TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY (SEPTEMBER 27, 2023) – The new issue features ‘In search of forever’ – Slowing, let alone reversing, the process of ageing was once alchemical fantasy. Now it is a subject of serious research and investment, Geoffrey Carr reports.
And some of it is making progress, writes Geoffrey Carr
“All my possessions for a moment of time.” Those, supposedly, were the last words of Elizabeth I, who as queen of England had enough possessions to be one of the richest women of her era. Given her patronage of alchemists—who searched, among other things, for an elixir of life—she may have meant it literally. But to no avail. She had her last moment of time in March 1603, a few months short of the three score years and ten asserted by the Bible to be “the days of our years”.
And various existing medicines may offer similar benefits
In 1991 eight volunteers sealed themselves into a huge greenhouse in the desert near Tucson, Arizona. They were part of an experiment seeking to discover whether a carefully curated selection of plants and animals could develop into a self-sustaining ecosystem: a “Biosphere 2” independent of “Biosphere 1”, aka the outside world.
The Globalist Podcast (September 27, 2023) – We give you the latest on the mass exodus from the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Also in the programme: a diplomatic spat between Austria and Romania over Schengen and news from the Balkans.
Plus: will there soon be a new hotline between the US and China for crises – in space?
The Federal Trade Commission and 17 states sued Amazon, saying its conduct in its online store and services to merchants illegally stifled competition.
The decision in a lawsuit that could go to trial next week is a major win for Attorney General Letitia James, who says former President Donald J. Trump overvalued his holdings by as much as $2.2 billion.
Biden Joins Autoworkers on Picket Line in Michigan
The president’s trip came a day before former President Donald J. Trump was scheduled to arrive in Michigan, as the two offer dueling messages in a key swing state.
‘Monster Fracks’ Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
Giant new oil and gas wells that require astonishing volumes of water to fracture bedrock are threatening America’s fragile aquifers.
Country Life Magazine – September 27, 2023: The new issue features The Need For Tweed; A perfect pre-trained gundog; A new Jacobean drawing room is the crowning glory at Shilstone, Devon, and more…
The need for tweed
A true Hebridean hero weaves his magic to create an ‘estate’ Harris tweed for David Profumo
Here’s one I trained earlier
Has your over-excited pup left you red-faced on a shoot day? Katy Birchall has the answer: a perfect, pre-trained gundog
Loved to life
A new Jacobean drawing room is the crowning glory at Shilstone, Devon, discovers John Goodall
The Local Project (September 26, 2023) – Narrow sites and smaller residences tend to provide architects with an opportunity – one that inspires creativity and innovation. This is true of Concrete Curtain, an architect’s own home in inner-city Melbourne, where FGR Architects evocatively draws on materiality and natural light, imbuing the architecture of the family home with a sense of elegance and spaciousness.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction to the Architect’s Own Home 01:29 – Designed for a Growing Family 01:39 – A Walkthrough of the Home 03:13 – Playful Additions 03:49 – The Use of Stone Throughout the Home 05:27 – The Calming Materials 05:46 – Proud Moments
Upon entering the architect’s own home, one is met with a garage that is flanked by an ensuite, study and laundry. The house tour then leads into the central foyer area – a core part of the dwelling that allows light to enter from the east and west. The lower part of the residence contains the kitchen, living and dining area that then naturally flows out towards the al fresco dining area.
The spiral staircase leads to the second level, which is split into two segments. On the northern side is the master suite, and on the southern end is the childrens’ bedrooms. This floor also features a playful, blue carpet, which adds vibrancy to the upstairs level. Perhaps the most prominent feature of the architect’s own home is the concrete curtain, which reveals FGR Architects’s intention to illuminate areas with natural light.
Wanting to create a sense of space, the architect leveraged the idea of a sheer curtain to allow for both privacy and openness. As such, the concrete ‘cylinders’ are spaced out in a way that emulates the fold of a curtain. The result is a remarkable feature with a gentle, pleated style that softens the residence and lets light pass through seamlessly. The interior design and materiality of the architect’s own home is vital to its overall effect.
The brilliant mountain maples, birches and beeches in the White Mountains of New Hampshire
NEW YORK TIMES TRAVEL (September 25, 2023) – Here are five beautiful places to catch the leaves — and while you’re there, you can peek out of covered bridges, gaze up at waterfalls, ride a tramway or a train, or even try to spot a legendary Bigfoot-like creature known as the Grassman.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
White Mountains Trail
Driving the White Mountains Trail, a 108-mile loop that winds through groves of gold birches, bronze beeches, and orange, yellow and red mountain maples, you may find yourself unable to resist stopping in the middle of a covered bridge to peek through the walls.
The Albany Covered Bridge, which crosses the rocky Swift River in the White Mountain National Forest near Conway, N.H., is one of 54 remaining covered bridges in the state. Built in 1858, it features a red roof and weathered brown walls with gaps that let the leaves peep at you.
MASSACHUSETTS
Mount Greylock State Reservation
From the study at his farmhouse in Pittsfield, in western Massachusetts, Herman Melville gazed at 3,491-foot Mount Greylock, whose humped shape possibly inspired the white whale in “Moby-Dick.” When the trees on that hump start to change, it becomes more of a gloriously mottled whale.
The mountain’s colors typically peak in early to mid-October, with golds, bright oranges and vivid reds, mainly from tamarack, striped maple and yellow birch. The wet summer may lead to some spotting and discoloration on some leaves, said Nicole Keleher, the director of forest health for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, but she predicted a wide variety of colors overall.
GEORGIA
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest
The Russell-Brasstown National Scenic Byway, a 40-mile loop through the nearly 867,000-acre Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, winds through mountains drenched in the yellows of tulip poplars, the crimsons of dogwood, and the scarlets and purples of maples — with most expected to peak the week of Oct. 24, said Steven Bekkerus, a public affairs officer for the forest.
Deep in those woods, you’ll find two waterfalls to complement the autumn palette.
OHIO
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
From a vintage rail car on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, the reds and golds of Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio’s only national park, roll by — and if you see a shadow darting among the trees, it could be the Ohio Grassman, also known as the eastern Bigfoot, a creature reputed to reside in the woods there.
The colors, which peak in mid- to late October, “range from brilliant reds of the sugar maples to the deep browns of the white oaks,” said Pamela Barnes, a public information officer at the park, which is just south of Cleveland.
LA Review of Books (Autumn 2023) – The latest issue features The Funny Thing About Misogyny; The New Scarcity Studies: On Two New Socioeconomic Histories and Endgame Emotions: The Melting of Time, the Mourning of the World…
THE FUNNY THING about misogyny is it’s structured like a joke. Not a very good joke—a groaner, a dad joke. Why are they called “women”? Because they’re a woe to men. Get it? Woman is a container for man; language engenders gender subordination. As Mike Myers recites on stage in his role as a moody slam poet in the thrillingly zany 1993 Hitchcockian send-up So I Married an Axe Murderer, “Woman! Whoa, man. Whoaaaaaa. Man!”
Scarcity: A History from the Origins of Capitalism to the Climate Crisis by CARL WENNERLIND
WATER FALLS FROM the sky, literally. It is the most abundant chemical compound on Earth, and yet many people buy it in plastic bottles. Nestlé and other corporations source water cheaply and add labels that depict something other than heavy-industry and fossil-fuel derivatives, as though you’re drinking straight from a pristine spring. By bottling this natural resource and selling it as a commodity, Nestlé creates a form of scarcity.
Senators of both parties are debating whether to include new military assistance for the fight against Russia in any stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded past the end of the month.
After decades of going it alone in security issues, Finns are finding that life in a large alliance is complex, expensive and deeply political.
In a Blow to Russia, Ukraine Says It Killed Chief of Black Sea Fleet
As they ramp up attacks on occupied Crimea, Ukrainian forces are repeatedly targeting the fleet based there, a key to Russia’s attacks deep into Ukraine and its blockade of Ukrainian ports.
Hollywood’s Focus Turns to Actors After Writers Agree to Deal
The studios and the actors’ union haven’t spoken for more than two months, but a deal is needed before the entertainment industry can fully return.
London Review of Books (LRB) – October 5, 2023: The new issue features Animal Ethics; Orca Life – We may understand less about orcas than they do about us, and Why Weber? – Weber insists that everything remain in its rightful place. Politicians should stick to politics, and scientists to science.
We may be tempted to throw up our hands and say: fuck it, I’m having a burger. Peter Singer would think this illogical: we should endeavour to do the least harm we can. But we might wonder whether something is wrong with the ethical approach that has led us to this point.
The Local Project
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