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Elika Roohi

Decorate Your Dorm on a Budget

Going to college is expensive—tuition, fees, room and board, text books, meal plans. Before you even step foot on campus, it’s likely that you’ve already shelled out thousands of dollars for the privilege.

That financial reality can leave the extra things, like making your new dorm room feel like home, feel out of reach. But there’s always a way to make your life a little nicer, even on the cheap. Read on for our top tips for outfitting your dorm on a budget.

Cheap is good; free is better

When it comes to decorations, don’t look down on hand-me-downs. Reconsider an old book shelf from your dad or a dusty wall-hanging from your mom. You can always paint wood furniture or cover outdated upholstery. And the adage “what’s old is new again” is still definitely true, especially when you have no money.

Before you buy anything (seriously, anything) ask around and see if someone has an extra microwave or mini-fridge or even extra hangers lying around.

DIY

Be crafty and make things yourself. Not only does this let you really personalize your new space in your new life, it also opens up opportunities for conversation. There’s nothing as satisfying as answering a compliment with “Thanks, I made it myself!”

Truly a budget-friendly option, you only need to spend a little bit on supplies, and then you can create anything from lampshades to curtains to your own artwork. Some other easy DIY ideas include enlarging one of your favorite photos to hand on the wall as a poster or using sidewalk chalk to create an indoor, temporary mural.

Think thrift

Warehouse stores, dollar stores, secondhand shops and yard sales are all good places to find useful items for your new home without shelling out a ton of cash. Furnishing your dorm with cheap things you’re not too attached to is imperative, since your life in college is temporary, and it’s unlikely you’ll end up taking everything you buy now on to the next stage of your life.

Another place you might be able to find what you’re looking for? The dump! We’re serious. If you want to give dumpster diving a try, look out for items that can be put in the washing machine at high heat to kill any germs or hosed down and possibly repainted.

Go halfsies

Your dorm is a shared space, so it makes sense to share the cost of its decoration. Sit down with your roommate—or reach out via email if it’s before the semester begins—to see what they are comfortable with in terms of cost and decorations so you’re both on the same page.

Splitting the costs of bigger items, like a rug or a mini-fridge, gives both of your lives an upgrade at a price point you can afford.

One tip before agreeing to going halfsies: make a plan for who gets what when you inevitably move out. Maybe agree to buy out the other half of the mini-fridge or decide to take one of the shared items while your roommate gets the other. Agreeing on this ahead of time is a way to avoid potential future conflict.

Get creative with your art

When it comes to personalizing your space, one of the best ways is by decorating your walls. Adding some color and fun to the new cinderblock expanse you’re suddenly faced with can be easy and cheap. Look for inexpensive frames from somewhere like a dollar store or IKEA, and then search for cheap, downloadable wall art from websites like Etsy.

If you don’t have access to a high-quality printer or aren’t into the vibe of downloaded art, almost anything you put in a frame gets and automatic upgrade. Look for wrapping paper with a pattern you like and frame that, or spend some time making art out of magic markers. Whatever it is, your room will look great and your bank account will look great too.

Stay safe

After putting so much work into making your dorm a beautiful space, that last thing you want is for someone to break in and trash it. Or worse—steal your valuable belongings, like a laptop. Between 2010 and 2012, there were nearly 34,000 robberies in student residences across the nation.

To secure your down, consider installing a door or window alarm and insuring your valuable belongings. Always lock your doors and windows, make sure you know the guest policy in your dorm and put your valuables away when you’re not in the room.

Picture this

Nothing makes a space feel like yours quite as much as having pictures all around you. An easy way to do this is to bring a bunch of your own printed photos, get some string and clothespins. Then hang the photos with the clothespins from the string. Simple, cheap and all you.

This piece is sponsored by Navien Mate

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Europe Travel Ban

President Trump Announces Travel Restrictions for Europeans in Oval Office Address

In a televised Oval office address last night, President Donald Trump announced a temporary travel ban, limiting most Europeans from coming to the U.S.

After weeks of playing down the spread of COVID-19, a novel coronavirus, President Trump finally issued a word of caution, telling Americans to be “very, very careful.”

The travel ban will take effect at midnight on Friday, and will initially be in place for 30 days.

“I am confident that by counting and continuing to take these tough measures, we will significantly reduce the threat to our citizens and we will ultimately and expeditiously defeat this virus,” Trump said.

The address was only his second time speaking to the nation from the Oval office, the first being in January 2019 during a partial government shutdown when President Trump asserted that funding for a border wall was essential for the nation’s security.

The specifics of the travel ban

Although it was unclear in President’s Trump address, the travel ban will not prevent Americans abroad from coming home. U.S. citizens, permanent residents and their families, health professionals that are part of international efforts to combat the spread of the virus, diplomats and air or sea crew are all excluded from the ban.

