Morning News: War In Yemen Worsens, Horse Racing, Spain’s Civil War

The Saudi-backed government is hobbled; separatism is spreading; a humanitarian crisis grows by the day. A rebel advance on a once-safe city will only prolong a grinding war. 

We look at the scourge of doping in horse racing ahead of this weekend’s Belmont Stakes. And the last surviving foreign fighter in Spain’s civil war was a revolutionary to the end.

California Views: Joshua Tree National Park (4K)

Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of Los Angeles and near Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) native to the Mojave Desert.

Originally declared a national monument in 1936, Joshua Tree was redesignated as a national park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act. Encompassing a total of 790,636 acres (1,235.4 sq mi; 3,199.6 km2) – slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island – the park includes 429,690 acres (671.4 sq mi; 1,738.9 km2) of designated wilderness.

Straddling San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, the park includes parts of two deserts, each an ecosystem whose characteristics are determined primarily by elevation: the higher Mojave Desert and the lower Colorado Desert. The Little San Bernardino Mountains traverse the southwest edge of the park.SHOW LESS

Analysis: How Will Fossil Watches Survive? (Video)

The global watchmaking industry has changed since the introduction of the smartphone and as demand for fitness trackers and smartwatches grow. Legacy watchmakers, like Fossil, have had to adapt and give customers new reasons to keep timepieces on their wrists. The company has been planning for the future by bringing its own smartwatches to market, initiating a multi-year turnaround plan and focusing on growing markets in China and India. But will that be enough?

English Country Estates: ‘Tormarton Court’ In Badminton, Cotswolds

There is no better address in the Cotswolds than that of the Duke of Beaufort’s Badminton estate in south-west Gloucestershire.

The property originally dates from the 16th century, with alterations from the 17th and 18th centuries, but the present house is largely based on the remodelling that took place in 1812 for the Duke of Beaufort’s son, Lord William Somerset, who was rector of St Mary Magdalene Church that stands opposite the former rectory.

Read more

Art Exhibitions: ‘Cézanne Drawing’ – MoMA (Video)

Best known as a painter, Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) produced some of his most radically original works on paper. Cézanne Drawing brings together more than 250 rarely shown works in pencil and kaleidoscopic watercolor from across the artist’s career, along with key paintings, that together reveal how drawing shaped Cézanne’s transformative modern vision.

Learn more: https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibit…

Views: Ecuador’s ‘Sword-Billed Hummingbirds’

The sword-billed hummingbird has exclusive access to food that other birds simply cannot reach, but having such a long bill does have its drawbacks.

The sword-billed hummingbird is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America. It is the sole member of the genus Ensifera and is characterized by its unusually long bill; it is the only bird to have a beak longer than the rest of its body. 

Infographic: Types And Causes Of Heart Disease

Aerial Views: Brisbane – Eastern Australia (4K)

Brisbane, capital of Queensland, is a large city on the Brisbane River. Clustered in its South Bank cultural precinct are the Queensland Museum and Sciencentre, with noted interactive exhibitions. Another South Bank cultural institution is Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, among Australia’s major contemporary art museums. Looming over the city is Mt. Coot-tha, site of Brisbane Botanic Gardens. 

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious