The freezing Northeast hasn't been a terribly fun place to spend time this winter, so when the chance came for a weekend to Sarasota, Florida, my bags were packed before you could say “sunshine”. I left for the land of warmth and vitamin C(维生素C), thinking of beaches and orange trees. When we touched down to blue skies and warm air, I sent up a small prayer of gratefulness. Swimming pools, wine tasting, and pink sunsets(at normal evening hours, not 4 in the afternoon) filled the weekend, but the best part - particularly to my taste, dulled by months of cold- weather root vegetables- was a 7 a.m. adventure to the Sarasota farmers' market that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call.

           The market, which was founded in 1979, sets up its tents every Saturday from 7:00 am to 1 p.m., rain or shine, along North Lemon and State streets. Baskets of perfect red strawberries; the red-painted sides of the Java Dawg coffee truck; and most of all, the tomatoes: amazing, large, soft and round red tomatoes.

Disappointed by many a broken, vine-ripened(蔓上成熟的) promise, I've refused to buy winter tomatoes for years. No matter how attractive they look in the store, once I get them home they're unfailingly dry, hard, and tasteless. But I homed in, with uncertainty, on one particular table at the Brown's Grove Farm's stand, full of fresh and soft tomatoes the size of my fist. These were the real deal- and at that moment, I realized that the best part of Sarasota in winter was going to be eating things that back home in New York I wouldn't be experiencing again for months.

Delighted as I was by the tomatoes in sight, my happiness deepened when I learned that Brown's Grove Farm is one of the suppliers for Jack Dusty, a newly opened restaurant at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton, where - luckily for me - I was planning to have dinner that very night. Without even seeing the menu, I knew I'd be ordering every tomato on it.

Protect Children from Cyber-bullying

    When you think about bullying, you might think of a child being bullied by another in the schoolyard. As more young people have access to computers and cell phones, traditional bullying has gone digital, which has not yet gained awareness in Chinese parents.

    Cyber-bullying, first invented by Canadian educator Bill Belsey, is the use of the Internet and related technologies to harm other people, in an intentional, repeated, and unfriendly manner. It involves threatening text messages, the spread of online rumors on social networking sites, and intentionally keeping someone out of an online group. Cyber-bullying is at an all-time high in the US. According to a study from the US Department of Justice, more than 43% of teenagers report being victims（受害者）of cyber-bullying.

    Compared to face-to-face bullying, cyber-bullying is considered to have a worse emotional effect on the victims, and kids could feel more desperate and depressed. Severe, long-term or frequent cyber-bullying can leave victims at greater risk for anxiety, depression, and other disorders. Research says that cyber-bullying victims were almost twice as likely to have attempted suicide compared to youths who had not experienced it.

In traditional schoolyard bullying, at least home is a safe place for the victims. But cyber-bullying is endless—it could happen anytime. Moreover, in the digital world, bullying is much easier, as a bully can pick on people with a much lower risk of being caught.

    Actually, cyber-bullying has become a worldwide issue. In the US, as several teens committed suicide because of cyber-bullying, some schools set rules to punish cyberbullies. Laws to punish cyber-bullying have been introduced in some states. In China, cyber-bullying is still considered by many parents and educators as a problem that involves physical contact. However, as cell phones and laptops are becoming common equipment for teenagers, social interactions have increasingly moved from personal contact to virtual contact. Cyber-bullying is spreading faster than expected.

    For schools and parents, safety rules should be set in the virtual world for kids, such as telling them not to let out anything to a stranger. Active steps should be taken to make the public aware of the seriousness of this problem, because it would be too late to take measures after tragedy strikes.

Model Railroading

    Would you like to know a fun way to learn about math? Well, you can do that with model railroading. Yes, it's true. You can learn about many school topics without using a school book. Besides that, there are many other benefits that model railroading brings us as well. In this article, we will discuss just a few of those benefits of model railroading.

Patience and problem solving skills

    When you build a model railroad, you have to plan your railroad out. You have to decide where the tracks (轨道) will go, where to put buildings, where to put streets and any other things you would like to add to your model railroad. Also, you have to think about any problems you may have with the design you choose. How will you make railroad crossings? How will you design hills, mountains, and rivers? Deciding on what to do with your model railroad takes a lot of thought and patience, but it is not as difficult as you may think.

Building skills

    With model railroading, you learn how to put together plastic models of buildings. Also, you can learn how to build a table for your design, or make scenery for the geography of your design. Your model railroad runs on electricity, so you learn about electronics as well. These are skills that not only help you build a model railroad; these skills will help you all throughout life.

