Nepenthe

A brilliant student, Jonathan sailed through grade school. He completed his assignments easily and routinely earned As. Jonathan puzzled over why some of his classmates struggled, and his parents told him he had a special gift. In the seventh grade, however, Jonathan suddenly lost interest in school, refusing to do homework or study for tests. As a consequence, his grades plummeted. His parents tried to boost their son’s confidence by assuring him that he was very smart. But their attempts failed to motivate Jonathan (who is a composite drawn from several children). Schoolwork, their son maintained, was boring and pointless. Our society worships talent, and many people assume that possessing superior intelligence or ability—along with confidence in that ability—is a recipe for success. In fact, however, more than 30 years of scientific investigation suggests that an overemphasis on intellect or talent leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges and unwilling to remedy t...

[recebido por email] Era a terceira vez que aquele substantivo e aquele artigo se encontravam no elevador. Um substantivo masculino, com aspecto plural e alguns anos bem vividos pelas preposições da vida. O artigo era bem definido, feminino, singular. Ela era ainda novinha, mas com um maravilhoso predicado nominal. Era ingénua, silábica, um pouco átona, um pouco ao contrário dele, que era um sujeito oculto, com todos os vícios de linguagem, fanático por leituras e filmes ortográficos. O substantivo até gostou daquela situação; os dois, sozinhos, naquele lugar sem ninguém a ver nem ouvir. E sem perder a oportunidade, começou a insinuar-se, a perguntar, conversar. O artigo feminino deixou as reticências de lado e permitiu-lhe esse pequeno índice. De repente, o elevador pára, só com os dois lá dentro. Óptimo, pensou o substantivo; mais um bom motivo para provocar alguns sinónimos. Pouco tempo depois, já estavam bem entre parênteses, quando o elevador recomeçou a movime...

A couple of weeks ago, Australian prime minister John Howard was ambushed on the campaign trail by protesters holding placards that read "Save Our Planet" and "Ratify Kyoto Now". But these weren't your usual weed-addled hippy agitators. These people were serious. You could tell by the way they were dressed as polar bears. These days, once a polar bear is involved in any sort of campaign, people sit up and listen. The enormous arctic creatures have become a global symbol of environmentalism, a humble martyr to global warming. Ever since we saw those bears stranded on a melted bit of ice in Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth , the whole world has felt their pain. Every time we fill up the kettle, leave the TV on stand-by or forget to take our empty cans of Alphabetti Spaghetti down the recycling bank, we hear the agonised screams of a baby polar bear ringing in the back of our minds. These beautiful, glistening, cuddly giants of the north pole are dying because o...

from the Urban Vegan ;)

The Premio Valle-Inclán for translation from the Spanish Nick Caistor for The Sleeping Voice ( La vos dormida ) by Dulce Chacón (Harvill Secker ) The Saif Ghobash-Banipal prize for translation from the Arabic Farouk Abdel Wahab for The Lodging House ( Wikalat 'Atiya ) by Khairy Shalaby (American University in Cairo Press) The Schlegel-Tieck prize for translation from the German Sally-Ann Spencer for The Swarm ( Der Schwarm ) by Frank Schätzing (Hodder) The Scott Moncrieff prize for translation from the French Sarah Adams for Just Like Tomorrow ( Kiffe, Kiffe Demain ) by Faïza Guène (Chatto) The Vondel prize for translation from the Dutch or Flemish Susan Massotty for My Father's Notebook ( Spijkerschrift, Uitgeverij De Geus ) by Kader Abdolah (Canongate) The Risa Domb/Porjes prize for translation from the Hebrew Dr Nicholas de Lange for A Tale of Love and Darkness ( Sippor Al Ahava Vehoshekh ) by Amos Oz (Vintage) The Rossica prize for translation from the Russian Joanne ...

A new campaign to challenge and change attitudes towards disability is being launched by Leonard Cheshire Disability this week and is previewed online today (12 November). The charity has teamed up with Aardman Animations to create a highly original campaign called Creature Discomforts. The awareness campaign is based on the much-loved Creature Comforts series but features the hallmark plasticine characters with disabilities, combined with the real voices and experiences of disabled people.

from Ciência ao Natural.

