(토요모임) [22. Dec. 2018] Saturday meeting topic

[Scarlet]

Howdy ! 

It's me Scarlett !   

This week we will talk about the 'Eye-catching Words of 2018, Chirstmas & Space Development'. Do not be obsessed with all the articles too much. Just pick some articles what you have interests and prepare your opinions related to those articles. :) 

Hope you enjoy the topics. 

◈ 2018 Word of the Year

--------  8 Tech Trends to Keep Your Eye on in 2018

--------  2019 Technology Industry Outlook 

-------- ‘Justice’ Prevails as 2018 Word of the Year

-------- The 10 words people couldn't stop looking up in 2018, according to Merriam-Webster
◈ Hello! Christmas

--------  When should you tell kids the truth about Santa? Psychologist reveals age you should break the news

--------  101 Questions For Santa  

◈ Space Development

--------  10 Inspirational Quotes From The Star Wars Series

--------  Trump Signs Order To Create U.S. Space Command

With luv 

Scarlett

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< Overview of Topics >

1. Eye-catching Words of 2018

2. Origins of Christmas 

3. Trump Signs Order To Create U.S. Space Command 

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8 Tech Trends to Keep Your Eye on in 2018
Five tech companies made up a whopping 37 percent of the S&P 500's total gains in 2017. How much more proof do you need than that?

AJ Agrawal/ Founder of Verma Media / December 7, 2017

Nearly 60 years ago, Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, coined "Moore's Law," a prediction that would set the pace for the digital revolution. The law stated that computing abilities, over time, would radically increase in power while decreasing in relative cost, all at an exponential rate.

This insight, along with the hard work of many computer scientists and engineers, has fueled the rapid growth of the technology sector. The industry has quickly become a staple component of our modern economy.
The five biggest technology companies (Apple, Alphabet, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft) together made up a whopping 37 percent of the S&P 500's total gains in 2017. Federal investments in the digital sector could reach up to $95 billion in the coming year. And, internationally, the public will spend up to $3.4 trillion on digital services by 2020.
Consumers and enterprises have a lot of potential to look forward to, as frontier technologies finally become affordable enough to service the mass markets.
So, what exactly will 2018 have in store? Here are eight tech trends to keep your eye on:

1. Blockchain
By now, you have probably heard a thing or two about the promise of blockchain and Bitcoin. At a high level, blockchain technology is a way of securely managing access and information. The core of blockchain hinges on the idea of decentralization, which essentially distributes power and risk equitably across players in a network.
Blockchain startups are finding niche and clever ways to optimize industries, by replacing intermediary parties (brokers, agents, etc.) with smart contracts that automatically verify actions without compromising data security. Platforms like Gameflip and Filecoin are able to solve fundamental marketplace challenges, worth billions of dollars, which have been terrorizing ecosystems for decades.
Other companies, like SparkleCoin, are driving blockchain adoption at scale by empowering everyday consumers to purchase real-world products and services from the world's largest online retailers using cryptocurrencies.

2. Internet of things
BI Intelligence's report on the "internet of things" notes that nearly $6 trillion will be spent on IoT solutions in the next five years alone. This deluge of investment has turned this once science-fictional notion into reality.
Already, many of us wake up in our "smart beds" to a Bluetooth-connected alarm clock that communicates with our wifi-enabled speakers. Soon all of our devices -- microwaves, washing machines and even bird feeders -- will be connected to the web. With geospatial data from all of our devices, tech-savvy companies will be able to optimize and automate systems, eradicating inefficiencies caused by human error.

3. Virtual reality
Is 2018 the long-awaited year that virtual reality goes mainstream? While the technology is still evolving, and while players like Oculus and HTC continue to iterate on their consoles, things look promising for the industry as VR platforms begin to appeal to the masses.
Related: Technology Trends That Will Shape 2017 and Boost Your Company's UX

One of the biggest obstacles to virtual reality achieving true scale is the creation of enough content to attract a wide swath of consumers. As the industry has learned, onboarding hard-core gamers will not be enough to sustain a long-term effort.
Beyond gaming, there a number of virtual-reality startups that are building high-value-add services specifically for enterprises.

4. Augmented reality
The rise of Pokémon in 2016 was just the first of many implementations of augmented reality that will make a massive impact on society. Apple and Google recently introduced both ARKit and ARCore and are driving an inflection point for the industry. As hardware and software continue to improve, we can expect to see more developers building AR applications in 2018.
It's not just startups looking to get in on the action. In fact, it is likely that many of the world's biggest brands will invest their resources into creating augmented-reality experiences to enhance their users' experiences both inside and outside of their stores.

5. Chatbots
Enterprise applications of messaging bots seem poised to have a tangible impact on the software space, as more companies invest in developing their own consumer-facing bots. Chatbots, at the most simplistic level, are front-end interfaces for companies to communicate with their customers. More advanced bots leverage artificial intelligence to provide enriching and interactive user experiences.
Companies can embed these bots on their home pages, or they can rely on native platforms like Facebook and Slack for distribution. Expect to see companies across all industries, including hospitality, dining and travel, create bots for customer support, sales and marketing services.

6. Subscription model
The days of "pay-per-use" costing are long gone, and are likely not coming back anytime soon, as most companies are switching to recurring revenue models. Already, you can order your clothing, groceries and cleaning supplies to be delivered directly to your doorstep on a weekly or monthly basis.
And the model is being applied more widely than just to physical goods: Most internet companies are operating under a "software as a service" model, where you pay a monthly fee on a recurring cycle for a service.
We can expect to see startups expand their subscription businesses into more verticals, and to start specializing.

