，腦中留下揮之不去的印象。但孩子回到床上後，有很長一段時間凝視著黑暗，知道房子裡雖安靜無聲，四周卻充滿星星墜落的無聲樂音，這讓他欣喜若狂。 那已是幾十年前的事了，但我仍然記得那個晚上，因為我就是那個幸運的7歲男孩，父親相信對小男孩而言，新的體驗比連續的睡眠更重要。我當然也和一般小孩一樣有很多玩具，但那些現在都忘了，我記得的是星星墜落的那個晚上。我也記得曾經去坐守車（貨車工作人員乘坐的車廂）、剝鱷魚皮、發電報。我還記得走廊有一張「戰利品展台」，大人們鼓勵我們小孩子將自己發現的東西放上去展示：蛇皮、貝殼、花朵、箭頭，任何特殊或美麗的東西都可以。 我記得床邊那些為我拓展視野、甚至改變我人生的書。有一次父親送我麥克斯．畢爾邦的經典著作，談牛津大學生活的《牛津愛情故事》。我告訴父親我看了很喜歡，他隨口說：「你何不考慮去那兒上學？」幾年後憑著運氣和獎學金，我果然成了牛津的學生。 我父親有一種很厲害的天賦：能夠為孩子開啟一扇又一扇的大門， 引領孩子涉入精彩新奇的領域。這種為孩子拓展視野之巧妙的技藝未必要花很多時間，只需要更經常和孩子一起做事，而不是為孩子做什麼或強迫他們做什麼。我認識的一位女士有一本「為什麼不？」筆記，隨手記下各種極有趣味的另類想法：「為什麼不帶孩子去警局按指紋？」「為什麼不去農場嘗試擠牛奶？」「為什麼不安排去坐一趟拖船？」「為什麼不跟著河川疏濬挖泥船尋找鯊魚牙齒的化石？」而且還真的一一去實踐。 我問她哪來的靈感，她說：「喔， 我也不知道，但我小時候有一個遊手好閒但很奇葩的舅舅。」這位舅舅為她開啟了很多扇大門，就像她現在也為自己的孩子開啟大門。 除了父親，我們還有一位難忘的阿姨。她最擅長心血來潮提出妙點子，讓人一掃日常俗務的無聊。她會問我們幾個孩子：「你們會倒立嗎？ 我會耶！」說著她便用膝蓋夾住裙子倒立起來。她會喊道：「我們今天下午要做什麼？」然後立刻自己回答：「我們去當鋪當東西吧！」或 「靠近隔壁鎮那裡有一個看手相的，我們去算命吧！」每一次我們都耳目一新，每一次都見識另一扇神奇的大門被打開，每一次都是一場嶄新的經驗分享。這兩個字是關鍵：分享。 最容易為孩子開啟的門，通常就是引導他們做你自己熱愛的事。優秀的老師都懂得這個道理，也知道其終極的滿足是什麼：那就是你心中的火星爆發出火焰，而後自己發光發亮的那一刻。幾年前在美國高爾夫協會的錦標賽上，一個梳著辮子的10歲孩子在青少年女子冠軍賽中表現亮眼。 有人問她：「你是什麼時候開始對高爾夫產生興趣的？」 她說：「我9歲生日那天。」 「你的意思是你爸爸送了你一套球具？」 她耐心回答：「不是的，他給我的是高爾夫這項運動。」 看得出，在這個美妙領域占有一席之地的這位父親，一直都希望和孩子分享箇中境界。這無疑要花費時間、心力、耐心，還要將一腔熱忱神奇地移轉給孩子，但這為雙方帶來多大的回報啊！對任何領域都是同樣的道理，無論是音樂、天文、化學或是收集蝴蝶。 孩子天生好問，喜歡嘗試新事物，但必須有人提供各種選擇。許多年前有一齣兒童知識問答廣播節目，孩子的聰慧讓聽眾大為驚異。一位作家決定去發掘這些非凡兒童的背景有什麼共通點。他發現有些人來自貧窮家庭，有些則家境優渥，有的讀名校，有的並不是。但他調查的每個案例中，父母至少有一人會和孩子分享自己熱衷的事物， 觀察孩子感興趣的領域，鼓勵孩子，讚美孩子的成就，寓教於樂，特別費心提供學習的方法和工具。無疑地，孩子原本就具備傑出表現的能力，但必須有父母的愛、關心和陪伴才能展現出來。 我有位朋友是精神科醫生，他說這世界基本上有兩種人：一種認為人生在世是一種殊遇，另一種視之為難題。第一種人充滿熱情、活力與韌性，能因應挑戰；另一種人在認知上是封閉的，遇事常抱持懷疑、猶豫、保留的態度。對第一類人來說，人生是充滿希望的精彩旅程；對第二類人而言，人生到處潛藏危機。他又說：「只要跟我說你的童年是什麼樣子，我就可以判斷你可能屬於哪一類。」 所以說，父母嘗試為孩子推開一扇扇的大門，其真正目的並不是要愉悅孩子，或自我取樂，而是要培養孩子積極外向的態度，因應複 雜艱難的生存挑戰。這當然是我們能夠傳承給下一代最寶貴的資產—不是金錢、房子或傳家寶， 而是感知和感恩美好，洋溢活力和喜悅的能力。任何人只要關心孩子的未來，總要面對這種挑戰。沒有人能做到100分，但總有機會一次又一次出現。 星星墜落的那個晚上已過去很多年了，地球依舊轉動，太陽依舊西沉，夜幕依舊籠罩著亙古不變的海洋。明年流星降臨的8月再來時，我自己的兒子就滿7歲了。 英文首刊於《讀者文摘》英文版1964年10月號 plunge (v)驟降；跳進；扎入 trophy (n)戰利品；獵獲物；獎盃 tuck (v)把（衣服等的末端）塞入；把⋯藏入 transference (n)轉移；調動 inquisitive (n)好問的；愛鑽研的 heirloom (n)傳家之寶；祖傳之物 On summer night in a seaside cottage, a small boy felt himself lifted from bed. Dazed with sleep, he heard his mother murmur about the lateness of the hour, heard his father laugh. Then, with the swiftness of a dream, he was borne in his father’s arms down the porch steps, out onto the beach. Overhead the sky blazed with stars. “Watch!” Incredibly, as his father spoke, one of the stars moved. In a streak of golden fire it flashed across the astonished heavens. And before the wonder of this could…

