Few remember the National Geographic speculative evolution mini-series "Extraterrestrial – Alien Worlds". Even less remember that it had an official companion book. I'm glad I managed to get my hands on a copy a while ago. It was sold at a temporary exhibit themed after the tv program at the Science Museum London back in 2005.
I went out and bought this, the Dec. 2023 issue of National Geographic. It's the last issue of this venerable institution that will appear on newsstands. 🧵
@NMBA@straphanger
Hmm... I understand how the Internet killed newspapers, but I'm surprised a high quality magazine like #NationalGeographic couldn't survive on paper. According to #TheGuardian, it was losing money a decade ago.
If you're still mourning the cancellation of Stanley Tucci's Emmy-winning CNN series "Searching for Italy", we have some good news for you! National Geogrtaphic has commissioned a new series, "Tucci - The Heart of Italy", where he'll travel Italy, seeking out the essence of each region and its people through the food they eat. #StanleyTucci#SearchingForItaly#TheHeartOfItaly#NationalGeographic#Television
Science, nature, our planet, other worlds, and more... That's a lot of territory for two books. Consider it a sampler. There are many similar books on hand if you'd like to take a deeper dive. These are here now!
The Goliath bird-eating spider is a stealth hunter in South American forests.➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoWILDSubscribe#NatGeoWILD #Spiders #BiteStingKil...
The idea of a "moral decline" is linked to the narratives we create about the past, in which events are idealised or simplified. On the other hand, human beings have a tendency to analyse events in terms of how we would like things to be. This example was published last year in the Times of India Reader's Blog:
"Moral values are fading these days. […] The culture is degrading day by day due to the effect of the western influence and movies which often mislead the younger generation.
[…] The low moral values have created unrest and turmoil in society. […] We can dream of a kind and honest world only if we nurture moral values and keep our ethos."
Such arguments, with many variations, can be found everywhere nowadays. The only problem is that similar arguments can be found in texts from many other periods in the past.
THE MYTH OF “DECLINE AND FALL” by Edward Champlin (1996).
"Everyone knows that the Roman Empire “declined and fell.” The title of Edward Gibbon’s 18th-century masterpiece The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is part of Western cultural consciousness. There is something deeply thrilling about the notion: Rome, the largest political and economic unit in the world before the year 1000, fell; are we too doomed to lose our power, our culture, even our memory?"
"But the notion of decline is an extremely difficult one. A political unit may indeed “fall” because of complex political, social, and economic reasons. The real problem comes when we, like the Romans, do not understand these reasons and, like the Romans, equate decline with moral decline."
"In the end, “Rome” did not decline; it changed, as all cultures must. "
Climate change is an immediate threat to the majority of the world's population.
We need a local, regional, state, national, and international "moon shot" type of concentration of effort using available resources while developing and advancing new science and technologies to counteract the damage humans have caused.
Without this type of all-out, universal cooperation, human civilization, and perhaps humanity itself, are in imminent danger of extinction.
Today in the "new" #NationalGeographic, more click-bait-style headlines (IMHO). (and I have now unsubscribed). Photo of the day of someone... doing the ice bucket challenge 🙄
It appears National Geographic most certainly has gone in a new direction... click bait stories. (at least, based on their email to me today. They just laid off all their staffers, according to reports.). #NationalGeographic
Disney-owned #NationalGeographic reportedly lays off its last staff writers: “As part of the cost-cutting measures instituted by the publication’s parent company, #Disney, the magazine, with its memorable yellow border, will no longer be available on newsstands in the US as of next year, the newspaper reported.”
The Biggest Spider on the Planet | Bite, Sting, Kill (www.youtube.com)
The Goliath bird-eating spider is a stealth hunter in South American forests.➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoWILDSubscribe#NatGeoWILD #Spiders #BiteStingKil...
🔴 LIVE: SHARKFEST IS BACK | 24/7 Shark Content Now Streaming | National Geographic (www.youtube.com)
If you’re looking for the most authentic and comprehensive shark viewing experience ever, look no further than National Geographic’s SHARKFEST.