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Butterfly Farms in Kenya

November 20, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: Top Africa News.
One of the benefits of having Kenyan farmers raise butterflies for a living is that they are protecting East Africa’s largest coastal forest.

I’m reading a strange British novel called Ash Before Oak in which the protagonist is keeping a diary about the natural world he encounters on leaving London for England’s West Country. As a kind of self-therapy for the impending breakdown he senses, he makes lists of — and tries to focus on — all the flora and fauna he sees. Starting with butterflies.

Who knew there were so many butterflies in the world? Who knew there were so many in southwest England? They do have a mesmerizing quality. Today’s article is about how unsuspecting butterflies are mesmerizing people in Africa while doing good work for the planet.

Evelyn Makena wrote at Top Africa News, “Before becoming a butterfly farmer, Dickson Mbogo made a living by selling charcoal from trees he cut in the forest.

“ ‘In my search for food and an income, I was destroying the forest,’ he said.

“Now, after getting involved in butterfly farming, Mbogo’s weekly routine involves visiting sections of Kenya’s eastern Arabuko-Sokoke Forest to capture butterflies using trapping nets.

“Home to some of the world’s endangered animals and plants, the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve is the most extensive indigenous forest on the east African coast. Once part of an extensive coastal forest that ran from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique, the forest is visible for miles along Kenya’s north coast highway.

“It is home to several threatened bird species, including Clarke’s weaver bird and the Sokoke scops owl, as well as endemic animals like the Aders’s duiker, the golden-rumped elephant shrew and the bushy-tailed mongoose. It is also home to elephants and other members of the ‘big five.’

“The forest also hosts almost 300 butterfly species. For local communities living adjacent to the forest, these butterflies are now the source of a sustainable livelihood, enhancing the conservation of a forest previously threatened by illegal logging.

“At home, Mbogo places the butterflies in a netted cage that houses different varieties of trees for the butterflies to feed on and lay eggs.

“ ‘Butterflies can lay up to 300 eggs. After a few days, eggs hatch to caterpillars and feed on specific food plants until they develop into pupae,’ explained Mbogo.

“After the pupae stage, farmers take the insects to Kipepeo Center in Gede town, a few kilometers from their homes.

“ ‘Here, the insects are sorted according to species, graded, carefully wrapped in cotton for protection and packaged in boxes. They are then exported to markets in the United Kingdom,’ said Hussein Abdulahi Aden, Project Manager of the Kipepeo Butterfly Project.

“From an initial 141 members when the project started, [in 2022, there were] 872. … Farmers are paid for every pupa delivered, depending on the species type. Pupae can attract between Ksh. 90 – 225, (US$0.75 – 1.8) with farmers making collective earnings of up to Ksh.15 – 20 million (US$124,000 – 166,000) per year.

“According to Aden, the Kipepeo project was started in 1993 by the National Museums of Kenya and other stakeholders to reduce pressure on the forest while offering an alternative source of income to locals. Initially, the project was met with resistance from the community.

“ ‘For a community used to subsistence farming of maize, cashew nuts and coconuts, the idea of butterfly farming was strange and perceived as mystical. There was also fear that this was a government project aimed at evicting them from their farms,’ Aden explained. But other community members followed suit as the pioneer farmers began reaping the project’s benefits. …

“Among the butterfly species reared are the colourful African Swallowtail, Silver Stripped Charaxes and Taita Blue-banded Swallowtail. There are also other less colorful species, like the African Migrant.

“The project buys all the pupae brought by the farmers. When supply is higher than the demand, the surplus is released to the Kipepeo Butterfly Exhibition House at Gede to educate the public on the insects. Some are released back into the forest for the continuity of species – ensuring that the forest is not only protected from the charcoal burners but is also well pollinated. …

“In many ways, Kipepeo project members have become champions of conservation within the community. Sofia Saidi, a member of the Mkongani group, said that members report any suspicious activities they may come across in the forest to the relevant authorities, including Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Wildlife Service. The project has also trained volunteer community scouts who patrol the forest and deter illegal activities.

“The Kipepeo project has also been crucial in improving food security in the community. Specific butterfly species play a vital role in pollination. According to Aden, a survey conducted within a five-kilometre radius of the forest boundary found that farms closer to the forest had better yields, indicating the impact of the butterflies on plant reproduction.”

More at Top Africa News, here. For an audio story about Kenyan butterfly growers, check out The World, here.

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Pedestrian Success in Montreal

November 19, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: Marc Bruxelle.
Montreal’s pedestrian revolution has been good for the city.

I like the idea of a walkable city, and often that means a city more friendly to pedestrians than to cars. When a move toward walkability is proposed — even in a small area, even as a pilot — shops on the street expect to lose business. But is that what really happens?

Toula Drimonis reports at the Walrus on a Montreal experiment: “In 2020, during the first pandemic summer, Montreal’s Projet Montréal administration, led by mayor Valérie Plante, closed a two-kilometer stretch of Mont-Royal Avenue to motorists for a few months. The idea was simple: get people out shopping and socializing while also respecting physical distancing guidelines.

“The pilot project faced criticism from business owners concerned that removing cars would deter driving clients and complicate deliveries. But once merchants saw the street fill with milling crowds, they were convinced. The pandemic initiative became an annual event. By 2023, the avenue’s commercial vacancy rate plummeted from 14.5 percent in 2018 to 5.6 percent. A few years earlier, in 2021, the pedestrianization of Wellington Street in the Verdun borough had increased foot traffic and shoppers by 17 percent. A once-drab strip is now lined with restaurants, bars, and cafes. On Fridays, hundreds gather to dance salsa and bachata.

“The pilot kept growing. As of this summer, eleven streets in total have been transformed into seasonal pedestrian-only destinations, creating almost ten kilometers of walkable car-free surfaces across several boroughs. The experiment has proven so popular that it has drawn praise, and not a little astonishment, from visiting urban planners. … Mayor Plante makes no secret of how she feels about the car-free streets, calling them ‘the lifeblood of Montreal’s neighborhoods.’

“Flâneur-friendly cities don’t just materialize. It took strategic planning and years of push and pull. A little over a decade ago, then Plateau-Mont-Royal mayor Luc Ferrandez set out to make his borough’s streets safer and reclaim public space. He wanted a neighborhood people could live in and not just drive through. His first move, in 2010, was to convert a two-way ten-block stretch of Laurier Avenue to a one-way to clear more room for pedestrians, cyclists, and community activities. He didn’t stop there: he kept closing roadways that ran through parks and changing the direction of streets to divert traffic.

“Resistance was fierce.”  Find out what happened, here.

Jason Magder at the Montreal Gazette has more: “With summer winding down, Montrealers were walking, cycling and using scooters on Mont-Royal Ave. Thursday afternoon, with the closure of part of the street to all cars extended until October this year.

“The pedestrianization of this street has been a resounding success, borough mayor Luc Rabouin said, with more than 33,000 people flocking to the area between St-Laurent Blvd. and Fullum St. While most of the street was reopened at the end of last month, the portion between St-Laurent and St-Denis St. remains closed to vehicles until Oct. 14 for the first time, as a trial project.

“ ‘The other streets don’t even come close,’ Rabouin said during an interview Thursday while sitting on the terrasse of the bar Bily Kun. … Rabouin said the city wants to go even further on pedestrianization, with more money dedicated to projects and more predictability.

“The Plante administration will announce Friday morning that it will renew the pedestrianization of all nine streets that were closed this year for a three-year period starting next year. … The city is also almost doubling the funding available to the merchants associations to put together the pedestrian-only zones, to $700,000 per year from $375,000.

“Alia Hassan-Cournol, an associate executive committee member handling economic development, said adding predictability, rather than announcing the streets every year, will help businesses. The new money will allow local businesses to hire liaison agents to prepare the streets several months in advance, and will allow the associations to conduct impact studies. The city is also adding $1.1 million per year to support new pedestrian zones on other roads. Overall, the city will spend $12 million for three years for pedestrian streets, up from $10 million for the previous three-year period.”

More at the Gazette, here.

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Shops as Rock Music Venues

November 18, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: Lorne Thomson/Redferns.
A group called Personal Trainer performs in an Austin, Texas, record shop (above). Like NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, record shops provide a welcome venue for performers.

In the record industry, apparently, as long as performances feel a little different and surprising, it’s good for business. But how long do things stay surprising? Today’s article traces the rise of band performances in record shops and leads me to wonder, After record shops, what’s next?

Michael Hann writes at the Guardian, “At one end of Banquet Records in Kingston upon Thames the Dutch indie band Personal Trainer are performing a short set next to the album racks. … Afterwards, the band will sign the albums the fans have bought and everyone will depart a little happier: the fans with memories of an intimate show and signed records; the band a few quid richer, a few more sales made, maybe a few more fans won. And Banquet will have sold a few hundred quid’s worth of stock.

“It’s early August and the start of an intensive week for Personal Trainer – as well as Banquet, they will play record shops in London, Brighton, Portsmouth, Totnes, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds and Nottingham. There will be festival shows, too, but only one conventional gig, an undersell in a tiny pub. This campaign is not launching with touring, at least not in the old-fashioned sense. …

“Artists have always gone to record shops to sign albums. And there have long been one-off promo shows in shops. But the idea of the in-store performance as a key part of an album launch dates back a decade or so, partly because physical sales of music were so low that the extra sales from a handful of appearances could dramatically affect chart position for bands with a loyal fanbase (physical sales still carry a greater chart weighting than streams or digital downloads).

“But also it’s because it’s one of the few routes left to promote a new album, says Tara Richardson, who managed the Last Dinner Party when they reached No 1 in the album charts earlier this year with their debut. ‘There’s no TV any more for bands,’ she says. ‘There’s only a Radio X session and a Live Lounge recording. So in the week of release you either put in shows, or you put in in-stores, and they’re the perfect thing to keep everyone busy in the week of release.’

“Labels favor in-stores, she says, not just for the chart position, but because it keeps the decks clear for a proper tour later in the campaign. Meanwhile in-stores tend to favor indie-ish bands, not least because independent record shops are now far more of a driving force in retail than the megastores. The Rough Trade chain, for example, hosts scores of shows. …

“With the right act and enough advance notice, in-stores can make a huge difference to sales and set the tone of an album campaign. ‘In the UK, the in-store has become part of the process of building a week-one launchpad for the campaign and building a chart position, because physical sales still leapfrog the streaming economy,’ says James Sandom, who works as a manager with bands including the Vaccines and Interpol. Sandom says the charts actually measure nothing of meaning any longer, but they still have use, because a high chart position will allow booking agents to demand higher fees, and get bands better spots on festival bills. …

“Simon Raymonde of Bella Union – Personal Trainer’s label – says it’s about building community. ‘I really like it when the shops are fully involved and they will be far more supportive of the record.’ …

“But for Rupert Morrison of Drift Records in Totnes, which staged one of Personal Trainer’s shows, in-stores becoming an institutionalized part of an album campaign risks losing what was once special about them. ‘Originally it was an American thing,’ he says. ‘Culturally outlying stores like Other Music in New York were melting people’s minds: the people there would talk about Laurie Anderson playing and Lou Reed cheering her on and helping with her pedals. They were these incredible, intimate, mind-blowing experiences, where you got completely different access to people. …

“ ‘I worry that like everything, once people see that something is a thing, it gets hammered and hammered.’ …

“Nevertheless, the results, for certain artists, can’t be argued with. Shed Seven had their first No 1 album earlier this year thanks to sales made at their in-store appearances in January. ‘You’re in a van, you’ve got one crew member to help, and you’re in Brighton at midday, then Southampton at teatime, Bristol the next lunchtime. And then you’re in Glasgow,’ says singer Rick Witter. ‘It’s intense.’

“But that No 1 changed perceptions of the band, Witter says. No longer were they a Britpop punchline, but a band with a No 1 album.”

More at the Guardian, here.

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Historic Interplay of Greek and Arabic

November 17, 2024 by suzannesmom

In ancient times, Arabic translations of Greek helped spur scientific inquiry.

You may have seen that there are contemporary publishers planning to use artificial intelligence to translate texts. Ha! What could possibly go wrong? If you have ever used Google Translate, you know the answer to that: AI works only up to a point.

Today’s excerpt from Josephine Quinn’s book How the World Made the West, focuses on benefits that came from the traditional type of translation.

“In the eighth-century CE the Abbasids undertook to collect the wisdom of the world in their new capital at Baghdad. … The operation was lavishly funded by [the second Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur] as well as by members of his household, courtiers, merchants, bankers, and military leaders. …

“What is often now called the ‘Translation Movement’ … was part of a wider commitment by Islamic scholars and political leaders to scientific investigation that also saw caliphs commission new works of science, geography, poetry, history, and medicine.

The real legacy of the Arabic translations is the impetus they gave to further thought. 

“It is well-known that classic works of Greek science and philosophy were translated into Arabic before they were translated into other European languages — including Latin. What is less well-known is that the point of translating foreign works was not to preserve them but to build on them. As links around the Mediterranean continued to increase, that Arabic scholarship began to reach western Europe, and to change the way people there thought.

“Back in Baghdad, as so often happened, cultural change began from the outside — and in this case with the collection and comparison of foreign knowledge. The fundamental model and first material for the Abbasid translation project came from Iran, where sixth-century Sasanian shahs had commissioned Persian translations of important Indian and Greek works.

“Living Iranians were an inspiration too. … Persian scholars had already started to translate classic works of their own literature into Arabic. This ensured their preservation, and advertised the history and high culture of Iranian lands. Sasanian intellectuals also maintained useful links with scientific traditions farther east, above all with Indian mathematicians, the most advanced in the ancient world, and they had already translated important works from Sanskrit into their own language. …

“Incorporating the work of Greek thinkers into the Arabic canon was by contrast a declaration of cultural hegemony over the rump Roman empire at Constantinople, where older learning had been set aside in favor of Christian genres from sermons to saints’ lives, and where ancient science and philosophy now moldered in archives and monasteries.

“More immediately, the project took inspiration from the contemporary intellectual culture of western Asia, revitalized by the unification under Islam of regions once subject to either Persia or Rome. … This world produced well-traveled intellectuals expert in topics from military strategy to astrology, and comfortable in Greek, Syriac, Middle Persian (Pahlavi), and now Arabic as well.

