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2023 (49)- October 15 ~~~ Amazing Photo: “Ring of Fire” Annular Solar Eclipse 2023(quote) Saturday saw a major solar eclipse cross the Americas, with all but the tips of North and South America able to see the new moon appear to take a bite out of the sun. Over the course of a...
- October 10 ~~~ One of America’s most iconic (and voted “most attractive”) accents is fading: the Southern drawl declining sharply in Gen Z(quote) Well, bless their hearts — Gen Z is killing the Southern drawl, y’all. That’s according to a new study published in Language Variation and Change, which claims the classic Southern...
- October 3 ~~~ World-largest folk festival Oktoberfest originated in 1810 in honor of Bavarian royal wedding, runs longest in 2023(quote) From September 16 to October 3, the largest folk festival in the world takes place on the Theresienwiese. The festival site covers an area of 34.5 hectares. 898 companies have applied for...
- September 27 ~~~ Michael Gambon (1940 – 2023), internationally known for playing Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter, was “one of the last links to the great generation of actors” with six-decade-long career(quote) Sir Michael John Gambon CBE (19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the...
- September 23 ~~~ Pregnant wild elephant “walked for days in pain before dying” in India after being fed explosive pineapple, sparks outrage(quote) Indian wildlife officials are mourning the death of a pregnant wild elephant in Kerala, India, who reportedly died after being fed a firecracker-filled pineapple by an unknown assailant....
- September 21 ~~~ The Authors Guild and 17 prominent writers including Grisham, Connelly, Baldacci, GRRM file class action lawsuit against OpenAI for “flagrant and harmful” copyright infringement, 10,000+ authors sign open letter, “people keep telling me they bought my newest book… I didn’t write”(quote) George R. R. Martin, Jodi Picoult and other famous writers join Authors Guild in class action lawsuit against OpenAI New York (CNN) — A group of famous fiction writers joined the Authors...
- September 18 ~~~ 61-year-old Napa man stabbed in back by trespasser, pulls out knife to stab him back, subdues attacker for arrest(quote) Stabbed Napa County homeowner pulls out knife, stabs assailant, sheriff says When a 61-year-old man was stabbed in the back on his Napa County property Saturday morning, he pulled the knife...
- September 14 ~~~ “We feel like foreigners in our own home” – Venice locals outnumbered by tourists, day-tripper entrance fee to start in 2024(quote) The number of beds available to tourists on Venice’s main island has surpassed the number of year-round residents for the first time, as a Unesco decision on the city’s future on the...
- September 7 ~~~ Fata Morgana and other natural optical phenomena: floating ship, waterfalls on fire, undulating waves in rocks(quote) At sea, objects in the distance may appear to be floating above the horizon. A Fata Morgana is a complex, rapidly changing form of a superior mirage, an optical phenomenon that is created...
- August 31 ~~~ Cable cars invented by Andrew Smith Hallidie 150 years ago, 40 cable lines worldwide, now a moving US National Landmark(quote) San Francisco’s first tech boom wasn’t about silicon, but steel. Steel cable that triggered a revolution in urban transportation. Scotsman Andrew S. Hallidie, an experienced maker of wire...
- August 24 ~~~ Protests in multiple countries as Japan begins dumping Fukushima nuclear waste water into ocean. Study: “No Radiation Level Safe”(quote) In a decision steeped in controversy, Japan started releasing radioactive water from its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. In South Korea, protests and...
- August 17 ~~~ Self-driving cars sits in cement waiting for rescue; “brilliant” placement of a traffic cone; do they think firetrucks should yield to them?(quote) The Self-Driving Cars Wearing a Cone of Shame There’s a brilliant campaign to stop San Francisco’s autonomous vehicles in their tracks. Self-driving cars have met their match in the form...
- August 10 ~~~ AI cartoons: coffee machine, fast food takeover, extinction risk, real intelligence, self-driving and texting?Image courtesy Dilbert, newworldai.com, pinterest and theweek.comRead More...
- July 30 ~~~ Blue Bird, lovely, lively, missing Jack? Had his ambitions not grown bigger (Shakespeare: “the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream”), Blue Bird would still tweet on Twitter(quote) Al Young, joint chief creative officer, St Luke’s “…getting rid of the perfect little bird icon, which is instantly recognizable and charismatic, in favor of X is not going to be a...
- July 27 ~~~ Blue Bird, lucky birds, continue to cheerfully chirp, twitter, sing among trees and flowers though lost duel with “X”: one from nature, the other from where?(quote) For over a decade, the Twitter bird logo has been inseparable from the social media platform. But with the service’s X rebrand, Musk is saying goodbye to ‘all the birds.’ Early Monday...
- July 21 ~~~ “A tear may be so near…life is still worthwhile, if you just smile”: Tony Bennett (1926-2023), World War II veteran and music legend spanning 7 decades(quote) Tony Bennett, legendary singer and master of the American songbook, dies at 96 “I’ve never worked a day in my life,” Tony Bennett told USA TODAY in 2011, “because I...
- July 19 ~~~ 51-year-old Australian sailor and dog survives two months stranded at sea by eating raw fish and drinking rain water(quote) An Australian sailor who survived two months in the Pacific Ocean by eating raw fish and drinking rainwater is “stable and very well”, a doctor says. Sydney resident Tim Shaddock,...
- July 12 ~~~ NASA “stellar nursery” photo celebrates James Webb Telescope one year anniversary: formation of 50 young stars all similar in size to the Sun “like a newborn first stretching her arms out into the world”(quote) A star is born: On its one-year anniversary, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope published an image capturing the formation of 50 young stars in vivid detail, including some that indicate the...
- July 8 ~~~ Musk’s trick tweet treat: classic verse Cao Zhi (AD 192-232) composed within 7 steps on his brother Cao Pi’s order about brothers without the word “brother”(quote) In a Monday tweet, Elon Musk wrote “humankind,” followed by the 1,800-year-old classical Chinese poem The Quatrain of Seven Steps. Here is the poem translated into English by Moss...
- July 5 ~~~ Earth runs a fever from pollution. Over 3,063 fires before July in Canada’s worst fire season, 8.2 million hectares burnt, over 100 million in US under air quality alert(quote) Canadian wildfire smoke reaches Europe as Canada reports its worst fire season on record (CNN) Canada has officially marked its worst wildfire season on record, with smoke from the blazes...
- June 25 ~~~ Divers and fish or octopus meet now and then: how to recognize one another in vast waters, billions swimming… Karma? Reincarnation?(quote) A scuba diver has forged an unlikely bond with a wild fish and the pair meet up every summer beneath the waves for a reunion. Rex Colubra made friends with the small mouth bass while on a...
- June 21 ~~~ Inventor of the kindergarten passed away today in 1852: learn by play. “Let us educate them to stand with their feet rooted in God’s earth, but with their heads reaching even into heaven, there to behold truth.”(quote) “Let us protect our children; and let us not allow them to grow up into emptiness and nothingness, to the avoidance of good hard work, to introspection and analysis without deeds, or to...
- June 17 ~~~ Amazing findings: Positive mind produces positive energy, and healthy you! by Sir David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.(quote) In his book Power vs. Force, Dr. Hawkins goes through the scale consciousness. …from the lower levels of Shame, Guilt, Apathy, Fear, Anger, and Pride; to Courage, Acceptance, and...
- June 11 ~~~ Real-life cowboy lassos brave and habitual runaway steer on highway I-75: challenging speeding vehicles of steel and iron… what a moment!(quote) ‘It was pretty hairy,’ says cowboy who lassoed a rogue steer on a Michigan highway Lester is home at his animal sanctuary and doing just fine thanks to cow catcher Ricky...
- June 5 ~~~ 69-year-old man saves bank and jobless would-be robber with kind words and a hug(quote) When a struggling Californian attempted to alleviate his financial stress by robbing a bank, Michael Armus Sr. recognized it was out of sadness and not malice. Stepping in with words, and...
- May 29 ~~~ Lawyer suing airline cites six non-existent cases in court based on ChatGPT: “bogus judicial decisions with bogus quotes and bogus internal citations”(quote) A lawyer used ChatGPT and now has to answer for its ‘bogus’ citations A filing in a case against Colombian airline Avianca cited six cases that don’t exist, but a lawyer working for the...
- May 22 ~~~ Back to origins. Simple or fancy: which is reliable in high-speed traffic? in the split second of saving a life? More Automakers bringing back buttons over touchscreens(quote) The Glorious Return of a Humble Car Feature – Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touch screens. Buttons are back! Unlike in most peer countries, American roadway deaths...
- May 15 ~~~ 2009 “Spend wise, Guardian to Purse”… 2021 “Visit My Confidant” (p46-49 “Train of Morrow”) by LuCxeedSpend wise – Guardian to Purse; waste less – Angel to Earth. Poll: protecting the planet given priority over economy growth quote from “Visit My Confidant”, page 46-49 of...
- May 8 ~~~ “Godfather of artificial intelligence” Geoffrey Hinton quits Google and “blows the whistle” on AI advancement: “very few examples of a more intelligent thing being controlled by a less intelligent thing”(quote) Why the ‘Godfather of AI’ decided he had to ‘blow the whistle’ on the technology “I’m just a scientist who suddenly realized that these things are getting smarter than us,”...
- May 1 ~~~ “Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.” – Albert Einstein“Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.” – Albert Einstein “Mathematics is the music of reason.” — James Joseph Sylvester “A mathematician...
- April 24 ~~~ Mathematicians discover 13-sided “Einstein Shape” – aperiodic monotile that can tile an infinite plane and never repeat the same pattern(quote) (CNN) – A geometry problem that has been puzzling scientists for 60 years has likely just been solved by an amateur mathematician with a newly discovered 13-sided shape. Called “The...
- April 17 ~~~ Australian breaks Guinness World Record with 3206 push-ups in one hour – almost one per second(quote) Barrel-chested Lucas Helmke, 33, from Brisbane, Australia, has pushed his strength and stamina to their limits to break the most push ups in one hour world record. Lucas performed 3,206 push...
- April 3 ~~~ 94-year-old former Motorola engineer Martin Cooper remembers inventing the cellphone 50 years ago(quote) “Hi, Joel? It’s Marty Cooper.” Engineer Martin Cooper cradled a bulky object to his ear, listening. The gray device had two rows of numbered buttons between the ear and mouthpiece. An...
