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Have you always wanted to learn to how to code, study a new language, boost your professional skills, or just have fun expanding your horizons? Whether you're working from home or just staying in, now’s the perfect opportunity to take some online classes, check out some new learning apps, or explore cultural portals. Here are some inspiring ideas to get you started!
Class Central is a search engine and reviews site for free online courses popularly known as MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses. Discover thousands of free online courses from top universities around the world, including the eight Ivy League schools – Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale, the Columbia universities, and the University of Pennsylvania. HERE are 450 Ivy League Courses you can take online right now for free.
freeCodeCamp is a nonprofit community that helps you learn to code by completing coding challenges and building projects. You can also earn verified certifications along the way. Each certification takes around 300 hours of dedicated learning. Some people may take longer, but these certifications are completely self-paced, so take as long as you need. Every aspect of freeCodeCamp is 100% free.
Have you thought about learning coding, but weren't sure where to start? Codecademy is an online interactive platform that offers free coding classes in web development, programming, data science, design, and game development, along with coding languages such as HTML & CSS, Python, JavaScript, Java, SQL, and Ruby. Codeacademy is widely considered to be one of the easiest platforms to learn coding. No matter your experience level, you'll be writing real, working code in minutes.
Learn a new language for free with Duolingo! You can learn online or with their easy-to-use app. The bite-size lessons feel more like a game than a textbook, and that's by design. Learning is easier when you're having fun. But Duolingo isn't just a game. It's based on a methodology proven to foster long-term retention and a curriculum aligned to an international standard. Lessons focus on a real-life goal – for instance, ordering at a restaurant, going to the bank, home life, or travel. Learners develop the vocabulary and grammar needed to achieve their goals through lots of varied practice in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
Google Arts & Culture features content from over 1200 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's culture to you. In addition, you'll find other fascinating content, such as A Stroll Through CERN's Underground Spaces, the tradition and science behind color, and food history from around the world. You can also unlock culture at home with machine learning. The Google Arts & Culturel Lab in Paris has been experiementing with how AI can be used for the benefit of culture. Each of these experiemental applications runs AI algorithyms in the background to let you unearth cultural connections hidden in archives – and even find artworks that match your home decor!
Discover 3300+ talks to stir your curiosity! TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics – from science to business to global issues – in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.
Free online courses from edXEdX is a non-profit created by founding partners Harvard and MIT, bringing the best of higher education to students around the world. EdX offers MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and interactive online classes in subjects including law, history, science, engineering, business, social sciences, computer science, public health, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Photo credits:
Photo #1: edX
Photo #2: Class Central
Photo #3: freeCodeCamp
Photo #4: Codeacademy
Photo #5: Duolingo
Photo #6: Google Arts & Culture
Photo #7: TED Talks
Photo #8: edX
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Let's all relax, take a deep breath, and let the music sooth our soul. Concerts and opera performances may be cancelled, but some premiere arts organizations, including The Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Philharmonie, and Vienna State Opera, are offering free live streaming and access to their digital archives. Ordinarily, you might have to pay a hefty fee for some of these services, but in the spirit of healing through music, these groups are throwing open their virtual doors and sharing their treasures with the world.
The impact of cancellations on small, local community organizations is unprecedented. For them, every ticket matters – one canceled event could mean the difference between survival and closing their doors forever. Please consider contributing to your local arts organizations during this difficult time.
The Metropolitan Opera Nightly Opera Stream
A day after canceling upcoming performances, the Metropolitan Opera announced that it would stream encore presentations from the award-winning Live in HD series of cinema transmissions on the company website for the duration of the closure. The Met’s series of free opera streams begins with Bizet’s Carmen, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and starring Elīna Garanča and Robert Alagna. All “Nightly Met Opera Streams” will begin at 7:30pm EDT and will remain available via the homepage of metopera.org for 20 hours. The homepage link will open the performance on the Met Opera on Demand streaming service. The performance will also be viewable on all Met Opera on Demand apps.