7. Ecommerce
Next year, 2018, may finally be the year ecommerce overtakes retail once and for all. In a report on online retail, Forrester stated that 83 percent of U.S. adults purchased something on Amazon this past year. As this number grows, and digital storefronts become a more convenient and attractive option for consumers, we can expect to see ecommerce begin to take bigger slices of the retail pie.
It will be interesting to see which incumbents are able to establish a large enough digital presence to protect themselves from this disruption.

8. Automation
Artificial intelligence and machines will soon become ubiquitous in the professional world. From virtual assistants, to manual labor,to intermediary services, many jobs will likely be disrupted in the coming years. Though humans are indispensable in certain fields, there are many points of optimization that we can fully automate with embedded technology.
Machine intelligence has the potential to fundamentally shift worker demand and displace millions of jobs. Where will everyone go when machines can do our work for us? This question, among others, will be important considerations getting our rapt attention in 2018.

Article source : https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/305439

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2019 Technology Industry Outlook
Cloud platforms can provide a gateway to powerful AI tools that fuel agility and innovation
Growth is the watchword of our annual technology outlook this year. Paul Sallomi, Deloitte global technology, media, and telecommunications leader and US and global technology sector leader, weighs in on what’s ahead for tech.

Interview with Paul Sallomi

As we enter 2019, innovation and agility have become essential competitive ingredients for any organization, regardless of industry. According to Paul Sallomi, global technology, media, and telecommunications industry leader and US and global technology sector leader, companies need to take even greater advantage of cloud platforms that make powerful artificial intelligence (AI) tools and services available to broad ranges of users. These tools are helping accelerate experimentation, “democratize” innovation, boost agility, and power organizations’ digital transformation journeys.

■ Where do you see opportunities for growth in 2019?

In our 2018 Technology Industry Outlook, I emphasized the importance of cloud computing and flexible consumption models to organizations’ competitiveness. In 2019, these capabilities will likely become even more indispensable as companies strive to transform their business models and operations.

Until recently, IT leaders typically have viewed the avoidance and reduction of costs as the primary benefits of cloud-based flexible consumption (“pay as you go”). However, over the last year, two new and highly strategic factors appear to be driving the rapid growth of service-based IT: increased business agility and “democratization" of innovation. These advantages signal an exponential expansion of cloud’s value proposition: Everything-as-a-service (XaaS) solutions make it faster and easier to experiment and innovate—dramatically shortening the journey toward enhancing customer experience. And, XaaS capabilities are making it cheaper and easier for broad ranges of users to access cutting-edge technologies and services, such as AI- and Internet of Things (IoT)-based solutions. Now, large, medium, and small enterprises can harness powerful capabilities once limited to a select few.

Deloitte’s most recent Flexible Consumption/XaaS Survey1 bears this out. Survey respondents2 rated “access to newest technology” as their No. 3 XaaS objective. In addition, for companies in which more than three-quarters of the enterprise IT is XaaS, and in companies that have been using flexible consumption more than three years, “accelerated innovation” has overtaken “reduced costs” as a key priority for their XaaS initiatives.

Thanks to cloud-based flexible consumption models, companies no longer need to shoulder the risk and cost of buying complex technologies and acquiring scarce expertise. Instead, they can leverage the investments and expertise of the world’s biggest technology companies and savviest startups.

Nowhere does this trend appear to be more apparent than in the area of artificial intelligence, where large software companies are integrating AI capabilities into cloud-based enterprise software and bringing them to the mass market.

The market is responding favorably: According to Deloitte’s State of AI in the enterprise, 2nd Edition,3 the most popular path to acquiring AI capabilities is enterprise software with integrated AI. Overwhelmingly, this software is cloud-based, either through public or private cloud deployments. Fifty-seven percent of our AI survey respondents globally use it now, and an additional 37 percent plan to use it within the next two years.

In 2019, flexible consumption models should continue to boost both cloud and AI adoption.

For example, 60 percent of enterprises are expected to move their IT systems to cloud by 2019 as a part of their digital transformation initiatives.4 As the primary value proposition of cloud continues to shift from “cost/efficiency” to “innovation acceleration,” multicloud strategies should play a crucial role in this transformation. A recent executive survey suggests that 67 percent of executives are either using a hybrid model (a mix of on-premise and public/private cloud) or considering it as a future option.5

In the area of artificial intelligence, enterprise implementations will likely continue to increase in the coming year. In our 2018 AI Survey, 58 percent of respondents claimed they had undertaken six or more full AI implementations—up from 32 percent the previous year. The number of machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing implementations all grew over the past year, with deep learning posting the largest jump (16 percent).

2019 is also the year for enterprises to begin exploring one other emerging technology category: Blockchain. As people and devices increasingly become connected, identity/privacy protection has become a prime concern. Both blockchain and biometrics promise to provide a robust way to secure and manage user identities.6 Companies may even combine these technologies to make their offerings more secure.7 In parallel, blockchain provides a robust, incorruptible, and encrypted method of recordkeeping that is easily verifiable. Consortiums such as R3 are likely to play an important role in establishing the roots of blockchain.8

■ Which strategies are tech companies using to facilitate growth?