Although Americans travelling abroad at the moment should take note of the spreading virus, yesterday classified as a global pandemic by the WHO, and return home immediately, regardless of whether the travel ban applies to them or not.

Which countries are included?

The 26 European countries in the Schengen zone—Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland are included in the travel ban.

Which countries aren’t?

The U.K., despite having almost 600 cases and hardly any social-distancing restrictions in place to stop its spread, and Ireland are not included in the ban. This technically means that if you are a European foreign national flying to the U.S., you could schedule a stay in the U.K. for more than 14 days and then be cleared to enter the U.S.

It’s interesting to note that the U.K. and Ireland both host Trump golf resorts.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is due to meet the President on Thursday, and that meeting is still scheduled to go ahead.

Trade and cargo under a Europe travel ban

During his Oval office address, the President suggested that trade with Europe would be affected, saying “these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval.”

However on Twitter afterwards, he said it was “very important for all countries & businesses to know that trade will in no way be affected by the 30-day restriction on travel from Europe. The restriction stops people not goods.”

The second assertion is correct—trade and cargo will not be affected. The exemption for air and sea crew from the ban in meant to keep goods moving smoothly.

Trump attacks Europe

The President accused Europe of spreading a “foreign virus” on American soil, saying the EU “failed to take the same precautions and restrict travel from China and other hotspots. As a result, a large number of new clusters in the United States were seeded by travellers from Europe.”

In fact, COVID-19 reached the U.S. a full 11 days before it reached Italy, the epicenter of Europe’s outbreak. And many clusters of infection in the U.S. are now caused by community transmission, rather than foreign travel. Despite this, little to no social distancing measures have been put in place, and testing remains inaccessible to most.

The EU, in turn, condemned the President’s unilateral ban. In a joint statement on Thursday, the presidents of the European commission and European council defended Europe’s record in managing the pandemic and sharply criticised the White House for its failure to consult its allies.

“The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent, and requires cooperation rather than unilateral action,” Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel said in a statement.

Markets are not assured

Always sensitive to the stock market, the President said in his address that “this is not a financial crisis. This is just a temporary moment in time that we will overcome as a nation and a world.”

However, the markets seemed to be unassured by this statement, tumbling further when they opened today.

Other developments

In other coronavirus news, many were saddened to learn that Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, had tested positive for coronavirus. Hanks is one of the highest-profile celebrities to contract the virus as it has spread through the globe. At 63, he is more at risk, falling into a range where the fatality rate is estimated to be 3.6 percent.

In happier news, China has passed the peak of its outbreak, according to a spokesman for the country’s health ministry. COVID-19 was detected in Wuhan in December 2019, and saw a rapid spread through the country in the months since—Chin has recoded about two-thirds of the cases worldwide. However, on Thursday, there were just 15 new cases from the previous day.

For those who are doing the math and estimating that their own personal lives may be affected for only two to three months, it’s worth noting that China adopted very aggressive quarantine, social distancing and public health policies—things that are not being adopted elsewhere.

See also: Ultra Music Festival & SXSW Canceled From Coronavirus
James Bond Movie “No Time to Die” Release Pushed Back Amid Coronavirus Fears
How To Cope With Coronavirus Anxiety
COVID-19: Everything We Know About Coronavirus Right Now

 

Biden Takes Strong Lead in Race for Democratic Nomination

Tuesday’s Democratic primary elections—which included Michigan, Idaho, North Dakota, Washington, Mississippi and Missouri—saw Joe Biden consolidate his sizeable lead over Bernie Sanders from Super Tuesday into what is seeming more and more a likely nomination.

Biden’s resurgence in the race came after a strong results in South Carolina on February 29, 2020, which then prompted fellow moderate candidates Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg to drop out and endorse Biden on the eve of Super Tuesday when approximately one-third of the delegates were up for grabs. It was a noteworthy move, especially for Buttigieg who came out of the first race, Iowa, on top, where Biden finished in fourth.

Biden’s strong results follow a strong Super Tuesday

Buttigieg’s and Klobuchar’s endorsements of Biden turned the tide in a race which had once included 28 candidates. Biden ended up winning 10 out of the 15 states and territories that voted. Sanders, on the other hand, won four states.

Michael Bloomberg won American Samoa, although he has now dropped out and endorsed Biden, after spending half a billion dollars of his own money on his campaign. Elizabeth Warren, who once led in the polls nationally, failed to win any states and has since dropped out. She has not yet endorsed either candidate.

Tulsi Gabbard, who is still technically in the race, also failed to pick up any wins.

We have the background, take us to March 10

Replicating the combination of voters that delivered such a landslide on Super Tuesday, Biden won Michigan, Missouri and Mississippi with overwhelming support from African Americans and with large margins among suburban and rural white voters. Biden was also named the winner in Idaho.

North Dakota and Washington are yet to be called, although in both states Sanders currently has a small lead.

By pulling strongly ahead of Sanders for a second consecutive week, Biden demonstrated that his success on Super Tuesday was more than fleeting luck, and that his candidacy represented a broad coalition of democratic voters.

In a speech on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Biden said voters had put him “a step closer to restoring decency, dignity and honor to the White House.” Biden then addressed Sanders supporters with an appeal for unity.

“We share a common goal,” Biden said, “and together we’ll defeat Donald Trump.”

For his part, Sanders did not choose to address supporters on Tuesday night, leaving an unusual void. Although both Democratic candidates have recently called off political rallies over coronavirus concerns.

What’s next for Bernie?

Even in his moment of triumph, Biden made very little headway with young and progressive voters, who have remained steadfast Sanders supporters even now. Supporters point to the delegate math as a sign that there could still be an upset.

There are 3,979 delegates, and 1,632 have been allocated so far. Of those, Biden has 823 delegates and Sanders has 663. Tulsi Gabbard has two. Results are still rolling it, but it’s not mathematically impossible for Sanders to win.

However, the states that are left will not be easy ones for Sanders.

Take me to 2016

It’s worth taking a look at what happened in the 2016 Democratic primary race for comparison. Despite his campaign receiving more coverage and attention this time around, Sanders was actually performing far better in 2016.

Back then, he turned out more voters, won by larger margins and generally won more states. Many point out that the race was filled with candidates this time, making it harder for all parties involved. However, even yesterday’s elections which had narrowed to a two-man race, showed signs of Sanders disintegrating coalition: he lost Michigan and Idaho yesterday, but won it in 2016.

Coming up

Seven more states and territories will vote before the end of March, with 11 following in April. April’s primaries include New York, the last big delegate day of the race. If one candidate dominates most states late in the primaries, party leaders will most likely move to get behind that person and seek to bring the race to an end, allowing time for Democratic constituents to rally behind a single candidate and build a unified coalition before the general election in November.

However, primaries continue through early June, and Sanders stayed in the race until then last time—even clinching a win in Montana, a June primary state. So it remains to be seen what will happen.

For more information about primary schedules, visit here. To check if you’re registered to vote, visit here.

See also: Whistleblower’s Complaint Alleges Interference by Trump in Election
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Study Reveals Troubling Link Between Marijuana and False Memories

James Bond Movie “No Time to Die” Release Pushed Back Amid Coronavirus Fears

The latest James Bond film, No Time to Die, was meant to be released in April. Amid coronavirus fears, the 25th 007 will now be delayed until November.

In a statement, MGM, Eon and Universal say the decision was made “after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace”.

The move comes after fears that coronavirus could impact the global box office by as much as $5 billion. There had been cinema closures in Italy, South Korea, China and Japan. The James Bond franchise is traditionally buoyed by international markets, with the last four films all making over 70 percent of their gross revenue outside of America.

The film will now be released in the U.S. on November 25, 2020, and internationally starting on November 12. Universal is handling the international rollout.

Although the delayed release date of the latest James Bond is meant to protect the film from a small box office return, its new date comes with its own challenges. No Time to Die will now open at the same times as Godzilla vs. Kong and Raya and the Last Dragon, two major films from Warner Bros. and Disney respectively.

A November release date might make more sense, argue some critics.

“November has been the traditional home for Bond in the modern era so it makes total sense to move ‘No Time To Die’ to that new date,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said, “And it’s certainly in the best interest of the movie, given the current situation, to get creative and do what needs to be done to ensure the best outcome for the film and for the fans who will just have to wait a bit longer to get a hold of James Bond.”

No Time to Die cost a reported $200 million to make and has been beset with problems during production, including a late-in-the-day departure from original director Danny Boyle and a serious ankle injury for Daniel Craig. The movie was originally set for a November 2019 release date, which was then moved to February 2020 and then again to April.

The James Bond film is the first major flick to change its release date owing to coronavirus concerns, but its expected that it won’t be the last. Disney’s Mulan, due to be released in late March, has long been expected to perform well in China; however, if theater closures continue, its tally at the box office could take a hit.

Disney has not said the movie’s March release in China has been altered, but many are bracing for the announcement. The company’s biggest worry is that the film will be pirated over the internet, putting a dent in potential ticket sales.

Another hit the film industry may weather is related to shooting on location. U.S. film companies could begin to halt production of movies being shot internationally. Already, Paramount Pictures has halted production of Mission: Impossible VII in Italy. Sony Pictures has temporarily shuttered its offices in London, Paris and Poland due to coronavirus fears.

COVID-19

COVID-19: Everything We Know About Coronavirus Right Now

The spread of a mysterious pneumonia-like coronavirus, now named COVID-19, which appears to have originated at a food market in Wuhan, China, has been met with international alarm.

More cases are being reported every day. At least 1,669 people worldwide have reportedly died from the virus, and some 69,000 infections have been recorded globally—the vast majority of these cases are in China, although COVID-19 has spread to 26 other countries, including the U.S.

At the end of January at a press conference in Geneva, the World Health Organization declared a “public health emergency of international concern” over the coronavirus outbreak. Other outbreaks that have been given a designation of international emergency include ebola in 2014 and 2018, zika virus in 2016 and swine flu in 2009.

The WHO’s decision to declare COVID-19 an international concern was “not a vote of no confidence” in China, said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, emphasizing that China’s response has been swift. Instead, it was a global precaution.

“We don’t know what sort of damage this virus could do if it were to spread in a country with a weaker health system,” Ghebreyesus said.

In late January, Chinese officials began implementing a partial quarantine around Wuhan, population 11 million. As of February 6, the city was under a military-style lockdown with authorities going house-to-house and moving infected people to giant quarantine centers.

Despite the virus’s rampant spread and international attention, the WHO only announced the official name for the disease this virus on Tuesday: COVID-19, which stands for Coronavirus Disease 2019, the year the first case appeared.

Here’s the latest update on COVID-19.

First of all, what’s a coronavirus?

According to the CDC, coronaviruses are “common throughout the world,” and they “commonly cause mild to moderate illness.” However, newer strains of the virus have causes severe illness, such as SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2012. According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 is only the seventh type reported to have infected humans.

Do I have COVID-19?

If you’re reading this from a phone or computer screen in the United States, probably not. As of February 16, over 69,000 infections have been reported worldwide with most of them in mainland China.

According to China’s National Health Commission, the best way to combat the spread of the virus is quarantine, as it spreads by droplets from the nose and mouth. However, reports indicate that the virus could be infectious for up to as much as two weeks before people start to show symptoms. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, coughing and difficulty breathing.

Has COVID-19 reached the U.S.?

Yes. The U.S. has confirmed 15 cases of COVID-19, with patients testing positive in Texas, Washington state, California, Arizona, Illinois, Wisconsin and Massachusetts. None of the infections within the U.S. have proved fatal, although there was a case of an American citizen who did die in Wuahn.

The U.S. government has also been evacuating Americans from Wuhan, the first 195 of whom were released on February 11. They had been under mandatory quarantine for two weeks (the suspected incubation period of the virus) at March Air Reserve Base in California, while other groups remain confined on military bases in other parts of California, Texas and Nebraska.

Travel precautions

With the number of confirmed cases rising every day, the CDC has issued a warning level 3, advising everyone to avoid nonessential travel to China. In addition to increasing your risk for COVID-19, there is limited access to adequate medical care in the affected areas. It is also advised that travel to the following areas be avoided if possible: Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Macau.

Some airlines are suspending flights between mainland China and other countries. Delta has suspended all flights to and from China between February 6 through April 30, at the earliest. And American Airlines and United have instituted similar bans.

On January 31, the Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar announced that all passengers on flights to the U.S. who had been in Hubei province within the past 14 days would spend two weeks in quarantine. U.S. citizens who had visited other parts of mainland China would undergo a risk assessment and symptom screening at one of seven airports in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta. If no symptoms were detected, passengers would be allowed to continue their travels, although they would continue to be monitored by health officials.

Political response

On January 31, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation “temporarily suspending the entry into the United States of foreign nationals” who have traveled to China within the past 14 days.

Chinese officials have placed Hubei province on lockdown, along with 30 million people in the coastal province of Zhejiang, about 500 miles away. Fear of the virus has also interfered with trade, but so far, the U.S. is not quarantining goods imported from China.

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summer internship

Land Your Dream Summer Internship with These Tips

Around this time of year, it’s common to dream of warmer summer days. But for many students, thinking about summer is is requirement for January and February, as summer internship application deadlines tend to fall in mid-March or early April.

Now that things have gotten into a routine with your winter semester, it’s time to start thinking about your summer internship.

College News has some tips on how to land the summer internship of your dreams.

Make connections

The best way to increase your chances for a summer internship, or really any, interview is to know someone at your desired employer with some pull. If you, like most of us, don’t have a rolodex of contacts as a 20-year-old student, start by making a list of the companies and organisations you’d like to work for, then ask everyone you can if they know someone. We mean everyone: your parents, their friends, your friends, your friend’s parents, your professors, alumni, etc.