- March 25 ~~~ Gordon Moore (1929-2023) – Intel co-founder and philanthropist who predicted rise of personal computing in “Moore’s Law” 20 years before PC and 40 years before iPhone(quote) SAN FRANCISCO, March 24 (Reuters) – Intel Corp (INTC.O) co-founder Gordon Moore, a pioneer in the semiconductor industry whose “Moore’s Law” predicted a steady rise in...
- March 21 ~~~ Travelers can spend a night in the Parisian opera house that inspired the Phantom of the Opera, novel from real events and legends surrounding Palais GarnierPhantom of the Opera fans can now spend the night inside the opulent Parisian opera house that inspired the beloved musical and novel. Airbnb and the Opéra National de Paris have teamed up to...
- March 14 ~~~ “Well Well” – Quest and Design ii. Exclusive. Debut. new book release: “Design talkings? Oh yes! Design Sense?”“Well Well – Quest and Design ii” by Astron Hues Debut. Original. Exclusive. Dedicated to Friends. Brief beginning: “Design talkings? Oh, yes! Design Sense?”...
- March 7 ~~~ Back to basics: “Scanners and copy machines are complicated” – older workers help Gen-Z who grew up on smartphone apps learn office tech(quote) They may be digital natives, but young workers were raised on user-friendly apps – and office devices are far less intuitive Garrett Bemiller, a 25-year-old New Yorker, has spent his entire...
- March 2 ~~~ Future in Fashion of Haste: “More rush hours in daily doings rather than rush hours in traffic”Future in Fashion of Haste. New book “As You Wish”, philosophical Slow down, possible? “More rush hours in daily doings rather than rush hours in traffic.”
- February 28 ~~~ They’re smarter than we think: cockatoo makes and uses toolset, sheep unlocks gate(quote) Cockatoos can not only use tools, they can carry whole toolkits to trickier jobs, study shows (CNN)The ability to solve problems with multiple tools is a rare talent in the animal kingdom,...
- February 20 ~~~ “I’ve only had two rules. Do all you can and do it the best you can.” – Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken(quote) Before it became the world’s second-largest fast-food chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken was the brainchild of a man named Harland Sanders, who cooked up simple country dishes at a roadside...
- February 13 ~~~ Happy Valentine’s! 2023 book dedicated to beloved: “wish you the best as you wish”Care, profound Miss you with whole heart wish you the best as you wish (new title: “As You Wish”)
- February 6 ~~~ Unfit, unfortunate. Fortune shifts its tone …now wears hat with “Health”Fortune wears hat with “Health”.Facemasks are daily norm, like runaways from hospitals. (new title: “As You Wish”) conversational Unwell, unfortunate. Fortune shifts its...
- January 29 ~~~ “Life is short… Forgive quickly… Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that makes you smile.”Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that makes you smile. Mark Twain
- January 22 ~~~ Happy Lunar New Year of the Rabbit 2023! Famous Rabbits: Albert Einstein, Brad Pitt, Jet Li, Edith Piaf, David Beckham, Lionel MessiThe Year of the Rabbit: An illustrated guide to Lunar New Year Grab your favorite red shirt; it’s time to celebrate the Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival. Saying goodbye to the Tiger,...
- January 17 ~~~ Baseball teams designed to win. What crowns the winner? 20-straight win in 2002 vs in 1884Quest & Design: As You Wish All baseball teams designed to win. What crowns the winner? (new title: “As You Wish”) artistic and insightful 20-straight win in 2002 vs in 1884
- January 15 ~~~ What looks like Big Bird, sounds like a machine gun, eats crocodiles, and bows in greeting?(quote) You probably wouldn’t win a staring contest with it, though you’d be hard pressed to look away. Taller than a mailbox, with an eight-foot wingspan, the shoebill is quite a kick to...
- January 9 ~~~ “As You Wish” – Quest and Design. Exclusive. Debut. new book release: “Design things? Surely. Design Happiness?”Debut. Original. Exclusive – “As You Wish” – Quest and Design” by Astron Hues “Design things? Surely. Design Happiness? All baseball teams designed to win. What...
- January 8 ~~~ Rare comet visible to naked eye for first time in 50,000 years(quote) A newly discovered comet could be visible to the naked eye as it shoots past Earth and the Sun in the coming weeks for the first time in 50,000 years, astronomers have said. The comet is...
- December 31 ~~~ 100-year-old WWii veteran returns to the skies in historic plane in volunteer group’s 500th flight(quote) Ted Giannone is 100 years old, and a World War II veteran, so he’s seen some things. But he said he’d never really seen the Superstition Mountains until Tony Anger showed them to him....
- December 24 ~~~ “We feel their absence.” First Christmas without Queen: King Charles pays tribute to late Queen Elizabeth in first Christmas speech as monarch, new UK banknotes featuring the King unveiled(quote) King Charles Pays Tribute To Queen Elizabeth In First Christmas Speech As Monarch “I’m standing here in this exquisite chapel of St George, at Windsor Castle, so close to where my beloved...
- December 18 ~~~ Argentina wins FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 after 1978 and 1986. Sports genius: Lionel Messi in soccer, just like Roger Federer in tennis and Tiger Woods in golf(quote) Argentina wins 2022 World Cup and Lionel Messi gets the legacy-defining dream ending he deserves Messi delivered in style as Argentina won their first World Cup since Maradona’s magical...
- December 17 ~~~ Photographer captures mist-shrouded, snow-capped historic Stirling Castle in Scotland(quote) A photographer snapped snow-capped Stirling Castle shrouded in mist as he compared it to something out of Harry Potter. Scotland has been in the grip of an icy cold snap all week, with...
- December 10 ~~~ First Christmas card invented in 1840s Victorian England, became a modern industry in 1915, designs by Disney and Warner Bros illustrator of “Bambi” fame became a household name(quote) A prominent educator and patron of the arts, Henry Cole travelled in the elite, social circles of early Victorian England, and had the misfortune of having too many friends. During the...
- November 28 ~~~ Meta’s AI “Galactica” trained on 48 million science papers shut down after 2 days, described as “random bullshit generator”(quote) Meta Trained an AI on 48M Science Papers. It Was Shut Down After 2 Days Galactica was supposed to help “organize science.” Instead, it spewed misinformation. In the first year of...
- November 26 ~~~ Tech layoffs 2022: 1138 rounds globally through mid-Nov affecting 182k people; biggest cuts announced at Meta, Twitter, Cisco, Amazon, HP, Carvana, Stripe, Coinbase, Snap…(quote) The job cuts in tech land are piling up, as companies that led the 10-year stock bull market adapt to a new reality. Layoffs come as digital advertisers are cutting back on spending and...
- November 19 ~~~ 19 Nov 1895 – American inventor Frederick E Blaisdell patents the paper pencil(quote) Frederick E Blaisdell Pencil debuted in the 1800s The pencil was an improvement from grease pencils—all you had to do once the graphite wore out was unwrap up more of the pencil. Blaisdell...
- November 12 ~~~ Story behind Safeway’s founding and name, first grocery stores with self-service, selling goods by weight and sell-by dates(quote) In 1915, the Skaggs family owned a small grocery store in American Falls, Idaho. Originally owned by S. M. Skaggs, a Baptist minister, the store was opened to help provide for his family of...
- November 5 ~~~ The sun “hath a smile for every one” – NASA snaps a big solar grin(quote) The sun put on a happy face during a week full of solar flares and ejections. Our local star seems to be taking the “sun is smiling down on us” phrase literally. NASA’s...
- October 29 ~~~ “The bird is freed.” “Let that sink in” – Elon Musk carries kitchen sink into Twitter HQ after completing $44 billion deal, dubs self “Chief Twit”(quote) Elon Musk has completed his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter. The deal’s closing removes a cloud of uncertainty that has hung over Twitter’s business, employees and shareholders for much...
- October 22 ~~~ New quarter dollar, new face: 1st Asian American to grace US currency, receive a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, host US TV show, “Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong”… and gain international recognition(quote) ‘Momentous’: Actor Anna May Wong to be first Asian American on U.S. currency More than 60 years after Anna May Wong became the first Asian American woman to receive a star on the...
- October 21 ~~~ Qatar welcome first two pandas to Arabic world: Suhail (“star in the sky”) and Soraya (“a group of shining stars”) examine new home…then enjoy bamboo, ready for World Cup!(quote) Qatar welcomes M-E’s first pandas ahead of World Cup Qatar is the 20th country in the world that has the giant pandas. The public will have the opportunity to visit the giant panda park at...
- October 20 ~~~ Unprecedented record! UK PM resigns after 44 days – noticeable shortest (10% rating). Official? No joke! Theresa May’s courtesy to Queen. Liz Truss’?(quote) Embattled British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced she would step down from office Thursday after just 44 days in office — making her the UK’s shortest-serving leader ever. The shunned...
- October 19 ~~~ Mother Universe – Pillars of Creation. Stunning: Webb’s Star-Filled Portrait of Pillars of Creation 19Oct22 (vs 1995 first image Hubble Space Telescope)(quote) NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope made the Pillars of Creation famous with its first image in 1995, but revisited the scene in 2014 to reveal a sharper, wider view in visible light, shown...
- October 16 ~~~ Australia to set aside 30% of land for endangered species protection(quote) Australia will set aside at least 30% of its land mass for conservation in a bid to protect plants and animals in the island continent famed for species found nowhere else in the world,...
- October 13 ~~~ Southern Hemisphere. Two female Foreign Ministers: Nanaia Mahuta of New Zealand, Penny Wong of AustraliaNew Zealand PM appoints first female Indigenous foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta Penelope Ying-Yen Wong has served as Minister for Foreign Affairs since 23 May 2022. Image courtesy optimistdaily.com...
- October 6 ~~~ Florida: boats heavily packed ashore, 93yo on fanboat, Babcock Ranch weathered Hurricane Ian without loss of power(quote) Floridians are facing devastating scenes after Hurricane Ian, one of the strongest storms ever to hit the U.S., swept across the state. The storm, which made landfall in southwest Florida as...
- September 29 ~~~ 5th annual European “Land Art” Festival in Dunbar, Scotland: Stone Stacking Championships celebrate connection with beautiful nature, “calm and focus racing minds”(quote) Every year, a wonderful event celebrating the beauty of nature and humanity’s connection with it takes place over a weekend in Scotland. The European “Land Art” Festival and Stone...
- September 22 ~~~ Natural refrigerators: Italian fruit farmers use caves to store 30,000 tonnes of apples and save 32% electricity(quote) PREDAIA, Italy, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Apple farmers in the north of Italy are using natural refrigerators carved under a hillside to store their harvest in a controlled environment that...
