Category: SPACE

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

A surprise oasis / Dustin Hoffman on ‘Luck’ / Old bitterness for Bill Clinton / Surviving Antarctica / How do you talk to an alien?

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. Underground oasis found below Earth’s driest desert
By Lisa Grossman | New Scientist | Feb. 18
“A thriving community of microorganisms nestles two metres below the surface of the ultra-arid Atacama desert in Chile.”

2. US intelligence officials offer grim words on Afghanistan
By Ken Dilanian | Stars & Stripes | Feb. 17
“Senior U.S. intelligence officials offered a bleak view of the war in Afghanistan in testimony to Congress on Thursday, an assessment they acknowledged was more pessimistic than that of the military commanders in charge.”

3. The .0000063% Election
By Ari Berman | Mother Jones | Feb. 16
“How American politics became the politics of the superrich.”

4. Big screen or small, Dustin Hoffman feels ‘Luck’-y
By Scott Timberg | The Los Angeles Times | Feb. 17
“The Oscar-winning actor says at age 74, he is fortunate to have landed such a richly written part in HBO’s new horse-racing series.”

5. Some Arkansas Dems still waiting for Clinton’s ‘thank you’
By Suzi Parker | She the People :: The Washington Post | Feb. 16
“For many party activists in Clinton’s home state, the subject of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky evokes bitterness even after 14 years. Privately, some grumble even now about how Clinton betrayed them, too.”

6. Rereading: Seamus Heaney on Czeslaw Milosz’s centenary
By Seamus Heaney | The Guardian | April 2011
“Czeslaw Milosz was a veteran of European turmoil. His fellow Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney pays tribute to a Polish poet poised between lyricism and witness”

7. A communist in the US
Witness :: BBC News | February 2011
“On 9 February 1950 Senator Joseph McCarthy began his hunt for communists in the US. Throughout the Cold War, people on the left of politics came under attack in the US.”

8. Rereading: Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth
By Charlottle Higgins | The Guardian | April 2011
“Not just a rollicking adventure, Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth, which has just been filmed, is a touching true story about love and loyalty. Charlotte Higgins looks back on a childhood favourite”

9. Crossing Antarctica
Witness :: BBC News | Jan. 18
“The Norwegian polar explorer Borge Ousland spent more than two months skiing alone across the continent of Antarctica.”

10. What Do You Say to an Alien?
By Sam Roberts | The New York Times | Feb. 12
“If we made contact, what would we say? And what answers would we anticipate?”

**************

TUNES

Tonight I’m spending some time with the blues, specifically with the Texas Blues Café. Check out the line-up and then listen here.

1. Bettye LaVette — I Still Want To Be Your Baby
2. Michael Holt & The Trophy 500’s — To The River
3. Daddy Long Legs — Use Me
4. Marc Broussard — Home
5. Jimmy Warren — It Aint Fair
6. Hill Country Review — Highway Blues
7. ZZ Top — Double Back
8. Jacks O’Diamonds — Dusty Man
9. Old Southern Moonshine Revival — New Pair of Boots
10. Chris Rea — Texas Blue
11. Otis Taylor — Rain So Hard
12. Derek Trucks Band — Get What You Deserve
13. Paul Rodgers and Garry Moore — Tribute To Muddy Waters
14. The Informants — Goodnight My Love

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Women’s political support / Requiring unemployed to volunteer / Nixon’s China decision / Bizarre science war / Battling birth control

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. Gender-bending model pushes limits of the runway
By Bonny Ghosh | Associated Press | Feb. 9
“He has the kind of face that makes even the vainest woman jealous: high cheekbones, flawless skin and plump, shapely lips. When he speaks, his ever-so-slight Adam’s apple is the first sign of his masculinity.”

2. The XX factor
The Economist | Feb. 11
“Can a woman candidate count on female voters’ support?”

3. How to become Anthony Bourdain
The Daily Dish :: The Los Angeles Times | Feb. 10
“It’s no secret that Bourdain has what most people would consider to be a dream job — he travels around the world eating and drinking with his friends while making ‘self-indulgent’ television.”

4. Senate Republicans Would Require The Unemployed To Volunteer
By Arthur Delaney | The Huffington Post | Feb. 10
“A bill introduced Thursday by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) would also require claimants drawing benefits six months or longer to search for work at least 20 hours a week.”

