All posts by Intellicurious

News, Views and Reviews for the Intellectually Curious
Arts & Literature, Books, Technology

Smartphone Books: The New York Public Library’s Interactive “Insta Novels”

Leave a comment

Insta Novels launched August 22, 2018 on the Library’s Instagram account (@nypl) with Part 1 of a newly digitized version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. The novel is illustrated by well-known designer Magoz (@magoz).

The New York Public Library Insta Novels The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka

First, go to the Library’s Instagram account (@nypl) and tap Part 1 of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in the Highlights section, right under the bio.

Rest your thumb on lower right part of the screen to hold the page, and lift your thumb to turn the page. (The lower right thumb holder is designed to double as a flip book: if you lift your thumb and let the pages flip, you’ll see an animation.)

As more stories are added, the NYPL Instagram account’s Highlights will turn into a digital bookshelf.

Art, Books, Culture, Travel, Videos

Arts & Culture Video: “The Future Of Japanese Craftsmanship” (Monocle)

Video Leave a comment

To celebrate our forthcoming book about Japan, we are presenting a new film series that dives into the intriguing ecosystem that has preserved Japanese traditional skills over centuries. Meet the people who are future-proofing the age-old know-how.

Health, News, Social Media, Society

Health: “The Vital Importance Of Social Distancing” To Stop Spread Of Coronavirus

Leave a comment

Social Distancing to reduce spread of Coronavirus Covid-19 Statista infographic March 23 2020

In order to stem the spread of the coronavirus, social interactions around the world are being restricted. This infographic, based on calculations by Robert A. J. Signer, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego, shows how this so-called social distancing can reduce the spread of the virus.

With no changes to social behaviour, one infected person will on average pass the virus to 2.5 people within five days. After 30 days, the figure would rise to a devastating 406 new infections. The number can be significantly reduced though by engaging in less social contact. With a 50 percent reduction, the number of new infections caused by the average person after 30 days is just 15 people. A 75 percent change would result in an even lower 2.5 new cases – greatly reducing the burden on health services and, if followed by everybody, allowing a country to ‘flatten the curve’ of new infections.

Nature, Travel, Videos

Top New Travel Videos: “Portland Cherry Blossoms” (March 2020)

Video Leave a comment

This video shows you exactly why you NEED to see the cherry blossoms at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon. Peak bloom varies from year to year but tends to occur around the first day of spring.

Waterfront Park Portland Oregon Cherry Blossoms

For more helpful information about the best places to see cherry blossoms in Portland (with real-time photo updates!), make sure to read embracesomeplace.com/cherry-blossoms-portland/

 

Foreign Affairs, News, Politics, Society

World Happiness Report: Nordic Countries Top The 2020 Rankings – Autonomy And Freedom Of Choices

Leave a comment

World Happiness Report 2020Nordic citizens experience a high sense of autonomy and freedom, as well as high levels of social trust towards each other, which play an important role in determining life satisfaction.

2020 World Happiness Report Rankings 2017 - 2019

Read Report

From 2013 until today, every time the World Happiness Report (WHR) has published its annual ranking of countries, the five Nordic countries – Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland – have all been in the top ten, with Nordic countries occupying the top three spots in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Clearly, when it comes to the level of average life evaluations, the Nordic states are doing something right, but Nordic exceptionalism isn’t confined to citizen’s happiness.

No matter whether we look at the state of democracy and political rights, lack of corruption, trust between citizens, felt safety, social cohesion, gender equality, equal distribution of incomes, Human Development Index, or many other global comparisons, one tends to find the Nordic countries in the global top spots.

Exercise, Health, News, Videos

COVID-19: The Importance Of Home Exercise During Isolation (Mayo Clinic)

Video Leave a comment

As we’re spending more time at home, it’s important to find new ways to remain active and exercise is important. Mayo Clinic physical therapist Sunni Alessandria and her colleagues offer some insight and tips for exercises you can do at home.

Arts & Literature, Books, Interviews, Podcasts

Book Interviews: “Out Of Darkness, Shining Light” Author Petina Gappah

Audio Leave a comment

BBC Radio 4 Books and AuthorsBBC Radio 4 speaks to Petina Gappah on her new book, “Out of Darkness, Shining Light”.

 

“This is how we carried out of Africa the poor broken body of Bwana Daudi, the Doctor, David Livingstone, so that he could be borne across the sea and buried in his own land.” 

Petina Gappah Author
Author Petina Gappah

So begins Petina Gappah’s powerful novel of exploration and adventure in nineteenth-century Africa—the captivating story of the loyal men and women who carried explorer and missionary Dr. Livingstone’s body, his papers and maps, fifteen hundred miles across the continent of Africa, so his remains could be returned home to England and his work preserved there.

Narrated by Halima, the doctor’s sharp-tongued cook, and Jacob Wainwright, a rigidly pious freed slave, this is a story that encompasses all of the hypocrisy of slavery and colonization—the hypocrisy at the core of the human heart—while celebrating resilience, loyalty, and love.

Purchase book

Art, Arts & Literature, Profiles, Reviews

Artist Profiles: Finnish-American Riitta Klint – “Dreamlike” Drips Of Paint With Pencil On Clay Panels

Leave a comment

My paintings on clay panels begin with thin veils of paint that drip, pool and congeal, and like nature, move out of my control, beautifully mysterious. I work intuitively within these initial drips and pools, searching for structure. Each successive stroke of paint or pencil mark continues to build a dreamlike otherworldly place. The mood is one of nature untamed, enchanting and rife with hidden secrets.

Riitta Klint Dragonfly Dreams Triptych Acrylic and Pencil on Claybord

My paintings are my connection to the Earth, its nature and beautiful mysteries. Riitta Klint PaintingsThere is a sadness as I witness the loss of our last wild places. My paintings are an attempt to keep alive those places and offer my audience a sanctuary in which to reflect.

Riitta Klint is from Helsinki, Finland and currently lives in Fort Worth, Texas and maintains a studio in nearby Aledo. Between these two places is a lifetime spent traveling the world thanks to her father’s career with IBM. Living in her native Finland, as well as in Iran, Portugal, Indonesia, Germany, Mexico, and the United States, together with extensive travel in Asia and Europe has shaped her unique vision and palette. Her work offers the viewer a front seat to that journey, and a threshold to cross over into their own imagination.

Klint works primarily in acrylic and pencil on Claybord™, smooth kaolin clay covered panels that offer the ideal surface for her manipulation of color and medium.

Website