- September 15 ~~~ Dancing, greeting flying ball: “to the game of tennis: I love you and will never leave you” – legendary Federer retires at 41 after 103 ATP titles (since 1998). Effortless quadruple axel in air – 17 year old figure skater Ilia Malinin, first in history(quote) …far beyond just the public-relations vids and soundbites, Federer demonstrated mostly grace, humility, gratitude, respect for the game, respect for fans, and, on the court, all-around...
- September 14 ~~~ Alexander von Humboldt (born 14 Sep 1769), geographer, naturalist, explorer, co-founded modern geography science with Carl Ritter, 21 years to journal 5-year journey around world(quote) Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science....
- September 10 ~~~ 96-round-gun salute honours the Queen. King Charles III, 1st speech as sovereign, heartfelt tribute to his late mother, “darling mama…” (full speech)(quote) The King pays tribute to his “darling mama” as he delivers a moving address to the nation The King’s Address in full: “I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow....
- September 9 ~~~ Heart of Wisdom and Nobility. Rock of Love and Stability. Queen and Philip are gone, so is an era, century of great generation. Mourning crowds in tears(quote) Queen Elizabeth ii on her coronation day, in 1953: “I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my...
- September 8 ~~~ Farewell. Double rainbow. Flag down. Notice on gates of Palace. Queen Elizabeth II passed away at 96 on 08Sept22, after Prince Philip on 09Apr21, 73-yr marriage, 70-yr service, longest reignIndia Today September 9, 2022 – “A rainbow had appeared right before the announcement happened, and another came up soon after the Queen’s passing when the flag was lowered at her...
- September 2 ~~~ 13,000 year-old underground tunnels discovered in Brazil – “non-man-made, not naturally formed”(quote) In the 1930s, a group of archaeologists and explorers looking for the remains of the Mayan civilization went deep into the rainforest, where they did not find the remains of the Mayan...
- August 26 ~~~ Tourists fined and expelled from Venice for riding motorized surfboards down Grand Canal, called out by mayor as “overbearing imbeciles who made a mockery” of UNESCO World Heritage Site(quote) Two surfers filmed whizzing along Venice’s busiest canal have evoked the wrath of the city’s mayor. Videos of the two people foil surfing between boats and water buses on the...
- August 19 ~~~ Real life Pinocchio? Lobster diver and kayaker gulped by humpback whales and spit back out again(quote) 2021: A LOBSTER diver was swallowed whole by a humpback whale and then lived to tell about it after getting spit out. Wearing scuba gear Michael Packard of Wellfleet Massachusetts estimates...
- August 12 ~~~ 400lb 70-90 yo halibut caught and released by UK fisherman after dragging his boat half a mile(quote) A city fisherman has hauled in a record-breaking beast of the deep – a whopping 7ft halibut. The largest ever of its species to be caught by a Brit, the 90-year-old creature was caught...
- August 9 ~~~ Germany: overcrowded trains, passengers had to be turned away, or told no bicycles on board, punctuality “national joke”, “looking for German efficiency, go to Switzerland”(quote) Vice-chairman of the DB Regio Works Council, Ralf Damde, said around 400 trains were overcrowded on each day. “Platforms and trains were full all over Germany, and in several cases...
- August 6 ~~~ NASA releases new photo of The Cartwheel: a ring galaxy 500 million light-years away in the Sculptor constellation, shaped from a cosmic collision(quote) See the James Webb Space Telescope’s Dazzling New Photo of the Cartwheel Galaxy Located 500 million light-years away in the Sculptor constellation, the galaxy got its unique wagon...
- August 3 ~~~ Fasten belts: Italian mountain lodge restaurant moved across Alps into Switzerland. Melting glacier’s “prank”, no kidding!(quote) Italy’s rustic hut Rifugio Guide del Cervino is technically two-thirds Swiss due to glacier movement. Swiss ski resort Zermatt and Italian resort Cervinia share a border and together form...
- July 30 ~~~ Chess competition. AI vs 7-yo: Player acts as Judge, and gets physical? Old fashioned parents told kids: play chess, there’s no violence(quote) A Chess Robot Broke a Kid’s Finger And the child is being blamed for violating safety policies. Chess isn’t typically a contact sport. At the Moscow Open earlier this month,...
- July 23 ~~~ Earth runs a fever from pollution. Heatwave melts roofs and runways, cracks bridges and pipes, UK reaches highest temperature on record (104 degrees), blazes in France, Spain, Portugal(quote) It’s so hot, roads are buckling, they’re putting foil on a bridge and roofs are melting around the world The deadly heat waves of the last week have sparked strange...
- July 16 ~~~ “Universe’s magnificence” – jaw-dropping first images from the James Webb Telescope(quote) This Week’s New Space Images From The Webb Telescope And More Will Make Your Jaw Drop Webb’s ‘Cosmic Cliffs’ A close-up of the Carina Nebula—a nursery 7,600 light-years...
- July 9 ~~~ US National Parks and Recreation Month in July: fun facts about parks(quote) Since 1985, people in the United States have celebrated Park and Recreation Month in July to promote building strong, healthy and resilient communities through the power of parks and...
- July 2 ~~~ “Good health and good sense are two of life’s greatest blessings.” – Publilius Syrus“Good health and good sense are two of life’s greatest blessings.” – Publilius Syrus“The best doctors gives the least medicine.” Benjamin Franklin“In a...
- June 25 ~~~ Well-preserved 1400-year-old remains of Mayan city found in Mexican construction site(quote) Construction Crew Stumbles on 1,400-Year-Old Ruins of Maya City While construction crews were hard at work building a new industrial park near Mérida in 2015, they stumbled upon the remnants...
- June 18 ~~~ How much for a burp? New Zealand to tax cattle emissions(quote) Cow and sheep burps may be taxed in a novel plan to cut greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. The country has a population of five million but about ten million cattle. Under the plan,...
- June 11 ~~~ World largest plant: Australia’s Shark Bay seagrass from a single seed stretches 180 km long over 4,500 years(quote) Meet the world’s largest plant: A single seagrass clone stretches 180 km in Western Australia’s Shark Bay Next time you go diving or snorkeling, have a close look at those...
- June 4 ~~~ Icon of Grace. Dignity and Devotion. Queen Elizabeth II, junio lifesaving award at 14, WWii army driver/mechanic at 19, queen at 25, now marks 70 years’ reign in Platinum Jubilee(quote) London (CNN)It was the perfect ending to a triumphant four days of Platinum Jubilee celebrations — Her Majesty surprising the crowds with an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham...
- May 28 ~~~ Hoofing it: Iceland horses trots out replies to work emails for vacationers in world first “outhorse” service(quote) Iceland has trotted out a service that lets horses reply to work emails when you’re on vacation. The world-first “OutHorse Your Email” service is designed to encourage...
- May 21 ~~~ “Clean Up The Lake” divers pull 12 tons of trash from Lake Tahoe in year-long project(quote) Divers pull 25,000 pounds of trash and some oddities from Lake Tahoe SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – If you dropped your Blackberry while on Lake Tahoe back in 1999, it quite possibly was...
- May 14 ~~~ Spring Tulips in Holland: over 7 million bulbs in Keukenhof Park, annual flower festival in Amsterdam(quote) The Ultimate Guide to Holland’s Tulip Season 2022 The tulip season in the Netherlands starts at the end of March and finishes around the middle of May. The tulips are at their absolute best...
- May 7 ~~~ Warren Buffett wouldn’t pay $25 for “all the bitcoin in the world”: “it doesn’t produce anything” “rat poison squared” Charlie Munger: bitcoin “stupid and evil and make me look bad in comparison to somebody else”(quote) It doesn’t look like legendary investor Warren Buffett will be adding bitcoin to his portfolio any time soon. Asked Saturday at the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting if he had...
- April 30 ~~~ Elon Musk buys Twitter in historical $44 billion deal, takes company private, plans to make algorithms open source for the “digital town square”(quote) SAN FRANCISCO, April 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon...
- April 23 ~~~ World Book Day proposed 100 years ago now celebrated in 100 countries – “reading is fun, relevant, accessible, exciting, and has the power to transform lives”(quote) We love books, and our friends at UNESCO agree. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization proposed World Book Day as a day of celebrating the joy of reading for...
- April 17 ~~~ “Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”“Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” Guillaume Apollinaire
- April 10 ~~~ World Happiness Report 10th anniversary 2022: “acts of kindness”, balance and harmony in difficult times(quote) The world’s happiest countries for 2022 For the fifth year in a row, Finland is the world’s happiest country, according to World Happiness Report rankings based largely on life...
- April 3 ~~~ Prince Philip Memorial service: Queen with children – Charles, Ann, Andrew and Edward, joined by PM Johnson, King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain(quote) Mar 29 – The Duke of York arrived alongside the Queen at Westminster Abbey, where other members of the Royal family, European royals and representatives from hundreds of charities...
- March 28 ~~~ Stephen Wilhite (1948-2022) created the gif image file format in 1987, defining an internet culture for decades(quote) Gif inventor Stephen Wilhite ‘helped shape the modern world’ If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a gif is worth millions. The image file format has been a defining element of...
- March 21 ~~~ 400 words for “snow” in Scotland, Churchill escaped death by chocolate, folding paper to reach the moon, and other mind-boggling facts(quote) 100 Mind-Blowing Facts Scotland has more than 400 words for “snow.” What better way to cope with the cold than by learning all 421 Scottish words for “snow.” This was...
- March 14 ~~~ Exclusive. 2022 3.14 book release Spirit Speed – Selected LuCxeed Poems (“Intrepid Legend”, “Road Untraveled”, “At Edge of Moonlight”…)Between day and night we all aretime travelers. Who isn’t? Spirit Speed: Selected LuCxeed Poems, Collection .iii. Nature’s serenity and Society’s anxiety are the muse of poet LuCxeed...
- March 12 ~~~ “The earth laughs in flowers.” (Emerson) – Canadian millionaire leaves legacy of over 150k daffodils now in bloom(quote) Daffodils brightening up Sidmouth in tribute to millionaire Yellow blooms are brightening up a Devon town thanks to the legacy of a man who left more than £2m to a community association....
- March 7 ~~~ “Art is the child of nature in whom we trace the features of the mother’s face.”“The poetry of the earth is never dead.” ― John Keats “Art is the child of nature in whom we trace the features of the mother’s face.” – Henry Wadsworth...