“The final key component came from farther east. Paper had been invented in China in the second century BCE and by the second century CE it is found in the trading oases of the Tarim Basin. … As paper was much cheaper to produce than papyrus, it finally made writing in great quantity a practical prospect.

“In the early ninth century scientific scholarship in Baghdad coalesced around a library called the ‘House of Wisdom’ (Bayt al-Hikma), and the translation efforts were put on a more organized footing. … Persian scholars translated into Arabic works that had already been translated from other languages into their own, and since there was comparatively little direct Greco-Arabic bilingualism, Arabic translations of Greek works were often made from Syriac versions. …

“We have a useful guide to the foreign works considered worthy of investigation in the form of an encyclopedia entitled Keys of the Sciences written by Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c. 780–850), a Persian-speaking mathematician and astronomer from the central Asian oasis of Khwarazm, south of the Aral Sea, who worked at the House of Wisdom.

“He divided the work into two books: one describes ‘Islamic religious law and Arabic sciences,’ defined as law, theology, grammar, secretaryship, poetry, and history; the other is devoted to ‘the sciences of foreigners such as the Greeks and other nations’: philosophy, logic, law, medicine, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy/astrology, music, mechanics, and alchemy. …

“Practical Greek texts also found their way into the collection, on topics from engineering to military tactics to falconry. Popular literature included books of fables, ‘wisdom sayings,’ and letters supposedly exchanged between famous historical figures. …

“Some of the Greek texts were acquired through personal request, even from the caliph himself. Other manuscripts were found on investigative missions. [A] tenth-century compendium of literature written in Baghdad reports that camel-loads of old works were discovered in a pagan Greek temple that had been locked since the arrival of Christianity, getting worn and gnawed at by pests. …

“Most ancient science was indeed lost to western Europe for almost a millennium: such works were usually written in Greek, even by Romans, and they disappeared with the knowledge of that language. …

“Greek texts were far from the only inspiration for Arabic science. [But the] manipulation, criticism, and sometimes outright rejection of foreign works by intellectuals working in the Islamic world catalyzed a scientific revolution.”

More at Literary Hub, here.

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A Transparent Art Restoration

November 16, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: Wikipedia.
Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” (1642) at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

A couple years ago I wrote (here) about how AI was being used to help in the restoration of Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch.” Now at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, conservators are taking another unusual step: allowing museum goers to watch the restoration process.

Kelsey Ables writes at the Washington Post, “Visitors eager to catch a glimpse of Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam may be surprised to find the large oil painting looking more like a work in progress than a masterpiece that was completed in 1642. On Tuesday, conservators — equipped with masks, gloves, brushes and scaffolding — began a long-anticipated restoration of the work, a process that would usually take place behind the scenes but that the Rijksmuseum is putting on full display to the public.

“Images and videos from the museum show conservators inside a glass chamber, crouching over Rembrandt’s emphatic figures and gently removing decades-old varnish with brushes and solvent, as curious visitors crowd around outside.

“Taco Dibbits, director of the Rijksmuseum, said in a statement that the beginning of the restoration, which follows years of research and a re-stretching of the canvas, ‘is filled with anticipation.’ …

“A sprawling 12½-by-15-foot canvas that depicts a group of civic guardsmen cast in a dramatic lighting style known as chiaroscuro, ‘The Night Watch’ is considered one of the crowning artistic achievements of the Dutch Golden Age. The Rijksmuseum’s undertaking marks another chapter in the long life of the famous work, which has survived two knife attacks and was hidden in a cave during World War II.

“The process will involve removing varnish that was applied during its 1975-1976 restoration and will significantly change the look of the painting, making white paint whiter and dark areas more visible. The current varnish is ‘discolored, has yellowed, and it saturates poorly,’ Ige Verslype, paintings conservator at the Rijksmuseum, said in a video. …

“To remove the old varnish, conservators are using a special technique that reduces the need for ‘mechanical action’ and involves applying a measured amount of solvent to the canvas with a tissue and brush. As they remove the varnish, the famously dark painting will become more matte and gray, the Rijksmuseum explained, until a fresh layer is applied, imbuing the figures with new life.

“Paula Dredge, a lecturer in cultural materials conservation at the University of Melbourne in Australia … said that such work, which involves peeling back previous restorations, is a ‘process of discovery,’ even for the conservator. ‘The value we give originality and artists’ intent is a modern concept. In the past, restorations were more invasive and often covered over passages of the artist’s paint,’ she wrote, adding, ‘We may find more of Rembrandt.’

“In the 18th century, the painting’s old varnish and accumulated dirt actually became a part of its identity when it was nicknamed ‘The Night Watch,’ in response to its dark colors. The painting is in fact set during the day.

“It is a type of painting unique to the northern Netherlands, where civic watchmen companies commissioned group portraits that were intended to create a sense of local pride. While such paintings were usually stiff and straightforward, Rembrandt broke with tradition in ‘The Night Watch’ by imagining a dynamic composition that shows the guardsmen poised for attack. In his scene, the guardsmen, cloaked in darkness, appear to be responding to a threat. They hold up flags, raise weapons, play the drums, as their captain, bathed in light, guides them forward.

“Rembrandt also added unique flourishes, such as a personification of the watchmen’s company in the form of a small girl with a chicken — and even his own self-portrait (peeking over a soldier’s shoulder in the top row, just left of center).

“But the drama is a fiction. By the time Rembrandt finished this, the Dutch war of independence against the Spanish was nearly over, Amsterdam was mostly safe, and these watchmen companies were largely drinking societies.”

More at the Post (via MSN), here.

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School for Exiles in Armenia

November 15, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: Daniel Ofman/The World.
Elena Chegodaeva is the founder of the Liberated School in Yerevan, Armenia. Most of the students are the kids of Russian immigrants who left Russia because of the war in Ukraine.

When tyrants like Putin have total control over the media, it’s easy to forget that there may be some people in the country who are not supportive of tyranny. In today’s story we learn about Russian dissenters who fled to Armenia after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine — and how they are trying to make a new life there. (Do you know why media outlets always say “full-scale” invasion? Because Russia has been doing other, more limited invasions for a long time.)

With contributions from Stepan Adamyan, Daniel Ofman reported the story for Public Radio International’s The World.

“Russian Elena Chegodaeva left Moscow in early March of 2022 — about a week after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“Chegodaeva was against the war and fled to Yerevan, Armenia. … Chegodaeva is among the hundreds of thousands of Russians who have left their homeland since the invasion of Ukraine. Most of them oppose Russia’s war in Ukraine, or they fear getting drafted. 

“Many have wound up all over Europe — and Turkey, Georgia and Armenia have become some of the most-frequent destinations for exiled Russians. According to some estimates, more than 100,000 Russian citizens fled to Armenia alone. This reality has led to some changes within Yerevan, the Armenian capital, as the new residents try to put down roots.

