Graph via http://ebookfriend.ly

Some key moments in the history of the e-book:

• In the year 2000, Stephen King made his novella Riding the Bullet available exclusively online,  and 400,000 copies were downloaded in the first 24 hours.
• In 2002, publishing houses HarperCollins and Random House began selling digital versions of their books.
• In 2007 Amazon launched Kindle in the US, with 90,000 books available for purchase.
• The same year, Apple launched it´s first generation iPhone.
• From here, the digital book boom soars; Apple releases the iPad with the iBooks application, and Google releases the eBookstore with 3 million titles.  At this moment,  the global e-book market is worth $900 million.

Regardless of personal preference, e-books are continuing to grow in number and popularity and are changing the way that people learn and access information.

Source: ebookfriend.ly

The 17th of March is St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday known for parades, shamrocks and all things Irish.  The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for more than a thousand years but today it´s more of a secular celebration of Irish culture. According to history.com, there are 36.5 million U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is more than eight times the population of Ireland itself (4.5 million).

Here we have a few ideas on how to go green on St. Patrick’s Day with your friends:

Wear Something Green
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day put on a green shirt, jeans, scarf, cap, shoes, even shoelaces or socks.

Join the Parade
More than 100 St. Patrick’s Day parades are held across the U.S. The first took place in New York City in 1762 and the New York parade has become the largest Saint Patrick’s Day parade in the world.

Colour Your Food Green
How about celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a glass of green milk with your breakfast? All you need is some imagination and a bottle of green food coloring. Chicago is famous for dying the Chicago River green every year for the St Patrick’s Day celebration, a tradition that started in 1962.

Have a Traditional Irish Dinner
Try potato soup, corned beef, colcannon and soda bread, and finish your meal with an Irish Coffee.

And for those really green at heart:

Put Down Some Green
If you’re green at heart and concerned about your carbon footprint, put down some green in your garden or give a donation to plant more trees. As little as $90 is enough to plant 900 trees.

Sign up for a day run
Put on your green sneakers and sign up for a fun-run near you. Running outdoors is a green form of exercise. Promote an active life style, and walk the distances that are shorter and save on fuel used by cars.

Do Some Good for Your Community
Building houses with Habitat for Humanity, volunteering in animal shelters, or offering free tutoring for students from low-income families are some examples.

If you want to learn more about Irish life, past and present, the Irish emigrant experience and Ireland´s literature and culture, consider taking a Liberal Arts Diploma in Irish Studies at the London Metropolitan University.

Source: history.com

The Royal Couple, Prince William and Kate Middleton, who will marry on April 29, visited the University of St Andrews in Scotland to mark its 600th anniversary, which was celebrated at the end of February. It must have been a trip down memory lane for Prince William and his fiancee as the couple met and fell in love at St Andrews.

In their first year they were taking art history together, and they eventually became friendly and started socialising more often. At the time however, Miss Middleton was dating another student. In their second year they began sharing a house with two other friends. Teachers at St Andrews say that it’s thanks to the university’s close-knit community that the couple kept their romance a secret. No one knows exactly when their relation became serious but it is rumoured to be around Christmas 2003. The Royal Couple both graduated in 2005.  Prince William with an Honours Degree in Geography and Miss Middleton with an Honours Degree in Art History.

Over the centuries St Andrews has gained a reputation as one of Britain’s top match-making universities, with students there having about a one in 10 chance of meeting their life partner. Founded in 1413 St Andrews is the third oldest university in the English speaking world.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Bologna, Italy
Università di Bologna founded in 1088, is considered the oldest degree-awarding institute in Europe and also the oldest continually operating university in the world. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian university town, famous for its rich history, art, cuisine, music and culture. Classes are taught almost exclusively in Italian so if you’d like to study there you need to speak at least intermediate Italian.

Oxford, England
Since it

Salamanca, Spain
The University of Salamanca was founded in 1134 and is the oldest university in operation in Spain, and the first European university to receive the title of “University” as such. In 1929 the university added Spanish Language & Cultural Courses for foreigners to it

Montpellier, France
The University of Montpellier located on the Mediteranean coast, was founded in 1220 and is even older than the famous Sorbone University in Paris. University of Montpellier boasts the oldest medical school in the western world. The Museum of Anatomy of Montpellier’s Faculty of Medicine is housed in the Anatomy Conservatory which was first opened in 1794.  If you have strong nerves you can visit the surgical theatre, which opened in 1806 and is one of the first purpose-built examples of it’s kind.


Source: Wikipedia and university websites

Fashion Week Buenos Aires

This week in Buenos Aires it’s Fashion Week, from the 22nd until the 25th of February.  Established local designers show their collections for the upcoming winter season, and the who’s who of the local scene gather to watch and be seen.  The great thing about fashion week here is that anyone can buy a ticket for 30 Argentine Pesos and attend a show, you don’t have to know someone who knows someone on the inside.  Are you a budding designer looking for some inspiration?  A student of fashion design finding your own style?  Someone who has a cool blog and wants to document the scene on and around the runway?  Even if you are none of the above, fashion week may just give you the push you need to get creative in your own life, and what with all the energy buzzing around the main event, some may just rub off on you.

Are you adept at picking the next big thing?  Do you think you can create a buzz around a brand, and create a cool image?  A course in Cool Hunting may help you to sharpen your skills, as you analyse fashion trends and look at what is to come and what is happending on the streets where you live.

If you already have experience working with fashion design, illustration or textiles, or have an undergraduate degree, a Master of Art in Fashion could give you the refinement and direction to establish yourself as a designer.  University of the Arts in London who run the course, help students with placements in companies such as Stella McCartney, Marc Jacobs and Gucci.  Excited at the prospect?  Fashion design could be for you!

Source: http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl

Last week Google unveiled its latest initiative Google Art Project, in which a selection of high-resolution images of famous art works are available online on a new website.

The project utilises the Street View tool, usually reserved for exterior landscapes, letting users take a virtual 360 degree tour of 17 of the world’s most acclaimed museums such as MoMA in New York, the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid or the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Users also have the ability to view individual pieces that have been photographed at a high resolution, enabling art fans to see the full details of the selected works (imagine being able to see an almost microscopic view of the brushstrokes of Van Gogh’s paintings!).

The web site also offers you the chance to create your own personal gallery, where you can save your favorite works, add comments and then share it with anyone.

For fans of art, museum lovers and for those who enjoy cultural activities in general, this initiative is a great opportunity to access museums and works of art that may have otherwise been out of reach.  And in terms of art education, while nothing can replace the gallery, this sort of accessability can only be a good thing.

Photo: whollyroamincatholic.com

As the 14th of February approaches many people find themselves thinking about roses, handmade cards, perfume, boyfriends, romance…and the list goes on.  But where did this notion of romance and gift-giving come from?  You may have heard of a Saint Valentine that the day was named after, but what is the real deal?  Well there isn´t one story or person that this day traces back to, but rather a couple of figures from Roman Catholic history and some romantic legends that have possibly been embellished by big business.

Although there are thought to be three, the two principal Valentines associated with the date of February 14th are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni.  Both were Christian martyrs, the fomer a priest, the later a bishop, and were burnt at the stake around 100 and 200 AD.  The 14th of February was officially the feast day of Saint Valentine until 1969, when it was removed from the General Roman Calendar, apparently because there was little known about Saint Valentine.

The legend that stems from this, reveals Valentine as a priest under the rule of a Roman Emperor who forbid his soldiers to marry, and Valentine would wed young couples in secret.  After being caught and sentenced to death, the story continues that he wrote a note to his love the night before his execution and signed it from your Valentine…

If uncovering the history of events such as this tickles your fancy, how about taking a course in history?  Or if your interest is religion and the way it has shaped our world, check out some courses on offer in the UK here.

Cultivating a sense of wonder in life is essential for people of every age, but the older we get the more difficult it becomes to marvel at our day to day lives. We lose our sense of wonder as it is replaced with daily routines, college deadlines, exams, social obligations and responsibilities, and the simple pleasure of a sunrise may not be enough to amuse us in our increasingly sophisticated world.