- February 28 ~~~ “Thanks but no thanks” – Australian magpies help each other remove tracking devices, stun scientists(quote) Magpies have outwitted scientists by helping each other remove tracking devices When we attached tiny, backpack-like tracking devices to five Australian magpies for a pilot study, we...
- February 22 ~~~ Catch a moment! 3 2s go hand in hand! Posted on 22022022 2:22, 3 Vol 2 book covers in 3 seriesCatch a moment! 3 2s go hand in hand! Posted on 22022022 2:22, 3 Vol 2 book covers in 3 series – LuCxeed Poem Collection vol2 (Math & Music, released on 2022 Jan 01), Book of L vol2...
- February 17 ~~~ Iceland ends whale hunting from 2024(quote) Iceland says it will end whaling from 2024 amid dwindling demand and continuing controversy. “There are few justifications to authorize whale hunting beyond 2024,” when current...
- February 10 ~~~ “Quad King” “Rocket Man” Nathan Chen sets world record, wins gold for Team USA at 2022 Olympics(quote) Nathan Chen wins gold with figure skating master class (CNN) American ice skater Nathan Chen has won his first Olympic Gold medal in Beijing, with a flawless performance that set him well...
- February 3 ~~~ How big is big enough? Super-sized luxury superyacht squeezes through Dutch canals and under bridges with only 5 inches to spare in a hair-raising feat of limbo(quote) Multi-million-pound yacht squeezes under bridge with less than half a foot to spare as it is transported to the sea in Holland A gigantic superyacht has been captured barely squeezing under a...
- February 1 ~~~ NASA wishes all a Happy Lunar New Year with breathtaking photos of new moon over Indian Ocean(quote) NASA Wishes All a Happy Lunar New Year with Photo From the International Space Station The Lunar New Year is upon us, and NASA shared one of the best photos to mark the moment. Of course,...
- January 25 ~~~ Life in the deep blue sea: same researchers who discovered deepest-dwelling octopus and jellyfish dive for sunken wreck and find deepest-dwelling squid(quote) Man Who Found World’s Deepest-Dwelling Octopus and Jellyfish Scores 3-of-a-Kind, With Deepest-Dwelling Squid There’s a dynamic duo of divers out there that can’t seem to keep to stop...
- January 18 ~~~ US Supreme Court Blocks Mandate for Companies with More Than 100 Workers(quote) U.S. Supreme Court blocks Biden vaccine-or-test policy WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked President Joe Biden’s COVID-19...
- January 12 ~~~ Heroes: 9/11 victims fund extended to 2090 after tearful testimony by John Stewart in decade-long fight for First Responders(quote) House panel passes 9/11 victims fund bill a day after Jon Stewart’s testimony June 2019 – The House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a bill which would permanently...
- January 7 ~~~ Honor: Daniel Craig awarded Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) on Queen’s New Years Honours list, same as James Bond 007(quote) Daniel Craig has been named in the Queen’s New Years Honours list The 53-year-old actor has been named as a companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) – which was the...
- January 1 ~~~ Exclusive. 2022 New Year’s book release: Math and Music – Selected LuCxeed Poems (“Its Own Contrary”, “Me and Drizzle”, “Fate Rolls the Dice”…)Math and Music: Selected LuCxeed Poems Nature’s serenity and Society’s anxiety are the muse of poet LuCxeed who more than often travels back and forth, between nature and society,...
- December 31 ~~~ Betty White, 99, “radiated joy and gratitude”, “a true legend on and off the screen”(quote) Betty White found gold on the small screen, smiling all the way. Along with upending expectations. Betty White: Now that was a career. And that was a pro, adored by millions who appreciated...
- December 28 ~~~ Harvard Book Store’s new investor: John Henry, Red Sox and Boston Globe owner who saved Fenway Park from the wrecking ball(quote) Harvard Book Store gets a new backer: John Henry John Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and owner of the Boston Globe, has chosen to invest in another Boston-area institution....
- December 19 ~~~ “Nature more important than some stupid money in my pocket”: 93-year-old donates cherished island to protect natural habitat from urban crawl(quote) “Nature was more important than some stupid money in my pocket. This is something [that’s] got to be preserved, and I kept my word.” Thor Vikström, 93, bought the island in...
- December 12 ~~~ Omicron variant resistant to vaccines? Fully-vaccinated, boosted medical professionals infected after attending group event(quote) Omicron in Oakland: How a Wisconsin wedding with ‘super responsible’ vaccinated people led to outbreak Most if not all of the guests wore masks when the Nov. 27 wedding ceremony started...
- December 7 ~~~ School teacher turned “Queen of Cake”, 91, and her 15-feet cake creations adorned with hundreds of true-to-life flowers(quote) Celebrity wedding cake designer Sylvia Weinstock — who earned the nickname “Queen of Cakes” for her extraordinary edible art — has died. She was 91. Weinstock — who made appearances...
- December 1 ~~~ Twitter, Amazon, Netflix, Instagram, Apple, Microsoft, Google… First-generation tech founders stepping aside(quote) Big tech’s first generation of founders starts to step aside Massive tech companies like Google, Amazon, Netflix, and more have had a huge impact on the way we live our lives, and have had...
- November 25 ~~~ Philosophical. Debut, Thanksgiving Eve release: Selected LuCxeed Poems, Train of Morrow – “Nature’s serenity and Society’s anxiety”Train of Morrow: Selected LuCxeed Poems Nature’s serenity and Society’s anxiety are the muse of poet LuCxeed who more than often travels back and forth, between nature and society,...
- November 22 ~~~ Out of the oven and into the fire: centuries-old artisan glassworks in Murano, Italy in jeopardy from rising methane prices(quote) Italy’s artisan glassblowers feel heat as gas prices soar Surging energy prices are posing problems for the artisan glassblowers of Italy’s Murano. They have seen off plagues and...
- November 16 ~~~ Will someone invent a device to warn dolphins to steer clear of Faroe Islands? 1,428 sea mammals killed turning sea red in largest slaughter ever recorded(quote) Sea turns red with blood as 1,428 dolphins killed in ‘largest ever’ Faroe Islands hunt 1,428 Atlantic white-sided dolphins were slaughtered in the bay of Skálabotnur on Sunday....
- November 10 ~~~ The 7 Year Dream: Dutch teenager invents world first ocean plastic cleanup system, a floating barrier nearly 2,000ft long to reduce Great Pacific Garbage Patch by half by 2025(quote) A Dutch Teenager Had a Dream to Clean Up the World’s Oceans. 7 Years On, It’s Coming True For someone who gets violently seasick, Boyan Slat spends a lot of time thinking about...
- November 4 ~~~ Little-known truck driver wins New Jersey Senate election on less than $10,000(quote) How a little-known New Jersey truck driver defeated a top state Senate power broker on less than $10,000 State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, one of New Jersey’s most powerful...
- October 29 ~~~ Patience and integrity: photographer waited two years to capture amazing photos of kingfisher diving at 25mph(quote) These amazing pictures showing the movement of a diving kingfisher are the result of a photographer’s two-year wait for the perfect photo. 47-year-old Vince Burton used a slow shutter speed...
- October 23 ~~~ Empty shelves and hiking prices while 70 cargo ships float off LA coast – global supply chain chaos(quote) Take a look at the record-breaking port congestion from 10,000 feet above, as 70 hulking cargo ships park off the LA coast Every day last week, key ports in Southern California hit a new...
- October 18 ~~~ The Great Resignation: 4 million Americans quit their jobs in July 2021 alone, with a record-breaking 10.9 million openings at end of July(quote) Since the pandemic, employees are leaving the workforce or switching jobs in droves. For many, employers have played a big part in why they’re walking away. A Microsoft survey of more...
- October 13 ~~~ 75th anniversary air shows from Blue Angels, world’s 2nd oldest formal aerobatic team founded in 1946 after World War II. What characters!(quote) The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are celebrating their 75th anniversary this year (2021). For only the second time in U.S. history, the three North American jet teams — the U.S. Navy Blue Angels,...
- October 6 ~~~ New 12-billion dollar industry: phone location data – “1.6 billion people across 44 countries, 1.9 billion devices”(quote) Your Phone’s Location Data Is Worth $12 Billion Interconnected firms are monetizing user data and analytics from ‘1.9 billion devices’. Wherever you go, you might make...
- September 29 ~~~ Happy Coffee Day Sep 29 2021! From khavi to karsk to caffè crema to Koffietijd to Fika – how the world drinks coffee(quote) The Top Coffee-Consuming Countries Canada stands out as the only non-European country to make the list of the world’s top ten coffee consumers. The traditional Finnish way of brewing...
- September 23 ~~~ What happens between tapping that order and food reaching the door? 65,000 app-based food delivery workers in NYC, 42% surveyed saw under/non-payment, 49% had accidents, 54% bike theft (30% assaulted during robbery)(quote) NYC food delivery workers face a ‘harrowing world’ New York City’s app-based delivery workers—a lifeline to city residents during the COVID-19 pandemic—regularly face...
- September 19 ~~~ Giant heart formed from sheep: Australian farmer pays touching tribute to beloved aunt in astonishing video(quote) A sheep farmer stuck in lockdown in New South Wales who was unable to attend his aunt’s funeral has honoured her memory with the ultimate tribute: a love heart made from sheep. Ben Jackson...
- September 16 ~~~ “I’ve got it!” NASA’s Perseverance rover collects its first Mars rock sample 190 days into mission, historic step ahead of plan to return it to Earth within a decade(quote) NASA’s Perseverance rover has collected its first rock sample on Mars, marking an historic first step in a mission to return the sample to Earth later this decade. Initially scientists...
- September 9 ~~~ Five Steps Wiser and Six Steps Wiser: World Culture Pictorial Reading & Reflection Vol. 05 and 06New book releases Sep 9 2021 Comprehensive reading, broad vision, World Culture Pictorial® Reading & Reflection – from poetry to policy, history to technology to legends. Cutting humour,...
- August 26 ~~~ Death metal Irish baron turns 1600-acre estate into nature reserve in rewilding project over 7 years(quote) ‘People think you’re an idiot’: death metal Irish baron rewilds his estate Trees, grasses and wildlife are returning as Lord Dunsany recreates a vanished landscape in County Meath...
- August 19 ~~~ Ultimate roadtrip: all 47 National Parks in Continental US, 14,498 miles(quote) There are 59 well-known, protected lands that are the most famous parts of the National Park Service. Of these, 12 are on Hawaii, Alaska or other U.S. territories. This route hits all 47...
