Animal magic ... Deep Waters

My life came to be defined by what the ancient Greeks termed a pharmakon, that which is a poison and a cure.

I’M NOT SAYING IT’S ALIENS… BUT IT’S ALIENS: No One Knows Why Rocks Are Exploding From Asteroid Bennu

Tortoises have amazing memories

Gossiping with the Dead

At what point does memoir become biography and biography become history?

'Literature Says Most Things Itself'

A friend writes about the death on Nov. 24 of John Simon: “I never had any trouble believing his words were from his heart, that he was sincere. He just had high standards. He was too good for this mediocre culture of ours.”

Clive James died on the same day, and my friend writes: “He was an old-fashioned writer, one with superlative talent . . . a supremely intelligent man with manifold interests, an abiding curiosity about the world, blessed with talent but at the same time dressed in the trappings of a regular guy.”

       

Remembering Clive James: “Dying turned out to be just what he needed.”

LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY:  The Rise Of Restaurants With No Diners As Apps Take Orders.

  They've announced that this year's Jan Michalski Prize -- a CHF50,000 prize "awarded for a work of fiction or non-fiction, irrespective of the language in which it is written" -- goes to Pain, by Zeruya Shalev; see also the Other Presspublicity page, the ITHL information page, or get your copy atAmazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. 

       See also Shalev's acceptance speech (warning ! dreaded pdf format !). 

Top 25 News Photos of 2019 - The Atlantic: “As we approach the end of a year of unrest, here is a look back at some of the major news events and moments of 2019. Massive protests were staged against existing governments in Hong Kong, Chile, Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, Haiti, Algeria, Sudan, and Bolivia, while climate-change demonstrations and strikes took place worldwide. An impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump was started, conflict in Syria continued, the United States won the Women’s World Cup, Hurricane Dorian lashed the Bahamas, and so much more. Here, we present the Top 25 news photos of 2019. Be sure to come back soon for a more comprehensive series, beginning tomorrow—2019: The Year in Photos, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.”

Do good teachers make you taller

Reptiles Known as ‘Living Rocks’ Show Surprising Cognitive Powers Nature

I’M NOT SAYING IT’S ALIENS… BUT IT’S ALIENS: No One Knows Why Rocks Are Exploding From Asteroid Bennu.

Polar Bears’ Diet Is 25% Plastic, Russian Scientists Say Moscow Times

From Wolfy the lurcher to Trixie the hamster, these affectionate animals helped five people get their lives back on track

Dictionary.com Names ‘Existential’ (Cancelled Crisis?) 2019 Word of the Year Dictionary.com: “…existential also inspires us to ask big questions about who we are and what our purpose is in the face of our various challenges—and it reminds us that we can make choices about our lives in how we answer those questions. 

"Cancel culture", the online phenomenon of boycotting public figures who say or do the wrong thing, is the Macquarie Dictionary's word of the year. 

Rare Individuals Are Amazing at Reading Cats’ Expressions. Are You One of Them? Vice. Hahaha, I was really bad at the test! My rationalization is that I’ve had three Abys and they are half way to being dogs, as in care about their humans making nice to them, and therefore generally make happier faces to their humans than most cats.  



The U.S. Army Is Making Ear Protection for Its Military Dogs Popular Mechanics

Ryrkaypiy: Far-north Russian village overrun by polar bears BBC



Deep Sea Made by Neal Agarwal – keep scrolling and you will learn about all the creatures that live in depths from 37 meters deep all the way to 10924 meters deep – fascinating.

Oxford Dictionaries has named its word of the year for 2019: "climate emergency". The shortlisted words all relate to climate change in some way: "flight shame", "plant-based", "ecocide", etc.     

PREMIUM Are we wise enough (smart enough) to survive our own success? If so, how can we all get along better? Practicing tolerance in the Age of Stupid

CONFIRMATION BIAS: People trapped within a specific moral code express righteous indignation when their beliefs are challenged. It’s far easier to make snide and abusive remarks than engage ideas that could question our very identity, writes Richard Hames.