The true story behind the US' first federal monuments

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The true story behind the US' first federal monuments "Are you sitting down? I have news for you." Gwen Marable's cousin from the US state of Ohio called her at home in Maryland about 27 years ago. "We are descended from the sister of Benjamin Banneker, Jemima." The Banneker family, which numbers over 5,000 known descendants today, only learned about this astonishing connection to their ground-breaking but little-known ancestor through the wonders of DNA testing. As such, no personal stories about him, no artifacts, were handed down through the generations. Continued here

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12 Simple Habits Tom Brady Lived By, Quickly Explained So You Can Basically Copy Them Tom Brady has retired. Here's what we can learn. Continued here

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The mysterious Viking runes found in a landlocked US state "[Farley] spent the majority of her adult life researching the stone," said Amanda Garcia, Heavener Runestone Park manager. "She travelled all around the US, went to Egypt and went to different places looking at different markings." Faith Rogers, an environmental-science intern and volunteer at the Heavener Runestone Park, led me down a cobblestone path toward one of the 55-acre woodland's biggest attractions – which is also one of the US' biggest historical mysteries. We were deep in the rolling, scrub-forest foothills of the Ouachita Mountains in far eastern Oklahoma, and we were on our way to view a slab of ancient sandstone that still has experts scratching their heads and debating about the eight symbols engraved on its face.  Continued here

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Recipe: Boxty pancakes and bacon for St Brigid's Day St Brigid is Ireland's foodie saint. One of the nation's three patron saints and the most associated with food (particularly farming and dairying), the Irish celebrate her for the first time this year with a new public holiday on 6 February. St Brigid's Day itself, also known as Imbolc or Óimelg, falls on 1 February marking the beginning of spring in the ancient Celtic calendar. Associated with miraculous abundance of food and a powerful figure in Irish pre-Christian folklore, Brigid was brought under the church and proclaimed a saint. Continued here

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Coriander: The unsung hero of Indian cuisine Peek inside any Indian spice box, and you'll likely find the holy trifecta of spices – turmeric, red chilli powder and ground coriander (often mixed with cumin) ­­– that forms the base of many a curry, lentil or vegetable dish. Though it lacks the striking ochre hue of haldi (turmeric) and isn't associated with any of India's signature red-hot flavours (like chilli powder), coriander (commonly called dhaniya or kothmir in India) is perhaps the most versatile of these spices. Its coarsely ground seeds bring warmth and nuttiness to many dishes, while as a powder, it can be used to thicken curries. As an herb, its fresh stalks and leaves often serve as an aromatic and tangy finishing flavour. Continued here

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Mexico's 1,500-year-old unknown pyramids From a distance, the grey volcanic rock pyramids and their encircling stonewalls looked like something that Mother Nature had wrought herself. Located in Cañada de La Virgen (The Valley of the Virgin), an area about 30 miles outside the city of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico's central highlands, the stone formations blended into the arid, desiccated landscape like a diminutive mountain range. But as I got closer to the largest of the three structures, there was no doubt it was man-made. A staircase of identical steps, etched into the hard, dark rock, had clearly required a skilled mason's hand. The other two pyramids, smaller and less well-preserved, bore a similarly unmistakable human touch. The timeworn edifices were erected by a civilisation long gone. Continued here

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Is Santa Claus buried in Ireland? Amid green hilly pastures dotted with grazing sheep and a cemetery with graves dating back to the 13th Century, the ruins of St Nicholas Church tower over the family home of Maeve and Joe O'Connell. Among those resting eternally here are early inhabitants of the estate, parishioners of the church and – according to local legend – St Nicholas of Myra. Yes, the St Nick who inspired Santa Claus. Today, the O'Connells are the owners and sole (living) human inhabitants of Jerpoint Park, a 120-acre deserted 12th-Century medieval town located 20km south of the town of Kilkenny, Ireland. Located along the crossing point of the River Nore and Little Arrigle River, the settlement (formerly called Newtown Jerpoint) is thought to have been founded by the Normans, who arrived in Ireland around 1160 CE. According to a conservation plan compiled by Ireland's Heritage Council, the town flourished into the 15th Century, with archaeological evidence revealing homes, a marketplace, a tower, a bridge, streets, a mill, a water management system and nearby Jerpoint Abbey, which still stands today. But by the 17th Century, the town's occupants were gone, likely from a combination of violent attacks and a plague. Continued here

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6 Marketing Conferences You Should Attend in 2023 From social media summits to SEO immersions, these are the top digital marketing conferences you'll want to check out this year. Continued here

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The city with gold in its sewage lines "He burned the sari and from it, handed us a thin slice of pure silver," said my mother, describing a moment that had taken place 30 years ago at her home in the city of Firozabad. The man in her story was no magician, but an extractor. Like many similar artisans in my mother's hometown, he'd go door to door collecting old saris to mine them for their precious metals.  Until the 1990s, saris were often threaded with pure silver and gold, and I remember digging into my mother's wardrobe, searching for her glittery outfits like treasure. But as she told me, the extractors were looking for something even more valuable than clothing – they were looking for trash, and a kind of trash specific to this city. Continued here

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Mahua: The Indian liquor the British banned I smelled the sweet flowers before I saw them. During an early morning drive inside the Similipal National Park in the east Indian state of Odisha, I had stopped near a picturesque waterfall where thousands of pale-green blooms were falling from the surrounding trees and carpeting the forest floor. "These are mahua trees," said Suresh Kisku, my guide from the Santhal tribal community. He pointed towards the cluster of short, stout trunks and dome-shaped canopies that edged a small clearing. Continued here

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How Important is a College Degree Compared to Experience? The converging trends of a competitive labor market, ballooning university tuitions, new online learning alternatives, and fast-changing job roles has created a tipping point in the perceived value of college degrees. The percentage of jobs requiring a college degree fell from 51% in 2017 to 44% percent in 2021. And according to Gallup, the percentage of U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 who view college education as “very important” dropped from 74% to 41% in just six years. What does this mean for you? Continued here

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Feeling Like an Imposter? The 'Character Alarm Method' Has Got You Covered in 3 Easy Steps Become your own Sasha Fierce with your alarm. Continued here

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A fish that sparked a national obsession On a cold winter's evening in Portugal, it might come to your table com natas – fresh from the oven and bubbling in cream – layered between fried potato and sliced onion and spiced with nutmeg. Weaving through Lisbon's steep and cobbled streets, it wouldn't take long before you found someone serving it as a light and crispy fritter, dusted with a little coarse salt and dished up with a pot of pungent aioli. You could buy it shaped as mouth-sized fried potato dumplings pastéis style, flavoured with parsley and garlic, for a walk along the banks of Porto's Douro River. You might even come across it as part of a hearty southern bread soup, topped with coriander and a poached egg.  That's because bacalhau – or salt cod – which sits at the heart of all these dishes, runs deep through Portugal's culinary identity, with the country consuming 20% of the world's supply. In fact, so central to Portuguese hearts (and stomachs) is this ingredient, that the saying goes "there are 365 ways to prepare salted cod, one for each day of the year". Continued here

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The Whale: Brendan Fraser's comeback offers rare representation of the fat queer male body on screen The Whale debuted at the 2022 Venice Film Festival to a six-minute standing ovation for its Academy Award-nominated lead, Brendan Fraser, who has returned to the big screen after a considerable hiatus. Fraser’s fame was amplified in the 2000s by his starring role in The Mummy saga. He was consistently cast as the six-packed hunk, in such films as George of the Jungle (1997) and Gods and Monsters (1998). Continued here

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US military shoots down Chinese balloon over coastal waters On Saturday afternoon, US jets intercepted the Chinese surveillance balloon as it was leaving the continental US. Live footage of the event shows contrails of aircraft approaching the balloon, followed by a puff of smoke that may indicate the explosion of some ordnance near the balloon's envelope—a reporter is heard saying "they just shot it" in the video embedded below. The envelope clearly loses structural integrity shortly afterwards as it plunges towards the ocean. Reportedly, the events took place near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Continued here

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GP numbers continue to fall but the UK isn't unique in losing family doctors The 2019 Conservative manifesto promised to increase the UK’s GP numbers by 6,000 by 2024. That target will clearly not be met. In fact, the proportion of GPs working full time in England has fallen compared with last year, according to the latest figures from NHS Digital. There were 26,706 permanent qualified GPs working in England in December 2022, down from 27,064 in December 2021. And if projections from the Health Foundation prove to be accurate, the shortfall is set to increase to around 8,800 GPs by 2030-31, equivalent to one in four posts being vacant. But is the UK unique among wealthy nations in suffering from a crisis in primary care? Continued here

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Scientists grew mini human guts inside mice Your gut has an obvious job: It processes the food you eat. But it has another important function: It protects you from the bacteria, viruses, or allergens you ingest along with that food. “The largest part of the immune system in humans is the GI tract, and our biggest exposure to the world is what we put in our mouth,” says Michael Helmrath, a pediatric surgeon at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center who treats patients with intestinal diseases. Continued here

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Duna de Bolonia: The Spanish sand dune hiding Roman ruins Near the southern tip of Spain's Cádiz province, where Europe lunges into the Strait of Gibraltar as if reaching out for the North African coast, the Duna de Bolonia is one of the continent's largest sand dunes. Rising more than 30m high and sprawling 200m wide, the white mound spills into the azure sea and appears as if someone has dumped a massive pile of sugar atop the surrounding Estrecho Nature Park's protected green forest. Like all sand dunes, Bolonia is a constantly moving ecosystem that shifts with the winds. But as climate change has intensified the hurricane-force gusts coming from the east, the dune has increasingly migrated inland towards the ecologically important cork and pine forests and scrubland – revealing remnants of the many past cilivilisations who have passed through here in the process. Continued here

