All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

Amsterdam Walks: The De Pijp Neighborhood (2022)

A walking tour of De Pijp (English: The Pipe), a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located directly south of Amsterdam’s city centre and it is part of the borough Amsterdam-Zuid, in a part of the city known as the Old South (Oud Zuid). It is served by De Pijp metro station. Most streets in De Pijp are named after Dutch painters, like Jan Steen, Frans Hals, Ruysdael and Vincent van Gogh. Diamantbuurt, Nieuwe Pijp and Oude Pijp are the three districts composing the area.

The busiest street market of the Netherlands, the Albert Cuyp Market, is located in De Pijp. It is open six days per week and attracts tourists. The former Heineken brewery is also a local tourist attraction; the former town hall of Nieuwer-Amstel is one of De Pijp’s most notable monuments. Next to the former Heineken brewery is the Marie Heinekenplein, which has a number of bars and cafes. Along the canal Ruysdaelkade, there is a small red-light district.

News: Midterm Election Stakes, Sweden’s Push For Turkey’s NATO Vote, Cop27

As Americans head to the polls for midterm elections we ask, what’s at stake? Plus: Sweden’s prime minister mounts a new charm offensive to win Turkey’s Nato support, the latest from Cop27 in Egypt, a flick through today’s papers and a look at the role of animals in diplomacy.

Front Page: The New York Times – November 8, 2022

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Fears and Suspicion Hang Over Voting on Cusp of Election Day

Even as voting goes smoothly, the 2022 midterm elections have exposed the toll Donald J. Trump’s falsehoods have taken on American democracy.

Apple Built Its Empire With China. Now Its Foundation Is Showing Cracks.

Lawmakers’ objections to an obscure Chinese semiconductor company and tough Covid-19 restrictions are hurting Apple’s ability to make new iPhones in China.

Los Angeles Voters Are in a Foul Mood. Will a New Mayor Change Anything?

Residents are frustrated over homelessness, crime and rising costs. Two candidates for mayor, Karen Bass and Rick Caruso, say they can turn the tide.

Preview: London Review Of Books – Nov 17, 2022

London Review of Books (LRB) – November 17, 2022:

In the Photic Zone: Flower Animals

Life on the Rocks by Juli Berwald.

While there are many different sorts of Anthozoa, their basic unit is a polyp: an individual soft flower-animal similar to an anemone. While anemones are solitary, in corals these polyps band together to form colonies. As they grow, they build a skeleton of limestone around themselves, drawing calcium and carbon molecules from the seawater. They also draw in carbon dioxide to feed their resident algae. Over time these skeletons accumulate upwards and outwards. Corals build on their predecessors, leaving their own legacy behind them for the next generation. Reefs are, in part, the frozen exuberant bouquets of the past.

Green Energy: Boosting U.S. Offshore Wind Power

Financial Times – Wind power is the number one source of renewable energy in the US, but nearly all this stems from onshore wind. The US offshore wind industry is underdeveloped and, with only two small offshore operations to date, it lags far behind Europe and China by comparison. The FT’s Derek Brower looks at why progress is slow, and what the White House is trying to do about it.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Nov 14, 2022

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The New Yorker – Inside the November 14, 2022 Issue:

The Case Against the Twitter Apology

A man making a note from paper scraps spelling out "Sorry."

Our twenty-first-century culture of performed remorse has become a sorry spectacle.

Emma Thompson’s Third Act

A series of portraits of Emma Thompson, photographed by Chris Levine.

The actress and screenwriter takes on a musical.

Do We Have the History of Native Americans Backward?

A portrait of Thayendanegea, painted in London, in 1785, by Gilbert Stuart.

They dominated far longer than they were dominated, and, a new book contends, shaped the United States in profound ways.

Analysis: Climate Policy Is Off Target, Qatar’s World Cup, Worries About Exams

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, climate policy is off target, (10:40) Qatar’s World Cup isn’t quite over the goal line and (18:35) why do people who worry about exams do worse?

Front Page: The New York Times – November 7, 2022

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Confidence, Anxiety and a Scramble for Votes Two Days Before the Midterms

As candidates made their closing arguments on Sunday, Democrats braced for potential losses even in traditionally blue corners of the country while Republicans predicted a red wave.

As Midterms Near, Biden Faces a Nation as Polarized as Ever

President Biden had hoped to preside over a moment of reconciliation after the turmoil of the Trump years. But the fever of polarizing politics has not broken ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Trump-DeSantis Rift Grows, With Dueling Rallies in Florida

The Republican Party’s top two stars are campaigning, separately, in the midterms’ last days.

Travel: Top 25 Places To Visit In The British Isles

Ryan Shirley – I spent the last few years exploring the British Isles and I want to share with you my favorite places. Consisting of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland, the British Isles are home to some of the most enchanting places on earth. From the wonders of the Isle of Skye, to Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher.