Garden art is extremely important if you want your outdoor space to become the envy of your neighbors. From traditional garden statues to modern art and everything in between, there are infinite solutions that will allow you to decorate your garden with style.
Nevertheless, if you'd appreciate some inspiration, check out these 40 original garden art ideas and use them to achieve an outstanding outdoor space.
Rusted iron decorations match well with rustic gardens but also with nonconformist environments. For such a décor, you can use old objects such as vintage irons or other household objects. If you like nonconformity, invest in some decorative objects made of junk iron, such as a flower or a nest of birds.
In the case of a traditional garden, use vintage objects to decorate a whole corner. In a modern garden, a single decorative object placed in the middle of the lawn will suffice.
The easiest way of decorating the garden is with garden statues. On the market, there are countless models you can choose from, and you can match the statues either with your personal taste or with the surrounding environment.
Personally, I love to match the statues with the rest of the garden to create unique compositions. Moreover, this also gives a tidy aspect to the garden itself.
If you're looking for a lovely idea, inspire yourself from the image above.
If you are a lover of modern art, then you should also decorate the garden accordingly. A nice example of garden art is by creating a minimalist exhibition in the middle of the lawn.
Invest in a piece of modern art, such as a surrealistic sculpture, and place it on a pedestal on the lawn. If the sculpture is really large, you could even build a concrete support directly on the ground.
Place a single chair in front of the sculpture. To maintain the minimalist design, choose a simple chair made of wood or iron. For a more stylish effect, you can even decorate the chair with cozy cushions and pillows.
If you have a large garden and a large garden fountain, you can choose unique pieces of glass decoration to create original garden art.
For example, you could decorate the fountain with a few tall kinds of grass and climbing plants. Succulents and evergreens can also work well in this context.
Choose a few glass garden sculptures representing stylized flowers or garden plants and place them next to the pots in the fountain. You can even choose a couple of large pieces of garden art and place them directly into the fountain. Without a doubt, this corner will become the center of attention of your property.
Garden art doesn't have to be expensive. In most cases, you can transform everyday objects in decorations. Moreover, if you are a DIY lover, you can even transform junk into beautiful pieces of art.
If you love DIY, a nice idea is to decorate the trees in your garden with metal water cans. Add a touch of originality to the décor by painting the water cans in lively colors. If you are really talented, you can even decorate the cans with painted flowers or other motifs.
If the size of the water cans allows it, use the old objects as planters for perennials.
Wooden garden wagons can also be used to create original garden art. You can either transform a vintage wagon into a beautiful decoration or buy a new wagon from a garden decorations shop.
Once you positioned the wagon in the garden, you can use your fantasy to decorate it with other objects and flowers, to create unique compositions. For example, you could use the whole wagon as a planter for perennials or create an original square foot garden.
On the other hand, you can fix a few metallic bucket planters on the wagon and combine them with other original planters, such as reconditioned wine crates.
Vintage iron objects, such as iron planters, balance weights, and even vintage irons, can all be transformed into beautiful garden art.
These objects can decorate with success a romantic or traditional garden but also find their place in shabby chic decors. For a flawless effect, place the objects next to a brick wall and decorate the rest of the perimeter with concrete blocks and stone decorations.
Wrought iron is usually seen as a noble decoration. Majorly used for garden gates or furniture, such as garden benches or tables and chairs, wrought iron is also used to create original statues and other garden art objects.
To decorate a modern garden, an original idea is to pick a few wrought iron statues that nobody would expect to see, such as the sheep in the image above.
A splendid garden art idea all shabby chic enthusiasts will love is to use enamel planters to decorate the outdoor space.
You can either choose new planters or, to recycle old objects, you could use some old kitchen enamel pots and transform them into planters.
A nice idea is to place the planters directly on the ground, next to your home's wall or next to a fence. Regarding the plant selection, choose either small succulents or colorful annuals or perennials. If you are truly romantic, daisies and sunflowers are two inspired choices.
DIY garden art is always original and easy to make, especially if you decide to transform old household objects into unique pieces.
From all the objects usually present in a household, the most neglected when it comes to DIY crafts are the chairs. Nevertheless, you can transform your old chairs into original planters to decorate the garden with.
To do that, remove the seat of the chair and keep the frame. Replace the seat with a custom-made planter and use it to grow short grasses and small succulents. Paint the frame of the chair in the desired colors and patterns, then use other DIY decorations to complete your work.
In a minimalist design, place the chair as unique decoration in the middle of the lawn. In the case of a romantic décor, surround the chair with other planters and various decorations.
Vintage bicycles are alternative garden art solutions. You don't really have to use a vintage bike. Many modern artists and shops propose ready-to-use garden decorations that resemble old-fashioned bikes.
Don't worry whether the bike is functional or not. Place it in the desired spot in the garden and use it either as a support for flower pots or on its own to replace a traditional garden statue.
If you miss the spirit of the flower-power age, you can revive the period by using nonconformist, hippie decorations.
If fence art is what you're looking for, do something different and decorate the whole surface of the fence with old car license plates.
Car license plates are available either at vintage shops, flea markets, or in kitsch souvenir shops. Moreover, you can even find them online, if you don't want to leave the comfort of your home.
Both wood and stone are materials that will always be used to create garden art and decorations. When combined, the result can only be outstanding.
There are literally countless ideas to draw inspiration from. Nevertheless, wood and stone create with success the most beautiful oriental-inspired decorations. For a flawless design, choose a wood and stone statue and place it among tall grasses.
If the statue can also act as a planter, use it to plant short grass or thin and long succulents, such as Kleinia.
Most of the times, garden statues and bird feeders go hand in hand. If made of stone, they are guaranteed to add a touch of style to your outdoor space.
Bird feeders should match perfectly with the overall garden décor. In the case of a shabby chic garden, for example, you should choose a stone bird feeder painted in white and with a simple design.
On the contrary, if you have a classic garden, you can choose a statue bird feeder in natural stone color. Depending on the décor of the garden you can either choose religious characters or statues inspired by the Asiatic culture. The latter pairs well with a Zen or Japanese garden too.
If you have a pond, it would be a true pity to leave the water surface undecorated. Most gardeners and landscapers think of natural decorations such as lotus flowers, yet glass can pair perfectly with the glossy surface of the water.
In fact, if you want a different type of garden art, you can choose to decorate your pond with a boat planter placed in the middle of the water. Skip natural plants and flowers altogether and opt for stylized vegetation made of Murano glass.
The bright side of this decoration is that it will last indefinitely and you'll only have to clean it regularly to maintain the beautiful aspect.
A type of garden art DIY enthusiasts will love is creating original statues with appliances. Yes, you heard it right.
Simply create forms of wildlife, human silhouettes, robots, or whatever inspires you using old monitors, TVs, and keyboards.
On the other hand, you can literally transform any other old appliance into an original form of art. The only thing to pay attention to is the decoration of your garden. This type of art is difficult to pair with the décor, and unless you are a true artist, it is easy to transform your garden from an oasis of peace into a deposit of junk objects.
To give personality to a small garden, it is sometimes enough to add some colors to the walls or fences. Keep the garden decorations to a minimum and plant some thin shrubs in the edging between the pathway and the fence or wall.
Enhance the aspect of your minimalist décor with a mural garden art. There are no rules to follow and you can choose any design from street art to Art Deco or Neo-Expressionism.
If stone and wood go hand in hand, the same is true for ceramic and metal. There are dozens of garden art ideas, but maybe the best solution is to create a garden art welcome sign by using ceramic tiles fixed to a metallic support.