- August 12 ~~~ “My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” – Claude Monet“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” Vincent Van Gogh “I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.” “My garden is my most beautiful...
- August 5 ~~~ First 3D-printed “mud house” constructed in 10 days from natural materials costing 900 Euro(quote) Natural materials such as raw soil, shredded straw, husk, and wood were used to build the “mud house” Italian 3D printer manufacturer, Wasp, has 3D-printed the first eco-friendly house...
- July 29 ~~~ Striking. BBC and Japan Today: “mysteriously low virus death rate, and Japan’s vaccination rate lowest among G7: 1% in April”(quote) Japan’s COVID-19 deaths drop 5% amid state of emergency during Games July 25 (UPI) — Japan is staging the Summer Olympics during a state of emergency and without spectators in the...
- July 22 ~~~ Royal Mint unveils new memorial £5 coin celebrating the life and legacy of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021)(quote) THE ROYAL MINT has unveiled its new commemorative coin, celebrating the life and legacy of Prince Philip. The Duke, who passed away in April, served as president of The Royal Mint Advisory...
- July 15 ~~~ Sportsmanship. Standing ovation. Roger Federer back on tennis court at 39 after 2 knee surgeries and 13 months away, as oldest man to reach Wimbledon quarterfinals(quote) Roger Federer loses at Wimbledon, then ponders if it’s for the last time Federer, the sixth seed who turns 40 on Aug. 8, won the first of his record eight Wimbledon men’s singles titles...
- July 11 ~~~ American small-town kid 11 years ago journeyed to Wudang Mountains to study Kung Fu and Daoism (Taoism), now master and teacher dedicating life to Wushu Martial Arts(quote) Kewanee Graduate Jake Pinnick on Life in Wudan China and Dedicating His Life to the Martial Arts Several years ago, WKEI profiled a Kewanee graduate and Black Hawk College East Campus...
- July 1 ~~~ “Kung Fu Granny” still practicing and teaching kung fu (for free) at 98 – “Learning kung fu is for defending, not for bullying others. We should help others”(quote) When she was just five years old, her father introduced her to the martial art of kung fu, which she continued to practice throughout her entire life. In fact, even the village she lives in...
- June 24 ~~~ Photos: laughter from heaven and “neighbours from hell”. Toothy grinning stallion trotted into maternity snaps. 25 years’ harmony shocked by tree sawn in half(quote) grinning horse photo-bombs his laughing owners’ maternity snaps …couple were saddled with Buckshot’s toothy grin after he trotted into shot “We’ve been here for...
- June 10 ~~~ Stunning Photos: Super Flower Blood Moon May 26, Solar Eclipse June 10 2021(quote) NASA’s new solar eclipse photos rule NASA’s senior photographer Bill Ingalls didn’t think the weather would cooperate. It did. On Thursday morning, Ingalls captured stunning...
- June 3 ~~~ AU’s golden rule: never dump on family in public. Harry upset Australians and lost all support. In UK? Persona non grata. Lady C amasses 60k signatories: why not give up royal title voluntarily?(quote) Jun 2, 2021, Jake Thrupp, Sky News Australia – “Harry, you’ve lost ALL support from Australians after what you’ve put the Queen through” In Australia, we have a...
- May 27 ~~~ 2021 Mars Landings: Perseverance (“Percy”, similar to Curiosity); UAE’s Hope probe, China’s Spacecraft Tianwen-1 orbiter, rover Zhurong(quote) Landing on Mars is difficult, often fails, and will never be risk-free China’s rover Zhurong, named after the mythological fire god, successfully touched down on Mars on May 14 — the...
- May 20 ~~~ Harry told to “get the hell out of US” and “go back to England” by furious Americans after he called the 1st Amendment “bonkers”(quote) Meghan McCain leads US fury at Harry Prince Harry told ‘get the hell out of US’ by furious Americans after he called First Amendment ‘bonkers’ ‘Go back to England’: Prince Harry...
- May 13 ~~~ Photos: Mourning Queen, 95, opens UK parliament; Queen sitting alone at Philip’s funeral; Queen and Prince Philip pictured during opening of Parliament in 2013(quote) The Queen then took her place on the Great Throne in the House of Lords, and gave the signal for MPs to be summoned, her first major royal duty since Prince Philip’s funeral. The State...
- May 6 ~~~ “The Starship has landed,” SpaceX launches and lands spacecraft in first full successful test flight(quote) Elon Musk’s SpaceX lands Starship spacecraft in first full successful test flight The flight comes after NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to develop Starship to land astronauts...
- May 3 ~~~ “…I was out for stars; I would not come in. I meant not even if asked; And I hadn’t been.”from the poem “Come in”by Robert Frost“…I was out for stars;I would not come in.I meant not even if asked;And I hadn’t been.”
- April 29 ~~~ April 16 2021 soars on kite’s wings. 38th Weifang International Kite Festival: world’s biggest kite took 28 craftsmen 48 days to design and complete, 55 people to fly(quote) 19-Apr-2021 – The world’s biggest kite, shaped like a dragon and stretching over 280 meters, soared in the skies over the city of Weifang. It took 28 craftsmen 48 days to design...
- April 23 ~~~ NASA’s Perseverance Rover converts carbon dioxide into oxygen on Mars: first time breathable air has been made on another planet(quote) NASA’s Perseverance rover just made breathable air on Mars The Perseverance rover converted carbon dioxide into oxygen on Mars, marking the first time breathable air has been made on...
- April 9 ~~~ Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 1921-2021. World in grief with flags flown at half mast(quote) It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away...
- March 30 ~~~ 1,300-foot 220,000-ton giant cargo ship blocking Suez Canal for nearly a week finally freed with a little help from the moon(quote) A massive container ship’s embarrassing and inconvenient predicament is visible from space. Tiny Earth-observing Dove satellites operated by San Francisco-based company Planet have...
- February 27 ~~~ February 27 1902: John Steinbeck born, later to win Nobel Prize in Literature “for realistic and imaginative writings…sympathetic humour and keen social perception”(quote) John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American author and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner “for his realistic and imaginative writings,...
- February 14 ~~~ “Have to look for my cows,” 79yo grandmother puts on 7-decade-old iceskates, gliding across frozen lake in Siberian wilderness every day by herself(quote) Watch: This 79-year-old woman’s skating skills continue to stun everyone on social media Lyubov Morekhodova lives near Lake Baikal in Siberia and uses skates that are seven decades old,...
- February 7 ~~~ Mysterious “watermelon snow”: what’s turning Arctic snow pink?(quote) Why the Arctic snow is turning pink and why it’s a bad sign Pink snow occurs as a result of algae. During the months that it’s warm in the Arctic, a thin layer of meltwater forms on ice...
- January 31 ~~~ Great Mountaineering! 10 Nepalese climbers at summit of 2nd highest mountain (8,611m), K2, smaller than Everest, far harder climb, nicknamed “Savage Mountain”(quote) Nepalese climbers return home after historic winter summit of K2 mountain A team of climbers from Nepal that made the first winter ascent of K2 received a warm welcome upon returning home on...
- January 25 ~~~ Bernie Sanders in fashion on Inauguration Day: mask on, mittens oversized, sitting on a folding chair, distancing from all the rest. Photo goes viral(quote) “It’s just Bernie being Bernie” – How a photo of Sanders wearing mittens at Inauguration Day went viral One of the most enduring and endearing photos – an image...
- January 18 ~~~ Value of rare error, worth 3,000 times its $20 face value. Colorful banana sticker (“Ecuador Del Monte Quality” #4011) still affixed for almost 20 years(quote) Del Monte $20 bill set to sell for nearly $60,000 – barring banana skins makes 2004 banknote a collector’s item, auctioneer says Officially, it is classified as “an obstructed printing...
- January 12 ~~~ “When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.” – Lao Tzu“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.” “At the center of your beingyou have the answer;you know who you areand...
- January 8 ~~~ 18-65 years old: youth/young people; 66-79 years old: middle-aged – WHO’s new age standard(quote) World Health Organization (WHO) had declared that 65 years old is still considered young. Before, based on the Friendly Societies Act (1875) in Britain, old was defined by age of 50. The UN...
- December 31 ~~~ Both on last day of 2020 – Earth must be very upset: earthquake beneath Golden Gate Bridge next to iconic Cliff House (visited by 5 US presidents since 1863)… which sadly closes its doors(quote) SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — New Year’s Eve got off to a rocky start early Thursday as a 3.6 magnitude struck along the San Andreas Fault just south of Muir Beach and was felt widely in San...
- December 24 ~~~ Europe panics: new strain of virus more contagious, likely not more lethal; can vaccine catch up?(quote) A New Covid-19 Strain Is Shutting Down Europe The presence of a more infectious strain of the virus that causes Covid-19 is shutting down Europe, causing a wave of lockdowns and travel...
- December 18 ~~~ Queen since 1952: Elizabeth II in Photos. Her father stayed in London, shared dangers and deprivations in WWii(quote) As one of the most photographed women in the world, Queen Elizabeth II’s reign has been documented through a camera lens from the very start. Following the death of her father King...
- December 12 ~~~ “Unsung Hero” of the Greatest Generation, 101-year-old WWII veteran Sidney Walton launches “No Regrets Tour” at 99(quote) Walton joined the Army at the age of 21, nine months before Pearl Harbor. Walton, now 101, has been traveling the country with the goal of meeting all 50 governors and anyone who wants to...
- December 6 ~~~ Perennial Trophy. One of 8 surviving 1934 “small-size” $10,000 notes (#562) for exchange between banks, sold at $384,000, world record(quote) “This is easily the best of its kind I have ever seen,” said Dustin Johnston, Director of U.S. Currency at Heritage Auctions, which sold the note Friday evening, September 18, as...
- November 29 ~~~ “The Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten’ even in a Pandemic: a 5-4 ruling(quote) ‘Even in a Pandemic, the Constitution Cannot Be Put Away & Forgotten’. The ruling said, “Members of this Court are not public health experts, and we should respect the...
- November 24 ~~~ Chang’e-5 Moon mission launched to deliver the first lunar soil samples to Earth since the 1970s(quote) China launches Chang’e-5 Moon sample return mission A Long March 5 rocket launched China’s Chang’e-5 spacecraft Monday to kick off a 23-day mission to deliver the first...