As the pace and complexity of new technology developments continue to increase, partnerships—both internal and external—have become essential.

In Deloitte’s 2018 Flexible Consumption/XaaS Survey, we came upon one worrisome finding: Only 24 percent of respondents said their organization has a comprehensive, enterprise-wide strategy for adopting XaaS. Without a sound strategy, complexities can be magnified, increasing the likelihood that companies may encounter issues related to cost overruns, poor interoperability, and security breaches.

In this environment, partnerships can become critical. Companies may need to place greater trust in vendors to provide capabilities—including security—that they’re not equipped to handle themselves. External partnerships can also open new markets for platforms and products and help companies overcome traditional barriers of expansion and scale with the help of core competencies that each partner possesses.9

For example, enterprises should consider making partnerships with XaaS providers part of their innovation strategies to accelerate the development of new offerings and business models. XaaS providers can give companies of all sizes access to new technologies, platform-as-a-service tools to develop proofs of concept, analytics that can crunch huge data sets, and IT infrastructure to scale offerings quickly. By including flexible consumption in their innovation strategies, companies can decide which parts of their innovation portfolios they want to build and manage themselves and where it makes sense to leverage providers’ investments and expertise.

From an internal perspective, it’s important that businesses build relationships with their own IT departments. Too often, disconnects between the business and IT breed “shadow IT” challenges that short-circuit XaaS initiatives.

Unfortunately, despite IT departments’ efforts to meet business leaders’ evolving needs, Deloitte’s recent XaaS study indicates that collaboration between IT and the business involves more friction than is ideal: Fifty-five percent of respondents reported that their IT department responds too slowly to business needs, forcing business users to select XaaS alternatives.10

On a positive note, however, Deloitte’s 2018 CIO Survey revealed that 70 percent of surveyed CIOs believe their roles will shift from being stewards of technology to becoming partners in shaping business strategy.11 Heading into 2019, CIOs should play an even larger role in helping the business weigh the risks of technology investments against their potential ROI.

Recent tax reforms—particularly in the United States—will likely shape technology companies’ strategies in 2019 as well. As a result, many technology companies are looking to “repatriate” their cash back to the United States, with a goal of enhancing shareholder value. Successful deployment of cash could serve as a significant growth engine for these companies; more than $1 trillion of overseas cash could be repatriated by the top 16 US technology behemoths alone.12

This infusion of repatriated cash may very well spur a sizable increase in mergers and acquisitions across the technology sector in 2019.13 Tech companies made acquisitions totaling $278 billion by the middle of 2018—a 50 percent increase over the same period in 2017. Interestingly, 9 out of 10 major transactions were US-driven—including the Dell-VMware and Broadcom-CA transactions.14

As increasing clarity emerges in global taxation, technology companies are also likely to assess global operations—including supply chain, treasury, distribution, sales and marketing, and finance—to better align processes and functions against new tax requirements.

Tech companies will likely also continue investing in and nurturing smaller companies—not only to accelerate growth, but also to fend off competitors and add niche capabilities.15

■ What should businesses be mindful of as they plan for growth?

Global regulatory uncertainties will likely continue to cast a shadow over the US technology sector in 2019:

- The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires tech companies to make architectural and engineering changes to be compliant. This is due to the large amount of user data they hold either directly or through their cloud solutions for enterprise customers.16

- India is expected to be working on a policy that would require data generated in India to remain within the country. The data localization law would require US cloud providers to ramp up their data centers/storage in India—leading to increased cost.17

- In the United States, the recently passed CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data) states that US law enforcement agencies can demand that user data be handed over to them, irrespective of where it is stored. This poses a challenge for the tech companies that have promised to protect the personal information of subscribers to their cloud services—even those from other countries.18

Technology companies may have a particularly daunting task in 2019 as they try to address their customers’ privacy concerns. This challenge is growing due to the skyrocketing number of people embracing social media. For example, 69 percent of American adults use social media—a 14-fold increase in about a decade. However, only 9 percent of these users are “very confident” that social media companies protect their data. This could be an issue for social media companies looking to monetize users’ data.19

Another major area of concern is cybersecurity—A risk and reality of the digital era that should be proactively managed. To remain competitive, companies can’t stop innovating due to cybersecurity worries. Yet, some are doing just that. According to Deloitte’s 2018 AI Survey, 18 percent of respondents said their companies had halted an in-progress AI initiative due to cybersecurity concerns, and 22 percent decided not to start an AI program due to cybersecurity worries.20 In many cases, companies could be well-served to leave cybersecurity management to large cloud providers and other vendors that have more extensive experience and resources.

As we enter 2019, data silos continue to prevent many companies from gleaning critical insights regarding their customers and business. To address this issue, organizations should place a renewed focus on breaking down silos with tighter cross-organizational alignment. Without this approach, companies may struggle to take full advantage of critical technologies such as AI.

One potential solution to the data issue relates to talent: Because 90 percent of the world’s data was created in the last two years alone, companies have a growing need for a chief data officer (CDO).21 By 2019, a CDO position will be present in 90 percent of large organizations, and their involvement will grow extensively.22

When it comes to talent in the tech sector, one thing is certain: The “shelf life” of skills is getting shorter and shorter. As a result, retraining has become crucial: Companies should invest more in educating and training workforces for the digital era. According to Deloitte’s recent AI Survey, 30 percent of respondents said they face a major (23 percent) or extreme (7 percent) skills gap.23

*** This publication contains general information only and Deloitte is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor.
Deloitte shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this publication.

