Art and Film
The Très Riches Heures calendar page for November.
Books, Writing, and Language
Friday November 6 was Fountain Pen Day.
Food and Drink
Via Martha Stewart Sweet Potato Biscuits
History and Archaeology
Roman Theater Discovery Near Jerusalem’s Western Wall Delights Archaeologists “Jerusalem was always inhabited and there were always different cultures and nations that lived here,” Lieberman said. “It’s very hard to find the remains from the different periods. You usually find a foundation here, a wall there. But to find something standing completely whole doesn’t happen so much in Jerusalem, especially not from the late Roman period.”
Here’s Colonel Ty Seidule, Professor of History at West Point, talking about the Confederacy the way John Kelly should have. Via Jack Runyan (@JackDRunyan) November 1, 2017
Some Pacific Islanders Have DNA Not Linked To Any Known Human Ancestor ““We’re missing a population, or we’re misunderstanding something about the relationships,” researcher Ryan Bohlender told Science News. “Human history is a lot more complicated than we thought it was.”
Love Tokens From The Thames “The magical potential of throwing a coin into the water has been recognised by different cultures in different times with all kinds of meanings. Yet since we can never ask those who threw these tokens why they did it, we can only surmise that engraving your beloved’s name upon a coin and throwing it into the water was a gesture to attract good fortune. It was a wish.”
Society
Iceland Bans American Televangelists
Tim Cook says the tech giants have something much greater to be concerned about than the fact that Russian agents exploited social media to sway the American publid.
“I don’t believe that the big issue are ads from foreign government. I believe that’s like .1 percent of the issue,” Cook told NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt in an exclusive interview airing Wednesday night. “The bigger issue is that some of these tools are used to divide people, to manipulate people, to get fake news to people in broad numbers, and so, to influence their thinking,” Cook said. “And this, to me, is the No. 1 through 10 issue.”
How Facebook made money dividing the US into adversarial political subgroups
Via Day 2 of the Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing: This Is A Very Big Deal”: Feinstein Lights Into Big Tech Over Russian Meddling “Feinstein made it clear that, going forward, Big Tech should expect to operate under a microscope. “We are not going to go away, gentlemen,” she said. “And this is a very big deal. I went home last night with profound disappointment. I asked specific questions, I got vague answers. And that just won’t do. You have a huge problem on your hands. And the U.S. is going to be the first of the countries to bring it to your attention, and other countries are going to follow, I’m sure, because you bear this responsibility. You created these platforms, and they are being misused. And you have to be the ones to do something about it—or we will.”
Via the AP: Inside story: How Russians Hacked the Democrats’ Emails Source claims “Confidential” was added to at least one non-confidential email, other emails came not from the DNC, but from Podesta’s Inbox. And yes, the methodology was phishing.
Pay It Forward and Make It Better
Helen Macdonald on the Wonderful, Optimistic World of Hawks “When Helen Macdonald’s father died suddenly, she turned to an unusual form of grief-management for solace: training a goshawk.”
Shire Sharing “Shire Sharing is a collaborative effort among New Hampshire activists to address community needs through voluntary action and direct charity. We raise funds, collect goods, coordinate deliveries and connect with our community. We are a non-profit, comprised of volunteers only; that means that all of your donations go directly to helping families in need.” Their current goal is feeding 600 families for Thanksgiving.
Science and Technology
Trump administration releases report finding ‘no convincing alternative explanation’ for climate change “The Trump administration released a dire scientific report Friday calling human activity the dominant driver of global warming, a conclusion at odds with White House decisions to withdraw from a key international climate accord, champion fossil fuels and reverse Obama-era climate policies.”
Thriving Garden in Sealed Bottle Hasn’t Been Watered in Over 40 Years
Scientists Unearth Near-Complete Marine Reptile Fossil in India “Palaeontologists have unearthed the remains of an ichthyosaur, a prehistoric creature more frequently seen in North America and Europe.”
Meet Burrito: The Extremely Rare Male Tortoiseshell Kitten
Does Your Cat Love You? 7 Signs to Look For
Women’s Work
What to do about strong-willed female employees
💩🔥💰 Trumpery 💩🔥💰
Trump says sex harassment claims are ‘fake news,’ but there are corroborators
Trump’s ouster of U.S. Attorney Dana Boente matters “At first blush, this may not seem especially important. After all, presidents routinely appoint their own slate of federal prosecutors, so it may seem as if Boente is just part of a larger pattern.
But there’s more to this one: Boente, like Bharara, was in a position to investigate the president when Trump decided unexpectedly to fire him.”
