Pigcasso the pig painting the beautiful scenery.[Photo/IC]
>Painting pig goes viral
猪界'毕加索'绘画引关注
A pig who was saved from slaughter at the eleventh hour has become a world-renowned artist. The sow, named Pigcasso, was rescued from an abattoir as a piglet and brought to an animal sanctuary in Franschhoek, in South Africa's Western Cape region, in 2016, where her new owners noticed her love of color and paint brushes. The pig dipped the brushes into pots of paint and made her mark. Her paintings can sell for almost $4,000, with the proceeds going to animal welfare. She has even had one of her artworks turned into a watch face for Swiss watchmaker Swatch. The limited edition "Flying Pig by Ms Pigcasso" features green, blue and pink brush strokes and sells for $120.
一只在最后关头被从屠夫手中救下的小猪已成为一名举世闻名的艺术家。2016年有人在这只名叫"毕加索"的母猪还是小猪的时候将其从屠宰场救出，之后把它送到位于南非西开普地区法国角的一处动物庇护所，在那里新主人注意到其对色彩和画笔的热爱。这只小猪会把刷子浸到颜料桶里沾上颜料"作画"。毕加索的画作可以卖到近4000美元，其所得被用于动物福利事业。"毕加索"的其中一幅作品甚至登上了瑞士手表制造商斯沃琪的表盘。这款名为"毕加索女士飞翔猪"的限量版手表以"其涂下的"绿色、蓝色和粉色线条为表盘图案，售价为120美元。
A general view showing a SJ, Swedish Railways, high-speed train (L) at the central station in downtown Gothenburg, Sweden, 14 March 2013.[Photo/IC]
>Worker needs to do nothing
瑞典火车站招'无用员工'
If the idea of getting paid a decent monthly wage to do nothing, or whatever you want, for the rest of your life sounds appealing, you may be interested in this Swedish experimental art project. This government-funded employment opportunity in Gothenburg will select one very lucky applicant to show up at a train station currently under construction in the city every day and punch a time clock. After that, the person is free to do anything they want, or nothing at all, just as long as they return to the station to clock out when their shift is over. The selected candidate will earn a monthly salary of about $2,320, plus annual raises, benefits, vacation time and a guaranteed pension fund. In 2017, Public Art Agency Sweden and the Swedish Transport Administration announced an international competition for artists willing to contribute ideas for the design of Gothenburg's Korsvagen train station, offering a prize of 7 million Swedish krona to the winner. Only instead of coming up with actual design ideas, Swedish artist duo Simon Goldin and Jakob Senneby suggested that the prize money be used to pay one worker's salary and give them absolutely nothing to do all day. The jury apparently loved the artists' original idea as their project was announced as the winner in October of last year. There was an uproar in Sweden about it, with politicians from all sides of the aisle accusing them of wasting taxpayers' money.
如果你向往在余生领取一份体面的月薪而不用做任何事情，或想干什么就干什么，那么你或许会对这个瑞典实验艺术项目感兴趣。这个由政府资助的就业机会位于哥德堡，将选出一位非常幸运的申请人每天前往该市正在建设的火车站打卡签到。之后，这个人就可以自由地去做任何自己想做的事情，或什么也不做，只要在下班时回去打卡就行了。被选中的候选人将获得约2320美元(15596元人民币)的月薪，再加上年度加薪、福利、休假时间以及有保障的养老金。2017年，瑞典公共艺术机构和瑞典运输管理局举办了一场国际比赛，以此吸引艺术家们为哥德堡的科斯瓦根火车站的设计出谋划策，并为获胜者提供了700万瑞典克朗(约500万人民币)的奖金。瑞典艺术家二人组西蒙•戈尔丁和雅各布•塞内比并没有提出实际的设计理念，反而表示不如用这笔奖金来支付一个工人的工资，并且让他整天无所事事。评审团显然很喜欢这两位艺术家的独特见解，他们的项目在去年十月被宣布获胜。这件事在瑞典引起了轩然大波，各方政客都在指责他们浪费纳税人的钱。
[Photo/IC]
>Ageism in the tech industry
科技行业年龄歧视严重
When tech workers reach the grand old age of 45, they see the number of jobs they are offered drop, according to research by Hired, a tech recruitment platform. Salaries begin to fall for those aged 45, with candidates in their 50s and 60s asking for the same pay as millennials with just two years' experience. Laurie McCann, a senior attorney with AARP, which advocates for older people's rights in the US, says ageism in the tech industry is a "very big problem". Two-thirds of older tech workers say they have witnessed or experienced age discrimination at work, according to a 2013 survey by the organization. Ashton Applewhite, author of "This Chair Rocks: a Manifesto Against Ageism", says one of the reasons few age discrimination lawsuits are brought is people are reluctant to identify themselves as older.
科技招聘平台Hired的研究显示，当科技行业从业者达到45岁的"高龄"时，他们会发现自己能找到的工作减少了。45岁时收入开始下滑，50、60多岁的应聘者对薪酬的要求与只有2年工作经验的千禧一代一样。为美国老年人维护权益的组织——美国退休人员协会的资深律师劳里•麦卡恩表示，科技行业的老年歧视现象是个"非常严重的问题"。该组织2013年进行的一项调查显示，2/3较年长的科技行业从业者表示，他们在工作中目睹或经历过年龄歧视。《这把椅子好得很：反对年龄歧视的宣言》的作者阿什顿•阿普尔怀特表示，年龄歧视诉讼很少的一个原因是，人们不愿意承认自己年龄较大。
Egg strip salad with feta cheese, tomatoes and baby spinach [Photo/IC]
>Spinach causes Alzheimer's?
吃菠菜或引发老年痴呆?
Spinach may cause Alzheimer's disease in at-risk people. The salad leaf's iron-rich content may damage the brain similar to how the compound causes metal to rust, according to the researchers. People with high levels of iron alongside the protein amyloid, which has previously been associated with Alzheimer's, are more likely to experience rapid cognitive decline. Those with high amyloid but low iron levels are less at-risk of the disease. Removing such "rust" from the brain could prevent or delay the degenerative condition. However, the researchers do not recommend people cut back on their dietary iron intake to reduce their Alzheimer's risk. This is because the amount of the iron in the brain appears unrelated to levels in the blood or a person's food intake.
菠菜也许会使高危人群患上阿兹海默症(老年痴呆症)。研究人员称，这种叶菜类蔬菜中富含铁的物质可能会损害大脑，其原理类似于化合物使金属生锈。淀粉样蛋白此前已被认为与阿兹海默症有关。体内铁和淀粉样蛋白含量高的人，更容易出现认知能力的迅速衰退。体内淀粉样蛋白含量高但铁含量低的人患阿兹海默症的风险相对较小。将"铁锈"从大脑中移除可以预防或延缓这种退化性疾病的发生。但研究人员不建议人们减少膳食中铁的摄入量来降低患阿兹海默症的风险。这是因为大脑中的铁含量似乎与血液中或个人饮食摄入中的含铁水平无关。
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