Article source : https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/technology-industry-outlook.html

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These 11 questions will help you decide if blockchain is right for your business

23 Apr 2018/ Cathy Mulligan/ JP Rangaswami/ Sheila Warren/ Jennifer Zhu Scott

One of the most unique aspects of blockchain is its high number of evangelists – people who believe blockchain can solve everything from global financial inequality, to the provision of ID for refugees, to enabling people to sell their houses without an estate agent. The enthusiasm to (over) promote the technology is also damaging its long-term prospects.

This level of evangelism is both unwarranted and damaging to the overall development work required to reap the benefits of distributed ledger technologies (DLT), of which blockchain is the best-known example. Truly innovative deployments of blockchain require a match between blockchain’s specific benefits and use cases that enable realization of these benefits, followed by dedicated hard work to get it right and embed in organizations and industries. It is not meant to be a workaround.

Based on our analysis of how blockchain is used in a variety of projects around the world and following interviews with selected chief executive officers, we found there are 11 questions, at most, that businesses need to answer to see if blockchain is a solution to some of their problems.

Example 1: Special effects companies - big files, bigger costs

Let’s look at the example of a special effects company and their software that is used by millions of game developers and industrial designers.

One of the main challenges these kinds of companies face is providing large-scale graphics processing units to render customer projects – these games require a lot of processing capacity and this can be an expensive process.

Blockchain technology could enable this company to tap into undiscovered possibilities to solve its business problem: completing more projects for less money.

The special effects company needs to access as much processing power as possible from a variety of processing units for the cheapest amount of money possible. Since most devices have consumer-grade processors already installed, everyone with a device could contribute their processing power for a fee. In short, when you don’t need the processing power, you can sell this down time to this special effects company that needs some extra processing power for their new game, and get paid for it (or receive a token on the blockchain).

The below flowchart has 11 questions that can help decide whether or not this special effects company needs to use blockchain:

Image: Creative Commons/World Economic Forum

Start with A - Are you trying to remove intermediaries or brokers?

The company doesn’t need a middle man to help them get this extra processing power (this is the move from A to B on the toolkit graph). Their assets are digital and there are no other companies managing the assets (move from B to C to D).

Since the transactions can take place overnight, they can move from D to E. Once a job is complete, the software company doesn’t have to store that data, so that gets them to F. Everyone can participate. Move from F to G.
 

The company has to prove that they paid you for this time, but they don’t have to know specifically who wrote the contract, so they can move from G to H to I. For the last steps, network needs to be able to control the functionality (for upgrades for example) and be public. This analysis shows that the application should select a public, permission-free ledger. This solution applies blockchain to allow distributed graphic processing units to be shared across the globe, reducing costs, and reducing waste from underutilized units.

Example 2: Preventing multiple medical insurance claims

If we take a different case study and examine the role blockchain plays within the medical insurance industry, we would see a different result. This industry wants to prevent multiple claims across different suppliers. They want to remove intermediaries that usually manage part of the relationship for insurers (move from A to B). The data is digital and the insurers want to have control over the patient data and store the transactions, not the private data within the claims (move straight from B to E). However, the solution encounters challenges when considered from the perspective of needing trusted sources and compliance. The medical industry is heavily regulated and requires insurance providers to provide detailed oversight of their activities, in particular with respect to the management of end-user data. The solution, therefore, fails at this point. DLT is not the best choice for the concept outlined.

This Q&A tool is intended to enable rapid initial analysis of whether blockchain is the right solution to a business problem. It is based on real-world experience of blockchain in a variety of projects across a variety of industries analysed by Imperial College London.

The framework has been reviewed and further developed by members of the 2017 World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Blockchain and has been trialled through a variety of means, including with global chief executive officers (CEOs) at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018 in Davos, Switzerland.

The hope is to bust the blockchain hype and encourage a practice approach by shifting focus to the business problem and away from a particular technological solution.

Our new report, Blockchain Beyond the Hype, is available here.

Article source : https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/04/questions-blockchain-toolkit-right-for-business

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<Questions> 

Q1. What is the most memorable tech. word for you in 2018? Why?

Q2. How many words could you explain among below 8 words? Could you explain it in detail?

1. Blockchain  2. Internet of things

3. Virtual reality  4. Augmented reality

5. Chatbots  6. Subscription model

7. Ecommerce  8. Automation

Q3. Have you ever heard about the blockchain tech.? What is it?  
*** blockchain
A blockchain, originally block chain, is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block typically contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp and transaction data

Q4. What is the most connected word for your profession? How could you use that technology in your field?

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‘Justice’ Prevails as 2018 Word of the Year
In choosing the noun, Merriam-Webster said it was looked up on its website 

74 percent more often than in 2017

By Dan Levin / Dec. 17, 2018

Mark Lennihan/Associated Press

Justice has arrived — in one sense, that is.
No, Robert Mueller has not concluded his wide-ranging 18-month investigation into Russia’s influence on the 2016 presidential election, and sweeping criminal justice legislation has not yet come up for a vote on Capitol Hill. But the dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster on Monday selected “justice” as its word of the year, inspired by 12 long months of news headlines about the obstruction of justice, the Department of Justice and a certain Supreme Court justice, not to mention high-profile debates over racial and social justice (or the lack thereof).
In choosing the noun, Merriam-Webster said “justice” was looked up on its website a whopping 74 percent more often this year than in 2017. Searches for the term spiked following news stories that featured the word, the company said, often involving the Justice Department, which is overseeing the special counsel investigation into Russian meddling.
“For many reasons and for many meanings, one thing’s for sure: justice has been on the minds of many people in 2018,” the company said in a statement, explaining that the word, often as a concept or used as a legal term, “was at the center of many of our national debates in the past year.”
Defining an entire year of politics and culture by one word is, of course, an inexact science. Oxford Dictionaries chose “toxic” as its word of the year. Dictionary.com went with “misinformation.”

According to Merriam-Webster, “justice” beat out words like “nationalism” and “pansexual.” Surprisingly, the term “lodestar” made the list of contenders. The obscure noun saw a spike in searches after it appeared in an anonymous New York Times Op-Ed, written by a senior official in the Trump administration who claimed to be secretly thwarting the president’s worst impulses.
Merriam-Webster, which relies on its own website data to make its annual selection, suggested that President Trump had a hand, however accidentally, in tipping the scales toward “justice.”

Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, said in a video that searches for “obstruction of justice” jumped in August after Mr. Trump called on Twitter for Jeff Sessions, then the attorney general, to stop the Mueller investigation. Similar spikes occurred during the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, he said.

Perhaps it’s fitting that “justice,” a term often personified as a blindfolded woman carrying a sword and holding a balance, takes over from Merriam-Webster’s 2017 word of the year: feminism.

Dan Levin covers American youth for the National Desk. He was a foreign correspondent covering Canada from 2016 until 2018. From 2008 to 2015, Mr. Levin was based in Beijing, where he reported on human rights, politics and culture in China and Asia. @globaldan

Article source : https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/17/us/justice-word-year-merriam-webster.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR3Iji8efiyubbgjzex8nbYxrhndlMnblgt8JL7-FjIZqn9FuERhaHQyTzU

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The 10 words people couldn't stop looking up in 2018,

according to Merriam-Webster
Mark Abadi / Dec 19, 2018, 1:08 AM

‘Respect’ became one of the most looked-up words of the year following the death of Aretha Franklin, according to Merriam-Webster.

- Merriam-Webster announced its words of the year, and the list included the words that people couldn’t stop looking up in 2018.
- The words included “nationalism,” “pansexual,” and “laurel” of the notorious “laurel or yanny” debate.
- All those words were looked up at significantly higher rates than they were a year ago, the dictionary said.

Merriam-Webster announced its words of the year on Monday, and the winners reflect some of the biggest stories of 2018.
“Justice” was named the overall word of the year, the dictionary announced, while it selected 10 other notable words that people couldn’t stop looking up in 2018.
The words include “lodestar,” an obscure word that took center stage in one of the biggest political mysteries of the year, and “laurel,” which may have been the word you heard in a viral social-media recording from May.
Others on the list were words associated with American icons who died in 2018: “respect” for Aretha Franklin and “maverick” for John McCain.
Those four words, along with the others on the list, were looked up at significantly higher rates than in years past, according to the dictionary.
Read on to see Merriam-Webster’s top 10 words of the year:

■ Nationalism

Mark Wallheiser/Getty ImagesPeople flocked to the dictionary to find the meaning of the word “nationalism” in late October after President Donald Trump described himself as a nationalist during a Texas rally.
“You know, they have a word – it’s sort of became old-fashioned – it’s called a ‘nationalist.’ And I say, really, we’re not supposed to use that word,” Trump said. “You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, OK? I’m a nationalist. Nationalist. Nothing wrong. Use that word. Use that word.”

Merriam-Webster said lookups for the word spiked 8,000% after Trump used it. The dictionary defines nationalism as “loyalty and devotion to a nation,” especially “exalting one nation above all others.”

■ Pansexual

Scott Gries/Getty

Another popular word for dictionaries this year was “pansexual,” which relates to “sexual desire or attraction that is not limited to people of a particular gender identity or sexual orientation,”according to Merriam-Webster.

The increase in attention can be attributed in part to Janelle Monáe, the singer and actress who said she identified as pansexual in an interview with Rolling Stone.

■ Lodestar
One of the biggest political mysteries of the year centered on the use of the word “lodestar.”
In September, The New York Times published an anonymous op-ed from a senior White House official describing a secret resistance against the president within the Trump administration.
As political pundits debated the identity of the author, they zeroed in on one word used in the op-ed: lodestar. The fairly obscure word means “a star that leads or guides” or “one that serves as an inspiration, model, or guide” – and Vice President Mike Pence happens to have a history of using it.
Although some suggested Pence may be the mystery author, others noted the use of “lodestar” could have been clever misdirection from another official hoping to cover their tracks.

■ Epiphany

RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

The K-Pop group BTS is responsible for sparking curiosity in the word “epiphany,” meaning “an illuminating discovery.”
In August, the word was used in a trailer for the group’s upcoming album, which has racked up almost 40 million views on YouTube.

■ Feckless

YouTube/Guardian

Comedian Samantha Bee caused a stir in May when she called Ivanka Trump a four-letter word on her show “Full Frontal” over Trump’s silence on her father’s immigration policies.
But what sent people to the dictionary was her use of the word “feckless” in the same insult. The dictionary defines feckless as weak, ineffective, or worthless.