Berlin Philharmonie Digital Concert Hall
The Berlin Philharmonie is closed for now, so they will come to you. The Digital Concert Hall is now free for everyone. Redeem the voucher code BERLINPHIL by March 31 and receive free access to all concerts and films in the concert archive. The Berlin Philharmonie has been the musical heart of Berlin since 1963. Located at the periphery of West Berlin when it opened, it became part of the new urban center after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The unusual tent-like shape and distinctive bright yellow color makes it one of the city’s most beloved landmarks. Although the unique architecture and innovative concert hall design initially ignited controversy, it now serves as a model for concert halls all over the world.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra Replay Archive
Detroit Symphony Orchestra has made its Replay archive free to all visitors for a month. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, America’s fourth-oldest, has been at the center of Detroit’s musical heartbeat for more than 130 years. Today, under the direction of renowned Music Director Laureate Leonard Slatkin, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood.
Budapest Festival Quarantine Soirées
Ivan Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra will be live streaming nightly chamber concerts in a series they have called Quarantine Soirées on March 17, 18 and 19 at 11:45am Pacific Time. Since Ivan Fischer founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra more than 30 years ago, its inventiveness and the distinct ensemble tone have led to numerous accolades including two Gramophone Awards – the ‘Oscars of classical music’ – and has been nominated for a Grammy. The orchestra’s driving mission is to serve its home audience in over seventy concerts, along with making frequent appearances at alternative venues such as nursing homes, abandoned synagogues, hospitals, child care institutions, prisons and schools, where it can create an intimate connection with the audience.
Vienna State Opera Live Streaming
Vienna State Opera has opened its archives and is offering a different opera available to watch each day for free via its streaming platform. The first offering on March 16 is Adam Fischer conducting Das Rheingold in a performance recorded in 2016. You can catch the rest of the Ring cycle later this month, plus performances from Falstaff to Figaro and Eötvös’s Tri Sestry (Three Sisters). The Vienna State Opera is one of the world's most important opera houses, offering over 300 performances of more than 60 different operas and ballets per season. The artistic cornerstones of this opera house are the State Opera Orchestra / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the stage orchestra, the choir, the committed ensemble of singers, and the ballet ensemble.
Photo credits:
Photo #1: Vienna State Opera
Photo #2: Photo by Ken Howard / Met Opera
Photo #3: Berlin Philharmonie
Photo #4: Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Photo #5: Budapest Festival Orchestra
Photo #6: Vienna State Opera
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We all love LACMA, and The Getty Center is always great, especially when you need to entertain out-of-town guests. But sometimes it's fun to branch out. LA is full of cool, unusual, and off-the-beaten track museums that are definitely worth a visit. From cryptic collections to interactive experiences, neon light tours, and even an institution dedicated to bunnies, here are some fascinating museums you've never heard of but need to check out now!
Museum of Jurassic Technology 9341 Venice Blvd. Culver City, California 90232
The Museum of Jurassic Technology is an educational institution dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and the public appreciation of the Lower Jurassic. This cryptic statement is left uncertain and unexplained. And that's just the point! The museum contains a provocative mixture of artistic, scientific, ethnographic, and historic, as well as some unclassifiable exhibits, and the diversity of its offerings evokes the cabinets of curiosities that were the 16th-century predecessors of modern natural history museums. The factual claims of many of the museum's exhibits strain credibility, so take it all in with a grain of salt and have fun!
Museum of Neon Art 216 S Brand Blvd. Glendale, CA 91204
The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) is the only museum in the world devoted exclusively to art in electric media, exhibiting electric and kinetic fine art, and outstanding examples of historic neon signs, for over three decades. MONA encourages learning, curiosity and expression through the preservation, collection and interpretation of neon, electric and kinetic art. A gateway between scientific principles and artistic expression, Neon illumination integrates electrical technology, creative design, and fundamental concepts of physics and chemistry. MONA hosts Saturday night Neon Cruises – a nighttime bus tour of neon signs, movie marquees and permanent installations of contemporary neon art through Downtown and Hollywood.
A+D Architecture and Design Museum 900 East 4th St. Los Angeles, CA 90013
A relatively new addition to the DTLA Arts District, A+D is the only museum in Los Angeles where continuous exhibits of architecture and design are on view. Through exhibits, symposia, multi-disciplinary projects, educational and community programming, A+D serves as a showcase for the work of important regional, national and international designers, providing a forum for contemporary issues in architecture, urbanism, and design that are helping to shape the city.