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Afghanistan: single women and widows are struggling to find their next meal under Taliban restrictions Jamila*, a widow living in Herat, lost her husband in a suicide attack about eight years ago. She has an 18-year-old daughter who is blind and a 20-year-old son who lost both legs in a mine blast. Since the Taliban gained control of the country, Afghanistan has been on the brink of universal hardship. As many as 97% of people are now estimated to be living in poverty, up from 72% in 2018. Continued here

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The Meaning of African American Studies On Wednesday, February 1st, the first day of Black History Month, the College Board released its long-awaited curriculum for a new Advanced Placement class in African American studies. Two weeks earlier, the Florida Department of Education had rejected the course, claiming that it “lacks educational value and is contrary to Florida law.” Then, nearly a week later, Manny Diaz, Jr., the state’s commissioner of education, released a flyer listing his complaints, based on a pilot version of the course. They included the fact that there were units on intersectionality and activism, Black queer studies, “Black Feminist Literary Thought,” reparations, and “Black Study and the Black Struggle in the 21st Century.” The Movement for Black Lives—which brought out the largest demonstrations in American history, in the summer of 2020, with more than twenty million people participating—was dismissed as a topic of study. When the College Board released the revised curriculum, all of the sections that Florida complained about had been removed. Representatives of the nonprofit have insisted that they were already planning to revise the pilot version, and that the onslaught from Florida had nothing to do with their changes. It is certainly believable that the preliminary version of the class would have been revised, but it is unbelievable that right-wing complaints did not influence the final outcome. Trevor Packer, the head of the Advanced Placement Program, told Time magazine, last summer, that the Movement for Black Lives had inspired a renewed effort to get the class under way. He said, “The events surrounding George Floyd and the increased awareness and attention paid towards issues of inequity and unfairness and brutality directed towards African Americans caused me to wonder, ‘Would colleges be more receptive to an AP course in this discipline than they were 10 years ago?’ ” It is hard to reconcile that inspiration with the decision to excise almost all mention of Black Lives Matter, intersectionality, police brutality, or any of the litany of issues that shape the experiences of Black people in the United States. Indeed, there is barely any mention of the Black rebellions of the nineteen-sixties, which were the backdrop to the demands of Black students that Black studies be included in college and university curricula. These omissions undermine the legitimacy of the A.P. course and the College Board itself. They also diminish the power of Black studies to make sense of our contemporary world. Continued here

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Poem: 'A Quantum Cento' Time crystals could soon escape the laboratory.These quantum systems made of time and lightare potential fugitives into our reality. By shining twin laser beams pipedinto a tiny disk-shaped crystal cavitythis new class of matter was created unexpectedly. Continued here

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Sardinia's mysterious beehive towers Expecting not to find much more than a pile of big stones, I followed the sign off the motorway into a little car park and there it was, rising from a flat, green landscape covered in little white flowers, with a few donkeys dotted around: Nuraghe Losa. From a distance, it looked like a big sandcastle with its top crumbling away, but as I walked towards it, I began to realise the colossal size of the monument in front of me. Nuraghi (the plural of nuraghe) are massive conical stone towers that pepper the landscape of the Italian island of Sardinia. Built between 1600 and 1200BCE, these mysterious Bronze Age bastions were constructed by carefully placing huge, roughly worked stones, weighing several tons each, on top of each other in a truncated formation.  Continued here

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Citron: The exquisite fruit that brings rabbis Every summer, in preparation for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, Hasidic rabbis from all over the world travel to the northern part of Italy's Calabria region to handpick the best citron fruits for their lulav, the bundle of four plants used to bless the small, temporary huts built every autumn by Jews to celebrate the holiday. For about two weeks, the orchards around the town of Santa Maria del Cedro fill up with English, Russian, Hebrew and Yiddish-speaking rabbis and their families. With the help of local farmers, they inspect the trees and analyse the fruits, sometimes with magnifying glasses, in their quest for citron perfection. The most ancient and aromatic of all citrus fruits, citrons are far less known than their renowned yellow and orange cousins. They resemble large, green lemons, have more peel than pulp, and with a sour-bitter flavour, they are not considered desirable for home consumption. This means that, outside of Calabria, you won't typically find them at the supermarket. Continued here

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How the metaverse will revolutionize K-12 and higher education There are many things we can teach through books and lectures but giving students highly realistic, “hands-on” experience through a virtual world isn’t one of them. But that future is coming very soon, and it will revolutionize K-12 and higher education. To give but one example, we can teach kids to multiply numbers and generate a result in the billions, but it’s very difficult — if not impossible — to teach the vastness of a billion stars, the profound smallness of a billion atoms, or the relevance of pumping 37 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But immersive technology will allow us to foster a sense of intuition in students, and thereby engendering a much deeper understanding of the world. Continued here

