You can't always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belyaev doesn't think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet. That's why he created lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain- sensing umbrella.

    The designer says he come up with the idea after watching people get wet on streets in Russia. “once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy (伞蓬) built into a street lamp.” he said.

    The lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy. It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand. Sensors (传感器) then ensure that the umbrella offers pedestrians shelter whenever it starts raining.

In addition to the rain sensor, there's also a 360° motion sensor on the fiberglass street lamp which detects whether anyone is using the lampbrella. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed.

     According to the designer, the lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to the pedestrians. Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lighting strike. Each lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people. Being installed (安装) at 2 meters off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians.

      While there are no plans to take lampbrella into production, Belyaev says he recently introduced his creation to one Moscow Department, and insists his creation could be installed on any street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter.

    US scientists say they have poured cold water on the theory that washing hands with hot water kills more germs (细菌) than unheated water. The small study of 20 people found using water at 15C (59F) left hands as clean as water heated to 38C (100F).

    National Health Service (NHS) recommends that people wash their hands in either cold or warm water. In this study, scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick wanted to find out if popular assumptions about the benefits of warm or hot water and official guidance on hot water —given to the food industry in the US - held true. They asked 20 people to wash their hands 20 times each with water that was 15C (59F), 26C (79F) or 38 degrees (100F). Volunteers were also asked to experiment with varying amounts of soap. Before they started the tests, their hands were covered in harmless bugs. Researchers say there was no difference in the amount of bugs removed as the temperature of the water or the amount of soap changed.

    Prof Donald Schaffner said: “People need to feel comfortable when they are washing their hands but as far as effectiveness goes, this study shows us that the temperature of the water used did not matter.”

    However, the researchers accept their study is small and say more extensive work is needed to determine the best ways to remove harmful bacteria.

    In the UK, NHS experts say people can use cold or hot water to wash their hands. They say hands should be washed for at least 20 seconds and stress the importance of using enough soap to cover the whole surface of the hands. Their guidance focuses on rubbing hands together in various .ways to make sure each surface of each hand is clean.

    China is fondly remembering one of its most famous radio voices, a man whose vivid storytelling was a comfort to millions of people, from commuters stuck in traffic to restless teens struggling to sleep. Shan Tianfang, was a leading performer of the traditional Chinese art form pingshu, which translates as "storytelling".

    Pingshu dates from the Song Dynasty (AD960-1279) when performers would entertain villagers by telling stories in a particularly emotive style. It remains particularly popular in north-eastern China. Performers wear traditional dress and use very basic props - often a folded fan and a gavel. Pingshu is sometimes performed in tea houses and small theatres, but many Chinese associate the art form with radio. And in a country where sleeping problems are commonplace, pingshu is still popular as a way of helping people to wind down at bedtime.

    Shan Tianfang was born in 1934 in Yingkou, in north-eastern Liaoning province. His family introduced him to folk arts from a young age and he began learning pingshu when he was 19. He became known in Liaoning for his work on stage and in local teahouses during the 1950s and 1960s, and performed in an art troupe around the region. From 1966-1976, Shan, along with other pingshu performers like Yuan Kuocheng, was forced to stop work. During the 1980s.Shan made the transition (转型) to state-run radio, and his captivating storytelling became comfort listening for people across the country. By the 1990s, Shan had become a well-known face on state TV, even performing in the annual Spring Festival Gala show. He has died aged 84 following a long illness.

    Shan performed over 12,000 stories on TV and radio. His stories attracted people of all ages. One of his most acclaimed performances is of the Heroes in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. He gave countless performances of the “Four Classic Novels” (Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, Dream of the Red Chamber and Water Margin) and also helped to bring lesser-known classical Chinese literature to new audiences.

    He was able to use the medium to entrance his audience and in the process he helped to popularise classical Chinese literature. As film director Zhang Jizhong told the Global Times newspaper: “He could describe a scene and a character extremely vividly. He once had a long talk with me about adapting the heroic stories he told into films or television shows to help promote Chinese classics and traditional culture.”

    But in his later years, the growth of online and digital media exposed the challenges of keeping his art form alive. Shan turned his efforts towards writing books and opening performance schools to teach pingshu to young people. They included the Shan Tianfang Culture and Media Academy in Beijing, a Shan Tianfang teahouse and “storytelling base” in Anshan in Liaoning province. Meanwhile, modern productions of pingshu reference (引用，参照) contemporary  (现代的) culture to draw in new performers and audiences. Performers like Guo Heming have emerged, putting a modern spin on pingshu by adapting popular works, including the Harry Potter stories.