■ Laurel

YouTube/ABC

A recording of the word “laurel” – or is it “yanny”? – lit social media on fire in May, sparking endless debate and quickly becoming 2018’s version of “the dress.”
It seemed no one could agree on which word the voice on the recording was saying. As it turned out, the phenomenon was attributed to the different ways our brains pick out different frequencies – an answer that left everyone and no one satisfied at the same time.
In any case, the controversy generated outsized interest in the world “laurel,” a tree or shrub whose leaves are often used for adornment. Merriam-Webster said the yanny-laurel saga caused a 3,300% spike in lookups for the word.

■ Pissant

Maddie Meyer/Getty

One of the dictionary’s MVPs this year was “pissant,” an obscure word that people looked up 115,000% more than usual when it played a role in a controversy involving NFL star Tom Brady.
In January, Brady cut short his weekly interview with a Boston radio show a week after the host described Brady’s 5-year-old daughter as “an annoying little pissant.”
A “pissant” is “one that is insignificant,” according to Merriam-Webster, noting that it’s “used as a generalized term of abuse.”

■ Respect

Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

“Respect” became one of the dictionary’s most looked-up words after the death of Aretha Franklin in August.
“Respect” is the name of Franklin’s signature 1967 song. Merriam-Webster defines it as “high or special regard” and “the quality or state of being esteemed.

■ Maverick
The death of another American icon prompted a journey to the dictionary when longtime Arizona Senator John McCain died in late August.
McCain earned the reputation of a “maverick” for his willingness to buck traditional Republican orthodoxy. Originally referring to an unbranded range animal, a maverick in the political sense means “an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party,” according to Merriam-Webster.

■ Excelsior

Frazer Harrison/Getty images

When Marvel’s Stan Lee died in November, it prompted people to look up a word that was closely associated with him: “excelsior.”
The word is Latin for “higher,” and Lee used it as a sign-off at the end of his monthly columns for Marvel Comics.

Article source : https://www.businessinsider.com.au/words-of-the-year-merriam-webster-2018-12

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<Questions> 

Q1. What is the most memorable word for you in 2018?

Q2. Do you think how 'Nationalism' change our society? What effects have been made for your personal life due to this word? 

Q3. How much do you like Movie originated from Marvel's cartoon? Which one is your favorite among those superhero movie?

Q4. If you can have one super power among those superheoroes which power do you want to have? 

100. Apocalypse / Human Torch (Storm) 98. Fantomex 97. Enchantress (Amora) / Moonstone 95. Wonder Man 94. Crystal 93. Meggan 92. Galactus 91. Norman Osborn / Rocket Raccoon / Scarlet Spider (Kaine) / Ultimate Spider-Man (Morales) 87. Firestar 86. Black Knight / Ghost Rider 84. Pixie 83. Mr. Sinister 82. Legion 81. Moonstar 80. Chamber 79. Mockingbird 78. Venom (Brock) 77. M 76. Juggernaut 75. Star Lord 74. Daken 73. Angel / Mary Jane Watson 71. Nico Minoru / Wiccan 69. Death's Head 68. Union Jack 67. Sif

66. Havo 65. Mr. Fantastic 64. Agent Venom 63. Hank Pym 62. Multiple Man 61. Bishop / Pete Wisdom 59. Spider-Man (Octavius) 58. Professor X 57. Vision 56. Luke Cage 55. Hawkeye (Bishop) 54. Quicksilver 53. Spectrum 52. Spider-Woman 51. Invisible Woman 50. Punisher 49. Colossus / Mystique 47. Cable / Thanos 45. Nova 44. Moon Knight 43. Iceman 42. Wasp 41. Jubilee 40. Rachel Grey 39. Bucky Barnes 38. X-23 37. Hercules 36. Beast 35. Namor 34. Black Panther 33. Silver Surfer

32. Loki 31. Thing 30. Dazzler 29. Deadpool 28. Captain Britain 27. Dr. Strange 26. Hawkeye 25. She-Hulk 24. Polaris 23. Iron Fist 22. Black Widow 21. Scarlet Witch 20. Iron Man 19. Dr. Doom 18. Hulk 17. Magik 16. Psylocke 15. Carol Danvers 14. Daredevil 13. Kitty Pryde 12. Emma Frost 11. Magneto 10. Cyclops 9. Captain America 8. Jean Grey 7. Gambit 6. Nightcrawler 5. Thor 4. Rogue 3. Wolverine 2. Storm 1. Spider-Man

Q5. What is the most chatching word among below 10 words in 2018?

■ Nationalism ■ Pansexual ■ Lodestar ■ Epiphany

■ Feckless ■ Laurel ■ Pissant

■ Respect ■ Maverick ■ Excelsior

Q6. What is the definition of 'Justice'?

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When should you tell kids the truth about Santa? 

Psychologist reveals age you should break the news

(The truth being, of course, that his favourite reindeer isn't Rudolph...) 

Every parent does it differently - this is what the parenting experts say

ByNicola OakleyHead of Audience/ 14:13, 24 DEC 2017Updated17:26, 4 DEC 2018

Christmas with children is the most magical time of all, from visiting Santa's grotto to putting out his mince pie on Christmas Eve and seeing their faces light up in anticipation.
But when should we, as parents, put an end to the magic for the sake of our kids?

