Science Review: Scientific American – December 2023

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Scientific American – November 2023: The issue features The New Nuclear Age – Inside America’s plan to remake its atomic arsenal; The Most Shocking Discovery in Astrophysics Is 25 Years Old – Scientists are still trying to figure out dark energy; Behind the Scenes at a U.S. Factory Building New Nuclear Bombs – The U.S. is ramping up construction of new “plutonium pits” for nuclear weapons….

The Most Shocking Discovery in Astrophysics Is 25 Years Old

Image from the The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument

A quarter of a century after detecting dark energy, scientists are still trying to figure out what it is

BY RICHARD PANEK

One afternoon in early 1994 a couple of astronomers sitting in an air-conditioned computer room at an observatory headquarters in the coastal town of La Serena, Chile, got to talking. Nicholas Suntzeff, an associate astronomer at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, and Brian Schmidt, who had recently completed his doctoral thesis at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, were specialists in supernovae—exploding stars. Suntzeff and Schmidt decided that the time had finally come to use their expertise to tackle one of the fundamental questions in cosmology: What is the fate of the universe?

Inside the $1.5-Trillion Nuclear Weapons Program You’ve Never Heard Of

Missile shown in a public park setting.

A road trip through the communities shouldering the U.S.’s nuclear missile revival

BY ABE STREEP

The point of the thing was to forever change our concept of power. When the U.S. military assembled a team of scientists, led by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, to build a nuclear bomb during World War II with the hope of beating the Nazis to such a terrible creation, many of those involved saw their efforts as a strange kind of civic destiny. The Manhattan Project, wrote Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, was “compelled from the beginning not by malice or hatred but by hope for a better world.” Oppenheimer himself once said, “The atomic bomb was the turn of the screw. It made the prospect of future war unendurable. It has led us up those last few steps to the mountain pass; and beyond there is a different country.”

National Geographic Magazine – ‘Pictures Of The Year’ (December 2023)

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National Geographic Magazine (December 2023 Issue) National Geographic has revealed photographers’ most breathtaking and culturally relevant photos from around the world in its annual Pictures of the Year issue.

2023: The Pictures of the Year

On Tuesday, National Geographic editors revealed their top selections chosen from stories they assigned to photographers in 2023 for the fourth annual year-end retrospective. The final photos were narrowed down from a pool of 2 million.

READ USA TODAY ARTICLE (November 14, 2023)

Culture & Food: Honey Production In Malta

MICHELIN Guide (November 14, 2023) – A local product par excellence, Maltese honey represents the country’s history and culinary riches – and no mention can be made of Maltese cuisine without it being referenced.

In this video, beekeepers Ray Sciberras and Jorge Spiteri take us back to the time of the Romans and tell us all about the Apis Mellifera Ruttneri – the Maltese honeybee. We also see how the honey they produce plays a key role at the Camilleri & Sons Bakery, where among the many delicacies, you’ll find delicate Zeppoli Ta’ San Guzepp pastries drizzled with honey.

But it doesn’t stop at pastry, as chef Robert Cassar of the MICHELIN-recommended restaurant Root 81 makes clear. “Honey, in my eyes, is like butter – you can use it with everything,” he says.

Previews: Country Life Magazine – Nov 15, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – November 15, 2023: The latest issue features the annual Georgian Group Architecture Awards; Horns of plenty – The Bull, monarch of the meadow has been a key mythological figure since ancient times; the sensitive restoration of Somerton Castle in Lincolnshire, a once-neglected medieval stronghold; the great thatching renaissance, and more…

Here’s to the Georgians

Imaginative restoration, from Stowe House to Stroud canal, is lauded in the annual Georgian Group Architectural Awards

No, you’re not going batty

Jane Wheatley investigates the development pitfalls of finding a pipistrelle on your property

Back to the strawing board

The art of thatching is enjoying a renaissance as architects are drawn to its eco credentials, as Sarah Langford discovers

Horns of plenty

The monarch of the meadow has been a key mythological figure since ancient times. Ian Morton takes the bull by the horns

The toast of the town

Jonathan Self finds comfort in every crunchy, buttery mouthful and asks: how do you like yours?

