#(This was made and queued since Dec of LAST YEAR)

[arsalamsyah]

The Happy Ending of 2023

On Dec 22, 2023, I reflected on how this year has been. I remembered everything that happened in Q4 but questioned, “what did I do in Q1 to Q3?” I couldn’t even remember until I scrolled up again my instagram archives, and found stories from April 9, 2023. Forget about the title above for a second. Have you ever cried naturally so ugly that you still remember how painfully aching it felt even after months passed by? I teared up again looking at those insta stories to flashback. 

For context, home for me has always been the east coast – mid-atlantic specifically – where, despite not owning a physical house, my soul feels belong to its surroundings. You know it already why LA was, is, and will never ever be home for me based on this previous comparison I wrote in 2021.

While I enjoyed my work at SPX, I didn’t find balance outside of work which forced me to take flights to DC or NY almost every quarter to keep my sanity checked. Following a business trip to Florida and watching the F9 rocket launch with bare eyes back in April 2023, I extended my trip to spend the weekend in DC as I was already on the east coast anyway. Only spent less than 48 hours at home with my “foster” fam, and it was the shortest time I ever spent on a long west-coast-to-east-coast route. 

So getting back to the question, have you ever cried naturally so ugly that you still remember how painfully aching it felt even after months passed by? The emotion on April 9 still lingers through those insta stories – it was right after this direct flight from DCA airport to LAX that my heart was too heavy to carry.

The above is a combined video since Tumblr doesn’t allow multiple videos in one post. First video – this take-off from DCA airport was too pretty to say goodbye to. Got the right-side window seat facing the National Mall and the weather was absolutely comforting. Then second video – before landing at LAX airport during sunset which was actually eyes-pleasing with another plane queuing on the side. The pilot failed twice to land safely due to poor visibility through thick fog & mist. Pretty much a sign of an unwelcoming environment.

It was right after this flight that my tears just burst out naturally while I was waiting for my on demand ride, on the side of a highway, where nobody else was there but cars passing by through the dark. I couldn’t hold it anymore that this cathartic cry had to happen and my chest was painfully suffocated. I turned around not to face the street because it was just too ugly to see, and had I not held my luggage tightly, I probably fell down to the ground crying like a baby. Admittedly, I had more cries living there than my entire life. The return trip from the east coast had never been easy even from the first time I moved there, “hhhh, why do I have to leave again?” “why am I here?” “God, let me go home.” “let me just go.”

What made the cry further uglier was the fact that the only thing (and there is only one thing) I can do is to repent for everything, asking Allah’s forgiveness. You can’t beat those pure senses. You just can’t. You can only repent and trust His puzzling plan. 

Earlier this year was a rough patch for me, living on the edge of decision to decision and negotiation to negotiation, mostly very last minute like mini heart attacks. But finally Allah let me flip it beautifully to a much happier life, and safely returned home for good for real foreveeerrrr. 

Ever since moving back to NYC, I experience happiness like never before. Like my soul returns to its body quite literally. Waking up happy, running the day happy, going to bed happy – constantly 24/7 every single day for the past few months filled with utter gratitude. I didn’t know happiness like this existed. I didn’t regret my past decision to relocate to California because had I not done that, maybe I wouldn't be as grateful as today. I tried. I did try. I tried to like it in so many ways for a couple years and it just didn’t work out. It's not my way of living. So don't you dare judging this cry is a test to my level of maturity or inability to accept uncomfortable situation. This is not.

To me to be home again is very personal & poetic. A relief, an ease, a reunion with my own self, being loved again, forgiving & compromising, tranquility over the heart, smiling from ear to ear, gratitude for every single breath, a comfort internally and externally – I shall never let that slip again. After a choking series of denials, a good friend once said, “listen to your heart, sometimes it tries to tell you something”. For another round of the sun, Alhamdulillahirrabil’alamiin thankful for the faith, the endurance, the persistence, and all other good traits that didn’t go unappreciated by my own (sometimes demanding) self.

it me, after moving back to Manhattan, at one of my favorite spots in Central Park during the peak of fall foliage season, living happily ever after beyond 2023.

[bradypnoea]

The Tenth Realm | Margo_Kim | (9/9) - 21k | Dec ‘13 - Jan ‘14

Five hundred years before Thor's coronation, Sif's a lowly page who can't move up in the ranks and Loki's a Royal Academy student trying to survive his last examination. The solution to their problems may lie in the legends they heard as children of the lost Tenth Realm. Now all they have to do is actually find it.

Note: (This is one of the last of the shorter Loki works I'd queued up to read. I've a few 100k+ works I mean to get through soon, but that's between me and my mental capabilites.) This work was written as a prompt-fill gift for the annually recurring "Mischeif and Mistletoe" exchange, I'd recommend browsing those collections if you're interested in the Loki/Sif pairing. Furthermore Margo_Kim has written for a variety of fandoms since 2013 so I hope they don't mind my featuring a work from [cough] years ago. The Tenth Realm brings us along an approximately six-month pilgrimage with Sif as she and Loki attempt to prove themselves worthy in their respective "professions". In my eyes the characterisation is fantastic and the unique touches in each realm add depth and curiosity to an otherwise brief story. (The Midgard chapter is incredibly funny; if you don't already know, look up Turtle Island before reading.) Against the context of Odin's impending "Partition" of the realms, it becomes clear to Sif that the effort of making this journey will be as important as the destination.

- Author's Tumblr | @andhumanslovedstories -

“Behold, ye warriors brave,” the goblins cried As brilliant shone, from within the cave, The secret light. Here lay the realm forgotten That Lady Ash, the woman-king of Asgard Had fought so long to see. She fell and wept At the beauty. “I claim my prize at last. I look upon my home—the Tenth Realm beckons And here, forever, I rest my head and sword.” —Excerpt from the final movement of Asgard’s epic, “The First Daughter of Yggdrasil,” Sif’s favorite poem as a child, as translated from the ancient tongue by Second Form graduate, Loki Odinsson.

The King’s Library was dead silent as Sif crept in through the skylight. It was always so hushed. She’d learned more of stealth skulking here after training than she’d ever learned actually in training. The King’s Library forbade women from entering, just as the Queen’s Library forbade men, and most maesters who ran them had ears and eyes to rival Heimdall’s. Sif crept through the stacks like a hunter stalking particularly flighty prey. Her feet made no thump. Her sword never clinked. Even her breath was silent as an absence. Shadows boomed louder than her.

It was either this or set fire to every damn book around her and when the maesters came to put the flames out, she’d set fire to them as well and any other man who ever came up to her again and said, “Pardon, lady, but you belong elsewhere.” But that wasn’t really a viable option at the moment, not unless she felt like killing nearly every man in Asgard, and since she wasn’t quite there yet, creeping silently took enough skill to keep her distracted and sane.

And the look on Loki’s face when you surprised him was always worth it.

Continue reading on AO3...

[abundanceofsoph]

SkyFire 3: Chapter 11

The Holidays in NYC: Dec 2017   

Word count: 3.3k

SkyFire 3 MASTERLIST

Aurora had always loved Christmas growing up. The chill in the air, the lights and decorations strewn around town and the towering pine tree in the corner of the bar. There were never many presents under it; usually a small something her mother could pull together and art supplies from Helen and Greg, but Christmas was never about the presents in their home. Instead, the festive season meant going ice skating with Ella after school, Christmas Eve waffles with her mum, carols to be performed at the piano, and Helen teaching her to make gingerbread biscuits and plum pudding. Even after Louise‘s death tarnished Christmas Eve and left a heavy cloud hanging over Christmas Day, the month of December still brought so much joy to Aurora's life and she made a choice once she moved to New York to focus on only the happy memories she had from childhood, knowing that if she didn’t then this time of year would slowly crush her under the weight of her grief. The atmosphere completely changed in Manhattan with the Christmas spirit and she loved every little aspect of the season. In the city, Christmas was now filled with new traditions like picking out a tree with her fathers and stringing lights with Nat and Bruce. It was introducing Steve and Bucky to cringey festive movies and ice skating in central park with Harry. It wasn’t the same as it had been growing up in London, there were far more presents under the tree now and the family around the table much bigger and louder, but despite these changes or perhaps because of them Christmas remained Aurora’s favourite time of year.

Now, however, there was pained edge to all the festive joy. She still loved ice skating in Central Park and strolling through the Christmas markets, but the cold seeped into her bones, chilling her in a way it never had before Columbia; the ache in her left arm and shoulder a constant reminder of the bullets that had ripped her apart 3 years ago. She was good at hiding her discomfort most of the time, holding back grimaces and fighting back the urge to rub at her residual limb as it throbbed. The full impact of winter had made itself known when she had returned to New York with Harry after the bands final performance before going on hiatus and while most of the people around her were unaware of her struggle, Harry caught on quite quickly. She hadn’t really been that surprised when he realised she was struggling a few days after returning from the band’s final performance on X Factor. They had just returned back to the tower from a walk in Central Park and while Steve was putting the final touches on dinner, Aurora had quietly excused herself from the room. Harry had quickly joined her, finding her curled in on herself in the hallway rubbing at the ache in her shoulder. Ever since that year Harry had always made a conscious effort to help her through the winter months, always on hand with heat pads, a massage, a steaming hot bath or even a surprise getaway to a warmer location. Rori tried not to let her body’s protests impede her activities however she now paid more attention to the forecast so as not to be heading outside on the worst days and she always rugged up with thicker jackets than most people would deem necessary.

This year was no different with the aches setting in while they were exploring Tokyo and only worsening as they settled back into life in the tower. Steve and Tony had already picked out the tree for the penthouse before their arrival but the last of the ornaments had been left for Aurora to place, the carefully wrapped hand painted baubles from her childhood added in amongst the Avengers themed ornaments that Clint had gifted the family ironically a few years earlier. As he did every year, Harry voiced his argument against Die Hard being a Christmas movie, but despite his grumbling he allowed his wife to pull him onto the sofa and curled up against her as Bruce Willis saved the day. With the time off from tour, Rori took the opportunity to throw herself back into her painting and spent hours at a time working in comfortable silence with Steve in their studio. A few days before Christmas, Anne and Gemma flew into town and Anne happily joined Steve in the kitchen to prep for the gigantic Christmas dinner required to feed the large group that would be in attendance. The pair shooed any offers of assistance, knowing that it would be more of a hindrance than a help, leaving Harry and Rori plenty of time to spend with Gemma. The three of them binged crappy Netflix Christmas movies and caught each other up on everything from tour and Gemma’s own adventures over the past few months, happy to just be spending time together.

xXx

Christmas Eve started quietly on the penthouse floor of Avengers Tower. Ever since their formation, the Avengers followed the unwritten rule to steer clear, either remaining on their own residential floors or leaving the tower altogether. Tony had remained up in the lab till the early hours of the morning, so he was sleeping away most of the day while Steve and Anne were baking for the following day in the kitchen and Gemma had made plans to catch up with friends, leaving early after a quick breakfast.

Sometime around mid-morning, Harry had appeared in the kitchen, kissing his mother on the cheek as he silently passed by her to make two mugs of coffee. He also poured some cereal and heated up a pop tart before placing it all on a tray and carrying it back to the bedroom where Rori was buried under the duvet. Anne and Steve remained silent as they watched him trudge back down the hallway, his hair sleep mussed and sticking in every direction. Steve placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as Anne frowned at her sons dejected demeanour and slumped shoulders. Her normally loud and goofy boy wore his heart on his sleeve, and she ached to see him shouldering his wife grief without complaint. She was proud of him for it, but it didn’t make it any less painful to watch.

Of course, what Anne failed to realise was that it was not only Rori’s grief burdening his shoulder and pinching his brows together. It was weighing heavily on him that this would be their first Christmas without Robin and he was fighting against the urge to wallow in that sense of loss. Looking after Rori on the anniversary of losing her mother, her home and her childhood was a much needed distraction and he welcomed the diversion. It was always easier for him to be the shoulder to lean on than to be the one in need of leaning, a trait he shared with his wife which was understandably not always great for communication or dealing with heavy emotions but they managed the best they could.

After a slow morning spent in bed, they made their way downstairs to the arts studio so that Rori could throw herself into another painting. She was in no mood to talk, so Harry simple set himself up on the sofa with his latest book, content to merely be a comforting presence so that Aurora knew she wasn’t alone. As darkness fell outside and dinner time approached JARVIS softly let them know that Tony was ordering in Chinese and asking for their orders.

Once JARVIS announced that the food had arrived, they made their way back upstairs to where Tony and Steve had queued up a Christmas movie and Gemma and Anne were already waiting on the sofa with them, both nursing glasses of red wine. Rori happily wedged herself between Tony and Harry after piling dumplings, noodles, and spring rolls on her plate and settled in as the movie began.

The Chinese food was long since polished off and they were debating which movie to watch next when Steve disappeared to the kitchen. He returned a little while later once they had settled on the next film with plates of waffles for everyone and all the toppings weighing down the tray it was all balanced on. Aurora bit back tears at the simple gesture. Looking around at the family surrounding her caused the heavy weight of grief in her chest to flare. Carrying on this little part of her life with Louise made her miss her mother more than words could express, but it also kept her closer and in some small way included her in the new family that Rori had surrounded herself with, both with her dads and with Harry’s mum and sister. She knew that her mum would have loved everyone in this room and Rori was certain that it would always feel unfair to her that it required losing her mum in order to find those surrounding her now.

xXx

Without speaking about it, Harry and Aurora instinctively swapped rolls once they woke Christmas morning. Where Harry had taken it upon himself to support Aurora through her own grief the previous day, now it was Rori’s turn to help her husband, as well as Anne and Gemma as they navigated their way through their first Christmas without Robin.

