So Many Interesting Things

The Past Is Present

Algiers, 1960 Nicolas Tikhomiroff

When I was young, I lived for a year in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. One of the things I remember quite vividly from that time was the many dark-haired, dark-eyed, serious-looking men working construction jobs, repairing the streets. They were, as I came to know them, "les Algériens." They were in that particular part of Switzerland, I guessed, because it was French-speaking, and they were French-speaking, I learned, because Algeria had been a French colony from 1830 until the people won their independence in a bloody eight-year war that ended in 1962. Is it a coincidence, then, that the Charlie Hebdo attackers were "of Algerian origin"? This Beirut-based journalist thinks not (story, slideshow, video): http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/charlie-hebdo-paris-attack-brothers-campaign-of-terror-can-be-traced-back-to-algeria-in-1954-9969184.html

Lowest Common Exterminator

More than three million people marched in France to protest the recent Paris terrorist attacks that left 17 dead. Farther south, in Nigeria, a 10-year-old girl detonated her suicide vest, killing 19 and herself and wounding at least a dozen more. The world did not tweet about it, nor did world leaders converge on Abuja in a show of sympathy and solidarity. It would be easy to chalk the difference in the global response to racism and/or media bias, says the author of this piece, but that would be, for the most part, incorrect. The real issue here, he writes, is "something far more sinister: the ravages of state failure": http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/boko-harams-quiet-destruction-of-northeast-nigeria/384416/
Tragic events are moving quickly in Nigeria, where Boko Haram is fighting for power. Since the above-linked piece was written, several hundred ~ maybe as many as 2,000 ~ were killed in the town of Baga and two female suicide bombers killed at least four and injured dozens in attacks in Potiskum.

The 'The' Name Game

It all started innocently enough, with a botched coup attempt in The Gambia (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/07/gambia-failed-coup-encourage-president-jammeh). Not "Gambia," but "The Gambia." Why the "The"? Is it like The Ukraine? I resolved to resolve the question. And, no, as it turns out, it's not like The Ukraine, because The Ukraine hasn't been The Ukraine since the fall of the Soviet Union. It's now simply Ukraine. So The Gambia is more like The Bahamas, in that they are the only two countries that officially add the "The" to their names: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18233844

Now, the answer to why anyone would want to conduct a coup there is easier to understand ~ unfortunately so. The country has been in the hands of a ruthless dictator for two decades. So ruthless, in fact, that one observer calls it "the North Korea of Africa": http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-01-06/gambia-worst-dictatorship-youve-probably-never-heard

They All Came to Paris

Reuters

One of the biggest meetings of world leaders ever was occasioned by a tragedy (story, video: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/11/paris-france-anti-terror-rally-massive-show-unity). Oddly, the United States was represented only by its ambassador, but joining most of Paris in a march of solidarity against terrorism were prime ministers and presidents from Denmark, Jordan, Germany, Palestine, Israel, England, Mali, and on and on. So many that, even when they were marching elbow to elbow, it was impossible to get them all in one picture. And bundled up as they all were, who can tell who's who? (photo with IDs): http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/11/world-leaders-in-paris-whos-who

Dream Destinations

Fogo Island Inn, Newfoundland, Canada WAFClough/Flickr

OK, so most of us can't afford to stay in these beautiful, sustainable places on National Geographic's Unique Lodges list, but what the heck ~ we can dream, can't we? Each one, Nat Geo says, "represents tourism as it should be" and they all "set the standard for authentic and responsible travel." Whatever. More to the point here is that they're really fun to look at: http://www.nationalgeographiclodges.com/lodges/view-all/

Iraq Ink

Dante does eyebrows. screen shot

"Anyone who works with the U.S., it changes your culture." So says a 26-year-old former security contractor. This is Baghdad, but that statement could have been made almost anywhere. The man who made it is in line for a tattoo, which proves his point. Tats are just on the edge of being accepted in this religious, conservative society. The tattoo artist he's seeing also once worked for the U.S., as an interpreter. In fact, it was a soldier, himself a tattooist, who noticed the young man's drawings and suggested he consider that line of work. Now he has his own shop in a cosmopolitan neighborhood and works on everyone from militia members to moms (story, video): http://www.latimes.com/world/great-reads/la-fg-c1-iraq-baghdad-tattoo-20150108-story.html#page=1

Deep Space

I've been getting a message on my iPhone saying I don't have enough space ~ for anything. Most annoying, especially when it was popping up while I was trying to take pictures during our trip to Portugal! I managed it then by deleting a few games, but recently, it's started up again. The timing couldn't have been better for these tips I found on Huff Post, which I pass along as a public service in case I'm not the only one plagued by this predicament: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/08/iphone-free-space-tips_n_6269756.html?ir=Technology

A Bustle in Your Hedgerow

Lyrics and questionable accusations of plagiarism notwithstanding, Led Zeppelin's eight-minute-long "Stairway to Heaven" is often called one of the greatest rock songs of all time. So how does a song like that get written? It all started, according to the songwriter, guitarist Jimmy Page, with the idea of a composition that "started with quite a fragile exposed acoustic guitar" and "would keep unfolding to more layers and more moods." And the recorders? Not his idea, he says. He had envisioned electric piano (story, videos): http://www.openculture.com/2015/01/jimmy-page-tells-the-story-of-stairway-to-heaven.html
"I struggle with some of the lyrics from particular periods of time," singer and lyricist Robert Plant admits. "Maybe I'm still trying to work out what I was talking about. Every other f**ker is." ... 'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siDj-2hYMaQ
OK. Did you know that Pat Boone recorded a version of the song? I believe the mere thought of it falls neatly into the "so bad it's good" category. And the thing is, it's only one of the more than 100 versions listed here: http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/05/stairways_to_he.html

Who Is Charlie Hebdo?

Stéphane Charbonnier, the late editor of Charlie Hebdo Michel Euler/AP

By now, news of the horrific massacre at a Paris-based satirical weekly called Charlie Hebdo has made the rounds, and protesters around the world are holding signs proclaiming "Je Suis Charlie," or "I am Charlie." So who is this Charlie Hebdo? Simply put, no one. The "Hebdo" is a common abbreviation of the word "hebdomadaire," which means "weekly" in French. And the "Charlie"? A little more complicated. It's an allusion to Charlie Mensuel (Charlie Monthly), a magazine co-founded by Georges Bernier, who also founded the magazine that became Charlie Hebdo. The "Charlie" was for ~ who else? ~ Charlie Brown, the main character in the Peanuts comic strip that the magazine ran. It was also a joke about former French president Charles de Gaulle, and that part is a longer story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hebdo

Who IS That Guy?

He was just reelected speaker of the House, where he'll be leading the largest Republican majority in more than 60 years. But as John Boehner well knows from his last tenure, many of those Republicans don't like the word "compromise." Their recalcitrance led to the 113th Congress enacting the second-lowest number of laws of any Congress in 50 years, which in turn led to its having the lowest approval ratings ever and to Boehner being called "easily the worst House speaker in modern history." And while he was reelected, there were 25 votes cast against him. On the other end, President Obama has very little to lose in his last two years, and he often mentions his willingness to use executive action and the presidential veto. So who would want to be speaker under those circumstances? Just who is this John Boehner?: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/john-boehner-profile-113874.html?hp=t2_r#.VKw_fidj_Zt

Desperately Seeking Susy

CERN and IES de SAR

It's a new year, and our search for the big answers continues. One reason we may be making great progress toward them in 2015 is that the Large Hadron Collider, closed for two years, will reopen in March. Its mission now, after having found the Higgs boson, has to do with something called supersymmetry, aka Susy. No one knows for sure that this a real phenomenon, physicists just hope it is, as it could help explain a lot of very basic and perplexing things, including why the aforementioned Higgs boson even exists: http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21637340-coming-year-will-be-crunch-time-humanitys-understanding
What, exactly, is supersymmetry? A Fermilab scientist explains (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CeLRrBAI60

Donkeys and Pac-Mans and Sims, Oh, My!

Remember "Oregon Trail"? Of course you do! How about "SimCity"? "Donkey Kong"? "Carmen SanDiego"? "Zelda"? Probably the last thing you need is yet another time suck, but here it is anyway. The Internet Archive has put all of these old faves and many more online. (I just tried out "Oregon Trail" ~ just to make sure I'm not pointing you in the wrong direction, mind you ~ and can attest to the fact that it works and is just as much fun as you remember it being.) You're welcome: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/07/oregon-trail-online_n_6429326.html

The Old Wives Were Right (Again)

"Are you going out like that? You'll catch your death of a cold." Oh, come on! Everyone knows you can't catch a cold from the cold ~ that's just an old wives' tale. Shows how much we know. A new study seems to show that our antiviral defense cells, like those in the nose, don't work as well in colder temperatures: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/cold-coddles-colds?tgt=nr

So, while we all start knitting nose warmers, we still need to remember those other important rules, like frequent hand-washing: http://www.saga.co.uk/health/body/howtoavoidacold.aspx

Its Own Best Ally

When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, the Poles figured they had just enough capability to hold them off until their allies came to their aid. That aid never came, and Poland was doomed. Small wonder, then, that the Poles are a bit cynical about promises of help in case of attack and are, instead, reviving the Home Army and working on an ambitious rearmament program against a possible Russian offensive. Such an offensive may seem unlikely, but then there's Ukraine ... : http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21637348-unlikely-event-russian-attack-polish-partisans-may-be-waiting-home-army-back?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709

It's No Libertarian Paradise

When I think of Singapore, I inevitably remember the case of that American boy who was sentenced to a caning in 1994 for stealing some road signs and for vandalism he denied committing. That ruling put the area in the spotlight for a while. Articles discussed its spotlessness and negligible crime rate, characteristics that residents of big U.S. cities might view longingly. But ... (and there's always a "but," isn't there?) that comes at a price. The independent watchdog organization Freedom House lists Singapore as "partly free." One resident sums it up this way: "If you keep to yourself, life is very comfortable here. But if self-expression is important, you will be stymied at every turn": http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jan/05/the-price-of-life-in-singapore-city-of-rules-its-a-faustian-deal

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Freeze

Think of immigration, and we immediately imagine the challenges of learning a new language and adapting to a new culture. There is, however, one more reality that many immigrants to the U.S. have to deal with, one that, I suppose, would be easy enough for any Californian or Floridian to understand: the shock to the system of having to move from the sun to the snow. How does one dress? How does one keep from slipping on icy sidewalks? At least one organization, the International Institute of Minnesota, helps newcomers from warmer climes deal with the realities of winter in the northern states (story, video): http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30554720

When the Resolve Dissolves

Calvin and Hobbes Bill Watterson

Don't feel so bad if you can't seem to keep your New Year's resolutions. You're not alone, at least according to these statistics from wisegeek.com:

Only 8% of people actually achieve their New Year's resolutions, according to 2014 Journal of Clinical Psychology statistics. About 45% of Americans make any resolutions at all. The most common New Year's resolution is to lose weight, followed by being more organized, being careful with money, enjoying life, and stopping smoking. Self-improvement and education resolutions rank the highest at 47%, while relationship-related resolutions rank the lowest at 31%. Being able to work towards a resolution can be the most difficult, as only 75% of those who made any resolution maintained it through the first week. The percentage lowers over time: 71% maintained their resolution through two weeks, and 46% maintained their resolution through 6 months. For those looking to meet their New Year's resolutions, it is recommended that people

measuring eels for the Zoological Society screen shot

The first Monday of the new year, and it's back to work. How're you feeling about that? Perhaps your sentiments should include gratitude that you're not Stephen Mowat, of the Zoological Society of London. "I once had to dissect a tub of dead eel guts (and stomach the smell) to examine parasites living in their swim bladders," he recalls of his job. And that was "moments before jumping into a suit for a meeting with government officials." What I'm saying here is that no matter how bad you think your job might be, there really are worse ones out there. Here's a list of five, including Mowat's, that just might make you appreciate your long hours and obnoxious boss a little more: http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jan/05/worst-job-in-the-world
Mowat and his co-workers' efforts in eel conservation, slippery though they may be, are paying off (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9wg6TErkgI

The Whale Behind the Tale

from Mocha Dick: The Legend and Fury

"Call me Ishmael." So begins one of our English-language classics, Moby Dick, Or the Whale, with one of the most famous lines in all of literature (to read the book online, go to http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2701/2701-h/2701-h.htm#link2HCH0001). Just as many authors are inspired by real life, Moby Dick author Herman Melville based his story on that of an actual whale. This explanation is from wisegeek.com:

The inspiration for Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby Dick was based on a real albino sperm whale called Mocha Dick. During the growth of the whaling industry in the Americas in the mid 1800s, Mocha Dick gained a reputation of being one of the most feared whales in the ocean. Mocha Dick was reported to be docile if left alone, even swimming along ships. However, when provoked, the 70 foot (21.336 m) whale would become aggressive and attack ships with his body. During the 28 years that Mocha Dick hunted, he reportedly attacked 100 ships, 20 of which were completely destroyed.

screen shot

"Pixel" is an hour-long performance in which 11 dancers interact with digital projections. It was created by French performance artists Adrien Mondot and Claire Bardainne, whose goal, they say, is for "people to forget the border between real and virtual, material and imaginary worlds." They do this with the help of software they built "that allows us to manipulate graphic shapes as if they were real." What else would one expect from a computer scientist and juggler (Mondot) and a graphic and stage designer (Bardainne)? (story, video excerpts): http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/watch-dancers-wander-through-a-digital-dream-world