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slavghoul · 1 year

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Hello, I prepared some statistics to give you a short overview of Ghost's amazingly successful 2022. It is based on data I collected between 22/12/2021 and 22/12/2022.

The big Ghost event of 2022 was of course the release of the band's fifth album, IMPERA.

Since March 11, it has sold nearly 500,000 copies, won the American Music Award for Favorite Rock Album and received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance ('Call Me Little Sunshine').

Within the first week of its release, the album reached #2 on the Billboard 200 (ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States) and ranked in the top 20 best-selling albums in 19 countries across the world:

#1 in Sweden, Austria, Germany, Finland, Spain

#2 in US, UK, Belgium, Norway, Netherlands

#3 in Australia, Canada

#5 in Switzerland, Ireland, France

#7 in Poland

#8 in Hungary

#12 in Denmark, Portugal

#20 in Italy

IMPERA is Ghost’s best charting album to date.

On YouTube, the band amassed a staggering 260 million views. 840,000 people subscribed to the channel this year, which makes up 42% of all current subscribers.

5 most watched videos on YouTube in 2022:

Mary On A Cross (Official Audio) – 32 million views

Call Me Little Sunshine (Official Music Video) – 15 million views

Square Hammer (Official Music Video) – 11 million views

Mary On A Cross (Live in Tampa 2022) – 8.2 million views

Spillways (Official Music Video) – 6.8 million views

On Spotify, the band amassed 1,285,625 new followers. That’s around 61% of all followers since the band appeared on the platform.

5 most streamed songs on Spotify in 2022:

Mary On A Cross - 193,709,473 streams

Call Me Little Sunshine – 41,108,589 streams

Square Hammer – 29,720,042 streams

Dance Macabre – 26,494,053 streams

Spillways – 24,910,870 streams

It goes without saying that the viral success of Mary On A Cross on TikTok brought in a lot of new fans this year, but the magnitude of it becomes even more astonishing if you look at numbers.

On this graph, I marked a few events that resulted in a noticeable spike in the number of monthly listeners on Spotify, including the approximate time when MOAC began to gain traction on TikTok. As you can see, nothing, not even the release of a new album, gave the band as much attention as the 3-year old song suddenly raising in popularity on one single platform.

Between end of July and beginning of October, the number of monthly listeners on Spotify skyrocketed from 2.5 million to 12 million. This is a 380% increase.

Although the numbers have been in decline since then, it appears that for the past month they have stayed at a steady 9 million. As of today (Dec 22, 2022) the exact number is 9,110,996. Exactly a year ago (Dec 22, 2021) the number was 1,999,951. A hefty 355% increase in only a year.

Some other milestones and fun facts:

On June 7, Cirice, Dance Macabre, and Square Hammer were all certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 units in the USA. Following the viral success, Mary On A Cross was also certified Gold on November 20.

The band's most liked post on Instagram this year was a video of Papa throwing the first pitch at the White Sox game (273,241 likes).

The episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live where Ghost performed Call Me Little Sunshine was watched by around 1.3 million people.

In September, Ghost reached over 12 million monthly listeners on Spotify and was the 450th most streamed artist globally - that's 450 out of over 11 million!

As of today with over 1.6 billion accumulated streams Ghost is one of the 1,000 most successful artists on the platform of all time (currently #808).

On September 11, Mary On A Cross peaked at #1 in the Viral Hits chart on Spotify in 54 countries across the world.

It was also the highest charting Swedish song on the platform in 2022, peaking globally at #31.

At this point I think it’s safe to declare that Ghost’s global success reached unprecedent heights this year and even allowed them to officially join the ranks of mainstream artists. With all of the above, 70 completed shows this year and many more to come in 2023, and with media of the likes of The Wall Street Journal proclaiming Ghost “the next generation of arena stars,” it looks like that the band is well on the way to become one of the biggest rock acts of this century. Not bad for a side project started by one Swede in his bedroom somewhere in Linköping.

Let us hope 2023 will be as devilishly good!

#the band ghost

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brawn-gp · 10 months

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TENNIS: A BEGINNERS GUIDE

for @seblrina and anyone who wants to know a bit about tennis, especially now that Roland Garros finals are happening !

1. THE BASICS

The male tennis association is called ATP, and the women's counterpart is called WTA. Tennis players can play singles and/or doubles.

The most important and prestigious tournaments are called Grand Slams, which award the most points, the most money and attract the most attention. Each year there are 4 Grand Slams: the Australian Open (hardcourt), The French Open or Roland Garros (clay), Wimbledon (grass) and the US Open (harcourt).

Then, the order of importance goes like this: 1000 tournaments → 500 tournaments → 250 tournaments (first tier) → Challengers 175, 125, 100, 75 & 50 in men, 125 in women (second tier) → men's Futures and women's ITFs (third tier).

Other important tournaments are the Davis Cup (men) and the Billie Jean King Cup (women), considered the "World Cups of Tennis". All the countries are divided into different categories, the most important being the World Group, which will crown the winning country or world champion each year. Last year, Switzerland won the Billie Jean King Cup and Canada the Davis Cup. Each country usually has 5 players, playing 1 doubles match and the rest being singles. The Davis Cup has 3 stages divided into the year: the World Group Playoffs, then the Group Stage and finally the Knockout Stage. The Billie Jean King Cup has a Qualifying and a Finals Stage, also divided into two parts of the year.

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2. COURTS AND LINES

There are 3 types of tennis courts: clay (mostly played in Europe and South America) which is the slowest court, with higher bounce and usually longer points, hard court (mostly played in North America and Asia) which is faster than clay with consistent bounces and quick plays, and grass (mostly played in England and some other European countries) which is the fastest court but harder to maintain. Usually these tournaments are bundled together, so for example you'll see people speak of "European clay season".

Now the lines of each court. It's important to point out that if the ball touches even a centimeter of the line, that ball is in. The widest lines are exclusively used for doubles, while the second lines are used for singles (as shown in the figure). The other relevant lines are the service boxes. When the player serves, the ball must bounce inside the opposite and diagonal side of the service box, alternating between the left and right sides with each point.

(excuse my lines, i made this with no ruler shdf)

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3. THE GAME

A coin toss decides which player serves and who receives. The player that serves must start on one side of the court, aiming for the service box of the opposite diagonal side, as explained before. This is called the first serve. If the ball doesn't pass the net or bounces outside of the service box, that's called a foul and the player has only one other chance, called the second serve. Players typically go full force in the first serve, aiming for the ace (ball that cannot be returned), while being more cautious in the second serve. If the player makes a foul in the second serve, that's called a double fault, meaning they lose the point. If the ball touches the net and bounces on the service box, that serve is played again. This is called a let, which can happen in the first or second serve and there are no limitations on how many times it can be replayed (as long as the balls keep bouncing in the service box)

Point: each play gives a point to the winner, with the sequence being: 0 - 15 - 30 - 40 - game.

Game: The first player who makes the four points, wins the game. Unless the rival player also gets to 40, making it a 40-40 point game, which means in order to win, one of the players must make 2 consecutive points, passing from Advantage (Ad.) to the game win.

Set: Each set is won when either player gets to 6 games with at least 2 set differences with their rival. This means the set is won when the result is 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 or 6-0. An additional game is played if one player has won 6 games and the opponent 5. If the final result ends up being 7-5, then the first player wins, and if it ends up being 6-6, the players must play a tie-break. The tie-break is won when a player gets to at least 7 points with a difference of 2.

Match: Typically the match is won through a best-of-three system, except for men's matches in the Grand Slams, which are won through a best-of-five system. This means the matches are more physically and emotionally demanding, and they are usually a lot longer than regular 3-set matches.

Some terminology that's relevant to know:

0 in English is called love. I don't know why but it is. So if you see someone call "fifteen-love", that means 15-0.

A "drop shot" is when a player hits a ball over the net, and it lands in the opponent's court so short over the net that the opponent has difficulties getting there before the ball bounces twice.

The umpire is the person who sits on the tall chair at the side of the court and calls the score, as well as revising points. The other people in the court are the ball kids (or ball person) who retrieves balls, and the line judges, that help the umpire to see if the ball falls inside or outside the line.

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4. POINTS AND RANKING SYSTEM

This is by far the most complicated part of tennis, but I'm of the belief you don't actually need to know every rule to appreciate the sport. Basically, each tournament awards points for every round you win, including some of the quali rounds. Here's a chart of points awarded for each round.

— ATP:

— WTA:

For the men, the rankings are based on the total points they obtain in these next tournaments:

— The 4 Grand Slam tournaments — The 8 mandatory ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. — The best 7 results from the other tournaments.

For the women, the rankings are based on the total points they obtain in these tournaments:

— The 4 Grand Slam tournaments. — 4 mandatory WTA 1000 tournaments. — The best 8 results from the other tournaments.

Now this is where the tricky part starts. The one thing you need to know is that if you do well in one tournament, the next year you need to do equally good to not lose points. For example, if a player wins Roland Garros (and gets 2000 points), and the next year they only get to the finals losing it (which gets you 1200/1300 points), you would lose 800/700 points, which is why some players lose a lot of places in a few bad months (if they did well the previous year).

This video can explain this part far better than I could, really recommend watching this to understand this part.

The rankings get updated every Monday (ATP / WTA), but you can see the provisional rankings here: ATP / WTA. I use the provisional rankings a lot, to figure out where they would move if they win or lose a match.

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5. FAMOUS PLAYERS AND LEGENDS

On behalf of men's tennis, I think most people have heard of The Big Three: Roger Federer🇨🇭, Rafael Nadal🇪🇸 and Novak Djokovic🇷🇸. These are the legends of tennis, those who have dominated the sport for the last two decades, and a time that is (sadly) on its last legs. Roger retired last year, and without Rafa in most of this year’s clay season (especially RG), everything appears to be changing. Novak is still playing at a high level though. Special mention to feminist icon Andy Murray🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿, who was once considered as one of the Big Four, but due to injuries he wasn't able to achieve quite the level of the other 3. To see how insane the stats are, only 13 Grand Slams were won by a player other than the 4 of them between 2003 and 2022, meaning they won 66/79 of the Grand Slams (that is not considering Novak's win in the Australian Open this year, or any other slam he may win this year).

On the women's side, the most prominent figure of this millennium is definitely the one, the only, Serena Williams🇺🇸. She won 23 Grand Slams in singles and another 14 Grand Slams in doubles (with an amazing record of 14/14 wins), all with her sister Venus Williams🇺🇸, also considered one of the best tennis players of the Open Era. Both sisters have also won 4 gold medals at the Olympics, one each in singles and three in doubles (all won together) the most of any tennis players. Other women worth mentioning are: Steffi Graf🇩🇪 (22 Grand Slams singles and 107 titles in the 80s and 90s, pictured), Martina Navratilova🇨🇿🇺🇸 (lesbian icon, 18 Grand Slams singles and 167 titles in the 70s and 80s), Margaret Court🇦🇺 (24 singles titles in Grand Slams in the 60s and 70s), amongst other players.

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6. CURRENT PLAYERS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

As of this week's rankings (June 4th), very young players seem to be dominating the sport. Iga Świątek🇵🇱, (22y) and Carlos Alcaraz🇪🇸, (20y) are the WTA and ATP World Number 1 respectively. Iga has won 13 singles titles, including the 2020 and 2023 French Open, and the US Open in 2022. Carlos has won 10 titles, including the US Open in 2022.

Other WTA names to watch out for are: Elena Rybakina🇰🇿 (23y, 5 singles titles including 2022 Wimbledon winner), Aryna Sabalenka🇧🇾 (25y, 13 singles titles including the 2023 Australian Open), Coco Gauff🇺🇸 (19y, 8 singles titles), and many more.

Other ATP names to watch out for are: Casper Ruud🇳🇴 (24y, 10 singles titles including 2 Grand Slams finals**), Stefanos Tsitsipas🇬🇷 (24y, 9 singles titles including two Grand Slam finals), Holger Rune🇩🇰 (20y, 4 singles titles), Andrey Rublev🇷🇺 (25y, 13 singles titles), Taylor Fritz🇺🇸 (25y, 5 singles titles), Jannik Sinner🇮🇹 (21y, 7 singles titles), Félix Auger-Aliassime🇨🇦 (22y, 4 singles titles), and many more as well.

*For this part I only added top 10s with 25 years or less, but there are a bunch of consolidated and fantastic players that have more years and who are definitely worth watching (and some of my personal favorites!). Also, tennis is ever-changing, and this list might be outdated in three months, so it's always good to keep track of who's gaining and losing positions in the rankings.

**As I'm making this post, Casper also reached another Grand Slam final, making it 3 out of the last 5 Grand Slams. Let's see how he does in this one.

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7. HOW TO PICK YOUR PLAYERS

Personally, I think the best three ways to pick your players are: by watching matches, by mutuals' transferred brainworms and by social media.

By watching matches you'll see what type of player you like. For example, there are players that do well on one court but not so well on others. Or the type of game they play varies; some prefer pure speed and hard hitters, while others prefer more "elegant" shots like drop shots and slices.

And by social media I'm talking specifically about YouTube videos. Thankfully the ATP tour channel is an expert on making silly little videos of different players, usually in their Head-to-head (H2H) videos. Here's the playlist of videos that consumed my life for a week (although you can also search for tennis H2H and they will appear). Here you can see their different personalities and how they act outside of the court, which in my opinion, is important to find the players you click with.

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7. WHERE TO WATCH

I personally watch the matches in Star+ but I think it's only for latam. If you want to pay, you can buy a Tennis TV subscription, that will allow you to watch the matches live, as well as replays and highlights. However, if you don't want to pay to watch the matches live, I recommend this site (with caution).

Challengers you can see for free in the ATP site here.

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8. A YEAR IN TENNIS: THE CALENDAR

To see the calendars of each year, here are the sites: ATP // WTA. For 2023 these are (in my opinion) the most important tournaments, as well as the seasons:

— January: Oceania (hardcourt). [Big tournaments: Australian Open].

— February: South America (clay) / Middle East, some Europe and North America (hard). [Big tournaments: Davis Cup qualifiers, WTA: Dubai 1000].

— March: USA (hard). [Big tournaments: Indian Wells and Miami 1000].

— April: Europe (clay). [Big tournaments: Monte-Carlo and Madrid 1000, Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers].

— May: Europe (clay). [Big tournaments: Rome 1000 and Roland Garros]

— June: Europe (grass).

— July: Various. [Big tournaments: Wimbledon]

— August: North America (hard). [Big tournaments: Canada and Cincinnati 1000, US Open].

— September: Asia (hard). [Big tournaments: Guadalajara 1000, Davis Cup (finals group stage) and Laver Cup (Europe vs the world)].

— October: Asia and Europe (hard). [Big tournaments: Beijing, Shanghai and Paris 1000, WTA Elite Trophy].

— November: Various. [Big tournaments: ATP Finals, and Davis Cup/Billie Jean King Cup finals].

***Hopefully I added every important tournament.

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And that's pretty much it! There are a thousand and one more things that are important in tennis, but as with every sport, it's easy to pick up once you start watching. Any questions, please feel free to ask <3 (or if you need a cheeky stream). Obligatory sorry for my English bit, and hopefully this helps to understand this sport a bit better!

#tennis #beginners guide #.mine #this took me so long but i was able to have it decent before the finals heh

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noneedtoamputate · 3 months

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hi jess! congratulations on 100 followers! i'm always in the market for new books, so i'm really excited about your new ask game :)

a few weeks ago, i read a book named "traitor" by amanda mccrina, a story that follows two characters- one russian soldier and one ukrainan citizen- whose stories are interwoven through the overarching story of the city of Lwów during ww2, where many ethinic and political groups fight for control over this city. i really enjoyed the political intrigue, reading about a relatively unexplored front of ww2, and finding characters i could root for. i read fiction and non-fiction equally, so pretty much anything goes!

have a great rest of your day!!

Hi, Blu! I had a lot of fun coming up with three titles I hope you'll like based on what you liked about "Traitor."

Disclaimer: I haven't read any of these books, but I used tools to try to find books based on your description.

The first book is nonfiction. "Warsaw 1944: Hitler, Himmler, and the Warsaw Uprising" by Alexandra Ricthie is considered an excellent one-volume account of the battle. She focuses on indviduals in the Polish Home Army rather than warfare, so you'll get to know the characters well. There were a lot of factions in the Polish Home Army, so it might hit the intrigue you are after.

The next two books are fiction. "My Long List of Impossible Things" by Michelle Bakers tells the story of two German girls trying to survive Soviet occupation at the end of the war. The treatment of German civilians is often overlooked, so I thought this would hit the "unexplored" angle of your description.

Finally, "Orphan Monster Spy" by Matt Killeen is about a half-Jewsih German girl who joins forces with the Resistance after her mother is shot and killed trying to escape to Switzerland. It's part historical fiction and part thriller and received an award from librarians in the United States as one of the best books of the year for teenagers in 2019.

Please let me know if you read any of these and what you think!

I have 100 Followers. Please Ask Me for Book Suggestions!

#asked and answered #i have the nicest mutuals

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my-chaos-radio · 11 months

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youtube

Release: August 1, 1999

Lyrics:

Every endless night has a dawning day

Every darkest sky has a shining ray

And it shines on you baby can't you see

You're the only one who can shine for me

It's a private emotion that fills you tonight

And a silence falls between us

As the shadows steal the light

And wherever you may find it

Wherever it may lead

Let your private emotion come to me

Come to me

When your soul is tired

And your heart is weak

Do you think of love

As a one way street

Well it runs both ways,

Open up your eyes

Can't you see me here,

How can you deny

It's a private emotion that fills you tonight

Songwriter:

Every endless night has a dawning day

Every darkest sky has a shining ray

It takes a lot to laugh as your tears go by

But you can find me here

Till your tears run dry

It's a private emotion that fills you tonight

Eric Bazilian / Eric M. Bazilian / Rob Hyman / Robert Andrew Hyman

SongFacts:

"Private Emotion" from The Hooters (1993) was covered by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin, featuring a guest appearance from Swedish singer Meja for Martin's fifth studio album and English-language debut, 'Ricky Martin' (1999). The song was released by Columbia Records as the fourth single from the album on February 8, 2000. A world music and pop power ballad, its production was handled by Desmond Child. The song received widely positive reviews from music critics, who complimented the singers' vocals. The cover version was commercially successful, reaching number one in Czech Republic and Mexico, as well as the top 10 in Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was also certified gold in Sweden. To promote the song, Martin and Meja performed it at the 2000 ECHO Awards. The accompanying music video was directed by Francis Lawrence and features Aurélie Claudel. It shows Martin and a woman being frozen in a frozen hotel room that slowly starts to unfreeze, with water spraying backwards. Then the room goes on fire, while Martin and the woman fall in love ending up in the flames.

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eurovision-revisited · 9 months

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Eurovision 1998: The actual result

This year, the BBC put on a big show but shockingly for the BBC this included sponsorship! The big scoreboard has a clear 'Toshiba' logo right across the top. Product placement! On the BBC! Ulrika Jonsson in charge of chivvying along the spokespeople who for the first time are mostly relaying the results of televotes. Some of it gets a little too barbed. UK humour circa 1998 was at the peak of the lad-mag banter years and it showed.

The scoreboard itself was clear if a bit lacking on the design front. There are little score stars to show each country's actual point awards as they're made - a positive development. The graphic design however leaves much to be desired.

This is your regular spoiler warning for a competition that occurred over 25 years ago. If you don't want to know the results, why on Earth did you click on the expand button for this blog?

Boy it's a close finish. Heading into the final few rounds of voting, there are still four countries in contention. As Evgenija Teodosievska announces the results for North Macedonia, the final country to submit their points, Israel, Malta and the UK can all still win. Israel and Malta are tied at the top of the scoreboard with 166 points.

Israel get six points, putting the UK out of contention. Then the UK get the 10 points. All Malta need is the douze and...it goes to Croatia. Israel wins, with the UK pipping Malta to second.

One of the best ever voting sequences in Eurovision history and one in which the hosts were nervous the televoting would cause all manner of technical difficulties alongside the normal failures to communicate. There was one issue with the Spanish votes not being correctly tabulated which changed some scores later, but it did not affect the winner.

That scoreboard (post Spanish correction) in full:

Israel - Dana International - "Diva"

United Kingdom - Imaani - "Where Are You?"

Malta - Chiara - "The One That I Love"

Netherlands - Edsilia Rombley - "Hemel En Aarde"

Croatia - Danijela - "Neka Mi Ne Svane"

Belgium - Mélanie Cohl - "Dis Oui"

Germany - Guildo Horn - "Guildo Hat Euch Lieb"

Norway - Lars A. Fredriksen - "Alltid Sommer"

Ireland - Dawn - "Is Always Over Now?"

Sweden - Jill Johnson - "Kärleken är"

Cyprus - Michael Hajiyanni - "Genesis"

Portugal - Alma Lusa - "Se Eu Te Pudesse Abraçar"

(joint 12th) Estonia -Koit Toome - "Mere Lapsed"

Türkiye - Tüzmen - "Unutamazsin"

Finland - Edea - "Aava"

Spain - Mikel Herzog - "¿Qué Voy A Hacer Sin Ti?"

Poland - Sixteen - "To Takie Proste"

Slovenia - Vili Resnik - "Naj Bogovi Slišijo"

North Macedonia - Vlado Janevski - "Ne Zori, Zoro"

Greece - Dionysia & Thalassa - "Mia Krifi Evaisthissia"

Slovakia - Katarína Hasprová - "Modlitba"

Romania - Malina Olinescu - "Eu Cred"

Hungary - Charlie - "A Holnap Már Ném Lesz Szomorú"

France - Marie-Line - "Où Aller"

Switzerland - Gunvor - "Lass Ihn"

#esc #esc 1998 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #birmingham #birmingham 1998 #United Kingdom #scoreboard

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eddieredmayneargentinablog · 2 years

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New! "Eddie Redmayne Visits OMEGA Headquarters"

Luxferity, 23.09.2022

"Appearing with typical charm and style, the Academy Award-winning actor, Eddie Redmayne, has made a special visit to OMEGA’s watchmaking production in Biel, Switzerland.

Since 2015, the British star has been an inspiring part of the OMEGA ambassador family, having celebrated multiple brand events, including the Olympic Games Rio 2016, as well as the 125th anniversary of the OMEGA name in 2019.

This week marked Eddie’s first visit to OMEGA HQ, where he joined President and CEO, Raynald Aeschlimann, to view the precision, craftsmanship, and innovation that goes into making every watch. Spread out over five floors, and combining technical innovation with human expertise, the streamlined factory represents the industry’s most cutting-edge facility for watch assembly, training and quality control.

"Speaking about the experience, he said, “I’ve always been so impressed by the history and reputation that surrounds OMEGA but seeing how their timepieces are made is truly incredible. There’s so much skill and attention-to-detail. It shows exactly why OMEGA has made such a big impact in watchmaking during all these years.”

Eddie Redmayne is a master at connecting film audiences with his characters. Like many great performers, the theatre was his training ground. On stage, he won Tony and Olivier awards for his role as Mark Rothko’s assistant in Red, while just this year, he earned another Olivier award as the Emcee in the electrifying West End revival of Cabaret.

In film, he is most well-known for his esteemed roles in The Trial of the Chicago 7, Les Misérables, the Fantastic Beasts series, and The Theory Of Everything – for which he received the Oscar for ‘Actor in a Leading Role’, the SAG for ‘Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role’ and the BAFTA for ‘Best Actor’.

For his numerous career achievements, the British actor will now travel to the Zurich Film Festival, where he will be presented in person with the coveted Golden Eye award on September 25th, before presenting the premiere of Tobias Lindholm’s thriller, THE GOOD NURSE, a gripping thriller in which Eddie plays the prime suspect in a series of mysterious patient deaths".

#Eddie Redmayne #eddie redmayne #eddieredmayne #redmayne #omega ambassador #omega watches #switzerland #September 2022

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ryttu3k · 2 years

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Running order is out! Here's a graph of the running order versus where I scored them in the semis! (Blank spots are for Big Fives, and since I tend to score higher in finals, I'll fill those in afterwards for a comparison.)

Right, so I'll be scheduling my loo break for 15-18, haha.

Beneath, thoughts on all songs in the semis/previews, in finals order:

Czech Republic: Hey she has the same hair stylist as the female host! Oh I’m digging this one, it’s energetic and fun! 8/12

Romania: Oh we going glam glam. I have no idea why Romania seems to be into Spain so much but there’s usually a nice little mutual 12-points going on so this feels pretty fitting. Energetic and fun! 8/12

Portugal: Whew that contrast. It's nice it's sincere it's just. Boring. 4/12

Finland: Starting off with the Rasmus! Oh this is fun. Starting off with some good energy! 8/12

Switzerland: Coma/12 (no it’s like... a 3)

France: Oh neat, this is the Breton song, that’s got a pretty cool vibe.

Norway: Well they definitely have the best title! ………fascinating. 8/12

Armenia: Energy in the second half is definitely better than the first! The staging is pretty fun too. 7/12

Italy: Some of the favourites, it’ll be interesting seeing if they can go two years in a row! Not my thing, alas, bit slow.

Spain: Oh this looks like it could be fun! Lots of energy.

Netherlands: Okay I’m… I like the idea of focusing on mental health! That’s fine! That’s good! But is Eurovision really the best platform for it? 4/12

Ukraine: The favourites, although is it because they’re genuinely good or because of the situation? Ahh. The latter it is, then. I do like the flute, the folk elements, and the swamp witch costume! 6/12

Germany: Aaand the award for lowest-effort outfit goes to...

Lithuania: Very torch song but it feels weirdly... atonal? Nice and sparkly but wow I just felt my energy drop. Sorry, this ain’t it! 6/12

Azerbaijan: “Shit, the audience is having too much fun. Bring in a ballad!” Oh, picks up a bit towards the end! 5/12

Belgium: This has some serious late 90s, early 00s boy band vibes, and not in the way my 10-year-old self would have enjoyed. 4/12

Greece: Coma/12, part two. I see we’re going for a repeat of last year’s second semi, which hopefully means this year’s second semi will be better? 3/12

Iceland: The Vibes™ are pretty cool (and I dig that costume with the floofy white sleeves and black vest), I just wish it had some actual energy. 5/12

Moldova: A jaunty folk/weird song about a train ride between Chisinau and Bucuresti. This is terrible in such an endearing way :D 7/12

Sweden: Very torch song, I like her voice but it’s not my thing. I imagine this will do the numbers. 7/12

Australia: lmao we have to have slightly awkward host banter because Sheldon’s costume is so extra it needs extra time. Full disclosure, not my favourite song! Good on him he seems like a sweet kid and it’s very emotional just… yeah, not my thing. 6/12

United Kingdom: I’m digging the outfit! Song I’ll have to see in full but so far fun.

Poland: Ballad, picks up a bit as it goes on. Oh this “in the river” bit sounds like it belongs to a different song? Interesting. Wow, that last note just kinda… died. 4/12

Serbia: I’m… not 100% sure how I feel about it as a song, probably wouldn’t download it, but goodness it’s an interesting performance! Very neat visuals. 8/12

Estonia: The poor neglected guitar. Very beige! The song is kinda fun. 7/12

#eurovision #tasty statistics

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interest-articles · 1 month

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Riken Yamamoto, who designs dignity and elegance into daily life, wins Pritzker Prize

Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize for his transformative designs

Renowned Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto has been awarded the prestigious 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize, often referred to as "the Nobel of architecture." With a career spanning several decades, Yamamoto has become known for his ability to infuse dignity and elegance into everyday life through his innovative designs. Born in Beijing to Japanese parents in the aftermath of World War II, Yamamoto's upbringing in a post-war Tokyo heavily influenced his fascination with the relationship between architecture and community.

His work has not only shaped the architectural landscape of Japan but has also left an indelible mark on various countries around the world.

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A Childhood Shaped by Rebuilding and Resilience

Yamamoto's childhood was marked by the rebuilding efforts in post-war Tokyo. His father, an engineer, constructed their family house from scratch due to the scarcity of available homes. Growing up in a small, modest wooden house, Yamamoto witnessed firsthand the resilience and resourcefulness of the Japanese people as they rebuilt their lives and communities.

This formative experience inspired his lifelong fascination with the connection between architecture and the well-being of society.

Architecture that Connects Dignity and Social Conditions

Deborah Berke, a Pritzker Prize jury member and dean of the Yale School of Architecture, lauds Yamamoto's ability to create architecture that seamlessly integrates with its surrounding community. Whether designing museums, housing complexes, or city halls, Yamamoto's buildings serve their communities by bringing dignity and elegance to everyday life. His work goes beyond mere aesthetics, enriching the lives of individuals and fostering a sense of belonging within their communities.

A Global Perspective and Local Impact

Yamamoto's architectural journey took him around the world, where he observed and studied various living conditions and community dynamics. From Brazilian favelas to coastal homes along the Mediterranean, he sought to understand how people create thresholds between public and private spaces and make community systems visible. Inspired by the interconnected alleys and plazas of Morocco's Ceuta, Yamamoto designed the Jian Wai SOHO complex in Beijing, a vibrant cluster of residential towers, boutiques, and restaurants.