Have you experienced something remarkable recently? We would like to share with you a few ideas on how to cultivate wonder in your life this year:

1. Learn about creativity, and how to enjoy freedom of imagination and to generate more outstanding ideas. Get yourself a book on creativity to understand what it is. You can also join a creative art workshop like Hand Painting on Silk or take up a Course in Creativity to enhance your natural abilities.

2. Take up photography to memorize beauty around you. Create a photo blog to share your photographs with others.  Enrol in one of the many photography courses around to learn how to find and capture the moment and the beauty in the smallest of things. A Photography Distance Learning Course from UK Open Learning is for all ages and all ability levels. They defiene photography as an art form that allows you to appreciate who you are and what you do.

3. Study abroad to learn about other cultures, open your mind, and to think more originally. Studying abroad will also help you to increase your self-confidence and will benefit your career. Consider Latin American destinations like Argentina and Mexico if you’d like to improve your Spanish. UIC Universidad Intercontinental in Mexico offers a Spanish program aimed at foreign students interested in learning the language and Mexican culture.

4. Watch kids. Do you remember your childhood? Do you remember how every day brought new and exiting experiences? Discover the child in you. Spend time with your younger brothers and sisters or volunteer at a child care centre.

5. Learn something new every day! Fashion, modern architecture or breading dogs, what is it that has always interested you? What subjects did you enjoy at school? Find time to investigate them and dig deeper. Watch popular science tv channels, read travel magazines or visit your local museum.

Source: Psychcentral.com

The Beatles - LP cover, Beatles For Sale

It’s a bit redundant to say The Beatles were a phenomenon… their enormous popularity spread all around the world and in many forms it still continues today. The music game The Beatles: Rock Band, released in 2009, plays out almost like an interactive documentary and convinces us that their music is still authentic, fresh and cool.

Ok, so The Beatles are still hot, but would you be ready to study eight days a week to get to know the Fab Five in depth?

The Liverpool Hope University, a university in the Beatles’ home city of Liverpool, UK, offers a Masters Degree (MA) in The Beatles, Popular Music and Society, the only one of its kind in the the world. It takes 12-15 months (full-time) to complete it. Recently, the first 12 Beatles fans who have graduated with their MA in the program, admit it was challenging and enjoyable.

The Beatles, Popular Music and Society will suit those working in the fields of popular music studies, cultural studies and social anthropology. It examines the significance of The Beatles’ music in the construction of identities, audiences, ethnicities and industries, and localities. You will learn ways to understand popular music as a social practice, focusing on issues such as the role of music in the construction of regional identities, concepts of authenticity, aesthetics, meaning, value and performance.

All you need is love (of The Beatles!)

Source: Telegraph.co.uk and the Liverpool Hope University

Photo: BBC News

It is carnival time again! Throughout the month of February carnival celebrations will take place in many countries, but it’s the Brazilian Carnival that remains the most famous. Carnival in Brazil includes colorful parades and all-day/night street-parties where the samba rhythm plays a huge role. Samba has been danced in Brazil since 19th century and is an important part of Brazilian culture. The largest carnival event in Rio de Janeiro, probably the biggest show on earth, consists of samba schools parading in the Sambadrome. Don’t confuse samba schools with teaching institutions where you learn how to dance samba! Despite what the name suggests, samba school is a local, social and musical organization with several thousands members.  Only the most gifted perform in the big annual parade. The samba schools organise samba nights at their samba halls that are open to everyone.

If you don’t plan to visit Brazil any time soon, than try one of the samba schools in your neighborhood:

In the London School of Samba, UK samba classes focus on the vibrant and colorful spirit of Brazilian carnival and samba. The main focus of dance is samba no pe, the practice of the samba step. You can also attend their funky drumming classes and learn to play different samba styles, or you can take up a costume making course.

If you are looking for a place to learn the authentic samba then SambaLá, in Long Beach, California might be the best place in the United States to learn it. Their Brazilian instructor Valeria has over 10 years of professional experience as a dancer and choreographer.

Would you dare to give it a try?

Source: rio-carnival.net