To add some originality to the design, you could even fix the tiles on a garden trellis. Use the trellis for any climbing plants. For a romantic décor, ivy is the most inspired choice. Also, pay attention to choose the tiles of ceramic coated with intensely colored paintings.
Place the sign in a large flower pot next to the garden gate or install it in the ground, instead of a sign pole.
An inexpensive and original welcome sign idea is to use large river stones and decorate them with words and patterns.
Very large stones placed next to the entrance gate can be used as welcome signs. On the other hand, smaller river stones can also be used in the vegetable garden to identify the vegetable rows.
As garden decorations, you can write inspiring quotes or powerful words on river stones and place them next to flower pots or flower beds.
As highlighted above, mural art is a simple way of creating original garden art. If space allows it, you can enhance the idea by integrating mural art in a cozy décor.
Mural art, and especially the one inspired by the street art, goes hand in hand with the modern, minimalist, yet cozy environments. For example, you could install a couple of wooden benches along the wall on which you painted the art.
Decorate the benches with cozy cushions and pillows, then choose matching coffee tables to complete the design. A small glass vase with a few flowers can complete the whole décor with success.
Make an original welcome sign by painting your welcome phrase on an old window with wooden frame. To give the sign a unique touch, paint the window's frame in a bright color, such as intense blue, then give a vintage touch to it by scratching the paint with sandpaper.
Mount the window to a fence or wall, then write on the window a welcome word or the name of your garden. For a lovely effect, choose different bright colors for each letter and decorate the rest of the window with flowers or other patterns.
Terracotta pots can be used for much more than planting. In fact, you can transform a few terracotta pots of various dimensions into original forms of garden art.
For example, you can make two silhouettes by arranging pots one on top of each other. Place the silhouettes on a garden swing or wooden bench, in the middle of a colorful flowerbed. Without a doubt, your neighbors and guests will certainly appreciate your originality and style.
If you have an old bike that you don't use anymore, transform it into a shabby chic planter to place in a corner of the garden or in the middle of a flowerbed.
To transform the bike into an original piece of garden art you can either hang different pots and containers on it or place two large planters, one instead of the basket and one on the handlebar.
Hydrangeas, sunflowers, daisies, and other wild flowers pair perfectly with this type of décor. Regarding the bike, you can either paint it in bright colors or coat it with a paint resembling rust.
Sometimes adding a little color to your flowerpots is enough to give a touch of originality to your garden. There are many ways to change the aspect of your flower pots, one of them being by making felt covers.
Felt is a great DIY crafts fabric, it can be used to make all types of containers and it maintains its beauty over the time.
You can make the pot covers by using green felt, then make decorative elements from felt of different colors. Use buttons to decorate everything and simply place the pots with colorful annuals or perennials inside the covers to change their dull aspect.
Garden art means much more than simple decorations. Sometimes, garden art means putting together a series of decorations and furniture elements to create cozy corners.
And in any garden, a rustic corner is always a way to manifest your personality. A beautiful example of decoration can be achieved with an old wooden table and a few rustic metal objects, such as a couple of buckets of various dimensions, a large bowl, and maybe a metal box.
Use the buckets as planters and place the décor next to the entrance stairs or next to a stone or brick wall.
Many landscapers recommend the use of vintage wheelbarrow as planters. Yet, who said that you couldn't use a new one too?
To make a beautiful garden art object, just buy a small yet brand new wheelbarrow. Drill some holes on the bottom to make drainage holes, fill it with potting soil and plant hydrangeas and ivy. Hang a few metal bucket planters on a side of the wheelbarrow to complete the design.
The wheelbarrow makes a wonderful decoration either as the centerpiece of a flower bed or placed next to the entrance of a shed or house.
Iron statue bird feeders are an excellent alternative to the stone ones if your garden is classic instead of rustic or oriental.
The models are literally countless, but if you wish to have something different, you could invest in a small garden fountain and bird feeder.
If you like the idea, choose a fountain with a character that stands on the edge of the fountain and that holds the feeder above the surface of the water. The best part is this feeder will not only feed the birds but it will also offer them water. As such, a similar object will certainly attract dozens of colorful birds to your property.
A garden is usually full of natural flowers. But what do you think about making a field of DIY flowers instead of the natural ones? This idea represents a truly unique form of garden art. Moreover, you'll end up with a flowered filed that requires little to no maintenance.
Use long iron rods to create the stems of the flowers. Make the actual petals from recycled wooden boards. Paint each piece in a bright color and use your imagination to decorate them with beautiful patterns.
A romantic corner is much more than a decoration. If designed well, this corner can transform into a true form of garden art.
For an original design that can be considered art, avoid using garden furniture. Choose instead a cozy sofa made of wood and rattan. Make sure the sofa has a comfortable cushion and cozy pillows covered in canvas. Regarding the color choice, ivory or light beige are the best.
Place the sofa in a corner of the garden directly on the grass. Make an ad-hoc coffee table from a flat, large stone, and use this corner as your personal oasis of peace.
For an original wall design, choose numerous small planters of similar dimensions and fix them on the wall of your house or on the wall of a shed.
It is a great idea to choose planters with a central theme, such as for example landmarks of a city, sea creatures, or funny characters.
Plant a succulent or cactus in each planter to give life to your colorful garden wall art.
Statues and planters are often seen as two separate objects. But when those two combine, they give life to unique garden art decorations.
This is the case of the wonderful statue planter in the image above. The statue's hair is made of colorful perennials, while the choice of colors matches perfectly with a romantic garden.
Industrial art matches with all garden designs, from traditional to modern and everything in between. If chosen with care, an industrial garden art element can enhance the beauty of your space by adding a touch of originality to the style.
For example, you can build a vertical garden on a minimalist metallic support. For a modern décor, use the support to hold simple terracotta flower pots with green plants. In a traditional or romantic garden, use the support as a trellis for ivy or climbing roses.
Your old china can be transformed into several garden art pieces. For example, a coffee cup can become an original suspended planter. On the other hand, soup plates and bowls can be used in the same way.
Besides china, you can use all dishes to make beautiful planters. For instance, a colander can also be used as a suspended planter, while other china objects can be used to hold small succulents or other types of plants. For the best effect, place these planters on and above a vintage chest of drawers.
Ancient vases and urns are, without a doubt, beautiful examples of garden art. You don't really need an ancient urn to achieve the effect. In fact, a new terracotta planter can work perfectly, but you'll have to use a special technique to give it an ancient look.
To do this, simply use the moss graffiti technique to grow moss on the planter. Once moss has grown, fill the planter with potting soil and choose a delicate succulent to grow in it.
Place the urn on the lawn, ideally in a spot with tall grass, to maintain the ancient aspect of your brand new garden decoration.
Old wood pairs perfectly with glazed ceramic pots. The contrast between old and new is fascinating, while this type of decoration will transform your garden into a unique and original environment.
To achieve an attractive result, decorate your porch with a fence made of old wooden boards. The furniture, including garden benches, must be made of old wood as well.
Decorate everything with glazed pots in contrasting colors and choose a few colorful annuals to grow in the pots.
Next time you change gardening shoes, don't throw the old pair away. Instead, use it to make original garden art.
To beautify the shoes, use the same moss graffiti technique mentioned above. Once moss starts growing on the shoes, fill them with potting soil and plant your favorite flowers.
Shoe planters are versatile, as they can be placed anywhere in the garden, on the porch, or they can even be used to decorate the shed or the potting table.
Online, there are countless ideas that suggest the use of truck tires as planters. Or garden swings as a matter of fact. But if you want to use original garden art, use an old truck tire and shape it to make an original garden statue.