5. Mrs. Lincoln, I Presume? Well, as It Turns Out …
By Patricia Cohen | The New York Times | Feb. 11
“The story behind the picture was compelling: Mrs. Lincoln had Mr. Carpenter secretly paint her portrait as a surprise for the president, but he was assassinated before she had a chance to present it to him.”

6. Nixon’s great decision on China
By David Ignatius | The Washington Post | Feb. 10
“[H]ere’s a salute to inconsistency, cunning and other un-American traits that made Nixon’s opening to China possible. As we approach this week’s anniversary of his departure for Beijing, it’s useful to look back at one of the biggest — and best — flip-flops in American history.”

7. The Frog of War
By Dashka Slater | Mother Jones | January/February 2012
“When biologist Tyrone Hayes discovered that a top-selling herbicide messes with sex hormones, its manufacturer went into battle mode. Thus began one of the weirdest feuds in the history of science.”

8. This Story of Galactic Destruction and Time Will Blow Your Mind
By Jesus Diaz | Gizmodo | Feb. 11
“In 1995, the world was astonished by the image of a group of 4-light-year-tall columns located in the Eagle Nebula, 7,000 light years from here. So unimaginable it was that someone called them the Pillars of Creation. The only problem is that the pillars didn’t really exist. Something had destroyed them more than a thousand years ago.”

9. War on birth control
By Rachel Maddow | The Washington Post | Feb. 10
“Hormonal contraceptives generally prevent an egg from being fertilized in the first place, but the at-least-theoretical possibility that they might also prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus was enough to raise the specter of birth control pills being viewed as an instrument of homicide.”

10. Napoleon’s failure: For the want of a winter horseshoe
By Saul David | BBC News Magazine | Feb. 8
“Of all the challenges faced by generals through history, moving armies has been one of the greatest – and Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Russia 200 years ago illustrates just how badly things can go wrong when it is underestimated.”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Ron Paul’s worldview / History of the glitter bomb / Women in combat / Cuba’s young boxers / Huge science achievement

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Ron Paul’s Flinty Worldview Was Forged in Early Family Life
By David M Halbfinger | The New York Times | Feb. 5
“His parents married two days before the crash of 1929. He was reared on nightmarish stories of currency that proved worthless, told by relatives whose patriarch had fled Germany in the dark of night when his debts were about to ruin him.”

2. The West’s First War with China
By Tonio Andrade | China Power :: The Diplomat | Feb. 8
“Westerners still tend to underestimate Chinese military prowess, viewing China as a historically peaceful nation frequently invaded by bellicose neighbors: Huns, Mongols, Manchus, and, of course, Japanese.”

3. Mysterious sounds reported around the world
By Benjamin Radford | DiscoveryNews | Feb. 8
“The explanations are almost as varied as the sounds themselves.”

4. A Brief Photographic History of Glitter-Bombs
By Tara Godvin | Swampland :: Time | Feb. 8
“Receiving a shower of sparkles from gay rights activists has become something of a rite of passage for Republican candidates this year.”

5. Women in combat policy could change
By Barbara Starr | Security Clearance :: CNN | Feb. 8
“The current policy, in place since 1994, effectively restricts women from serving in small infantry or other ground units directly involved in combat.”

6. Women More Attracted To Green Behavior
By Tara Kelly | The Huffington Post | Feb. 8
“While the findings are encouraging for eco-singles looking for love, Timberland probably has some financial incentive to sponsor such a survey, especially since they sell outdoor clothes and to customers with a green conscious.”

7. Black Hole Eats Asteroids, Burps Out X-Rays
By Adam Mann | Wired | Feb. 8
“A new study finds that asteroids at least 12 miles wide falling into the black hole would account for the regular bright x-ray flares seen through telescopes.”

8. Cuba looks to kids to recover faded boxing glory
By Anne-Marie Garcia | Associated Press | Feb. 8
“Boxing-mad Cuba is putting its athletes in the ring earlier than ever. The idea is that those who start young will have a critical edge in the sport’s motions and techniques when they start competing more seriously down the road.”

9. In scientific coup, Russians reach Antarctic lake
By Vladimir Isachenkov and Seth Borenstein | Associated Press | Feb. 8
“Opening a scientific frontier miles under the Antarctic ice, Russian experts drilled down and finally reached the surface of a gigantic freshwater lake, an achievement the mission chief likened to placing a man on the moon.”

10. Crossing Antarctica
Witness :: BBC News | January 18
“The Norwegian polar explorer Borge Ousland spent more than two months skiing alone across the continent of Antarctica.”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Costa Concordia a personal disaster / Russians reach Antarctic lake / Father/son presidencies / Gingrich and Huckabee / Where does love come from?

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. The Flub Watch Never Stops for Obama’s Team
By Helene Cooper | The New York Times | Feb. 5
“In the rarefied world that is dedicated to getting Mr. Obama re-elected, the battle has never been viewed through the prism of how to beat Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum or Ron Paul. It has always been about Mitt Romney.”

2. Looking for love
By Karen Weintraub | The Boston Globe | Feb. 6
“Surveys also show that whom we fall in love with is largely influenced by who we are; our personality traits and values drive our choices.”

3. Life with Trig
By Sarah Palin | Newsweek | Feb. 6
“He’s nearing his fourth birthday. He has Down syndrome. And he greets every day with a round of applause.”

4. Mike Huckabee is Newt Gingrich’s new role model
By Jonathan Martin | Politico | Feb. 6
“Running a seat-of-his-pants campaign that was short on cash but long on one-liners, the former Baptist preacher enjoyed early 2008 success, hit a rough patch and then had what turned out to be a meaningless rebound when the race turned to his native South.”

5. Earth Station: The Afterlife of Technology at the End of the World
By Alexis Madrigal | The Atlantic | Feb. 6
“This is the story of one of the old, weird ties between Earth and space.”

6. Presidential Fathers and Sons
By Michael Medved | The Wall Street Journal | Feb. 6
“For the seventh consecutive election, the winning candidate will be either a privileged prince with an adored, powerful patriarch, or an up-from-nothing scrapper with no relationship with his biological dad.”

7. 10 Bright Ideas to Get You Through February
Innovations :: Scientific American | Feb. 6
“The Super Bowl is over and now we have to face an ugly reality. It’s February and we’re only one week in. With the hope of lifting your spirits, here are 10 examples of innovative thinking to remind you that better things are coming.”

8. Russians drill into previously untouched Lake Vostok below Antarctica
By Marc Kaufman | The Washington Post | Feb. 6
“It has taken the Russians more than 20 years to drill into the lake, operating in some of the most brutal weather conditions in the world.”

9. For Reporter, Cruise Ship Disaster Is A Local Story
By Sylvia Poggioli | NPR | Feb. 5
“Bad weather has thus far prevented salvage workers from pumping out the half-million gallons of fuel onboard. But the ship has already started polluting the shallow shoreline with leaks of some of the other toxic substances onboard — detergents, paints, solvents, chlorinated swimming pool water and more than 1,300 gallons of olive oil.”

10. Vincent Cassel: ‘You can’t escape from what you are’
By Elizabeth Day | The Guardian | Feb. 4
“The actor, trained ballet dancer, and husband of Monica Bellucci is a man of hidden depths. In his latest role, he plays an anarchic disciple of Sigmund Freud. ”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Her affair with JFK / Female sex drive / Style on the campaign trail / Artist faces Facebook millions / Jupiter’s moon / Miscarriage lawsuit after Costa Concordia

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Woman recounts her affair with JFK when she was 19
By Cynthia R. Fagen | The New York Post | Feb. 5
“Their sex was ‘varied and fun.’ He could be seductive and playful and sometimes ‘acted like he had all the time in the world. Other times, he was in no mood to linger.’ ”

2. Female Sex Drive Decline Tied To Hormones, Evolution
By Jennifer Abbasi | The Huffington Post | Feb. 1
“[R]elationship duration was a better predictor of sexual desire in women than both relationship and sexual satisfaction.”

3. Why Are We So Obsessed With the Presidential Candidates’ Style?
By Noreen Malone | The Cut :: New York Magazine | January 2012
“Middle-aged and older white men in business-formal attire don’t tend to be the objects of sartorial fascination.”