- November 16 ~~~ Indigenous people in Canada mourning after white ‘Spirit Moose’ killed(quote) The indigenous people in Canada are “outraged” and mourning after someone killed a white “spirit moose” and left it alongside the road. “Everybody is outraged...
- November 10 ~~~ Nature does not permit: biotech crops lose their power(quote) Some of the most popular products of biotechnology — corn and cotton plants that have been genetically modified to fend off insects — are no longer offering the same protection from those...
- November 5 ~~~ Once in a Blue Moon, full moon twice in one month – October 2020 sees first Halloween Blue Moon since WWii(quote) October has not one, but two full moons — and because it’s 2020, the second one naturally falls on Halloween. That gives this year 13 full moons instead of the usual 12....
- October 31 ~~~ “My name is Bond, James Bond.” Thomas Sean Connery, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 25 Aug 1930, died in his sleep on 31 Oct 2020, aged 90, at his home in the Bahamas(quote) The former James Bond star died at the age of 90 on Saturday. Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) Thomas Sean Connery, named Thomas after his grandfather, was born in...
- October 27 ~~~ Nightmare since March 2011: Japan to release 1.23m tonnes of nuclear polluted water into ocean, radioactive Carbon-14 has a half life of 5370 years, “incorporates into all living matter”Cleanest country should keep the sea clean too. (quote) Oct 18, 2020 Forbes: Japan To Release Radioactive Fukushima Water Into Ocean The new Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, is facing...
- October 21 ~~~ New Zealand: life back to normal, “beat the virus again”. France: COVID curfew extended to cover 46 million (70% of 65.3mil population)(quote) October 5, 2020 – New Zealand declared on Monday “beat the virus again” and announced restrictions in the country’s largest city would be eased, after a second Covid-19 wave was...
- October 17 ~~~ Ultra fast camera developed by Caltech researchers can takes 70 trillion pictures per second(quote) In other words, it’s fast enough to see waves of light traveling and the fluorescent decay of molecules. The camera technology is called compressed ultrafast spectral photography (CUSP) and...
- October 12 ~~~ 13 Sep 2020. West Coast. Portland’ air quality index (AQI) reaches 516 (vs. East Coast: 14) after 100-day chaotic restlessness(quote) The breathability of Portland’s air significantly worsened overnight and into Sunday, reaching 516 on the air quality index in the hardest hit parts of the city, according to the U.S....
- October 10 ~~~ Human and wildlife in photos: elephants eating man-made garbage on a giant dump; half a million sharks will be gone for vaccine against virus(quote) The elephants pictured here come to the garbage dumping grounds in Ampara in search of food. Unfortunately, this causes them to fall ill and many have died. Several of the winning submissions...
- October 6 ~~~ 2020 Nobel Prize in physics for work on black holes awarded to 3 scientists: Sir Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez(quote) Black holes are perhaps the most mysterious objects in nature. They warp space and time in extreme ways and contain a mathematical impossibility, a singularity – an infinitely hot and dense...
- September 22 ~~~ “End of watch”: Morton’s father posted a photo of his son with this caption, tribute to fallen heros, firefighters(quote) September 17, 2020 Morton’s father posted a photo of his son with the caption “end of watch.” Morton, 39, a San Diego native, was a 14-year veteran of the U.S. Forest...
- September 12 ~~~ 12 Sep 2020. Pacific Coast. San Francisco’s air quality index (AQI): 186 (Atlantic Coast – Boston: 14). Unprecedented.(quote) San Francisco, along with Sebastapol in the North Bay, recorded an AQI of 186, the worst daily air quality of any other location in the past 25 days when the Bay Area has been impacted by...
- September 9 ~~~ 09 Sep 2020. Bay Area, San Francisco in smoke-choked darkness, a day without daylight(quote) In the San Francisco Bay Area, locals woke to an apocalyptic, orange-tinged sky Wednesday. This as more than 90 major fires have burned an area of land about the size of Connecticut. The...
- September 8 ~~~ What’s next? Striking finding. New studies: “inexpensive and widely available drugs to save lives seriously ill with COVID-19”(quote) Three new studies strongly support using inexpensive and widely available drugs to treat people who are seriously ill with COVID-19. Some doctors have long used steroids to treat conditions...
- September 5 ~~~ Magical: Thailand theme park’s 30,000-sqm ice sculpture exhibit of mythological creatures uses white sand, melt-proof in 30C(quote) SANDTASTIC BEASTS Thailand theme park uses white sand to imitate ice in dazzling display of art Visitors to the “Frost Magical Ice of Siam” park can walk around a -10c ice dome and learn...
- September 1 ~~~ Charisma. And so cute. Berlin celebrates panda twins (rarely surviving in pairs) turning one year old: “they have grown very dear to us’; US’ newborn panda, mom gives birth at 22 (near record of 23)(quote) Zoo Berlin’s Twin Pandas Pit and Paule Turn 1: They ‘Have Grown Very Dear to Us’ This panda duo is growing up so fast! On Monday, twin brother pandas Pit and Paule turned...
- August 21 ~~~ Super fella! Australian man paddled over, jumped off board, onto the shark, repeatedly punching 9ft shark until it released his wife(quote) “I did what anyone would have done,” he said. “The shark was latched onto her leg. I just jumped into the water.” An Australian surfer repeatedly punched a shark in the head until the...
- August 15 ~~~ August 15, 1945. Surrender of Japan, end of World War II(quote) The surrender of Imperial Japan was announced by Japanese Emperor Hirohito on August 15 and formally signed on September 2, 1945, bringing the hostilities of World War II to a close. PRINCE...
- August 12 ~~~ William English and Douglas Engelbart, co-creators of the computer mouse(quote) If you’re on a desktop right now, you’re probably using a computer mouse. In which case, you should raise a glass to William English. English, an engineer and researcher, died on July 26...
- August 7 ~~~ Congrats! Italy’s oldest student graduates university at 96, a WWII veteran who enrolled in degree study in 2017(quote) At 96, Giuseppe Paterno has faced many tests in life – childhood poverty, war and, more recently, the coronavirus pandemic. Now he has sailed through an exam that makes him...
- July 30 ~~~ Honor, unforgotten: 30 years after handshake, 2 friends split 22-million lottery winnings(quote) ‘A handshake is a handshake’: Friends split $22M Powerball jackpot, honoring years-old agreement When Tom Cook and Joe Feeney agreed to split their future lottery winnings years...
- July 25 ~~~ Mystery, Nature’s Awe. Blue hole, under ocean? Black hole, sky above sky(quote) Scientists are flocking to Florida’s Gulf Coast for a glimpse of a mysterious 425-feet-deep “blue hole” on the ocean floor. The first reports of blue holes came from fishermen...
- July 20 ~~~ Queen Elizabeth knights 100-year-old WWii veteran for “Captain Tom” for raising 33 million pounds for National Health Service(quote) Queen Elizabeth knighted Captain Tom Moore on Friday, recognizing the 100-year-old for lifting the spirits of Britain during the gloom of the novel coronavirus outbreak by raising millions of...
- July 18 ~~~ Royal Myrtle (emblem of love) tradition – Princess Beatrice’s stunning bridal bouquet laid on the grave of the Unknown Warrior(quote) Sprigs of myrtle were included in Princess Beatrice’s breathtaking bridal bouquet. Reverend Anthony Ball, Canon of Westminster, places the bouquet on the Unknown Warrior’s Grave,...
- July 12 ~~~ “Let your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile.”Let your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile. Author UnknownRead...
- June 24 ~~~ On parade: WWii veterans in their 90s; Belarus swaggers, honor guards sing popular song “Katyusha”(quote) Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. Its capital and most populous city is Minsk. Over 40% of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested. Its major economic...
- June 21 ~~~ Happy Father’s Day. Prince William: “It’s one of the most amazing moments of life, but also one of the scariest”(quote) Prince William: Playful pictures released to mark duke’s birthday and Father’s Day One image shows Prince William, who turned 38 on Sunday, being jumped on by Prince George, aged...
- May 28 ~~~ “A Brother may not be a Friend, but a Friend will always be a Brother.” – Benjamin FranklinA Brother may not be a Friend, but a Friend will always be a Brother. Benjamin FranklinRead More...
- May 6 ~~~ Hope! New Zealand Prime Minister announces NZ has won ‘battle’ against COVID-19(quote) New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says that the island nation has defeated — for the present — the coronavirus as her government announced the lifting of some restrictions...
- April 21 ~~~ “One pound of learning requires ten pounds of common sense to apply it.”One pound of learning requires ten pounds of common sense to apply it. ProverbRead More...
- April 10 ~~~ In “an increasingly challenging time”, Queen Elizabeth II says, “if we remain united and resolute, then we will overcome” this disease(quote) The Queen’s Speech on coronavirus: Full text of Her Majesty’s address The Queen has spoken to the UK about the crisis over the coronavirus. Here is the full text of what she said....
- March 22 ~~~ “There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot.” – PlatoThere are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot. Plato
- March 9 ~~~ SpaceX launches Dragon spacecraft to International Space Station with NASA Cargo and Science(quote) SpaceX Falcon 9 Set to Launch Dragon Spacecraft to the International Space Station A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station after launching at 11:50...
- March 3 ~~~ “The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms.” – Lao TzuThe reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms. Lao Tzu
- February 26 ~~~ UFO footage captured on NASA’s International Space Station live feed(quote) If you are a science nerd who is ever bored, NASA has a YouTube channel filled with videos that might tickle your fancy, and among them is a live feed from the International Space Station....
- February 15 ~~~ “The universe must not be narrowed down to the limit of our understanding…”The universe must not be narrowed down to the limit of our understanding, but our understanding must be stretched and enlarged to take in the image of the universe as it is discovered. Francis...
- January 31 ~~~ Brexit Day: UK officially withdraws from the European Union on 31 January 2020(quote) @BorisJohnson 24 January 2020: “Today I have signed the Withdrawal Agreement for the UK to leave the EU on January 31st, honouring the democratic mandate of the British people. This...
- January 25 ~~~ Mickey and Minnie celebrate Lunar New Year of Mouse 2020(quote) Oh, boy! It’s the Year of the Mouse, so you can bet Mickey and friends are taking part. Lunar New Year honors the celestial journey of the sun and the moon as they cycle into another year....
- January 23 ~~~ Gladys “Anne” Robson, age 108, former army major and Britain’s oldest female WWII veteran, lived through 20 prime ministers, 4 monarchs and 1st space launch(quote) Former Army Major thought to be Britain’s oldest female WWII veteran ‘who always had a naughty twinkle in her eye’ dies aged 108 Gladys Robson, known as Anne, served in the...
- January 18 ~~~ UK poll: British people want Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to stop receiving public funding and out of their Windsor home(quote) POLLING AWAY – Brits want Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stripped of cash and kicked out of their Windsor home, poll reveals An exclusive YouGov poll for The Sun on Sunday reveals an...
- January 13 ~~~ Chinese Wushu martial arts to debut as official 2022 Youth Olympics event; Kung Fu superstar Jet Li on Tai Chi and wellness(quote) Chinese Wushu will become an event in the 2022 Summer Youth Olympics. The International Olympic Committee Executive committee approved the addition of the event. Together with Baseball5,...
- January 8 ~~~ Austria’s Sebastian Kurz, 33, returns as world’s youngest chancellor, vows to “protect climate and the borders”(quote) VIENNA, Austria – The leader of Austria’s conservatives Sebastian Kurz was sworn in Tuesday, January 7, as the world’s youngest democratically elected leader at the head of an...
- January 3 ~~~ “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” – Abraham Lincoln“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”– Abraham Lincoln
- December 31 ~~~ 2019 “the year of the blackhole” – The Science Magazine’s Breakthrough of the Year goes to the Event Horizon Telescope(quote) @sciencemagazine’s 2019 Breakthrough of the Year goes to the Event Horizon Telescope (@ehtelescope) global network of observatories for the first #realblackhole image....
- December 26 ~~~ Queen Elizabeth’s speech to Members of Parliament and Lords at the State Opening of Parliament(quote) Queen Elizabeth’s speech to MPs and Lords at the State Opening of Parliament My Lords and Members of the House of Commons. My Government’s priority is to deliver the United...
- December 21 ~~~ Guilin, China: fisherman partnering with cormorants to catch fish in ancient tradition dating back to 960 AD(quote) Stunning photograph shows an ancient tradition dating back to 960 AD This is the spectacular moment a fisherman with a close bond to cormorants used a flock of birds to catch big fish in a...
- December 16 ~~~ Bananas over bananas? “Concept Art” banana-duct-taped-to-wall sold for $120,000 to $150,000, eaten by performance artist: “it was very delicious”(quote) The $120,000 Art Basel Banana, Explained So, uh, whose banana is it? Art Basel Banana is catchy, but it’s not actually the work’s name. Titled Comedian, it’s by Maurizio Cattelan....
- December 11 ~~~ Tesla Cybertruck unveiled: Electric Pickup with stainless steel body, 14,000-pound towing, zero to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds(quote) Like a Zumwalt Class Destroyer meets leftover Blade Runner prop, Tesla’s truck looks like none the world has ever seen before. Its design is deceptively simple. Its profile is diamondlike,...
- December 6 ~~~ 1688 dams rated in “poor or unsatisfactory” condition across 44 US states and Puerto Rico(quote) America’s aging dams could put tens of thousands of people across 44 states at risk of deadly floods as 1,700 are rated ‘poor or unsatisfactory’ Built for flood control,...
- December 1 ~~~ Amazon: America’s next military giant? The fatal flaw that could make AI weapons useless(quote) Meet America’s newest military giant: Amazon The fatal flaw that could make AI weapons useless AI-guided missiles could be blinded by adversarial data, and perhaps even steered back...
- November 26 ~~~ University of Colorado football team’s 1,200-pound buffalo mascot, Ralphie V, forced to retire for being “too fast”(quote) Ralphie V, who just turned 13 last month, is in excellent health. The reason she’s being replaced? She’s a little too fast for her human companions. “As one of the biggest...
- November 21 ~~~ Study finds heart patients’ death rates rise in hospitals hit by Ransomware(quote) The way hospitals respond to a cyberattack can result in a slower response to critical heart patients. After an attack, corrective actions to improve security in hospital information...
- November 16 ~~~ Chicago among largest US cities to see library late fees eliminated, book returns increase 240%(quote) The Chicago Public Library system has recently gotten rid of its late fees. The number of book returns has since increased 240%, a library official says. It’s a big piece of evidence...
- November 11 ~~~ Kate Middleton pays tribute to Bletchley Park grandmother with “Codebreakers” poppy brooch on Remembrance Sunday(quote) The ‘Codebreakers’ poppy has special meaning for Kate because her paternal grandmother Valerie Glassborow was among those who worked to decipher the secrets of the German Enigma...
- November 6 ~~~ Author of book “Born to Run” races with donkeys: “movement-as-medicine is a biological truth”(quote) Chris McDougall Helped Spark the Barefoot Running Craze. Now He’s Racing With Donkeys. McDougall determines that if Sherman is going to survive, he’ll need a mission: training for the...
- November 1 ~~~ Siena International Photo Awards 2019 Winners: “Memorial Day” and “Ship Graveyard”Photo courtesy Matt McClain and Alla Sokolova / Siena International Photo AwardsRead More...
- October 27 ~~~ Siena International Photo Awards 2019 Winners: polar bear photographer, snail greets lizard, mantis vs. butterfly, whale shark beneathPhoto courtesy Roie Galitz, Andi Abdul Halil, Liang Wu, and Marco Zaffignani / Siena International Photo Awards
- October 22 ~~~ The New Faces of Japan’s Monarchy(quote) Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako become the Emperor and Empress following the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito In 1989, Emperor Akihito pledged to protect the...
- October 17 ~~~ Mexico flies over 300 to New Delhi in unprecedented transatlantic deportation(quote) The move follows a deal Mexico struck with the United States in June, vowing to significantly curb U.S.-bound migration in exchange for averting U.S. tariffs on Mexican exports. “It is...
- October 12 ~~~ Hydrogen-powered zero-emissions aircraft with range of 400 miles or four hours(quote) The Skai hydrogen-powered aircraft produces zero emissions Eco-friendly aircraft could provide affordable and responsible solutions to “everything from relieving traffic congestion to...
- October 7 ~~~ Hariso the Balancing Hound: adorable little dachshund with an amazing talent(quote) It’s common knowledge that there are few things in this world more enjoyable than the sight of a small dachshund balancing random household objects on its adorable little head –...
- October 7 ~~~ Homeless man helps woman change flat tire: “I believe in the Golden Rule. Anyone that needs help, I’ll do it.”(quote) A Utah woman who needed her tire changed got a little help from a homeless man, who saw her in the parking lot and noticed she needed a hand. “I’m old school. I believe in the Golden...
- September 27 ~~~ World longest Viking bridge finally completed after 3 years, 700-metre-long, built by more than 1,000 people the “Viking” way with no machinery(quote) A Viking bridge that took three years to build in Denmark is finally done. The bridge, which is now considered to be the world’s longest Viking bridge, was built using the tools and...
- September 22 ~~~ 96-year-old WWii Veteran “Hero of Cologne” awarded Bronze Star in surprise ceremony 75 years later(quote) Clarence Smoyer received the surprise — and the award — of a lifetime, when the Army bestowed on him the Bronze Star for his heroism as a tank gunner during World War II. Flanked by a...
- September 17 ~~~ “First True Pilgrims”: band of French colonists arrived in the New World 50 years before Mayflower left port(quote) Some fifty years before the Mayflower left port, a band of French colonists came to the New World. Like the later English Pilgrims, these Protestants were victims of religious wars, raging...
- September 12 ~~~ Britain’s 1st plastic-free nursery replaces artificial toys with wooden ones and bans food wrapped in plastic: higher curiosity and wonder, stimulating youngsters’s creativeness versus simply pushing a button(quote) Britain’s first plastic-free nursery has been unveiled, as artificial toys are swapped with wooden alternatives and food with unrecyclable packaging is banned. New World Nursery in...
- September 8 ~~~ World largest urban farm to open soon on Paris rooftop with 150,000 square feet of vegetables(quote) Next year, French company Agripolis is opening a 150,000-square-foot urban farm in Paris, where, according to The Guardian, it will grow more than 2,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables every...
- September 3 ~~~ SOS Amazon: rainforest fires rage as Brazil bans burning for 60 days to reduce spreading damage(quote) Brazil has banned most legal fires used to clear land for 60 days in a bid to stop the spread of burning which has destroyed parts of the Amazon rain forest. The ban coincides with the dry...
- August 30 ~~~ $ and math: average federal deficit to hit $1.2 trillion/year, Social Security Trust Fund on edge of insolvency, to be depleted in 2035 – all checks 23% smaller(quote) Endless federal red ink may doom Social Security recipients According to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the average federal deficit is now expected to hit an...
- August 25 ~~~ Photographer spends two years getting “magical” picture of full moon rising above picturesque 1,000ft hill(quote) He’s over the moon! British photographer spends two years getting the perfect shot on 1,000ft hill The magical picture shows a few walkers standing on the top of the 1000 ft Teesside...
- August 20 ~~~ “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” – Winston Churchill, August 20 1940(quote) “Never was so much owed by so many to so few” was a speech made by the British prime minister Winston Churchill on 20 August 1940 during World War II. The name stems from the...
- August 15 ~~~ Charles Santore (1935 – 2019), illustrator of children’s books, fairy tales, poetry and history (“Columbo”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”, “Paul Revere’s Ride”, Grimm fairytales and Aesop’s fables)(quote) Charles Santore, 84, nationally known illustrator from South Philadelphia was born into an Italian-Irish family. He began his career in 1956 working as a freelance illustrator for local...
- August 10 ~~~ Team Malizia zero-carbon yacht to sail across Atlantic for UN Climate Action Summit(quote) Team Malizia, skippered by Pierre Casiraghi and Boris Herrmann to sail from UK to New York for the UN Climate Action Summit on Malizia II. The journey will start in mid-August. Pierre...
- August 5 ~~~ It’s the journey…and the destination. Breathtaking subway lines and stations around the world(quote) See why the world’s best subway lines are destinations unto themselves These subterranean train rides are packed with striking architecture, historic sites, and surprising views. Blue Line,...
- July 30 ~~~ International Friendship Day July 30. “A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” – Shakespeare“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” – Shakespeare “Friends are...
- July 26 ~~~ How to tell if you’re debating with a bot? 80% of businesses plan to deploy chatbots by 2020(quote) How to tell if you’re arguing with a bot 80% of businesses are planning to deploy some type of chatbot by 2020 (unquote) Image courtesy Technology Review
- July 21 ~~~ World’s oldest housing complex where rent has stayed <$1/year for 500 years(quote) The city of Augsburg, in Germany’s beautiful region of Bavaria, is a pleasant, affluent town, known for its 11th-century cathedral and stunning Renaissance buildings. The city grew up amid...