For example, you can use it to make a giant tea cup. Paint the cup in your favorite colors or simply leave it black. You can then decide whether you want to leave it empty or transform the cup into a planter and grow your favorite flowers inside.
Metal bucket planters are versatile, suitable to use in any context and they can be used either placed on a hard surface, suspended, or hung on a wall or wooden board.
Depending on the type of décor you have, you can use either grey planters or ones painted in various colors. Personally, I prefer to use grey planters in all contexts, as they will match the décor of your garden even if you want to change the style.
In traditional or rustic gardens, or in gardens decorated in shabby chic style, oversized cups represent splendid forms of garden art.
In a traditional or rustic garden, place the planter on the stairs or on the pathway, next to the wall of your house. In the case of a shabby chic garden, arrange the planter on a white table made of wood or metal. In this case, use other decorative elements, such as water cans, metal buckets, and candle holders around the cup and next to it, to complete the décor.
Old gardening tools and antique machines are also original forms of garden art. In this case, it is advisable to avoid transforming them in planters. On the contrary, you should keep the vintage charm of these objects by leaving them as they are.
For a concrete example, an antique hay baler can beautify the empty space next to a garden fence with its simple presence. Don't even try to remove rust from the object. This ancient look will enhance the beauty of the object, making it one of the most original forms of garden art you could use.


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The dark side to cycling in the city
Mary Wakefield
After Wednesday's Tube strike, most Londoners will have decided again that the only solution is a bicycle. But there's a dark side to cycling in the city. Since I bought my first bike a year or so ago I have been astonished by the outbursts of spittle-flecked fury pedestrians unleash upon cyclists. Any minor deviation from the letter of the law — a quick pedal on the pavement, a whizz through Hyde Park — induces instant Tourette's syndrome in passers-by: 'You stupid f—–ing cow! Get off your f—–ing bike!' etc., etc., followed by a furious rant about how, literally, lethal bicycles are. Last week I crept cautiously through a red light on Oxford Street, craning left and right to make sure the coast was clear — no traffic, no pregnant shoppers, no old ladies pushing tartan wheelie-bags. I had, however, been spotted. About 15 feet further on, a man stepped into the road in front of me and shouted, 'C—–, I saw you! C—–!' 'What's wrong with you? Why do you care?' I asked, hopelessly. 'C—–,' he said again.
It's the by-law enthusiasts' expletive of choice. I recently wrote a short piece asking why we react with such violence to minor affronts, giving as an example a man who saw me biking on the pavement and spat in my face. I received several letters in reply. The latest, from Anonymous in Hemel Hempstead, begins, 'Dear bubble-brained c—–. You make me sick. Frankly you got off lightly. If it had been me, I would have broken your jaw.' I spent Friday on the phone to the Metropolitan Police, who have promised to find out if any pedestrians are ever injured by cyclists.
I saw a pigeon die at the weekend. I was on a bus, waiting at a red light on the Tottenham Court Road, so I looked left out of the window at a ledge covered in bird-deterring metal needles. As I watched, a pigeon came in to land, wings wide, feet stretched out in front. He touched down, and was just rocking forward into a standing position when one of the needles poked into his chest. Pigeons can't take off backwards, so he fell forward and was spiked.
To cheer myself up, I went to a Sunday service at the evangelical Anglican church, Holy Trinity Brompton. Some of my best friends are happy-clappies, so about once a year I try and fail to sit through an HTB service. This year I lasted 15 minutes. For the first 10 minutes I successfully opened my heart to the power-point projectors, acoustic guitars and expressions of ecstasy. I even held out my hands and swayed, all the while terrified that I would have a religious experience and have to go to HTB for the rest of my life. Then the priest approached the microphone. 'I think you'll agree with me,' he said, 'that God is a great guy and deserves a round of applause. C'mon, everybody, let's give God a big clap.' Saved again.
Looking through the letters to the editor this week, I was depressed by how many Spectator readers are still writing in to defend Ukip. I know they speak to the soul on the subject of immigration and the EU, but Peter Oborne is right; Ukip is a party of creeps and bores. When I was working on the then Peterborough column of the Daily Telegraph, every day brought a new fax from Nigel Farage MEP insisting we print stories about the launch of a Ukip car sticker or pound-sign badge. Hourly telephone calls from Farage ensured that we were all narcoleptic with boredom, terrified of the phone and self-medicating with miniatures of gin.
Abetter reason not to support Ukip is their chief strategist, Dick Morris, the man credited with the party's recent success. Morris, a former adviser to Bill Clinton, now raves about the genius of George W. Bush, which tells you what a stand-up sort of guy he is. And while you're trusting him to 'save democracy from bureaucracy' and maybe even considering voting Ukip in the general election, Morris has got himself another job. He's helping a woman called Lia Roberts campaign to be president of Romania. One of Morris's and Roberts's winning policies is that Romania must join the EU.
On Monday morning I noticed that football is, in fact, coming home — if only for my mum. Every summer, starting in June, footballs of every colour and size, all pocked with fox tooth-marks, gather spookily in her garden. I still haven't worked out whether or how the foxes bring the balls in, but the score so far is impressive: one gold Adidas ball; one leather Mitre football; one white leather ball printed with the word 'Beckham'; one yellow plastic football with black pentagons; one similar but red; one deflated Nike ball; one semi-deflated Reading FC football; one enormous transparent beach ball filled with tiny multi-coloured balls; one blue plastic ball with Little Mermaid motif; one blue with cartoon cat; one hard yellow rubber dog's ball with central hole; one mangled green ball made from a sort of gel; two tennis balls; one cricket ball; one undersized white rugby ball; and one with a Spiderman on it, stuck 10 ft up the hedge.
My mother says that I'm not allowed to use the word 'closet' again. Apparently it's a member of the set of unspeakables such as 'toilet', 'pardon', 'serviette', 'settee' and, oddly, 'mirror'. She says this kindly, but I can tell she is a little disappointed that I didn't know by osmosis.
Every morning I check the American Department of Homeland Security's Threat Advisory website (http://www.dhs.gov) to find out how scared to be. This week it says, 'Elevated! There is a significant risk of terrorist attack! Please ensure that your Disaster Supply Kit is stocked and ready!' According to the DHS, your kit should include: 'a flashlight'; a 'whistle (to signal for help)'; 'a can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)'; 'infant formula and diapers (if you have an infant)'; 'garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation' and 'moist towelettes for sanitation'. Alternatively, if you've seen the film The Day After Tomorrow, you'll know that all you need to survive any major disaster is a small yellow tent.
Things may be bad, but at least I'm not Dame Mary Page. Biking through Bunhill Cemetery this week, I stopped to read the inscription on Dame Mary's memorial. She died in 1728 aged 56 and 'in 67 months she was tapped 66 times, had taken away 240 gallons of water without ever repining at her case or ever fearing the operation'.
Diary of a Notting Hill Nobody
Tamzin Lightwater
Clemency Burton-Hill
Nick Robinson: I've underestimated Boris ever since our Oxford clashes
Is the OBR right about a no-deal Brexit recession?
Why has London Bridge station been shortlisted for an architectural prize?
Rory Sutherland
The rise and fall of Beto O'Rourke
Daniel R. DePetris
Sam Leith
The charm – and artifice – of the English cottage garden
What would Jane Austen say about Debrett's going digital?
Words of war: interviews with the children who survived Hitler's invasion of Russia
How to talk to astronauts
'Of course, you're too young to remember the boring game.'
'Now comes the hard part — tea in Downing Street with Mrs May.'
'Ah, long warm summer evenings — what could be nicer than a gentle scroll?'
'He expects us to do all the grunt work.'
'Goddam' people of colour!'
'I'm at home enjoying some mixed doubles.'

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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India's reputation as pharmacy of world reinforced; made-in-India vaccines supplied to 72 nations: Jaishankar
India's reputation as pharmacy of world reinforced; made-in-India vaccines supplied to 72 nations: Jaishankar
"The Ministry of External Affairs conducted 14 e-ITEC courses in partnership with premier institutions like AIIMS and PGI Chandigarh" with 1,131 professional participants in it from 47 countries.
March 17, 2021 5:12:16 pm
Jaishankar said the prime minister in his virtual address to the UN General Assembly in September 2020 had declared that India's vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told Rajya Sabha Wednesday that India's reputation as "pharmacy of the world" stands reinforced the way it reached out to nations in the midst of a global crisis and supplied vaccines to 72 nations.
Making a statement on "Vaccine Maitri" initative, he said the supply of 'Made-in-India' vaccine to 72 nations after the world was reeling under COVID-19 pandemic prompted global leaders and world citizens extend warmth to India and its citizens.
Even as the COVID pandemic was in full fury, there were already global demands of India's pharmaceutical and medical capabilities which could be met largely due to the extraordinary ramp up of India's COVID-related capabilities, Jaishankar said.
Talking about low fatality rates and the high recovery rates, he said: "Our reputation as the 'pharmacy of the world' has been reinforced. So indeed has the faith in 'Make in India'. But more than the vaccines, our policies and conduct have emerged as a source of strength for the stressed and vulnerable nations of the world. They can see that there is at least one major nation that truly believes in making vaccines accessible and affordable to others in dire need."
He said Vaccine Maitri began in the immediate neighbourhood, starting with the Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, as also Mauritius and Seychelles and thereafter to the Gulf.
"Supplying smaller and more vulnerable nations was then the logic of reaching out to regions from Africa to the CARICOM. There was also contracts that our producers have entered into with other nations, either bilaterally or through the Covax initiative. To date, we have supplied 'Made in India' vaccines to 72 nations across geographies," the minister said.
He said the House should recognise the enormous feeling for India that its initiative has generated.
Jaishankar said there was an external beneficial impact of India's capabilities and it could meet the spiking requirements of hydroxychloroquine, paracetamol and other relevant drugs across the world and added that India's domestic vaccination programme started in January and within a few days, it also started assisting our immediate neighbours.
"In fact, we supplied 150 nations with medicines, 82 of them as grants by India. As our own production of masks, PPEs and diagnostic kits grew, we made them available to other nationsl. This generous approach… was also extended to the Vande Bharat Mission. Starting from Wuhan, we brought back nationals of other countries while looking after our own," he said.
He said as Indians, "we are all naturally internationalist by virtue of our culture, traditions, heritage and history" and PM Modi's vision has provided an over-arching framework to make India's goodwill meaningful in terms of practical initiatives and activities that reflected in its humanitarian assistance and disaster responses, whether in Yemen, Nepal, Mozambique or Fiji.
"In the last few years, India has developed a reputation of being the first and reliable responder in the region," the minister said.
"When it came to Africa, we raised the level of our cooperation very substantially … Our projects, training and presence has today spread widely across that continent. From the Caribbean to the Pacific Islands, the message has been clear that the Prime Minister of India not only has the willingness to engage them personally, but to back that up with concrete development programmes. It is this outlook of human-centric global cooperation that is the driving force of Vaccine Maitri," he said.
Jaishankar said the prime minister in his virtual address to the UN General Assembly in September 2020 had declared that India's vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis.
"We also offered to enhance cold chain and storage capacities for the delivery of vaccines. This approach is not only in keeping with our age-old tradition of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam…. As a prominent nation in an increasingly multi-polar world, the international community has greater expectations of us, and we, in turn, are prepared to demonstrate our willingness to shoulder greater responsibilities," he said.
He said as early as 15 March 2020, prime minister took the initiative to hold a meeting of SAARC heads of government to fashion a regional response resulting in SAARC COVID-19 Fund that supported the early exchanges on this issue.
Jairam Ramesh (Cong) said he expected the government to recognise the roots of 2014 success to the previous year adding that the FERA was set up in 1973 while there were huge investments in science and technology in public institutes.
He said Bharat Biotech's Covaxin was developed in an institute in Hyderabad set up 16 years ago by public funds.
Binoy Viswam of CPI said: "We did not become pharmacy of India recently question about vaccine reach to the poor.
Anand Sharma (Cong) echoed "We must place the contribution of our institutes built over decades such as ICMR."
To these, Jaishankar replied: "You will recall the saying, success has many fathers. Too many fathers claiming success today. .. All of us know the enormous efforts of government in getting vaccine prices lowered, lowest in the world"
He also said that he was proud to have taken Covaxin.
UK variant spread rapidly in UK care homes in span of two weeks: Study
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TouchArcade Game of the Year 'Land Sliders' and the Best iOS Games of 2015
Posted on December 24, 2015 December 23, 2015 by Jared Nelson
Well, it was another banner year in the world of iOS gaming, with so many great games released in 2015 that it made our head spin trying to whittle it down to the list you see before you. When it came to our Game of the Year pick, it really came down to the nitty gritty between two particular titles. In the end, one just barely inched out the other for reasons we'll get to in a second. Following the Game of the Year and Runner Up picks are 25 of what we feel were the best games of 2015. Of course this list doesn't include many other great games that came out this year, and to be honest it could have easily been three or four times the size. However, we thought this was a nice cross selection of genres and truly the best of the best of this year. If a game you adored this year isn't featured here, feel free to list it in the comments below, we love hearing about what games people enjoy playing on their iOS devices.
Now, without further ado…
Game of the Year 2015: 'Land Sliders'
Land Sliders, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – It seems like the best mobile games latch onto a simple mechanic that feels natural on a touchscreen device and then builds an entire game around it. Slicing fruit in Fruit Ninja, drawing lines in Flight Control, even tilting back and forth in Doodle Jump are all great examples of this. Those simple actions spawned countless copycats and even entire genres in the mobile space over the years, but it's rare that a game can come along and create a mobile game that feels truly unique and native to the platform.
In 2015, I don't think any game accomplished that goal as well as Land Sliders, the first game from Australian developer Prettygreat, did. Land Sliders is a game that's built around inertial scrolling. What is inertial scrolling? Well, when you're scrolling through a list on your iOS device, say your list of emails or a list of songs in the Music app, inertial scrolling is the thing that allows you to scroll fast with a quick swipe and the screen will gradually slow down as it runs out of inertia.
It sounds like an incredibly boring concept for a game, but inertial scrolling is something that iOS devices have nailed since the beginning, and I believe it's one of the things that truly put the iPhone ahead of the pack in the early days of smartphones. Early iPhone rivals had pretty janky touchscreens which didn't have the smoothness of an iPhone. Scrolling around on iOS devices is fun and satisfying. Flicking a swipe fast and knowing you can stop the screen from scrolling on a dime if you want. It's really cool.
It's not a bad idea to try and capture that feeling and create a game around it, but how exactly does that work? I saw a very early prototype of Land Sliders at GDC this year and thought it was a clever concept and the sliding around the world felt great. But honestly I had no idea how they would craft a compelling game around it, and figured it would end up as one of those "hmmm, that's neat!" tech demo type of games and be fun for a few days before being forgotten.
That ended up not being the case at all, and besides its unique concept, I think that's shows the brilliance of Prettygreat. Not only have they created a full-fledged high-scoring game with endlessly replayable randomly-generated levels and a wide cast of neat characters to unlock, but they've created this is a way that's easy to add on to, and given the popularity of Land Sliders this seems like the kind of game that can continue living on for years and years with a constant flow of new content.
Besides the game itself, developer Prettygreat also created an insane real-life meta game that they incorporated into Land Sliders that has kept our forums on fire for months since the game's release. If you haven't read the lengthy thread in our forums, but if you like treasure hunts or ARGs, it's worth the read as the lengths Prettygreat went to to create this global game are pretty astounding. In fact, the ARG is still going and hasn't been completely solved yet.
Sliding your character around the world of Land Sliders just FEELS right, and developer Prettygreat did a wonderful job of building a whimsical world and cast of characters around that unique mechanic. There were other great games in 2015, but Land Sliders is a great mobile game through and through, and isn't the kind of game that could work on a platform other than mobile. For all these reasons it'll be something that I continue to play daily and will always have a home on my device, and it earns our nod for Game of the Year 2015
GotY Runner Up 2015: 'Downwell'
Downwell, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Downwell is one of those games that had so much buzz prior to its release, I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype. I was very happy to have been proven wrong about that. Downwell is an action platformer about a character trying to make it to the bottom of a well while avoiding being killed by numerous types of nasty enemies and hazards. Your character accomplishes this by using gun boots – literally boots that fire bullets straight down – to both take out enemies and use as a levitation device while falling.
Kind of a wacky premise, but so are the plots behind some of the most beloved games of all time. The crazy thing about Downwell is that it doesn't seem like much on first blush. I remember anticipating this game forever, and when it finally released and I laid into it for the first time, after a few minutes of playing I found myself saying "That's it?" It wasn't that I thought the game was bad or anything, I just was expecting something more, you know? It wasn't until I read this excellent piece over at Polygon about Downwell that I was tipped off to some of the finer points behind the game.
Along with a myriad of little secrets and special features, it was really the combo system in Downwell that really busted the game wide open for me. It became a game within the game to try and stomp as many enemies in succession without touching the ground as possible so as to rack up a huge combo. The brilliant thing is that by doing this I actually found myself making it further and further in the game than I ever had previously. Downwell is a very difficult game, but it's the kind of game where skill trumps all and you can actually witness yourself getting better at it the more you play and practice.
Downwell is a masterpiece of great game design, and is one of those games that can be played over and over for a lifetime as you continue to figure out its little tricks and secrets. It's one of my all-time favorite games, and while it feels most at home to me on my iPhone it's also a game that would be fantastic no matter what platform it's on. I have no doubt that there will be a dedicated contingent of people still playing Downwell for decades to come.
Best iOS Games of 2015
AG Drive, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Futuristic racers have been a staple of gaming for some time now, and AG Drive executes the formula flawlessly. Absolutely gorgeous visuals, an incredible sense of speed, a novel use of 3D Touch on capable devices, and a multitude of race types easily make this one of the App Store's top racing games.
AirAttack 2, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – AirAttack 2 may have only just come out in early December, but it immediately made an impact on the iOS gaming world. Absolutely jaw-dropping visuals coupled with tried and true shoot 'em up gameplay that wasn't scared to divert from tradition made AirAttack 2 one of the most memorable games of the year even in just a few short weeks.
Alto's Adventure, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Side-scrolling endless runners are a tough sell on mobile because there's so many, but Alto's Adventure had no problem setting itself apart from the pack with its incredibly stylish visuals, engaging scoring mechanics, and tons of hidden little details that made it worth coming back to throughout 2015.
BADLAND 2, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – The original Badland is an absolute classic, and is a tough act to follow. Somehow developer Frogmind was able to surpass their original work with Badland 2. Major changes to the formula like free movement, dastardly new hazards, and even more gorgeous visuals and lighting effects make this another mobile classic.
Call of Champions, Free – [GotW] – [Forum Thread] – The MOBA genre is one that's trying hard to make an impression in the mobile world. Vainglory set the benchmark last year, but Call of Champions with its promise of five minute matches has swooped in and offered entertaining and competitive MOBA action that truly feels made for the mobile platform.
CHAOS RINGS â…¢, $19.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – The Chaos Rings series is a staple on mobile and significant for being a mobile-exclusive series from a large, renowned developer – Square Enix. The third entry in the series mixes up the formula in many ways, and also ratchets up the visuals to a fully 3D world. Despite some changes, it's still a Chaos Rings game through and through, and one of the best original RPGs on mobile this year.
Does not Commute, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – A totally unique premise and polish out the ears made Does Not Commute one of the most entertaining games of the year. Route various vehicles across a map from point A to point B, but beware, as with each new vehicle you must route your previously routed vehicles are following the path you laid out for them. As more cars are introduced things get crazy, hectic, and tons of fun.
Don't Starve: Pocket Edition, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – The hit PC and console action-adventure survival game Don't Starve made its way to iOS this year in a special Pocket Edition. It wasn't very pocketable at first though due to it being iPad only, but a Universal update brought it to iPhones as well, and allowed even more players to see just how well this game could shine on the mobile platform. Punishingly difficult, but a total must-play.
Dust: An Elysian Tail, $5.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – A passion project of a lone developer for over 4 years paid off big time when Dust: An Elysian Tail released for the Xbox to extreme critical acclaim in the summer of 2012. Given its button-heavy nature, an iOS port seemed unlikely, until it surprise released in early October. And you know what? Dust translated very well to the touchscreen and is an incredible journey everyone should take.
The Executive!, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – If you thought fighting games, auto-runners, rhythm games, and idle clickers couldn't be combined into one experience, The Executive is here to prove you wrong. Somehow that amalgamation of genres made total sense here, and it was delivered in an incredibly stylish, challenging, and content-rich package.
Furdemption - A Quest For Wings, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Platforming games can be heavy on action, heavy on puzzling, or heavy on both as was the case with Furdemption. Ingenious level designs really made this game shine, as did its stellar art style and animation. Plus, there was something oddly satisfying about seeing a cute bunny die over and over in a multitude of gruesome ways. Hooray!
Galactic Keep, $3.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Galactic Keep is something of a legend around TouchArcade, as its development originally started way back in 2009 and started/stopped several times in the years since. Miraculously, it was finished this year, and somehow turned out to be the utterly compelling board game/RPG we always hoped it would be.
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved, $9.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Geometry Wars is sort of the granddaddy of dual-stick space shooters, and dual-stick space shooters work supremely well on touchscreen devices. Which makes the stellar Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions a perfect fit for iOS, and it absolutely was when it launched on the App Store in the first half of the year.
Her Story, $3.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Full motion video games, or FMV games, are a black mark on the history of video games. They're notoriously terrible. However, developer Sam Barlow utilized FMV sequences to create a compelling murder mystery with Her Story, proving that if put in the right hands FMV games can be a viable medium to tell amazing stories.
Horizon Chase - World Tour, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Some "retro-inspired" games go full monty and actually feel like a game that came out decades ago. Others capture that retro essence while still making something that feels decidedly modern. Horizon Chase falls in the latter category, and despite its pixelated facade and retro nods it is actually a visually stunning and exhilarating racing experience.
Implosion - Never Lose Hope, $9.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Character action games are known for complex, button-heavy combat mechanics, which makes them ill-suited for touchscreens. Somehow developer Rayark was able to craft a combat system that played well on touchscreen while still feeling appropriately complex and satisfying. Coupled with incredible visuals and an exciting sci-fi universe, and it's no wonder Implosion was such a critical and commercial success.
