Since my retirement (退休) from teaching music in 2001, I have spent a good deal of time painting as an artist. I actually began drawing again in the summer of 1995 when my father died, so perhaps I was trying to recover from the loss of my father, or maybe it was just that it brought back memories of him. In any case, I drew pen and ink animals and landscapes much influenced by Krenkel and St. John for five years.

    For some strange reason, I had been waiting until my retirement to start doing watercolors again, but as soon as I walked out of the school door for the last time I picked up my brushes and rediscovered Andrew Wyeth, who quickly became my favorite artist. I had looked through all the art books I had on my shelves and found his watercolors to be the closest to how I thought good watercolors should look. So I painted landscapes around Minnesota for three years and tried out many other types of painting. However, watercolors remained my first choice, and I think I did my best work there, showing my paintings at a number of art exhibitions.

    Art is now together with my piano playing and reading. There is a time for everything in my world, and it is wonderful to have some time doing what I want to do. As Confucius once said，“At seventy I can follow my heart's desire (渴望).”

    Does the future of filmmaking lie in virtual reality (VR) films?

   An ambitious team led by Yale senior Celine Tien might hold the answer to that question.

    Tien produced,directed and acted in Pippa's Pan,which she says is “one of the world's first live-action VR films.”The film,which was completed in April,mixes live action with VR sections.Some of the characters were created via animation（动画）and other techniques that distinguish the film from 360° VR videos like the ones frequently seen on YouTube.

    “360° VR videos are stagnant,which means you don't move with them and see a 360° view of whatever they're filming.”Tien explained.“What we're doing is immersive（沉浸式的）VR.When you put on the goggles (a kind of special glasses) you can physic.ally walk around in the space,pick up objects and engage with the environment.It's a huge difference.”

    The immersive VR film experience is different for everyone who interacts with the medium,but that doesn't mean the film's ending will change for each viewer.

    The film stars two Chinese-speaking actors."It's a love story about a woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease who is trying to bring back memories of her husband,"Tien said.

    The film has already been recognized by the VR industry.After handing in a short demo to the AT&T Developer Summit Conference,Tien and her team were invited to Las Vegas in January,where they came in third place.

    If you're dying to see the film already,your choices area bit limited: Pippa's Pan can't be seen in movie theaters unless they happen to have VR goggles available.According to Tien,many theaters in China will soon have the ability,which makes sense considering China is the film's target market.

    Pippa's Pan will be released in three languages: Chinese,English and Korean.“It can get spread in different ways: at film festivals with VR set ups and through HTC or Oculus headset stores,”Tien says.“If you have VR goggles you can download it and experience it yourself.We will also cooperate with movie theaters that have VR set ups.”

    Look and listen, and that concert poster just might be singing. Engineers have designed antennas（天线）that can turn everyday objects, from posters to clothing, into radio stations. Anyone walking or driving by can tune in and hear what's on. The devices use radio waves, but they don't generate their own. They hijack（劫持）the same waves that carry music and news to your smartphone.

    Vikram Iyer co-led the project with Anran Wang, a graduate student in computer science and engineering. The two got the idea for their invention by paying attention to what was already around them. “It's the ideal way to minimize the power consumption for any kind of communication,” notes Iyer. Their research had focused on new types of wireless communications that won't require much energy. They wanted something that would work outdoors in a city. Then they realized the air is already filled with wireless communications in the form of radio stations.

    Radio waves carry energy at the speed of light from tall transmission towers to radios in cars, phones and homes. These waves of the antennas take in existing radio waves and change them slightly. Those changes add new sound information. The changed waves are then sent back out into the world where people can listen in. So the device only needs enough power to change the waves, not to generate them.

    The scientists tested their device with a poster. It advertised a Seattle concert by Simply Three. People standing almost 4 meters away from the poster could use FM receivers on smartphones to listen to all songs of the band's music. Those in cars as far as 18 meters away could use car radios to pick up some parts of the songs

    The technology could even extend to clothes. Iyer, Wang and their team turned the shirt into an antenna. It let the shirt talk to the wearer's smartphone. If a sensor in the shirt tracked a person's heart rate during exercise, for instance, the antenna could transmit those data to the wearer's phone.