Londra, una città alimentata dall’energia e dall’attività delle comunità di immigrati, sta perdendo le infrastrutture sociali autenticamente multiculturali, sostituite da quartieri artificiosi destinati al divertimento, imposti dagli interessi di chi ne ha la paternità. È difficile andare in giro in luoghi con l’energia giovanile di Barking o Tottenham e poi non avere voglia di ricreare quella stessa atmosfera in una nuova zona –e al contempo edificare migliaia di nuove abitazioni a prezzi accessibili– realizzata con metodi di costruzione sostenibili. Il sistema di pianificazione urbanistica di Londra deve innanzitutto tenere conto dell’aumento della popolazione e delle difficoltà che derivano dal dover immaginare un modo per costruire case in una città vincolata dalla Green Belt. Ma ha bisogno anche di sviluppare strumenti per tenere a freno l’attitudine degli investitori immobiliari a realizzare…

NORTH KOREA’S RHETORIC was reaching fever pitch again. Unused roads and rail links to the South had just been blown up in a spectacular display of belligerence. The North had labeled the South “a hostile state” and its leaders as “gangsters” and “scum.” It was not what South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol wanted to talk about. For while the threat of new conflict with the nuclear-armed North has long loomed across the armistice line, the South’s domestic problems are growing—from the strains on its health care system to worries over the labor force to education. A deepening divide between genders, a collapsing birth rate and an aging population have set it on course for a demographic collapse as dramatic as any in the industrialized world. “We need to make…

Your CFO is on the video call asking you to transfer $25 million. He gives you all the bank info. Pretty routine. You got it. But, What the—? It wasn’t the CFO? How can that be? You saw him with your own eyes and heard that undeniable voice you always half-listen for. Even the other colleagues on the screen weren’t really them. And yes, you already made the transaction. Ring a bell? That’s because it actually happened to an employee at the global engineering firm Arup last year, which lost $25 million to criminals. In other incidents, folks were scammed when “Elon Musk” and “Goldman Sachs executives” took to social media enthusing about great investment opportunities. And an agency leader at WPP, the largest advertising company in the world at…

