All posts tagged: essay

Twin Peaks Actually Explained: A 4-Hour Video Essay Demystifies It All

Twin Peaks Actually Explained: A 4-Hour Video Essay Demystifies It All

I don’t know about you, but my YouTube algo­rithms can act like a nag­ging friend, sug­gest­ing a video for days until I final­ly give in. Such was the case with this video essay with the tan­ta­liz­ing title: “Twin Peaks ACTUALLY EXPLAINED (No, Real­ly)”. First of all, before, dur­ing, and after 2017’s Twin Peaks The Return, the­o­ries were as inescapable as the cat memes on the Twin Peaks Face­book groups. After the mind-blow­ing Episode 8, they went into over­drive, includ­ing the bonkers idea that the final two episodes were meant to be watched *over­laid* on each oth­er. And I high­light­ed one in-depth jour­ney through the entire three decades of the Lynch/Frost cul­tur­al event for this very site. So when I final­ly clicked on the link I balked imme­di­ate­ly: Four and a half hours? Are you kid­ding me? (You might be say­ing the very thing to your­self now.) But just like the nar­ra­tor says, bear with me. Over the week, I watched the entire thing in 30-minute seg­ments, not because it was gru­el­ing, but because time is …

‘There’s something special about making a difference’: community nurses step up – a photo essay | Nursing

‘There’s something special about making a difference’: community nurses step up – a photo essay | Nursing

Community Nursing can trace its roots back to Florence Nightingale and philanthropist William Rathbone. In Liverpool in 1859, William’s wife was ill and he wanted her to be nursed at home. After she died he asked the nurse who had cared for her, Mary Robinson, to provide the same care for others among the city’s poor. Florence Nightingale saw the impact of this and wanted more people to be able to access this care. It was rolled out into the 18 nursing districts of Liverpool, which is where the term “district nursing” originated. The Queen’s Nursing Institute is the oldest nursing charity in the world. It was founded in 1887 with a grant from Queen Victoria and has about 2,500 registered nurses who have spent more than five years working in the community. I spent time with four of its nurses, photographing their work around the country. Meet the Queen’s Nurses Angelina Blair, a Queen’s Nurse and sister at Rowcroft Hospice at Home in Torquay, Devon, says death has become more taboo. Angelina Blair, a …

Wings, wigs and wonder: backstage at Birmingham Royal Ballet – photo essay | UK news

Wings, wigs and wonder: backstage at Birmingham Royal Ballet – photo essay | UK news

As I step through the stage door, Tom Rogers, a former soloist turned creative digital producer, becomes my guide through this theatrical labyrinth. “This half is like where we live, and the other half is the theatre,” Rogers says, a grin lighting up his face as we navigate the corridors, which start to feel like a maze. “Try and remember this bit of the journey in case you need to come back to the office.” Turning yet another corner, we stumble upon a small leather box perched by the service lift. “That’s what you live out of on a big tour. I used to pack salt and pepper and olive oil,” he says, offering a glimpse into the nomadic life of ballet performers. That’s what you live out of on a big tour … I used to pack salt and pepper and olive oil Tom Rogers Further along, we uncover a treasure trove of costumes, where rolls of cloth in a myriad of colours and textures stretch into the distance. “Sleeping Beauty is 40 years …

Faking it: counterfeit luxury fashion in south-east Asia – a photo essay | Fashion

Faking it: counterfeit luxury fashion in south-east Asia – a photo essay | Fashion

In some countries in south-east Asia, including Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, a distinctive street style has emerged, characterised by counterfeit luxury fashion. Here, many people sport counterfeits of labels such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada. In Vietnam, for example, one can see street food vendors wearing trousers and long-sleeved shirts adorned with large luxury logos. In Cambodian markets, fish vendors carry Gucci wallets; in rice fields, harvesters wear Balenciaga visor caps. In some places, mothers dress their babies in fake Louis Vuitton dresses. Clockwise from top left: Siem Reap, Cambodia; Tonle Sap, Cambodia; Can Tho, Vietnam; Bangkok, Thailand. The fakes are everywhere – in shopping malls, night markets and even in small street shops. Customers of counterfeit clothing include not only locals but also many European and American tourists. For many people, fake branded products offer a way to at least superficially access the luxury and status symbols they otherwise could not afford. Wearing such clothing is often an act of self-assertion and social advancement. The logos convey a sense of prestige and …

Spring, fertility and an awakening with Spain’s Las Mayas – a photo essay | Spain

Spring, fertility and an awakening with Spain’s Las Mayas – a photo essay | Spain

With obscure origins in pagan customs and dating back to medieval times, the festivities of La Maya offers a strange and colourful spectacle celebrating the arrival of spring. Every year on 2 May the families of girls aged between seven and 11 gather to decide which of them will be chosen to be that year’s “Mayas”. Rich in symbolism, the tradition speaks of fertility and prosperity, and serves as a blessing for the agricultural season. In preparation for the event the families of the girls build intricate and elaborate altars decorated with flowers and herbs, gathered in the surrounding countryside, and weave a wreath that the girl will wear like a crown. I find it interesting that in the 21st century we are still doing these festivals – it is a way to see where we are going and where we have come from Daniel Ochoa de Olza A carpet of freshly picked plants is laid out in front of the altar and cut flowers are placed in vases either side of the “throne”. There …