Museum of Illusions 6751 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028
The Museum of Illusions comes Instagram ready with completely new 3D Illusions and an Upside Down House exhibit that will take your breath away, transporting you to a world of fantasy and imagination! The 30+ 3D illusions produce eye popping pics, inspired by cartoon, art, current events, movies and more! Not just that, the Upside Down House features 7 unique rooms all flipping the world as you know it, upside down! Flash photography is not just allowed, it’s encouraged. The Museum of Illusions is created by some of the world’s best artists, with new exhibitions being added often, so act fast to see them all.
FIDM Museum and Library 919 South Grand Avenue, Suite 250 Los Angeles, CA 90015
The FIDM Museum and Library collects, preserves, and interprets fashion objects and support materials with outstanding design merit. It fosters student learning, public engagement, and recognition of the creative arts and entertainment industries by providing access to the collections through exhibitions, publications, and other research opportunities. Thanks to thousands of generous donors, the FIDM Museum Collections currently hold over 15,000 objects covering more than 200 years of history. Their current exhibiton is the 28th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design, which showcases the very best of film design and celebrates the talented artisans who bring movie characters to life.
Wende Museum 10808 Culver Blvd. Culver City, CA 90230
The Wende Museum presents a fascinating look at the Cold War through its collection of artwork, artifiacts, archives, films, and personal histories from Cold War–era Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union relating to the period 1945–1991. The museum is named for the Wende (pronounced “venda”), a German word meaning “turning point” or “change," that has come to describe the transformative period leading up to and following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The Wende Museum illuminates the past and informs the present through creative collaborations with contemporary artists and designers, and stimulates general interest through lectures, symposia, and publications.
The Bunny Museum 2605 Lake Ave. Altadena, CA 91001
Bunnies aren't just for Easter! The Bunny Museum is a world record-holding museum dedicated to rabbits that first opened to the public in 1998. Founded by Steve Lubanski and Candace Frazee, who as a couple are called Lubunnzee, The Bunny Museum tells the history of bunnies in advertising, art, entertainment, fashion, film, and everyday vernacular. Got dust bunnies in your home? Do you know what bunnies have to do with math? Have you ever heard of a rabbit plane? Have you ever eaten a Welsh Rabbit? Hop on over and find out. The Bunny Museum has 37,039 bunny objects to date. ALERT: This museum is not recommended for pre-school children. Children are welcome, but they are not the target audience.
The Velaslavasay Panorama 1122 West 24th St. Los Angeles, CA 90007
Drawing on the illustrious history of the great panorama paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries, The Velaslavasay Panorama is an exhibition hall, theatre and garden dedicated to the production and presentation of unusual visual experiences, including those of the 360-degree variety. The Velaslavasay Panorama panoramic exhibition encircles the spectator within a fully enveloping atmosphere. A vast painting of a continuous surrounding landscape, accompanied by sound stimulation and three-dimensional elements, affords the viewer an opportunity to experience a complete sensory phenomenon.
Velveteria: The Museum of Velvet Art 711 New High St. Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Velveteria is a velvet painting museum located in Chinatown, curated by owners Caren Anderson and Carl Baldwin. The museum features over 420 paintings culled from the couple's 3,000 piece collection, gathered from every corner of the world. An ancient technique, velvet painting is thought to have originated in Kashmir, the homeland of the fabric. Traditional paintings were generally religious and portrayed the icons of the Caucasus region. Marco Polo and others introduced black velvet paintings to Western Europe, and some of these early works still hang in the Vatican Museum. In 20th century America, black velvet paintings attained full-on cult status, depicting imagery from pop culture, such as the classic "Velvet Elvis."
Photo credits:
Photo #1: Museum of Neon Art
Photo #2: Museum of Jurassic Technology
Photo #3: Museum of Neon Art
Photo #4: A+D Architecture and Design Museum
Photo #5: Museum of Illusions
Photo #6: FIDM Museum and Library
Photo #7: Wende Museum
Photo #8: The Bunny Museum
Photo #9: The Velaslavasay Panorama
Photo #10: Velveteria: The Museum of Velvet Art
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Ready for a reset? How about giving your home some love with a fresh new attitude! One of the top 2020 Home Decor Trends is eye-popping color – such as Pantone's Color of the Year – Classic Blue.
2020 Color Trends include warm pastels; soft neutrals; earth and organic tones; rich saturated blues, greens, and grays; bold monochromatics; and black and white color stories.