Send cold-emails, schedule informational interviews, go to talks and conferences. Right now is the time to be making as many connections as you can. Early in the application process is when you should be casting your net for contacts far and wide. This gives you time to find and build relationships before the application deadline.

Boost skills your summer internship may want

If you’re looking at an application that requires their ideal candidate to be a whiz at Excel or Adobe InDesign, don’t automatically write yourself off for missing them. Now is the time to brush up on any skills that could boost your application.

Take an extra course at school, enroll in an online course, check our books from the library—use any resources at your disposal to build an ideal skill set. That way, your application will be difficult to ignore.

Brush up your resumé and cover letter

Most college campuses have career centers or other resources dedicated to helping students be as prepared as they can be for jobs and internship opportunities. Bring your resumé and cover letter to someone there, and ask them any questions you have including if someone at your school has a relationship with your desired employer, and if so, can you contact them?

While you’re at it, share your resumé and cover letter with a friend in the same field who can help you think about the language you use to describe your experience. Ask them to keep an eye out for grammatical and formatting errors while they’re at it.

Practice interviewing for you summer internship

The best way to get better at job interviews is to practice, but you might not be in a position to arrange a bunch of practice interviews with different companies. If that’s the case, ask friends and family members to practice interviewing with you. It will feel awkward and tedious, but the preparation will help you feel more confident when the time comes.

Make sure you have a chance to fine tune your answers to broad questions that can be difficult to answer like “tell me about yourself?” or “what are your strengths and weaknesses?” Being able to stay calm, collected and coherent when answering inquiries like that will make you stand out to a potential employer.

Start your summer internship applications now

The most important part of summer internship applications is just that—the application. Summer internships are highly competitive, and you will likely have to apply for more than you anticipate. With deadlines not for another month at least, it might seem early. But start in on it now, and you’ll be well on your way.

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Applying for a Post-Graduate Degree

EDEN Finds His Footing with New Album “no future”

It seems more accurate to say that fame found Jonathon Ng, rather than the other way around.

The 24-year-old Irish artist, who goes by EDEN and whose latest album comes out today, is “one of Europe’s fastest rising stars,” according to The Times. His music has caught the attention of Lorde, who said to him: “Please keep making lovely things. I’ll listen”

He now can boast of over one billion streams, a critically acclaimed debut album, a successful world tour with another one just around the corner.

But Ng comes at his success with a quietness one doesn’t often associate with pop stars. Until quite recently, he produced all of his music himself in his bedroom. He would also post promotional photos with his face blurred.

“I wanted to not be known, like, personally at all,” he said.

But as his music exploded in popularity online, it became harder and harder to keep his identity obscured. He eventually signed with a manager—the same one behind Ariana Grande, Kanye West and Justin Bieber, which led to a record deal with Astralwerks. He went on a 50-date US tour in 2016. He’d reached a point where he could no longer keep it quiet.

Today, his latest album, comes out. Walking the line between earnest emotion and ingenuity, “no future” is another masterful work by the young artist who—although we now know who he is—we expect has only just begun to show us what he’s capable of.

College News reached out to EDEN to talk influences, inspiration and what will come next.

You’ve been producing your own music since you were a teen, putting out albums as The Eden Project and later EDEN. Going back before that, what are your earliest memories of making music?

I started writing music at around seven or eight. I was obsessed with Eminem at the time and would take his songs and essentially just replace all the lyrics with my own. That developed into writing terrible pop songs on piano, which I did for fun in a notebook my mom had got me. That kind of subsided for a few years, until I picked up the guitar at 12 and then I was completely hooked.

How has your background as a classical violinist informed your music today?

I think it really helped me grow a deep understanding for composition. The ways and structures through which music can breathe, develop and move you. So in changing something about a chord, you can change the way a whole section is felt. Its powerful stuff.

When you switched from The Eden Project to EDEN, what changed beside your name?

It was really a change in priorities. Before I had been quite focused on electronic production—the vocals fitting an overall goal rather than informing it. And then it evolved to a point where it felt like everything had joined together. The song-writing I was doing that was separate to the things I was making on my computer started to coalesce. I was transitioning away from the music and ideas that I had originally explored and was really excited about where I was going. it just felt right to have that separation.

Tell us about your new album, “no future”. What’s evolved between your last album, “vertigo” (2018), and this one?

I think both albums have been massively important to me personally. Moving through and out of a really strange and confusing part of my life. Musically I feel like I’m a lot closer to something that feels completely my own. The disorientation that bred “vertigo” is definitely not as apparent on “no future”. “no future” feels like a platform to me. I’m glad to be releasing it, but more excited still for what’s next, to be completely honest. And that’s a feeling that was missing from my life for a long time.

The new singles are great. I especially liked “isohel.” Tell us a bit about it and how it relates to the album as a whole.

“isohel” is actually quite reflective of that transition I was just talking about. That the pieces you had to leave behind in order to move on or grow can still be a source of good feeling, but are best left where they are. Yeah, things could have happened differently, but you are where you are and I definitely wouldn’t risk losing it.

You do most of your recording and producing in your home studio—and of course, you started making music in your bedroom. How do you think keeping this process in your own setting has influenced your music?

On one hand I think that collaboration is a great thing, and if I had not been a solo artist that my journey so far would have been a lot smoother in certain aspects. But I love creating things, and I find the best way for me to get these ideas out of myself is to just do them myself. Which on one hand has led me down certain holes and into dead ends via tunnel vision etc., but on the other I think has allowed me to really just be myself. There are no compromises or outside ideas, so it can be quite unfiltered.

I know it’s become a bit of a trend for artists to put out their album and song names without any capitalization. You’ve been doing it for a while—could you tell us about your thought process for releasing the names of your work all lowercase?

At first, I didn’t really know why I preferred it that way. But it became clear that it was a balance thing. Capitalisation feels like it unbalances words to me. And only recently I was in a museum at a Bauhaus exhibit and realised that it was a movement long before I was born—which at least made me feel less irrational.

Is there anything you were reading a lot or listening to over the course of writing this album?

Solar Bones by Mike McCormack, tonnes of museum visits, your mom’s Facebook friends’ angry comments.

Tell us about your influences, both musical and non. What are the bands and artists that you draw inspiration from? Are there non-musical creators and art that inspire your work as well?

I think my biggest source of inspiration outside of music is film and contemporary art. I have been so lucky to work with astounding directors Zhang + Knight on all my video projects over the last few years, and I even scored their debut short film. It’s such an eye-opening experience working with artists like them.

You’ve spent a lot of time on the road in the past few years and are gearing up for another tour soon. What are you looking forward to with your “no future” 2020 tour?

We have completely rebuilt the show from the ground up. This definitely is the best I’ve ever felt before hitting the road. The show is something I’m so proud to call mine and I can’t wait to share it with people.

What can we expect next from EDEN?

I am already working, and whatever it is will come as soon as humanly possible.

[Answers were edited for clarity/grammar.]

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Which Colleges are Best for Psychology?

Will This Antidepressant Work for You? A Brain Scan May Reveal the Answer

A new study of more than 300 people with major depression found that brain wave patterns predicted which ones were most likely to respond to antidepressants, in this case the drug sertraline also known as Zoloft.

This small step toward understanding treatment for depression was reported on Monday in the journal Nature Biotechnology. If the approach pans out, it could offer better care for the millions of people in the U.S. with major depression.

“This is definitely a step forward,” said Michele Ferrante, who directs the computational psychiatry and computational neuroscience programs at the National Institute of Mental Health.

Right now, “one of our great frustrations is that when a patient comes in with depression we have very little idea what the right treatment for them is,” said Dr. Amit Etkin, an author of the study and a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University. “Essentially, the medications are chosen by trial and error.”

See also: Dr. Sherry Benton on Mental Health Support at College

Side effects of antidepressants

Trial and error can be a harrowing way to select an antidepressant for patients. The drugs can cause a wide range of unpleasant side effects, including nausea, weight gain and increased appetite, loss of sex drive, fatigue and drowsiness, insomnia, dry mouth, blurred vision and constipation.

And for patients suffering from these side effects, it’s not as simple as stopping taking the antidepressants. “Don’t do it,” advises Mayo Clinic. Without antidepressants, depression symptoms will return, but this time with withdrawal-like symptoms.

See also: Your Seven Day Break on the Pill is Bogus—Here’s Why

Antidepressants study

In the study, researchers used artificial intelligence to analyze the brainwave patterns in more than 300 patients who had been diagnosed with major depression. Then they looked to see what happened when these same patients started treatment with sertraline.

And one pattern of electrical activity seemed to predict how well a patient would do. “If the person scores particularly high on that, the recommendation would be to get sertraline,” Etkin said.

Also, people whose brain waves showed they wouldn’t do well with the drug, were more likely to respond to a non-drug therapy called transcranial magnetic stimulation.

The results suggest depression treatment doesn’t have to rely on trial and error. “By finding people who are particularly sensitive to an antidepressant, we can find those people for whom the drug is very effective,” Etkin said.

Putting it into practice

Most psychiatrists and psychologists already have the EEG equipment needed to collect brainwave data, although they would need to upload that data to be analyzed.

The study shows that scientists are finally getting closer to understanding how to pick the best treatment for someone with depression.

“We are certainly pushing in that direction,” Ferrante said.

See also: Study Reveals Troubling Link Between Marijuana and False Memories
Do Nootropics Work?
Helping a Friend Who Has a Substance Abuse Problem

Bong Joon-ho Hero

Bong Joon-ho Should be Your New Hero (A Proposal)

Award-winning Korean director and man of the moment Bong Joon-ho dominated headlines earlier this week after claiming four academy awards for his biting class-warfare film Parasite, which made history as the first foreign-language film ever to win best picture.

It’s all well and good to admire Joon-ho for breaking barriers in the film industry, creating beautiful cinematic art and bringing talented Asian actors to our frustratingly white theater screens. But we believe he’s even more than that—a 2020 hero if you will.

Here’s why he should be yours.

Bong Joon-ho stood up to Harvey Weinstein

Women (and some men too, we imagine) around the country are watching Harvey Weinstein on trial right now, seeing the man whose alleged actions were so atrocious they unleashed a storm of accusations and complains about sexual assault and misconduct across the world, hide behind a female lawyer and a walker.

“Is there no one left to champion justice?” Women are wondering, probably.

Bong Joon-ho is!

In an interview with Vulture late last year, the director shared a story about working with Weinstein on his film Snowpiercer, of which Weinstein had bought the distribution rights in 2012. The film is a unique hybrid depicting a class rebellion set in a sci-fi dystopia. It presents as a slick Hollywood action movie, but the themes delve deeper than your modern, omnipresent comic book flick.

Weinstein wanted to cut 25 minutes and to have more action. “It was a doomed encounter,” Joon-ho said. The two men of cinema fought back and forth, with Joon-ho having a hard time deterring Harvey. “Weinstein’s nickname is ‘Harvey Scissorhands,'” he said. He wanted to cut out dialogue and cut a major scene involving gutting a fish. Without these, Joon-ho felt his film would become incoherent.

But finally he came up with an idea. “Harvey hated it. Why fish? We need action!” Bong remembers. “I had a headache in that moment: What do I do? So suddenly, I said, ‘Harvey, this shot means something to me.’”

“Oh, Bong? What?” Bong-as-Harvey booms.

“It’s something personal,” Bong replies. “My father was a fisherman. I’m dedicating this shot to my father.”

Weinstein relents immediately: “You should have said something earlier, Bong! Family is the most important. You have the shot.”

“I said, ‘Thank you,’” Bong says, laughing. “It was a f***ing lie. My father was not a fisherman.”

“It was a f***ing lie. My father was not a fisherman.”

He called the Oscars local

Much fuss has been made this awards season about the ascendancy of Parasite. “‘Parasite’ Oscar win raises hopes of new era for Korean film” read one headline, “‘Parasite’ Winning Best Picture is a Powerful Reminder to Americans of the 1 Thing We’re Missing Out On” reads another.

But Bong Joon-ho is almost bored by this coverage. In the same Vulture interview, Joon-ho says as much.

“I ask what he thinks of the fact that no Korean film has ever been nominated for an Oscar despite the country’s outsize influence on cinema in the past two decades,” writes E. Alex Jung.

“It’s a little strange, but it’s not a big deal,” Bong Joon-ho says, shrugging. “The Oscars are not an international film festival. They’re very local.”

“The Oscars are not an international film festival. They’re very local.”

He tries to mostly drink coffee and not meet a lot of people

Stars, they’re not like us, despite what Us Weekly wants us to believe. But Bong Joon-ho might actually be like us.

In an interview with the Telegraph Review, Joon-ho shared that his creative secret is to “try to maintain a very simple lifestyle.”

“Drink coffee, write, and try not to meet a lot of people.”

Honestly, same.

He wondered aloud if Hollywood could read

At the Golden Globes, Parasite won an award for best foreign-language film. Joon-ho graciously accepted the award, saying “Just being nominated along with fellow, amazing international filmmakers was a huge honor. I think we use only one language: the cinema.”

Except actually, we speak many languages in this world. There are in fact roughly 6,500 spoken languages across the planet, although blockbuster films are nearly always in English.

Bong Joon-ho went on to muse on that fact, saying: “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”

He reacted the same way any of us would have, immediately upon receiving more than one statuette, no matter how iconic those statuettes are

See also: Oscars Diversity Missing From 2020 Ceremony
“Parasite” Makes History at the Oscars

Bernie Wins New Hampshire Primary, Buttigieg a Close Second

Following the indecision and bungled caucus in Iowa, the race for Democratic nominee for President finally has a result to rally around. Senator Bernie Sanders narrowly won the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday with a tight lead over more moderate candidate former mayor Pete Buttigieg.

