A very timely and interesting book about the interplay between ideology and rigid thinking and how our psychology and neurobiology influence our personal politics. You will learn why your brain is wired to be conservative or progressive.

Herbal tea has always been celebrated as possessing medicinal qualities that help with many illnesses, from fighting off a virus to stopping nausea and vomiting. What to look for and what to avoid Some fruit teas contain synthetic ingredients. These additives don't taste as good as the real thing, and they have no real therapeutic benefits either. Instead, opt for herbal teas that are slightly more expensive but contain only real herbs, with few or no synthetic additions or preservatives.

Printer Solistice: Poet, Mathematician and Meteorologist Wang Zhenyi (1768-1797) Story and screenprint art by artist, printmaker and marine geophysicist, Ele Willoughby, PhD (she/her) on Mastodon. Printer Solistice: Poet, Mathematician and Meteorologist Wang Zhenyi (1768-1797) by Ele Willoughby, PhD (she/her) on Mastodon. Astronomer, mathematician, meteorologist & poet Wang Zhenyi (1768-1797), who left her impact on Qing era China during her short life.

The ancient word for today is hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus. In the Middle Ages, writers didn't make reference to hedgehogs, but to urchins. This term for the spiky diminuitive animal is still favoured in some English dialects. We still have the lingering remnants of this etymology in the form of sea urchin, which is literally a sea hedgehog. The word urchin came to England with the Norman invasion and was derived from the Latin word ericius.

A cosy and quirky mystery set in the near future in a Taiwanese town about lost memories, the bonding experience of delicious food, omnipotent technology and the human connections we all crave to be happy.

Looking like a cross between a surreal computer game and an alien planet, Socotra is a relatively unexplored and remote island off the coast of Arabian Peninsula. It's a sparkling diamond of natural diversity and rugged wildness, with over 700 endemic species of flora and fauna. Only a small number of countries have more endemic species - New Zealand, Hawaii, the Galapagos Islands and New Caledonia.

How the ancient Egyptians made dazzling faience amulets Archaeologist and sculptor Zahed Taj-Eddin shows how to make this ancient and mysterious form of art, it's incredible! Orbital - Halcyon On and on (Faster Horses Edit) I shared this one ages and ages ago but I just heard it again and it chilled me to the core with its intensity! Enjoy!

I'll go first and give you my reasons...which nobody asked for haha... The Green Mile: Ultra sad and overly dramatic, it seemed to fetishise the poor guy who was on death row, which I didn't like. The English Patient: Loved the book but hated the movie. Glacially slow and the acting was a bit pompous. Barbie: It's literally an homage to an impossibly thin plastic doll and her friends...for adults.

When you want a smile, give yours away When you want affection, you give affection When you help people, they help you When you want love, give your love Ka nui taku aroha ki a koe - My love for you knows no bounds. ~ Māori proverb #TeWikioteReoMāori #MāoriLanguageWeek #MahuruMaori Kua rongo ake au... Tuku whakamoemiti, āta haere ki te ākau…

A sexy dark and glittering jewel of a novel featuring Sapphic vampires and crumbling old Victorian estates with a cast of believable and enjoyable characters. You will want to get drawn into this one, but you may not be able to stop!

There are 17 types of Māori kites. Traditionally made from strong timber framing like manuka wood they were woven with flax and the paper and bark of the mulberry plant until the plant went virtually extinct. Birdman kites have a powerful symbolism for all Māori iwi including for my own, Ngaī Tamanuhiri and Ngā Puhi. One such taonga was gifted to the British Museum in 1886 although like most taonga it wasn't gifted by a Māori, but by a white colonialist, which infuriated many people and so it came as a great relief when this kite was returned to Auckland Museum in recent years.

The mind replays what the heart wants to heal Iconoclast and Rebel Peaches opens up her mind on Amoeba's channel One of the most singular and outre artists in the world Peaches visits the Amoeba shop and picks out her fav albums and films. This was interesting because she has some pretty wild choices including a strange film with Kate Blanchett in it that I'll need to check out.

Gig review: Massive Attack at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne 11th August, timeless iconoclasts and rebels deliver once-in-a-lifetime magic 2026 #music #triphop #review #musicreview #music #MassiveAttack #Melbourne #events

Passionate devotees of books from throughout history share a common thread with all of us modern-day bibiophiles, they longed to celebrate their books and mark their ownership with an Ex Libris book plate. Ever since Pharaonic Egypt, marking one's ownership of a book has been a thing. Ex Libris bookplates are more than the stamped or printed marks denoting ownership. They represent the taste, values of their owner, how they saw themselves and the aesthetic styles of the eras when they were made.

A life-affirming collection of Japanese writing and poetry from the 11th Century AD. Written by aristocratic ladies in waiting to the empress of Japan they reflect the preoccupations, passions and obsessions of women born long long ago.

Netsuke are uniquely Japanese and sublime in their beauty. They are tiny objects carved of ivory, ceramic, wood, tortoise-shell, gold or many other materials. They tell the story of the culture of Japan during the old Edo period and before. Netsuke featured fishermen and farmers, who rubbed shoulders with scholars, samurai warriors, royalty and even ancient gods of Shintoism and Buddhism.

Excellent channel Lina's Thobe explains the importance of Palestinian Tatreez Palestinian tatreez isn’t “just embroidery.” For centuries, it’s been a visual language — carrying the names of villages, the colors of seasons, and the stories of displacement and survival. In this video, I share how one humble stitch became a way to map a homeland, how women in exile transformed motifs into a national identity, and the moment a new design — the six-branch pattern — emerged as a unifying symbol for Palestinians everywhere.

Captain Edwin Dyason, master of the freighter Woodfield will welcome any ablebodied seafaring cat wishing to join the crew of his vessel, sailing today for Manila and China. "We missed the ship's cat shortly after we put into port here," said the Captain. "Her name was Cleopatra. She joined on in Fremantle, Australia and did one voyage with us. Now she has left us flat."

A huge bestseller in Sweden, The Colony is a deeply an intimate and heartbreaking character study of what happens when strangers with a lot of emotional baggage find themselves together in an isolated self-sufficient community in rural Sweden. A strange book unlike any I've ever read before and I loved it.

Back in 2010 during a particularly sweltering summer, I visited Andalucia and soaked in the beautiful architecture in Sevilla. The best way to see all of the charming neighbourhoods and historic monuments was going the tourist routes with an open-top bus. This also afforded me excellent views onto all of the terrace houses with their glass-walled balconies. I just loved the look of these terraces, like something out of a high end design and home decor magazine.

This week #birds or Aruba, the creativty of immigrants, #portishead #MarilynManson fusion, #love letters of slime moulds, a stop motion #animation of Thumbelina and #dogs on the #NewYork Subway - its edition 185 of Interesting Things!

The Mabinogion is a magical and mythical Celtic classic from the thirteenth century or earlier. It's thoroughly Welsh and is considered a masterpiece of medieval literature. The Mabinogion has given rise to all of the stories by Tolkien, Le Guin, Martin and countless more. The stories are the very genesis of the Arthurian tales of King Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin and Sir Lancelot.

Rose Keating’s debut short story collection, Oddbody features macabre body #horror #tales with funny and unexpected twists and turns. #ShortStories #Fiction #RoseKeating #Books #Bookstodon #BookReview