Sleek modern styles continue to prevail, articulated with gold and silver metallic accents, and sculptural lighting. Other major trends include Asian influences, curved shapes, wallpaper and wall coverings, plush velvets, vintage pieces, raw materials such as rattan and reclaimed wood, and lots of texture. Ready for some inspiration? Here are some ideas to get the looks you love – with the best 2020 Home Decor Trends!
Blackman Cruz 836 N Highland Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90038
Blackman Cruz specializes in extraordinary objects—the rare, the magnificent, the provocative, and the eccentric—in all their many forms. Their collection of furniture and decorative objects spans several centuries, many different styles of design, and a wide range of countries, from America and Mexico to Italy and France and beyond. Instead of period or pedigree, a particular aesthetic sensibility unites the showroom’s far-flung array of antiques and contemporary production pieces. Blackman Cruz’s approach to great design celebrates the virtues of drama, humor, ingenuity, and sculptural brio.
101 Design 101 N Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90004
101 Design will help you create spaces in your home that are a canvas for your individualized style. The store offers a large selection including sectional sofas, occasional seating, bedroom & dining rrom furniture, and lighting, at a range of prices that fit everyone's budget. 101 Design's products are also available at their online store.
Lance Wang Interior Decor 319 S Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90020
A full-service interior design firm, Lance Wang Interior Decor has earned a reputation for impeccable attention to detail and dedication to the clients' satisfaction. Under Lance's leadership, the award-winning design team will create uniquely eclectic decors, whether the settings are contemporary minimalist or classically opulent. They are happy to work on entire homes, office/retail spaces or just a single room.
Big Daddy's Antiques 3334 La Cienega Place Los Angeles, CA 90016
Big Daddy’s Antiques offers one-of-a-kind antiques and reproductions from Europe, Asia and North America, serving interior designers, set decorators, landscape architects, photographers, event planners, as well as enthusiastic art and design lovers. With over 20 years of expertise in the interior decorating and landscape design fields, their scope reaches beyond simply selling antiques. The in-house team of welders, wood-workers, refinishers, and design professionals affords Big Daddy’s the ability to collaborate with clients and create custom pieces of furniture and lighting at a client’s direction.
Silverado Salvage & Design 2401 E 27th St. Vernon, CA 90058
Silverado Salvage & Design is the original salvage and reclaimed wood destination where you'll find a huge selection of architectural salvage, antiques, pre-made re-purposed and re-claimed wood furniture, and thousands of feet of beautiful reclaimed wood. The cavernous 16,000 sq foot warehouse is popular with studios, commercial and residential designers, architects, artists, craftspeople, builders, as well as the general public. The team will also create custom dseigns, including tables, desks, credenzas, kitchen islands, cabinets, shelving, sliding doors, wall installations, and objet d’art, just to name a few.
Anthropologie The Grove 6301 W 3rd St. Los Angeles, CA, 90036
Anthropologie is an emporium for creative-minded–people who have their own style, but still enjoy the latest trends. The extensive home product line includes furniture; rugs & curtains; accessories; candles; bedding, pillows & throws; and wallpaper.
Modern wallpaper trends are going strong! A relatively simple and inexpensive update, today's patterns range from cool retro to classic vintage, contemporary chic, and romantic floral. Love the look of wallpaper, but don't want to make a permanent commitment? Removable and temporary wallpaper is great way to incorporate color, texture, and depth to a room. Chasing Paper is beautiful, well-designed removable wallpaper that will stick to nearly any surface. Created from conversations with serial movers, renters, and of course, commitment-phobes, Chasing Paper is simple to hang and easy to remove. Chasing Paper has been featured on The Today Show, Real Simple, Buzzfeed, and Martha Stewart Weddings. Order online from their vast selection.
Photo credits:
Photo #1: Chasing Paper
Photo #2: My Design Agenda
Photo #3: My Design Agenda
Photo #4: Blackman Cruz
Photo #5: 101 Design
Photo #6: Lance Wang Interior Decor
Photo #7: Big Daddy's Antiques
Photo #8: Silverado Salvage & Design
Photo #9: Anthropologie
Photo #10: Chasing Paper
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If you're searching for the perfect accessory to spruce up your home in the New Year, consider becoming a plant parent! House plants are ideal for urban living – they bring nature into your home and studies indicate that plants reduce stress, help purify the air, reduce noise, improve wellness and even increase your creativity. Plants also add drama and energy to your home decor. If you have a furry friend, make sure that your new plant family members are non-toxic to nibbling pooches and felines. Check out this list of pet-friendly flowers & plants from Teleflora. Now that you're ready for plant-parenthood, here are some inspiring ideas to get you started.
