Travel, Videos

Walks: ‘Yueyang Tower, Hunan, China’ (4K Video)

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Yueyang Tower is an ancient Chinese tower in Yueyang, Hunan Province, on the shore of Lake Dongting. Alongside the Pavilion of Prince Teng and Yellow Crane Tower, it is one of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan. 

The famous Yueyang Tower, located at the western city gate of Yueyang in Hunan province, is listed as one of the Three Great Towers in the south of the Yangtze River in China. Yueyang Tower was originally built for military use. The construction of the tower was commissioned by General Lu Su of the Kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period(220-280). It was designed as a tower for training, directing marine troops and for military reviews. Standing on the bank of Dongting Lake of Yueyang, Yueyang Tower is magnificent and imposing, overlooking the 400-kilometer waterway scattered with sailing boats. Since the Tang Dynasty(618-907), Yueyang Tower had gradually become a popular tourist destination as well as a favored site for romantic scholars, who would frequent the place for chanting and writing poems.

Travel, Videos

Aerial Travel: ‘Cebu – The Philippines’ (4K Video)

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Cebu is a province of the Philippines, in the country’s Central Visayas region, comprising Cebu Island and more than 150 smaller surrounding islands and islets. Its prosperous port capital, Cebu City, retains landmarks from its 16th-century Spanish colonial past, including the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño church and triangular Fort San Pedro. Tops, an observation deck on Mt. Busay, has sweeping views over the city.

Art, Arts & Literature, History, Videos

Cocktails with a Curator: Clodion’s “Dance of Time”

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In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” toast the new year with Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon as he examines a masterpiece of both sculpture and clockmaking: “The Dance of Time,” by Clodion (Claude Michel) and Jean-Baptiste Lepaute. In this 18th-century timepiece, three terracotta nymphs or Hours dance in a circle around an exquisite mechanism enclosed in a glass globe. The Frick has one of the country’s most important collections of clocks, many of which came to the museum through a gift from Winthrop Kellogg Edey. Welcome 2021 by raising a Metropolitan cocktail—Happy New Year!

News, Podcasts, Reviews, Science

Science Podcast: New 2021 Research, Wildland Fire Smoke, Bacteria & Fungi

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We kick off our first episode of 2021 by looking at future trends in policy and research with host Meagan Cantwell and several Science news writers. Ann Gibbons talks about upcoming studies that elucidate social ties among ancient humans, Jeffrey Mervis discusses relations between the United States and China, and Paul Voosen gives a rundown of two Mars rover landings.

In research news, Meagan Cantwell talks with Leda Kobziar, an associate professor of wildland fire science at the University of Idaho, Moscow, about the living component of wildfire smoke—microbes. The bacteria and fungi that hitch a ride on smoke can impact both human health and ecosystems—but Kobziar says much more research is needed. 

Adventure, Sports, Travel, Videos

Extreme Sports: ‘2020 In Review’ (Outside TV Video)

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2020 has been a year of perseverance and learning for most of us. We know everything will not be perfect just because the calendar flips to 2021, but we’ll approach it one day at a time and make the most of what lays ahead.

Science, Travel, Videos, Wildlife

Arctic Wildlife: ‘Tracking Polar Bears With Emails’

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Every morning, Jon Aars, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Polar Institute, receives a batch of emails from several female polar bears in the High Arctic, checking in and letting him know where they are. “It’s always a nice way to start the day,” he says.

This was shot as part of Call to Earth, for CNN International.

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Landmarks, Landscape, Travel, Videos

Sunset Walks: ‘Oceanside Pier – California’ (Video)

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The Oceanside Pier, located in Oceanside, in northern San Diego County, California, is a wooden pier on the western United States coastline at 1,954 feet.

Oceanside is a coastal city in California. It’s known for palm-dotted Harbor Beach and nearby Oceanside Harbor, with its marina and shops. To the south, the long Oceanside Pier juts into the Pacific Ocean. The California Surf Museum traces the sport’s history with a surfboard collection and exhibits on famous surfers. Sculptures, paintings and drawings from the region are on display at the Oceanside Museum of Art.

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious