Guitar Lessons for Guitar Players

Playing the same things over and over again when you pick up the guitar? Teaching yourself for years but you hit a wall? Don't know what to do next? Whether you're a total beginner, or an old guitar player, we'll get you working on something you can benefit from. I'm a professional teacher, over 30 students at my studio in downtown Berkeley and several music schools in San Francisco, Alameda, and Mountain View.

    No matter what style you're into, I guarantee there are songs by your favorite bands that you could learn

Call at 510-333-9091 or e-mail at bluescho0147@gmail.com

                                                                                         Dance Classes

Motion Dance Center in Martinez is now accepting registration (注册) for all fall dance classes. There are classes offered in Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Contemporary and Cheerleading. Classes run like the school year Sept. through June. Prices are very reasonable at only $45 a month. That's for a one-hour class once a week for a month. This studio is known for their younger child program. We are always looking for talented instructors too. If you want more information call Deena at 925-229-5678.

Qi Gong with Angie

Qi Gong is the perfect activity for anyone, at any age. It combines gentle movement and meditation (冥想), breathing regulation and relaxation. The exercises are designed to reduce stress and anxiety and improve blood and energy circulation (循环) throughout the body, therefore increasing immune (免疫的) function, improving energy levels and sleep.

Thousands of Qi Gong lovers around the world have experienced the extraordinary benefits of this gentle, ancient Chinese exercise form and are healthier and happier for it. Join us to experience the benefits for yourself! WHEN: Tuesdays from noon-1pm

WHERE: Halanda Studio 1062 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125

COST: $12 per class drop-in (即到即学的) or $45 for a pre-pa id set of 4 classes

CONTACT: Angie at angie@lokahiacupuncture.com, 408-887-6000

    Social media is one of the fastest growing industries in today's world. A study conducted by the US Pew Research Center showed that 92 percent of teenagers go online daily. The wide spread of social media has changed nearly all parts of teenagers' lives.

    Changing relationships

    High school student Elly Cooper from Illinois said social media often reduces face- to-face communication. “It makes in-person relationships harder because of people's attention given to their phones instead of their boyfriends or girlfriends,” Cooper said.

    Yet, some people believe social media has made it easier to start relationships with anyone from anywhere. Beth Kaplan from Illinois met her long-distance friend through social media. He currently lives in Scotland, but they're still able to frequently communicate with each other. “I can feel close to someone that I'm talking to via FaceTime,” Kaplan said.

    Wanting to be “liked”

    The rise of social media has changed the way teenagers see themselves. The 19- year-old Essena O'Neill announced on the social networking service Instagram that she was quitting social media because it made her unable to stop thinking about appearing perfect online. Negative comments also can do great damage to a teenager's self-esteem. Teenagers who get negative comments can't help but feel hurt.

    Opening new doors

    However, Armin Korsos, a student from Illinois, takes advantage of the comments he receives over social media to improve his videos on the social networking site YouTube. “Social media can help people show themselves and their talents to the world in a way that has never been possible before,” Korsos said.

Coolest Hotels in the World

    Artau Aragon Towers

    The Ariau Amazon Towers hotel lets you sleep in a tree house. Eight towers make up this hotel that offers over 300 rooms. If you really want to get into the spirit, book the Tarzan Suite which is large enough for a big family. You'll be thirty feet up in the air and can travel between the towers through their wooden walkways.

    Prices: starting at $300 one night for each person for a regular room and going all the way up to $3000 for the Tarzan Suite.

    For more information, visit the website: http://Hwww.ariautowers.com

    The Ice Hotel

    Every winter in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, a special kind of hotel called the Ice Hotel is built. Each year, world-famous artists are invited to design and produce works of art from the ice, many of which can be found in the rooms. You'll have your choice between hot or cold rooms but you will be well advised to stay at least one night in a cold room for a true experience.

    Prices: starting at $318 one night for each person for either a cold room or a warm one. For more information, visit the website: http:Hwww.icehotel.com.

Propeller Island

    Propeller Island City Lodge is a very special hotel that was designed by a German artist. Each room provides you with the possibility of living in a work of art. Every single piece of furniture in the thirty rooms of the hotel has been hand-made and each room is completely different. You'll be able to choose a room based on your own personal tastes.

    Prices: starting at just $91 a night, and an additional (另外) person for only 20 extra dollars.

    For more information, visit the website: http://www.propeller-island.com.

    For information about other cool hotels. In the world, visit the website: http://www.bahamabeachclub.com.

    The holidays are the best time to ask the elders in your family for advice. For most people, the approaching holiday season includes more time with the extended family, including the elder generation.

    Unfortunately, older adults are often unseen in the popular media. Yet there's a big body of evidence that shows the benefits of older adults' wisdom and the value of developing communication across generations.

    First, over the course of human history, older people have played very important roles as advice-givers. Anthropological (人类学) research shows that survival in pre-literate societies was dependent on the knowledge of the oldest members.

    In recent times, most of the researches about intergenerational communication occur within formal programs, such as ones including older adults in public schools or having youth visit assisted living facilities. Also, you can apply many of the lessons of the researches to your own family gatherings.

    There is clear evidence that it is good for young people to spend time with older adults. The youth who participated in intergenerational programs showed more respect toward older adults, less anxiety, and higher self-esteem. Research also shows that interacting with younger people is good for older adults. A systematic review found that older adults who participated in intergenerational programs were likely to experience more satisfaction with their lives, higher self-esteem and fewer symptoms of depression. Interactions during intergenerational programs can be positive even when an older adult is experiencing memory or cognitive problems.

    Having children teach computer or video games to the older generations can be a fun way to spend time together. A study found that intergenerational games can help family members to bond. Another idea is to encourage the youth to ask older family members for their advice about life.

    The youth can ask older adults specific questions about the lessons they learned from their life experiences.

    The take-home message is that time with older relatives is one of the true gifts of the holiday season. Make the most of it by spending time with the older generation!

    Don't we all know a "Happy Meal" when we see one—the famous boxed meal that includes a hamburger, kid-sized French fries, fruits and milk, served with a toy that's extremely popular with children who love to collect them?

    A Happy Meal is a form of kids' meal sold at a certain fast-food chain since 1979. A toy is included in the meal, both of which are usually contained in a box or paper bag. However, collectors of these little toys will not get them any longer, since the company will replace toys with books and each of these books will mainly pass on nutritional messages.

    Happy Meals are extremely popular with kids, especially for their collectable toys, when you consider that over 1.3 billion of these packages are sold each year. These packages have been very controversial. Health supporters believe that drawing kids to these meals with toys is clever way of promoting unhealthy food choices. They see it as an advertising strategy of "catching its customers young"—a move that has paid off very well for the fast-food company.

    Child development experts say that food habits get formed in children by age six and continue through to their adult life. Fatty and sugary foods such as those served in Happy Meals are believed to play a big role in growing health problems such as obesity and diabetes. Public health care costs have gone up and untold amounts of money have been spent on coping with these health problems. On November 2, 2010, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a law requiring that children's meals sold in restaurants must meet certain nutritional standards before they could be sold with toys, to overcome the problem of childhood obesity—in other words, the State of California tried to ban the toys in Happy Meals. However, it was strongly opposed by some as being heavy-handed, and the ban was thrown out by the government.

    While some people believe that the fast-food company, with its large following of children, can create a powerful message through the books, others believe its actions are contradictory. Anyway, the company is trying to spread the message of nutrition while it is serving food that is anything but healthy.

Tropical cyclones (热带气旋), including hurricanes and typhoons, are now moving at a slower speed than they did decades ago, new research shows.

While having a cyclone travel with less speed may seem like a good thing, it's actually just the opposite. Wind speeds within the storm remain high, but the whole system itself moves slower, allowing punishing rains to stay longer over communities. "Nothing, good comes out of a slowing storm," says James Kossin, author of the paper. "It can increase the amount of time that buildings suffered from strong wind. And it increases rainfall."

In his paper, Kossin showed that from 1949 to 2016, tropical cyclones across the globe slowed their movement by 10 percent on average. In some regions (地区), the speed of those storms slowed even more as they hit land. In the western North Pacific, the decrease was much more manifest ― almost a third. That means a storm that may already hold more moisture (水分) will have time to drop more of it in each spot.

Kossin's work was based on details of almost 70 years' worth of storms, but he didn't try to determine what was causing the slowdown. Still, the change is exactly what he and other cyclone experts said, which would be expected from climate change. With the polar regions warming fester than other parts of the globe, that is changing the pressure and reducing the winds that push these storms.

Christina Patricola, a scientist, called Kossin9s work important and new and said she found it reliable. "I was not surprised by his findings," she says. "But I was surprised by the speed of the slowdown."

Kossin hopes that scientists will begin building models that show which places are likely to face the most risk. Given that storms in some regions are moving towards polar regions and already increasing in intensity (强度), cyclones causing unusually powerful rain may threaten places not normally in their paths. Scientists must take action to make those places suffer less from the disasters.