As with any kind of home decor, a houseplant collection looks best when you’ve got variety – of leaf, shape, texture, color, and size. And that means sometimes you have to go big. Large leaf houseplants can tie a room together and lend an air of tropical tranquility your desk cactus just can’t achieve, no matter how hard it tries. Looking for inspiration? Apartment Therapy has some great suggestions for big leaf houseplants to bring big style to your home.
The Plant Provocateur 3318 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026
Owner Hank Jenkins admits that he's obsessed with plants and how they influence beauty, design, and lifestyle. Originally from the backwoods of Michigan, the garden designer, author, and former glam rock band front, has a mission to "Inspire with Plants" and encouirages folks to aspire to the beauty plants provide. Specializiing in unique and sometimes hard-to-find house plants, The Plant Provocateur also sells planting supplies and a curated selection of vases, jars, pots, and other interesting display vessels.
Sunset Blvd Nursery 4368 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90039
Located in the heart of Silverlake on the corner of Sunset Blvd & Fountain Ave., Sunset Nursery has been family owned and operated since 1959. The nusery carries a wide selection of house plants, from small to large, to freshen your interior. Add pizzaz to your balcony with an array of colorful cacti and succulents, California native and drought tolerant plants. They also offer flower pots imported from all over the world and an extensive line of organic fertilizers and eco-friendly plant products to keep your plants happy, healthy, and all-natural.
Mickey Hargitay Plants 1255 N Sycamore Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90038
Plant yourself in one of Los Angeles' premiere nurseries, whose clients include Sony Design Center, Whole Foods Market, Calvin Klein Studio, Tommy Hilfiger, and an astonishing list of celebrities. The 1,500-square-foot greenhouse is home to a wide selection of indoor and outdoor tropical plants of all sizes. They also stock decorative containers in Italian Terra Cotta, Malaysian and Chinese Ceramics, Mexican Red Clay and Rattan baskets. More than a store, Mickey Hargitay Plants can help with your interior and exterior landscape and design needs. They also offer a guaranteed indoor plant maintenance service, with a weekly visit by one of their expertly-trained technicians.
6 Easy Ways to Keep Your Plants Alive During the Dark Days of Winter
Baby, it’s cold outside, and since your indoor plants can’t exactly slip on a sweater, the change in season means attending to them with a little extra care. Well and Good has some tips for keeping your plants happy and healthy, like increasing the light with a grow light, stabilizing indoor temperature, skipping the fertilizer, and remembering to dust!
Bloomscape Subscription Service for Plants
Everyone should live with a little more green – and Bloomscape is here to help strengthen your relationship with plants. They make buying plants easy by delivering healthy, ready-to-go plants to your door and setting you up with the tips and tricks you need to help your plants thrive. plants make life better. Bloomscape comes from five generations of greenhouse growers and floral industry innovators, and their roots go all the way back to ancestors who were pioneers in the Netherlands’ horticulture industry. Plants are shipped with care and experience, at the right temperature to protect their roots and keep them healthy while they travel from the greenhouse to your home.
Let Your Plants Play Music, and Gardens of Sound Will Bloom
PlantWave turns a plant's biorhythms into music. Just attach two sensors to a plant’s leaves and PlantWave connects wirelessly to an iOS or Android device running the app. PlantWave converts the electrical conductivity of houseplants into audio, giving plants the chance to sing, by detecting slight electrical variations on the leaves. These variations are graphed as a wave, which is translated into pitch messages that play musical instruments designed by the PlantWave team. Other characteristics of the wave change the textural qualities of those sounds. The result is a continuous stream of pleasing music that gives you a sonic window into the secret life of plants.
If you want to live longer, surround yourself with plants
If you want to live longer, live around green space. That’s the simple conclusion of the largest analysis ever performed on the relationship between the environment and human longevity – ever. Eight million people. Seven countries. One simple finding: People who lived near more green space lived longer than people who lived near less. All the more reason to put some plants in your life!
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