Harry was already awake when Rori fluttered her eyes open to the soft morning light filtering in through her window. She rolled over to find him staring at the ceiling and without saying a word she wrapped herself around him, pulling him tightly against her and placed a kiss on his bare shoulder. They remained silent for long minutes before Harry finally broke out of his haunting daze. “Merry Christmas,” he murmured, turning in his wife’s arms to kiss her gently.

“Merry Christmas,” she replied softly, returning the kiss. “Do you want to talk about it or is it better to not acknowledge it?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered, his voice deep and laced with pain. “I feel like if I even say his name, I’ll burst into tears but then not talking about it feels like I’m trying to forget about him.”

“I know it’s hard baby,” Rori replied, “but whatever you decide is ok. If it hurts too much to talk about it, then that is ok. Doesn’t mean you don’t still love him or that he doesn’t matter. You have to do what’s best for you. Nothing to apologize for or feel any guilt about.”

“I love you,” Harry said, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

“I love you too, H,” she replied, carding her fingers through his hair.

They remained in bed for a while after that, wrapped up in each other before finally getting up and getting dressed to head down the hall to where the rest of the family were gathered in the living room. Harry fell onto the sofa next to his mother, curling up into her side while Gemma sat on her other side. Anne happily threw her arms around both of her children and Rori took up a spot on the floor at Steve’s feet, leaning back against his calves.

“I made breakfast for everyone,” Steve offered once they were both settled. “You want me to make either of you something?”

“I’m good thanks Pops,” Rori answered. “I’ll just wait for lunch. H?”

“I’m fine,” he mumbled.

“Coffee?” Tony yelled from the kitchen.

“Coffee please,” Rori yelled back, shooting a brief worried glance at Harry when he once again declined the offer. He seemed to be trying to melt into both the sofa beneath him and his mother beside him. Anne met her gaze across the room and offered a small supportive smile as she squeezed Harry’s shoulders a little tighter in her hug. In that small silent exchange between the two of them, the conversation was clear, they would do anything to help the man they both loved through his pain and it left Aurora in awe of Anne’s strength in that moment, only being able to imagine how much of her own grief she was pushing aside to be present for her son.

They remained in the living room for the remainder of the morning as the other members of the Avengers slowly made their way up from their own floors until the room was bursting with Clint, Natasha, Bruce, Thor, Sam, Bucky, Peter, May, Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey. Steve and Anne had outdone themselves and lunch was incredible. Everyone was bursting at the seams by the time they tapped out, leaving plenty of leftovers to feed them all for the next week and they finished the afternoon with eggnog and cheesy Christmas rom coms as the sun set outside and the TV and the lights on the Christmas tree provided a soft glow to the room.

xXx

2 days after Christmas Rori borrowed one of her father’s cars and crossed the East River to drive out to the North Shore on Long Island. She arrived at Oheka Castle a little after 9 and after parking, she was almost immediately pulled into a hug from Liam who had arrived a few minutes before her, having come straight from the airport.

“It is so good to see you, darling.”

“Good to see you too, Li,” Rori replied warmly. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” Liam replied, taking her hand, and leading her inside and out of the cold. “How’s H?” he asked as the climbed the front steps.

“He’s good. Enjoying spending some time with Gem and Anne while they’re visiting but he said he’s looking forward to dinner tonight. How are Bear and Cheryl?”

“They’re great. You should see Bear lately. He’s pulling himself up to stand and I’m sure he’ll be walking within the next few weeks.”

“Can’t wait to give him a big cuddle when we’re back in London in a few weeks.”

They continued to catch up throughout the day while they roamed the property and decided on locations for different scenes for the music video they would be filming over the course of the next few days. Aurora also had a final fitting for her dresses and then the day was over, and Liam joined Aurora in the car for the drive back into the city.

Harry met them in Williamsburg where they had dinner at a food truck that Rori had read about and then wandered around until they found a dive bar with an open mic and grabbed a booth in the back corner where the lights were low and they were less likely to be recognized. It was a such a fun night, with all three of them having missed hanging out together and just getting to pretend that they were normal friends in their early 20s just out for drinks after work. By the end of the night, Aurora’s cheeks ached from laughing too hard and she wrapped an arm around each of the boys as they stumbled out of the bar and down the street, winding their way back to where she had parked, giggling hysterically in the way that only drunk people did. Having always been the sober member of the group, Rori had discovered years ago that nights out were far more fun when you let the drunks sweep you up in their high and because of that she knew that to anyone watching the three of them right now, no one would believe that she wasn’t just as drunk as the two men hanging off her shoulders. They finally managed to make it back to the car and Rori drove them back over the Williamsburg Bridge and through lower Manhattan until they reached the tower and called it a night.

xXx

The first day of filming began in hair and makeup with Rori having her hair curled, while a red lipstick and a dark smoky eye was applied by a lovely girl called Jessica. Once her look was finished, she slipped into a red backless tulle gown, over which she wore a heavy black winter coat as she made her way out into the gardens for her first scene. The crew were already set up and ready to go by the time she arrived and after chatting with the director, Hannah, for a few minutes, Rori slipped out of her jacket and approached the top of the short set of steps that she would be filmed descending while she sang.

“Ready?” Hannah called and when Rori nodded in reply, the studio recording of For You started playing and Aurora stepped forward, staring down the barrel of the camera while she lip-synced along to herself.

“Cut!” the director called.

“Holy fucking shit Hannah,” Rori yelled. “It’s cold as balls.”

“I’m sorry Aurora,” Hannah replied. “I know it’s uncomfortable, but I promise you it’ll be worth it. You look fantastic.”

“Let’s just keep moving before I freeze to death, yeah?”

“You heard the lady,” Hannah smiled. “Let’s get set for the next shot.

Rori spent the remainder of the day running around the estates beautiful rose garden, cursing Liam and his warm, comfortable room inside where he was filming. The following day she was still outside in the garden, now suspended in a harness as she floated in the air, trying to pretend that she wasn’t shivering to death. Aurora was very excited when they reached day 3 as she finally joined Liam to film inside after enduring the frigid New York winter air in the sheer gown that did very little to protect her from the elements. She was in a different dress now and the new challenge was no longer pretending not to shiver, but instead acting romantic with Liam. Many takes were ruined when one of them broke into giggles but eventually Hannah called a wrap on the video and after changing out of their costumes, they drove back into the city to spend a final evening together as Liam was flying home the following day to spend New Years Eve with his family. They parted with wishes of Happy New Years and plans to see each other at the end of January when they would perform the song on the Tonight Show to promote the Fifty Shades movie it was attached to.

xXx

As he did every year, Tony once again hosted a massive New Year’s Eve party, filling the penthouse floor of the tower with the who’s who of New York City. Having learned from their mistakes on the first New Years following Columbia, Harry and Aurora were now well practiced in how to handle the night while navigating around her PTSD. This year was no different and they joined in the party upstairs, catching up with familiar faces and dancing the night away. With half an hour to go until the ball dropped, they made their way to the elevator riding the car down to the sound proofed recording studio that would be their refuge for the remainder of the night. Earlier in the day, Harry had set up a nest of pillows and blankets, as well as setting out snacks and drinks. they settled in to watch a movie and see in the new year while avoiding the fireworks. They fell asleep cuddled together on the floor of the studio and Steve woke them the following morning, having made pancakes and waffles to welcome in 2018. Unlike most of the towers residences there wasn’t a single hangover amongst Tony, Steve, Harry and Rori, allowing for the four of them to get an early start on the day.

NEXT CHAPTER

OR CONTINUE READING ON AO3

[inkykeiji]

HELLO CLARII BBY!

⚡ ANON HERE~

i hope you are doing good mentally physically and emotionally if not remember its okay to feel down sometimes we all have our moments but what matters is that we stand back again and be better than before♡

SO I WAS JUST READING THROUGH THE ASKS and i found out you too love rain and winter🥺ahhh that made me really happy cause almost eveyone around me prefer summer cause its viewed as happy and fun time i get it too lile ice creams beach people but i dont exactly vibe with it

but when it comes to rainy time especially winter.. smth is just so beautiful idk wether its the comforting silence or my love for cold as i literally prefer everything cold like my drink my food my water temperature or wtv it is! it should be cold snth about it just calms me down

or maybe its the fact its during my birthday time 27th dec perfect time for birthday for me i just loveee the Christmas decorations the lights the fairy feeling end of the year all that are just sappy feelings just makes me feel like im exploding with emotions in a good way

one of the reasons my snowman and me series is so dear and so close to my heart

when it comes to rain.. the whole mood is just so comforting i can pour out all my feelings and my place if covered in plants and trees like its just so beautifully green after the rain.. god is it the most spectacular view and the weather right in the middle after it rained and before the sun starts to shine... the perfect. i just love it so much i will always make sure i get drenched cause i love dancing in the rain no matter what if it rains you can see me outside :>

plus points if it has thunders and lightnings cause they are just so beautiful.

ANYWAYS THIS IS GETTING TOO LONG

( IM SO SORRYY😭 )

BUT I JUST WANTED TO EXPRESS MYSELF CAUSE YOU JUST COMFORT ME SO MUCH AND YOU'RE JUST STRAIGHT UP ADORABLE 🥺

stay safe drink lots of water and remember if you ever feel like you are alone I'm right here♡

HEHEHE aw lightning bb <33

you're so precious!!!! i'm feeling a little weird today; last night i was suffering from sensory overload rly bad but today i just feel really jittery n anxious :( but!!! i have asks queued for today which always makes me feel better and makes me feel productive!! <33

yes!!! i actually hate summer so much LMAO >.< it usually makes me feel even more depressed, which is hilarious ahaha but i've felt that way since i was about 13ish??? i also hate being hot (like it makes me ANGRY) and i absolutely despise sweating, so summer and i don't often get along well </3

i agree with you!!! i love the cold (and cold food/drinks, too!!!) and i too find something insanely comforting about the rain and the snow; i find it very cozy <3 i dunno, it's quite hard to explain!!! i think, for me, there's also a personal element to it as my happiest memories as a child seem to all be in the winter/around christmas, and now i just automatically associate summer with all of the bad experiences i've had lmao

AHHHHHHH LIL LIGHTNING BOLT LISTEN I LOVE CHRISTMAS LIKE I LOVE CHRISTMAS SO SO SOOOOO MUCH!!!! i also really love halloween, but if i absolutely had to choose one favourite, it would be christmas <3

ah see i have a very complicated relationship with my birthday, which thankfully is not in winter hehe <33 but i can understand where you're coming from!!!

i love the smell of rain, and i love the sound of it against windows and roofs when it's really pouring hehe <33 i like to describe it in my writing a lot and i am possibly writing a lil something with rain in it right now 🙊 hehe <3

AH MY PRECIOUS LIL LIGHTNING BOLT i love you so very much, you comfort me as well bb <333 it's very very nice to know that you are here for me and that i am here for you!!!! <3 i hope you have a lovely weekend sweetpea <3

ps. it seems that i picked the right emoji for u, huh!!!! lightning bolt is very fitting <33

[emisonme]

Truth Through The Lies

Come on guys! Why do you keep doing this to yourselves? Every time something new comes out, some in this fandom forget everything else we've learned, and have a full fledged freak out. I honestly don't think the situation is as bad as the narrative leads us to believe.

I have avoided saying this, because it sounds awful, but it's the truth, so I'm going to say it...The Entertainment Industry, as a whole, but especially the Music Industry turns their artists into professional liars. The Artists don't lie to us because they want to, they do it because they have to.

Here's the honest truth. In the Music Industry, the only thing that's important, even more important than the music, is the narrative and Image of the Artist. The Industry has proven time and time again, that talent isn't everything. There have been plenty of money made by artists, that in all honesty, couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. Yet, they become successful money makers, because of the Image and the narrative sold to the public.

The 5 Ladies that made up Fifth Harmony have plenty of talent, but it will always be the image and narrative that is more important to the folks in power. Each of the girls definitely have the talent to succeed in the Music Industry, but the more the Powers- that- Be control the narrative and image of the girls, the more successful they will be, and the more money to line the pockets of the men in suits.

The girls have told us, without hesitation or shame, that they lie in interviews. They don't lie to us, just because they think it's fun to blow smoke up our asses, they do so because, especially now, they don't have a choice in the matter. Since 2015, most of what we have been told and what has been portrayed in interviews, has been one made up story after the other, to sell the narrative the Label wished to be portrayed. The Label has a plan for all five of the girls, and for that plan to succeed, they have to follow the rules set forth by their Management. It's that simple.

That being said, the girls have also tried to give us hints along the way, so that we can try and see the truth through all the lies. We know what we are being told, but we also have to pay attention to what we are being shown. They have shown us the truth, all we have to do is believe it.