“Chegodaeva, an educator, soon realized the need for a school for the Russian children coming to the city. So, after coordinating with families and securing teachers and a space within a couple of weeks, she started the Svobodnaya Shkola, which is Russian for Liberated School. …

“At first, the school only had 40 students — all kids of Russian immigrants. Back then, many of the families thought the war would end and they would soon return to Russia. The school operated out of an apartment. Now, 2 1/2 years later, many of the families are still here, and the student body has grown to 250, with classes held in two different buildings. Lessons are taught in Russian and English, while Armenian is also taught twice a week. …

“Yura Boguslavsky, a parent of two sons, ages 10 and 15, at Chegodaeva’s school, said that their education is one of the reasons he left Russia. … [And] when he and his family first arrived in Armenia, they also struggled. ‘I think the first two or three weeks was just a shock; we managed to find someplace to live, and all the streets in Yerevan were full of lost people with backpacks who were very sad.’ …

“Back in Russia, Boguslavsky attended anti-war protests, and was opposed to the Kremlin’s politics. Professionally though, Boguslavsky said, he was thriving. In Moscow, he ran a studio and an animation school. But once he got to Yerevan, he had to start from scratch. …

“A year after arriving in Yerevan, Boguslavsky started a new animation studio called Invisible Friends. He also teaches animation to students of all ages. He produced a Claymation, stop-motion documentary called, We flew, we came here, based on interviews that Armenian students conducted with Russian kids who had recently arrived in Yerevan.

“In the film, one child says that he didn’t know how long they were leaving Russia for — but when he found out, he says he ‘began missing his friends’ and sometimes cried at night. The kids described the toys they took with them and the ones they left behind.

“Boguslavsky said that the kids were a lot more expressive than the adults were. That’s why he chose to feature children in the film.

“ ‘All the adults … were saying almost the same things, just retelling the news. And the kids were sometimes even funny; they talked about how they understood what their parents told them. They were speaking a lot about their feelings.’

“Boguslavsky said that this film inspired him to find a way to keep teaching animation in Armenia. He said that nowadays, he feels comfortable in Armenia, but he knows that many other people are having a hard time.

“Finding affordable housing, and consistent work, is a challenge for many Russian immigrants who don’t work in the tech sector. A lot of people are also having trouble adjusting because they’re still hoping to return to Russia.

“ ‘I know many people who were suffering a lot, and not living their lives, and they were stuck in the past, and I don’t want to be like that, you know.’

“Boguslavsky said that it’s unlikely that he’ll return to Russia anytime soon. He said that he’s focused on making a life for himself and his family here in Armenia.

“Chegodaeva said that’s her mindset as well, and one of the reasons she founded the school. However, she said she still holds out hope that she’ll one day go back to Russia.”

More at The World, here.

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Dating Apps Out, Pineapples In

November 14, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: keriliwi via Unsplash.
In Spain these days, a pineapple means you are available.

I’m sharing a funny dating story from September with the caveat that global warming may have upset everything in the short time since then. That’s because the lighthearted craze described here may have been inundated in the recent floods. On the other hand, maybe I should give more credit to the resilience of the human spirit. Especially when it comes to dating.

Guy Hedgecoe writes at the BBC, “A Spanish craze encouraging single people to seek partners in supermarkets by using a fruit-based code has caused some chaotic scenes and even led to the police being called to restore order.

“In recent days, many single Spaniards have been drawn to branches of supermarket chain Mercadona between 7pm-8pm by claims they can find romance at that time, particularly if they put a pineapple upside down in their shopping trolley.

“The phenomenon seems to have been driven in great part by the actor and humorist Vivy Lin, who posted a video on TikTok of her pushing a trolley around a Mercadona store talking about the supposed window. …

“The pineapple maneuver is reportedly completed by pushing your trolley into the wine section of the store and hoping that a person you find attractive responds positively.

“As the story has gone viral, it has led to some unusual and sometimes disorderly sights.

“In Madrid there have been reports of groups of teenagers pushing trolleys around stores in the evening, without buying products.

‘One man was dressed as a giant pineapple by his friends inside a store as part of his bachelor party celebrations.

“In Bilbao, police were called to a branch of Mercadona during the 7pm-8pm time slot because of rowdy scenes inside, although they were not required to intervene.

“A song, circulating online, has further driven the success of the trend, with the words: ‘In the wine section / My heart races / Looking for someone special / That my soul needs.’ …

“While the latest use of the fruit may have proved popular with some, there have been reports that the pineapple mania has not found favor with many Mercadona employees who are left to clear up unpurchased goods.

“One video showed a worker pushing boxes of the fruit away from shelves and towards a storeroom as 7pm approached.”

Meanwhile at the Washington Post, Leo Sands interviews a Malaga resident, ” ‘I think that currently the apps are very monotonous and people are already looking for something different,’ said Gustavo Contreras, a 28-year-old waiter living in Malaga, on Spain’s southern coast. …

“Contreras, who said he knows people who have met by crashing their carts together, said he spent about an hour carting around an upside-down pineapple at his local Mercadona store twice last week, but failed to knock carts with anyone else.

“The first time, ‘I went in and grabbed a pineapple and went around with my cart. I was going to go shopping anyway, but I realized that when I carried a pineapple, there were some knowing glances on 2 occasions,’ he said in a text message Wednesday. ‘I could feel the tension in the stares.’

“When he returned to the store the next day to try again, Contreras said that there were no pineapples left — a shortage he attributed to the popularity of the new dating craze.”

More at the BBC, here, and at the Post, here.

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Another Outlet Goes Nonprofit

November 13, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: NiemanLab.
Now nonprofit, the Salt Lake Tribune has achieved something rare for a local newspaper: financial sustainability.

Yesterday we talked about getting news from a whistler in the mountains. Today we look at a more traditional approach, but one that is also seeing changes. Here’s one of NiemanLab’s deep dives into what’s going on in US news delivery.

Sarah Scire writes, “It started when Andy Larsen, sports reporter and data columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune, got annoyed with an ‘obnoxious’ ad on the Tribune’s own site. He brought his frustration about the digital clutter to someone else who happened to be working late in the newsroom — chief development officer Ciel Hunter.

“ ‘I asked her: “Hey, how much money do we make on this? Is it really worth it?” ‘ Larsen said. ‘That led into a conversation about how much we make from digital ad revenue overall, when compared to sponsorships and donations, which then led to talks on everything else. I was pretty floored and impressed with her transparency on everything over the course of the next couple of hours, which then led me to ask about making those same numbers public, and if I could help with the project.’

“That’s how Larsen ended up writing an annual report that gives the public — including nosy newshounds like you and me — a look at the inner workings of the first legacy newspaper in the U.S. to become a nonprofit.

“Larsen said he was given access to ‘internal financials and metrics of every kind.’ … He also interviewed [chief executive officer Lauren Gustus], Hunter, and director of finance Doug Ryle about the company’s finances and future plans. …

“This public-facing report is a first for the 153-year-old Salt Lake Tribune, which took inspiration from Defector and the Texas Tribune. It imagines an audience that includes subscribers, local residents, potential donors, news industry followers, and — as its origin story suggests — at least some of the Tribune’s own employees.

“News organizations have historically sought to maintain a strict separation between business and editorial operations to protect newsroom independence, and it’s been said — maybe not unfairly — that journalists don’t know much about the business of news. There are signs that is changing. … We’ve seen news organizations open communication that gives journalists a better idea of what, exactly, needs to happen for their publication to survive and thrive — and where they fit in.

“ ‘A firewall between business and editorial is essential for the integrity of the product, IMO,’ Larsen said. ‘On the other hand, that firewall can also be limiting when it comes to belief between the two groups — frankly, I think some of our own writers, including myself, had just assumed that our business was in worse shape than it was, just based on us operating in the newspaper biz in 2024. One way to get the information out to staff without breaking that firewall was just publishing everything to everyone.’

“Larsen said some expenditures stood out to him but that, mostly, he was happily surprised with what he found poking around his employer’s finances. ‘Honestly, that we were seeking donations to specifically address my biggest Tribune if-I-was-czar wants — a better website, free to all — brought me joy.’ …

“Larsen also takes time to address some common misconceptions and criticisms he encounters as a Tribune reporter, including readers who believe Paul Huntsman runs the paper (Huntsman, who rescued the paper from hedge fund ownership eight years ago, stepped down as board chair in February) or assume the Tribune is failing financially. …

“ ‘People in Utah appreciate knowing how we’re doing,’ Gustus said. ‘This is understandable, both because everyone thinks local news is on the rocks and here in Utah it’s the Tribune that can publish stories nobody else does.’ …

“The Tribune expects revenue and expenses to dip in 2024 after chief revenue officer Chris Stegman departed the Tribune in May and brought several Tribune advertising employees with him. Executive editor Gustus praised Stegman for helping turn the Tribune toward financial sustainability but said the change has allowed the newspaper to reorganize its business-side operations to better reflect the nonprofit mission, including moving philanthropy and advertising into the same division, and reduce expenses. …

“The newspaper has not made layoffs — which Larsen describes as ‘damaging to the soul of the Tribune‘ — since 2018 and has grown the newsroom by 10%.

“In July, staff at the Salt Lake Tribune announced their intention to form a union — including, as he disclosed in the annual report, Larsen himself. The newspaper’s management voluntarily recognized the Salt Lake News Guild four days later. …

“The paper edition (now printed twice a week) of the Salt Lake Tribune has 9,165 subscribers — down from 36,000 print subscribers when the Tribune ended its 149-year run as a daily paper back in 2020 and 200,000 subscribers at its peak.

“As of early June 2024, the Salt Lake Tribune also has 30,362 digital subscribers. Digital access costs $8 for the first three months and $8 per month after that. … The newspaper anticipates digital subscription revenue will edge out print revenue for the first time in 2024.”

Larsen also stated in the report, “Our goal is, at some point in the years to come, to remove that paywall. To allow all, regardless of their ability to pay, to read more Tribune journalism.” I would follow it then because Utah is a whole different world to me. “Free” is possible. Thanks to ads and donations, the nonprofit paper in my town is free to all.

More at NiemanLab, here. No paywall.

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A Whistling Language

November 12, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: Richard Franks.
On the island of La Gomera, expert whistlers communicate across long distances.

How do you get your news? News models are emerging all the time. I get local updates from a nonprofit that has been expanding ever since its launch a couple years ago. (To read about the nonprofit wave, search on “nonprofit news” at this blog.) I also listen to the radio and use social media that provides links to mainstream media.

But what if you got news from a whistler? What would that be like?

Richard Franks writes at the BBC, “In the rugged crags of Barranco de Ávalo, a ravine on the small Canary Island of La Gomera, two local 12-year-olds were practicing their Silbo Gomero, the local whistling language. For an entrancing few minutes, Irún Castillo Perdomo and Angel Manuel Garcia Herrera’s lilting warbles reverberated around the barren gorge and soared proudly into the air like eagles in flight.

“They were accompanied by 70-year-old retired Silbo Gomero teacher Eugenio Darias, whose grandfather used to own and work on this very same land. He told me that the boys’ whistled conversation was similar to any they would have over text message or in the playground, but the focus was instead on the six differentiating sounds that make up La Gomera’s protected whistle language.

“While it’s true that most children their age would sooner pick up their phone and tap away, this small Canary Island invites them to think differently. Thanks to Darias, their threatened tongue has been a compulsory school subject since 1999 – and almost all 22,000 residents can understand it alongside their mother tongue of Canarian Spanish.

” ‘It’s important to give students the idea that they can really use it if they need to, like other languages, but also that it’s not necessary for everyday use,’ said Darias, who pioneered the Silbo Gomero learning program. … ‘Having the whistle protected within our compulsory curriculum prevents extinction altogether.’ …

“Silbo Gomero, which is one of the most studied whistling languages and was officially declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage by Unesco in 2009, uses six condensed sounds to communicate. Two differentiating whistles replace the five spoken vowels in Spanish, while just four replace the 22 consonants. Whistlers elongate or shorten the sounds to mimic the words.

“Several whistling methods exist on the island, though perhaps the most traditional is demonstrated by local sculptor José Darías. His Whistling Tree sculpture at Mirador de Igualero, a viewpoint in Vallehermoso overlooking a ravine where Silbo Gomero was most active, shows how the index finger should be bent and placed inside the mouth while whistling with an open palm beside it to amplify the sound.

“Experienced whistlers use different finger methods and can often tell who is calling by the whistle’s ‘accent’ alone – but most whistlers will introduce themselves and call the recipient’s name. When the message is understood, they whistle back ‘bueno bueno.’ …

“DNA-based research published in 2019 by Tenerife’s La Laguna University has matched La Gomera’s early inhabitants, the Guanches, with Berbers (now known locally as Amazigh). These indigenous people roamed North African regions more than 3,000 years ago and communicated by whistle; it’s therefore widely believed that the Spanish settlers on the island adapted the whistling language of La Gomera’s early inhabitants to suit their native tongue. …

“Silbo Gomero lent itself to La Gomera’s demanding terrain – namely its deep ravines – allowing the locals to communicate with a drifting, piercing sound that could travel for several kilometres. From atop the ravines, the locals would announce events, request livestock be brought over, warn of impending danger, or even announce the death of a family member. ‘It saved a lot of climbing,’ said Darias.

“In the 1950s, Silbo Gomero was used so frequently that there was often a scattered queue of farmers waiting to send instructions across the valleys. … ‘Nobody wanted to climb up and down the ravines to pass on a message. Because of this, so many whistling conversations were happening at the same time, and we would have to wait our turn,’ Darias said. …

“Silbo Gomero was first in decline by the 1960s, when growing economic conditions forced many of the island’s workers to emigrate to more prosperous countries like Cuba and Venezuela, as well as the neighboring Canary Island of Tenerife. Soon after, phones became commonplace and threatened the language altogether.

“By the 1990s, modern technology ascendancy and the introduction of new roads and paths on La Gomera removed the necessity and practicality of Silbo Gomero, dangling it near extinction. …

“ ‘The whistle has been defended with greater care in the Canary Islands, [local broadcast journalist Francisca Gonzalez Santana] noted, ‘because it is an essential part of our culture: the orography of the islands, with mountain areas and canyons, and our economy that has been linked to agriculture and livestock.’

“While the whistle is now rarely heard outside of school or other official programs, however, it is occasionally used in the few parts of the island with no telephone connection. ‘I know of two goat herders who still whistle to each other,’ Darias said. … ‘Their livestock moves around in an area with no mobile network, and that’s why it’s necessary.’ “

More at the BBC, here. No firewall. You can listen to whistlers sending messages here, at the radio show called The World. And be sure to read my 2015 post, here, on a Turkish whistling language.

The world is full of amazing things.

