Today, Monday December 16, marks 75 years since the beginning of one of World War II’s most savage battles. In December 1944, the Nazi army surprised U.S. and Allied forces in the frozen forests of Belgium. Badly outnumbered, the U.S. lost 10,000 soldiers amid frigid conditions in the war’s deadliest conflict. John Yang reports on the commemoration of what became known as the Battle of the Bulge.
Daily Archives: December 16, 2019
Politics: Tamara Keith And Amy Walter In “Politics Monday” (PBS Video)
NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including the two articles of impeachment passed by the House Judiciary Committee, political stakes for a potential Senate trial, public opinion on impeachment, a labor dispute threatens the next Democratic debate and how many Democratic voters have already chosen a candidate.
Research: USC Creates Organoids From Stem Cells To Treat Polycistic Kidney Disease (Video)
USC Stem Cell scientist Andy McMahon is using human stem cells to create mini-kidney structures known as organoids. His lab is using these organoids to study and find new drugs to treat polycystic kidney disease.
Architects: Stanton Williams’ “Fitzroy Park House” Best English Home 2019 (Modern House)
From a The Modern House online article:
Fitzroy Park, London N6
A stunning 6,200 sq ft space, this remarkable and sprawling house rises up through its surrounding landscaped gardens. Described by the Architects’ Journal as having a “beguilingly cave-like relationship to the outside world”, it is a bold vision of contemporary architecture in which the natural world has been thoroughly entwined with the design.
https://www.stantonwilliams.com/projects/fitzroy-park/
Recline by the pool, listen to the artificial stream winding its way through the gardens, meander across the footbridge: this home was conceived for those long, dreamy summer days.
To read more: https://www.themodernhouse.com/sales-list/fitzroy-park/
Photography: The “2019 National Geographic Winter Catalog” Is Visually Stunning
Health: “Treating Cancer And Other Diseases Through The Immune System” (UCTV Video)
Interactive immune systems are at the center of cancer and other diseases. Dr. Matthew Krummel explores how the immune system can regulate cancer progression. Recorded on 10/31/2019.
To read more: https://www.uctv.tv/shows/Understanding-and-Treating-Cancer-and-Other-Diseases-Through-the-Immune-System-35239
Museum Insider: How Composer Steve Reich Reads Sculpture (MoMA/BBC Video)
In this episode of The Way I See It, our radio collaboration with BBC, we’ve captured composer Steve Reich’s audible awe as he sees his friend Richard Serra’s monumental 2015 sculpture Equal for the first time. As Reich puts it, he and Serra are “in tune to the same frequencies,” so their meeting in Manhattan in the 1960s and subsequent friendship was both important and inevitable.
Working in sound and steel respectively, both Reich and Serra rejected traditional compositional structures—one of harmony and the other of form—to give shape to their work. Reich is the recipient of countless awards, including two Grammys, a Pulitzer, and, recently, the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale. His works are performed in concert halls all over the world, and recently at Glastonbury Festival. Find “The Way I See It” on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000…
Top New Camper Trailers: All-Electric “ERV” From Retreat Caravans
Now with an energy-efficient thermal rating construction and revolutionary energy supply, you can live in your caravan just like you would at home! Use what you want, when you want, where you want!
With an unprecedented 2033* watts of factory-fitted PV Solar, integrated automotive-grade 14.3KW/Hr battery, coupled with a 5000-watt Smart Inverter, this holistically engineered, self-generating, battery energy storage system will revolutionise your “truly off-grid experience”.
Website: https://www.e-rv.com.au/
Crime: “Social Security Administration Scams” Are #1 Fraud Reported To FTC
From an FTC online release:
The Social Security Administration (SSA) scam is the number one scam reported to the FTC right now.
As soon as a caller threatens you, or demands you pay them with a gift card or by wiring money. It’s a scam. Even if the caller ID tells you otherwise.
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from the Social Security Administration, hang up the phone and remember:
- Your Social Security number is not about to be suspended.
- The real Social Security Administration will never call to threaten your benefits.
- The real SSA will never tell you to wire money, send cash, or put money on a gift card.
To read more: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2019/12/getting-bombarded-scam-calls-youre-not-alone?utm_source=govdelivery
Destination Resorts: 2019 Design Winner “The Retreat At Blue Lagoon Iceland” (Dezeen Video)
“The brief here was to make something that would fit very well into nature” explains Thorsteinsson in the video interview, which was shot by Dezeen at White City House in London on the day of the AHEAD Europe ceremony. “We wanted basically to have continuity between nature, the interior and exterior,” he continued.
Design Group Italia chief design officer Sigurdur Thorsteinsson explains how The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland immerses guests in nature in this video produced by Dezeen for the AHEAD Awards.
The 62-room resort hotel is embedded in the lava formations and turquoise geothermal pools of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon complex, which is situated within the UNESCO Global Geopark.
The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland was awarded in the Resort Hotel category at the AHEAD Europe hospitality awards, which took place in London in November.
Design Group Italia handled the project’s interiors, in collaboration with Icelandic firm Basalt Architects who were responsible for the architecture of the resort.
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