I'm going to go through a brief loose timeline of 2016. In February, WFH was released, and the girls got together to do the press rounds for it. In march, they all went on solo Radio pressers around the country. In April, the Trademark was sold to the Fifth Harmony Partnership, that didn't include Camila. In May, they went to London for the 7/27 release party, then they came home and did the Today Show, and some more press.

The end of June, they went on their South American Tour., They left Brazil and went straight to Australia, New Zealand, and Japan where they did some small performances and more press. When they got back to the States, they had a few weeks off, then it was time for rehearsals for the Tour. The North American 7/27 leg of the Tour began on July 27, and didn't end until early September.

They took a few weeks off, after that, then it was down to Mexico for 3/4 shows, then off to Europe to start the European leg of the Tour. That didn't end until the end of October. When they got home, Camila went straight to New York to shoot the Bad Things video and do press for it. She did a quick photo op with Taylor Swift for Halloween, then it was home to Miami to vote. On November 15, they all got together for that Epic party, where we are lead to believe Camila's Reps informed everyone she was leaving the group. December was the Jingle Ball Tour. The Miami show on December 18 was their last stop, and later that night the public was informed of Camila's departure from Fifth Harmony, and that that performance was her last with the group. Busy fucking year!

With that timeline, Camila was either rolling around the countryside with Dinah, as they shared the same bus, or she was flying around with all of them. The only chance Camila would have had to duck meetings and Head Shrinks, was on her down time, or when she was on her own bus in October. She was, at the very least, with Dinah the rest of the time.

So, what am I trying to get to hear? What I'm saying is, none of the shit we have been told since December 19, 2016 was the truth. NONE OF IT!!! Everything we have been told, from the official statements to the articles afterward, has all been a load of crap.

There were no "come to Jesus" meetings scheduled by L.A. Reid. There were no Shrinks brought on board to try and "fix" relationships, or to try and talk Camila into staying for another album. If there was a Shrink flown in to meet with them, it was because they felt they were being "treated like literal fucking slaves".

Why would L.A. Reid try and convince Camila to stay in the group, when he already had her in the studio, "for the better part of a year" working on her first solo album? HE WOULDN'T!

Why would the girls try and talk her into staying for another album, when they had already formed a Trademark Partnership without her? THEY WOULDN'T!!

Why would they try and convince Camila to stay in the group, when they "put their foot down" and said "It wouldn't work for them" if she stayed with the group and still continued to work on her own solo ventures, then come out with a statement proclaiming that they are going to continue with the Group and work on their own solo ventures at the same damn time. THEY WOULDN'T!!!

The truth is, they all knew since, I believe, December of 2015, that 7/27 was going to be Camila's last album and Tour with the group. That was the plan, ever since they had her do that damn duet with Shawn Mendes. That's why they hired Roger Gold. That's why they hired Maverick. That's why they hired Dina LaPolt. That's why they got the right people in place at the right time to feed us this narrative of total bullshit they are force feeding us now.

They, the Label not the girls. have been slowly "pushing" Camila out of the group since her 18th B-day party with Taylor Swift. That's when they really started the ball down the hill with the "Camila isn't happy with 5H" narrative, but the ball really started gaining momentum in December of 2015.

Keep in mind, that they all knew, I think since Dec. 2015, but definitely since April of 2016, that 7/27 was going to be Camila's last with them. They gave us lots of little great moments, of them showing us the truth.

We got the "it's me" and the "in my world, Camila Dinah, and I", and Dinah saying that she's closer to Lauren and Camila. We got Lauren protecting Camila from those damn beach balls, lot's of looks and Camila showing her support to Lauren when she broke down during a show. We got Dinah having fun with Walz on stage, on the bus, and silly little dances. Dinah showing her support for BT during Jingle Ball, and her tweeting that she supports Camila and will always love her. We got Normani hugging her during a Squeeze performance in South America, and her saying during the last European show, that she "loves those girls" and "they are my family". (yes I believe Camila was part of "those girls") We even got Dinah and Lauren's father liking Camila's released statement after her departure.

They gave us lots more moments I don't have the time to mention, but they gave us the most important moment of all. The most important TRUTH they showed us, happened in Barcelona Spain. Dinah got emotion and started crying, and Camila scooted to her side to support her friend. All of the girls quickly followed suit, and we got the most wonderful 5H moment.

The girls, just the five of them, sat in a circle and sang Brave Honest Beautiful to Dinah, and really to each other. They sat in that circle together, and really forgot about the thousands of fans screaming for them. It was just them, the five of them, sitting together showing nothing but love and support for one another. It was perfect!

That moment also went against the narrative Management was trying to push. They couldn't have that. After that show, Camila and Lauren stayed an extra night in Barcelona, as  Dinah, Normani, and Ally traveled on by bus to Portugal. After the Portugal show, Camila  was completely separated from the girls, by given her own bus.

Management stuck Camila on her own bus, to "fix" the false narrative of strife between her and the girls. (she used the opportunity to get some stuff done for BT as well) That wonderful Barcelona moment fucked up the narrative, so Management found a way to fix it.

The official statements released by the girls, wasn't written by, signed by, or  even released by the girls, at all. Those three statements were written well ahead of time and queued, waiting for the proper time to be released. To this day, the girls have not uttered a negative word towards Camila, and Camila hasn't uttered a negative word towards the girls. I don't believe for a second that she hasn't had contact with "any" of the girls of 5H or vice versa. It's all part of the false narrative.

I don't know what kind of bullshit they are going to try and force feed us next, but I'll be ready to call them out on it.

[phgq]

Makati exec bares big-ticket projects, innovations 

#PHinfo: Makati exec bares big-ticket projects, innovations 

MAKATI CITY, Jan. 10 (PIA) -- Residents are expected to benefit more from the city government's technology-enabled programs this year, owing to increased revenue collection, Makati Mayor Abby Binay said, expressing her optimism and baring some accomplishments and big-ticket projects in the pipeline.

“I am glad to tell you that we have surpassed last year’s revenue target by ten percent as of Dec. 31. Our business sector continues to make the biggest contribution to the city’s coffers,” Binay said in her State of the City Address before the Rotary Club of Makati, Tuesday.

Based on the City Treasurer’s yearend report, the city’s actual total revenue collection in 2019 has reached P18.77 billion, which topped the 2018 collection by five percent and surpassed the revenue goal for the year by 10 percent.

“Makatizens can look forward to better health and social services since I am confident that our new set of councilors will help us attain our goal to improve the quality of life of residents,” she said.

She shared her administration’s major achievements in 2019 as well as priority projects and programs aimed to spur the city’s digital transformation and sustainable development.

The mayor said the new Ospital ng Makati in District 1 is set to be completed in 2022, adding that it is envisioned to have a Cancer Institute “that will be at par with the region’s best”.

“We are currently in talks with key health institutions in Singapore on how we can make this a reality. What I want is to provide the best care at the least cost,” Binay said.

The mayor also bared plans to store medical records in a database and computerize prescriptions for patients. Also on the list is the establishment of an e-health system, which automatically transmits the medical records of patients in barangay health centers.

She said that this year, Health got the biggest share of the total budget among the social sub-sectors, with P5.26 billion or 29.17 percent of P18 billion budget for social services.

The mayor also revealed plans to build a well-equipped “digital school” with fast and reliable internet connection and to upgrade existing learning centers to hone the competencies of students and teachers. 

In addition to complete school gear and supplies provided for free to public school students including SPED and ALS learners, Mayor Abby said the city will soon provide nutritious meals to them so their parents need not worry about their daily allowance.  

Citing the P1.43-billion budget for education this year, the mayor vowed to “continue providing cutting edge and top-notch education for young Makatizens for them to be globally competitive individuals.” 

Another project in the pipeline is the construction of a public columbarium that offers free cremation and inurnment services to city residents, she said.

The mayor said for this year, P1.3 billion has been allotted for the social welfare sector to allow for the delivery of better social services.

Mayor Abby also said the second phase of the Makatizen Card program will soon be implemented to make the card available also to the business sector, including transient workers in companies and business establishments.

As part of efforts to go “paperless”, the mayor announced plans to digitize business permits, licenses and clearances, in addition to the ongoing development of an enhanced business permit and licensing system.

Mayor Abby highlighted innovations made in public health last year, such as the purchase of new medical and diagnostic equipment for the Ospital ng Makati in Pembo and the use of a mobile queuing system for barangay health centers to ensure orderly and convenient consults for Makatizens.

The Eye Center in OsMak served a total of 3,381 patients, while 436 patients were given free digital mammogram using the newly acquired machine at the hospital.

“Through outsourcing, we have made available ‘unli-dialysis’ services to nearly 3,900 patients with kidney diseases in private dialysis centers in the city and nearby areas,” she added.

From January to December, the city provided free medicines to 680,831 active Yellow Card holders and their qualified dependents, distributed anti-dengue kits to 86,725 students, and conducted misting and ovi-larvae trapping operations in dengue-prone areas for free. It has also started its Palliative and Hospice Care program providing special care to patients with chronic and terminal ailments including the elderly.

Makati has achieved a significant increase in its percentage of fully immunized children from 61.3 percent in 2018 to 85 percent in 2019, with its intensified immunization drive against deadly communicable diseases. 

The mayor also shared notable achievements and initiatives in the Education sector in line with the goal of transforming the city’s public school students into “Makati Digizens”.

She noted that students have been able to use the city’s free public WiFi in doing their research and assignments, while public schools last year have started using radio-frequency IDs to track students and monitor their attendance. 

Graduates from the University of Makati have also done the city proud by posting a 100 percent passing rate in licensure exams for pharmarcists, radiologic technologists and nurses. 

Last year, Makati started to offer college scholarships of up to P80,000 to public high school graduates in the city who want to pursue higher education in public or private universities and colleges in Metro Manila.

“We hope that more students in our public schools will be motivated to excel in their studies since we are giving them practically everything for free,” Mayor Abby said.

For social services, Mayor Abby said the City Council has approved the proposal to raise the cash gift of nonagenarians to P10,000 under the Blu Card program. Senior citizens aged 60 to 89 will continue to receive cash gifts ranging from P3,000 to P5,000 per year. 

To date, around 85,000 Blu Card holders continue to receive premium benefits from the city, including unlimited free movie passes which other local government units have seen fit to adopt with some modifications.

Moreover, the city had given burial assistance for 1,698 Blu Card members last year.

The mayor also gave an update on PPP-led digital initiatives of the city including the Makatizen Card, which now has 85,000 card holders, and the Makati Public WiFi Project which now covers all 25 target barangays with the complete installation of a fiber-optic loop cable.

She also expressed confidence that her “legacy project”, the Makati Subway System, will be finished on time and serve as “a catalyst for inclusive and sustainable economic growth and social progress not just in the city, but throughout the nation.”

“Makati is on its way to meeting its goal of becoming the country’s first smart city with a safe and livable environment that uplifts the well-being of residents, students, and workers,” she stated, and called on fellow local chief executives to also harness technology to improve the quality of life of their constituents.

Underscoring the role of the business sector as the city’s “indispensable partners”, she concluded her speech stating, “Through our collective efforts, we will be able to build and develop a smart and sustainable city that can withstand the challenges of the future.”    

***

References:

* Philippine Information Agency. "Makati exec bares big-ticket projects, innovations ." Philippine Information Agency. https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1032606 (accessed January 10, 2020 at 01:49PM UTC+08).

* Philippine Infornation Agency. "Makati exec bares big-ticket projects, innovations ." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1032606 (archived).

[torentialtribute]

Formula One 2019 season preview – is this Lewis Hamilton’s toughest Mercedes title defence yet?

Lewis Hamilton will be looking at six of the best as he prepares to defend his drivers championship ahead of the new Formula One season.

The five-time world champion is again favorite to leave his rivals for dust over the 21-race campaign that starts at this weekend's Australian Grand Prix and ends at the Abu Dhabi desert in December

But there are stories all over the 10-team, 20-driver grid and ahead of another season Sportsmail's reporters look at the key questions.

     Lewis Hamilton won his fifth world championship at the Mexican Grand Prix in 2018

Will Hamilton facing his toughest fight yet at Mercedes to defend his title?

JONATHAN McEVOY: From outside the team, yes, but there will be no repeat of the internal battle with Nico Rosberg that needled him so much. Ferrari seem strong and Red Bull will develop well under design guru Adrian Newey’s hand. It should be a good fight.

JOE DOWNES: Yes, because for the first time his best may not be good enough. Ferrari have the quicker car again, but will have learned from last year's strategy and development blunders and appear more united under Mattia Binotto.

DAN RIPLEY: The last couple or seasons have seen Ferrari and the Mercedes front row monopoly, and now they may have the edge. Hamilton is in his toughest campaign since his first season at Mercedes but he will still be at the front.

     Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes appeared to be slightly off the pace of Ferrari in winter testing

MATTHEW SMITH: Every winter we suggest the rest of the field are catching up with Mercedes, and every season the German steamroller carries on regardless. Hamilton has his ruthless eye on history and, as much as the fan in me wants to see a tight title battle, championship No. 6 looks to be on the cards.

NATHAN SALT: I don't think so. While Ferrari have been smart in recruiting Charles Leclerc, he lacks experience competing at the front of the grid. Sebastian Vettel remains his biggest threat but errors appear to be creeping into German's drives if last season is anything to go by.

How under threat is Bottas at Mercedes given how much of a team player is he?