Fun for family and friends

    Different from many video games, model railroading is a social hobby that lets you communicate with family and friends. This is because you have to communicate with family and friends as you build and run your model railroad. By spending time with the people in your life you love and care about, you learn to become closer and care more for each other. This is one of the best parts of model railroading as a hobby. Of course, the best part about model railroading is running the trains. Watching the trains run around the track and make all the sounds and do all the things that real trains do gives people hours of enjoyment. Also, there is great satisfaction in the fact that you, your family, and your friends built the model railroad.

    I hope you can learn to enjoy model railroading and experience all the benefits you just read about and many others. Happy railroading!

    Eighteen years ago, Terry Grahl, was pregnant with her fourth child. “Money was very tight,” Terry recalls. So when her mom called to ask if she'd like to go shopping at the local fabric(布料) store for the coming Christmas, she couldn't say no because she knew she badly needed some fabrics to make new clothes for her children. “I remember walking around, gazing at all this beautiful fabric, wondering whether there is anything cheap that I could afford. And I could still get some money left to buy Christmas gifts for my family.

    Well, Terry's mom must have known what Terry was thinking. Smiling kindly, she whispered to Terry, “You pick any fabrics you like. It's your Christmas gift from me.” Terry's eyes were filed with tears as the cart began to overflow with many fabrics, but not because Terry was planning on making herself a pretty dress or a pair of curtains for the kitchen. Rather, Terry's mom's kindness had inspired some holiday gift ideas in Terry, and it didn't take long for Terry to figure out what she was going to do with all that fabric.

    “I was going to make my first quilt,” she explains. “Every night I would work on this queen-size quilt. With every stitch(一针), I thought about all that my mom had done for me over the course of my childhood, during which we were always battling homelessness, but Mom somehow managed to fill our lives with love and make everything okay.”

    On Christmas Day, five days after her baby girl was born, Terry handed her mom a gift box. Inside was the quilt she had sewn, from the fabric her mother had given her as a gift.

    Fourth-grader Alice Tapper was on a school field trip when she noticed that most of the girls quietly stayed at the back of the group, while the boys gathered at the front and raised their hands to answer questions. The 11-year-old then realized how often she and her female classmates didn't speak up in class for fears of getting an answer wrong and being embarrassed.

    She decided to change this and launched a campaign to encourage girls to have faith in themselves, even take risks and be leaders —— and support other girls in doing the same. With assistance from her Girl Scout troop (女童子军), she created a new Raise Your Hand program, and soon girls around the country were taking a pledge(承诺) to raise their hands in class.

    In my work as an administration coach I see many women (and some men) with habits that are holding them back. Women at work tend to hang back in meetings for fear they may not have the right answer. They will spend countless hours (and sometimes days) replaying the tapes in their head, while males in similar situations simply move on, until they are perfect when instead they should be establishing relationships. The truth is that after a year no one remembers your nice report. Forget perfect. It doesn't exist. Say what's on your mind and let things go.

    Similarly, women tend to talk more softly than men, which can be problematic, especially the higher up in the organization you go. To have an influence on business, it's not enough to have a seat at the table. You have to have a voice and people have to hear from you. Don't wait for an invitation. Raise your hand, say what you have to say, and when you see an opportunity, go for it!

Immersive Van Gogh

From the creators of the blockbuster show in Paris seen by over two million visitors and still wowing crowds in Toronto, the west coast premiere (首场) of the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit will bring the art of Vincent to life in Los Angeles.

Immersive art is not just a technical way to represent video and audio in huge spaces. The word immersive indicates a deep commitment of intentions which connect images and sounds in a way that the audience is able to experience a different way of the art.

True to its name, this exhibition transforms the iconic (偶像的) paintings of Vincent van Gogh into moving, wall-filling projections. "Immersive Van Gogh" promises half-a-million cubic feet of projections that pull from some of the post-impressionist's most recognizable pieces, including The Bedroom, Sunflowers and, yes, The Starry Night.

You will experience art like never before—lose yourself in entrancing, moving images that highlight brushstrokes, detail, and color—truly illuminating (照亮) the mind of the genius.

LOCATION

The Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit is located at a secret place situated in the heart of Los Angeles. To be announced before the exhibit opens, existing ticket holders will receive an email with the place name and location once it is made public.

TICKET PRICES

Tickets are available online at www.vangoghla.com.

GIFT SHOP

Stop by our Exhibit Gift Shop to take the magic of Van Gogh home with you! From clothing and jewelry to home décor, children's books, and so much more, you will find unique and thoughtful souvenirs at the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit. Also be sure to check out at our online store!

Experience the organic landscapes of Van Gogh's imagination, and journey through his brilliance and madness in a completely new and unforgettable way.