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A geothermal power station in Iceland creates electricity from heat generated in Earth’s interior. Photo credit: © Barbara Whitney |
The atmospheric capital of Iceland, located in southeastern corner of Faxa Bay on the island's south-western coast, was designated the administrative center of the Danish-ruled island 125 years ago today. According to tradition, Reykjavík ("Bay of Smokes") was founded in 874 by the Norseman Ingólfur Arnarson, though until the 20th century it only a small fishing village and trading post.
I was very struck by the air quality which is apparent in all the photographs.
via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
On the road. GPS means that you never have to find your own way in the world. What would Jack Kerouac think?... more
Memory Is a Thing of the Past. Is That Bad? via Big Think by Big Think Editors
Think of all the things you use to remember but no longer need to: telephone numbers, street and email addresses, driving directions, etc. In our society of ubiquitous computing devices, the formidable capabilities of the human memory are no longer obvious. Yet …
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Is Islam Compatible with Capitalism? via 3quarksdaily by Azra Raza
From City Journal:
Muslim economies haven't always been low achievers. In his seminal work The World Economy, economist Angus Maddison showed that until the twelfth century, per-capita income was much higher in the Muslim Middle East than in Europe. Beginning in the twelfth century, though, what Duke University economist Timur Kuran calls the Long Divergence began, upending this economic hierarchy, so that by Rifaa's time, Europe had grown far more powerful and prosperous than the Arab Muslim world. A key factor in the divergence was Italian city-states’ invention of capitalism.At just over 3,000 words I would describe Sorman's work as an essay. Please read it for yourself.
via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Ah, the Moulin Rouge: a paragon of decadent, belle epoque entertainment. Toulouse-Lautrec saw it as a scene of poignant melancholy…more
Steamship Routes of the World c.1900 and 1914 via HOW TO BE A RETRONAUT by Amanda
Thank you to Pantufla
View the images here
Whilst I have no particular interest in steamships per se, nor, indeed, the routes that these vessels took in the years mentioned, I did find it interesting to look at the names of the countries which include Sudetenland, Cape Colony and, of course, Finland is simply part of Russia.
Learn To Speak Esperanto With Lernu via MakeUseOf by Danny Stieben
At some point or another, you may have thought about or had to learn a language. Whether it was English, Spanish, Chinese, or even Swahili, finding tools to learn those languages is hard at best. Based on what I've heard, Rosetta Stone seems to be the best way, but such a solution is quite expensive. So what if I told you that if you've ever been interested in Esperanto, there's a website that can teach you for free?
Danny’s post covers:
- What is Esperanto?
- About Lernu
- Start Learning!
- Multilingual Support
- Keep It Up!
- Conclusion
via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
“Our culture is afflicted with knowingness,” says Erik Davis. But what we know are other peoples’ opinions. Yelp, Digg, Twitter, Facebook...Make up your own damn mind!...more
Beware the retro monsters such as this one!Shock! Horror! Terror! Time to get under the bed and cower. No, we're not talking about the evening news, but THE MONSTERS OF YESTERYEAR! Make no mistake, these fearsome brutes will terrify and stupefy you. Stay out of the water unless you want to come face to fins with The Monster Fish, or grapple with The Monster of the Lagoon, or let the Killer Crabs get the pinch on you, or worst of all — fall prey to The Slime Beast!Whether with tentacles or webbed feet, laser-vision or antennae, these monsters are here to conquer the Earth, and everyone on it. With fantastically illustrated covers festooned with dames in distress, killer robots, alien interlopers and much more, there's nowhere safe to hide from these vintage villainous volumes. Hearken back to the days of The Thing, The Blob, and other hilariously scary beasts bent on destruction. They’re campy! They’re kitschy! They’re collectible!
Read all about it at AbeBooks
Top 5 Historical Figures in Doctor Who (Ranked by Accuracy) via Credo Reference Blog by kathleen
Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie and Vincent van Gogh are the choices and I found the blurb about each of them interesting even though I do not watch the Doctor!
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