JM: Bottas should not be there now. He clearly failed last year. But he suits Lewis and makes for an easy life. Just allowing for that I think he needs to buck up if he is to survive the cut again.

JD: He insists he can beat Lewis. He can't. One-year rolling deal proves he's simply keeping the second seat warm and they're queuing up to take it. Esteban Ocon is first in line.

     Valtteri Bottles went the whole of the 2018 season without a win for title winners Mercedes

F1 2019 CALENDAR

Mar 17: Australia (Melbourne)

Mar 31: Bahrain (Sakhir)

Apr 14: China (Shanghai)

Apr 28: Azerbaijan (Baku)

May 12: Spain (Catalunya)

May 26: Monaco (Monte Carlo)

Jun 9: Canada (Montreal)

Jun 23: France (Paul Ricard)

Jun 30: Austria (Spielberg)

Jul 14: Great Britain (Silverstone)

Jul 28: Germany ( Hockenheim)

Aug 4: Hungary (Budapest)

Sep 1: Belgium (Spa)

Sep 8: Italy (Monza)

Sep 22: Singapore (Marina Bay)

Sep 29: Russia (Sochi)

Oct 13 : Japan (Suzuka)

Oct 27: Mexico (Mexico City)

Nov 3: United States (Texas)

Nov 17: Brazil (Sao Paulo)

Dec 1: Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)

DR: Strangely I consider his role close to perfect. Quick enough to bag points but passive enough to never rock the boat and hurt Hamilton's season the way Nico Rosberg used to. Why would Mercedes risk losing that dynamic by drafting in Ocon for instance, who loves a squabble with a fellow driver (ask Perez or Verstappen)?

MS: Bottas is in an odd situation – he's in this race seat for what he brings to his team mate, rather than what he can provide as a driver in his own right. I feel Mercedes wants to bring Esteban Ocon into the No 2 seat next season, unless the Finn produces a marked improvement on last season.

NS: In short: not much. Hamilton must love having a "wingman" like Bottas with him at Mercedes. The Finn took issue with Toto Wolff's use of that in Hungary last season but it is true. Unlike predecessor Nico Rosberg, Hamilton can rest easy knowing Bottas will never put himself above the team. Bring back Nico.

How much of a 'plague could Charles Leclerc be to Sebastian Vettel's title challenge?

JM: Vettel has been given a public indication he is No 1. It remains to be seen how Leclerc operates in the more rarefied air of Ferrari – a different proposition from Sauber. I think Vettel, refreshed, will win the internal battle.

JD: This will determine the championship. Ferrari have their stall out early, insisting they will favor Vettel. The early races suit Ferrari and so, if Leclerc makes the better start, Binotto will have an almighty headache. The 21-year-old is a future world champion and subservience does not make a champion. Just ask Seb.

DR: I'm convinced he has brought in to replace Vettel and not Raikkonen, with the German instead of taking Kimi's No 2 spot in the long run. Not that Ferrari will admit that. To me, Ferrari lost faith with Vettel and his endless mistakes last term and have already made their move to start building the team around the Monegasque.

     Sebastian Vettel (left) has a new Ferrari team mate in Charles Leclerc (second right)

MS: I think this could be the story of the season. Leclerc was electrifying at times in a poor Sauber car last season. If he hits the ground running, I can't see how Ferrari can force him to play second fiddle to Vettel, especially if the German does not pick up from his 2018 slump. Don't rule out a Leclerc title bid.

NS: A real plague. You would be hard pressed to find an F1 fan who was not impressed why Leclerc's rookie season with Sauber. He regularly exceeded expectations in qualifying and with a far more competitive car at his disposal this season.

Will Max Verstappen finally have the machinery to launch a bid for the title?

JM : We'll soon find out. But from testing they look third-quickest. The Honda engine is three per cent down on the Mercedes. No.

JD: He's better placed without Ricciardo and Renault but, while Honda power should see them close the gap, boss Christian Horner admits reliability is a big unknown in the first year of their partnership. Like last year, expect the odd win and the odd blow up (from car and driver).

DR: Status quo I'm afraid for Max. Another great Red Bull chassis which just lacks the power unit punch behind it to trouble Mercedes and Ferrari on a regular basis. Still, it's good to see Honda looking like they've caught up a bit. F1 needs them to succeed.

     Max Verstappen may be restricted to another year of trying to pick up just a few race wins

MS: If engine suppliers Honda go from their embarrassment with McLaren to title winners at Red Bull, that would be among the greatest turnarounds in F1 history. Verstappen seems to finally have his attitude in the right place (the Ocon confrontation was the exception rather than the rule). He is ready but are Red Bull?

NS: Getting away on record last August pinpointing 2020 as his best chance of a maiden world title but he is not a character happy to watch his rivals coast to the world championship. He's managed to weed out some silly errors from his drives and I just hope he's provided with a competitive – and ultimately reliable – car.

What chance do McLaren have a five-year stage drought ending?

JM: McLaren may luck in a stage but that's their only chance, I fear. They will be better than last season but that's not saying much.

JD: Unless there's another crazy race in Baku, no chance. They're finally turning the corner, but just scoring points is tough given how tightly packed the midfield is.

DR: McLaren are heading in the right direction at long last but they look only capable of marginal gains this term. They could benefit from a Wacky Races type GP to land a stage but they should focus more on beating Renault for now.

     McLaren enjoyed a productive winter testing program but still lay behind the front teams

MS: Unless they've been holding back in testing, regular top-down 10 finishes are more likely to be the goal unless they get a lucky break in a one-off race. Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz are both quick, but making the top three is a huge ask.

NS: Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull possess such an advantage over their rivals it looks increasingly difficult for McLaren to bridge the gap after such a poor season. I expect a much-improved season but it is too soon for an end to the stage drought.

Which new Briton on the block is the best set for his rookie year?

JM : George Russell – a bit older and wiser than Lando Norris, perhaps.

JD: Norris has the best car and will score most points, but George Russell will emerge with most credit. So terrible is his Williams that, to a large extent, the pressure is off. Expect him to outperform teammate Robert Kubica.

DR: Norris could end up getting a beat by Sainz and still have the possibility of claiming a productive first year. For Russell, hey, has no measure. Beat Kubica, or even thrash him, and he's only seen off a severely hampered team mate. No-win situation really for George, and that's before we mention the mess Williams are in!

     Lando Norris (left) and George Russell make their F1 debuts after impressing in F2

MS: George Russell beat Lando Norris to the F2 title last year and is just as talented as the more heralded 18-year-old, perhaps because he is a more reserved character. However he may be down by being in a poor Williams. I'd be back Norris as the more likely at this stage.

NS: I just cannot bring myself to go on record and put Williams as the best in anything right now – apologies George Russell. The only way appears to be up for McLaren and Norris has shown his qualities in F2 – he's ready to make the step up.

Whose 'make or break' year is bigger at Renault – Ricciardo or Hulkenberg?

JM: Both are mid-tablers. Neither, for their commendable talents, is in demand by a top team. I think Ricciardo will see out his Renault contract and then walk away. He is building a property portfolio in America and that may grow into a preoccupation.

JD: Ricciardo. Must pounce whenever the big three teams fail and finish best of the rest – seventh – in drivers' standings to prove Renault's project is on track and his move from Red Bull was shrewd not stupid.

DR: This is it now for Hulkenberg. The chance to prove he can take on the big names in F1 – and maybe, just maybe land that overdue stage and finally catch the eye of a big team. Ricciardo has at least two years to get it right at Renault but time is running out for Nico.

     Nico Hulkenberg (left) and Daniel Ricciardo will battle each other as Renault team-mates

MS: Ricciardo. The risk the Australian has tasks is career defining. If he can drag Renault onto the stage then the deserves to be seen as one of the great drivers of the 21st century. If not, then he is set for obscurity.

NS: I am not convinced F1 fans are expecting much more from Hulkenberg. He's legally competent and has out-qualified both Jolyon Palmer and Carlos Sainz in his last two seasons. Ricciardo was in a conversation for a Ferrari or Mercedes spot at one time and he will be expected to carve himself out as the side's undisputed No. 1.

How does Kubica make a success of his comeback at a struggling Williams?

JM: Just being on the grid is a victory. What a fabulous recovery. Beating his Williams team-mate Russell would do.

JD: Needs a miracle, but that's his business. Beating Russell and a double-figure points haul would represent a stellar comeback season. Don't think he will do either.

DR: I just want Kubica to be competitive, and that means keeping Russell honest and bagging a few points over the season. I'm not expecting much given he has effectively driven one handed.

     Many Robert One fans will be hoping Robert Kubica can make a success of his comeback after a serious hand injury saw him drop out of the sport in 2011

MS: Growing up, Kubica was my favorite driver. I loved his attacking skill, his bravery, the underdog edge that came with driving for BMW rather than a more fashionable team. But the numbers don't lie – he is well off the pace. He needs time, reliability and consistency – and in a troubled team, I really fear this could turn into a nightmare.

NS: Much depends on the car he is provided with. Williams have bone dismal at best recently and have bone certainties to prop up the grid. Out performing rookie team mate George Russell wants to be the minimum he will expect of himself.

What are you tipping for a big surprise this season?

JM: I don't know what it will be but it may come this weekend in Melbourne. This place can throw up strange results.

JD: Alfa Romeo. Closer partnership with Ferrari, aggressive car design which looked quick through the corners in testing and the Kimi factor. A dangerous unknown quantity – how very Alfa.

     Veteran Kimi Raikkonen has joined Alfa Romeo for 2019 following five seasons with Ferrari

DR: It's been rubbish for far too many years now, but we are long overdue a decent Monaco Grand Prix. Whether it comes in the form of a sprinkling or rain of some tire-related shenanigans I don't know but it would certainly be a surprise wouldn't it?

MS: Leclerc will finish above Vettel in the overall drivers points, Raikkonen will earn at least one podium for Alfa Romeo, and Alexander Albon – effectively an emergency choice for Toro Rosso – will be in and around the top 10 on a regular basis.

NS: I will go with Pierre Gasly. This one could come back to bite me but I expect Red Bull to make a real go of it this year and Gasly showed enough in spells in the Toro Rosso last year to suggest he can rise to the challenge.

Where are the championships heading?

JM: Drivers title: Hamilton. Constructors: Ferrari.

JD: I'm sold. Vettel and Ferrari.

     Hamilton once again goes into the season as a favorite to win the world championship

DR: Hamilton to win the drivers crown in a final race Abu Dhabi showdown but Ferrari to pinch the constructors' title.

MS: Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. Where else?

NS: Mercedes. Hamilton is still the man and if I was a betting man that is where my money would go. As a pairing I prefer the Ferrari pair – Bottas unselfishness infuriates me – but I fully expect Mercedes to be another double.

Source link

[jamesgeiiger]

Canada Goose’s first Beijing store draws crowds willing to wait an hour in the freezing cold to pay 9,000 yuan (US$1,300) for a parka

BEIJING — Large crowds have been drawn to Canada Goose’s new outdoor wear store in downtown Beijing, its first in mainland China, since its opening on Friday, despite sub-zero temperatures and a chill in China’s relations with Canada.

A long line of shoppers in thick winter coats queued outside the two-storey store on Monday afternoon, with waiting times of an hour or more for a look at Canada Goose’s 9,000 yuan (US$1,300) parkas.

Canada Goose staff were seen walking up and down the queue asking shoppers which product they were looking for and then telling them whether or not they had it in stock.

The best and worst investments of 2018, from a soaring Goose to a dimming giant

Canada Goose delays Beijing store opening at last minute as Huawei protest mounts

Our trade with China is bigger than you think — and exporters are getting worried

“It’s been popular for ages but Beijing didn’t have one, only Hong Kong. So everyone’s come to see it,” said Long Hua, 32, lining up outside the store with a friend.

Two men walk past a Canada Goose billboard near the new store in Beijing on Dec. 15, 2018.

Ties between China and Canada have turned frosty since the arrest of a top Chinese executive in Vancouver at the request of the United States in December and the subsequent arrest of two Canadians in China on suspicion of endangering state security.

Canada Goose opened its Beijing store about two weeks later than initially planned. It has made no connection between the delay and the heightened tensions between the two governments, saying earlier this month that the postponement was due to construction work.

On Monday, construction workers were still seen on scaffolding on one side of the store.

The Toronto-listed parka maker has made no mention of the Beijing store opening on its Chinese social media platforms, although the store in Beijing’s swanky Sanlitun district is now listed on the company’s global website.

“We are proud of our newest store in China and look forward to welcoming our fans,” Canada Goose said in an email to Reuters on Monday.

A buoyant sales outlook for mainland China has been shaken in recent weeks by some caustic posts on Chinese social media calling for the boycott of Canada Goose products following Canada’s arrest of Huawei Technologies Co Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou.

Shares of Canada Goose have fallen about 37 per cent in Toronto trading since Meng’s detention and the ensuing strains between the two countries. The stock rose 6 per cent in early trading Monday after the company opened its Beijing store over the weekend.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, faces U.S. allegations that she misled multinational banks about Iran-linked transactions, putting the banks at risk of violating U.S. sanctions.

Meng has said she is innocent.

The stakes are high for the maker of high-end goose-down coats, which enjoy significant brand recognition in China’s big cities.

Chinese customers account for more than a third of spending on luxury products worldwide, and are increasingly shopping in their home market rather than overseas.

