All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education
Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Previews: Country Life Magazine- February 7, 2024

Leave a comment

Country Life Magazine – February 6, 2024: The latest features The Travel Issue – View the world from the very best hotels; The map-makers who broadened our horizons; Out of the ashes – Chillingham Castle rescued and Waxwing explosions and snowdrop heaven….

Travel

  • Richard MacKichan rides with the eagle hunters of Mongolia
  • Jo Rodgers asks what makes a good hotel great as we introduce Country Life’s inaugural list of the world’s top establishments
  • All the latest travel news and new openings with Rosie Paterson
  • Nigel Tisdall tails the elusive jaguar in Belize
  • Catherine Fairweather is on the strait and narrow in Istanbul
  • Richard MacKichan puts the fun back into flying
  • Pamela Goodman swims with pigs in the Caribbean

A castle of curiosities

The history of Chillingham Castle in Northumberland is a turbulent and memorable one, peppered with family disputes, imprisonments and a live toad. John Goodall explores

Windows on the world

The urge to chart our surroundings is centuries old. With map in hand, Matthew Dennison ventures forth in search of mammoth tusks and globes

Irruption of the waxwings

Mark Cocker marvels at the exquisite plumage of this European songbird as it flocks to our shores to feed on a glut of its favoured winter berries

Get down on your knees

James Alexander-Sinclair joins the wandering throng as snow-drop lovers descend on Thenford in Northamptonshire to luxuriate in 900 varieties of Galanthus

Joanna Jensen’s favourite painting

The founder of Childs Farm chooses a rural scene to sum up ‘a picture of my England’

Groundhog day

The shortest month can also feel like the longest, delaying the arrival of spring, but what can February tell us about the year ahead? Lia Leendertz reveals all

Thunderous waterfalls and torrents hoarse

From the most dramatic plumes to the calmest cascades, we seek out the corners of the kingdom where water and gravity collide to magical effect

The good stuff

Hetty Lintell says green for go with a selection of stylish and useful khaki travel accessories

Interiors

Sally Stephenson on the secrets of illuminating period houses and Amelia Thorpe’s lighting picks

London Life

  • Russell Higham on piazza plans for the Docklands
  • Carla Passino meets the man who shaped Mayfair
  • Martin Fone reveals the saga of ‘London’s Eiffel Tower’

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson harnesses the delicious flavours of rosemary

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Architecture Tour: ‘OG House’ In Halifax, Canada

Video Leave a comment

The Local Project (January 23, 2024) – OG House by Omar Gandhi is an architects own home in Halifax, the capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Defined by a deft understanding of light and form, it is a deeply personal home and a compelling piece of architecture, as seen in The Local Project’s house tour.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Architects Own Home 00:55 – The Family Centred Brief 01:58 – The Layout and Walkthrough of the Home 03:42 – A Focus on the Light and Sculpted Areas 04:28 – The Neutral Material Palette 04:59 – Customised Furniture Pieces 05:57 – Proud Moments and Favourite Aspects

As the project’s architect, Omar, says, the brief for this home was to create a house for his family as well as a new studio space for his budding practice. As it happens, his architecture studio grew rapidly over the course of the build, and as such, the ground floor studio space is now an extension of his original waterfront studio and a place to work on community projects with his team. This project illustrates a seamless understanding of how domestic and non-domestic principles can coexist within an architects own home.

The footprint of this house was heavily defined by the site and its setbacks from abutting properties and to the street. Cleverly, Omar has used these parameters to gently guide the architecture and ensuing build. In the house tour of an architects own home, Omar highlights the site’s various constraints, which have been reinterpreted as opportunities in designing a compelling piece of architecture. As Omar says, “the volume was resolved from the outset, so it became a process of articulation and sculpting, and in some cases, sacrificing overall square footage for moments of joy, delight and surprise.”

News, Podcasts, Politics, Stories

News: Blinken In Middle East For Gaza Peace Talks, Pakistan 2024 Elections

Audio Leave a comment

The Globalist Podcast (February 5, 2024) – We discuss Antony Blinken’s fifth Middle East trip since the 7 October attacks and how US strikes in the region are affecting talks.

Plus: Pakistan’s elections, Liz Truss’s comeback bid and the headlines in Southeast Asia.

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Leave a comment
Image

Blinken Meets Saudi Crown Prince on Mideast Push for Pause in Gaza War

Antony J. Blinken, wearing a suit, seated across a small table from the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who is by a green Saudi flag.

The top U.S. diplomat spoke with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler as he sought to broker a pause in the fighting. His visit came the same day a drone struck a Syrian base used by U.S. forces and their allies.

Many Israelis Want Netanyahu Out. But There Is No Simple Path to Do It.

There is no clear mechanism to force early elections in Israel. But there are other ways to oust the Israeli prime minister.

Zelensky Hints at Major Shake-Up of Ukraine’s Government

The president said a “reset” was needed to revive the struggling war effort, adding that his plans were “about the direction of the country’s leadership” and not just about replacing his top general.

‘They Come in Waves’: Ukraine Goes on Defense Against a Relentless Foe

At the hot spots of the eastern front line, Ukrainian troops are outmanned, outgunned and digging in.

Books, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Literary Review Of Canada – March 2024 Preview

Leave a comment

Literary Review of Canada -March 2024: The latest issue features:

Something at Work – Wade Rowland’s unsettling forecast

By David Marks Shribman 

The Storm of Progress: Climate Change, AI, and the Roots of Our Dangerous Ethical Myopia by Wade Rowland

State of the Arts – Max Wyman makes his case

By Marlo Alexandra Burks 

The Compassionate Imagination: How the Arts Are Central to a Functioning Democracy by Max Wyman

Culture, Documentaries, Travel, Videos

Documentary: Albania’s Enchanted Mountains

Video Leave a comment

TRACKS – Travel Documentaries (February 4, 2024) – For decades Albania has been completely sealed off from the outside world. Hardly anywhere else are bias and reality as far apart as here. Albania is poor, but it is also rich. Rich in mountains and a diversity of landscapes.

A country with warm-hearted people and a Mediterranean lifestyle. Lying on the western edge of the Balkan Peninsula, only a couple of hours from most of Europe the first part of our journey takes us to the north of the country to the Albanian Alps, near the border of Montenegro.

Birds, Documentaries, Ecology, Nature, Travel, Videos

Hawaii Ecology: Creating A Seabird Sanctuary (PBS)

Leave a comment

Nature on PBS (February 5, 2024) – All around the world, seabirds provide a critical link between land and sea. On Hawai’i, ecologists are working to protect two vital shearwater species that helped life first take hold across these islands.

While seabirds predominantly reside at sea, they return to land to breed and raise their young. In this process, they deposit mineral-rich nutrients that sustain the whole island ecosystem. But the arrival of human settlers introduced non-native predators and extensive development. Together, these compromised many seabird habitats — and decimated their populations. Several species are now teetering on the brink of extinction.

The Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project engages a multifaceted approach to protect these crucial birds: eliminating invasive predators, restoring native plants, and monitoring burrows for fledgling success. In one instance, they have established a dedicated sanctuary complete with artificial burrows, bird-shaped decoys, and audio speakers to attract one highly endangered shearwater species.

Through their efforts, the team gives seabirds a chance to raise the next generation on the very islands they helped bring to life.

Culture, Journalism, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Previews: The Progressive Magazine- Feb/March 2024

Leave a comment
The Progressive Magazine - Reporting the truth since 1909. - Progressive.org

theprogressive Magazine February/March 2024:

Breaking’s Storied Road to the Olympics

b-girl_AP23267762920756.jpg

From the South Bronx to the Summer Olympics, this urban dance style finally gets its due. 

By MARCUS REEVES

Forging a New Path as Partners with Latin America

master-gmd-gmd3m-g3200m-g3200m-gcw0013960-ca000007.jpg

A group of U.S. lawmakers recently visited South America with a fresh perspective on U.S. foreign policy in the region. 

By JEFF ABBOTT

Middle America: Getting Beyond ‘Us Versus Them’

We’ve become increasingly alienated from one another. It’s time we get back in touch with each other, get out of our heads, and reconnect with our common humanity, writes Ruth Conniff. 

RUTH CONNIFF

1

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

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Feb 12 & 19, 2024

Leave a comment
Pixelated Eustace Tilley magazine cover that appears and disappears.

The New Yorker (February 5, 2024): The new issue‘s cover features Nicholas Konrad’s “Online Profile” – The magazine celebrates its ninety-ninth anniversary..

How Nikola Jokić Became the World’s Best Basketball Player

Nikola Jokić holding a basketball during a game.

He doesn’t run very fast or jump very high, and seems to prefer the company of horses. But he has mastered the game’s new geometry like nobody else.

By Louisa Thomas

The Art World Before and After Thelma Golden

Thelma Golden photographed by Lyle Ashton Harris.

When Golden was a young curator in the nineties, her shows, centering Black artists, were unprecedented. Today, those artists are the stars of the art market.

By Calvin Tomkins

Baruch Spinoza and the Art of Thinking in Dangerous Times

A portrait of Baruch Spinoza by Franz Wulfhagen, 1664.

The philosopher was a champion of political and intellectual freedom, but he had no interest in being a martyr. Instead, he shows us how prudence and boldness can go hand in hand.

By Adam Kirsch

News, Podcasts, Politics, Stories

News: U.S. Military Strikes In Yemen, Syria And Iraq, Elections In Azerbaijan

Audio Leave a comment
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1tbZalIwXYngTdqiYnQwpr

The Globalist Podcast (February 5, 2024) – The latest on the US response to the drone attacks in Jordan, assess how Azerbaijan’s presidential election will impact the wider region and review the day’s papers.

Plus: we meet designer Camille Jaillant of Olistic The Label and look at last night’s Grammy Awards.