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Sahlab: The Middle East's answer to the latte Whether it's ladled from a Bethlehem street vendor's steaming urn or savoured around a California kitchen table, the holiday drink sahlab tells a story in each sip. The first taste is as warming and floral as its sunlit origins. The second reveals a viscous texture as silky as orchid petals. And with the third comes the first hints of its history, the rich flavours of the Levant and the spices of holiday traditions that reach across religions and stretch back centuries. In the kitchen of cookbook author Blanche Shaheen, steam drifts from small cups, carrying scents that recall the passing of seasons, late winter orange blossoms and the roses of spring. For Shaheen, sahlab isn't simply the winter holiday drink her mother taught her to make. It's also a story of family and the persistence of culture.  Continued here

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Scientific highs and lows of cannabinoids The 1960s was a big decade for cannabis: Images of flower power, the summer of love and Woodstock wouldn’t be complete without a joint hanging from someone’s mouth. Yet in the early ’60s, scientists knew surprisingly little about the plant. When Raphael Mechoulam, then a young chemist in his 30s at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, went looking for interesting natural products to investigate, he saw an enticing gap in knowledge about the hippie weed: The chemical structure of its active ingredients hadn’t been worked out. Continued here

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Isla Bryson: Scotland's transgender prisoner policy was assessed as not affecting women The decision to place double rapist Isla Bryson in the segregation unit at Scotland’s Cornton Vale women’s prison, ahead of sentencing, has sparked a political crisis that looks unlikely to abate soon. Following a backlash, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon quickly announced that Bryson would not stay at Cornton Vale. That same day, Bryson was moved to a male wing at His Majesty’s Prison Edinburgh. The Scottish parliament’s justice committee has confirmed that it will scrutinise these events. Continued here

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The Wall Street Journal, Economist and Financial Times all now have female editors - Provost and Vice Principal of Heriot-Watt University in Dubai, Heriot-Watt University February 1 was a date to celebrate for women in business everywhere. It happened to be the day that water group Severn Trent became the first large UK quoted company to be led by an all-female team by appointing Helen Miles as chief financial officer. That’s certainly worthy of celebration – but not what I had in mind. Continued here

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Environment plan for England asks farmers to restore nature - but changes are likely to be superficial The UK government’s environment improvement plan pledges to restore 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of wildlife-rich habitat, create or expand 25 national parks, invest in the recovery of hedgehogs and red squirrels, tackle rising sewage pollution and improve access to green spaces in England over the next five years. Since 69% of land in England is farmed, much of the plan’s success in improving nature will hinge on its reform of the country’s agricultural sector. Farming is implicated in the extinction risk of 86% of threatened species globally, and accounts for roughly one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, not to mention soil erosion and river pollution. Continued here

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A Conversation with Bonnie Raitt, Plus Public Enemy’s Chuck D After more than fifty years in music, Bonnie Raitt is far from resting on her laurels; her latest album, "Just Like That . . .," is nominated for four Grammy Awards this year, including Song of the Year—a category in which her competition includes Beyoncé and Adele, stars a generation younger. She talks with David Remnick about her early career in the blues clubs of Boston, and reflects on the state of the genre today. Plus, the staff writer Kelefa Sanneh talks with another icon of American music, the rapper Chuck D. Forty years ago, as the front man and m.c. of Public Enemy, he showed listeners how exciting, radical, and unpredictable hip-hop could be. Now, at sixty-two, Chuck D is an elder statesman with a documentary on PBS, "Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World." After more than fifty years in music, Raitt's latest album is nominated for four Grammy Awards this year, alongside stars a generation younger. Continued here

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Space travel will radically change human psychology and spirituality Humans have lived on Earth for millennia, but one day that will change. The stars are calling us, and their pull is far too strong for us to ignore. We have already put our feet on the Moon; one day we will be back. Then perhaps we will head to Mars and beyond. When we do, it will change us. Leaving the pull of Earth will alter how we think and feel. It will affect our spirituality and our psyche — and perhaps even redefine humankind.  Throughout human history, we have associated our spirituality, myths, and religions with the sky. Constellations are peppered with sky stories, from Orion to Warepil (the eagle constellation of aboriginal Australians). The Lakota Native Americans associated the Milky Way as a path for departed souls. Jesus ascended to the heavens. The primary god of ancient Egyptians was Ra, the god of the Sun. And the entire Universe was seen inside Krishna’s mouth.  Continued here

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The Other Five Love Languages Follow @newyorkercartoons on Instagram and sign up for the Daily Humor newsletter for more funny stuff. © 2023 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices Continued here

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Even in the age of AI, some problems are just too difficult for computers Empowered by artificial intelligence technologies, computers today can engage in convincing conversations with people, compose songs, paint paintings, play chess and go, and diagnose diseases, to name just a few examples of their technological prowess.  These successes could be taken to indicate that computation has no limits. To see if that’s the case, it’s important to understand what makes a computer powerful.  Continued here

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The French Are in a Panic Over 'le Wokisme' The nation’s vehement rejection of identity politics made me recalibrate my own views about woke ideology. It took me a moment to register the sound of scattered hissing at the Tocqueville Conversations—a two-day “taboo-free discussion” among public intellectuals about the crisis of Western democracies. More than 100 of us had gathered in a large tent set up beneath the window of Alexis de Tocqueville’s study, on the grounds of the 16th-century Château de Tocqueville, in coastal Normandy. I couldn’t remember hearing an audience react like this in such a forum. Continued here

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10 Common Job Interview Questions and How to Answer Them Interviews can be high stress, anxiety-driving situations, especially if it’s your first interview. A little practice and preparation always pays off. While we can’t know exactly what an employer will ask, here are 10 common interview questions along with advice on how to answer them. The questions include: Continued here

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The BBC has a long history of failed attempts to rid it of political influence Most people probably don’t know who the BBC’s chairman is, or even that the BBC has a chairman. Yet this normally obscure figure has recently hit the headlines. Richard Sharp, BBC chairman since February 2021, is a former banker and a major donor to the Conservative party. Sharp has links with both former prime minister Boris Johnson and current prime minister Rishi Sunak. Around the time of his appointment, Sharp was involved in securing a large personal loan for Johnson through his distant cousin Sam Blyth. Continued here

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The world's surprising fried chicken capital The little karaage, one of the most popular snacks in Japan, is a delicate and intricate version of fried chicken that is a staple across the country. This delightfully crunchy treat is so beloved that every year, hundreds of thousands of people vote in a country-wide competition to determine which karaage shop serves the best ones. While shops from massive metropolises like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka should be dominating any large-scale contest, it's shops from one small town, Nakatsu City, located in the Oita prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu, that typically garner the most awards. The Karaage Grand Prix is the annual competition in Japan whose winner gets to boast that they have the crispiest, juiciest, most flavourful fried chicken, and nearly 1,000 shops enter to compete. Up until 2022, this contest was based entirely on popularity, with common denizens getting to vote on their favourite places. But in 2023, the rules are changing, judges are being brought in to taste test, and the true crown for the best karaage will ultimately be rewarded. Continued here

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Razer's Cage-Like Mouse Is a $280 Goth-Metal Jewel Razer could never be accused of subtle branding. From pulsating, RGB-backlit keyboards, laptops, and mice to flashing, light-festooned face masks, the gaming hardware company has crafted its whole vibe around a sense of ostentatious opulence. Enter the Razer's new mouse, the Viper Mini Signature Edition. By Razer standards, it is actually somewhat subdued, with the kind of tasteful aesthetic you might see on the cover of an industrial-metal album. The back of the cursor conveyor is an open web of triangular and trapezoidal shapes made of a lightweight magnesium alloy. It currently comes in one color option, which is solid black.  Continued here

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Let's Talk About Layoffs: Our Favorite Reads In my mid-20s, I was laid off from a job in the tech industry. We were called into work for a 9 am meeting, and as soon as I saw the room, I knew. My peers, my boss, and I sat across from the senior managers of our department. Years later, my memory of the conversation is murky, but there was something about cutting back on resources, leaving everything at our desks, and being escorted out of the building by security. Continued here

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Samia Suluhu Hassan is reforming Tanzania - it's winning her fans but boosting the opposition A series of political manoeuvres by Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan have set the east African country on an unfamiliar, yet hopeful, political path. Since her elevation to the presidency two years ago following the death of John Pombe Magufuli, the new president has struck a reformist political tone and led reconciliation with a previously marginalised opposition. None of this would have been possible under Magufuli. Magufuli not only stifled the opposition, but also went as far as threatening to annihilate it. Hassan has made several reforms, including reconciliation talks between the government and the opposition. Her government also lifted the ban on newspapers. Continued here

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Introducing PenceGPT, from the Makers of ChatGPT Thank you for your interest in PenceGPT, a new product from OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, in collaboration with former Vice-President Mike Pence (long suspected to himself be a bot of some kind, on account of his dead eyes, soulless demeanor, and three-hundred-and-sixty-degree swivel head). You may be wondering, What sorts of features can I expect from a chatbot that generates text based on Mike Pence’s speeches and interviews? Well, look no further than this handy guide, which summarizes some of PenceGPT’s exciting new offerings: Woman Identifier: Not sure whether the woman sitting next to you is your wife or your mother? Neither is Mike Pence, apparently. Use this feature to demystify the nature of your relationship with any female human. Simply type, “Who is this woman?” into PenceGPT, and the model, which has been trained on all Pence-approved relationship statuses, will output from the options of Wife, Mother, and Wife/Mother. Continued here

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37 Great Deals on Sleep Tech and Smart Frames for Valentine's Day if your valentine isn't a fan of flowers and chocolate, there are plenty of other options to surprise them with—whether it's a partner, friend, or family member. But for those struggling to find the perfect alternative, we've got you covered. Below, you'll find a number of discounts on gift ideas that cover a wide range of interests, including photography, books, self-care, fitness, and more. And, while you're at it, don't forget to treat yourself. Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you'd like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day. Continued here

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Why do high IQ people stagnate in their careers? Emotional intelligence Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Ludwig van Beethoven, John Rockefeller, Ada Lovelace, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. What do these people have in common? They were all incredibly successful in their respective fields, and they are all personalities who have had the label “genius” attached to them. The lesson learned from their examples is evident: Success and intelligence go hand-in-hand. And there is some truth to that. Intelligence as measured by an IQ test — that is, general intelligence — does correlate with beneficial life outcomes, such as educational attainment and life expectancy. Continued here

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My latest co-op multiplayer obsession is Raft, the game where you build a raft My co-op gaming group has logged a few hundred extra hours in Deep Rock Galactic since I wrote about it a year and a half ago, but we're always looking for another game to fall in love with. Continued here

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George Santos: why the Republicans aren't doing anything about the controversial congressman, yet Republican Representative George Santos has been continuously embroiled in scandal since his election in November 2022. The controversial congressman for New York’s 3rd district has admitted embellishing his election campaign. He misled the electorate about his education, falsely claimed his grandparents “survived” the Holocaust, and wrongly suggested that his mother died during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has since apologised for this. Santos has said he has not committed any crimes and that he is sorry for misleading the public. Continued here

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Emotionally Intelligent Leaders Regularly Use These 5 Words Humility goes further than you think. Continued here

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Here's the Word Apple CEO Tim Cook Has Not Said and Why It's a Lesson for Every Leader It makes Apple unique among today's tech giants. Continued here

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A Psychologist Offers 5 Healthy Habits To Improve Your Self-Esteem Many people come to therapy when they feel that their personal worth is jeopardized. They say things like: Low self-esteem can lead to a number of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. It can make it difficult for us to pursue our goals and it can negatively affect our relationships. Continued here

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South African Tourism wants to sponsor football club Tottenham Hotspur - is it a good idea? Sponsorship of a sport team, event, or of individuals is an accepted and proven marketing communication tool. As countries, regions and cities are increasingly competing in the global marketplace for the attention of potential customers – in this case tourists – some destinations have also embraced sport as a marketing medium. Typically, destinations promote themselves through associating with a sport event or team within their geographic location. In Spain, for example, Visit Catalunya sponsors Spanish club FC Barcelona. Continued here

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The physics of James Joyce's Ulysses Ulysses, the groundbreaking modernist novel by James Joyce, marked its 100-year anniversary last year; it was first published on February 2, 1922. The poet T.S Eliot declared the novel to be "the most important expression which the present age has found," and Ulysses has accumulated many other fans in the ages since. Count Harry Manos, an English professor at Los Angeles City College, among those fans. Manos is also a fan of physics—so much so, that he penned a December 2021 paper published in The Physics Teacher, detailing how Joyce had sprinkled multiple examples of classical physics throughout the novel. Continued here

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Six Books That Will Change How You Look at Art These titles expand our understanding of creative work—and affirm that it is fundamental to how we process the world. In 1923, Pablo Picasso told his peer, the Mexican gallery owner Marius de Zayas, that “art is a lie”—but one that “makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand.” Artists intuitively engage—in paint, clay, prints, film—with the strangeness of life. Their creations can differ wildly from our expectations and outlook; they frequently inspire emotion by surprising us or, as Picasso believed, by manipulating our perception. Continued here

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Biden's plan for ending the emergency declaration for COVID-19 signals a pivotal point in the pandemic - 4 questions answered President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 30, 2023, that he intends to end both the national emergency and the public health emergency declarations related to COVID-19 on May 11, 2023. Biden’s announcement came on the same day that the World Health Organization said it still considers the COVID-19 pandemic to be a public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, a status that is reassessed every three months. The WHO’s advisory committee noted that although the pandemic is at a turning point, “COVID-19 remains a dangerous infectious disease with the capacity to cause substantial damage to health and health systems.” Continued here

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The ancient remains of Great Zimbabwe Walking up to the towering walls of Great Zimbabwe was a humbling experience. The closer I got, the more they dwarfed me – and yet, there was something inviting about the archaeological site. It didn't feel like an abandoned fortress or castle that one might see in Europe: Great Zimbabwe was a place where people lived and worked, a place where they came to worship – and still do. It felt alive.  Great Zimbabwe is the name of the extensive stone remains of an ancient city built between 1100 and 1450 CE near modern-day Masvingo, Zimbabwe. Believed to be the work of the Shona (who today make up the majority of Zimbabwe's population) and possibly other societies that were migrating back and forth across the area, the city was large and powerful, housing a population comparable to London at that time – somewhere around 20,000 people during its peak. Great Zimbabwe was part of a sophisticated trade network (Arab, Indian and Chinese trade goods were all found at the site), and its architectural design was astounding: made of enormous, mortarless stone walls and towers, most of which are still standing. Continued here