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Best Friends with WW II Veterans

November 11, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: Kyle Cummings/Randolph-Macon College.
Kayla Smith, left, and Hannah Winton help Andy Valero try on an Eisenhower jacket from the World War II era at his Virginia home.

Although in the US we tend to move national holidays to a Monday, Veterans Day is always November 11. This year the 11th just happens to land on a Monday. The holiday was established in commemoration of the Allies and Germany signing an armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, to end WW I. (One historian says this was unfortunately “a peace to end all peace” because the eventual agreement contained the seeds not only of WW II but of endless conflicts in the Middle East.)

In honor of Veterans Day, Cathy Free shared a WW II veteran story at the Washington Post.

“Kayla Smith was looking forward to taking a World War II history class in college two years ago when she learned on the first day of school that the class had been canceled with no explanation.

“ ‘I was so disappointed, because I’d really been looking forward to learning what the Greatest Generation went through,’ said Smith, 23, a history and archaeology major at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va. …

“ ‘I started thinking, “There must be some World War II veterans who are still alive,” ‘ she said. …

“She enlisted the help of a friend, Hannah Winton, and the two of them began calling veterans organizations in central Virginia.

“ ‘We were told that most of the World War II veterans were gone, but we decided to keep looking,’ Smith said. …

“That year, she and Winton were at the Virginia State Fair when they noticed a woman running a booth with information about Veterans of Foreign Wars. The woman put them in touch with a veterans support group in Norfolk, and that’s how Smith and Winton met Andy Valero and Leo Dormon, who are 99 and 100, respectively.

“Valero, a U.S. Army veteran who survived the Battle of the Bulge, and Dormon, an aviator who served in the U.S. Navy, invited the college students to their homes in the Tidewater, Va., area to chat.

“ ‘Something unexpected happened,’ Winton said. ‘We enjoyed talking to them so much that we wanted to keep going back.’

“She and Smith now visit the men several times a month — often with freshly baked brownies — to talk or have lunch. They also accompany them to veterans events, funerals and World War II commemorations.

“ ‘I never thought that at 21, some of my best friends would be 99 and 100,’ Winton said. ‘You can read about war and study it, but these guys actually lived it. I feel honored to be their friend.’ …

“Dormon is recovering from a recent stroke, Winton said, which has given her a deeper appreciation for the visits she has had with him and Valero.

“ ‘We savor every minute, because you never know when it might be the last time you see them,’ she said. ‘When they are gone, their history goes with them.’

“She and Smith said they spent hours asking the two veterans about their war experiences and looking through photos. …

“ ‘I feel really bonded with Leo, and I love to listen to him,” Winton said. “Since his stroke, he has slower recall, but just being with him is important to me. We don’t always have to talk.’

“Dormon, who was a Navy flight instructor, flew more than 35 different aircraft and trained more than 300 pilots during World War II. He also flew during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

“ ‘I’m an aviation nerd, and he’s a fighter pilot with more than 10,000 flight hours,’ said Winton, who hopes to become a Navy pilot someday. ‘We took him and Andy to an air show in June, and Leo was thrilled to go up in one of the vintage planes.’ …

“Dormon said he always looks forward to spending time with Winton and Smith.

“ ‘Hannah and Kayla have been regular visitors, and I have been so thankful to see both,’ he told the Washington Post in a written statement. ‘Taking the time to visit an aging person takes courage and patience, and they’ve made my life much happier. Bless them both.’ …

“[In December 1944] ‘it was the worst winter in 25 years, and we had frozen fingers and trench foot,’ he said, referring to the painful condition that results from standing for a lengthy time in a cold and wet environment.

“Valero lost several of his close comrades in the battle.

“ ‘I didn’t talk about it for many years, but I felt comfortable talking about it with Kayla and Hannah,’ he said. ‘They’re very caring and they feel like family to me. They’re like angels who came out of nowhere.’ ”

More at the Post, here.

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How Horses Help Veterans

November 10, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: va.gov.
Army Veteran Carlos Longoria takes a trip on the track with Biscuit.

Whenever it gets close to Veterans Day, I start seeing stories about therapy for traumatized veterans. We know that, inevitably, some of the young people we send off to war will come back in bad shape. And unfortunately, our government spends a lot more on sending them off than on what they may need when they get back.

Often it’s civilian nonprofits that step up, like an arts group in Asheville, North Carolina, that offered supportive pottery classes to vets — that is, before Hurricane Helene. (Click here.)

Today’s article by Jason Kucera describes an ongoing Veterans Administration (VA) initiative.

“Mankind and horses have carried on beneficial, strong relationships with one relying on the speed, endurance, and raw power while the other affection and care. For a US Marine Corps Veteran such as Kody Wall, this special bond saved his life.

“ ‘I moved home to Montgomery (Texas) after my time as a Marine and very little went well. I had a really hard time adapting, so it wasn’t long until I was divorced and sleeping on an air mattress at my sister’s house,’ Wall said.

“During this time, he said he was battling suicidal thoughts, wanting to just ‘give up.’ Though he had been getting his routine care at a Houston VA outpatient clinic, he did not feel comfortable going into an office or trying to work through appointments over the phone. While hopelessness set in, the darkness would soon clear thanks to a unique therapeutic approach focused on his relationship with a horse.

“ ‘My sister pushed me to visit Sunny Creek Ranch as she knew how much I enjoyed being around horses. It was the best thing that could’ve happened for me,’ said Wall. ‘I’ve been attending sessions since 2016 and spend any extra time I have to help.’ He also shares his own experiences with other Veterans attending sessions, which can really help to open them up. 

“Sunny Creek Ranch hosts an intensive equine-assisted therapy Eagala-certified program in this heavily forested, southeast Texas town, just about an hour north of Houston. Launched by Shannon Novak, an Air Force Veteran spouse, the ranch is a partner of Houston VA. …

“She added that for a lot of Veterans and their family members that participate, they find the relationship with these horses to be similar to that of their own personal relationships. ‘Horses are so intuitive, they know everything about you, and they never forget you.’ …

“Houston VA recently began referring Veterans to equine therapy and plans to ramp up referrals to other holistic therapy approaches in the future. ‘Evidence-based talk psychotherapies for trauma are effective, but we know not every Veteran wants to address their trauma by sitting down in an office or virtual appointment with VA,’ said Dr. Shannon Sisco, whole health coordinator at the Houston VA. …

“Wall said working with the horses in equine therapy has helped him learn to communicate more openly with his young son, resulting in a better and more trusting relationship.

“ ‘The challenge in equine therapy is to develop a trusting relationship with your horse, which in many ways brings out lessons about our own relationships and helps us learn new ways of being in them,’ Sisco said.  

“Veterans do not need experience working with horses to participate in the therapy. They will not actually be riding horses, just interacting with them alongside a professionally licensed therapist. ‘The difference between connecting with horses versus people is that it all depends on your actions rather than your words,’ Sisco said. ‘They are watching what you do and listening to your tone. If you’re not earning their trust, they’re going to let you know.’ … 

“Veterans can choose to participate in individual equine therapy sessions, along with immediate family members, or in small groups with other Veterans.  For more information or to request a referral for equine therapy or any of the VA’s Whole Health programs.”

Although this story focused on Texas, there are similar VA programs around the country. Search here on “horses.” More on today’s feature, here.