- July 16 ~~~ Toys R Us’ bankruptcy: 33,000 laid-off workers get $60 severence pay each while lawyers get $56 million in fees(quote) A year after Toys R Us closed, tens of thousands of laid-off workers are getting a portion of the severance promised and then rescinded as the retailer unraveled. While workers are getting $2...
- July 11 ~~~ Going, Going, Gone with the Wind: iconic mansion that inspired the film now up for auction with starting bid of $1 million(quote) The iconic mansion that inspired “Gone with the Wind” is for sale The instantly-recognizable plantation house that set the stage for the Wilkes family home in the movie...
- July 7 ~~~ Vineyard hotel in Portugal: sleep inside giant wine barrels(quote) A vine place to lay your head: Sleep inside a giant wine barrel at this vineyard in Portugal This is a wacky and wonderful place to plonk your head after a day, well, on the plonk. The Quinta...
- July 3 ~~~ 11-mile border wall panel installation underway in California(quote) New reinforced panels are being used to strengthen the border wall in the Calexico area of California. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in partnership with the Army Corps of...
- June 29 ~~~ US business groups “encouraged that President Trump and President Xi agreed to resume trade negotiations”(quote) “Business Roundtable is encouraged that President Trump and President Xi agreed to resume trade negotiations and suspend any further tariff escalation,” the organization said in a...
- June 24 ~~~ Call for Venice to be put on UN’s endangered cities list after a towering cruise ship collided with a dock(quote) Call for Venice to be put on the United Nations’ list of endangered cities – and cruise ships banned from its lagoon Venice should be put on the United Nations’ list of...
- June 20 ~~~ Infographic: 15 biggest data breaches in last 15 years(quote) More than 14,717,618,286 records have been lost or stolen since 2013 due to data breaches, and 3,353,178,708 records were compromised in the first half of 2018 alone. In 2017, 86 percent of...
- June 15 ~~~ Swimming Eagle, Diving Whale: bald eagle swims elegantly to shore, beluga whale helps woman retrieve her phone(quote) Bald Eagle Caught Elegantly … Swimming? Bald eagles are typically known for their elegant flying, skilled hunting and having such majestic strength and beauty that they became the U.S....
- June 11 ~~~ Tired of booze? Sober bars a new trend for alcohol-free fun(quote) People are sick of drinking. Investors are betting on the ‘sober curious’ I ordered a carrot-and-ginger shrub and hoped it would be palatable. I was pleasantly surprised, drank...
- June 5 ~~~ World Environment Day 2019 turns spotlight on air pollution. Nature’s air filter: tree leaves can capture >50%+ of particulate matter pollution(quote) World Environment Day: To Beat Air Pollution, Make The Invisible Visible One of our most precious resources is often taken for granted and invisible unless it becomes visible. We don’t give...
- May 31 ~~~ “A leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars” – Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892)(quote) “I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars, And the pismire is equally perfect, and a grain of sand, and the egg of the wren, And the tree-toad is a...
- May 25 ~~~ “Beautiful”, “embarrassed”, “patience”… America’s top spelling searches by state, according to Google(quote) Beautiful, bougie and all the other words Americans still can’t spell, state by state Around the time 12-year-old Ananya Vinay of Fresno, Calif., triumphed with “m-a-r-o-c-a-i-n,” the...
- May 19 ~~~ Italy: most UNESCO Heritage sites in the world – Costiera Amalfitana, Florence, Venice, Rome, Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany…(quote) Italy boasts more World Heritage sites than any other country in the world. Its 51 designated cultural and natural landmarks make up over 5% of UNESCO’s global list, and another 40 spots...
- May 14 ~~~ Germany begins testing for electric highway for trucks to draw power from overhead cables and feed electricity back into grid when they brake(quote) Germany is joining the ranks of those countries betting on “electric highways” to foster eco-friendly trucking. The country has started real-world tests of an eHighway system on a...
- May 8 ~~~ Are you being watched? Airbnb guests worry about hidden cameras, 11 percent said they have discovered one(quote) A Survey Found That 1 in 10 U.S. Airbnb Users Have Found Hidden Cameras They could be anywhere. Airbnb has been under fire lately after numerous reports of hidden cameras found in some of the...
- May 2 ~~~ 30×30: A Blueprint For Ocean Protection – scientific study maps out how to protect 30 percent of world’s oceans by 2030 and prevent 6th global extinction event(quote) As governments meet at the UN to negotiate towards an historic Global Ocean Treaty, a groundbreaking study by leading marine biologists has mapped out how to protect over a third of the...
- April 24 ~~~ Picture: Camel Races held in Gloucestershire, EnglandPhoto courtesy Paul Nichols / TelegraphRead More...
- April 18 ~~~ Comeback: Tiger Woods claims 2019 Masters championship – his first major title in 11 years, 22 years since his first Masters win at 21(quote) Tiger Woods has won the Masters on Sunday at a rainy Augusta National, finishing what was arguably the greatest career comeback in the history of golf nearly a decade after injuries and...
- April 12 ~~~ First ever photo of a Black Hole, in a galaxy 55 million light years away from Earth(quote) Astronomers announced on Wednesday that at last they had captured an image of the unobservable: a black hole, a cosmic abyss so deep and dense that not even light can escape it. “We have...
- April 8 ~~~ Google’s AI Ethics committee disbanded 10 days after it was formed, Amazon’s SEC petition to stop vote on curbing Rekognition use rejected(quote) Last week, Google announced that it had formed an AI Ethics committee to assist with the direction of its intelligent technology. This week came an update that few expected – the panel has...
- March 31 ~~~ Uncertain future of retail: after Sears’ bankruptcy, 116-year-old JCPenny shuts down hundreds more stores, Payless ShoeSource announces closure of all 2,100 US stores(quote) After Sears made headlines for its bankruptcy filing and store closures, the next retailer facing similar hardships is now JCPenney. The department store will shutter 27 of its 860 locations...
- March 25 ~~~ Mayday call off Norway coast – Viking Sky cruise ship’s 1,300 passengers and crew, one-by-one airlifted to helicopters as heaving waves tossed the ship from side to side(quote) Rescue helicopters were battling severe winds on Saturday to airlift more than 1,300 people off a Viking Cruises’ ship that issued a distressed call after an engine failure off the...
- March 20 ~~~ Feel lonely or happier when spending more time on smartphone, less conversation with friends and family?(quote) new study: young people raised on smartphones and social media – they’re born in 1995 or later and are the first generation to spend their entire adolescence in the age of the...
- March 14 ~~~ “Book of L”, paperback release, Pi Day 2019; hardcover release, 2018Legacy of Latin Fiat Lux “Let there be Light”, like lightning, inspiring minds from ancient Rome to digital age, at this moment sheds light onto this Book of L. “L”, a magic...
- March 5 ~~~ Sun Of The Sleepless! – Poem by Lord ByronSun of the sleepless! melancholy star! Whose tearful beam glows tremulously far, That show’st the darkness thou canst not dispel, How like art thou to joy remember’d well! So gleams the...
- February 26 ~~~ Modern luxury 645 ft tall yet tilting and sinking: 58-story SF skyscraper has sunk 17″, tilted 14″, multimillion-dollar condos “nearly worthless”(quote) Millennium Tower in San Francisco is still sinking and leaning. A 58-story skyscraper in San Francisco is tilting and sinking — and residents say their multimillion-dollar condos are...
- February 19 ~~~ 1938 Cost of Living. Tuition of Harvard University: $420 per year; gasoline: 10 cents per gallonImage courtesy @HistoryInPixRead More...
- February 13 ~~~ NASA officially ends Opportunity rover’s 15-year mission(quote) For nearly 15 years, Mars was what you might call the land of Opportunity, as the little Mars rover punched way above its weight and managed to roam the red planet well, well beyond its...
- February 6 ~~~ Surfer surfing on and under ice during Polar Vortex, coming out shielded with ice from head to toe!(quote) They went surfing during the polar vortex and the photos are surreal… Temperatures below zero can’t come between these guys and catching some waves! MARQUETTE, Mich. — Some of the...
- January 28 ~~~ 20 coldest major American cities: Anchorage, Madison, Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, Denver, Boston… Below-zero record: every state in continental US(quote) Some cities just sound cold. Despite their best attempts to promote their pleasant summer weather, Chicago and Buffalo, New York, for example, may be a couple of U.S. cities that first come...
- January 20 ~~~ Earth’s shadow sweeps over Lunar surface – total lunar eclipse coincides with 2019’s first full moon: 1/20-21(quote) Standby for the last lunar eclipse for 2 years: The blood wolf moon night of 1/20-21 coming to a North American continent near you Skywatchers across the continental U.S. will be treated to a...
- January 19 ~~~ Evening Star – Poem by Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849)‘Twas noontide of summer, And mid-time of night; And stars, in their orbits, Shone pale, thro’ the light Of the brighter, cold moon, ‘Mid planets her slaves, Herself in the Heavens,...
- January 12 ~~~ 5.1 billion scam calls from robots in Nov’18 alone. Inexpensive, auto-dialed, robocalls prey on victims“Combatting illegal robocalls is our top consumer priority at the FCC,” Pai said in a statement last month. In November alone, Americans received an estimated 5.1 billion scam calls from...
- January 6 ~~~ First historical landing on surface unseen by those on Earth: China’s Chang’e-4 probe softlands on Moon’s far sideCNBC Wed 2 January, 2019technical challenge to land on Moon’s far side: no direct way to communicate with the spacecraftChina makes history as the first to land a spacecraft on the far side of...
- January 5 ~~~ 1742, a small dining room; 1827, Durgin-Park landmark restaurant; 2019, iconic eateries in Boston closed: $15 wage unaffordable(quote) 04 January, 2019 Owner cites minimum wage hike in closing of landmark Boston restaurant opened in 1827 when John Quincy Adams was presidentMassachusetts has been among the national leaders in...
- January 1 ~~~ “Intuition is the clear conception of the whole at once.”“Intuition is the clear conception of the whole at once.” – Johann Kaspar Lavater “The secret of Happiness is Freedom, and the secret of Freedom, Courage.” –...
- January 1 ~~~ New Year, New SiteGreetings, dear readers!2018 marked the 10th anniversary of World Culture Pictorial online journal, and we rang in 2019 with a site relaunch with more mobile-friendly and other features for your...