Before “Avatar 2” is released, you can experience the ocean of Pandora | Feel Good Weekly
Feel Good Introduction
- These are the most attractive small cities in 2023
- 'Avatar 2' isn't out yet, but you can already go to Pandora
- Microsoft sets up a "dedicated seat" for online conferences on sign language translation
- The key to next year's Serpentine Gallery design is "low"
- Vita Coco: Love Coconuts, So Pay More Attention to Farmer Communities
These are the most attractive small cities in 2023
Towards the end of the year, Monocle magazine announced the "2023 Small Cities Index" ranking in the year-end special issue The Forecast, sharing the small cities (with a population of less than 250,000 people) that deserve attention in the eyes of the team.
When selecting four years ago, the content team was mainly looking for cities that were more comfortable and could provide more living space and community connection.
But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the city's ability to self-sufficient and fast-enough internet speeds were added to the criteria.
Looking ahead to 2023, in a reopening world, it will be even more important for small cities to focus on business and have a vibrant creative scene. In addition, pleasant climate and natural environment and convenient surrounding traffic are also necessary.
The small city that topped the list is Girona, Spain.
"It's a city, but it has the heart of a small town," says Júlia Bamala.
Even on weekdays, in Girona you can see people chatting in cafes, reading newspapers in kiosks, and even watching archaeologists work by the cathedral.
In the past three years, the proportion of immigrants in Girona has increased from 12% to 16%, and many entrepreneurs have poured in, becoming an alternative to Barcelona.
The second-ranked city is Toulon in France.
"Toulon changed its own poverty, both material and cultural," says photographer Julien Oppenheim.
After Mayor Hubert Falco took office, he rectified the city center and gradually turned this deserted harbor city into a new design center.
Third on the list is Bozeman of the United States.
According to architect Doug Minarik, "the biggest selling point here is the scenery" – there are beautiful ski resorts, national forest parks and miles of hiking environments, and you can drive to the famous Yellowstone National Park in a few hours.
On top of well-established agriculture, tourism, and service industries, Bozeman is also developing technology and research.
In addition, cities on the list include Trieste in Italy, Geelong in Australia, Onomichi in Japan, San Sebastian in Spain, Guimaraes in Portugal, Seogwipo in South Korea, Lausanne in Switzerland, etc. A total of 25 cities.
If you want to learn more, you can check out the full list and introduction on Monocle 
https://go.ifanr.com/fOZEci
"Dark Cloud Dresser" has also made a more complete translation of the top 20 city introductions on the list. If you are interested, you can also learn about it https://go.ifanr.com/f7PAVa
'Avatar 2' isn't out yet, but you can already go to Pandora
"Avatar: Way of Water," coming out next month, will take audiences to the wondrous underwater world of Pandora.
Until then, Disney invites you to create your very own Pandora sea creature.
Recently, Disney launched the "Keep Our Oceans Amazing" project. Users can design their own marine life on the interactive webpage and contribute to the protection of the earth's oceans.
For every sea creature created by users, Disney will donate $5 to The Nature Conservancy (The Nature Conservancy), and the project will bring in donations of up to $1 million.
The Nature Conservancy will use the money to protect belugas, blue whales, whale sharks, hawksbill turtles, manatees, manta rays, parrotfish, staghorn corals, sea lions and mangroves.
These selected animals and plants have certain similarities with the creatures or habitats on the Pandora planet in "Avatar 2", and at the same time may need to be protected and paid attention to.
Create your sea creatures https://go.ifanr.com/cKBrfN
Microsoft sets up a "dedicated seat" for online conferences on sign language translation
Online meetings have long become a daily routine, and configurations that were only available in offline meetings in the past are gradually "online".
Recently, Microsoft announced the launch of the sign language window pinning feature for the online meeting software Teams.
If a meeting requires access to a sign language interpreter, Teams will support pinning and placing up to two sign language interpreter windows in a more prominent position, even when the meeting host is sharing the screen or PPT.
Although the host can also achieve similar functions by fixing a specific window after starting the meeting before, after adding this function, the host can arrange it through the accessibility settings in the "Public Preview" before the meeting starts, reducing the number of times after starting the meeting. The hassle of setting up.
More importantly, just as offline activities in the United States need to be accompanied by sign language interpreters, online activities should also take more considerations into barrier-free configuration. Although these small settings came a bit late, they also reflect changes.
The key to next year's Serpentine Gallery design is "low"
Since 2000, the Serpentine Gallery in London, England has invited outstanding young architects to design the Serpentine Pavilion every year.
Previously, Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind, Toyo Ito, Jean Nouvel, Bjarke Ingels and other famous architects have been invited to design, creating a lot of impressive s work.
This year, it was Paris-based architect Lina Ghotmeh who was invited.
In this work titled "À Table (On the Dining Table)", "low" is a key.
Inspired by nature, Ghotmeh introduced a slender timber structure into the Serpentine Gallery, creating folded petals supported by radial structures and a central patio that brings in natural light.
The interior is equipped with circular tables and chairs, and the height of the eaves is relatively low-because the low eaves make people feel closer to the earth.
"À table" will invite people to move together in the same space and at the same table. It will encourage visitors to talk, discuss, or think about how we should restore and rebuild the relationship between nature and the earth.
In addition, another embodiment of "low" is "as low as possible".
During the design process, Ghotmeh used low-carbon manufacturing and recyclable glass curtains; the wood is LVL, which is more suitable for building slender structures; in addition, the connection nodes in the gallery are handled for easy disassembly .
Ghotmeh's Serpentine Gallery will open from June to October 2023.
Vita Coco: Love Coconuts, So Pay More Attention to Farmer Communities
In 2004, Michael Kirban and Ira Liran officially launched Vita Coco in an attempt to bring coconut water to the US market as a new sports drink alternative.
What they didn't expect was that in the same year, another company with almost the same product as Vita Coco was also established, and that was Zico.
The coconut water war is on the verge of breaking out.
By 2014, Vita Coco won the battle with a 60% market share and became the favorite of stars such as Madonna and Rihanna.
Although the competition during the coconut water war was ugly, Vita Coco also began to pay more attention to social responsibility after the scale developed. Just in 2014, the company launched the "Vita Coco Project" project to support coconut farmers in three dimensions of "Give Grow Guide (give, grow, guide)".
Vita Coco said that these farmers are "very innovative and diligent" , but lack sufficient resources. At the same time, because they are in remote areas, the infrastructure is also poor. They lack the knowledge of scientific planting and need more campuses.
By the end of 2021, Vita Coco has trained a total of 7,000 farmers on restorative agriculture and purchased 69,000 saplings to replace old trees and increase biodiversity.
Diascora Martin is considered one of the fastest growing farmers. She has increased her income by 30% in a few years and has expanded her farm to include coffee and vegetables in addition to coconuts. The increased income allowed her to support her teenage son through high school instead of working on the farm.
In addition, Vita Coco also provided more material support to the farmer community.
Over the years, Vita Coco has built 30 safe classrooms for the community, donated more than 650 meals to food-strapped communities, and donated an additional $2.1 million in needs.
In March of this year, Vita Coco also officially completed the audit and obtained B Corp certification.
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