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An “Anger Olympics” Between Trump and the Rest of the 2024 Republican Field The Republican Nikki Haley is widely expected to announce a Presidential run later this month. As a former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina governor, Haley brings strong credentials to a sparse Republican field. The defeated former President Donald Trump is making his third bid for the White House. Governor Ron DeSantis, of Florida, is expected to run, but is so far waiting in the wings. Mikes Pence and Pompeo, Trump's former Vice-President and Secretary of State, respectively, are also rumored to be contemplating bids. What can these nascent campaigns tell us about the state of the G.O.P.? The staff writers Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos gather for their weekly conversation to explore the 2024 race for the Republican nomination, and what it might take to dislodge Trump as the front-runner. © 2023 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices Continued here

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The enormous heat pumps warming cities It's another cold snap and the fields of Cornwall, in south-west England, are blanketed in snow. But down a windy lane, Ceri Simmons' home is toasty warm. Her living room is a jungle of hanging plants and, through the kitchen, glimpses of a wood-lined studio reveal Simmons' job as an aerial-yoga teacher. "It's not just lovely for me to have a warm house, it's also important for my clients," she says. The remote village of Stithians, close to the most south-westerly tip of the UK mainland, where the Simmons family live has become an unlikely frontier in the race to decarbonise heating. It is piloting a new approach to low-carbon heating which could be key to the rapid scale-up needed worldwide. Continued here

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Why Aren’t More People Running for President? The 2024 field has been frozen by an unusual pairing—a former president who still inspires fear and a sitting president still biding his time. Typically, by the time a president delivers the State of the Union address at the start of his third year in office, as Joe Biden will on Tuesday, at least half a dozen rivals are already gunning for his job. When Donald Trump began his annual speech to Congress in 2019, four of the Democrats staring back at him inside the House chamber had already declared their presidential candidacies. Continued here

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The Latest Scientific Breakthrough on Aging Follow @newyorkercartoons on Instagram and sign up for the Daily Humor newsletter for more funny stuff. © 2023 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices Continued here

S54

The ethical dilemmas behind plans for involuntary treatment to target homelessness, mental illness and addiction Over the past year, cities across the United States have unveiled new policy plans to address homelessness amid rising concerns about health and crime – for homeless people themselves, as well as for surrounding communities. Notably, several proposals include civil commitment, also referred to as involuntary treatment, for people with severe mental illness or substance use disorders. In November 2022, for example, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to use mental health laws to facilitate involuntary treatment when people are unable to care for themselves, or when their actions endanger others. Continued here

S57

Native Americans have experienced a dramatic decline in life expectancy during the COVID-19 pandemic - but the drop has been in the making for generations That’s the decline in life expectancy that the COVID-19 pandemic wrought upon American Indians and Alaska Natives, based on an August 2022 report from the National Center for Health Statistics. This astounding figure translates to an overall drop in average living years from 71.8 years in 2019 to 65.2 by the end of 2021. Continued here

S20

The Climate Crisis Is Threatening Spain's Saffron Crop This story originally appeared on The Guardian and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. A sharp wind shunts clouds across the low and endless skies of La Mancha as Carlos Fernández stoops to pluck the last mauve flowers of the season from the cold earth. Their petals, which stain his index finger and thumb blue, enclose an almost weightless prize whose crimson threads are treasured in Spain and across the world. Continued here

S39

Sweet temptation: Istanbul's beloved 'brothel dessert' As I entered the grand arches of Istanbul's Misir Carsisi (Egyptian Bazaar) – considered by many locals to be the city's greatest marketplace – I was hit by a heady aroma of spice and kaleidoscope of colour. Moving with the current of busy shoppers sifting through a sea of produce, I spilled out on the market's backstreets where carts of stuffed mussels and barrels of stringed cheese sat alongside piles of pistachios, rose bud tea and bright pink olives. Transfixed by these treasures, I drifted, dream-like, until I spied the storied sweet I'd come in search of, beckoning beneath a pastry shop's glass. Halka tatlisi ("ring dessert" in English) is one of Istanbul's favourite and oldest street foods. Found on every corner and said to help restore one's vigour after hours spent walking the busy streets, the circular dough that's deep-fried to a golden-brown and soaked in syrup has long been associated with the city's seedier side. And it's that connotation that gave rise to its local nickname of the "brothel dessert". Continued here

