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| WebMD, LLC |
The Eyes Have It
Message in a Battle
Who would know better what hardships a refugee child faces than another refugee child? Young Somalis living in the world's largest refugee camp, in Kenya, have sent letters of encouragement and advice to Syrian children at the Refugee Assistance Centre in Jordan (story, lots of photos): http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26954088
Pyramid Schemes
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| Meroë, Sudan |
There are 110 more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt, even though Egypt is often more associated with pyramids because the ones there are more elaborate. The Kush Pyramids, located in the African country of Sudan, which was once known as the Kingdom of Kush, consist of 223 pyramids built around the 4th century B.C. by Nubian kings. These pyramids were generally used for both burial purposes and as monuments, unlike the Egyptian pyramids that were thought to be mainly tombs. The Kush Pyramids do not appear to be as tall or as elaborate as the pyramids of Egypt because much of their chambers are located underground.
More about pyramids:
- Many of the tops of the Kush Pyramids in Sudan were damaged when an Italian explorer in the 1800s smashed [them] during a search for treasure.
This Is You on [Insert Name of Drug]
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| Bryan Lewis Saunders |
What do Klonopin, Abilify, Absinthe, Buspar, Cephalexin, and lighter fluid have in common? Bryan Lewis Saunders, that's what, an artist who tried them all ~ and many more besides ~ and created a self-portrait while under the influence of each. The fact that he did this is rather disturbing (he subjected his body and mind to more drugs that you'll find in a hospital pharmacy), but the results are eerily beautiful and clinically fascinating (thank you, Kelly!): http://elitedaily.com/envision/artist-creates-self-portraits-on-different-drugs-and-the-results-are-insane-photos/
Fabricated Forms
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| Anthem, Henderson, Clark County, Nevada Christoph Gielen |
When Marriage Is Sweet
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| Stockbyte/Thinkstock |
A Total Eclipse of the Moon
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| F. Espenak |
A list of and information on all the eclipses of 2014: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2014.html
Rule of Thumb
Here's their startup video that shows how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ6PVBvQf-g
Back to Egypt
This year, Passover, or Pesach, begins at sundown on April 14. It celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites' escape from slavery in Egypt. The English name "Passover" comes from the part of the story in which God instructs the Jews how to avoid the tenth plague he has sent to punish Egyptian families, the death of their first-born. The following piece, via delanceyplace.com, summarizes the lesser-known history of the return of these hill dwellers to the lowland area many decades later.
Today's selection -- from The Story of the Jews
by Simon Schama. The story of Moses leading the Jews on an escape from
Egypt and the Nile Valley is well-known. But generations later, having
been been attacked by Assyrians and Babylonians, many Jews returned to
Egypt and there became agents of the Persian rulers of Egypt in
defending borders and suppressing local uprisings:
"The
exodus from the flood valley of the Nile, the end of foreign
enslavement, was presented by the Bible writers as the condition of
becoming fully Israelite. They imagined the journey as an ascent, both
topographical and moral. It was on the stony high places, way stations
to heaven, that YHWH -- as Yahweh is written -- had revealed Himself (or
at least His back), making Moses' face hot and shiny with reflected
radiance. From the beginning (whether in the biblical or archaeological
version), Jews were made in hill country. In Hebrew, emigrating to
Israel is still aliyah, a going up. Jerusalem was
Who Reigns in Ukraine?
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| Anatoliy Stepanov/AFP-Getty Images |
Manaus Sleeps Tonight
On the edge of the Brazilian jungle, the mighty jungle, lies a city that in June will play host to four World Cup matches. Although it has built a stadium for the occasion, Manaus is an unlikely place for a major sporting event. Born during the rubber boom of 1879-1912 (a tragically fascinating period of exploitation) and rebuilt in the 1960s by dint of tax breaks meant to populate a city that could keep the jungle at bay, Manaus is hot and humid. It rains just about every day, and the rains sometimes knock out the electricity. The city is the focus of the same criticisms as the country as a whole: that its spending would be better put to use to help the many impoverished and to improve the infrastructure. To all this, Miguel Capobiango, director of the area's World Cup Management project, says, "Negative comments about our city ... just reinforce our belief that now is the time for the world to get to know Manaus and its culture": http://www.latimes.com/world/brazil/la-fg-ff-brazil-manaus-soccer-20140413,0,26518.story#axzz2ymqgE2k5
Where Would Jesus Sleep?
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| Timothy P. Schmalz |
Here's the story of the sculptor and how he came up with the idea: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/jesus-homeless-finds-home-article-1.1321038
Just Because: 'Shakespeare's Horse'
This poem by the American poet Joseph Harrison (born 1957) showed up in my inbox today, courtesy of Poem-A-Day. To me, the rhythmic flow of the words is almost mesmerizing. I found myself following them without even thinking about meaning but just enjoying the way they spoke to and lulled my subconscious.
Shakespeare's Horse
He was a man knew horses, so we moved
As wills were one, and all was won at will,
In hand with such sleight handling as improved
Those parks and parcels where we're racing still,
Pounding like pairs of hooves or pairs of hearts
Through woodland scenes and lush, dramatic spaces,
With all our parts in play to play all parts
In pace with pace to put us through his paces.
Ages have passed. All channels channel what
Imagined these green plots and gave them names
Down to the smallest role, if and and but,
What flies the time (the globe gone up in flames),
What thunders back to ring the ringing course
And runs like the streaking will, like Shakespeare's horse.
Harrison explains: "The story that Shakespeare got his start in theater by taking care of
Shakespeare's Horse
He was a man knew horses, so we moved
As wills were one, and all was won at will,
In hand with such sleight handling as improved
Those parks and parcels where we're racing still,
Pounding like pairs of hooves or pairs of hearts
Through woodland scenes and lush, dramatic spaces,
With all our parts in play to play all parts
In pace with pace to put us through his paces.
Ages have passed. All channels channel what
Imagined these green plots and gave them names
Down to the smallest role, if and and but,
What flies the time (the globe gone up in flames),
What thunders back to ring the ringing course
And runs like the streaking will, like Shakespeare's horse.
Harrison explains: "The story that Shakespeare got his start in theater by taking care of
Doggie Diabetes
War and (Maybe) Peace
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| Refugees flee the violence, 2012. Phil Moore/AFP/Getty Images |
This is the fullest, best explanation I've read of what's going on in Congo and how it got to be this way: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140327-congo-genocide-united-nations-peacekeepers-m23-kobler-intervention-brigade/?utm_source=NatGeocom&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=inside_20140403&utm_campaign=Content
The Road That's Traveled
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| Land Rover |
Speak Softly and Carry a Big Pillow
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| the Great Trafalgar Square Pillow Fight of 2013 Tony Lasagne |
Eau de Metro
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| Tinou Bao |
(Note, please, that both the Japan Times story and this post are dated April 1!)
Survival of the Readiest
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| River Thames Flood Barrier, downstream of central London Ian Nicholson/PA |
Robert Jones's Diary
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| CNN iReport |
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