While his work extends to countries like China, Korea, and Switzerland, Yamamoto's impact is most significant in Japan. His firm, Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop, has designed notable structures such as Tokyo's Fussa City Hall, characterized by a striking curving grid of squares. The Yokosuka Museum of Art, located by the bay, stands out as one of his most beloved creations, offering a welcoming space for visitors of all ages to experience and appreciate art.

Transforming Everyday Spaces

Yamamoto's architectural vision extends to even the most mundane spaces. One of his notable designs is the transparent firehouse in Hiroshima, covered in glass louvres. This innovative structure allows passersby to witness the firefighters' activities from the outside, creating a sense of transparency and connection with the community.

The firehouse has become a popular spot, particularly for children who are fascinated by the fireman training.

Riken Yamamoto's selection as the recipient of the 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize is a testament to his lifelong dedication to creating architecture that transcends mere functionality. His designs embody a harmonious blend of dignity, elegance, and social consciousness, enriching the lives of individuals across generations. By reminding us of the importance of community and the transformative power of architecture, Yamamoto leaves an enduring legacy that will continue to shape the architectural landscape for years to come.

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swldx · 3 months

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BBC 0528 8 Jan 2024

6195Khz 0500 8 JAN 2024 - BBC (UNITED KINGDOM) in ENGLISH from SANTA MARIA DI GALERIA. SINPO = 55333. English, pips @0500z fb newsday preview. @0501z World News anchored by Neil Nunes. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Monday before heading on to Israel after warning that the Gaza war could spread across the region without concerted peace efforts, while Israel vowed to continue fighting until Hamas was eliminated. The UN official said famine was “around the corner” as people in Gaza faced the “highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded”. Gaza had become “a place of death and despair”, said Griffiths. “Hope has never been more elusive.” A public health disaster is unfolding as infectious diseases spread in overcrowded shelters, Griffiths said. US Congress leaders have reached a deal over the total amount of spending for the rest of 2024 as they seek to avoid a partial government shutdown, local media report. The deal now needs approval from the House of Representatives and Senate. They have less than two weeks to finalise funding and stop the suspension of some federal services. Former Gambian interior minister Ousman Sonko goes on trial in Switzerland on Monday accused of crimes against humanity committed under the regime of ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh. The trial takes place under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows a foreign country to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide regardless of where they were committed. Sonko was interior minister in The Gambia -- a small West African nation ruled with an iron grip by Jammeh from 1994 to 2016. He has been in custody since his arrest in Switzerland in January 2017 after applying for asylum following his sacking as a minister. Thousands of passengers face flight cancellations after major US airlines grounded dozens of Boeing jets after a mid-flight blowout over Oregon. The US aviation regulator said 171 Boeing 737 Max 9s must be grounded for checks after part of an Alaska Airlines plane's fuselage fell off on Friday. Alaska said flight disruptions are expected to last into next week. United Airlines has grounded 79 planes. Oppenheimer was the big winner at the Golden Globe Awards, taking home five awards including the top prize. Meanwhile, Barbie won the inaugrual box office achievement award, after grossing $1.4bn (£1.13bn) worldwide. German farmers are angered by the government's plans to slash agricultural subsidies. Blockades are expected to paralyze transportation across the country, posing a nightmare for commuters. In Australia, NSW police say that more than 250 lizards worth around $1.2 million on the black market in Hong Kong have been found during the bust of a crime gang. @0506z “Newsday” begins. MLA 30 amplified loop (powered w/8 AA rechargeable batteries ~10.8vdc), Etón e1XM. 250kW, beamAz 185°, bearing 49°. Received at Plymouth, United States, 7877KM from transmitter at Santa Maria di Galeria. Local time: 2300.

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jcmarchi · 4 months

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Contract secures next step for TRUTHS climate mission - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/contract-secures-next-step-for-truths-climate-mission-technology-org/

Contract secures next step for TRUTHS climate mission - Technology Org

Delegates from around 200 countries are convened at the United Nations COP28 summit in Dubai to assess the action they are taking to combat the climate crisis. With satellites fundamental to understanding and monitoring climate change, ESA has awarded a contract to Airbus to take the TRUTHS satellite mission to its next development phase.

TRUTHS for reference climate measurements

TRUTHS is set to provide the gold reference for climate measurements, giving decision-makers more confidence in the data they use for climate action.

ESA goes to great lengths to ensure that satellite data beaming back to Earth is as reliable as possible. But how can we be sure that measurements from space are truly accurate, especially regarding the all-important data needed to act on climate change?

The Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial- and Helio-Studies mission, or TRUTHS for short, will lay any such doubts to rest.

ESA is building this new satellite under the umbrella of its Earth Watch programme on behalf of the UK and other five ESA Member States, Switzerland, Czechia, Spain, Greece and Romania.

It will provide traceable International System of Units (SI) measurements of incoming solar radiation and of radiation reflected from Earth back out into space, with which to calibrate data from other satellites and to provide high-accuracy Earth’s radiation data to climate modelling scientists.

In effect, TRUTHS will be a ‘standards laboratory in space’, setting the gold standard reference for climate measurements.

With liftoff slated for 2030, ESA is in the process of developing this novel satellite. This process is done in careful stages – the latest of which is marked by the signing of a contract at the COP28 summit to take the mission into a phase that focuses on the design of the satellite and its instruments involving building demonstration models of some of the key technologies.

This next step also includes analysing the instruments’ performance, which includes exhaustive simulations and system modelling, to demonstrate their technical maturity.

ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli, said, “We are glad to award the contract to Airbus in the UK to take their work on developing TRUTHS into the next all-important phase. We see here at COP28 that the world is committed to climate action and having reliable data on which to base decisions is of the utmost importance.

“TRUTHS will be used as a benchmark to so that data from other satellites can be compared more easily, thereby improving reliability.”

Jean Marc Nasr, Head of Space Systems at Airbus, added, “This contract takes us one step closer to building a mission that will enable scientists and climatologists to cross reference their measurements and data enabling much more accurate forecasts and analysis in a shorter time.”

