Forty years of satellite data show that 2020 was just the latest in a decades-long decline of Arctic sea ice. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/decline-of-arctic-sea-ice-1979-2019…
Tag: Literature
Fantasy and Sci-Fi Author Debra Doyle, 1952-2020
Long-time Slashdot reader serviscope_minor wanted to remind us that 2020 also saw the death of science fiction/fantasy author Debra Doyle at the age of 67 from a sudden cardiac event. “Her works were co-written with her husband, James D. Macdonald,” notes her entry on Wikipedia: Her first work written with Macdonald was “Bad Blood” in 1988. Their novel Knight’s Wyrd was…
Party Like It’s 1925 On Public Domain Day
Neda Ulaby, writing for NPR: What a year it was for Anglo-American literature and the arts! 1925 was the year of heralded novels by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Virginia Woolf, seminal works by Sinclair Lewis, Franz Kafka, Gertrude Stein, Agatha Christie, Theodore Dreiser, Edith Wharton, Aldous Huxley … and a banner year for musicians, too. Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, the Gershwins,…
John le Carre, Author of Spy Novels, Dies at Age 89
“This terrible year has claimed a literary giant and a humanitarian spirit,” tweeted novelist Stephen King, adding later that “The Little Drummer Girl was one of the best novels I’ve ever read.” Margaret Atwood tweeted “His Smiley novels are key to understanding the mid-20th century.” And the Associated Press tells the story of how spy-novel writer John le Carré was “drawn…
New Report: Havanna Syndrome Could Be Directed Microwave Energy
NBC News reports:
The mysterious neurological symptoms experienced by American diplomats in China and Cuba are consistent with the effects of directed microwave energy, according to a long-awaited report by the National Academies of Sciences that cites medical evidence to support the long-held conviction of American intelligence officials. The report, obtained Friday by NBC News, does not conclude that the directed energy…
Google/EdX Are Charging $298 For Their Remake of a Free 2012 How-to-Google Course
Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes: After near death, MOOCs are booming during the coronavirus pandemic, reported the NY Times in May. That news apparently wasn’t lost on Google and EdX, who on Thursday announced they’ve teamed up and are asking $298 (temporarily reduced to $268.20!) for Google’s Power Searching with Google XSeries Program (learn “how to create an effective search query…
Fake Campaign Mail Masquerades as Bernie Sanders Endorsement for Uber/Lyft Ballot Measure
California’s elections include grass roots propositions that change the law directly while bypassing legislators. Uber, Lyft, and Uber-owned Postmates (as well as DoorDash and Instacart) have spent $185 million — the most ever spent — pushing a proposition that would keep ride-hail and delivery drivers as independent contractors, reports SFGate. “If it passes…gig corporations won’t have to contribute to Social Security,…
Louise Gluck Is Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature
The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded on Thursday to Louise Gluck, one of America’s most celebrated poets, “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” The award was announced at a news conference in Stockholm. From a report: Gluck, who was born in New York in 1943, has written numerous poetry collections, many of which…
Why Goodreads is Bad For Books
After years of complaints from users, Goodreads’ reign over the world of book talk might be coming to an end. From a report: Goodreads started off the way you might think: two avid readers, in the mid-Noughties, wanting to build space online for people to track, share, and talk about books they were reading. Husband and wife Otis and Elizabeth Chandler…
Should America Re-Open Its Movie Theatres?
70% of America’s movie theatres have now re-opened for business, reports NPR: “When our patrons come back, they’ll see the safe environment we’ve provided for them,” said John Fithian, president and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners. Fithian invited two medical experts and the heads of the country’s biggest theater chains to launch a public awareness campaign dubbed “CinemaSafe,”…