4. Graffiti artist David Choe set for Facebook windfall
BBC News | Feb. 3
“A U.S. graffiti artist who painted Facebook’s offices is set to become a multi-millionaire when the social network begins trading as a public company.”

5. Latino voters favor protecting the environment
By Sara Ines Calderon | NewsTaco | Feb. 2
Among the findings, “76% of Latino voters voiced support for maintaining environmental protections.”

6. Tiny volcanic moon controls Jupiter’s auroras
By Lisa Grossman | New Scientist | Feb. 3
“Sometimes the puppets control the puppeteer. It seems volcanic outbursts on Jupiter’s moon Io control brilliant auroras on its parent planet.”

7. Lana Del Rey and the new culture of failure
By Stephen Deusner | Salon | Feb. 2
“The controversial pop sensation is somehow more interesting for her spectacular flameouts than her music”

8. Costa Concordia Lawsuit: Passenger Sues Cruise Line Over Miscarriage
The Huffington Post | Feb. 5
“[H]er doctors claim the ‘intense psychological stress suffered both during the night-time evacuation and when her lifeboat smashed up against rocks as it headed for the nearby shore’ is to blame.”

9. The Virgin Father
By Benjamin Wallace | New York Magazine | Feb. 5
“Trent Arsenault has never had sex, but he’s the father of fifteen children — and counting. The more he antagonizes the FDA, and unnerves television audiences across America, the more his in-box is flooded with requests for his sperm.”

10. Top five regrets of the dying
By Susie Steiner | The Guardian | Feb. 1
“A nurse has recorded the most common regrets of the dying, and among the top ones is ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’. What would your biggest regret be if this was your last day of life?”

**************

TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. PUSH Sarah McLachlan
2. PURPLE RAIN Prince
4. NO ORDINARY LOVE Sade
5. TAKE MY BREATH AWAY Berlin
6. PERFECT GIRL Sarah McLachlan
7. MELTDOWN Lisa Gerrard & Pieter Bourke
8. CANDY PERFUME GIRL Madonna
9. #1 CRUSH Garbage
10. BABY DID A BAD, BAD THING Chris Isaak

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Types of Super Bowl fans / Men who love ‘Downton’ / Astronaut applications sky rocket / Latinos ready to retire / Handwriting and IQ

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. A Game Guide for Three Types of Fans: Novice, Casual, Expert
By Matthew Futterman | The Wall Street Journal | Feb. 3
“The connoisseur, the casual and the curious-but-clueless: Find your level”

2. Baby boom takes schools to breaking point
By Simon Murphy and Jeevan Vasagar | The Guardian | Feb. 3
“Two-shift day and use of empty Woolworths stores among ideas to cope with surge in primary age pupils”

3. ‘Downton’ dudes
By Reed Tucker | The New York Post | Feb. 3
“Move over, ESPN! Men are getting gabby over Brit masterpiece ‘Abbey’ ”

4. Who wants to be an astronaut? Everyone!
By Brad Plumer | WonkBlog :: The Washington Post | Feb. 3
“More than 6,300 individuals applied to become a NASA astronaut between Nov. 15, 2011 and Jan. 27, the second highest number of applications ever received by the agency.”

5. Pledge Sues Sorority for Making Her Pee Her Pants
By Anna North | Jezebel | Feb. 3
“Her lawsuit also reveals why for some pledges, it can be so hard to simply leave.”

6. Hispanics Are Least Prepared For Retirement, Report Finds
The Huffington Post | Feb. 3
“As the wealth disparity between white, black and Hispanic households continues to grow, the share of minorities concerned about their financial future is likely to grow beyond what the study reports.”

7. NASA sheds light on tech needed for space travel
By Martin LaMonica | CNET | Feb. 3
“The technologies needed back in the days of the Apollo space missions were well understood. But with NASA’s current missions, it faces a broader and more complicated list of priorities.”

8. Connecting the dots between handwriting and high scores
By Donna Krache | Schools of Thought :: CNN | Feb. 3
“With classroom time at a premium and the common use of the keyboard, some school districts are abandoning handwriting as part of the curriculum.”

9. Under the High Line, a Gay Past
By Erik Piepenburg | Arts Beat :: The New York Times | Feb. 3
“Built on a defunct railway that runs 30 feet above Manhattan between 10th and 11th Avenues, the High Line stands above parts of the city that for generations of gay people, particularly gay men, were equal parts playground (the Roxy nightclub, the Anvil bar) and sanctuary (Florent restaurant, Christopher Street).”

10. Are high-tech classrooms better classrooms?
By David Sirota | Salon | Feb. 3
“Despite the hype over Apple’s new iPad textbooks, there’s little proof that gadgets do much to improve education”

**************

TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. AND THAT’S SAYING A LOT Natural Calamity
2. BLAME IT ON THE BOSSA NOVA Eydie Gorme
3. TEARDROP Morcheeba
4. THE ROAD TO BENARES Thunderball
5. FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN Robert Plant
6. RIGHT ANGLES Thievery Corporation
7. SULLEN GIRL Fiona Apple
8. SONGBIRD Fleetwood Mac
9. THANK YOU Dido
10. A MILLION MILES AWAY Lenny Kravitz

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

February’s celestial delights / Civil War telegrams / Girlfriend wants a baby / Romney’s Secret Service protection / U.S. citizenship

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. 7 amazing sights to see in the February night sky
By Adam Holisky | USA Today | Feb. 3
“There are several planets visible, and the Orion constellation is guarding the evening heavens. Canis Major and the brightest star in our night sky are also perfectly visible this month for all stargazers to enjoy.”

2. How to automatically enlarge thumbnails online
By Rob Lightner | CNET | Feb. 3
“If you’ve ever found yourself giving up while clicking through an online photo gallery or grinding your teeth in frustration at an online vendor’s tiny thumbnails, help is on the way.”

3. Analysis: When is getting better good enough?
By Ben Feller | Associated Press | Feb. 3
“The stronger the economy gets, the more the presidential race comes down to what voters believe: Are things actually getting better? Or is it all still a mess?”

4. Huntington acquires trove of Lincoln, Civil War telegrams, codes
By Mike Boehm | The Los Angeles Times | January 2012
“The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens purchases a collection of telegrams from Abraham Lincoln and Union generals, plus code books.”

5. Please Advise: I think my girlfriend is trying to get pregnant
Nerve | Feb. 2
“She thinks a child will force me to commit.”

6. Where Romney goes, the Secret Service now follow
By Aine Kerr | Storyful | Feb. 3
“GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney is now being trailed by men in black suits with dark glasses on the campaign trail in Nevada.”

7. ‘A Clockwork Orange’ Strikes 40
By Adam Chandler | The Atlantic | Feb. 2
“Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation remains influential — but not for all the reasons we expect”

8. Images of Revolution
Al Jazeera World | October 2011
“The stories behind the iconic images of the Arab uprisings as told by those who filmed them.”

9. Should All Americans Have to Earn Their Citizenship?
By Eric Liu | The Atlantic | Feb. 2
“With an eye toward the children of illegal immigrants, some politicians are trying to end birthright citizenship. Imagine what that might mean for the rest of us.”

10. Lost in Space
By C. Claiborne Ray | Q&A :: The New York Times | October 2011
“Science-fiction films often depict people being killed by going out an airlock into space. What would that be like?”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Iowa vote confusion / Europe’s future / Olympic sheep-shearing / Lovers exchange passwords / Preschool cuts

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. 2021: The New Europe
By Niall Ferguson | The Saturday Essay :: The Wall Street Journal | November 2011
“Niall Ferguson peers into Europe’s future and sees Greek gardeners, German sunbathers — and a new fiscal union. Welcome to the other United States.”

2. Sheep shearing an Olympic sport? New Zealand farmers hope so
By Matt Brooks | The Early Lead :: The Washington Post | Jan. 17
“With New Zealand hosting the world shearing championships in March, Federated Farmers Mean and Fiber chairwoman Jeannette Maxwell believes it’s time to strike while the clippers are hot.”

3. Countries consider time out on the ‘leap second’
By Frank Jordans | Associated Press | Jan. 17
“The United States, France and others are pushing for countries at a U.N. telecom meeting to abolish the leap second, which for 40 years has kept computers in sync with the Earth day.”

4. Password Sharing: For Teens, Access To Online Accounts Is A Sign Of Love
The Huffington Post | Jan. 18
“Would you want to share access to your email, Facebook and Tumblr accounts with the one you love? For more and more teens, the key to their heart comes with the passwords to their digital lives.”

5. Iowa Republicans to call caucus result split decision
Reuters | Jan. 19
“The Iowa Republican Party will certify this month’s presidential caucuses as a split decision between former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, citing missing data from eight precincts, the Des Moines Register reported on Thursday.”

6. Recession slows growth in public prekindergarten
By Kimberly Hefling | Associated Press | Jan. 17
“The expansion in public prekindergarten programs has slowed and even been reversed in some states as school districts cope with shrinking budgets. As a result, many 3- and 4-year-olds aren’t going to preschool.”

7. This much I know: Morgan Freeman
By Simon David | The Observer | October 2010
“The actor, 73, on wearing an earring, being a good sailor, and dreaming big”

8. As the World Turns
By C. Claiborne Ray | Q&A :: The New York Times | April 2011
“Do the shifts of the Earth’s axis produced by earthquakes alter world weather?”

9. Five myths about the American flag
By Marc Leepson | Five Myths :: The Washington Post | June 10
“Americans love our flag. … Yet the iconography and history of the American flag, especially its early history, are infused with myth and misrepresentation. Here are five of the most prevalent myths.”

10. Civil War women: Abigail May Alcott
Civil War Women Blog | Oct. 22
“Abigail ‘Abby’ May Alcott (1800–1877) was an abolitionist, women’s rights activist, pioneer social and one of the first paid social workers in the state of Massachusetts.”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

More twins / Takes those meds / Wisdom from Damien Lewis / Healthier 2012 / How funny are you?

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. More US women having twins; rate at 1 in 30 babies
By Mike Stobbe | Associated Press | Jan. 4
“Some increase was expected as more women are delaying starting a family until they are over 30. For some unknown reason, mothers in their 30s are more likely to have twins than younger or older women.”

2. The books that shaped history: The Gutenberg Bible
By Melvyn Bragg | BBC News Magazine | Jan. 5
“The 15th-Century Gutenberg Bible changed the way books were received and read. It was the first real book to be mass-produced using movable type printing techniques – and so could be made in a fraction of the time it had previously taken scribes to write by hand.”

3. Taking your meds can save money, hospital trips
By Linda Johnson | Associated Press | Jan. 3
“Not filling prescriptions and even skipping doses can result in serious complications and lead to ER visits and hospital stays, even premature death.”

4. This much I know
By Tony Horkins | The Guardian | April 2009
“Damian Lewis, actor, 38, Los Angeles”

5. An Economist’s Guide to Dieting and Burning Calories
By Richard McKenzie | The Daily Beast | December 2011
“10 counterintuitive ideas to make calories more expensive and exercise more valuable in the New Year.”

6. Are You as Funny as You Think You Are?
By Susan K. Perry | Psychology Today | December 2011
“Not everything is equally amusing in the comedy writers’ room.”

7. Almonds for Calcium?
By C. Claiborne Ray | Q&A :: The New York Times | March 2010
“I have read that almonds are a good source of calcium and also that they can block calcium absorption. Which is correct?”

8. Before Hitler, Who Was the Stand-In for Pure Evil?
By Brian Palmer | Explainer :: Slate | October 2011
“The Egyptian Pharaoh, of course”

9. Five myths about NASA
By Eric Sterner | Five Myths :: The Washington Post | July 2011
“Today, many Americans have no memory of the moon landing, and NASA isn’t a source of pride but a budget line that needs to be cut. Why spend billions exploring an uninhabitable environment when many Americans don’t have health care? To understand the importance of our space program, it’s first necessary to debunk some misconceptions about what NASA is and how it operates.”

10. Civil War women: Anna Cora Mowatt
Civil War Women Blog | October 2011
“Anna Cora Mowatt (1819–1870) was an author, playwright and actress. She was the first upper-middle-class woman to make a career in the theater, and her successes helped to legitimize acting as an occupation for women. Mowatt is generally regarded as a significant contributor to the development of American drama.”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Stephen Hawking / The real Downton Abbey / The real unemployment rate / Facebooking for organs / Growing nails

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. Stephen Hawking to turn 70, defying disease
By Maria Cheng | Associated Press | Jan. 5
“British scientist Stephen Hawking has decoded some of the most puzzling mysteries of the universe but he has left one mystery unsolved: How he has managed to survive so long with such a crippling disease.”

2. Make it federal
The Economist | December 2011
“If their country is to function, Iraqis need to share power”

3. Turkey’s Museum of Shame
By Jenna Krajeski | Foreign Policy | December 2011
“Diyarbakir Prison is a notorious site of torture and repression. Now, activists want to transform it into a symbol of Turkey’s long war against the Kurds.”

4. The Real Downton Abbey: Juiciest Bits From ‘The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle’
By Tom Sykes | The Daily Beast | Jan. 1
“Séances, Rothschild love children, the Curse of Tutankhamen. Tom Sykes on the shocking real-life history of Highclere Castle, the setting for the smash-hit British TV drama.”

5. Who Are the 6 Million?
By Derek Thompson | The Atlantic | December 2011
“If they counted toward unemployment, the official rate would be 11 percent rather than 8.6 percent. As the economy picks up, and these people re-join the job hunt, the unemployment rate will go up before it goes down.”

6. For some in need, Facebook is route to new kidney
By Donna Gordon Blankinship | Associated Press | Jan. 1
“Between the kid photos and reminiscences about high school, more and more pleas for help from people with failing kidneys are popping up. Facebook and other social media sites are quickly becoming a go-to place to find a generous person with a kidney to spare, according to the people asking for help and some national organizations that facilitate matches.”

7. Pakistan: The New Radicals
Activate :: Al Jazeera | October 2011
“Activist Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi has dedicated his life to challenging the complex religious, economic and social divisions which threaten to strangulate Pakistan.”

8. The Toolbox of Self-Deception, Part I
By Sam Sommers | Psychology Today | September 2009
“To thine own self be true. But only some of the time.”

9. Watching Nails Grow
By C. Claiborne Ray | Q&A :: The New York Times | May 2011
“Why do fingernails grow faster than toenails? And why do the growth rates vary as I age?”

10. Justin Bieber’s One Time
By Forrest Wickman | Explainer :: Slate | November 2011
“Are virgins any more or less fertile than other people?”

**************

TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:

1. ANGEL Massive Attack
2. LOVING’ TOUCHIN’ SQUEEZIN’ Journey
3. I WANT YOUR HANDS ON ME Sinead O’Connor
4. CREAM Prince
5. SENSUAL WOMAN The Herbaliser
6. MORNING HAS BROKEN Cat Stevens
7. IF YOU WERE THE WOMAN AND I WAS THE MAN Cowboy Junkies
8. HOLD ON Sarah McLachlan
9. YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL Joe Cocker
10. READY FOR LOVE India.Arie

Behind The Wall

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Rebecca Aguilar

#CallingAllJournalists Initiative | Reporter | Media Watchdog | Mentor | Latinas in Journalism

Anna Fonte's Paper Planes

Words, images & collages tossed from a window.

Postcards from Barton Springs

Gayle Brennan Spencer - sending random thoughts to and from South Austin

The Flask Half Full

Irreverent travelogues, good drinks, and the cultural stories they tell.

Government Book Talk

Talking about some of the best publications from the Federal Government, past and present.

Fighting Irish Wire

Cadillac Society

Cadillac News, Forums, Rumors, Reviews

Ob360media

Real News That Matters

Talking Pictures Audio Description

Pintar Discover

Space Navy

Mealtime Joy

bringing joy to family meals

Øl, Mad og Folk

Bloggen Øl, Mad og Folk

a joyous kitchen

fun, delicious food for everyone

A Perfect Feast

Modern Comfort Food

donnablackwrites

Art is a gift we give ourselves

Fridgelore

low waste living drawn from food lore through the ages

BeckiesKitchen.com

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North River Notes

Observations on the Hudson River as it passes through New York City. The section of the Hudson which passes through New York is historically known as the North River, called this by the Dutch to distinguish it from the Delaware River, which they knew as the South River. This stretch of the Hudson is still often referred to as the North River by local mariners today. All photos copyright Daniel Katzive unless otherwise attributed. For more frequent updates, please follow northriverblog on Facebook or Instagram.