Earlier this year, Canada Goose opened its first store in Hong Kong.

© Thomson Reuters 2018

Canada Goose’s first Beijing store draws crowds willing to wait an hour in the freezing cold to pay 9,000 yuan (US$1,300) for a parka published first on https://worldwideinvestforum.tumblr.com/

[mikemortgage]

Canada Goose’s first Beijing store draws crowds willing to wait an hour in freezing cold to pay 9,000 yuan for a parka

BEIJING — Large crowds have been drawn to Canada Goose’s new outdoor wear store in downtown Beijing, its first in mainland China, since its opening on Friday, despite sub-zero temperatures and a chill in China’s relations with Canada.

A long line of shoppers in thick winter coats queued outside the two-storey store on Monday afternoon, with waiting times of an hour or more for a look at Canada Goose’s 9,000 yuan (US$1,300) parkas.

Canada Goose staff were seen walking up and down the queue asking shoppers which product they were looking for and then telling them whether or not they had it in stock.

The best and worst investments of 2018, from a soaring Goose to a dimming giant

Canada Goose delays Beijing store opening at last minute as Huawei protest mounts

Our trade with China is bigger than you think — and exporters are getting worried

“It’s been popular for ages but Beijing didn’t have one, only Hong Kong. So everyone’s come to see it,” said Long Hua, 32, lining up outside the store with a friend.

Two men walk past a Canada Goose billboard near the new store in Beijing on Dec. 15, 2018.

Ties between China and Canada have turned frosty since the arrest of a top Chinese executive in Vancouver at the request of the United States in December and the subsequent arrest of two Canadians in China on suspicion of endangering state security.

Canada Goose opened its Beijing store about two weeks later than initially planned. It has made no connection between the delay and the heightened tensions between the two governments, saying earlier this month that the postponement was due to construction work.

On Monday, construction workers were still seen on scaffolding on one side of the store.

The Toronto-listed parka maker has made no mention of the Beijing store opening on its Chinese social media platforms, although the store in Beijing’s swanky Sanlitun district is now listed on the company’s global website.

“We are proud of our newest store in China and look forward to welcoming our fans,” Canada Goose said in an email to Reuters on Monday.

A buoyant sales outlook for mainland China has been shaken in recent weeks by some caustic posts on Chinese social media calling for the boycott of Canada Goose products following Canada’s arrest of Huawei Technologies Co Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou.

Shares of Canada Goose have fallen about 37 per cent in Toronto trading since Meng’s detention and the ensuing strains between the two countries. The stock rose 6 per cent in early trading Monday after the company opened its Beijing store over the weekend.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, faces U.S. allegations that she misled multinational banks about Iran-linked transactions, putting the banks at risk of violating U.S. sanctions.

Meng has said she is innocent.

The stakes are high for the maker of high-end goose-down coats, which enjoy significant brand recognition in China’s big cities.

Chinese customers account for more than a third of spending on luxury products worldwide, and are increasingly shopping in their home market rather than overseas.

Earlier this year, Canada Goose opened its first store in Hong Kong.

© Thomson Reuters 2018

from Financial Post http://bit.ly/2R34SYw via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

[marketingadvisorvietnam]

A culinary experience turns soulful on a Hanoi downtown street

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A culinary experience turns soulful on a Hanoi downtown street

Food – December 2, 2018 | 08:40 am GMT+7

Ly Quoc Su street which connects an iconic cathedral with Hang Bong Street offers many variations of a Hanoi dining theme.

“How about going to the Cathedral area?”

This is my stock response when asked to suggest a “very Hanoian dining place.”

I might well be wrong, but the options around the iconic St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hanoi, on main streets and alleys off them are my automatic choice for some authentic Vietnamese food that have never failed me, so far.

This is true despite how touristy the area has become in the last few years, which is not a bad thing. Just makes my special places “hidden treasures”.

A house’s balcony on Ly Quoc Su street. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

Amidst all the visitors taking endless selfies in front of the cathedral which is considered one of the city’s iconic landscapes, the Hanoian in me thrills to the sight of “Hanoi” written in green on a second floor balcony on the street.

That is Hanoi to me. As a millennial, I am happy to see changes in the capital city, and the blending of the modern with the traditional.

One of the best ways to see this interesting mix is through food. As fancier and fancier restaurants and coffee shops open in the area, restaurants and stalls serving typical Hanoi dishes are holding their own.

My’s chicken congee

The cook ladled congee into a bowl. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

For me, My’s place, a restaurant serving chicken congee, Chao Ga Ba My (My’s chicken congee) is a frequent food stop in the area.

The restaurant is a small room on the first floor of an old house at 47 Ly Quoc Su. It has been around for over four decades, said Hien, the cook. After the original chef, My, 86 now, retired, Hien has been hired to carry on her legacy.

A bowl of chicken congee at My’s restaurant. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc 

A bowl of congee is a common breakfast option for Hanoians. On a chilly morning, a bowl of smooth rice congee, cooked in nutritious chicken bone broth and the meat of chicken gets them ready for a day of hard work.

I got the bowl of congee and let the warmth of the rice broth fill my empty stomach. It was slightly pricey at VND40,000 ($1.71), but well worth it. It makes you want to feel hungry again.

Video by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc 

Goc Da restaurant – Fried cakes and rolls

Quan Goc Da (Banyan Tree Restaurant), or a lean room under the shade of a banyan tree at 52 Ly Quoc Su Street, serves a wide range of fried specialties like shrimp cake, pillow cake and crab rolls.

The restaurant operates in a narrow room about 2.5 meters wide. Sitting inside still feels like sitting in the open, since the seats are all close to the entrance.

The cook fried the cakes in a big pot of boiling oil. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

The pillow cake is my all-time favorite here, with its rich filling of minced pork, mushroom and glass noodles. The crust is smooth and thin and golden after being deep-fried. 

Shrimp cake also has crunchy crust, with a peachy fried shrimp attached to each piece. 

Fried crab roll, a version of the renowned spring roll, is made by rolling crab, pork, glass noodles and carrot in rice paper and frying it. 

At just VND5,000-12,000 ($0.21-0.51) per cake or roll, an individual bill never touches four dollars.

The dishes here are always piping hot since the cook has half-fried cakes and rolls ready, and drops them into the oil for the final frying only after a customer places the order.

Sweet snacks – dried, seasoned fruit

Many types of dried fruits are sold in front of the shop. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

Vietnamese-style dried fruit, called o mai, is another item that can be found here, at 41 Ly Quoc Su. It serves sweet pickled fruits to be taken away and munched at leisure.

Ambling across the street after a meal of fried food and eating some sour, salty fruit helps balance the greasiness and ease the stuffed feeling.

Bowls of dried fruits are placed side by side. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

The fruits are stir-fried with sugar, salt or chili and salt. The fresh mango, ambarella or June plum, or dracotonmelon may be sour when fresh but makes for an appetizing snack with the addition of a little spice.

Price: VND 15,000 – 25,000 ($0.64-1.07) for 100 grams.

The renowned Pho brand

A corner of Ly Quoc Su street, in front of Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su is one of the most famous restaurants in Vietnam serving the world famous Vietnamese rice noodles soup. During the tourist season, one can sometimes witness people queuing outside to wait for their turn to eat.

They wait because they know it is worth it. Once you sit down and place your order, the dexterous cooks quickly slice the meat, poach the noodle, add the greens and spices, and deliver the food. You can watch the performance from behind a glass wall.

A bowl of beef pho at 10 Ly Quoc Su street, Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc

The restaurant only serves beef pho, but the options are varied. You can have pho with cooked or poached beef flank, beef brisket or stewed beef in Bordelaise sauce.

The menu may baffle newcomers, but gourmands will enjoy customizing their bowl of pho with various cuts of beef, spices and quay (fried breadstick).

Price: VND55,000 – 80,000 ($2.35 – 3.45) for a bowl.

Pork’s rib congee

If all the previous places served food under a roof, this dish retains fully its street-food character. At the junction of Ngo Huyen alley and Ly Quoc Su street are several pork rib congee stalls. The cooks place their congee pots on one side of the narrow alley, and place other cooking tools on a slab of concrete protruding from a wall.

People sit by a side of Ngo Huyen alley to enjoy their congee. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

At 2A Ly Quoc Su is a congee stall, this one little more than a shoulder pole. La’s chao has been a go-to place for Hanoi foodies for years. In the afternoon La also serves a wonderful dessert: cassava sweet soup.

La’s bowl of chao suon costs less than a dollar. Photo by VnExpress/Trang Bui

Cassava sweet soup is cooked with cassava, cassava powder, coconut water, coconut rice and ginger. The soup is transparent with a thick texture. The brownish yellow soup covers the soft and light cassava cubes. The spicy ginger slices add warmth to the dish. The crowd will testify that this is a great dessert for a cool day.

Price: VND20,000 ($0.85) for a bowl of pork’s rib congee and VND15,000 ($0.65) for a bowl of cassava sweet soup.

Cathedral Lemon tea

Ask a Vietnamese youth for a list of calm experiences in Hanoi, and he or she is most likely would mention having a iced lemon tea by the Cathedral.

Young and not so young people flock to the square in front of St. Joseph Cathedral Hanoi for a place to meet up, chit chat, watch people walking around or simply reflect on their day.

It is relaxing just to sit down on a red or blue plastic chair and place your drink on another. “Tra Chanh Nha Tho”, meaning Cathedral lemon tea in English, has become a signature experience at the beginning of Ly Quoc Su street.

A glass of lemon tea served outside of St. Joseph Cathedral square. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

I stopped my bike near a sidewalk in front of the cathedral square. A man promptly walked towards to walk my bike away, and pointed me to a seat.

The business was going strong, I could tell. They were professionally efficient in everything they did.

From where I sat, I heard Korean, English and French mixed into Vietnamese words. Though I could not make out what anyone said, the tone was a happy tone.

As I finished yet another food journey in the cathedral area, I was filled happiness again to be a Hanoian. 

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[kekoaskorner]

Gurtenfestival is placed in the capital city of Switzerland in Berne on the hill called Gurten. A proper citizen of Berne would call it „Güsche“. Now thanks to the advent calendar of Ticketcorner I’m able to go to the festival for 4 days and have some VIP amenities available too. I didn’t know beforehand how grateful I would be for that special treatment.

 VIP area

Day 1

This year the festival started on Wednesday instead of Thursday. But still so many people queued up to get their ticket changed into a wristband. After that they had to wait another 1 ½ hrs to get to the Gurtenbähnli to bring them up the hill. Lucky me I could jump the queue and walk straight in. The VIP area is really nice and on Day 1 there weren’t too many people there either.

Rag’N’Bone Man

First main act was Rag’N’Bone Man who sang again very well. Although I couldn’t really hear that much because of the chatter of the people around me. I really don’t understand how people can spend that much money and waste it on chit chat. We went on to see Nothing but Thieves who were good but I cannot put my finger on what was missing in their performance so that I cannot say: „Ohh I would see them again“.

Nothing but Thieves

Royal Blood was the next act on the mainstage but they weren’t my favourite either so we chilled in the lounge area. Unfortunately it was really cold and windy and very uncomfortable. So we were glad when we could walk over to the tent stage where we saw an amazing Jack Garratt. He looks like a kid who didn’t get what he wanted but God he’s good and he is really funny too! He started to play very famous songs by Justin Timberlake or Michael Jackson and then stopped. It was kinda frustrating but also very funny. At the same time Dabu Fantastic a Swiss band was playing the forest stage. Since I knew how good they were I preferred to see someone I haven’t seen before. We only heard the last bit when we had to leave the tent to be early for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

Macklemore

As always the two American lads put on a great show and the audience loved them. However I liked them better the last time I saw them at Hallenstadion when they had the full show going. At the end they held their traditional dance off with two random people from the crowd and wow they were really really good. Macklemore said it was one of the best dance off’s they’d ever seen and I have to agree. To finish the night we watched a bit of From Kid who were okay but couldn’t really catch my attention and so we headed home soon after.

From Kid on Waldbühne

Day 2

Pegasus

I was very looking forward to see Pegasus after I’ve seen them a week before on the ferry on lake Zurich. Again they didn’t disappoint. At 3.30 they had a lot of people in front of the mainstage and had them dancing and singing and waving and jumping. They are just an incredible live band! We then headed to a band from Zurich called Faber. They are Swiss but sing in German which is quite special. Next act on the mainstage was Lo & Leduc. I was really excited to see them in their home city at this brilliant festival. They were blown away by how many people turned up. They told us that they played one of the bars, then the Waldbühne, then the Zeltbühne and now the mainstage. It was an awesome 1 ½ hrs set until they finally had to make way for the next act.

Lo & Leduc with Manilio

We heard the last bit of Nemo who is a very young Swiss German Rapper but I really like his upbeat feel-good sound. It was finally time for Imagine Dragons. I’ve also already seen them at Hallenstadion like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis the day before and I also liked that concert better than this Gurtenfestival appearance. Maybe it was because I stood in the VIP area and not very close to the stage where I think the people had good fun. Funny enough after what felt like 20mins they turned off the lights completely on stage and for a very long time too. People thought it was already the usual walk off-walk on-encore part but I was like this is way too early. It turned out that it was some kind of power cut as the singer Dan Reynolds couldn’t hear anything in his in-ears. Few minutes later the show went on and like Coldplay’s bell I heard the drum sound in “Radioactive” really clearly for the first time.