“This victory here is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump,” declared Sanders last night.

The other 2020 frontrunners, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren, finished third and fourth respectively. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who many previously believed would be the nominee, finished in a far fifth place, giving his campaign a tough road ahead.

Technology entrepreneur Andrew Yang who campaigned heavily on the issue of setting a Universal Basic Income dropped out of the race after securing less than three percent of the vote and no delegates. Colorado Senator Michael Bennet also ended his campaign.

In New Hampshire Primary, Bernie Sanders benefitted from a field that has divided voters

With only 26 percent of the vote, Sanders eked out the lowest winning Democratic primary vote share in New Hampshire in almost 70 years. This is especially noteworthy, as in 2016, Sanders beat Hillary Clinton with 60 percent of the vote to her 38 percent.

However, the race is strikingly different this time. The field has divided voters between two progressive candidates (Sanders and Warren) and three moderate ones (Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Biden). Historically, by the time candidates reach the New Hampshire primary, the field has narrowed dramatically. And while the field has been culled from its initial 28 down to its current nine, that’s still more strong candidates than voters typically encounter in New Hampshire.

Some needed momentum after Iowa

After last week’s debacle in Iowa, candidates felt robbed of a chance to head into New Hampshire with some momentum from a declared victory. A mishandled app, combined with an already complex system of counting votes, lead to prolonged period without any clear results.

Pete Buttgieg declared victory before any results were in, leading many to criticize him campaign. #MayorCheat began trending on Twitter, and reporters pointed out the financial connection between the tech company that designed the caucus app and Buttigieg’s campaign.

After a recount several days later, the results did show that Buttigieg had won with a narrow victory of 0.1 percent and one delegate. However, the momentum candidates usually gain from a victory in Iowa—historically, this is when Barack Obama’s campaign really gained traction—was lost in a packed news week that included a highly divisive and showy State of the Union speech and President Trump’s impeachment vote that resulted in an acquittal.

An emboldened President Trump, watching chaos in the first Democratic caucus and certain he was to be acquitted later that week, declared himself the winner of Iowa. Polling reflecting this claim, with Trump’s approval rating going up 0.4 percent between the beginning of last week and the end.

After New Hampshire primary, is Bernie a sure thing?

The New Hampshire primary is historically the point in the race when the front runner becomes, if not inevitable, nearly so. After New Hampshire, often the electorate sees candidates end their campaigns, throwing their endorsements behind the frontrunners. And while Tuesday’s race did see Yang and Bennet drop out, neither candidate was a clear threat to any of the five leading figures.

Sanders’ campaign is already benefitting from his strong performance in New Hampshire, as well as Iowa. He’s also the only frontrunner who has raised enough money to finance a robust advertising and get-out-the-vote effort in Nevada and South Carolina, the next two states to vote, as well as in the 15 states and territories that vote on Super Tuesday, March 3.

Strong results and a flush purse are weighing heavily in Sanders’ favor. However, he still faces daunting obstacles. Most notably, he has not yet demonstrated an ability to build a broader coalition beyond his loyal faction of progressives.

Nevada’s upcoming caucus will also test the candidate’s popularity with minority voters, of whom there were not many in the majority white Iowa and New Hampshire.

Former New York City Mayor and self-funding candidate Michael Bloomberg may also be a formidable challenge in the upcoming races. Bloomberg entered the race in November—far later than the other candidates—planning to use his vast wealth to run a different kind of campaign. He didn’t competed in the first nominating states, but he’s hoping to make a strong showing on Super Tuesday. Polls currently show Bloomberg rising nationally in some of those contests, in part because he’s been one of the only candidates who has been able to buy advertising in those states.

Elusive electability

For primary voters, their concern in 2020 is less about picking a certain nominee and more about making sure that nominee is someone the electorate can rally around. The 2016 election paralyzed democratic voters who no longer trust their own analysis and instincts. Democrats are worried about one thing: Who can beat Donald Trump.

Democrats are worried about one thing: Who can beat Donald Trump.

When viewed through that lens, choosing from the myriad of candidates becomes infinitely more complicated.

Although Sanders has run a strong campaign so far, he’s proven polarizing to moderate democrats. And there are deep doubts across much of the party about his ability to win the general election. It is unclear whether he will be able to ease those concerns in time to take control of the race during March.

See also: Whistleblower’s Complaint Alleges Interference by Trump in Election
What You Need to Know from Yesterday’s State of the Union Address
Study Reveals Troubling Link Between Marijuana and False Memories