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Aug 26

How I Got There: Lee Westwood

Lee Westwood is a former world number one ranked player and is one of few players to have won a tournament on five continents — North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. He has been winning on tour since 1996, has finished inside the top three in all the Majors and has been on the last nine Ryder Cup teams, helping Europe to win seven of them.

Westwood has won the 2000 European Tour Order of Merit, and the renamed 2009 Race to Dubai. He reached the summit of golf in November 2010 when he became world number one, ending Tiger Woods’ five-year at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking. He held the number one position for a total of 22 weeks. Westwood has enjoyed a glittering career, winning 42 titles around the world, including 22 on the European Tour.

In 2012, Westwood received an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) medal for his service to the sport. Lan Anh Vu sat down with Westwood to learn more about his career and the lessons he has learned along the way.

As told to Lan Anh Vu

My Early Years
I grew up in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. My childhood was filled with sports like football, rugby, cricket, and swimming. I tried just about everything, but golf seemed to hold my interest more than anything else.

I started playing golf at age 13 after my grandparents bought me a half set of clubs. My father and I started playing golf at the same time. One day we decided to play golf at the municipal golf course, and it all started from there. I played lots of team sports and I just felt like I wanted to be in control of everything, and not have to rely on teammates. Golf was one the few individual sports that I played and I quickly excelled at it.

My parents had some savings and, between the age of 16 and 18, they allowed me to play amateur golf full-time. By the time I was 20, I was competing in professional events.

Challenges
The biggest challenge has been to keep improving. In golf, it’s very easy to try to change things, but sometimes you change things that don’t need changing. For example, you often see people change their swing and get worse.

In 2000, I was ranked number 4 in the world. In 2001 and 2002, I had a couple of bad performances and slipped dramatically down the world’s top 250. I felt that I wasn’t swinging properly and I started to panic. I thought about giving up the game then, but I’m not the sort of person who quits easily. I knew that I could play, but I wasn’t played up to my personal best. I was determined to get my form back and become an even better player than I was before. In 2004, I got back into the world’s top 50 and became the world’s number 1 golfer in 2010.

Lessons Learned
I’ve learned not to give up. There’s no quitting. You mustn’t panic, you must analyze everything. I think you can improve your course management by analyzing your game and seeing where you’ve made mistakes. I analyze previous rounds and see where I went wrong. When I play a practice round I’m looking for the most efficient way around the course, to see where I might make mistakes and where I might play the hole a little bit easier to eliminate any trouble.

I’ve also learned do what I feel is right, rather than doing what other people tell me to do. Your own thoughts, feelings, and ideas are usually best for you, and are much better than somebody else telling you what they think you should do.

Mental Focus
Focus is critical to successfully execute a golf shot to the best of your ability. It takes years and years of practice and focus. You have to be able to block out all distractions and focus completely on the golf course. I have a natural ability to focus and to switch my focus on and off. I switch on when I play a shot and switch off when I walk up to a shot. It’s good to be able to think about something else and, when you need to think about golf, turn your concentration back on.

When I Get Knocked Down
You get knocked down continuously in golf, because you don’t win very often. You have to focus on the positives in your performance and block out the negatives–see what went wrong but also see what you did right. You might play well for three rounds and then play poorly on the last round. Identify what you did right on the first three rounds, and then look at the last round to see what you did wrong, and try to improve the next time. Don’t let disappointment erode your motivation and confidence.

My Definition of Success
I think you have to define your own success and not rely on other people think what success is for you. You have to set achievable goals; if your goals are impossible to hit, you will be disappointed and discouraged and your confidence will suffer.

Future Outlook for Golf
I think the number of new golfers is dwindling. Young people are disinterested because golf is expensive and takes a long time to play. I think you need to make it more appealing to kids to want to play golf rather than sports like football or basketball. I think cost is a big issue.

Advice for Aspiring Golf Players
You’ve got to love what you do. And you’ve got to work harder than everybody else. You’ve got to love practicing; you’ve got stand on the range in the rain practicing. The more you practice, the more you gain expertise and confidence.

You have to be very disciplined and analytical if you are going to advance in golf. You have to be very structured to be successful in golf, and that also really helps you in life.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

This post is part of “How I Got There” series, which features people around the world speaking about their journeys. What is the path to success? What challenges did people face and how did they overcome them? Lan Anh and her guests answer all these questions and much more. To view the entire series, visit here.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Aug 26

The First Long, Dark Night After The Earthquake In Central Italy

Posted in: Today's Chili

AMATRICE, Italy ― A garage has been turned into a morgue. Outside the entrance to this underground space, a line of people has formed. Many of them are wrapped in quilts, calmly awaiting painful answers regarding their missing loved ones. “I’m looking for my brother. I don’t know if they’ve brought him here, or if maybe he’s still alive, though who knows where he is,” says Claudia. The 44 year-old escaped the quake unharmed but is still dirtied with rubble and dust. Another person speaks up: “I want to talk to the police. Where are the other dead bodies? I’m looking for my father.”

People here are facing an enormous sense of desperation after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck early Wednesday, causing untold damage. It’s a swarm of ceaseless unhappiness. The tremors continue throughout the night, one rumble after the next. Inside the garage-turned-morgue, the smell has grown overpowering, and at 2 a.m. the decision is made to evacuate the premises. One by one the coffins are loaded into ambulances and taken to another collection center. Only then does a lone man decide to leave the pallet where he’s curled up and taken refuge to cry alone. “They just took my wife away,” he laments.

The bodies that are carried out of the garage cross paths with other bodies that have just been pulled from the rubble of a three-story building by firefighters. “There are seven more here,” shouts a young man with the Red Cross. The mountain of rubble, where more than 30 men are searching tirelessly, is lit with powerful spotlights. Someone signals for the group’s attention. Others bring a stretcher and white bags. This is the very moment a body is pulled from the bricks: “It’s a boy,” says Luca, a volunteer who is probably the same age as the victim. The parents stand nearby in tears, heartbroken but composed, then line up behind the stretcher.

This same scene is repeated over and over again, including outside Hotel Roma. Once world-famous for its spaghetti all’amatriciana, the hotel has turned into a cemetery for an unknown number of dead, buried in rubble in the heart of the “red zone,” the most dangerous and hardest-hit section of this town in central Italy’s Rieti province.

“I’m a teacher with no school left.”
Maria Teresa

Some sleep in cars parked along country roads, far from any buildings. One woman can’t sleep, and at half past three in the morning ― the same time the first major quake hit ― she can be seen wandering around, murmuring to herself: “The children… the children… I can’t think about it.” Italian Civil Protection agency vehicles are busy bringing what seems like an entire town’s population into a tent city erected to protect the newly homeless from their first cold night outside, marking the beginning of a prolonged ordeal for many of the town’s citizens.

In the neighboring town of Accumoli, psychologists are getting to know children still in shock. There are diapers for the youngest ones, and milk for breakfast. But nobody can get any sleep. Some call out for the parish priest. Others insist that they want to go home. But there are few homes left to return to. There are hordes of firefighters, military personnel, police officers, volunteers and dogs; they are all searching for missing people amid the rubble and clouds of dust.

A teacher sits nearby, struggling with hiccups, as the ambulance sirens move away and go silent. The emergency vehicle is driving over to the small sports arena in Amatrice, where many of the town’s residents have gone to catch some sleep.

“I’m a teacher with no school left,” says Maria Teresa, a teacher in the local school, which was rebuilt in 2012 and has now been razed to the ground by the quake. She begins to cry. “This is the end of our wonderful town. There’s nothing left now. You can see nothing but tears. What if the children had been in school?”

In Amatrice, many people have already been evacuated. They’ve left to seek refuge with relatives in Rome and cities nearby. Others are spending their first night in the sports arena, almost directly in front of the makeshift morgue. Besides housing people, the arena has become a warehouse for food and supplies of all kinds. They’re piled in a mountainous heap, a sign of great solidarity from other Italian cities and regions: a ton of coffee from Bologna, durum wheat pasta from Campania, medicine from the south. “There’s been a lot of help, stuff pouring in from all over Italy,” says a woman named Franca, staring out at nothing. Later she adds, “We’ll bury our dead… but then what?”

