Greetings, 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 viewing enjoyment.
The archives from 2008 to 2018 can be found at the original site http://www.worldculturepictorial.com/blog/archive whereas all new entries will be posted
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius
(quote)
What were Marcus Aurelius’ rules for life? His self-help classic has the answers
Despite being written for his eyes only, the philosopher emperor’s private journal, Meditations, has now
(quote)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope have united to study an expansive galaxy cluster known as MACS0416. The resulting panchromatic image combines visible and infrared light to assemble one of the most comprehensive views of the universe ever taken. Located about 4.3 billion light-years from Earth, MACS0416 is a pair of colliding galaxy
“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.” – Alfred Austin
“It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees.” – George Eliot
“To plant a garden is to dream of tomorrow.” “Even if you have only a tiny piece of earth, you can create something beautiful, which we all have a great need for. If we
(quote)
California has ordered the company Cruise to immediately stop operations of its driverless cars in the state. The Department of Motor Vehicles said on Tuesday that it was issuing the indefinite suspension because of safety issues with the vehicles. “When there is an unreasonable risk to public safety, the DMV can immediately suspend or
(quote)
Last year’s techwide reckoning continues. The tech industry has seen more than 240,000 jobs lost in 2023, a total that’s already 50% higher than last year and growing. Earlier this year, mass workforce reductions were driven by the biggest names in tech like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo, Meta and Zoom. Startups across many sectors also announced cutbacks through the first half of the year. And while
(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 couple of hours the new moon began crossing the sun, covering as much as 90% of it as seen from some areas, before retreating to leave
(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 American accent has been slowly fading over time — with the younger generation now helping to hammer the final nail into the proverbial pine box.
“Today’s college students don’t
(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 Oktoberfest 2023. 474 businesses were approved this year, including 140 from the catering trade, 138 fairground businesses, 196 market traders and several service businesses. There will
(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 Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career, he received three Olivier Awards and four BAFTA TV Awards. In 1998, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama.
Gambon
(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.
“Her jaw was broken and she was unable to eat after she chewed the pineapple and it exploded in her mouth,” says chief wildlife warden Surendra Kumar. The outraged official tells
(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 Guild in filing a class action suit against OpenAI on Wednesday, alleging the company’s technology is illegally using their copyrighted work.
The complaint claims that OpenAI, the company behind
(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 out of his back and stabbed the 33-year-old assailant, officials said. Both the homeowner and attacker are recovering from non-life-threatening stab wounds.
The
(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 world heritage site list looms. There are now 49,693 tourist beds across hotels and rented holiday homes, compared with 49,304 inhabitants.
Once
(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 when light bends as it passes through a layer of air that is warmer than the layer below it, according to SKYbrary. Made up of several inverted and upright images stacked on top of each other, Fata Morganas appear as
(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 rope (steel cable), employed his expertise to invent the cable car on Clay Street in San Francisco, with the first run on August 2, 1873. Hallidie said he wanted to surmount hills in the City too steep for horse-drawn streetcars.
Not only