Culture

Symposium seeks to promote Vietnamese signature sandwich for tourism development

March 31, 2023 by en.vietnamplus.vn Leave a Comment

A variety of banh mi products are displayed at the first banh mi festival in HCM City. (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA) – Vietnam’s banh mi brand is growing rapidly, thus its development should be promoted to help popularise the country’s images and fuel tourism, heard a symposium held in Ho Chi Minh City on March 31.

The event, held by the Tourism Department and the Tourism Association of HCM City, looked into the development of banh mi throughout history.

Experts said banh mi has become a famous food mentioned by multiple domestic and foreign magazines. For example, CNN Travel described the street food as “one of Vietnam’s most famous exports” while Fodor Travel called it one of the world’s 30 must-try sandwiches.

Dr Ho Van Tuong, a culture expert, said derived from France’s baguette, banh mi has been made a world-famous food by generations of Vietnamese and become a source of pride of Vietnamese people.

It is now present in almost all eating places, from vendor stalls to luxury restaurants, he noted.

To make use of the brand of Vietnam’s banh mi for tourism development, some tourism organisations suggested HCM City create websites on this food in many languages to introduce it further to international friends.

Production and business establishments should boost promotion activities to bring banh mi closer to tourists. Meanwhile, authorities need to popularise the signature sandwich of Vietnam via tourism and culinary TV shows while increasing management of food safety. Banh mi can also be offered as a fast food to travellers who join tours, they suggested./.

VNA

USA’s tipping culture explained as tourists complain it’s a ‘nightmare’

April 1, 2023 by www.express.co.uk Leave a Comment

TRAVEL: Tipping in the USA

Tipping is very important in the USA (Image: Getty)

While tipping for a meal is customary in the UK, a standard rate is 10 to 12.5 percent. In the USA , the service charge can be as high as 20 percent. An American server recently went viral when she complained that a table of Europeans only left a 10 percent tip on a $700 (£566) bill.

In the USA many restaurant or bar workers rely on tips to pay their wages, rather than seeing it as an extra bonus.

A tourist ‘Jose Gaston’ wrote on Twitter: “Just charge a fee for service and do not lean on customers’ mood. Tipping in the USA is a nightmare.”

Another person ‘ry’ said: “Tipping culture is out of hand in the USA! Pay your workers a decent wage so they don’t need to rely on tips.”

Express.co.uk spoke to Tom Thoms, a travel expert and founder of Mallorca.Info to find out how much British tourists should tip on a holiday in the USA.

Restaurant staff usually get a tip of 15 to 20 percent (Image: Getty)

Tom said: “In the United States, tipping is a part of everyday life. Tipping for most services, including restaurants, bars, hotels and taxis is customary.

“However, for British tourists who are not used to tipping, knowing how much to tip can be a bit confusing.”

Restaurants

He said: “In restaurants it is customary to tip between 15 and 20 percent of the total bill. This amount is based on the quality of the service you receive.

“If the service was exceptional, you might want to tip more than 20 percent. It’s important to note that in the United States, servers rely heavily on tips to make a living wage, so if the service is good, you must show your appreciation with a tip.”

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Bars

Tom told Express.co.uk : “At bars, it is customary to tip between $1-2 (81p-£1.62) per drink. If you order a complicated drink, such as a martini, it is polite to tip a bit more.”

British tourists might be surprised to find they need to tip a bartender but this is standard practice in the USA.

Hotels

“In hotels, it is customary to tip the housekeeping staff $2-$5 (£1.62- £4.05) per day. It’s also customary to tip the bellhop $1-$2 (81p-£1.62) per bag they carry. If you have a doorman or a valet, it’s customary to tip them $1-$2 (81p-£1.62) as well”, said Tom.

It’s important to tip cleaners, porters and doormen at hotels in the USA so tourists should try to carry some small bills.

Tourists may be able to tip by card (Image: Getty)

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Taxis

Tom told Express.co.uk : “In taxis, it is customary to tip between 15 and 20 percent of the total fare. If the driver provides exceptional service, you may want to tip more.”

If tourists use apps such as Uber to order taxis in the USA, there’s an option to tip the driver at the end of the ride.

Tom added: “While tipping may seem unnecessary, it is important to remember that in the United States, many service industry employees rely on tips to make a living wage.

“By tipping appropriately, you are not only showing your appreciation for good service, but you are also helping to support the livelihoods of these individuals.

“In addition to the benefits of tipping for service industry workers, there are also personal benefits for travellers.