When is the right time to stop perpetuating this lie? (We all know the one... about "Rudolph being his favourite reindeer", wink wink).
Children, stop reading now and hand this to your parents. You're not allowed to know this secret or Santa won't visit this year.
Psychologist and parenting expert Dr Justin Coulson spoke to Daily Mail Australia about the controversial subject - and revealed when we should be telling our children the truth.

He said: "In my experience, kids get curious between the ages of five and seven.

"It's a constant topic of conversation and like anything that's supposed to be a secret: Knowledge is power."
So if our little boys or girls come home from school, look up at us with those sad eyes and ask: "[Is Rudolph his favourite reindeer]? Ben in my class says he's not," how should we respond?

Dr Coulson says: "The right time to tell your child is as soon as they ask.
"If they're old enough and curious enough to question, then they're old enough to know the truth."

What do you think? Let us know on our Mirror Mums Facebook page.
He also revealed that he had recently received a letter from a mum who felt like "the Grinch" for telling her five-year-old son that [Rudolph isn't his favourite reindeer] when she was put on the spot.
The mum said her friends and family were "absolutely horrified" that she had "ruined the magic of Christmas".

But Coulson thinks it's always worth telling the truth.

Article source : https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/family/when-tell-kids-truth-santa-9420127

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<< 101 Questions For Santa >>

1.Does Santa Claus really exist?
2.What does Christmas mean to Santa?
3.What colour skin does Santa have?
4.Was Santa a good student at school?
5.What kind of child was Santa?
6.Who are Santa’s neighbors?
7.How does he remember who wants what for Xmas?
8.How does he write so many Xmas cards?
9.Has Santa ever come close to hitting or being hit by an airplane while on his sleigh?
10.What are Santa’s thoughts on child labor?
11.Where does Santa go shopping?
12.Does Santa shop around to get the best deals on toys? Does he get a discount?
13.Is Santa an optimist or a pessimist?
14.If Santa died and was reincarnated, what would he want to come back as?
15.Does Santa like Christmas turkey and Christmas pudding?
16.What kind of house does Santa live in?
17.Does Santa prefer children or adults?
18.What’s Santa’s advice for any would-be Santas?
19.Why is Santa a saint?
20.What does Santa do between December 26 and Dec 23?
21.Are there any special rules Santa has to follow?
22.Is Santa into Harry Potter?
23.What does Santa think about spoiled kids?
24.Does Santa’s sleigh have air-bags, navigation or in-sleigh stereo?
25.What does Santa Claus / Christmas look like in your country?
26.Does there need to be snow for Santa Claus to exist?
27.How does Santa have so much energy?
28.How does he stay awake so long?
29.How does he get into houses that have no chimneys?
30.Does he earn any money?
31.Who was Santa when he was a child?
32.Does he really like children?
33.Does Santa have any bad habits?
34.Which country does he like visiting best?
35.What does he do on December 26 (Boxing Day)?
36.How many languages can he speak?
37.Can children from the Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, or other faiths be visited by Santa?
38.Why does he wear red and white?
39.What does Santa think about the commercialization of Christmas?
40.What does he do in the week before Xmas?
41.What’s his favourite sport?
42.If Santa could choose a present, what would he choose?
43.Why does he live in the North Pole, where it is so cold?
44.Does he ever shave?
45.Is he married?
46.Does he have children of his own?
47.Has Santa ever done anything bad?
48.What does he do about children who don’t believe in Santa?
49.Will he retire one day? What will he do if he does?
50.Does he have a garden?
51.What does Santa think about today's world leaders?
52.How did Santa get the job of being Santa?
53.Should he be worried about his weight, or go on a diet?
54.What’s Santa’s favourite Xmas song?
55.Where does Santa go on vacation?
56.What’s Santa’s native language?
57.What websites does Santa visit?
58.Is Santa always on time when he delivers his presents?
59.What happens if he delivers a present and it doesn’t work?
60.Why does he give American kids expensive big presents, but nothing to African kids?
61.If Santa could change career, what would he choose to do?
62.What are Santa’s hobbies?
63.Did Santa ever meet Jesus?
64.What kind of personality does Santa have at a party with adults?
65.What does Santa wear when he gets out of his red and white Santa suit?
66.What does Santa do if a child really hates a present?
67.Does Santa prefer a white Xmas, or one without snow?
68.What happens if a child he has presents for has been really, really naughty?
69.From what age does Santa stop giving presents to Children?
70.I’m 42 years old and I believe in Santa. Can I get a present?
71.What is Santa’s advice for parents raising children?
72.What one thing would Santa like to change about Christmas?
73.Does Santa like the new computer toys or the traditional wooden ones best?
74.What does Santa think when he comes down the chimney and there are already loads of presents under the tree?
75.What does Santa do if a child’s parents haven’t bought any presents, or have no money?
76.What does Santa think of all the guys who pretend to be Santa and sit in department store toy departments?
77.How does Santa deal with the change in climate from Northern winters to Southern summers?
78.Is Santa happy about competing with Jesus for attentions at Christmas?
79.Wouldn’t he prefer a name change to Santamas?
80.If Santa had one wish for the world, what would it be?
81.Has Santa thought about starting a Santa training school?
82.Is Santa worried about having to relocate because of global warming?
83.Is Santa any good at sport?
84.Will Santa ever retire?
85.What does Santa think of technology?
86.Why do British people call Santa ‘Father Christmas’?
87.Is Santa good at building snowmen, or having snowball fights?
88.Does Santa belong just to this world, or does he visit other planets?
89.What are Santa’s bad habits?
90.What’s Santa’s dream?
91.Does Santa send Christmas cards?
92.Who buys presents for Santa?
93.What’s Santa’s favourite toy?
94.Does Santa prefer to give toys, clothes or books?
95.What’s his address
96.What’s Santa’s favorite movie?
97.Does Santa watch television?
98.Does Santa have any brothers and sisters?
99.What does ‘ho-ho-ho’ mean?
100.How much is Santa’s salary?
101.Does he get any bonuses?