    Although he wasn't particularly active on social media, he amassed more than one million fans on the Sina Weibo platform.

A memorial was held for him on 15 September but millions of Chinese will miss his voice.

    A music festival is a community event focusing on live performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme. On the list are the music festivals for fans around the world. Find your favorite now!

    Field Day

    January 1, 2018. Sydney

    Field Pay means New Year's Day for young people in Sydney. Seen as the city's original multi－stage party,, it's a gathering of friends coming together for a great fun - filled first day of the year. There's an air of hope and positive energy on a perfect summer's day.

    The Envision Festival

    February 22 – 25, 2018, Uvita

    The Envision Festival is an annual gathering in Costa Rica that aims to provide an

opportunity for different cultures to work with one another to create a better community. The festival encourages people to practice art, music, dance performances, and education. Meanwhile, our connection with nature is expected to be strengthened.

    The McDowell Mountain Music Festival

    March 2 - 4, 2018, Phoenix

    The McDowell Mountain Music Festival is Phoenix、musical celera ,on of community culture. Since its founding in 2004 f it is the only 100% non – profit music festival designed to support, entertain and educate the community. The festival attracts thousands of visitors each year from around the country, and it is an opportunity to experience true culture.

    The Old Settler's Music Festival

    April 19 - 22, 2018, Dale

    The Old Settler's Music Festival is a nationally known music festival for American music. The festival is held in the country of Texas at the height of the wild flower season. The Old Settler's Music Festival offers great music and activities for the whole family.

    How fit are your teeth? Are you lazy about brushing them? Never fear: An inventor is on the case. An electric toothbrush senses how long and how well you brush and it lets you track your performance on your phone.

    The Kolibree toothbrush was exhibited at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. It senses how it is moved and can send the information to an Android phone or iPhone via a Bluetooth wireless connection.

    The toothbrush will be able to teach you to brush right (don't forget the insides of the teeth!) and make sure you're brushing long enough. “It's kind of like having a dentist actually watch your brushing on a day-to-day basis,” says Thomas Serval, the French inventor.

    The toothbrush will also be able to talk to other applications on your phone, so developers could, for example, create a game controlled by your toothbrush. You could score points for beating monsters among your teeth. “We try to make it smart and fun,” Serval says.

    Serval says he was inspired by his experience as a father. He would come home from work and ask his kids if they had brushed their teeth. They said “yes,” but Serval would find their toothbrush heads dry. He decided he needed a brush that really told him how well his children brushed.

    The company says the Kolibree will go on sale this summer, from $99 to $199, and the U.S. is the first target market.

    What are two things that make humans different from animals? One is language, and the other is music. It is true that some animals can sing (and many birds sing. better than a lot of people). However, the songs of animals, such as birds and whales, are very limited. It is also true that humans, not animals, have developed musical instruments.

    Music is strange stuff. It is clearly different from language. However, people can use music to communicate things—especially their emotions. When music is combined with speech in a song, it is a very powerful form of communication.

    If music is truly different from speech, then we should process music and language in different parts of the brain. The scientific evidence suggests that this is true. Sometimes people who suffer brain damage lose their ability to process language. However, they don't automatically lose their musical abilities. For example, Vissarion Shebalin, a Russian composer, had a stroke in 1953. It injured the left side of his brain. He could no longer speak or understand speech. He could, however, still compose music until his death ten years later. On the other hand, sometimes strokes cause people to lose their musical ability, but they can still speak and understand speech.

    Why does music have such a strong effect on us? That is a harder question to answer. Geoffrey Miller, a researcher at University College, London, thinks that music and love have a strong connection. Music requires special talent, practice, and physical ability. That's why it may be a way of showing your fitness to be someone's mate. For example, singing in tune or playing a musical instrument requires fine muscular control. You also need a good memory to remember the notes. And playing or singing those notes correctly suggests that your hearing is in excellent condition. Finally, when a man sings to the woman he loves, it may be a way of showing off.

    However, Miller's theory still doesn't explain why certain combinations of sounds influence our emotions so deeply. For scientists, this is clearly an area that needs further research of sounds influence our emotions so deeply. For scientists, this is clearly an area that needs further research.