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You're Not an Imposter. You're Actually Pretty Amazing. Do you feel like a fraud? Many of us do. Perhaps you started a new job and believe you have less experience than you need, despite being the perfect candidate on paper. Or maybe your boss trusted you with an assignment that you feel totally unprepared to lead, regardless of your flawless track record.  Continued here S37 Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Just Rejected the 1 Thing Jeff Bezos Thought Was Most Important The most important single thing is to focus obsessively on the customer ..." Continued here S55 A brief history of the Black church's diversity, and its vital role in American political history With religious affiliation on the decline, continuing racism and increasing income inequality, some scholars and activists are soul-searching about the Black church’s role in today’s United States. For instance, on April 20, 2010, an African American Studies professor at Princeton, Eddie S. Glaude, sparked an online debate by provocatively declaring that, despite the existence of many African American churches, “the Black Church, as we’ve known it or imagined it, is dead.” As he argued, the image of the Black church as a center for Black life and as a beacon of social and moral transformation had disappeared. Continued here S56 Shrinking: a psychiatrist doesn't know the "truth" and other issues with the show's depiction of therapy, according to a clinical psychologist Shrinking is advertised as the story of the grieving therapist Jimmy (Jason Segel) who has lost his wife and wants to try a new approach to his loss, one that involves honesty, including telling his clients exactly what he thinks of them and their problems. Humour (it is hoped), insight into human nature (presumably) and a thoughtful consideration of the role of honesty in therapy will follow. Unfortunately, for this viewer at least, there was precious little humour, less insight and some rather bizarre assumptions about human nature in general. Continued here S50 Cornwall space launch: why launching rockets from UK soil can benefit industry and security Keith Ryden is the Director of Surrey Space Centre, which designed instruments carried on the LauncherOne rocket. He has been funded by the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and the European Space Agency (Esa) to undertake work on space radiation and space weather instruments. Having the capability to launch satellites from UK soil has been a long time coming. The recent attempted launch from Cornwall did not succeed, despite high hopes. Continued here S16 A secret site for the Knights Templar? In a hole in the ground beneath the Hertfordshire market town of Royston, dimly illuminated by flickering light, I was looking at a gallery of crudely carved figures, blank-faced and bearing instruments of torture. Cave manager Nicky Paton pointed them out to me one by one. "There's Saint Catherine, with her breaking wheel. She was only 18 when she was martyred," Paton said, cheerfully. "And there's Saint Lawrence. He was burnt to death on a griddle." Amid the grisly Christian scenes were Pagan images: a large carving of a horse, and a fertility symbol known as a sheela na gig, depicting a woman with exaggerated sexual organs. Another portrayed a person holding a skull in their right hand and a candle in their left, theorised to represent an initiation ceremony – a tantalising clue as to the cave's possible purpose. Adding to the carvings' creepiness was their rudimentary, almost childlike, execution. Continued here S52 Civil rights legislation sparked powerful backlash that's still shaping American politics For nearly 60 years, conservatives have been trying to gut the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the crowning achievement of the civil rights movement. As a scholar of American voting rights, I believe their long game is finally bearing fruit. The 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder seemed to be the death knell for the Voting Rights Act. Continued here S51 Police traffic stops can alienate communities and lead to violent deaths like Tyre Nichols' -- is it time to rethink them? Assistant professor in the Department of Government, The University of Texas at Austin The killing of Tyre Nichols has raised questions about the use and risks of a routine part of U.S. policing: the traffic stop. Continued here S53 40 years of legal sports betting in Australia points to risks for US gamblers - and tips for regulators Australians love to gamble. It’s often said that if they could, they would bet on two flies crawling up a wall. The Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge were funded, in part, by government lotteries. It’s only been five years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal law that essentially banned sports betting in most states, but in Australia, the novelty of legal sports betting has long worn off: It’s been legal since the 1980s. Continued here Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Followers Blog Archive ►  2024 (7) ►  August (1) ►  May (2) ►  April (3) ►  March (1) ▼  2023 (432) ►  December (9) ►  November (25) ►  October (20) ►  September (33) ►  August (72) ►  July (6) ►  June (77) ►  May (12) ►  April (2) ►  March (8) ▼  February (85) Wegovy: what you need to know about this weight lo... Feb 28, 2023 - Music Book Room at Bras Basah closi... Does Not Being Able to Picture Something in Your M... Do You Cause Your Own Stress? How To Stop a "Toxic... Is Natural Wine Better For You? The Great Resignation Didn't Start with the Pandemic Ukraine: Beijing's peace initiative offers glimpse... 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A Physical Theory For When the Brain Performs Best... ►  January (83) ►  2022 (115) ►  December (13) ►  November (10) ►  October (2) ►  September (12) ►  August (25) ►  July (1) ►  June (15) ►  May (13) ►  April (8) ►  March (12) ►  February (1) ►  January (3) ►  2021 (111) ►  December (21) ►  November (7) ►  October (17) ►  September (24) ►  August (18) ►  July (2) ►  June (20) ►  May (2) ►  2020 (388) ►  June (58) ►  May (17) ►  April (74) ►  March (89) ►  February (118) ►  January (32) ►  2016 (11) ►  August (1) ►  June (1) ►  March (2) ►  January (7) ►  2015 (6) ►  December (3) ►  November (3) ►  2013 (7) ►  May (1) ►  April (5) ►  March (1) ►  2012 (4) ►  October (1) ►  May (2) ►  March (1) ►  2011 (7) ►  August (7) About Me Rijo Stephen Cletus Bangalore, Karnataka, India BE Medical Electronics, PGD Hospital and Health Care Management, CMT and MBA Finance. Pursuing MBL from NLSIU. Experienced in Domestic and International Consulting. View my complete profile