The Mysteries of the Universe by Anna Badkhen: “I see now what this is about. I’m a professor and author in America, she’s in a war zone: to her, I’m rich and happy. How is she supposed to know about the cancer, the medical debt, Ksyusha’s student loans? So, I try to deflect.”
Encyclopedia of Botany by Jane Marchant: A daughter’s closely observed catalog of the flora around her Bay Area home, and of her family’s complex history of identity.
Glint of Sport by Angie Sijun Lou: “I don’t know if this story is true. You can’t divide truth from kitsch in this place…”
Eulogy by William Hawkins: In the wake of a funeral, a dead father’s legacy hangs over his surviving adult sons as they trudge into the lukewarm waters of the lake by the family pier.
The Eye by Elodie Saint-Louis: “When Theo spoke, she thought, you could see all of these places on his body. Vyros, Hymettus, Loutro, Parnitha. The land was in him. It was the river running out of his mouth. The words that bumped into each other gently but never spilled over, petering out into a gentle sway.”
Plus more fiction by Perry Janes, David Hayden (there be strange happenings in a dilapidated insurance building in Chicago), and Wendy Elizabeth Wallace.
Nonfiction
Jane Marchant on the flora around her Bay Area home—and her family’s complex history of identity.
Poetry
Jason Allen-Paisant, Dan Alter, Allison Benis White, Ricardo Cázares, E.G. Cunningham, Peter LaBerge, Joyce Mansour, Maria Zoccola
The Walk Street Videos (May 1, 2023) – Siem Reap, a resort town in northwestern Cambodia, is the gateway to the ruins of Angkor, the seat of the Khmer kingdom from the 9th–15th centuries. Angkor’s vast complex of intricate stone buildings includes preserved Angkor Wat, the main temple, which is pictured on Cambodia’s flag. Giant, mysterious faces are carved into the Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom.
The bank’s rivals appear on firmer footing this time, in contrast with the widespread panic after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March.
The unusually wet ground is one obstacle that the Ukrainian military, for all of its ingenuity, is finding difficult to overcome as it prepares for a counteroffensive against Russian forces.
Archwalks (May 1, 2023) – A tour of BAM – Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano – a contemporary botanical garden in the heart of Porta Nuova in Milan. It houses 500 trees arranged in 22 rings and 135,000 plants.
Video timeline:0:00 – Intro 1:05 – Map 1:12 – Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano 5:24 – Green playground 8:28 – Labyrinth 12:45 – Outdoor fitness area 14:51 – Lotus oasis 16:39 – Poppy fields 19:19 – Riccardo Catella Foundation 22:08 – Bosco Verticale 24:18 – Google HQ 27:41 – Terraces 28:44 – Piazza Gae Aulenti 32:51 – Urban landscape view
The park is enriched by a children’s play area, a fitness area, a relax area with wooden chaise lounges and soft lights, picnic areas equipped with benches, a labyrinth of bushes, a pond with aquatic plants which creates a favorable ecosystem for insects and birds. We will see also Bosco Verticale, Google HQ and towers of Piazza Gae Aulenti.
Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of Russian men have faced criminal charges for becoming war refuseniks. That has not stopped others from going to unusual lengths to avoid battle.
In January, Iran executed a former senior official who provided Britain with valuable intelligence on Iranian nuclear and military programs over a decade, according to Western intelligence officials.
Tech workers have stayed home, and ongoing social problems downtown are forcing civic and business leaders to confront harsh realities about the city’s pandemic recovery.
The Flying Dutchman (April 30, 2023) -The Aareschlucht (Aare River Gorge, Aare Gorge) is the only way into the upper Aare valley, called Haslital. It is the original connection between the two villages Innertkirchen and Meiringen. Today there is a road across the Kirchet, the mountain ridge around the gorge, which blocks the valley. It is also called Querriegel (crossbeam), which is not a name but an old term which expresses that it runs across the valley and block it.
The Aare river is fed by rainwater and melting water from the Alps, and here it already has a decent size. The river is about 30 m wide and quite fast flowing. But the gorge is much narrower, typically about 10 m wide, and as a result the water flows faster and is quite deep. And if there is heavy rainfall in the catchment area or in spring during snowmelt the river has much more water and the level inside the gorge rises substantially.
The Hidden North Travel Guides (April 30, 2023) – This walk goes through the neighbourhood of Nordnes, Norway, a peninsula built out into the Bergen harbour. Along the way, I discuss the history of the region and pass by some of the best-preserved wooden houses in Bergen city centre.
Vågen, Byfjorden, and Puddefjorden surround the peninsula. The Bergen Aquarium is located at the tip of the peninsula. The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research and Fredriksberg Fortress are also located on Nordnes.
The walk includes historic information and images about Nordnes, as well as practical information about what you can do for your visit.
CBS Sunday Morning (April 30, 2023) – This Sunday morning we visit Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee.
Cades Cove is an area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that was formerly home to many settlers before the national park was established. It has a long, rich history that is still standing for exploration by visitors today.
The Cades Cove loop is open to visitors from sunrise to sunset daily, with a special vehicle-free Wednesday during the summer to allow for bikers and hikers to enjoy the loop safely. Read on to learn more about Cades Cove, including information on the area’s location, history and landmarks.
With fighting in the eastern Donbas region settling into a bloody stalemate, a patch of the Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine could prove to be the war’s next big theater.
In interviews, Black voters, organizers and elected officials pointed to what some saw as unkept promises — raising questions about the enthusiasm of Democrats’ most loyal voters.
The Landless Workers Movement organizes Brazil’s poor to take land from the rich. It is perhaps the largest — and most polarizing — social movement in Latin America.
Massimo Nalli (April 29, 2023) – Primošten is situated in southern Croatia, between the cities of Šibenik and Trogir. It is built on a hill and is dominated by the parish church of St. George which was built in 1485 and restored in 1760 close to the local graveyard from which a unique view spreads to the sea and the surroundings.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
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