Monthly Archives: March 2023

Cities, Travel, Videos, Views

Travel: The ‘Old Port’ Of Genoa, Northwest Italy

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Massimo Nalli (March 19, 2023) – Genoa, Italian  Genova, ancient (Latin) Genua, city and Mediterranean seaport in northwestern Italy. It is the capital of Genova provincia and of Liguria regione and is the centre of the Italian Riviera.

Located about 75 miles (120 km) south of Milan on the Gulf of Genoa, the city occupies a narrow coastal plain and the western slopes of the Apennine Range. The city has a mild Mediterranean climate.

Shipbuilding is the major industry; other industries produce petroleum, textiles, iron and steel, locomotives, paper, sugar, cement, chemicals, fertilizers, and electrical, railway, and marine equipment. Genoa also is a major centre for finance and commerce. The port of Genoa leads all other Italian ports in volume of passengers and freight traffic and is the main source of city income. It handles imports chiefly of coal, crude oil, and grain and exports mainly of cotton and silk textiles, olive oil, and wine.

Arts & Literature, Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – March 27, 2023

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A figure wearing very large colorful sneakers poses against a green background.
Art by Sarula Bao

The New Yorker – March 27, 2023 issue:

Will the Ozempic Era Change How We Think About Being Fat and Being Thin?

Two abstract bodies one big and one skinny gravitate towards the top and bottom of the image. The top is yellow while...

A popular, growing class of drugs for obesity and diabetes could, in an ideal world, help us see that metabolism and appetite are biological facts, not moral choices.

How the Graphic Designer Milton Glaser Made America Cool Again

Colors radiating from the tip of a pen.

From the poster that turned Bob Dylan into an icon to the logo that helped revive a flagging city, he gave sharp outlines to the spirit of an age.

Conservation, Ecosystems, Travel, Videos, Views, Wilderness

Views: Celtic Rainforests In Eryri, Snowdonia, Wales

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National Trust (March 20, 2023) – In this episode of The Wild Life, a new series of nature films from the National Trust, presenter Jules Hudson heads to Eryri (Snowdonia) to learn about a tree planting project that will help to protect the landscape for the next hundred years and beyond.

Join Jules on his visit to Hafod Garregog – a Celtic rainforest and reclaimed seabed along Afon Glaslyn (River Glaslyn). National Trust rangers have planted native saplings here to store carbon, slow the flow of water and provide a boost for nature and wildlife. Jules discovers that local tree species such as willow, aspen and hornbeam are less susceptible to diseases and can adapt better to the climate.

These trees will also create homes for warblers, moths, bats and nearby otters, as well as encourage a diverse variety of plants to grow. You’ll also discover how the National Trust works with volunteers to plant trees and find out more about the charity’s wider ambition to plant and establish 20 million trees by 2030.

News, Podcasts, Politics, Stories

News: Xi Jinping Meets With Putin, Credit Suisse Bank Purchased By UBS

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March 20, 2023: Xi Jinping heads to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin. Plus: an Asia-Pacific round-up, a flick through today’s papers, Saddam Hussein’s tourist-attraction superyacht and jewellers preparing for King Charles’s coronation.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/62HfdshL4UenHZVdRZDvzD
News, Newspapers, Views

Front Page: The New York Times – March 20, 2023

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Image

Before Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the Fed Spotted Big Problems

The bank was using an incorrect model as it assessed its own risks amid rising interest rates, and spent much of 2022 under a supervisory review.

Lab Leak or Not? How Politics Shaped the Battle Over Covid’s Origin

The Wuhan Institute of Virology is known for its advanced research on bat coronaviruses.
CREDITNG HAN GUAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

A lab leak was once dismissed by many as a conspiracy theory. But the idea is gaining traction, even as evidence builds that the virus emerged from a market.

The Children of the Iraq War Have Grown Up, but Some Wounds Don’t Heal

Twenty years after the U.S. invaded Iraq, a veteran Times correspondent and photographer asked Iraqis about growing up in wartime, and about their hopes now.

Iraq, 20 Years Later: A Changed Washington and a Terrible Toll on America

The White House, Congress, the military and the intelligence agencies see the war as a lesson in failed policymaking, one deeply absorbed if not thoroughly learned.

Art, Arts & Literature, Exhibitions, Interviews, Museums, Videos

Interviews: British Artist Cecily Brown At The Met

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art (March 19, 2023) – Go behind the scenes with artist Cecily Brown, who discusses the inspiration and making of Cecily Brown: Death and the Maid, the first full-fledged museum survey of Brown’s work in New York since she made the city her home.

Cecily Brown: Death and the Maid assembles a select group of some fifty paintings, drawings, sketchbooks, and monotypes from across her career to explore the intertwined themes of still life, memento mori, mirroring, and vanitas—symbolic depictions of human vanity or life’s brevity—that have propelled her dynamic and impactful practice for decades. On view April 4th, 2023 through December 3rd, 2023.

Learn more about the exhibition: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions…

Cities, Travel, Videos, Views

Travel In Israel: Carmel Market To South Tel Aviv

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March 19, 2023 – A walking tour of Carmel Market, King George St., Dizengoff Center, Habima Theatre, Rothschild Blvd., and South Tel Aviv.

Video timeline: 00:00 Carmel Market 13:03 King George St. 24:40 Dizengoff Center 27:24 Dizengoff St. 30:26 Dizengoff Square 32:08 Dizengoff St. 43:00 Habima Theatre 45:21 Rothschild Blvd. 01:09:16 South Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv–Yafo, Yafo also spelled Jaffa or Joppa, Arabic Yāfā, major city and economic centre in Israel, situated on the Mediterranean coast some 40 miles (60 km) northwest of Jerusalem.

Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 as a Jewish garden suburb of the ancient Mediterranean port of Jaffa (now Yafo), with which it was joined in 1950. By the beginning of the 21st century, the modern city of Tel Aviv had developed into a major economic and cultural centre. Tel Aviv is headquarters for a number of government ministries, including the Ministry of Defense, as well as other public organizations, such as the Histadrut (General Federation of Labour). Most of the foreign embassies in Israel are also located in the city. In addition, most of Israel’s large corporations are headquartered in Tel Aviv.

Filmed and edited in Spring 2023 by Relaxing WALKER

Animals, Nature, Travel, Videos, Views, Wildlife

Ecuador Views: Tortoises In The Galápagos Islands

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CBS Sunday Morning (March 19, 2023) – We leave you this Sunday with giant tortoises on Santa Cruz Island, in Ecuador’s Galápagos National Park. Videographer: Alan Golds.

There are 13 living species of Galápagos tortoises, which are also sometimes called giant tortoises. These reptiles are among the longest-lived of all land vertebrates, averaging more than a hundred years. The oldest on record lived to be 175. They are also the world’s largest tortoises, with some specimens exceeding five feet in length and reaching more than 500 pounds.

Giant tortoises were once so abundant on the Galápagos archipelago off Ecuador that the Spanish sailors who explored the region in 1535 named the string of islands for them. (The Spanish word for tortoise is galápago.) Although the islands were once thought to be home to at least 250,000 tortoises, only about 15,000 remain in the wild today.

Culture, Food & Drink, Reviews, Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

Culinary Travel: A Foodie Tour Of Valencia, Spain

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Spain Revealed (March 19, 2023) – The cuisine from the Region of Valencia enjoys great prestige at both a national and international level. Its traditional recipes are prepared using natural ingredients such as oil, vegetables, spices, fruit, fresh meat or fish and has come to be known as “the Mediterranean Diet”.

Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:40 Nuevo Oslo 05:34 Bar Central 08:31 Ostras Pedrín 12:03 Tasca Angel 14:56 Bocatín del Carmen 16:05 Casa Montaña 20:35 Bar Ricardo 23:27 Horchatería el Collado 25:53 Café Madrid 27:59 Bon Aire

The incredible variety of rice dishes and desserts is outstanding. All this without forgetting the great variety of fruit which the Region of Valencia produces in abundance. Its traditional soft drinks have also become well-known, such as tiger nut milk (“horchata de chufa”). Its long wine-growing tradition has given rise to a delicious range of wines with their Denominations of Origin, which when added to the local soups comprise some of the most exquisite recipes of Valencian cooking.

Birds, Cities, Travel, Videos, Views, Wildlife

Nature In The City: The ‘Herons Of Amsterdam’

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BBC Earth (March 19, 2023) – Herons are known to be shy birds, but in Amsterdam they have made quite a name for themselves, taking full advantage of the waterways.

The grey heron (Ardea cinerea ) is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern parts migrate southwards in autumn. A bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water or stalking its prey through the shallows.