Imagine Dragons

To round off Day 2 we decided to see Trust. This band has already very famous band members such as Stress and Gabriel Spahni from Pegasus. Stress was actually singing which is quite different to what he usually does. In the end the tired eyes won and we headed down.

Day 3

Lucky Chops

Unfortunately I had to work on day 3 so I only got up the hill for the 2nd main act Züri West. I thought the crowd would react similar to Lo & Leduc and create an incredible atmosphere but that wasn’t the case. The band didn’t interact with the audience and didn’t sing all their famous hits. Overall everyone was very disappointed. My concert buddy had the joy to see Lucky Chops before this main act. And she really liked them. They’re an instrumental band and good fun!

Casper

We also caught a bit of the performance of LP but we still don’t fancy her live voice a lot. Casper’s set must have been very good because when we reached the main stage the whole crowd did the usual rap/hip hop moves by moving one arm up and down. From my experience Hip Hop concerts have the best atmosphere. We headed to the tent stage next where we saw a German band called SDP. They had a punk rock feel and some very racy lyrics. I quite liked their performance and at one point they had huge beach balls bouncing off the audiences’ hands.

oznor

cof

To finish this evening Fritz Kalkbrenner sang behind his turn tables. He started with: “Hallo ich bin Fritz und ich fang dann jetzt mal an!”. I’ve never heard a funnier start. He continued being funny throughout the set and he seemed very down to earth to me. I realized that his music is not my kinda cup of tea but I did enjoy his set and many other late night party dancers would agree.

Fritz Kalkbrenner

Day 4

The day I was anticipating the most and it turned out to be my favourite day! Somehow there weren’t a lot of people anymore even though it was a Saturday or maybe we caught the best time to get food and found good spots at concerts. Anyway it was a very chilled fun day.

sdr

oznor

We started front row with Saint Motel on the main stage. What an awesome band! They have good up-tempo music to dance to. The saxophone was great but my highlight was when the lead singer walked through the crowd to the sound tower on the other side and climbed up. It looked very funny. Another highlight and a speciality of this festival is the dancing security. You won’t find any grim unfriendly looking security here. They help you in any way they can and even start dance moves.

Veronica Fusaro on Waldbühne

Since Kate Tempest was late we decided to see Veronica Fusaro also a Swiss singer on the Waldbühne. What a wonderful setting. The stage is facing a steep part of the Gurten hill so people can sit down or even stand and everyone can see the artists down there. Veronica has a beautiful voice and good songs – perfect for the occasion, a hot sunny summer day. Close to the end we headed for Kate Tempest on the Zeltbühne – big mistake. We didn’t like her at all. She has a weird way of rapping and her songs seemed to me like she was trying to convince me to join a cult or something similar.

oznor

oznor

Seven was absolutely brilliant. He made everyone dancing, singing and clapping. It was an amazing show by awesome musicians giving their all to us. They visibly enjoyed playing and this is automatically transferred onto the audience. 1 1/2hrs of pure joy! Thank you for that.

Beginner

Unfortunately we couldn’t see Asgeir an Islandic musician but he is supposed to be very good. Next up were Beginner a hip hop combo from Hamburg who have been successful for years. They created a beautiful colourful set on stage and also gave a 110% on stage. What I personally liked was that they were actually promoting the next act Marteria as well. There was no visible competition between them. My favourite words from Jan Delay was: “We need all your energy – oh wait no – you need energy for Marteria too. This is what you’re going to do. Give us all your energy, then load it up again with all those energy stations around this place and be ready to give all your energy to Marteria again.” Loved it J

Death by Chocolate was too rocky for us so we went to see Walk off the Earth. Brilliant decision. They are an incredible live band. We loved their own songs and the covers they did. Awesome musicians who I would like to see again.

oznor

oznor

Finally, the act I was waiting for, took the stage at 12.30pm. Marteria absolutely rocked the 20’000 people at Gurtenfestival. I have no words to describe this. Before every song he said “Alle Hände” and all hands went up. We danced, we sang, we rapped, we jumped, we enjoyed every minute of this 1 1/2hrs set. During his song “Marteria Girl” he asked the guys to take all the Marteria Girls on their shoulders. At that exact moment I knew I needed to find a tall, big strong guy who will join me for Marteria’s concert in Zurich on Dec, 9th 17! J During the last song it was total “Abriss” which you can translate to “Go totally mental”. Marteria took off his shirt and asked everyone to do so as well and swing it above their heads. (Me being a pro I took a scarf with me… Hello I’m still a girl ;-)) During the final final 20 secs he created a mosh pit and on his commando everyone jumped into it.

Marteria is on FIRE

The party went on all night until the sun greeted us with an amazing sunrise which looked like painted by Bob Ross. The clouds turned purple and Marteria’s biggest hit so far “Wir bleiben wach bis die Wolken wieder lila sind” came true. Just a brilliant finish to a wonderful 4 day Gurtenfestival in Berne with amazing weather. I have to say thank you to Ticketcorner for this incredible prize and to Gurtenfestival for these many special moments with great artists and to my lovely concert buddy.

Wir bleiben wach bis die Wolken wieder lila sind

  Gurtenfestival in Berne 12 – 15.07.17 Gurtenfestival is placed in the capital city of Switzerland in Berne on the hill called Gurten. A proper citizen of Berne would call it „Güsche“.

[sophisticatedparisian500-blog]

January Exams

               [Written 14/1/17] PSA: You may want to settle down properly with a cuppa to read this one because it’s a long one.

January is not a good month. I strongly dislike January. The fact that I had such a wonderful Christmas makes it harder and this year I have the additional problem, of having to return back to this foreign land, to add to all the usual symptoms of “the January blues”.  Christmas is over, it still gets dark way too early and the weather is miserable. I am currently undecided as to whether leaving Christmas lights and decorations up this far into January is good because it brightens up the place a bit or bad because it’s just a reminder that Christmas is over for another whole year. Either way, the unwritten rule for the fairly swift removal of Christmas decs in England clearly isn’t a thing here. There are still Christmas trees outside Panthéon and my mairie still has a massive sign up over the main road wishing me a Merry Christmas.  Another obstacle for me came in the form of January exams to which, as a humanities student, I am not accustomed. Last year, living with two strange science-y beings that I call best friends, I took on the role of hot caffeinated beverage provider, crumble maker and hug giver. This year I got the joy of returning home to a flat in which the messier of my two flatmates had spent the whole Christmas period alone and then suggested that we do a big group clean of the communal areas! Bloomin’ cheek! Admittedly it is true that I am not required to get good marks in, or even pass, my assessments at Paris 1 but the departmental decision to make all the Erasmus students take orals instead of written exams made it extremely stressful. Anyone who knows me well enough will know that (due to a very bad habit for which I blame my father entirely!) I pick the skin off my fingers when I’m nervous, anxious or stressed and at one point this week I had made my thumb so sore that I couldn’t even hold my cup of tea – which was a big problem because.... I NEED tea!

The organisation of these oral exams extended to the provision of one start time for everybody (14:30) and a room number. This of course, in a land where the logic of queuing simply doesn’t exist, caused complete havoc. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything else because the principle could not be more French if it tried. There are so many better and fairer ways these exams could be organised... I’m picturing a Clark’s shoe shop numbered ticket type system. Admittedly the annual trip to Clarks to buy school shoes was often fairly stressful and poorly managed but it is still better than what I have experienced this week. Or, people could sign their name on a sheet when they arrive to make sure that those who were bothered to get to uni early (like me) actually get to go first. OR, heaven forbid, enough effort could be put in to organise individual time slots with students IN ADVANCE of the day of the exam!!! But oh no....that’s way too logical.

 Observations and Suggestions

Examiners who don’t have a clue what they’re doing...

My first exam was on Friday 6th January. For this one I arrived 2.5 hours early and I did fortunately get to go first. I had my lecturer as an examiner, she told me to pick one topic from the pile and that I could have 20 minutes to prepare but then the nice man who led my seminars last term overheard her and said “oh no no, they get the choice between two topics and it’s 30 minutes of preparation time”.  So, presumably, if he hadn’t happened to overhear then I would have proceeded to do my oral exam according to an incorrect procedure which would have put me at a disadvantage, when I’m already at a disadvantage compared to the others because of the small detail that I’M NOT FRENCH! This would never happen at York. Another examiner let myself and another Erasmus student choose our topics at the same time but then examined me first giving the other guy a whole extra 30 minutes to prepare.  Admittedly this wouldn’t have helped me but that’s not the point, it’s the principle. Newsflash - Exams should be FAIR!!

 Disregard for proper “exam conditions”

For another exam I had to begin and continue my preparation surrounded by a hustle and bustle of other students coming in and out of the very small seminar room to check their time slots and generally make a lot of noise. For a different exam I was preparing next to a guy who had headphones in which were playing music from his PHONE which was on the table buzzing constantly with whatsapp notifications. The woman who was “supervising” us did not say a word! This would never happen at York. I mean, in the UK you’re not even allowed a translucent label on your water bottle or a chucky watch strap in case you’ve written notes underneath it.

For the same exam, about 5 minutes into my oral, a woman blatantly interrupts because she thought she’d booked the room we were using, for a catch up seminar. This would never happen at York.

In addition, for two of my exams we had multiple orals taking place in the same room at the same time just with different examiners and for another I had to give my oral presentation in the same room where other students were preparing. When I got things wrong the examiner corrected me and therefore practically gave the answers to the other students! This would never happen at York.  

 General shoddy organisation

I was told that my exam on the French Revolution would be in the “Institute of the History of the French Revolution” which as it turned out is not a room, or a library, but a corridor. Just, a corridor. I spent ages wondering if I was even in the right place which only added to my stress levels, there wasn’t anyone around who I could ask and of course the secretary’s office on the floor below shuts for 2 hours for lunch so I couldn’t even check there. Fortunately I was in the right place but unfortunately there were more than 25 students who turned up for the oral exam and clearly the team of examiners were not expecting that many people. As a result they cut our preparation time in half so we got 15 minutes to prepare to give a 15 minute presentation which isn’t possible in any universe because you just can’t write as quickly as you speak! So I waited nearly 2.5 hours to spend a total of 30 minutes doing my exam, and that was in addition to the 2 hours I had been early in an attempt to get it over with quicker. As a result of this I was half an hour late to the important meeting to sign up for my classes for the coming term and get the form signed by the right person, who, upon my arrival, gave me the foulest and most spiteful glare I have ever received. It was the shoddiness of YOUR department that made me late matey so don’t you dare! (Was what I wish I could have said but instead I just explained that my exam had only just finished). This same man emailed us the updated version of the module timetable (there had been changes to the hours of certain classes), dated as published the day before our meeting, two days after said meeting! What is even the point? This would never happen at York.

 All this being said (sorry for the rant) I did end the week on a high. My examiner for my exam on the Roman Empire, who also took my seminars, complimented my French saying that I should speak with more confidence because I have correct grammar, good vocabulary and he has noticed a significant improvement in my speaking since the start of term :D I was a bit dubious because he never really heard me say much but who cares! The scary man who never smiles was nice to me AND I am actually improving. BOOM!  I don’t care what marks I get because in the bigger picture they don’t mean anything to me, they won’t affect my overall degree classification and at the end of the day I managed to talk in French about topic about which I knew diddily squat a few months ago. I’m here to improve my French, not to get bogged down in the strange inner workings and assessment expectations of a French academic institution. 

On one final note, being chatted up in the wine aisle in the supermarket at 8pm on a Friday was a new and bizarre experience for me. But hey, I managed to ditch the bugger (eventually) and it’s not every day that someone calls you cute.....so I’ll take that and just hope I never bump into him ever again!

[marketingadvisorvietnam]

A culinary experience turns soulful on a Hanoi downtown street

Marketing Advisor đã viết bài trên http://www.ticvietnam.vn/a-culinary-experience-turns-soulful-on-a-hanoi-downtown-street-85/

A culinary experience turns soulful on a Hanoi downtown street

Food – December 2, 2018 | 08:40 am GMT+7

Ly Quoc Su street which connects an iconic cathedral with Hang Bong Street offers many variations of a Hanoi dining theme.

“How about going to the Cathedral area?”

This is my stock response when asked to suggest a “very Hanoian dining place.”

I might well be wrong, but the options around the iconic St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hanoi, on main streets and alleys off them are my automatic choice for some authentic Vietnamese food that have never failed me, so far.

This is true despite how touristy the area has become in the last few years, which is not a bad thing. Just makes my special places “hidden treasures”.

A house’s balcony on Ly Quoc Su street. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

Amidst all the visitors taking endless selfies in front of the cathedral which is considered one of the city’s iconic landscapes, the Hanoian in me thrills to the sight of “Hanoi” written in green on a second floor balcony on the street.

That is Hanoi to me. As a millennial, I am happy to see changes in the capital city, and the blending of the modern with the traditional.

One of the best ways to see this interesting mix is through food. As fancier and fancier restaurants and coffee shops open in the area, restaurants and stalls serving typical Hanoi dishes are holding their own.

My’s chicken congee

The cook ladled congee into a bowl. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

For me, My’s place, a restaurant serving chicken congee, Chao Ga Ba My (My’s chicken congee) is a frequent food stop in the area.

The restaurant is a small room on the first floor of an old house at 47 Ly Quoc Su. It has been around for over four decades, said Hien, the cook. After the original chef, My, 86 now, retired, Hien has been hired to carry on her legacy.

A bowl of chicken congee at My’s restaurant. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc 

A bowl of congee is a common breakfast option for Hanoians. On a chilly morning, a bowl of smooth rice congee, cooked in nutritious chicken bone broth and the meat of chicken gets them ready for a day of hard work.

I got the bowl of congee and let the warmth of the rice broth fill my empty stomach. It was slightly pricey at VND40,000 ($1.71), but well worth it. It makes you want to feel hungry again.

Video by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc 

Goc Da restaurant – Fried cakes and rolls

Quan Goc Da (Banyan Tree Restaurant), or a lean room under the shade of a banyan tree at 52 Ly Quoc Su Street, serves a wide range of fried specialties like shrimp cake, pillow cake and crab rolls.

The restaurant operates in a narrow room about 2.5 meters wide. Sitting inside still feels like sitting in the open, since the seats are all close to the entrance.

The cook fried the cakes in a big pot of boiling oil. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

The pillow cake is my all-time favorite here, with its rich filling of minced pork, mushroom and glass noodles. The crust is smooth and thin and golden after being deep-fried. 

Shrimp cake also has crunchy crust, with a peachy fried shrimp attached to each piece. 

Fried crab roll, a version of the renowned spring roll, is made by rolling crab, pork, glass noodles and carrot in rice paper and frying it. 

At just VND5,000-12,000 ($0.21-0.51) per cake or roll, an individual bill never touches four dollars.

The dishes here are always piping hot since the cook has half-fried cakes and rolls ready, and drops them into the oil for the final frying only after a customer places the order.

Sweet snacks – dried, seasoned fruit

Many types of dried fruits are sold in front of the shop. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

Vietnamese-style dried fruit, called o mai, is another item that can be found here, at 41 Ly Quoc Su. It serves sweet pickled fruits to be taken away and munched at leisure.

Ambling across the street after a meal of fried food and eating some sour, salty fruit helps balance the greasiness and ease the stuffed feeling.

Bowls of dried fruits are placed side by side. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

The fruits are stir-fried with sugar, salt or chili and salt. The fresh mango, ambarella or June plum, or dracotonmelon may be sour when fresh but makes for an appetizing snack with the addition of a little spice.

Price: VND 15,000 – 25,000 ($0.64-1.07) for 100 grams.

The renowned Pho brand

A corner of Ly Quoc Su street, in front of Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su is one of the most famous restaurants in Vietnam serving the world famous Vietnamese rice noodles soup. During the tourist season, one can sometimes witness people queuing outside to wait for their turn to eat.

They wait because they know it is worth it. Once you sit down and place your order, the dexterous cooks quickly slice the meat, poach the noodle, add the greens and spices, and deliver the food. You can watch the performance from behind a glass wall.

A bowl of beef pho at 10 Ly Quoc Su street, Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc

The restaurant only serves beef pho, but the options are varied. You can have pho with cooked or poached beef flank, beef brisket or stewed beef in Bordelaise sauce.

The menu may baffle newcomers, but gourmands will enjoy customizing their bowl of pho with various cuts of beef, spices and quay (fried breadstick).

Price: VND55,000 – 80,000 ($2.35 – 3.45) for a bowl.

Pork’s rib congee

If all the previous places served food under a roof, this dish retains fully its street-food character. At the junction of Ngo Huyen alley and Ly Quoc Su street are several pork rib congee stalls. The cooks place their congee pots on one side of the narrow alley, and place other cooking tools on a slab of concrete protruding from a wall.

People sit by a side of Ngo Huyen alley to enjoy their congee. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

At 2A Ly Quoc Su is a congee stall, this one little more than a shoulder pole. La’s chao has been a go-to place for Hanoi foodies for years. In the afternoon La also serves a wonderful dessert: cassava sweet soup.

La’s bowl of chao suon costs less than a dollar. Photo by VnExpress/Trang Bui

Cassava sweet soup is cooked with cassava, cassava powder, coconut water, coconut rice and ginger. The soup is transparent with a thick texture. The brownish yellow soup covers the soft and light cassava cubes. The spicy ginger slices add warmth to the dish. The crowd will testify that this is a great dessert for a cool day.

Price: VND20,000 ($0.85) for a bowl of pork’s rib congee and VND15,000 ($0.65) for a bowl of cassava sweet soup.

Cathedral Lemon tea

Ask a Vietnamese youth for a list of calm experiences in Hanoi, and he or she is most likely would mention having a iced lemon tea by the Cathedral.

Young and not so young people flock to the square in front of St. Joseph Cathedral Hanoi for a place to meet up, chit chat, watch people walking around or simply reflect on their day.

It is relaxing just to sit down on a red or blue plastic chair and place your drink on another. “Tra Chanh Nha Tho”, meaning Cathedral lemon tea in English, has become a signature experience at the beginning of Ly Quoc Su street.

A glass of lemon tea served outside of St. Joseph Cathedral square. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

I stopped my bike near a sidewalk in front of the cathedral square. A man promptly walked towards to walk my bike away, and pointed me to a seat.

The business was going strong, I could tell. They were professionally efficient in everything they did.

From where I sat, I heard Korean, English and French mixed into Vietnamese words. Though I could not make out what anyone said, the tone was a happy tone.

As I finished yet another food journey in the cathedral area, I was filled happiness again to be a Hanoian. 

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[marketingadvisorvietnam]

A culinary experience turns soulful on a Hanoi downtown street

Marketing Advisor đã viết bài trên http://www.ticvietnam.vn/a-culinary-experience-turns-soulful-on-a-hanoi-downtown-street-84/

A culinary experience turns soulful on a Hanoi downtown street

Food – December 2, 2018 | 08:40 am GMT+7

Ly Quoc Su street which connects an iconic cathedral with Hang Bong Street offers many variations of a Hanoi dining theme.

“How about going to the Cathedral area?”

This is my stock response when asked to suggest a “very Hanoian dining place.”

I might well be wrong, but the options around the iconic St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hanoi, on main streets and alleys off them are my automatic choice for some authentic Vietnamese food that have never failed me, so far.

This is true despite how touristy the area has become in the last few years, which is not a bad thing. Just makes my special places “hidden treasures”.

A house’s balcony on Ly Quoc Su street. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

Amidst all the visitors taking endless selfies in front of the cathedral which is considered one of the city’s iconic landscapes, the Hanoian in me thrills to the sight of “Hanoi” written in green on a second floor balcony on the street.

That is Hanoi to me. As a millennial, I am happy to see changes in the capital city, and the blending of the modern with the traditional.

One of the best ways to see this interesting mix is through food. As fancier and fancier restaurants and coffee shops open in the area, restaurants and stalls serving typical Hanoi dishes are holding their own.

My’s chicken congee

The cook ladled congee into a bowl. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

For me, My’s place, a restaurant serving chicken congee, Chao Ga Ba My (My’s chicken congee) is a frequent food stop in the area.

The restaurant is a small room on the first floor of an old house at 47 Ly Quoc Su. It has been around for over four decades, said Hien, the cook. After the original chef, My, 86 now, retired, Hien has been hired to carry on her legacy.

A bowl of chicken congee at My’s restaurant. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc 

A bowl of congee is a common breakfast option for Hanoians. On a chilly morning, a bowl of smooth rice congee, cooked in nutritious chicken bone broth and the meat of chicken gets them ready for a day of hard work.

I got the bowl of congee and let the warmth of the rice broth fill my empty stomach. It was slightly pricey at VND40,000 ($1.71), but well worth it. It makes you want to feel hungry again.

Video by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc 

Goc Da restaurant – Fried cakes and rolls

Quan Goc Da (Banyan Tree Restaurant), or a lean room under the shade of a banyan tree at 52 Ly Quoc Su Street, serves a wide range of fried specialties like shrimp cake, pillow cake and crab rolls.

The restaurant operates in a narrow room about 2.5 meters wide. Sitting inside still feels like sitting in the open, since the seats are all close to the entrance.

The cook fried the cakes in a big pot of boiling oil. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

The pillow cake is my all-time favorite here, with its rich filling of minced pork, mushroom and glass noodles. The crust is smooth and thin and golden after being deep-fried. 

Shrimp cake also has crunchy crust, with a peachy fried shrimp attached to each piece. 

Fried crab roll, a version of the renowned spring roll, is made by rolling crab, pork, glass noodles and carrot in rice paper and frying it. 

At just VND5,000-12,000 ($0.21-0.51) per cake or roll, an individual bill never touches four dollars.

The dishes here are always piping hot since the cook has half-fried cakes and rolls ready, and drops them into the oil for the final frying only after a customer places the order.

Sweet snacks – dried, seasoned fruit

Many types of dried fruits are sold in front of the shop. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

Vietnamese-style dried fruit, called o mai, is another item that can be found here, at 41 Ly Quoc Su. It serves sweet pickled fruits to be taken away and munched at leisure.

Ambling across the street after a meal of fried food and eating some sour, salty fruit helps balance the greasiness and ease the stuffed feeling.

Bowls of dried fruits are placed side by side. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

The fruits are stir-fried with sugar, salt or chili and salt. The fresh mango, ambarella or June plum, or dracotonmelon may be sour when fresh but makes for an appetizing snack with the addition of a little spice.

Price: VND 15,000 – 25,000 ($0.64-1.07) for 100 grams.

The renowned Pho brand

A corner of Ly Quoc Su street, in front of Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su is one of the most famous restaurants in Vietnam serving the world famous Vietnamese rice noodles soup. During the tourist season, one can sometimes witness people queuing outside to wait for their turn to eat.

They wait because they know it is worth it. Once you sit down and place your order, the dexterous cooks quickly slice the meat, poach the noodle, add the greens and spices, and deliver the food. You can watch the performance from behind a glass wall.

A bowl of beef pho at 10 Ly Quoc Su street, Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc

The restaurant only serves beef pho, but the options are varied. You can have pho with cooked or poached beef flank, beef brisket or stewed beef in Bordelaise sauce.

The menu may baffle newcomers, but gourmands will enjoy customizing their bowl of pho with various cuts of beef, spices and quay (fried breadstick).

Price: VND55,000 – 80,000 ($2.35 – 3.45) for a bowl.

Pork’s rib congee

If all the previous places served food under a roof, this dish retains fully its street-food character. At the junction of Ngo Huyen alley and Ly Quoc Su street are several pork rib congee stalls. The cooks place their congee pots on one side of the narrow alley, and place other cooking tools on a slab of concrete protruding from a wall.

People sit by a side of Ngo Huyen alley to enjoy their congee. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

At 2A Ly Quoc Su is a congee stall, this one little more than a shoulder pole. La’s chao has been a go-to place for Hanoi foodies for years. In the afternoon La also serves a wonderful dessert: cassava sweet soup.

La’s bowl of chao suon costs less than a dollar. Photo by VnExpress/Trang Bui

Cassava sweet soup is cooked with cassava, cassava powder, coconut water, coconut rice and ginger. The soup is transparent with a thick texture. The brownish yellow soup covers the soft and light cassava cubes. The spicy ginger slices add warmth to the dish. The crowd will testify that this is a great dessert for a cool day.

Price: VND20,000 ($0.85) for a bowl of pork’s rib congee and VND15,000 ($0.65) for a bowl of cassava sweet soup.

Cathedral Lemon tea

Ask a Vietnamese youth for a list of calm experiences in Hanoi, and he or she is most likely would mention having a iced lemon tea by the Cathedral.

Young and not so young people flock to the square in front of St. Joseph Cathedral Hanoi for a place to meet up, chit chat, watch people walking around or simply reflect on their day.

It is relaxing just to sit down on a red or blue plastic chair and place your drink on another. “Tra Chanh Nha Tho”, meaning Cathedral lemon tea in English, has become a signature experience at the beginning of Ly Quoc Su street.

A glass of lemon tea served outside of St. Joseph Cathedral square. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

I stopped my bike near a sidewalk in front of the cathedral square. A man promptly walked towards to walk my bike away, and pointed me to a seat.

The business was going strong, I could tell. They were professionally efficient in everything they did.

From where I sat, I heard Korean, English and French mixed into Vietnamese words. Though I could not make out what anyone said, the tone was a happy tone.

As I finished yet another food journey in the cathedral area, I was filled happiness again to be a Hanoian. 

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[marketingadvisorvietnam]

A culinary experience turns soulful on a Hanoi downtown street

Marketing Advisor đã viết bài trên http://www.ticvietnam.vn/a-culinary-experience-turns-soulful-on-a-hanoi-downtown-street-83/

A culinary experience turns soulful on a Hanoi downtown street

Food – December 2, 2018 | 08:40 am GMT+7

Ly Quoc Su street which connects an iconic cathedral with Hang Bong Street offers many variations of a Hanoi dining theme.

“How about going to the Cathedral area?”

This is my stock response when asked to suggest a “very Hanoian dining place.”

I might well be wrong, but the options around the iconic St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hanoi, on main streets and alleys off them are my automatic choice for some authentic Vietnamese food that have never failed me, so far.

This is true despite how touristy the area has become in the last few years, which is not a bad thing. Just makes my special places “hidden treasures”.

A house’s balcony on Ly Quoc Su street. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

Amidst all the visitors taking endless selfies in front of the cathedral which is considered one of the city’s iconic landscapes, the Hanoian in me thrills to the sight of “Hanoi” written in green on a second floor balcony on the street.

That is Hanoi to me. As a millennial, I am happy to see changes in the capital city, and the blending of the modern with the traditional.

One of the best ways to see this interesting mix is through food. As fancier and fancier restaurants and coffee shops open in the area, restaurants and stalls serving typical Hanoi dishes are holding their own.

My’s chicken congee

The cook ladled congee into a bowl. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

For me, My’s place, a restaurant serving chicken congee, Chao Ga Ba My (My’s chicken congee) is a frequent food stop in the area.

The restaurant is a small room on the first floor of an old house at 47 Ly Quoc Su. It has been around for over four decades, said Hien, the cook. After the original chef, My, 86 now, retired, Hien has been hired to carry on her legacy.

A bowl of chicken congee at My’s restaurant. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc 

A bowl of congee is a common breakfast option for Hanoians. On a chilly morning, a bowl of smooth rice congee, cooked in nutritious chicken bone broth and the meat of chicken gets them ready for a day of hard work.

I got the bowl of congee and let the warmth of the rice broth fill my empty stomach. It was slightly pricey at VND40,000 ($1.71), but well worth it. It makes you want to feel hungry again.

Video by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc 

Goc Da restaurant – Fried cakes and rolls

Quan Goc Da (Banyan Tree Restaurant), or a lean room under the shade of a banyan tree at 52 Ly Quoc Su Street, serves a wide range of fried specialties like shrimp cake, pillow cake and crab rolls.

The restaurant operates in a narrow room about 2.5 meters wide. Sitting inside still feels like sitting in the open, since the seats are all close to the entrance.

The cook fried the cakes in a big pot of boiling oil. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

The pillow cake is my all-time favorite here, with its rich filling of minced pork, mushroom and glass noodles. The crust is smooth and thin and golden after being deep-fried. 

Shrimp cake also has crunchy crust, with a peachy fried shrimp attached to each piece. 

Fried crab roll, a version of the renowned spring roll, is made by rolling crab, pork, glass noodles and carrot in rice paper and frying it. 

At just VND5,000-12,000 ($0.21-0.51) per cake or roll, an individual bill never touches four dollars.

The dishes here are always piping hot since the cook has half-fried cakes and rolls ready, and drops them into the oil for the final frying only after a customer places the order.

Sweet snacks – dried, seasoned fruit

Many types of dried fruits are sold in front of the shop. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

Vietnamese-style dried fruit, called o mai, is another item that can be found here, at 41 Ly Quoc Su. It serves sweet pickled fruits to be taken away and munched at leisure.

Ambling across the street after a meal of fried food and eating some sour, salty fruit helps balance the greasiness and ease the stuffed feeling.

Bowls of dried fruits are placed side by side. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

The fruits are stir-fried with sugar, salt or chili and salt. The fresh mango, ambarella or June plum, or dracotonmelon may be sour when fresh but makes for an appetizing snack with the addition of a little spice.

Price: VND 15,000 – 25,000 ($0.64-1.07) for 100 grams.

The renowned Pho brand

A corner of Ly Quoc Su street, in front of Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su is one of the most famous restaurants in Vietnam serving the world famous Vietnamese rice noodles soup. During the tourist season, one can sometimes witness people queuing outside to wait for their turn to eat.

They wait because they know it is worth it. Once you sit down and place your order, the dexterous cooks quickly slice the meat, poach the noodle, add the greens and spices, and deliver the food. You can watch the performance from behind a glass wall.

A bowl of beef pho at 10 Ly Quoc Su street, Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc

The restaurant only serves beef pho, but the options are varied. You can have pho with cooked or poached beef flank, beef brisket or stewed beef in Bordelaise sauce.

The menu may baffle newcomers, but gourmands will enjoy customizing their bowl of pho with various cuts of beef, spices and quay (fried breadstick).

Price: VND55,000 – 80,000 ($2.35 – 3.45) for a bowl.

Pork’s rib congee

If all the previous places served food under a roof, this dish retains fully its street-food character. At the junction of Ngo Huyen alley and Ly Quoc Su street are several pork rib congee stalls. The cooks place their congee pots on one side of the narrow alley, and place other cooking tools on a slab of concrete protruding from a wall.

People sit by a side of Ngo Huyen alley to enjoy their congee. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

At 2A Ly Quoc Su is a congee stall, this one little more than a shoulder pole. La’s chao has been a go-to place for Hanoi foodies for years. In the afternoon La also serves a wonderful dessert: cassava sweet soup.

La’s bowl of chao suon costs less than a dollar. Photo by VnExpress/Trang Bui

Cassava sweet soup is cooked with cassava, cassava powder, coconut water, coconut rice and ginger. The soup is transparent with a thick texture. The brownish yellow soup covers the soft and light cassava cubes. The spicy ginger slices add warmth to the dish. The crowd will testify that this is a great dessert for a cool day.

Price: VND20,000 ($0.85) for a bowl of pork’s rib congee and VND15,000 ($0.65) for a bowl of cassava sweet soup.

Cathedral Lemon tea

Ask a Vietnamese youth for a list of calm experiences in Hanoi, and he or she is most likely would mention having a iced lemon tea by the Cathedral.

Young and not so young people flock to the square in front of St. Joseph Cathedral Hanoi for a place to meet up, chit chat, watch people walking around or simply reflect on their day.

It is relaxing just to sit down on a red or blue plastic chair and place your drink on another. “Tra Chanh Nha Tho”, meaning Cathedral lemon tea in English, has become a signature experience at the beginning of Ly Quoc Su street.

A glass of lemon tea served outside of St. Joseph Cathedral square. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

I stopped my bike near a sidewalk in front of the cathedral square. A man promptly walked towards to walk my bike away, and pointed me to a seat.

The business was going strong, I could tell. They were professionally efficient in everything they did.

From where I sat, I heard Korean, English and French mixed into Vietnamese words. Though I could not make out what anyone said, the tone was a happy tone.

As I finished yet another food journey in the cathedral area, I was filled happiness again to be a Hanoian. 

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[marketingadvisorvietnam]

A culinary experience turns soulful on a Hanoi downtown street

Marketing Advisor đã viết bài trên http://www.ticvietnam.vn/a-culinary-experience-turns-soulful-on-a-hanoi-downtown-street-82/

A culinary experience turns soulful on a Hanoi downtown street

Food – December 2, 2018 | 08:40 am GMT+7

Ly Quoc Su street which connects an iconic cathedral with Hang Bong Street offers many variations of a Hanoi dining theme.

“How about going to the Cathedral area?”

This is my stock response when asked to suggest a “very Hanoian dining place.”

I might well be wrong, but the options around the iconic St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hanoi, on main streets and alleys off them are my automatic choice for some authentic Vietnamese food that have never failed me, so far.

This is true despite how touristy the area has become in the last few years, which is not a bad thing. Just makes my special places “hidden treasures”.

A house’s balcony on Ly Quoc Su street. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

Amidst all the visitors taking endless selfies in front of the cathedral which is considered one of the city’s iconic landscapes, the Hanoian in me thrills to the sight of “Hanoi” written in green on a second floor balcony on the street.

That is Hanoi to me. As a millennial, I am happy to see changes in the capital city, and the blending of the modern with the traditional.

One of the best ways to see this interesting mix is through food. As fancier and fancier restaurants and coffee shops open in the area, restaurants and stalls serving typical Hanoi dishes are holding their own.

My’s chicken congee

The cook ladled congee into a bowl. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

For me, My’s place, a restaurant serving chicken congee, Chao Ga Ba My (My’s chicken congee) is a frequent food stop in the area.

The restaurant is a small room on the first floor of an old house at 47 Ly Quoc Su. It has been around for over four decades, said Hien, the cook. After the original chef, My, 86 now, retired, Hien has been hired to carry on her legacy.

A bowl of chicken congee at My’s restaurant. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc 

A bowl of congee is a common breakfast option for Hanoians. On a chilly morning, a bowl of smooth rice congee, cooked in nutritious chicken bone broth and the meat of chicken gets them ready for a day of hard work.

I got the bowl of congee and let the warmth of the rice broth fill my empty stomach. It was slightly pricey at VND40,000 ($1.71), but well worth it. It makes you want to feel hungry again.

Video by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc 

Goc Da restaurant – Fried cakes and rolls

Quan Goc Da (Banyan Tree Restaurant), or a lean room under the shade of a banyan tree at 52 Ly Quoc Su Street, serves a wide range of fried specialties like shrimp cake, pillow cake and crab rolls.

The restaurant operates in a narrow room about 2.5 meters wide. Sitting inside still feels like sitting in the open, since the seats are all close to the entrance.

The cook fried the cakes in a big pot of boiling oil. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

The pillow cake is my all-time favorite here, with its rich filling of minced pork, mushroom and glass noodles. The crust is smooth and thin and golden after being deep-fried. 

Shrimp cake also has crunchy crust, with a peachy fried shrimp attached to each piece. 

Fried crab roll, a version of the renowned spring roll, is made by rolling crab, pork, glass noodles and carrot in rice paper and frying it. 

At just VND5,000-12,000 ($0.21-0.51) per cake or roll, an individual bill never touches four dollars.

The dishes here are always piping hot since the cook has half-fried cakes and rolls ready, and drops them into the oil for the final frying only after a customer places the order.

Sweet snacks – dried, seasoned fruit

Many types of dried fruits are sold in front of the shop. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

Vietnamese-style dried fruit, called o mai, is another item that can be found here, at 41 Ly Quoc Su. It serves sweet pickled fruits to be taken away and munched at leisure.

Ambling across the street after a meal of fried food and eating some sour, salty fruit helps balance the greasiness and ease the stuffed feeling.

Bowls of dried fruits are placed side by side. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

The fruits are stir-fried with sugar, salt or chili and salt. The fresh mango, ambarella or June plum, or dracotonmelon may be sour when fresh but makes for an appetizing snack with the addition of a little spice.

Price: VND 15,000 – 25,000 ($0.64-1.07) for 100 grams.

The renowned Pho brand

A corner of Ly Quoc Su street, in front of Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su is one of the most famous restaurants in Vietnam serving the world famous Vietnamese rice noodles soup. During the tourist season, one can sometimes witness people queuing outside to wait for their turn to eat.

They wait because they know it is worth it. Once you sit down and place your order, the dexterous cooks quickly slice the meat, poach the noodle, add the greens and spices, and deliver the food. You can watch the performance from behind a glass wall.

A bowl of beef pho at 10 Ly Quoc Su street, Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc

The restaurant only serves beef pho, but the options are varied. You can have pho with cooked or poached beef flank, beef brisket or stewed beef in Bordelaise sauce.

The menu may baffle newcomers, but gourmands will enjoy customizing their bowl of pho with various cuts of beef, spices and quay (fried breadstick).

Price: VND55,000 – 80,000 ($2.35 – 3.45) for a bowl.

Pork’s rib congee

If all the previous places served food under a roof, this dish retains fully its street-food character. At the junction of Ngo Huyen alley and Ly Quoc Su street are several pork rib congee stalls. The cooks place their congee pots on one side of the narrow alley, and place other cooking tools on a slab of concrete protruding from a wall.

People sit by a side of Ngo Huyen alley to enjoy their congee. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang

At 2A Ly Quoc Su is a congee stall, this one little more than a shoulder pole. La’s chao has been a go-to place for Hanoi foodies for years. In the afternoon La also serves a wonderful dessert: cassava sweet soup.

La’s bowl of chao suon costs less than a dollar. Photo by VnExpress/Trang Bui

Cassava sweet soup is cooked with cassava, cassava powder, coconut water, coconut rice and ginger. The soup is transparent with a thick texture. The brownish yellow soup covers the soft and light cassava cubes. The spicy ginger slices add warmth to the dish. The crowd will testify that this is a great dessert for a cool day.

Price: VND20,000 ($0.85) for a bowl of pork’s rib congee and VND15,000 ($0.65) for a bowl of cassava sweet soup.

Cathedral Lemon tea

Ask a Vietnamese youth for a list of calm experiences in Hanoi, and he or she is most likely would mention having a iced lemon tea by the Cathedral.

Young and not so young people flock to the square in front of St. Joseph Cathedral Hanoi for a place to meet up, chit chat, watch people walking around or simply reflect on their day.

It is relaxing just to sit down on a red or blue plastic chair and place your drink on another. “Tra Chanh Nha Tho”, meaning Cathedral lemon tea in English, has become a signature experience at the beginning of Ly Quoc Su street.

A glass of lemon tea served outside of St. Joseph Cathedral square. Photo by VnExpress/Dai Trang 

I stopped my bike near a sidewalk in front of the cathedral square. A man promptly walked towards to walk my bike away, and pointed me to a seat.

The business was going strong, I could tell. They were professionally efficient in everything they did.

From where I sat, I heard Korean, English and French mixed into Vietnamese words. Though I could not make out what anyone said, the tone was a happy tone.

As I finished yet another food journey in the cathedral area, I was filled happiness again to be a Hanoian. 

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