The origin of all things: Kyotographie 2024 – a photo essay | Photography

The origin of all things: Kyotographie 2024 – a photo essay | Photography

Spring in Kyoto ushers in cherry blossom season, but it also marks the return of one of the biggest photo festivals in Asia. Kyotographie, now in its 12th year, fuses the past and present with its striking images and unique locations. The 13 exhibitions are staged in temples, galleries and traditional private homes across the Japanese city, showcasing the work of national and international photographers. The festival is loosely centred on a theme – and this year the directors, Lucille Reyboz and Yusuke Nakanishi, asked participants to focus on the word “source” by delving into the essence of beginnings and the nexus of creation and discovery. The source is the initiator, the origin of all things. It is the creation of life, a place where conflict arises or freedom is obtained; it is the space in which something is found, born or created. It is a struggle Claudia Andujar and the Yanomami shaman and leader Davi Kopenawa know too well. The Yanomami Struggle is the first retrospective exhibition in Japan by the Brazilian artist and …

NPR Editor Uri Berliner suspended after essay criticizing network

NPR Editor Uri Berliner suspended after essay criticizing network

NPR suspended senior editor Uri Berliner for five days without pay after he wrote an essay accusing the network of losing the public’s trust and appeared on a podcast to explain his argument. Uri Berliner hide caption toggle caption Uri Berliner NPR suspended senior editor Uri Berliner for five days without pay after he wrote an essay accusing the network of losing the public’s trust and appeared on a podcast to explain his argument. Uri Berliner NPR has formally punished Uri Berliner, the senior editor who publicly argued a week ago that the network had “lost America’s trust” by approaching news stories with a rigidly progressive mindset. Berliner’s five-day suspension without pay, which began last Friday, has not been previously reported. Yet the public radio network is grappling in other ways with the fallout from Berliner’s essay for the online news site The Free Press. It angered many of his colleagues, led NPR leaders to announce monthly internal reviews of the network’s coverage, and gave fresh ammunition to conservative and partisan Republican critics of NPR, …

In Maryland, female migrant laborers face an uncertain future as sea levels rise – photo essay | Art and design

In Maryland, female migrant laborers face an uncertain future as sea levels rise – photo essay | Art and design

In the evening light, Maribel Malagón stepped outside into a rain storm. It was late October and Malagón, 53, had worked all day picking crab off the eastern shore of Maryland. That night, she and a handful of other seasonal workers walked to a neighbor’s house for an evening of prayer. On the way, Malagón clutched a pendant of St Judas, the patron saint of lost causes, that hung around her neck; she hoped he would hear her prayers for more work. About an hour later, when the women were ready to call it a night, the coastal waters had risen so high that the road leading back to their house was completely submerged. “We didn’t know which way to go. We were afraid that we would fall into the ditches,” Malagón said in Spanish, thinking back on that night two years ago. To make it back home, the women waded through knee-high murky waters. “The island is changing every year.” Maribel Malagón poses for a portrait outside of the home she rents from her …

How to Write an Essay with Google Gemini

How to Write an Essay with Google Gemini

In the evolving landscape of digital tools for education and writing, Google Gemini stands out as a remarkable asset for individuals keen on refining their writing skills, particularly essays. This advanced AI writing assistant, nestled within the Google Workspace ecosystem, is designed to bolster the writing process for students, writers, and anyone in between who aspires to produce well-crafted essays. Here, we delve into how you can leverage Google Gemini to enhance your essay writing, making the task not only manageable but also more efficient. Understanding Google Gemini At its core, Google Gemini is a sophisticated language model. What sets it apart is its training on an extensive array of text data and code, equipping it with a set of capabilities that are as impressive as they are useful in writing. These include: Natural language processing and generation: It can understand your queries and respond in a human-like manner, whether you’re seeking to generate essays, poems, scripts, or even code. Translation services: Gemini can effortlessly translate text between various languages, making it an invaluable tool …

The labour of fruits: night-time in New Covent Garden market – a photo essay | London

The labour of fruits: night-time in New Covent Garden market – a photo essay | London

“Get there around midnight,” said Tommy Leighton, the press officer at New Covent Garden market. “Buyers Walk looks a bit like Porridge, the BBC sitcom from the 70s. It’s not a hustle and bustle place, so don’t expect a Turkish bazaar.” Above: Every Monday to Saturday Buyers Walk fills up with amazing displays of seasonal fruits and vegetables sourced from all over the world. Right: Preparing the display before customers start to arrive at 10pm. Far right: Strong shoulders and back are essential. The sales teams on Buyers Walk must have a high weekly step count. Below: Local customers from the nearby apartments regularly shop in the early hours. It was a spot-on description. Indeed by midnight most of the regular customers had been and gone. I managed to have a chat with Leslie Singh, who runs Pomona, a greengrocers in Belsize Park. He explained why he visits the market every Monday to Friday. “It’s essential for me to see the produce, so I buy it daily and I know it’s the freshest.” Les Singh, …