For now, no one in Amatrice or in the surrounding ghost towns is able to fathom the future. They just keep digging.

“Silence, silence!” a firefighter calls to the many journalists from all over the world who have made their way to this small town. It’s pitch dark, but they’re still searching for bodies, and right now they need quiet in the hope that they’ll manage to hear some small cry coming from under all that rubble. “Can you hear me?” he shouts. “If you can hear me, say something. Talk. Say something!”

The man is exasperated, as are the other firefighters. There are a few moments of silence, but no sound can be heard from the rubble. People work throughout the night, wanting to believe they can still pull someone from the rubble alive, but by dawn, even these faint glimmers of hope have disappeared. The count has risen dramatically: more than 250 people dead in all the areas struck by the quake, with 200 in Amatrice alone. Many more are still missing. The growing death toll has outraged Italians, and called into question the country’s infrastructural preparedness in the face of seismic events.

Nobody is getting any sleep in the tent city and rescue centers. The elderly sit, talking among themselves. An old lady pantomimes the shaking of the earthquake; she just felt another tremor. Outside, the searching continues.

Many of those who spoke to HuffPost Italy asked that their last names not be used. This report first appeared on HuffPost Italy on Aug. 25. It has been translated into English and edited for clarity.

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Aug 26

12 Baby Names Inspired By Beautiful Places Around The World

Posted in: Today's Chili

Savannah, London, Brooklyn. In 2016, that might be your list of places to visit next year, or maybe it’s your preschooler’s new class list. City, state and country names for kids have gone mainstream, and plenty of parents are borrowing baby naming inspiration from the map.

Celebrity parents are no exception. In fact, they’ve introduced some intriguing options for our sons and daughters. Here are a dozen of the best “star baby” place names worth considering.

Alaska

Model Anne Vyalitsyna hails from Russia. Her tech guru fiancé Adam Cahan is originally from New York. Apparently, the couple named their daughter Alaska because that’s where the U.S. and Russia meet. A record number of girls were given the name Alaska in 2015 ― 60 total, including Anne and Adam’s daughter.

Brighton

A fashionable seaside resort, England’s Brighton has long been favored by kings and commoners. New York boasts a Brooklyn community by the name, immortalized in Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs. Actor and filmmaker Jon Favreau named his younger daughter Brighton Rose.

Charleston

We love Charles and Charlotte, so it’s no surprise that city of Charleston is gaining in use for baby names. Actor Joey Lawrence is dad to daughters Liberty and Charleston. Short-lived NBC drama “State of Affairs” featured Katherine Heigl as Charleston Tucker from 2014-2015, boosting the Southern city name dramatically.

Egypt

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz welcomed son Egypt in 2010. Since then, it’s seen a sharp increase in use ― but has actually become more popular for girls. The name choice came a year after Keys vacationed in the ancient land, a trip she described as inspiring.

Holland

Strictly speaking, Holland is just one province of the Netherlands, but in the past, foreigners often used the name to refer to the country as a whole. It has a long history of use as a surname and given name, too. Today, it ranks at No. 845 in the girls’ U.S. Top 1000 list. Television host Courtney Hansen named her daughter Holland in 2014.

India

A place name with a long history of use, India fits in beautifully with popular girl names like Sophia and Olivia. The country’s name is taken from the Indus River. Famous families to choose the name include singer Sarah McLachlan, “Avengers” actor Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky, and Harvey Weinstein and Georgina Chapman.

Indiana

Credit fictional adventurer Henry “Indiana” Jones ― who borrowed his name from the family dog ― with making this U.S. state name feel wearable. Ethan Hawke gave the name to his daughter; so did country music duo Joey + Rory. (The late Joey Feek was born in Indiana.) It’s big in Australia, too, thanks to young actress Indiana Evans.

Kingston

Singer and style icon Gwen Stefani took the name of Jamaica’s capital from rarity to mainstream favorite when she and ex Gavin Rossdale gave the name to their son in 2006. Kingston quickly doubled, then quadrupled in use. Today, it ranks No. 142 in the U.S.

Memphis

Once the name of a major city in ancient Egypt, today Memphis is a Tennessee city with a strong music history. Musician Bono chose the name for his younger daughter back in 1991. In 2012, “Girls” actress Jemima Kirke also welcomed a daughter named Memphis.

Morocco

Mariah Carey is mom to Moroccan, and Mike Tyson chose the country’s name for youngest child Morocco Elijah in 2011. Morocco is among the rarest of place names on this list, but it has potential, especially since the country remains a popular tourist destination.

Rio

With this summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this possible place name is inescapable. The Spanish and Portuguese word for river, Rio might be best for a boy. No Doubt’s Tom DuMont is dad to Rio Atticus, and soap opera stars Wendy Moniz and Frank Grillo have Rio Joseph. But Duran Duran sang that her name is Rio, and Goldie Hawn has a granddaughter by the name.

Tennessee

Reese Witherspoon grew up outside Nashville, and chose this state name for her youngest child to honor her Southern roots. While the name has a long history of sparing use, the Oscar-winning actress boosted the name for boys and girls following the 2012 birth of her son, Tennessee James. Others might think of famed playwright, Thomas “Tennessee” Williams.

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Aug 26

Is U.S. Prepared to Sacrifice Los Angeles for Taipei? The Extraordinary Danger of Foreign Military Commitments

Posted in: Today's Chili

Taiwan long has been one of the globe’s most dangerous tripwires. Other than a brief period after World War II the island has not been ruled by the mainland for more than a century. The 23 million people living on what was once called Formosa have made a nation.

However, the People’s Republic of China views Taiwan as part of the PRC. (In turn, the Republic of China once claimed to rule the mainland, but no longer.) Popular consent plays little role in Chinese politics, so it should surprise no one that the desires of the Taiwanese people are irrelevant to Beijing. As the PRC has grown wealthier it has created a military increasingly capable of defeating Taiwan.

At the same time economic ties between the two peoples have grown, along with Taiwanese disquiet at the risk of essentially being swallowed. Despite (or in part because of) China’s pressure for unification the Taiwanese population has steadily identified more with Taiwan than the PRC. The election of Tsai Ing-wen of the traditional pro-independence Democratic Progress Party as president in January greatly discomfited Beijing, which recently cut back on official contacts begun during the previous administration.

As Chinese patience wanes, U.S. policy based on ambiguity grows riskier. Washington’s commitment to Taiwan developed out of the World War II alliance with the ROC. President Harry S. Truman even interposed the U.S. fleet between the newly established PRC and ROC remnants which fled to Taiwan. The two Chinas maintained a hostile relationship for decades.

However, Washington loosened its commitment to Taipei with President Richard Nixon’s opening to China. President Jimmy Carter furthered the process when the U.S. shifted official recognition to the PRC. Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act ensuring continued U.S. assistance to Taiwan. But the American military commitment has become steadily less certain. Would the U.S. really risk Los Angeles for Taipei, as one Chinese general famously asked?

Washington officials hope never to have to answer that question, but the recent Taiwanese missile misfire offers a dramatic reminder of the danger of guaranteeing other nations’ security. A Taiwanese vessel mistakenly shot an anti-ship missile toward China, destroying a Taiwanese fishing boat, killing the captain and injuring several other crewmen. Beijing took note, calling it “a serious matter.”

Taipei has lost some of its moral high ground in criticizing Chinese missile deployments. China is likely to find other ways to use the incident for its advantage. After all, preventing similar mishaps offers a good excuse to press additional measures leading toward unification.

However, a strike on a Chinese vessel would have been a genuine disaster. While nothing today suggests that the PRC is planning war, at some point Beijing might find a casus belli to be convenient. And then America would be in the middle.