The TRUTHS satellite will host two main instruments: the Cryogenic Solar Absolute Radiometer and the Hyperspectral Imaging Spectrometer as well as the novel onboard calibration system.

Together, these instruments will continuously measure both incoming and Earth-reflected solar radiation. These two observations will evaluate the Earth’s energy-in to energy-out ratio.

Essentially, the amount of incoming solar energy compared to the amount that bounces back to space controls our climate. An accurate knowledge of these energy exchanges is fundamental to understanding and monitoring change.

ESA also signed a contract today with Teledyne e2v to develop the detection system at the core of TRUTHS’ Hyperspectral Imaging Spectrometer. This item, procured by ESA, will be integrated into the instrument by Airbus.

Source: European Space Agency

You can offer your link to a page which is relevant to the topic of this post.

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whileiamdying · 5 months

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Iranian Women You Should Known: Leila Hatami

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 IRANWIRE 7 MIN READ

Global and Iranian history are both closely intertwined with the lives and destinies of prominent figures. Every one of them has laid a brick on history’s wall, sometimes paying the price with their lives, men and women alike. Women have been especially influential in the past 200 years, writing much of contemporary Iranian history.

In Iran, women have increased public awareness about gender discrimination, raised the profile of and improved women’s rights, fought for literacy among women, and promoted the social status of women by counteracting religious pressures, participating in scientific projects, being involved in politics, influencing music, cinema... And so the list goes on.

This series aims to celebrate these renowned and respected Iranian women. They are women who represent the millions of women that influence their families and societies on a daily basis. Not all of the people profiled in the series are endorsed by IranWire, but their influence and impact cannot be overlooked. The articles are biographical stories that consider the lives of influential women in Iran.

Leila Hatami was the leading role in “The Separation,” the first, and to date, only Iranian film to get an Oscar. She is a highly-acclaimed actress. She is also the first and only Iranian woman to sit on the panel for the Cannes Film Festival.

Leila was born in 1972 in Tehran, Iran. Her father, Ali Hatami, was a renowned movie director and her mother, Zari Khoshkam, was a popular movie star before the revolution of 1979. Leila first appeared in a film when she was 10, one of her father’s films, which was about the life and times of the 19th century Iranian painter Kamal-ol-Molk. In it, she played the painter as a young boy. She also appeared in a TV series.

Then eight years later in 1992, she appeared in another one of her father’s films where she played a blind girl. However she did not originally intend to pursue acting. At high school, she studied physics and mathematics and then went on to study electrical engineering in Lausanne, Switzerland. But two years later, she had a change of heart and swapped to French literature. Then her father became ill and she went back to Iran. He died in 1996.

That same year, she played her first adult role in a film called “Leila,” which was directed by prominent film director Dariush Mehrjui. In the film, she played a woman unable to have children. Her acting received praise both inside and outside of Iran.

But during filming, a second story unfolded behind the camera. In the film, she acted alongside Ali Mostafa, who played a loving husband in the film who resisted his mother’s pressure to marry a second wife so that she would have grandchildren. In real life, they fell in love and quickly got married.

In several films, Leila and Ali played a couple on screen, which film critics praised every time. They have two young children, a boy and a girl, who frequently appear alongside their parents on the red carpet in festivals across the world.

Alongside numerous Iranian nominations and awards for her acting, Leila has also received international acclaim. In 2002, she was named winner of the best actress award at the Montreal World Film Festival for her part in a movie called “The Deserted Station.”

After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president of the Islamic Republic in 2005, Leila and her husband opened a small café inside a cinema, which they called “Entr’acte.” In the café, they screened short, documentary films. The café became a hangout for intellectuals and artists. However in 2009, the café was burned down after Leila spoke out publicly in support of the former reformist candidate President Mohammad Khatami. The fire was declared arson.

In the troubled aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential elections, the number of acting jobs for Leila, like other actors, dropped drastically. Then in 2011, she starred in “A Separation,” which was directed by Asghar Farhadi and won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012. Before that, Hatami received the award for best actress at the Berlin Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Film Festival for her part in the film.

The censors missed it

But when Asghar Farhadi delivered his acceptance speech, Farhadi said, "At this time, many Iranians all over the world are watching us and I imagine them to be very happy. At a time when talk of war, intimidation, and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics. I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, the people who respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment."

However this speech infuriated hardliners. Like every film in Iran, “A Separation” was granted permission by the government. But following its international acclaim, censors began paying greater attention to the content that portrayed Iran as a dysfunctional society and culture through the misfortunes of ordinary people.

“The image that ‘A Separation’ depicts of our society is a dirty picture that Westerners hope for,” said conservative writer Masoud Ferasati. "On the one hand, they impose sanctions against us and on the other, they give our films awards to send us a positive message. [But] I think the film's success is an illusion. This is not a good film." Many other commentators also condemned the film.

Then in 2014, Leila was made as a member of the Cannes Film Festival panel. She has always observed the Islamic dress code and she made no exception at Cannes. However on the last day of the festival, conservatives in Iran still found a way to condemn her actions. When the festival’s president Gilles Jacob was greeting jury members, he kissed her on the cheek, an act that caused an immediate reaction in Iran.

President Rouhani’s Deputy Minister of Culture, Hossein Noushabadi, said that Hatami's appearance in Cannes violated "religious beliefs." And the Hezbollah Students, a group that is affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards, filed a complaint against her with the Iranian judiciary and called for her to be flogged. Pressure mounted to such an extent that she was forced to stand up publicly and apologize for the incident. She explained that she had tried to stop the kiss but she was placed in an “impossible” situation.

Leila tends to not give interviews. However in an interview at the Cannes Film Festival, she discussed her experience as an Iranian actress. “The work is more difficult for Iranian actresses in that it is extremely restricted aesthetically,” she said. “On the level of the image, a certain aesthetic and artistic freedom is lacking and as far as acting goes, to the extent that we do not have the same kind of accessories to make the acting more credible, we must use physical expression more than our bodies.”