    Benito Juarez, a poor Indian boy, was twelve years old when he left his village home in December 1818.Benito walked forty-one miles to the city of Oaxaca, high in the mountains of Mexico. When he heard the Spanish spoken by the city people, Benito didn't know what they were saying.

    First, Benito became a servant for a wealthy gentleman, Serer Maza. Soon, he went to work for Antonio Salanueva ,a church(教会)librarian. Antonio repaired and copied the library books, keeping them in good shape.  Benito became his helper and his housekeeper. Antonio loved to teach. Benito soon became his student as well as his servant. With the help of Antonio, Benito learned to speak, read, and write Spanish.

    At that time in Mexico, many people believed that Indians were not smart enough to read or learn. Antonio knew that was not true. Indians had been prevented from learning by a lack of schools. The first Spanish missionaries(传教士)who came to Mexico had educated the native people. In fact, churches from Spain had built the first college on the North American continent(大陆)for the Indians. As more Spanish came to Mexico, however, the Indian children were crowded out of the schools.

    Benito was a good and bright student, so Antonio developed a plan for him. In 1821, when Benito was fifteen, Antonio decided to enroll him in a school for boys. Antonio taught Benito what he needed to pass the entrance test for the school.

Benito became a student at the college. His studies were difficult, and he was teased because he was the only Indian student there. He succeeded in spite of these challenges. Later, as the laws changed, Benito was able to attend a public college with other Indians.

    Benito Juarez continued his education and became a lawyer and, much later, the President of Mexico from 1861 to 1872. He led the Mexican people to victory over the French, who tried to rule Mexico, and fought for the rights of Indians. He is one of the great heroes in Mexican history.

    HOLLAND & BARRETT

    Valerian capsules

    A traditional herbal medicinal product used for the temporary relief of symptoms of mild anxiety and to aid sleep. This is based on traditional use only.

    Active Ingredients:

    Each capsule contains 337mg of extract (as dry extract) from Valerian root (Valerian officinalis L) (equivalent to 1683mg-2020mg of Valerian root).

    Dosage（剂量）:

    For oral use only.

    For adults and elderly:

    Mild anxiety — Take 1 capsule 3 times daily.

    To aid sleep — Take 1 capsule 30 minutes to 1 hour before bedtime with an earlier dose during the evening if necessary.

    Swallow the capsule with water. As the effects of this product may not occur immediately, the capsule should be taken continuously for 2-4 weeks.

    Duration of use: If symptoms worsen or do not improve after 4 weeks, a doctor or a qualified healthcare practitioner should be consulted.

    Warnings:

    Do not exceed the stated dose.

    Do not take this product if you are:

    a. Under 18 years of age

    b. Pregnant or breastfeeding

    c. Allergic to Valerian or any of the excipients in this product

    d. Already taking a medicine for sleep or anxiety

    Storage:

    Store the capsules below 25℃.

    Keep the bottle tightly closed.

    Keep out of sight and reach of children.

    Registration Holder:

    NBTY Europe Limited, Samuel Ryder House, Barling Way, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, CV10 7RH, United Kingdom

    Twenty-five years ago, most young Britons wanted a career in law, to be a doctor, or, if they were creative enough, to take up singing. But today, things stand differently.

    According to a survey by Tesco Mobile, a UK company, the “dream job” of young people aged between 16 and 25 in the UK is a video blogger(博客), or “vlogger(视频博主)”. The survey, carried out among 1,002 people, found that as much as 40 percent of them put vlogger as their number one choice on a list of ideal careers.

    This change is undoubtedly as a result of the Internet and social media. They have made it so much easier to reach audience of the world, without having to enter a career in show business in the traditional way.

    In the past, the biggest stars were trained by the Hollywood studios; now, anyone with a computer camera can become a star. Vloggers are the big stars of today because they are normal people interacting(互动) with their fans about everyday life.”

    However, what people see is only the bright side of being a vlogger and they fail to notice the fact that only those who are successful earn fame and fortune. For every success there are hundreds of others who never get off the starting line. There are the dreams that come true and the dreams that remain dreams forever.

    Although being vloggers is popular, some young people choose to follow careers that don't necessarily earn them fame, but allow them to make good use of the Internet to share their hobbies. Young Israeli David Leshaw, for example, runs a business called the Finishers Club. It's an online platform(平台) for runners to keep a record of their races. His job allows him to express his enthusiasm, and is always a learning experience. And that's enough for him.