LA CELLA A COMBUSTIBILE PRODUCE VAPORE ACQUEO, che viene riconvertito in acqua, che a sua volta è riutilizzata per produrre la miscela combustibile, composta per il 60% da metanolo e per il 40% da acqua. Non stiamo descrivendo la scena di un film di fantascienza e nemmeno un processo in una nuova centrale energetica. È la sintesi di ciò che avviene a bordo del Sanlorenzo 50Steel Almax, il primo superyacht al mondo con sistema fuel cell a metanolo verde per l’energia di bordo. Sanlorenzo aveva fatto una promessa: percorrere il cammino della sostenibilità. Una Road to 2030, come la definisce, per raggiungere la carbon neutrality. I primi obiettivi sono raggiunti. Ma in cosa consiste questo primo passo verso la decarbonizzazione? Sanlorenzo insieme a Siemens Energy ha sviluppato il sistema Reformer…

IT’S a common thing to see cheque-book builds these days. Brand spanking new 4x4s with their local off-road shop’s catalogue thrown at them, often within a few weeks of ownership. Some folks like to drop a bunch of coin on their rigs for tax purposes, or maybe they just want to get it all done in one fell swoop, or maybe they just like spending money and want their rigs to look tough. For Dylan Brechbuhl though, building up his 2014 HiLux was a much slower process. It’s not that he didn’t have the money so much, as he wanted to make sure he was investing the time and effort in the right places. So he stayed patient, worked out exactly what he needed and fit or built it so…

IF anyone needed contemporary evidence for the two-nation theory, they could have pointed to the social media of Pakistan and India in the aftermath of the horrendous Pahalgam attack. In fact, Indians and Pakistanis seemed to exist in different worlds in cyberspace. Whereas Indian social media seemed to be breathing fire after the initial shock—in line with the immediate blame levelled by India against Pak-istan—Pakistani social media respon-ded to the threat of doom in the way it knows best: with memes and humour. When an Indian tweeted that missiles should be launched on Lahore, Muridke and Rawalpindi—cities in Pakistani Punjab—one wag commented that even when it came to missiles, Punjab was gobbling up the rights of other provinces. When another Indian claimed the problem was not Pakistan but Pakistanis living in…

THE THEME OF THE SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSE has been part of the design research of Steven Holl from the outset of his career. It is a typology that has allowed him to test the concepts outlined in his first theoretical writings, driven by an avowedly anti-ideological approach. In Anchoring (Princeton Architectural Press, 1989), Holl wrote: “Architecture is bound to situation. Unlike music, painting, sculpture, film and literature, a construction (non-mobile) is intertwined with the experience of a place. The site of a building is more than a mere ingredient in its conception. It is its physical and metaphysical foundation. The resolution of the functional aspects of site and building, the vistas, sun angles, circulation, and access, are the ‘physics’ that demand the ‘metaphysics’ of architecture. Through a link, an extended motive,…

Our working culture is demanding, we are encouraged to strive for success, to reach the top of the ladder, to exude success. It’s exhausting. The pressure that we put on ourselves to succeed, the constant battle between who we are and who we think we should be, is a recipe for burnout. Yoga has tools to help. Our yoga practice can have tangible benefits outside of the studio; it can bring much to our working lives too. Here are three ways we can take what we learn on the mat with us to the office. 1. Give yourself time to prepare This is your permission, should you need it, to block out half an hour of your day to get prepared. Put it in your calendar and switch on any…

① Molmic launches Abbotsford showroom Melbourne manufacturer of handcrafted upholstered furniture, Molmic, has opened its new showroom at 363 Johnston Street in Abbotsford. Family-owned and operated, Molmic has been producing made-to-order fine furniture since 1987. The manufacturing team comprises 60 highly-skilled craftspeople, many of whom have been with the company since its inception. ② Entries open for 2025 Gaggenau Kitchen of the Year Design Contest Now in its third iteration, the Gaggenau Kitchen of the Year Design Contest is back for 2025. The competition invites designers to showcase kitchen schemes that seamlessly blend cutting-edge technology with considered design. The winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the renowned Salone del Mobile in Milan in 2026. Entries close on 30 April 2025, with the shortlist announced late July. Projects completed after…

Paris Shocking Louvre theft: In a precision seven-minute heist straight out of a Hollywood movie, two masked robbers broke into the Louvre this week shortly after it opened and stole priceless royal jewels. The thieves used a cherry picker to get to the second floor and forced the window open with an angle grinder. Once inside, they sliced through the display cases and snatched eight pieces, including sapphire and emerald necklaces and a diamond brooch belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. The two sped away on mopeds with accomplices and apparently dropped part of their haul, Eugénie’s tiara, as they escaped. “These crown jewels are so famous, you just cannot sell them,” art detective Arthur Brand told Sky News (U.K.). “The only thing they can do is melt…