#Iranian Women You Should Known #Leila Hatami #Iran #Society #لیلا حاتمی

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judasvibe · 1 year

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i started doing my taxes but stopped because it got me thinking about what the fuck i will have left when i'm old and can't work anymore...

switzerland has a tripartite retirement system that's in principle very good, but is being violently demolished by population aging (though not as badly as most other western countries - yet)

part 1 is an immediately redistributed state pension. 8.4% of our gross income goes into financing this (half of which is paid by the employer), as well as an ever-growing portion of federal income tax. when it was created there were 10 active workers per pensioner and income tax didn't need to pitch in, today there are 3. in 10 years there will be less than 2 workers per retiree. it's destined to crash before i reach 65 in 34 years, unless it is financed by even higher income tax such that everybody loses purchasing power.

part 2 is a capitalized system of collective pension funds. depending on your age you pay a certain % of income (half of which your employer covers) into an account, and the fund (not you. you don't get to decide what they do with your money) invests it to give you returns yearly. but because (a) returns are low and (b) pensioners live longer than the numbers currently account for, returns on the capital of employees is slashed in favor of pensioners. that means if the pension fund achieves 3% profit on all pension accounts, they will award 4.5% to retirees and 1.5% to workers. there's opportunities to take your money out of this system if you start a business or buy real estate to live in, or if you move it into a properly individual 'free holding account' (which you normally can only do if you're unemployed, but people don't check.). you can make tax deductible buy back into it if you have gaps, but i would not do that unless i had massive income, AND could take the money out rapidly after.

part 3 is an individual account you can save a certain amount (about 7K) yearly and deduce it from taxable income. this is my top priority when it comes to saving, and this system is called to be expanded to compensate for the failings of the first two (of course, the left hates it, but the left hates everything that makes accounting sense). but it's not changing fast enough honestly. by 2025 or so it will allow buybacks just like part 2, but for now if you miss a contribution, the opportunity's gone.

and then of course nobody stops anyone from saving and investing cash separately from retirement systems.

but i've run the numbers... although i am somewhere around top 30% percentile in income, and despite saving about 30% of my net income (which means income minus payments for parts 1 & above, and still includes tax), having no generational wealth means i will have a very difficult retirement situation, unless my private etf savings make huge stock market gains. last ditch option is eventually selling my parents' house (if we even inherit it. due to high incomes and amazing interest rates in the 90s and 00s my parents have much better retirement money than i ever will, but they may struggle to keep it anyway), but doing that means my siblings and i will have to pay an estate tax, a real estate gains tax, and reimburse the mortgage. we may have too little cash left to even pay the taxes. lmfao.

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utkarshsamtani · 1 year

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CA Praveen Sharma Classes - Information And Facts

Parveen Sharma received an honours degree in business from Delhi University. He ca praveen sharma classes received a bachelor's degree from Sri Venkateswara College. With a very high score, he passed the Chartered Accounting Examination in 1996. He preserved his merit ratings for the midterm and final exams. He was awarded a master's degree in Indian Accounting Standards and US GAAP in July 2007.

For the year 2006–2007, Ca parveen sharma had the privilege of sitting on the Council of Studies' advisory board. He participates in the IICA's Local Body Accounting Standards Committee, Accounting Standards Committee, and Regional Monitoring Committee (2007–2008). Ca praveen sharma lessons helped the ICAI's position in the Committee on Management Accounting in 2008 and 2009.

Also, he participates actively in both the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He did well in school, and as a result, he got great marks. In Delhi University, Parveen accomplished a lot and excelled in accounting. At the 1990 Accounting Olympiad, he won gold. With his significant expertise and abilities, he uses ca praveen sharma classes to train CA students in accounting fundamentals. He poses as a visitor at the ICAI and ICWAI.

His ability to fascinate and inspire others is one of his most admired qualities. Due to the confidence he gave his students throughout his lectures, Praveen Sharma helped a number of his students achieve their goals.

CA Parveen Sharma's Family Information:

Father’s Name - Late Satpal Sharma

Marital Status - Married

Children’s - 2 Children (1 Boy & 1 Girl)

Personal Details - CA Praveen Sharma Classes:

Date of Birth - 19th October

Gender - Male

Zodiac Sign - Virgo

Birth Place - India

Current Place - India

Religion - Hinduism

Nationality - Indian

College - Sri Venkateswara College

Qualification - Graduation, CA

Favourites of CA Parveen Sharma:

Actor - Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, & Akshay Kumar.

Actress - Alia Bhatt & Madhuri Dixit

Movie - Aashiqui 2

Singer - Arijit Singh & Guru Randhawa

Colour - Blue, Black, and Red.

Food - Pizza and Noodles

Fruit - Orange & Mango

Sport - Cricket, Football & Badminton

Sportsman - Hardik Pandya & Virat Kohli

Destination - Manali, Goa, & Switzerland

Hobbies - Photography, Acting, & Dancing

Facts About CA Praveen Sharma Classes

He eventually ran into Eten following the disagreement with management. He called off his engagement to Eten on March 5, 2014, in order to establish Aldine Investments Private Limited. His other titles are Accounts Ke Bhagwan and God Of Accounts. His 21 Final and IPCC AIR scores allowed him to graduate with a degree in Chartered Accounting in 1996.

Professional Qualifications

He is now using video lectures and ca praveen sharma classes to teach the Intermediate and Final levels of the Chartered Accounting Course at Study At Home. Both his parveen sharma sessions and his praveen sharma lessons draw on his more than 20 years of teaching experience. Students admire Ca parveen sharma and his lectures because of his straightforward and original teaching strategies.

Conclusion

Due to Praveen Sharma's instruction to have faith in oneself, a number of his students were successful in achieving their objectives. He goes by the nicknames "God Of Accounts" and "Accounts Ke Bhagwan," which are both very well known. Most of his students find his lectures to be inspirational because of his straightforward and innovative teaching strategies as well as his more than 20 years of classroom experience. His ability to enthral and inspire people is one of his most well-known qualities.

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