Article source : https://breakingnewsenglish.com/xmas.html

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<Questions> 

Q1. What is the origin of Christmas?

Q2. What is your religion? Do you celebrate the Christmas?

Q3. Do you have any speacial plan for Christms in 2018?

Q4. When should you tell kids the truth about Santa?

Q5. When did you realize that Santa is not a real existance? What was your response to it?

Q6. Can children from the Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, or other faiths be visited by Santa?

Q7. Does Santa belong just to this world, or does he visit other planets?

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10 Inspirational Quotes From The Star Wars Series

http://www.lifehack.org/349576/10-inspirational-quotes-from-the-star-wars-series

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Trump Signs Order To Create U.S. Space Command
The new order is separate from the president’s much touted goal of creating a “Space Force.”
POLITICS 12/18/2018 10:09 pm 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump launched the Pentagon’s new Space Command Tuesday, an effort to better organize and advance the military’s vast operations in space that could cost as much as $800 million over the next five years.

Trump signed a one-page memorandum Tuesday authorizing the Defense Department to create the new command. Speaking at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Vice President Mike Pence said, “a new era of American national security in space begins today.”
The goal is to set up a command to oversee and organize space operations, accelerate technical advances and find more effective ways to defend U.S. assets in space, including the vast constellations of satellites that American forces rely on for navigation, communications and surveillance. The move comes amid growing concerns that China and Russia are working on ways to disrupt, disable or even destroy U.S. satellites.
The new order is separate from the president’s much touted goal of creating a “Space Force” as an independent armed service branch, but is considered a first step in that direction. The memo provides little detail on what will be a long and complicated process as the Defense Department begins to pull together various space units from across the military services into a more coordinated, independent organization.
According to one U.S. official, the command would pull about 600 staff from existing military space offices, and then add at least another 1,000 over the coming years. The roughly $800 million would mainly cover the additional staff. The costs for the existing staff would just transfer to the new command, but that total was not immediately available.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations not yet announced.
Army Lt. Col. Joe Buccino, spokesman for Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, said that establishing Space Command is “a critical step in accelerating our space capabilities and posture to defend our vital national interests and deter our adversaries. This combatant command will lead space operations and develop space warfighting doctrine, tactics, and techniques.”

He added that the Pentagon will continue to develop a legislative proposal to meet the president’s vision for a space force.
The first steps next year will be to nominate top leaders for Space Command, including a four-star general and a deputy. The command would likely at least begin to take form in Colorado, where the current Joint Functional Component Command for Space is already located. But there has been no final decision on a location for the new command.
Funding for the command will be included in the budget for fiscal year 2020, which will be unveiled in February.
Trump’s order accelerates what has been a decades-long effort to reorganize and improve the military’s technological advances in space, which at times has gotten less attention as the Air Force has focused on warplanes and other combat priorities.
The military’s role in space has been under scrutiny because the United States is increasingly reliant on orbiting satellites that are difficult to protect. Satellites provide communications, navigation, intelligence and other services vital to the military and the national economy.
Over the past year, the issue gained urgency amid growing competition and threats from adversary nations.
U.S. intelligence agencies reported earlier this year that Russia and China were pursuing “nondestructive and destructive” anti-satellite weapons for use during a future war. And there are growing worries about cyberattacks that could target satellite technology, potentially leaving troops in combat without electronic communications or navigation abilities.
A U.S. Space Command existed from 1985 to 2002, but was disbanded in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks so that U.S. Northern Command could be established, focusing on defense of the homeland.
Although Space Command went away, its functions remained and were absorbed by U.S. Strategic Command. The Air Force retained its lead role in space through Air Force Space Command. That existing space command will be a key component of the new joint entity, raising space to the same status as other headquarters such as U.S. Cyber Command, Special Operations Command or Strategic Command.
The new Space Command will also pull from existing units in the other services, such as the Army Space and Missile Command and the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.
Officials said the process of breaking away parts of other organizations and molding them all into a new command will be done carefully, to ensure it’s done correctly without jeopardizing any ongoing operations or activities.

Article Source : https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-space-command-pentagon_us_5c19b541e4b08db99058c7ff

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<Questions> 

Q1. How do you think about Trump's idea to create Space Command?

Q2. Do you think why Trump want to create 'Space Command'?

Q3. Did you watch the movie 'Star Wars' series? Which one was the most impressive one? 

Q4. Do you have any memorable quotes until now from Star Wars series? Why do you like that sentence? 

Q5. In the states, Star wars series are so popular but not that much in Korea. Why?

Q6. Among 10 quotes, do you agree with the no. 8 sentence which is 'Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering'. If you have someone you hate deadly, could you forgive him/ her for your peaceful mind?

Q7. Currently, which movie is the most impressive to you? And why? 

[리사홍]

Scarlet! thank you for the amazing topics!