Of course, U.S. officials want to believe that the mere mention of America would be enough to thwart Chinese ambitions. However, history is full of cases when deterrence fails. In some cases the threat simply is not believed: why, for instance, would another nation risk conflict for interests so distant? In other cases a government believes that it has local if not global military superiority and could win quickly, forcing the other party to agree to peace. Yet as Japan learned in World War II, only at great peril does one underestimate America’s willingness to go to war, especially if national credibility and honor are believed to be at stake.

Moreover, security guarantees tend to make their recipients more irresponsible. President Chen Shui-bian, the first DPP president, lost few opportunities to poke the great dragon across the strait, feeling secure with the U.S. seemingly on his side. In the event of a crisis his government doubted that Washington really would abandon an ally, even one at fault, knowing the damage that would be done to the former’s credibility.

Worse, security guarantees effectively transfer the power to choose war to other states. In 1914 a royal assassination involving Austro-Hungary and Serbia ended up dragging most of the leading powers of Europe and a number of other countries, including the U.S. and Japan, into the horrors of World War I. The alliances acted as transmission belts of war.

Americans must decide just how committed they are to Taiwan’s independence, and do so now, rather than in the midst of a crisis. Such as after an errant Taiwanese missile sinks a Chinese ship, followed by an ultimatum from an increasingly well-armed Beijing to Taipei to begin reunification talks.

Taiwan is a good friend and the Taiwanese people are entitled to decide their own future. Unfortunately, however, the island abides in a bad neighborhood. And it is hard to imagine a greater catastrophe than war between America and the PRC. It would be virtually impossible to justify Washington not only threatening but actually following through on its military threats against China if the latter moved against Taiwan.

In which case the U.S. needs to have a serious conversation with Taipei now, well in advance of the moment when the latter was expecting the American cavalry to arrive in a crisis. Moreover, Washington should consider how to use a plan to back away militarily in seeking a Chinese commitment to an unhurried peaceful resolution of the issue. And to encourage an economically-embattled PRC to trim a military build-up made less necessary without the challenge of facing Taiwan backed by America.

U.S. officials tend to assume that Washington’s commitments will never be challenged so long as the nation demonstrates sufficient determination and establishes adequate credibility. But the Taiwanese mishap reminds us of the inevitable unexpected in international relations, and the terrible costs which often result.

Is America really prepared to risk Los Angeles for Taipei? If not, Washington must decide what price it is willing to pay to assist Taiwan. And then configure its diplomatic and military policy accordingly.

This article first appeared at China-US Focus.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Aug 26

Prince William Gives Moving Advice To Teen Who Lost His Mom To Cancer

Posted in: Today's Chili

Prince William shared a sweet moment with a teen who’s dealing with the death of a loved one.

During a recent visit to Keech Hospice Care in Luton, England, the Duke of Cambridge gave some advice to 14-year-old Ben Hines, who lost his mother, Alexandra, to cancer last year. William spoke to the teen about grief, drawing from his own experience with the death of his mother, Princess Diana.

“Time makes it easier. I know how you feel, I still miss my mother every day and it’s 20 years after she died,” William told Ben and his family, according to the Press Association. “The important thing is to talk about it as a family, it’s OK to feel sad, it’s OK for you to miss her.”

The prince’s wife, Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, was also present for the visit to Keech Hospice Care. The pair toured the facility to learn more about it, particularly the bereavement support and art therapy services, the organization’s website noted. They also helped the facility celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Hines, who has autism, explained to William during the visit that he’s missed his mother since she died last June and has had difficulty dealing with loss, The London Times reported.

In addition to urging the teen and his family to communicate, William also acknowledged that sometimes it’s difficult to air out emotions.

“As four boys, you have to talk a lot better ― we’re not good sharers. It’s a classic example of lots of talking needed,” he said, later asking the group to be open with their feelings ― something Ben’s brother Thomas said he’d promise to do.

The family was moved by the royal couple’s kindness during the interaction.

“Himself and Kate were incredibly caring and interested in what we had to say,” Gary Hines, Ben’s father, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

He added, “They put us at ease straight away and were genuinely interested and that made the difference.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Aug 26

Donald Trump Fine With Supporter Who Called For Hillary Clinton's Execution

Posted in: Today's Chili

In July, Al Baldasaro, a Republican state representative in New Hampshire, said Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “should be put in the firing line and shot for treason.”

And now Donald Trump says he is unfamiliar with the remarks.

“I didn’t know that but I will tell you he’s a very fine person,” Trump told a New Hampshire TV station on Thursday. “He is a person that loves the military and loves the veterans.”

Baldasaro is an advisor to the Trump campaign who has spoken at Trump events, and he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. His widely-reported call for Clinton’s execution prompted an investigation by the Secret Service, not to mention lots of condemnation.

And Trump didn’t know that? The reporter asked again if Trump condoned Baldasaro’s call for Clinton’s execution.

“I don’t know what he said,” Trump insisted. “You’d have to show me what he said.”

Of course, Trump loves to be vague, or say he’s not saying something the same instant he’s saying it, or even say he doesn’t know something that he clearly knows. Like when he said he didn’t know who David Duke is, or he didn’t know he’d mocked someone with a disability. Like when he himself suggested that maybe somebody could shoot Clinton if she becomes president.

“If she gets to pick her judges ― nothing you can do, folks,” Trump said at a rally earlier this month in North Carolina. “Although, the Second Amendment people. Maybe there is. I don’t know.”

Baldasaro, for his part, never apologized for saying a political opponent ought to be killed, which is kind of contrary to the entire point of democratic government. But he put out a statement on Twitter Friday morning criticizing Clinton for her handling of the 2012 terrorist attack on an American compound in Benghazi, Libya, and for her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

“The FBI didn’t hold her accountable. The Justice Department won’t prosecute her. Despite her crimes she will not be tried in a court of law,” Baldasaro said. “But she CAN be tried in the court of public opinion! Hillary Clinton is NOT above the law. Her actions were treasonous.”

Arthur Delaney is a co-host of “So That Happened,” the HuffPost Politics podcast:

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Aug 26

Carmelo Anthony Wears 'Melo' Bathrobe To The Store Because He Can

Posted in: Today's Chili

Since Knicks star Carmelo Anthony just won his third gold medal for Team USA at the Rio Olympics, he can stroll to the local store in a bathrobe with “Melo” monogrammed on it. We can forgive the Olympics hat, too.

But Anthony’s wife, La La, hilariously shows she’s not on board with these questionable fashion choices in a pair of videos she posted of the family outing.

“You just had to wear the robe with your name on it cause that wasn’t going to attract any attention, right,” she says in one of the clips.

LATE NIGHT CHRONICLES WITH MELO #stayme7o
A video posted by LaLa (@lala) on Aug 25, 2016 at 7:54pm PDT

“WHEN KEEPING IT HOOD GOES WRONG!!” go look at this foolery on my snap lala
A video posted by LaLa (@lala) on Aug 25, 2016 at 7:33pm PDT

h/t For The Win

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Aug 26

This Group Is Fighting Food Insecurity In Appalachia

Posted in: Today's Chili

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Aug 26

6 Top Infographic Design Trends for 2016 So Far

Posted in: Today's Chili

We’re into the final third of 2016 and new trends have appeared in content: video content is bigger than ever and animated GIFS populate every other article. Infographics continue to be one of the most popular forms of visual content for marketers, but they are evolving as creatives look for new and exciting ways to approach the medium. Infographics are more complex, more aesthetically pleasing, and more innovative than ever.

Here are 6 of the top infographic design trends of 2016 so far.

1. Interactive Visualizations
This year, people want content that moves. Experts are touting that video content is king, and designers are looking for ways to put infographics in motion. That’s why this year has seen a lot more infographics with interactive charts and graphs, movable timelines, and scrolling functions. Infographics are getting smarter, with many designs allowing you to single out sets of data points on one graph. Because of this ability to drill down on information, interactive infographics can incorporate more data than their static counterparts, enabling more complex information analysis.

Via Information Is Beautiful

2. Animations
Along with more interactive designs, more infographics with animations are popping up as well, in response to the demand for content in motion. Whether the animations are a central part of how the information is communicated, or whether they are simply used as fun embellishment, animated infographics always stand out from the average static infographic.

Via Animgraffs

3. Flat Design
Flat design in general is popular right now, and infographics are following suit. Infographics with simple color schemes of only one to three colors, simple white or black fonts, and minimal shading are cropping up all over the place. Because of their sleek and professional look, flat design infographics are particularly popular on marketing and tech sites.

Via Smart Insights

4. Timeline Layouts
What better way to visualize a timeline than with an infographic? A lot of big things have been happening this year in the tech (wearables and augmented reality are out of control), politics (it’s been a wild ride of a US election), and entertainment (a lot of great actors and musicians have left us), and many people are interested in seeing what led up to this point. Timeline infographics are often interactive, but many static timeline infographics have also gone viral this year.

Via Venngage

5. Anatomy Layouts
Infographics are an effective medium for breaking down information into pieces. Many infographics are making use of “anatomy” as a metaphor for breaking down a product or process into parts. Infographics titled “The Anatomy of [Blank]” have appeared again and again this year.

Via The Expert Editor

6. One-Hook Data Visualization
Many infographics are following a hierarchical layout, with one central or “hook” data visualization at the top and supporting data and smaller data visualizations underneath. These infographics follow the inverted pyramid organization of information characteristic of journalism: placing the most newsworthy data at the top and then working down through the details and background information.

Via Finance Degree Center

Have you noticed any other new data visualization trends this year? Got any predictions for 2017?

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Aug 26

Woman Unleashes Crickets On NYC Subway And All Hell Breaks Loose

Posted in: Today's Chili

A woman selling crickets and worms on a New York City subway Wednesday threw them into a packed train and flew into a rage, causing chaos, the New York Post reported.

The woman entered the train and made overtures to passengers to buy her insects. A group of teens pushed the woman, causing her to “freak out” and release the bugs, the Post wrote. As she ranted and the bugs spread, commuters dispersed.

Live crickets and worms on the D train. This woman was bumped into / pushed while trying to sell live worms and crickets on the D train. Sadly, they all got out. #GoingWithEddie #Subway #NYC #SubwayEtiquette #Etiquette #SubwayAssholes #NYCMTA #MTA #NYCSubway #SubwayShaming #Commute #Commuter #CourtesyCounts #NewYorkCitySubway #Mindfulness #Consideration #MannersMatter #Crickets #SubwayBugs #SubwayWorms #SubwayCrickets
A video posted by Eddie Going | #GoingWithEddie™ (@eddiegoing) on Aug 25, 2016 at 2:03pm PDT

“It was pandemonium,” Chris Calabrese, 29, told the Post. “It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen on a train.”

Twitter users who said they were there posted their accounts of the incident:

Woman just let crickets out on the D Train as we went over the Manhattan Bridge. Panic ensued. Someone pulled the E-Brake. Stuck. New York.
— Ezra Mechaber (@ezramechaber) August 24, 2016

Moving again now, cops meeting us at Dekalb. Never seen a crowd get so panicked so fast, everyone rushed to the other side of the train.
— Ezra Mechaber (@ezramechaber) August 24, 2016

There are crickets in subway rn and they won’t stop being loud af. Send help
— Emma☺ (@emmapapslinky) August 25, 2016

Here’s more footage:

Crazy lady on the D train yesterday #mta #dtrain #crickets #chaos #devastated @Gothamist @NYDailyNews pic.twitter.com/KjGIJY341d
— Nisha Chauhan (@NCnyc3) August 26, 2016

Another passenger pulled the emergency brake as the train was crossing the Manhattan Bridge, according tot he New York Daily News. That left the line stalled over the East River for at least 15 minutes as some tried to restrain the woman, who had urinated on herself.

The train finally pulled into an underground station on the Brooklyn side where NYPD officers were waiting, the tabloid wrote. The woman was taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation. No injuries were reported.

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Hasta La Gadget!

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