IN the 1930s, Henry Ford collaborated with designer Bob Gregorie to create several models of Fords, including coupes, Sedans, Roadsters, and Pickups. Gregorie can be credited with possibly designing the first factory-made hot rod. He designed Edsel Ford's ‘34 Model 40 Special Speedster. It had a sleek profile, a custom-made aluminium body, and a flathead V8 engine. On September 26, 1934, it was shown for the first time and soon appeared on Southern California streets. Hot rodding is now over 100 years old, and it continues to amaze and surprise with designs based on the original Ford models, designed by Bob Gregorie. By combining parts from various Ford bodies and panels to create individual builds inspired by the legendary Ford designer over 100 years ago, modern hot rodding continues to…

贏得消費市場的重要性，足以成為企業唯一的目標。 Winning a consumer market is important enough to be the sole corporate objective. 任何成功創造並贏得大規模消費市場的公司，都能最大化其長期價值，從而創造最大的股東價值增長，但這些都是贏得市場後才會產生的連鎖效應。 Any company that creates and wins a sizable mass consumer market maximizes its long-term value, thereby creating the greatest possible amount of incremental shareholder value, but these are flow-on effects from winning the market. 2 贏得市場的關鍵在於，善於打造將顧客與供應商連結起來的市場橋梁。這點做得最好的公司便能創造並運作市場。 The key to winning a market is to excel at building market bridges that connect customers and suppliers. The company that best achieves this creates and operates the market. 造市者是引領產業，表現超越所有競爭對手的創新公司。對於造市者來說，市場並非他們無法掌控、必須不斷應對的外在力量，而是供應商與顧客之間他們可以藉以創造利潤的交易活動。 Market makers are the innovative companies that lead their industry by outperforming all competitors. For a market maker, the marketplace is not a force beyond their control to which they must continually react, but an exchange between suppliers and customers which they can exploit to generate profits. 4 贏得市場，其實就是一家公司對市場創造活動握有重大控制權。這不只是拿下最大市占率，或者賺取最多利潤那麼簡單，而是關乎對市場的掌控。那些市占率占據主導地位的公司，他們更具創新力，效率更高，並能吸引更多顧客，從而將利潤、營收和市場價值推向最大化。…

Winner: Grand Prize ‘Gannet Storm’ Henley Spiers, United Kingdom “A northern gannet swims in an artistic shower of bubbles created by diving seabirds. When hunting mode is activated, yellow eyes filled with blue circles are put on alert, then sweep across the water for prey. The gannet’s long wings and streamlined bodies make it easy to fly. When the fish are spotted, they position themselves in the wind and extend their wings as brakes to precisely adjust their position in relation to their prey. The speed of these amazing birds hitting the water reaches 100 kilometres per hour, slashing the surface of the water like a living torpedo, absorbing the huge blow through their strong skull and protective airbags in the head and chest. “The sound of her penetrating the…

STARSHIPS HAVE NEVER sounded quite so solid. Thudding in and out of warp, which happens a lot in season three of Star Trek: Picard, I feel as if my room is being dragged along in their wake. The Sennheiser Ambeo Plus system before me is to blame. This soundbar/sub combi doesn't just drop deep, it slams so hard and fast bass becomes tangible. I sit on my sofa, like a Starfleet Captain commanding from the bridge, feeling suitably buffeted. Fears that the new, slimmer Ambeo Soundbar Plus would be a pale imitation of its bigger brother, now known as the Soundbar Max, are quickly dispelled. The original Ambeo Soundbar [HCC #302] still sets a high benchmark when it comes to replicating the home theatre experience from an all-in-one system, but…

News and views from around the international CG community NO DOGS OR ITALIANS ALLOWED DIRECTOR Alain Ughetto COUNTRY France ABOUT Alain Ughetto tells the story of his grandparents, who crossed the Alps dreaming of a new life in France. RELEASE DATE Out now WEB foliascope.fr No Dogs or Italians Allowed is an absolute artistic gem. Using live action, stop-motion and 2D animation, Foliascope has created a film that drips with character, depth and technical genius. It’s true that the early days of stop-motion film were pretty primitive and you’d be forgiven for thinking its days were numbered. But the likes of Aardman, Ideal Standard Film, and now Foliascope have proved all the critics wrong. They are forging unique styles of storytelling with a whole pipeline of incredible tech to drive…