Lara Croft GO, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – It takes a talented developer to take a legendary action adventure franchise like Tomb Raider and turn it into a puzzle game, and somehow still have it "feel" like a Tomb Raider game. That's exactly what Square Enix Montreal did with Lara Croft GO, just as they did last year with Hitman GO, and both are sublime experiences.
PAC-MAN 256 - Endless Arcade Maze, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – It's tough to mess around with a classic like Pac-Man, but somehow Crossy Road developer Hipster Whale managed to take the iconic Pac-Man arcade game and "Crossy Road-ize" it into an absolutely fantastic endless high-score chaser with tons of personality.
Prune, $3.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – A game about pruning a tree sure doesn't sound very exciting on paper, but developer Joel McDonald managed to craft something incredibly beautiful with Prune, where you're doing just that. This is the perfect blending of art and puzzle, and although the experience doesn't last all that long it's one that will stay with you long after you're finished.
The Room Three, $3.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – The Room series of puzzle games are iOS classics, and the way in which they utilize the touchscreen to directly interact with its intricate puzzle boxes is a deeply personal experience. The third entry in the series does all that but takes it to the next level with tons more content and puzzles to solve.
Sorcery! 3, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Inkle has set the benchmark for digital gamebooks with their Sorcery! series and 80 Days, but Sorcery! 3 takes things to a whole new level even for them. Crazy time-manipulation mechanics and a big open-world map to explore in any order you wish pushed this release head and shoulders above other digital gamebooks.
Space Marshals, $3.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Space Marshals dropped in the beginning of the year and proved dual-stick shooters could be strategic and stealthy rather than mindless blast-a-thons. Several major updates throughout the year added tons of great new content and cemented it as one of our favorites of 2015.
Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – The long-awaited sequel to our 2009 Game of the Year proved it was more than worth the wait with tons of interesting new places to explore as a tiny little spider, new puzzles to solve, and another compelling story to tell. New tricks like a tie-in to real world time and weather and multiple playable spider types (and a walrus!) made this new Spider game another memorable experience.
This War of Mine, $14.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – War is almost always glorified in video games, but This War of Mine looked at what war does to the everyday people caught in the middle. It's technically a strategy survival game, but more than that it's a sobering and somber look at a part of war that's often overlooked, and it's incredibly powerful stuff. Despite hitting PC first, This War of Mine feels most at home on the touchscreen.
Best iPad Games
Best iPhone Games
The Executive!
40% OFF SALE to celebrate the launch of MUL.MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL!!! Flame kick werewolves, perform thrilling acrobatic s…
"Outstanding and revolutionary" - TouchArcade From the creators of the iPhone GAME OF THE YEAR award-winners, Spider: Th…
AG Drive
AG Drive is a futuristic racing game in which you race blazing fast anti-gravity craft against opponents on spectacular …
Space Marshals
"An amazingly animated iOS game." – Time Magazine "Really can't get enough of Space Marshals." – Touch Arca…
AirAttack 2
***** TouchArcade 5/5 - Game of the Week - "Stunning Shooting" ***** Sequel of Award Winning next-gen top down air comb…
Implosion - Never Lose Hope
Bringing AAA console gaming experience to mobile devices. Twenty years after the fall of Earth, the remnants of the Hu…
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved
**FOR A LIMITED TIME, GET GEOMETRY WARS 3: DIMENSIONS EVOLVED FOR 70% OFF!**
Experience the full evolution of t…
The Room Three
WE RECOMMEND PLAYING ON iPHONE 5 (& UP) OR iPAD 3 (& UP) AS iPAD 2, iPAD MINI 1 AND iPHONE 4S MAY EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS. …
Call of Champions is the most intense real-time multiplayer battle arena (MOBA) game for the iPad and iPhone. Choose a C…
Alto's Adventure
Above the placid ivory snow lies a sleepy mountain village, brimming with the promise of adventure. "A piece of interac…
A real life crime story where you play detective. ** Winner of 3 Bafta Awards, 2 IGF Awards, 3 GDC Awards, Best Narrati…
Furdemption - A Quest For Wings
TouchArcade: 5/5 "Reminded me of the good old days of gaming." PuzzleGameApp.com: 5/5 "This game is intense, challenging…
CHAOS RINGS â…¢
The newest addition to the popular smartphone RPG series is finally here! ・CHAOS RINGS Overview CHAOS RINGS is a full…
Apple's iPhone Game of the Year 2015 Best Mobile/Handheld Game - The Game Awards 2015 Lara Croft GO is a turn based puz…
Does not Commute
Winner of Apple Design Awards 2015! A strategic driving game from the award-winning maker's of Smash Hit. Does not Com…
Galactic Keep
Galactic Keep is a sci-fi, tabletop-styled, role-playing game. Investigate exquisite maps in a richly described world, f…
~ Apple Game of the Year 2015 ~ ~ TIME Magazine Game of the Year 2015 ~ Prune is a love letter to trees. A game about t…
Sorcery! 3
An epic adventure through a cursed wilderness of monsters, traps and magic. Begin your journey here! (Parts 1 and 2 not …
"If you've not already played this brilliant, heart-wrenching game, then mobile is as good a place as any to let it comp…
Horizon Chase - World Tour
HORIZON CHASE IS A TRIBUTE TO CLASSIC ARCADE RACERS. This is a PAID game, but you have the opportunity to try it before…
PAC-MAN 256 - Endless Arcade Maze
** Apple Best Games of 2015 ** ** Facebook The 10 Most Talked About Games of 2015 ** ** The Game Awards 2015 Nominated B…
The sequel to Apple's Game of the Year -winning BADLAND with over 65 million players! Apple Editors' Choice worldwid…
Don't Starve: Pocket Edition
***NOTE: Don't Starve requires iOS 8 and at least an iPhone 5, iPad 3, or iPad mini 2. Due to memory constraints, it wil…
"This is one of the best games I've played on iOS this year." 5/5 - Touch Arcade The award-winning, multi-million selli…
Land Sliders
Traverse surprising 3D lands with simple swipe controls, grabbing cheese, unicorns, planets - everything the crazy cast …
*iPhone 5 / iPod Touch 6 / iPad mini 2 / iPad Air or later recommended. Downwell is a curious game about a young boy ve…
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I've been roasting coffee with the Hearthware Gourmet for just a skosh over two weeks, and have from time to time found myself frustrated with the experience. I have — on occasion — roasted some really great coffee, mostly darker roasts [Sumatra, Celebes, New Guinea]. Attaining second crack with the Gourmet is smooth and effortless, as is roasting deep into the far side of second [look, kids, it's Seattle!]. Compared to the Freshbeans Freshroast, a machine that often feels underpowered, the Gourmet rules the roast — but only on the far side of second. Why, I wondered, was I getting such inconsistent results? Why did City roasts taste so dull and lifeless with the Gourmet?
When you've roasted coffee beans up to temperature [somewhere between 415� F and 435� F for a City roast] they continue to roast from their own internal heat, and that of the combined mass of beans. With the Freshroast's smaller bean capacity, and the fairly lightweight design of the roast chamber itself, the built-in cooling cycle was more than adequate to cool the roast in a minute or two. Not so the Gourmet, which has both a third larger bean capacity, and far more metal and glass comprising the roast chamber. The Gourmet's cooling cycle *did* cool the roaster and the beans, but too slowly to fully arrest the roast… my coffee beans were getting baked.
Halting the roast and dumping the beans to a metal colander is a pretty typical method of cooling… and so is tossing those beans between two colanders — the coffee roaster's juggle. Typical or no, it's a major pain in the tucus [and a mess… especially with dry-processed beans that throw off a lot of chaff]. I wanted a better way.
I considered quenching… using a pump or trigger spray bottle of water to mist the beans in the colander [not in the roaster] but that can cause its own problems — nobody wants soggy coffee beans — and really, I didn't believe that the smallish amount of coffee I was roasting really warranted a water quench.
And then a compatriot in the alt.coffee newsgroup casually mentioned that, if you popped off the Gourmet's lid [and chaff collector] when the cooling cycle begins, it cooled much more quickly. Bingo. It's a practice that probably doesn't come highly recommended by Hearthware, and if there are bits of chaff left in your beans it will soon be airborne and falling like so much toasted confetti… but it works.
My results today with a City roast are far more lively, and in some cases have proven nearly as bright as those with the Freshroast. I need to essentially start from scratch in terms of my cupping notes [those that haven't yet made their way online] but hey, for good coffee that's a small price to pay.


If you're considering a long-term relocation to Canada, addressing your health care needs should be part of your advance planning. Aetna International is here to help. We've created this guide to provide health-related information you'll need when preparing for your time in Canada.
Canada has a publicly funded, national health care system — HealthCanada. The system operates through the nation's 10 provincial and 3 territorial health insurance plans and offers Canadian citizens essential health care. However, many Canadians obtain supplemental private health insurance to make sure they are covered for a broader range of health-related needs.
Except for some differences in coverage levels, a uniform level of services is provided all across Canada. The patient's regional health board pays the bill for the cost of treatment. The only exception is Quebec, where non-residents may have to pay up front for treatment, and later send the receipt to their local health ministry for reimbursement.
All Canadian citizens — and immigrants with permanent resident status — must apply to their provincial or territorial health department for a Health Card. This allows access to a doctor, prescriptions and visits to hospital emergency rooms. New residents may have to wait up to three months before becoming eligible for provincial health coverage, so it's important that you arrange private health insurance in advance.
Canada is a peaceful, democratic country, and there are no political problems to concern visitors.
If you're moving to a more remote area of Canada, you may find yourself commuting long distances to your workplace, shopping areas or elsewhere. In these areas, medical assistance also tends to be some distance away.
Heavy snow and ice in winter can present serious hazards for drivers, and special care should be taken when traveling in more remote or wilderness areas. Winter sports enthusiasts should be aware of the threat of avalanches and note that skiing, snowboarding or riding snowmobiles on closed trails is unsafe. Bear attacks are a risk in wilderness areas and extreme caution should be taken to avoid a confrontation with these highly territorial and immensely strong creatures.
Although the care provided by Health Canada is uniformly good, obtaining private health insurance in Canada will give you coverage for a broader range of treatment. Aetna International can help you select a high-quality insurance plan that's well suited to your individual needs.


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Jon Stewart unpacks the UK general election Part 1 (video) →
James O'Brien's only making plans for Nigel (or when is toast not toast?) (video)
Posted on May 10, 2015 by I'm Incorrigible
On 7th May the nation voted and sealed the fate of three of the country's political leaders, each of whom duly left the national stage forever just before lunch the next day – at least that was what we were led to believe. Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband did the honourable thing and announced their departure to teary audiences of the faithful but Nigel Farage chose a somewhat different approach.
Having stormed out of the Thanet South counting hall he rather appropriately gathered the lemmings known as our national press together, atop the cliffs of Thanet, to announce that he would be resigning as leader of UKIP for four months after which he may decide to return to stand in the party's leadership election in September.
A cunning move that both satisfied his 'promise' to stand down as leader should he fail, as he did, to win the Thanet South constituency for his party, whilst simultaneously leaving the door not so much ajar as a gaping chasm for when he returns from an extended vacation. An inconsistency that the BBC and James O'Brien were quick to explore.
Original audio / video © BBC / LBC /Sky
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Posted in Media & Media Bias, Racism, Sexism & Homophobia, UK Politics	| Tagged BBC, BBC News, David Aaronovitch, Ed Miliband, Europe, European Union, GE2015, General Election, James O'Brien, Kipper, Laura Kuenssberg, LBC, LBC 97.3, Nick Clegg, Nigel Farage, Racism, Sky News, South Thanet (UK Parliament constituency), Thanet Rigged, Thanet South, UK Independence Party, UKIP, United Kingdom, Xenophobia
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Wednesday Media Transcript: WR Odell Beckham Jr
Eric from BBI : Admin : 8/10/2016 4:00 pm
WR Odell Beckham Jr
Q: Do you agree with some of the things coach Sullivan said?
A: I was just smiling. I always agree with what he says.
Q: Ben said that probably most of the starters will get about 15 snaps or so in the first preseason game, how do you feel about the amount of playing time you get and what do you hope to accomplish in your first preseason game personally?
A: It�s tough. Anytime you have a game, you want to compete, but at the end of the day we�re gearing up and training for September 11, so the biggest thing I think I can go into these games thinking is to first help yourself and do what you need to do and figure out what you need to do on what play it is, whatever technique it is and then secondly is to be there and help a younger guy. Some of the mistakes I may have made to not allow anybody else to make that mistake. Just coaching up people and making sure we�re all working together.
Q: How much are you enjoying working with these young receivers? It seems like you�re getting a pretty good kick out of it?
A: I love it. I just love the feeling of being able to help. Sometimes guys will come to me with questions, not all the time but they�ll come to me with questions and I�ll give them the best advice that I would give myself. In doing that, I hope that they can just take it, use it and use it the same way that whatever technique they use, just do that and put something into it.
Q: The continued progress of Sterling Shepard, can you talk about what you�ve seen from him?
A: I mean I don�t want to spoil the surprise, but he�s going to be a special player. I kind of want to keep him on the down-low for right now so that way he just jumps out the first couple of games, has some big plays, touchdowns, and all of that, but he�s developing, still learning and is starting to pick up his speed, his learning speed. I remember when I first came in, you�re kind of out there with your head on a swivel and things like that, but as days go on, you start to feel more comfortable and you can start to see him start to feel more comfortable. He�s going to be a big-time player.
Q: Do you remember your first preseason game?
A: My second year?
Q: Yes
A: I think it was the Jaguars? No, the Bengals because we went to Cincinnati to workout with them. Yes, Bengals, first preseason game.
Q: What do you recall about it?
A: It�s a lot of this. A lot of this right here. But like I said, we�re gearing up for September 11. This is really a time for, not in a bad way but for the younger guys to work. Come in and get themselves prepared and situated in the NFL. Some of these guys, this is their first time ever playing in the NFL, so I�m excited about that for them, excited for the opportunity. Like I said, I just want to be able to help anyway I can.
Q: Do you have to pump Victor Cruz up again after his minor setback?
A: I didn�t even know he had anything like that. I don�t think he needs to be pumped up. At the end of the day, when you love football like that, nothing is ever going to distract you from that love. I know he wants to be out there. I honestly don�t know, I didn�t think anything was bad after we talked so I�m just excited for him to be able to get out there and play. I keep reminding him that his first game is September 11, even though you have to get your feet wet in the preseason. Again, I hate saying that, but it�s irrelevant. You could go for 200 yards and none of it is going to matter. You could go for zero yards and none of it is going to matter. All that matters is that you�re prepared for week 1.
Q: Did you see him today?
A: I saw him.
Q: Is he upbeat? What�s his mood like?
A: He�s good. I didn�t even know until about individuals when I was looking around, know that he wasn�t out there, but I�m sure he�s alright. If something were to happen, I think he would let me know probably.