“Tipping can enhance your travel experience by helping you build rapport with the people you interact with.

“ A friendly smile and a generous tip can make a lasting impression and even result in better service or insider tips for your next destination.”

The service charge will sometimes be added to the overall bill but sometimes travellers will need to do the maths themselves.

Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn exposes woke culture’s dangers to women: ‘Strength to speak out’

April 1, 2023 by www.foxnews.com Leave a Comment

Video

Biden admin is ‘anti-the rule of law’: Sen. Marsha Blackburn

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., joins ‘Sunday Night in America’ to discuss Attorney General Merrick Garland testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., held a “Women’s Empowerment Roundtable” earlier in March, the video of which is now available online — and among the themes that emerged from the discussion are that freedom, independence and courage are needed more than ever today to stand up to troublesome issues in the culture.

Joining Sen. Blackburn were former D1 swimmer Riley Gaines from the University of Kentucky, who was forced to compete in college against a biological male; former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi; former Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas; president of the Judicial Crisis Network, Carrie Severino; and former television anchor and journalist in Nashville, Stacy Case.

Sen. Blackburn told Fox News Digital exclusively about the forum, “I was pleased to have such strong and independent women join me to discuss the importance of empowering our next generation of female leaders. We must ensure all women have a seat at the table — not just those propped up by the mainstream media.”

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The panelists explained how and why they’ve felt the need to speak up — and why they remain determined about “not letting the Left get to” them, Sen. Blackburn said.

Former Rep. Flores said she was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. at age six — and today remains a proud American who is pursuing the American dream and standing strong for her family especially, she said.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. (top left) held a “Women’s Empowerment Roundtable” recently — and invited five women to share views of today’s cultural challenges. At top center is former Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas; at top right is former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi. Bottom left, former TV anchor and journalist, Stacy Case of Nashville; bottom center, president of the Judicial Crisis Network, Carrie Severino; and bottom right, Riley Gaines, former University of Kentucky D1 swimmer. (Sen. Marsha Blackburn)

She said her children inspire her in her courage.

In addition, she said her father — as someone who worked in the cotton fields — instilled in her “the value of hard work.”

Also, “I’m a proud Border Patrol wife,” she said.

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She is undeterred, she said, about speaking out for the values she cherishes , no matter what the mainstream culture may be suggesting she do or not do.

She said she believes “that our children” are the ones who “give us the motivation to keep on going … They’re my biggest inspiration.”

A male swimmer came along and “knocked” Riley Gaines “off the podium.”

Riley Gaines, meanwhile, “was reaching” for her lifelong dreams as a college athlete — and “and then all of a sudden,” a male swimmer came along , said Sen. Blackburn, and “knocked you off the podium.”

So “what gave you strength to speak out on that?” ask Sen. Blackburn.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is shown speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, in February 2021. She recently held an online “Women’s Empowerment Forum,” telling Fox News Digital, “We must ensure all women have a seat at the table.” (REUTERS/Octavio Jones)

Gaines said of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, “A little background. This isn’t just a male swimmer who was good swimming as a male and then transitioned to a woman. This was a male who was ranking 462nd nationally among the men — transitioning to the women’s side, dominating, becoming the fastest female in the country by body lengths, beating out Olympians” and many others, she said.

“So to me, what inspired me to truthfully speak up is, I felt like if I didn’t, I was denying objective truth.”

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Gaines also said, “I know that man and woman [are] the sheer essence of humanity. And when we’ve reached a spot in our society and within our culture where we’re denying that — that’s a much bigger problem than just the ‘fairness in sports’ piece. We’re denying truth. We’re changing our language.”

Riley Gaines has taken a strong stand for women athletes in a culture that is pushing trans agendas. Gaines told Sen. Marsha Blackburn, “When we’ve reached a spot in our society and within our culture where we’re denying” that man and woman represent “the sheer essence of humanity” — then that is “a much bigger problem than the ‘fairness in sports’ piece,” she said. (Fox News)

Added Gaines, “It’s now offensive to use terms like ‘motherhood,’ ‘breastfeeding,’ all of these terms that are strictly for women.”

She noted, “And so, me, being 22 — I was actually set to be in dental school this year, and so my life plans have changed drastically.”

“I don’t think it makes you transphobic to acknowledge that there are two sexes.”

She went on, “But I saw the problem. I saw that no younger women were willing to speak up to this because these girls are terrified. They don’t want to be labeled as transphobic or bigots or hateful. But I don’t think it makes you transphobic to acknowledge that there are two sexes, to acknowledge that you can’t change your sex — and to acknowledge that women deserve respect and women deserve equal opportunity.”

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Gaines noted, “My inspiration is the past female athletes who fought relentlessly for Title IX and for equal opportunities for women in sports.”

Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas (left) and former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines are shown after they tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022, at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Gaines was a 12-time All-American swimmer forced to compete against a biological male. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Another inspiration, she said, “is the present female athletes who, like I just mentioned, are scared to use their voice, who are suppressed and have their voices silenced by their universities or by the NCAA or by larger organizations.”

“I saw the problem. I saw that no younger women were willing to speak up to this because these girls are terrified.”

And then “my last why,” she said, “is the future generation of athletes. I just got married , and I can only hope one day that I get to have a daughter who play sports — and I can’t imagine being in the position I’m in now and not fighting for her.”

Gaines also noted that speaking the truth is “liberating.” She said it’s now been “one year since Lia Thomas and I raced, and we tied, and everything happened with the trophy — where the NCAA told me that Lia had to take the trophy regardless of our tie, because Lia had to have it for pictures.”

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She stressed again that her “life has changed drastically from where I thought I was going to be.”

Stacy Case, Carrie Severino and Pam Bondi also revealed their views and experiences as part of the panel discussion.

Among the comments Bondi shared was that her faith helps her stay strong.

“You can’t do this without faith ,” she said. “Nothing else works without faith. And I even participated every week in a Bible study group in Tallahassee when I was attorney general because when I ran for office, I was the first female attorney general in the state of Florida.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s “Women’s Empowerment Roundtable,” which took place in mid-March, can be seen in its entirety online. (Sen. Marsha Blackburn)

And “when I signed up to run,” she added, “I didn’t even know I was going to be the first female. I ran because I was qualified. And they attacked me every day. The Left did for eight years. Not because I was a woman, [but] because I was a conservative woman.”

She also said, “That’s why what all of you are doing is so important.”

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Sen. Blackburn’s entire forum and discussion can be viewed below at a link shared with Fox News Digital.

Check out the link below for all the details.

Maureen Mackey is managing editor of lifestyle for Fox News Digital.

SXSW Diary: Torres, Speedy Ortiz Triumph in Austin

March 19, 2015 by www.newsweek.com Leave a Comment

There have been no Kanye West sightings yet at South by Southwest, despite rumors that he is in town. No pop-up appearances by Beyoncé or 2013 performer Justin Timberlake at the annual music and film festival in Austin, Texas, either.

That’s for the best. After several years of groaning about the event’s increasing corporatization (not to mention superstar acts swooping in and leeching attention from the little guys), SXSW 2015 is said to be scaling down. Never mind the McDonald’s* co-sponsor and status-happy badge-flashers—the first night and full day of music in Austin has been mostly, and refreshingly, focused on rising talent who aren’t too dignified to soundcheck and set up their own gear between acts.

The break-out talent of Tuesday night’s House of Vans showcase was undoubtedly Torres, the musical project of 24-year-old songwriter Mackenzie Scott. Torres (Scott’s pronunciation: two syllables, no Spanish accent) has been likened to PJ Harvey, a comparison that’s lazily slung at any woman who plays electric guitar and writes emotionally taut material. Here, though, it seems inevitable, in part because Scott records with Harvey collaborators Rob Ellis and Ian Oliver and sings in a low-pitched, searching moan that sometimes warps into a grungy moan.** Her songs bristle with guitar distortion and build to fully formed climaxes.

Performing outdoors at the Mohawk—near the site of last year’s deadly car crash —Torres wreaked noisy havoc on the gorgeous “New Skin” and other highlights from her forthcoming album, Sprinter . But the artist declined to play the moving and barely-there album closer “The Exchange,” for reasons that became clear when Waxahatchee took the stage immediately after. With DJ sets and Saint Patrick’s Day ragers blaring from just down the street, you had to strain to hear singer Katie Crutchfield’s solo set. Still, Crutchfield soldiered on, and invited her twin sister (musician Allison Crutchfield) onstage for the half-whispered duet “Blue Pt. II” and a track from Waxahatchee’s upcoming Ivy Tripp.

At Pitchfork’s Wednesday showcase at the same venue, I saw Torres for a second time in as many days, plus a sleepy set by Kurt Vile guitarist-turned-bandleader Steve Gunn. But the showcase highlight was indie quartet Speedy Ortiz, who barreled through an entertaining set of their trademark guitar squall and start-stop rhythms with appropriately excessive volume. Led by singer Sadie Dupuis, the group at one point invited (read: repeatedly demanded) Broad City comedian Hannibal Buress to come onstage for an amusingly clumsy stint on drums . (Buress accompanied on “MKV1,” and mostly stuck to the tom-toms.) “If you fuck it up, we’re not gonna get discovered,” Dupuis joked, though fortunately for them—and us —they already have been.

Also of note was a late-afternoon set by Calgary noise-rock band Viet Cong, whose name has been met with bubbles of outrage in recent months. (An Oberlin College show was canceled due to its “problematic” nature .) The performance was marred by setbacks both physical and technical: Drummer Mike Wallace was forced to play with one arm useless and broken (he performed one-armed admirably), and singer Matt Flegel noted halfway through that he’d been so distracted by the arm situation, he’d forgotten to tune his bass. Not that it mattered. Like the late and great band Women, with whom this group shares two members, Viet Cong’s music thrives on woozy, detuned interplay. Wednesday’s set was not quite as memorably warped as Women’s catalog, even if “Bunker Buster” was an instant classic live.

When the bearded man in front of me tweeted praise for Viet Cong’s set, I peeked at his Twitter handle and realized he was famed Nirvana biographer and Our Band Could Be Your Life author Michael Azerrad. Who knows, maybe there’ll be a 350-page Viet Cong biography in 2021.

* The fast food behemoth was kind enough to invite up-and-coming bands to play its showcase for free .

** Still, let it be written and proclaimed: There is no living artist much like PJ Harvey, and won’t be ever.

Makar Sankranti 2023: Traditions, Rituals Observed In Different States Of India

January 5, 2023 by www.boldsky.com Leave a Comment

Festivals

Thursday, January 5, 2023, 18:55

Apart from sweets, kite flying and marking the end of winter solstice there is more to Makar Sankranti. Sankranti literally means transit or movement and marks the first day of the transit of the Sun into the sign of Makara. Warmer and longer days and shorter nights begin with this transit.

Makar Sankranti 2023: Different Names Associated With It

1. Thai Pongal (Tamilnadu)

2. Uttarayan (Gujarat)

3. Lohri (Punjab)

4. Poush Sankranti ( West Bengal)

5. Suggi Habba (Karnataka)

6. Makara Chaula (Odisha)

7. Maghi Sankrant (Maharashtra and Haryana)

8. Magh/Bhogali Bihu (Assam)

9. Shishur Saenkraat (Kashmir)

10. Khichdi Parv (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar)

11. Ghugutia (Uttarakhand)

12. Magh Bihu (Assam)

Makar Sankranti 2023: Rituals

1. Sankranti is usually a 3 or 4-long-day festival that is followed by several rituals on each Sankranti day..

2. Kite flying – Kites are flown in huge numbers and they occupy major portion of the Indian sky, above the cities that celebrate it. Night is all lit up brightly with sky lanterns at night.

3. Bonfires are lit around which People gather in groups to sing and dance their way around it. This is the day of Bhogi” in Andhra Pradesh, “Lohri” in Punjab and “Meji” in Assam.

4. Cash crops like Paddy and Sugar cane are harvested..

5. Holy dip in sacred rivers especially in the Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri on this day confers a lot of punya and cleanses people of their past and present sins. People bathe in holy rivers, especially This is believed to wash off past sins.

6. Praying for success and prosperity to Sun God opens up a fresh world of opportunities with respect to divinity and wisdom.

7. On this day, the most important celebrations like Kumbha Mela”, “Ganga Sagar Mela” and “Makara Mela” are conducted in great piety.

8. Dishes prepared out of jaggery and keep the body warm during winter.

Makar Sankranti 2023: Traditions Practiced Pan India

Til (Sesame seed) and Gud (Jaggery) are an essential part of this festival. Til laddoos are exchanged and Tilkut sweet made of these ingredients is known to have the ability to emit sattvic vibrations and improves your spiritual side.

In Tamil Nadu(Pongal is a three-day festival, that is celebrated between January 13 and January 15. 13 January is known as the Bhogi festival which is followed by Makara Pongal and then culminates in Mattu Pongal on the next day. Andhra has a similar tradition wherein the third day of Makar Sankranti is called ‘Kanuma’. The villagers pray in gratitude to Mother Nature for providing them with a good crop.

Disclaimer: The information is based on assumptions and information available on the internet and the accuracy or reliability is not guaranteed. Boldsky does not confirm any inputs or information related to the article and our only purpose is to deliver information. Kindly consult the concerned expert before practising or implementing any information and assumption

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