First there was Horace. Then there was Juvenal. Now there is David Kamp. Horace and Juvenal, as you may recall from your undergraduate days, each gave his name to a school of satire. Horatian satires were gentle pokes at the foibles of the day. (Think Garrison Keillor, only in a toga.) Juvenalian satires were caustic attacks on human mores. (Think Bill Hicks, but in Latin.) "Kampian satire" has not caught on as a phrase yet, but in his Snob's Dictionary series -- bluffers' guides to rock, film and now food -- David Kamp has developed a new form that can only be called aspirational satire. Satire generally instructs by counter-example, presenting an exaggerated model of behavior in an unflattering light, and serving as a warning to readers who might be headed in that direction. Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal," for example, lays out a scheme whereby poor Irish mothers might better their situation by raising babies for the English to eat. Theoret...

The Best (Golden Eagles) 1 Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997). Set in the not-too-distant future, without overt preaching or much scientific exposition, Gattaca uses the youthful dreams of Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) to tell an affectingly human story about the consequences of putting too much faith into DNA, genetic destiny, and stereotypes. 2 Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927). “Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy builds girl” could be the tagline for this stunningly realized early futuristic film, as scientist C. A. Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) replaces the woman he loved with an erotic female robot . But Metropolis goes much deeper than it sounds, with audacious future projections of technology and its impact on society. 3 A tie! The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise, 1951) and On the Beach (Stanley Kramer, 1959). Both films reflect the scientific and global realities of the cold war era. The Day the Earth Stood Still comments on the dangers of nuclear knowledge without c...

From Cinematical: Cinematical is oh-so-happy to have received this exclusive teaser poster for the upcoming Dreamworks animated comedy Kung Fu Panda (click on the image above for a larger version), starring Jack Black, Angelina Jolie , Dustin Hoffman , Jackie Chan , Lucy Liu , Seth Rogen and Ian McShane . The film follows a fat, lazy Panda named Po (Black) who, while living in ancient China, must somehow learn how to become a Kung Fu Master in order to save the Valley of Peace from an evil snow leopard named Tai Lung (McShane). Kung Fu Panda was directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson. Additionally, we have some bonus treats for you: A few days ago, a promo for the film arrived online and folks were calling it the first official trailer for the film. Not so fast -- the first official trailer has just arrived today, in glorious HD, and you can head on over to Moviefone to check that out right now . Prepare your fighting stance people -- Kung Fu Panda shall kick and punch its ...

The world's most appealing destinations—islands—are the ones most prone to tourism overkill. Our 522 experts vote on which ones avoid the danger, which are succumbing to it, and which hang in the balance. Guide to the Scores: 0-25: Catastrophic: all criteria very negative, outlook grim. 26-49: In serious trouble. 50-65: In moderate trouble: all criteria medium-negative or a mix of negatives and positives. 66-85: Minor difficulties. 86-95: Authentic, unspoiled, and likely to remain so. 96-100: Enhanced. Azores, Portugal Score: 84 "Not a beach destination or otherwise susceptible to mass tourism; indeed, its capricious climate probably impedes the flow of tourists. The islands' green volcanic mountains and picturesque black-and-white towns look set to remain unspoiled." "Wonderful place. Built environment in good shape. Locals are very sophisticated as most have lived overseas." "Remote and temperate, the Azores remain lightly touristed. Main vis...

From CABINET 1664 The Gottorp Globe, the world’s first modern planetarium, is completed in Germany. The hollow sphere, ten feet in diameter, is turned by water power; it has a map of the constellations on the interior and a map of the world on the outside. In 1714, it is given as a gift to Peter the Great but is destroyed by fire in 1747. The reconstructed globe, stolen by the Germans in World War II and recovered by US troops, now resides at the St. Petersburg Kunstkammer. 1699 Daniel Marot completes the Celestial Sphere Fountain for the country palace of William of Orange and Princess Mary at Het Loo, the Netherlands. Marot’s spherical fountain is etched with a celestial map and spits water from a small hole in each star. 1784 Jean-Pierre Blanchard’s spherical hydrogen balloon carries him across the river Seine. 1784 Visionary French architect Étienne-Louis Boullée designs his Cenotaph for Newton, a giant sphere punctured by holes that create the illusion of suspended stars. ...

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