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Valuable Art in a Garage

November 9, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: Hansons Auctioneers.
Ten rediscovered Salvador Dalí prints were scheduled to be auctioned off in September. 

Have you ever bought something and stored it away, only to forget about it for years? I have. Mystery objects turned up when I was downsizing, but nothing of great value. I remember a folk art candle holder of brown painted pottery, for example. It was sweet, but I have no idea why or when I bought it.

Lianne Kolirin at CNN wrote about a different kind of discovery.

“Ten signed Salvador Dalí lithographs have been discovered in a garage in London, where they have been stashed for half a century. The artworks, which were discovered by an auctioneer during a routine valuation, are now expected to fetch several thousand dollars at auction.

“The colorful prints were uncovered when the expert was called to a property in Mayfair, central London, to give the customer an assessment of some antiques at the property. But the visit took a turn when the pair went out to the garage of the client, who has not been identified.

“Chris Kirkham, associate director of London’s Hansons Richmond auction house, recalled … ‘It was an amazing find. … I was invited to assess some antiques at a client’s home. During the visit the vendor took me to his garage and, lo and behold, out came this treasure trove of surrealist lithographs – all 15 of them.’

“Together with the 10 Dalí lithographs, which are a mixture of mostly mythological and allegorical scenes, were another five by Theo Tobiasse, a French painter, engraver, illustrator and sculptor.

“ ‘They’d been tucked away and forgotten about for around 50 years. It felt quite surreal. You never know what you’re going to uncover on a routine home visit,’ said Kirkham. … ‘The prints ended up in his garage. They were rediscovered because the seller has been having a clear out. He’s looking to retire and move abroad, so now his lithographs will finally see the light of day at auction. …

“Dalí, a leading member of the Surrealist group, was born in Figueres in Catalonia in 1904 and died there in 1989. A prolific artist, he was renowned for his bizarre images which famously included melting clocks.”

According to Artnet News, the seller, who “paid just $655 for the lot in the 1970s,” sold them in September for $26,200. (Click here.)

More at CNN, here. I once read that it’s advisable to do downsizing regularly — maybe every year. That way you find out what you’ve got that would be better to move elsewhere. Maybe it would help if every time we acquired something new, we promised ourselves to give away something else.

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A Word on Chaucer

November 8, 2024 by suzannesmom

Art: Christina Chung.
A Chaucer fantasy.

What soothes you? Things like a massage, granola, walking, or reading generally work for me. Today, I’m delighting in a literary essay. I’m glad Camille Ralphs wrote at the Poetry Foundation about “how Chaucer remade language.” Good-bye for now to November 2024.

Ralphs says, “Chaucer’s works are very much of their moment, and perhaps required some distance from their context and coevals for their worth to be apparent. Ezra Pound observed that ‘Chaucer had a deeper knowledge of life than Shakespeare.’ If Chaucer hadn’t played so many roles in the medieval city, he likely couldn’t have written so expansively.

“He was the son of a vintner and grew up in London’s Vintry Ward, where he was formed and informed from the start by a babel of trades and trade-offs. He became a page in the house of the Countess of Ulster, a squire in the King’s household, a soldier, a controller of customs in the port of London, a justice of the peace, and Clerk of the King’s works. The Canterbury Tales owes some debt to the genre of ‘estates satire,’ which tallies different social classes and professions and elucidates both their importance to the state and their deficiencies. … Yet there is more reality to Chaucer’s characters than that.

“Who else could have imagined such a motley ensemble but someone who had jostled with the many flavors of humanity? The medleyed voices of the Miller, who can break down doors by running at them with his head; the ‘gat-toothed,’ half-deaf Wife of Bath, who rides astride in bright red stockings; the Canon alchemist, so sweaty from the ride that his horse is a lather of suds; the ‘ful vicious’ Pardoner with his jar of dubious holy ‘pigges bones’; and the garlic-loving Summoner, with a face so pimply ‘children were aferd’ — Chaucer knew them all.

“As Mary Flannery argues in her authoritative and diverting monograph Geoffrey Chaucer: Unveiling the Merry Bard (Reaktion Books, 2024), the mercenary assets of ‘The Shipman’s Tale,’ in which a merchant’s wife offloads a difficult financial situation by insisting she’ll repay her husband with sex (‘By God, I wol nat paye yow but abedde!’) must come from Chaucer’s roving through ‘warehouses, docks and markets.’ Works such as The Book of the Duchess (1368) — probably penned on the death of Blanche of Lancaster, the wife of John of Gaunt (it also circulated under the title ‘The Deth of Blaunche’) — could only be written by a man who’d worked in ‘palaces and great houses in England and on the Continent.’

“For a writer to be all things to all men, he must know a bit about things, and a lot about men — not to mention a lot about language and literature. Had Chaucer not been born into a mercantile environment and had the opportunity to mingle with Italians by the Thames, he may have struggled with Italian, and had he not spent so much time around nobility, he may not have learned French.

“His narratives are mostly borrowed from Latin and Romance-language sources (including Boccaccio’s Decameron, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and the Roman de la Rose by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun). His forms and genres almost all derive from French minstrel romances and fabliaux (bawdy medieval stories), and, more granularly, from the verse structures of poets such as Guillaume de Machaut, from whom Chaucer stole the seven-line form now known as ‘rime royal‘ or the ‘Chaucerian stanza.’ And he may never have thought about writing in English had he not observed how Dante elevated Florence’s vernacular in his Commedia (1321), a technique Chaucer noticed while in Tuscany for diplomatic work.  …

“Chaucer never claims to be inspirited by God or gods, nor does he ever refer to himself as a ‘poet’ or ‘author.’ This may result from his ‘distinctive self-deprecation,’ in Flannery’s terms, though comic exaggerations of the scribbler’s incompetence are found in Machaut too, as the scholar Colin Wilcockson notes.

“Such modesty was a way of keeping or getting out of trouble with those who might be offended by his bawdy side, or who might chide his literary aspirations — like his efforts to wash his hands of his own writings. In the Miller’s Prologue, for example, he ‘makes his audience responsible for whether they enjoy his work.’

‘In the Prologue to The Legend of Good Women (c. 1387), the God of Love and his wife Alceste chastise Chaucer with a list of his works (Chaucer later updated the Prologue to include recent works, assuring the record was correct), and the Man of Law’s Prologue from The Canterbury Tales offhandedly abuses Chaucer’s rhyme before giving another catalogue. The ‘retraction’ at the Tales’ end, in which Chaucer — apocryphally from his deathbed — asks God to forgive him for his ‘translaciouns and enditynges of worldly vanitees,’ fulfils the same role. …

“In her painstaking biography Chaucer: A European Life (2019), Turner argues that Chaucer’s writings must proceed from some sort of democratic impulse. … This, perhaps, is Chaucer’s great innovation in our literature, surpassing even the invention of the decasyllabic English line that found its way to iambic pentameter: a level narrative playing field, inviting interaction and discussion.”

If you’d enjoy leaving 2024 for another world, there’s lots more at the Poetry Foundation, here. No paywall.

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A Better Way to Get Rare Metals

November 7, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: Elke Scholiers/Getty Images.
Workers sorting electronic waste at a factory in India. A team at University of Edinburgh is using microbes to recycle lithium, cobalt, and other expensive minerals — a greener way to go.