Buried treasures

Christopher Stocks goes under-ground to examine the centuries-long allure of glittering grottos

The great country-house revival

Director-general Ben Cowell celebrates Historic Houses and half a century of achievement

Sir David Hempleman-Adams’s favourite painting

The explorer chooses a work that demonstrates the beauty and colour of the natural world

Hebridean overtures

Jamie Blackett runs the gauntlet of the ‘Grand National’ in pursuit of ever-elusive South Uist snipe

From ruin to rebirth

Nicholas Cooper marvels at the sensitive restoration of Somerton Castle in Lincolnshire, a once-neglected medieval stronghold

Native breeds

Kate Green meets the docile and floppy-eared British Lop

The good stuff

Need a sparkling conversation starter? Hetty Lintell picks out a fistful of fabulous cocktail rings

Dressed to impress

The sartorial centre of Savile Row provided the perfect setting for our Gentleman’s Life party

Interiors

Painting a floor is a fun way to add colour and pattern to a room, finds Amelia Thorpe

A touch of glass

Victorian glasshouses are feats of engineering that deserve a new lease of life, says Lucy Denton

Big apple

Charles Quest-Ritson is wowed by the display of trained apples in the 18th-century walled garden at The Newt in Somerset

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson savours the sweet earthiness of a chestnut

Shakespeare, but not as we know it

Sir Kenneth Branagh’s Lear may be off beam, but Michael Billington is buoyed by a stirring portrayal of the Bard’s wife

And much more

Caribbean Tour: Dominica – The Nature Island (2023)

National Geographic (November 14, 2023) – Dominica: The Nature Island (2023) follows the National Geographic Pristine Seas team as they partner with local leadership to conduct the first full-island survey of the marine ecosystems around the island.

The scientific results from the international team’s weeks of work will help inform the Dominican government and its people in their resilience planning to ensure their marine environment’s irreplaceable assets continue to sustain the well-being of many generations of Dominicans.

After the harrowing experiences of Hurricane Maria in 2017, Dominica committed to transforming the island into the world’s first climate resilient nation.

Design: A Secret Cabin In Nova Scotia, Canada

The Local Project (November 14, 2023) – White Rock is a secret cabin hidden in the woods in the Gaspereau Valley, an agricultural community in Nova Scotia, Canada. Designed by architect Omar Gandhi as a retreat for his family, a close friend’s family and their circle of friends and colleagues,

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Architect’s Own Secret Cabin 00:55 – A Shared Childhood Dream 01:26 – A Walkthrough and the Layout of the Cabin 02:39 – A Sparse and Simple Material Palette 04:01 – The Modern Kitchen Design 05:33 – Evolving The Design Elements 05:56 – Favourite Aspects of the Project

it is a deeply personal project that adds a dynamic layer to his studio’s portfolio. It is possible to visualise this secret cabin hidden in the woods in other forest settings, yet the architectural nuances bring a specificity to the design that belong only to this place. From a distance, the cabin is but a small disruption amid the ever-changing colours of the forest, yet up close, its architectural presence is monumental. The steel form is a confident expression of simple geometries and a bold reinterpretation of a typical secret cabin hidden in the woods.

A house tour reveals an aesthetic that is elemental and layered, from the bedrooms to the kitchen. The interior design, which is defined by smoked oak, raw steel shelving and wall-mounted industrial light fixtures, complements the architecture of this secret cabin hidden in the woods. As the lead architect, designer and homeowner, Omar embraced the opportunity to inject his personality into the design. He saw this project as an opportunity to experiment within the framework of his practice, thus, several pieces of furniture created in collaboration with local artisans and makers dot the interiors.

News: Israel-Lebanon Tensions, Nord Stream Pipeline, Sudan Genocide

The Globalist Podcast (November 14, 2023) – The latest as tensions rise on the Israel-Lebanon border. Also, Ukraine’s role in the Nord Stream pipeline explosion, and writer and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied discusses the EU’s warnings of genocide in Sudan.

Plus, Monocle’s transport correspondent, Gabriel Leigh, on the Dubai Airshow.

The New York Times — Tuesday, November 14, 2023

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Death and Despair at Gaza Hospital as Fighting Reaches Its Doors

Bodies in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Friday.

“I’m watching patients die in front of my eyes,” one doctor at a besieged hospital said, “and I can’t provide them the slightest bit of help.” Israel said its forces were targeting Hamas fighters.

Rashida Tlaib, Censured by the House, Is Praised and Condemned at Home

Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in the House, serves a district that has sizable Jewish and Arab American communities.

The Democratic congresswoman from the Detroit area and the only Palestinian American in the House faces a complicated landscape in her district.

What It Means to Be a Texan Is Changing in Surprising Ways

White people make up a declining minority in Texas, even among those born in the state. And all those people moving in? They’re as likely to be Black, Hispanic or Asian.

Behind Public Assurances, Xi Jinping Has Spread Grim Views on U.S.

Speeches by the Chinese leader show how he was bracing for an intensifying rivalry with the United States from early in his rule.

Health: How Organs In Our Bodies Age Over Time

WIRED (November 13, 2023) – Dr. Jeffrey Laitman joins WIRED to break down how our organs and body parts age from head to toe. From hearing and hair loss to sagging skin and deteriorating joints, Dr. Laitman highlights the impact of aging on the human body—and what we can do about it.

Director: Lisandro Perez-Rey; Director of Photography: Francis Bernal

Book Reviews: The Top Five Travel Books Of 2023 (FT)

Best books of 2023 — Travel

Financial Times (November 12, 2023) – The Best books of 2023 — Travel. Tom Robbins selects his must-read titles

In the Spell of the Barkley: Unravelling the Mystery of the World’s Toughest Ultramarathon

Amazon.com: In the Spell of the Barkley: Unravelling the Mystery of the World's  Toughest Ultramarathon (Audible Audio Edition): Michiel Panhuysen, Rupert  Holliday-Evans, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc: Books

by Michiel Panhuysen (Bloomsbury)

In the mad, masochistic world of ultra-marathons, one bizarre event stands above all others. The Barkley Marathons in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee, was established in 1986 but to date only 17 people have successfully finished the 100-mile course. Peculiarities include the fact that, rather than using a starting pistol, the race begins when its director lights a cigarette. Participants must collect a page from a book at each checkpoint, and the application process includes writing an essay about why they should be allowed to take part. Panhuysen, who has competed several times (always unsuccessfully) gives an entertaining portrait of a cult competition.

Glowing Still: A woman’s life on the Road

by Sara Wheeler (Abacus)

Glowing Still: A woman's life on the road by Sara Wheeler | Goodreads

This entertaining memoir recounts Wheeler’s career as a travel writer, swimming against the tide of her largely upper-class male contemporaries. Despite the dangers and misogyny endured on journeys from Antarctica to Zanzibar, she admits her main fear is the mundane: “The John Lewis curtain department terrifies me most.”

A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World

by González Macías (Picador)

For Spanish writer, graphic designer and committed landlubber Macías, remote lighthouses seem to have the appeal of endangered animals. “There is something beautiful and wild in these impossible architectures,” he writes. “Perhaps because we sense these creatures are dying. Their lights are going out, their bodies crumbling . . . ships no longer need to be under their romantic guardianship.” His fascination propels this survey of 34 lighthouses from Cornwall to China, an exploration of the buildings’ histories and particularities and a study of human solitude and survival in the loneliest surroundings.

Black Ghosts: A Journey into the lives of Africans in China

by Noo Saro-Wiwa (Canongate)

For a follow-up to the award-winning Looking for Transwonderland, the Anglo-Nigerian journalist travels to China and sets out to explore through the eyes of immigrant Africans who can travel and trade easily in the country, unlike in many European and western countries. It’s an impressionistic but revealing account of a journey through “a separate and nebulous universe”.

The Granite Kingdom: A Cornish Journey

by Tim Hannigan (Head of Zeus/Apollo)

Cornwall is among England’s most popular tourist destinations and yet remains mysterious, mythologised and misunderstood. It is, according to historian Bernard Deacon, “a kind of halfway house between English county and Celtic nation”. Hannigan attempts to untangle the region’s history, identity and culture — from King Arthur to Poldark — as he hikes from the River Tamar in the east to his family home near Land’s End.

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious