March 15, 2023: Antony Blinken heads to Addis Ababa. Plus: violent clashes break out in Pakistan, Indonesia’s tourist motorbike ban, the latest business news and we head to Frankfurt for the world’s biggest bathroom gathering.
All posts by She Seeks Serene
Front Page: The New York Times – March 15, 2023
Russian Warplane Hits American Drone Over Black Sea, U.S. Says
The incident was the first known physical contact between the two militaries since the war in Ukraine began last year.
Stubborn inflation makes the Fed’s interest rate decision fraught.
The Consumer Price Index cooled to a 6 percent annual increase in February, but a closely watched monthly index climbed quickly.
Inside the Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
While its leader extolled innovation and the future of tech, the bank paid less attention to risk management and was caught flat-footed by economic change.
How Washington Decided to Rescue Silicon Valley Bank
Officials were initially unsure about the need for the measures they eventually announced to shore up the financial system, but changed their minds quickly.
Travel: The Historic Trans-Bhutan Trail Is Reopened
Books: Literary Review Of Canada – April 2023 Issue
Literary Review of Canada – April 2023:
Crisis Mismanagement: Homelessness in our largest city
‘Displacement City: Fighting for Health and Homes in a Pandemic‘ Edited by Greg Cook and Cathy Crowe
Canada’s major cities have faced the humanitarian disaster of homelessness for decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare a massive deficit in social programs and widespread inattention to human rights. Are municipal public services designed to essentially produce displacement? Or can we do something to end the growing problem of urban homelessness in Canada?
Left Behind – Maybe we’re just not that into them
‘From Layton to Singh: The 20-Year Conflict behind the NDP’s Deal with the Trudeau Liberals’ by Matt Fodor
“As it entered the twenty-first century, the New Democratic Party of Canada ( NDP) faced its greatest identity crisis since its founding four decades earlier,” writes Toronto-based author and political scientist Matt Fodor, in his recent book From Layton to Singh.
- Gobblefunking – To tinker with an icon’s prose – Kyle Wyatt
- Populist-in-Chief – Diefenbaker and discontent – Murray Campbell
- Maleficence – He put a spell on her – Kayla Penteliuk
- Crowning Moment – British Columbia before Canada – Michael Ledger-Lomas
Science Review: Scientific American – April 2023 Issue
Imaginary numbers—the square roots of negative numbers—are an inescapable part of quantum theory, a study shows
Fixing the Hated Open-Design Office
Open-office designs create productivity and health problems. New insights from Deaf and autistic communities could fix them
No One Knows How the Biggest Animals on Earth—Baleen Whales—Find Their Food
How do giant filter-feeding whales find their tiny prey? The answer could be key to saving endangered species
Concrete Design: Ground House – New South Wales
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Concrete Bunker Home 00:43 – The Location 01:16 – Ground House Space Station: A Vision 01:34 – A Collaboration of Friends 01:53 – The Layout 02:24 – Ground House’s Space-Inspired Bedroom 02:47 – Ground House’s Ship Lighting 03:13 – The Gift of Natural Light 03:47 – Materials Used Throughout 03:55 – Ground House Spaceship Control Panel: Kitchen 04:09 – Ground House Crash Aftermath: Landscape 04:59 – The Collaborative and Fun Process
The building is a precisely curated space in which one can find respite from urban living. With its charming jungle living experience, Ground House 107R sits on a section of undulating land surrounded by rainforest and is covered in a myriad of flora that helps it to disappear further into the land. Starting from approach, the home’s calming yet magical ambience is first seen as it emerges over the ridge.
First appearing as a brutalist compound of concrete, the guesthouse is softened by foliage that cascades over the sides of it like a form of art. Organic in its design, the structure features a bedroom, kitchen, living space and bathroom. As the house tour leads around the space, the open plan layout allows for an effortless flow to the outdoors and enforces the feeling of jungle living. In the bathroom, the view through the windowed wall offers a unique view of the home’s material make up.
Additionally, the light that is gifted to the finished structure allows for the guesthouse to breath and emphasises the idea of jungle living. Using only authentic and natural materials, David Fewson and his family have added an element of truth to the interior palette. Using a combination of concrete, real timber and brass, the architect and designers extend their idea of the home forming the shape of a crashed spaceship. Found only a few metres away, the hot tub is settled into the landscape and allows guests to immerse themselves further into jungle living.
At one with the landscape, Ground House 107R’s unique architecture and design elements offer a take on the bygone era and transports it to the contemporary age in which David Fewson hopes guest will find alluring. Located in northern New South Wales, the guesthouse is shrouded in a layer of secrecy that only deepens the charm and characteristics of the site. With its jungle living ideals and employed naturally made materials, Ground House 107R is a place in which serenity can be found in every detail.
Views: 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Travel & Nature: National Geographic – April 2023
There’s a true story behind ‘Cocaine Bear’—and it’s no laughing matter
The new comedic horror film is based on the real-life drug overdose of an American black bear—and illustrates how human recklessness endangers wildlife.
Unlike the movie, the real-life cocaine bear didn’t go on a coke-fueled rampage, but it did consume a fatal amount of cocaine left in the woods by smugglers. Here, an American black bear, Ursus americanus, eats dandelions.
Medicine: AI Verifies ‘Brain Age’ To Detect Alzheimer’s
Researchers at USC have developed a new artificial intelligence model that more accurately captures brain age. This study could result in earlier detection of Alzheimer’s and other cognitive diseases and provide important information about how quickly our brains age.
News: U.S. Banking Failure Fallout, Moldova Foils Russian-Backed Unrest
March 14, 2023: Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, is Joe Biden facing a crisis of confidence in US financial institutions?
Plus: political turbulence in Moldova, Nicaragua’s decision to suspend relations with the Vatican and a special interview with Estonia’s former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
Boomers Daily 
