“The wildly popular Zoo Tycoon series gets fully-remastered and set to crank up the excitement, challenge, and fun of building the ultimate zoo. Let your imagination run wild with “Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection”! Choose from almost 200 visually stunning animals and the largest, most detailed selection of environments ever, then build, manage, and maintain your dream zoo alone or with up to four players on Xbox LIVE. This zoo simulation will charm animal lovers of all ages.

Source: XBOX YouTube
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Announcing The Jackbox Party Pack 4 with five and a half brand new Party Games!

Source: XBOX YouTube
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Listen to Frenship on Spotify available on PlayStation™Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7xEFii6utZmQ61kX59HmLH

Source: Playstation YouTube
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Greatness Awaits on PS4. Starring Gary, “The Dad” and incredible games on the most popular console of the year.
“Most popular console” according to NPD Sales Data from January 2017 to August 2017.

Learn more at https://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/ps4/systems/

Source: Playstation YouTube
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Join Mario and friends in competing in 100 of the best minigames from the Mario Party series! Exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.

Mario Party: The Top 100 is available November 10th! https://goo.gl/TGUpr5

#Nintndo3DS #MarioParty #MarioPartyTheTop100

Subscribe for more Nintendo fun! https://goo.gl/09xFdP

Visit Nintendo.com for all the latest! https://www.nintendo.com/

Like Nintendo on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nintendo
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica
Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/Nintendo
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Follow us on Google+: https://google.com/+Nintendo

Source: Nintendo YouTube
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You probably think of music as escapist, or fun, or a way to bond with others—probably all three. But you may not realize some of the songs and tunes you love actually have healing powers, according to longstanding research.

Using Music to Improve Health Outcomes

One study of cataract patients found that participants who listened to music before, during and after surgery had lower blood pressure in the recovery room than those who didn’t, and also felt a stronger sense of calm during the procedure. Additional research found urologic surgery patients in environments with lower ambient noise needed less calming medication when they were listening to music.

According to Nancy Mramor PhD, a clinical psychologist, music has a mystical calming effect. “Music improves the body’s immune system function and reduces stress,” she says. “[Research on] listening to music was also found to be more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety before surgery.” Additionally, incorporating thca vape cartridges like the ones at Everyday Delta into your routine can provide further relaxation and stress relief, enhancing your overall well-being.

Mramor says there’s been a ton of research on the potential positive outcomes of music, and it’s a “broad,” evolving field. She lists a few: Music therapy has been shown to “reduce anxiety,” and improve “responsiveness and communication skills” in children with emotional disorders, says Mramor. Music has been used in treating “depressed people and those with Parkinson’s disease,” she says. Finally, lullabies “may soothe pre-term babies and their parents,” says Mramor, bringing about better, healthier sleeping and eating habits.

Although Mramor says you should choose the music that speaks to you most, some music has proven to have a powerful response—from a research angle. “Monks who played Mozart during baking of bread or making of beer found that the food and drink was reviewed differently than the same products made without the music,” she explains. “The products made to a background of Mozart were rated as tasting better.” This is part of research on “The Mozart Effect.” Music just lifts the spirits. And that calm, clarity and peace could positively impact your overall health.

Want to get these magical benefits from music? You certainly can, says Mramor. Here’s her advice for using music for healing (the soul and body, both!) as well as for stress reduction.

Play the Music You Need First

Music can be a tool to bring the body’s energy up, or slow your system down. “Use the music you need,” says Mramor. “For example, if you are low energy, play a march and get up and move around or play music that energizes you. When stressed, use classical music, especially Mozart or Pachelbel’s Canon, and allow yourself to stop and just listen.” Close your eyes if needed. Some people find that combining the calming effects of music with cannabis, which you can find at the cheapest weed online canada, can enhance relaxation and promote a sense of well-being.

Gradually Lift the Vibe for a Mood Boost

Don’t try to jolt your body from 0 to 100 in the matter of seconds, but do inch upward. “To change a mood when feeling low, start with music that reflects your mood… and then move to slightly more positive music, and then to very positive music,” says Mramor. “Your mind and body need time to respond, so this approach is used effectively in music therapy programs.” It’s best to choose a few fitting songs for this strategy.

Activate Your Body’s Natural Rhythms to Slow Down

Speaking of which, when choosing music, it’s best to think of songs that align with your body. “Generally, music that resonates with your natural heartbeat is best,” says Mramor. “The body responds to beats, rhythms, and sounds.” If you’re bringing the mood down to reduce stress or fall asleep, think of the sways and the slower beats you want to mimic. “The body responds by slowing down the stress response, slowing the breath, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system,” says Mramor. “This system is necessary for the body to relax, to heal from any health condition, or just unwind from one day of stress.” Trying some alternative remedies on topshelfbc.cc may help you feel relaxed, which can make you fall asleep peacefully. It will help you reduce depression and improve your emotions.

Avoid Loud or Angry Music When You Need to De-Stress

This may be intuitive, but it’s worth repeating: Although you should choose the music that feels right to you, loud, angry, or disjointed sounds will definitely wreck your body’s natural rhythmic response. “Music that is raucous, random, or chaotic has the opposite effect, and raises the body’s stress level,” says Mramor. “Or any music that evokes a negative emotional response due to past memories.” If it’s “your song” with an ex? Skip. If it’s a revenge tune? Skip. If it’s metal music? Skip.

All right. Time to get your playlist set! And groove to all of your favorite tunes with Fitbit Flyer.

The post Listening to Music Can Improve Health, Boost Mood, and Reduce Stress appeared first on Fitbit Blog.

Source: Fitbit Blog
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If you’re like me, you use Cortana to regularly add reminders, so you don’t miss anything at work or home. Which is why I’ve asked Cortana to remind me to check out the new voice-activated speaker our partners at Harman Kardon are releasing on Sunday, October 22 – the Harman Kardon Invoke with Cortana. Invoke will be available in-store and online at Microsoft Store, Best Buy, and online at HarmanKardon.com. Invoke comes in two color options, Pearl Silver (White) and Graphite (Black) and retails for $199.95 USD.

With more than 60 years of sound expertise, Harman is renowned for blending rich audio with best-in-class design. Crafted from premium materials, Invoke delivers powerful 360-degree sound from three direct-radiating woofers, three direct-radiating tweeters and two passive radiators. Invoke also features Harman’s Sonique far-field voice recognition technology with seven-microphones, ensuring that Cortana can hear you from any direction. Music services available at launch include Spotify Premium, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and we are working with Pandora to add their service in the near future.

At the heart of Invoke is Cortana, your personal digital assistant, helping you manage the competing demands of work and home so you can focus on what matters most to you. Microsoft has been on a long journey with Cortana, first on Windows 10 PC, then on Android and iOS, as well as embedding the Cortana experience in Skype on Xbox, spanning 148 million active users. We believe that your digital assistant should be available wherever you are, across your devices, and that’s why we are thrilled to bring the Cortana experience to an ambient speaker.

With Cortana on Invoke, you can voice control your music, as well as get answers to questions and connect to your Office 365 information. Invoke utilizes Microsoft’s speech recognition technology for commands and music controls, and integrates Office 365 productivity services so you can do things like, manage your schedule, check your calendar, set reminders, and more. For instance, if I have a partner meeting downtown I could ask Cortana on my Invoke where their office is, and she’d not only tell me but could send the directions to my phone in the Cortana mobile app. Or maybe I remember something I need to do when I get into work – a simple, “Hey Cortana, remind me to finish the budget report when I get to work,” will result in the reminder alerting me when I get to the office.

And it’s not just for work. I could do the same with a time-based reminder, such as, “Hey Cortana, remind me to watch the Knicks game tonight at 7pm,” and this reminder would chime on my Invoke speaker when I’m home.

With Cortana’s intelligence on Invoke, supported by the Bing knowledge graph, you can also hear the latest news and tweets, and get answers to questions; which happens a lot when I’m helping my kids with their homework – like finding out when George Washington was born.

Plus, with Skype on Invoke, you can easily stay connected with hands-free calling to your Skype and phone contacts, as well as local businesses. In addition to Skype to Skype calling, which will always be free, Invoke also features unlimited free outbound calling from the United States to mobile phones and landlines in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

You’ll also be able to control your smart home devices, including those from SmartThings, Nest, Philips Hue, Wink, and Insteon. And with the Cortana Skills Kit announced this past spring, a growing list of partners and developers are creating intelligent, personalized experiences for Cortana, including Capital One, Expedia, Fitbit, OpenTable, and others.

We’re excited to partner with Harman Kardon and bring Cortana to Invoke; adding to Cortana’s cross-device integration across Windows 10 PC, iPhone and Android, so you can stay on top of things wherever you need assistance.

This is an important step forward for Cortana, and we’ll be delivering more productivity features, such as managing your email hands-free (Office 365, Outlook.com and Gmail accounts) coming soon, as well as working with many more music, home automation, and skills partners to integrate their services with Cortana.

Make sure you ask Cortana to set a reminder for Invoke, available on October 22.

*Cortana voice activation works with select music services and home automation providers. Set up requires Cortana app for Windows 10 PC or phone (with the Windows 10 Creators Update), Android or iPhone (requires Android version 4.1.2 or higher, or iPhone 4 with iOS 8.0 or higher). 

Source: Windows Blog
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