Q: How high is up for you with Shepard, how high is up for you?
A: What does that mean?
Q: In terms of goals for you?
A: They�re way up there.
Q: Do you have a number in mind, do you set goals?
A: Whenever you get to come in the locker room, you can look at my locker for numbers if you need them. Right now I�m really just focused on being the best teammate I can be. I�ve been a part of a culture like that where you feel bonded with your team and we�re all out here working and we�re all out here in the struggle together and that�s kind of what it has felt like and it has felt good. Right now I�m just trying to help whoever I can help and keep learning and growing myself and keep trying to elevate and set the standard even higher.
Q: With a threat like Sterling on the other side and maybe Vic, that opens things up for you even more, doesn�t it?
A: Don�t you think so? Isn�t that why you�re asking?
Q: Yes, I�m asking your opinion.
A: You put two people on me and you have one-on-one with them and I would take them one-on-one pretty much against anyone out there, so it�s going to be a lot of fun. I�m looking forward to seeing how you scheme it up or what exactly you do because I would love to get man-to-man. I would love to get two people on me, that�s fine. Just throw it to somebody else. Just keep the chains moving and try and put up as many points as we can.
Q: You�ve been part of two teams in this league that have won six games each year.
A: That�s 12 wins total. If we can just take that and put it into one year, 12-4, I would love that.
Q: Does this feel like a better team than those teams?
A: I don�t know. If you look on the paper, yes, there�s guys that we�ve added, things that we�ve improved, but at the end of the day the past two years I�ve felt like we weren�t going to be 6-10 and we were, so you never know, it�s those little things. We lost games by three points last year and that�s all things that could�ve been corrected in the second quarter that led all the way to the fourth quarter. I do feel as if this team is working harder, I feel as if we have a better chance at definitely being better than 6-10 and that�s obviously the goal. One game at a time. You want to be playing on February 5th in Houston.
Q: What growth have you seen in your game?
A: I�m just trying to work on patience. I feel like the man above has a lot of things that are ahead of me. It�s hard to stay patient when you want something so bad and you feel as if it�s right there and you want to go out and get it, but it�s already going to come to you. To sit back and let it come to you is tough, so right now I�m just working on being patient and riding the waves, riding the waves of life. You have your ups and your downs but at the end of the day everything is going to be alright, so just staying patient, working on the little techniques and the little fundamentals that you need to improve.
Q: In the six months off, what did you focus on and what are you trying to improve?
A: Rest. Rest. I rested for a little bit of time. I�m one of those guys that as soon as it picks back up and it�s time to go, it�s going to be 110 percent every single rep for the most part so it kind of had to do with what I was saying in that it�s just working on patience.
Q: When you get out there with your trainer, do you have a focus?
A: I just like to feel good. I like to get out there, do some speed training, do some agility, a little bit of top end things like that. What I really worked on was running routes. Just trying to be crisp at the top. A lot of the times I could be pushing up two more yards to get depth or breaking on the in and I�m rolling in at 12-14 instead of just getting to 14 and breaking in so it�s just being tighter on everything. Like I said, year in and year out there is going to be something that I find to improve on and get better on. No matter what I do the year before, it�s always going to be what can I do to be better last year.
Q: Odell, you know what it�s like to be a rookie and now you see what guys can do in practice and then the lights go on and how that transition goes. Are you confident in what you�re seeing from some of these younger guys that when the lights go on you�re going to see what you see in practice or is that still a transition to them do you think?
A: I think time tells it but at the end of the day, what you do in practice isn�t no more or less different than what you would do in a game, there�s just a couple more people, a lot more people there, but I�m fully confident in their abilities and what they�ve done and shown so far that they�ll be able to come out and do that game time. Like I said, you�re just waiting to see. I�m excited about these preseason games just to be able to see guys come out and have fun, see who�s going to give it all they have, no matter what the situation is and what�re you going to do to protect your brother, so that�s kind of where we�re at. I have full confidence in those guys and I�m looking forward to it.
There is a similarity in maturity btwn OBJ and Sheppard
KeoweeFan : 8/10/2016 10:12 pm : link
OBJ's talent in the Manning's HS was recognized early (e.g. Manning Passing Camps) with mentoring by those sponsors).
Sterling, because of his father's tragic early passing was nutured by the staff of OSU.
No one expects Sheppard to compete with OBJ's rookie performance, but a more "veteran" season than most rookies should not be unexpected.


text:
Writer's Road
The Rise of Slavic Fantasy
In recent years many an agent or book editor has shunned the "Secondary World Fantasy" often associated with "yet another Fantasy set in Medieval Europe," (All the while publishing scores of the stuff.) But their argument has some validity. They wanted some "newness." We've seen in recent years a score of new sub-genres appear and shoulder some space for themselves alongside the Secondary World Fantasy, and we're the better for it. R. F. Kuang's Poppy War brought an already growing and flourishing East Asian influenced Fantasy to the forefront. Evan Winter's Rage of Dragons was the answer to the question on everyone's tongues after the popularity of the Movie Black Panther—When will we start to see more Afro-Centric sci-fi and fantasy? Please note, that Rage of Dragons was actually released before Black Panther, so he had already asked the question. And NK Jemisin had already been very active as an author. It was Black Panther entering popular culture that brought attention to the genre, and opened the door for it to flourish.
When I set about to write Thrice, it was done so with a series of several challenges that I set for myself. I wanted a shorter book, rather than an epic. I wanted to capture the spirit of a popular plot theme (Lone Wolf and Cub), and I wanted to avoid an obvious Secondary World. So I looked to what I felt might also be on the rise, and fell within a vein I could do justice to, even if I myself was not of the culture. In this I found there was a another sub-genre of fantasy that had slowly been gaining traction—Slavic Fantasy.
We've rarely been without this sub-genre, but they were anomalies, from C.J. Cherryh Chernevog and Patricia A. McKillip's In the Forest of Serre, but these have been anomalies. In the most recent years The Witcher has gained popularity from the Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. From his books we've seen a very successful video game series, and now a mainstream television show on Netflix. Yet, even these books come not from recent years, but 1993 and on.
The more recent influx of popularity could more easily be attributed to the books of Naomi Novik, Uprooted and Spinning Silver. Set in a Slavic/Eastern European setting, as I began research work on Thrice, Uprooted was everyone's must read book.
A Slavic Fantasy fit the bill. It could have deep emotions, brutal people, and strange creatures not seen in most fantasy settings. It was what I was looking for. And so, that was added to my list of goals—fold Slavic and Eastern European themes into the book. It's interesting this hasn't been done more often. Afterall, look at a map of Europe. What we westerners consider Europe (England, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Scandinavian Peninsulas,) these account for barely a third of what is actually Europe. As more writers start to realize this, I expect we'll see more novels set in these rich Eastern European cultures, taking not a sharp left from the Secondary World Fantasies of the past four decades, but instead, a step to the left and into the mysterious world of Eastern Europe, we'll all be the better for it.
fantasy, fantasy analysis, writing advice
November 29, 2021by Andrew
A Writer's Pace
A Father's Road
Finding Your Beats
April 5, 2021 |
Netflix Pacing
My Fantastical History
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Day 1 is Vulf Peck's Fugue State, and I'd have to shout out a guy named Neal Sarkar who turned me onto them a couple years ago. It's tight, technically awesome (Joe Dart is a bass god), and super groovy. They have several other great records, and if you like what you should hear, take a look. Definitely also look up some of Joe Dart's performances - you won't be disappointed.