As we know, the downside of going all-electric to reduce the global-warming effects of fossil fuels is the mining of rare minerals for electricity, for batteries. But that mining can be destructive to communities wherever it’s done. Not to mention there’s a finite supply of such minerals on the planet.

Fortunately, human ingenuity even in the darkest times keeps functioning and looking for better ways to do things.

Robin McKie at the Guardian reports on what is potentially a greener way to acquire the rare minerals needed in the batteries we have today.

“Scientists have formed an unusual new alliance in their fight against climate change,” writes McKie. “They are using bacteria to help them extract rare metals vital in the development of green technology. …

“The work is being spearheaded by scientists at the University of Edinburgh and aims to use bacteria that can extract lithium, cobalt, manganese and other minerals from old batteries and discarded electronic equipment. These scarce and expensive metals are vital for making electric cars and other devices upon which green technology devices depend, a point stressed by Professor Louise Horsfall, chair of sustainable biotechnology at Edinburgh. …

“Said Horsfall, ‘All those photovoltaics, drones, 3D printing machines, hydrogen fuel cells, wind turbines and motors for electric cars require metals – many of them rare – that are key to their operations.’

“Politics is also an issue, scientists warn. China controls not only the main supplies of rare earth elements, but dominates the processing of them as well. ‘To get around these problems we need to develop a circular economy where we reuse these minerals wherever possible, otherwise we will run out of materials very quickly,’ said Horsfall. ‘There is only a finite amount of these metals on Earth and we can no longer afford to throw them away as waste as we do now.’ …

“And the key to this recycling was the microbe, said Horsfall. ‘Bacteria are wonderful, little crazy things that can carry out some weird and wonderful processes. Some bacteria can synthesize nanoparticles of metals, for example. We believe they do this as a detoxification process. Basically they latch on metal atoms and then they spit them out as nanoparticles so that they are not poisoned by them.’

“Using such strains of bacteria, Horsfall and her team have now taken waste from electronic batteries and cars, dissolved it and then used bacteria to latch on to specific metals in the waste and deposit these as solid chemicals. ‘First we did it with manganese. Later we did it with nickel and lithium. And then we used a different strain of bacteria and we were able to extract cobalt and nickel.’

“Crucially the strains of bacteria used to extract these metals were naturally occurring ones. In future, Horsfall and her team plan to use gene-edited versions to boost their output of metals. ‘For example, we need to be able to extract cobalt and nickel separately, which we cannot do at present.’

“The next part of the process will be to demonstrate that these metals, once removed from old electronic waste, can then be used as the constituents of new batteries or devices. ‘Then we will know if we are helping to develop a circular economy for dealing with green technologies.’ “

More at the Guardian, here. Remember the detestable partygoer in the Graduate who insisted “there’s a great future in plastics”? We now know what that kind of thinking led to. Sounds to me like the future might actually be in chemistry.

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Circle Singing, Good Vibrations

November 6, 2024 by suzannesmom

Photo: Melanie Stetson Freeman/CSM.
From left, Lynn Rosenbaum, Sam Whyte, and Patti Gurekian introduce themselves through song at a CircleSinging session at St. Mary Orthodox Church, Aug. 18, 2024, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Those of us worry a lot need to make a point of searching out joyful moments. Here’s one way that folks in Massachusetts fill their joy quotient: circle singing.

Oli Turner reports at the Christian Science Monitor, “The song coming from the St. Mary Orthodox Church meeting room in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has never been heard before. And it will never be heard again. 

“Fourteen singers stand in a circle of metal folding chairs, improvising an organic cacophony of harmonious and discordant sounds. Some tap their feet, sway, or bob their heads to the rhythm – but no two people engage with the music in quite the same way. 

“In CircleSinging, there’s no sheet music, no director, no pitch pipe. There’s an art to it, but not a pretentious one.

The singers have coalesced into an intergenerational network of friendship.

” ‘It’s really all about following. Following well,’ organizer Peter McLoughlin explains to the group between exercises. Mr. McLoughlin is not a teacher or a director. He gently sets the group in motion, and then blends into the circle as a participant. 

“ ‘Everybody’s welcome, and we’re not as concerned with whether you’re an excellent singer or you are an excellent harmonizer,’ he says before the rest of the singers arrive. 

“The Boston area’s CircleSinging community – tucked away in church meeting rooms in Cambridge, Arlington, Somerville, and the Jamaica Plain neighborhood – is part of an international network of CircleSingers who delight in the spontaneous art form. 

“The improvisational singing technique was developed by jazz musician Bobby McFerrin, best known for his 1988 hit song ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy,’ the first a cappella song to go No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Mr. McFerrin’s vocal jam sessions relied on a call-and-response model, in which a leader improvises one vocal part at a time and other singers repeat those ‘loops.’ Any singer can volunteer to lead a composition.

“Cambridge organizer Mr. McLoughlin started the first of the four Boston-area circles in 2015 on Meetup.com, inspired by Mr. McFerrin’s ‘magnificent’ rendition of Psalm 23. The looping choruses and complex harmonies reminded him of the music surrounding his own Catholic upbringing. He was hooked.

“Mr. McLoughlin learned the technique from Mr. McFerrin himself, attending his weeklong workshops once a year for seven years. Then CircleSinging Boston was born in Mr. McLoughlin’s living room.

“Each of the four Boston groups, run by different organizers, holds two-hour meetings that prioritize openness. One Boston CircleSinger, Maureen Root, says her favorite exercise starts by singing a random word – not for its meaning, but for its sounds.

“ ‘So it’s like these different vibrations and things come out,’ Ms. Root says. ‘It’s almost like you’re bypassing the mental circuitry. … It gets me out of my self-conscious mind.’

“Some CircleSingers have no prior musical or singing experience, like Ms. Root, a retired medical technologist and yoga and meditation instructor of more than 30 years. …

“Less-experienced singers like Ms. Root share a circle with vocal professionals like Boston Children’s Chorus conductor Destiny Cooper, who moved to Boston after college, ‘knowing not a soul.’ In experimental CircleSinging, a far cry from her familiar structured choirs, she found belonging.

“ ‘Most of the members are significantly older than me, but nonetheless, I think that community was really important to give me a sense of home,’ Ms. Cooper says. Since joining the group about five years ago, she never missed a circle until the pandemic. …

“Arlington CircleSinging organizer Lynn Rosenbaum leads her meetups with all singers in mind.

“ ‘I tend to think of the arc of where we start and where we end, and bringing people along, building their confidence and their skills,’ says Ms. Rosenbaum, a seasoned improv singer herself. ‘There’s usually a big difference between the beginning and the end, especially for new people – in their level of comfort and how much they’re willing to take risks.’ …

“ ‘Singing together and playing together – I say “playing” as in “playfulness” – it just creates a connection among people,’ Ms. Rosenbaum says. ‘It’s a common denominator that we can all connect to.’ …

“ ‘[CircleSinging is] just this opportunity to express our full range of emotions and letting it out through our voices and our bodies,’ Ms. Rosenbaum explains. ‘There’s not always a lot of opportunities in everyday life to do that, so this creates a safe space for people to be silly and explore and take risks and express joy.’ ”

More at the Monitor, here.

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