* No Spoilers Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Edward Brooke Hitching, history-hound, lover of quirky things and writer for the ever-popular and erudite quiz show QI, has written The Sky Atlas. A treasury and history of some of humankind’s most beautiful maps and charts. Yet this book is more than that, it’s a sparkling and glittering array ofContinue reading “Book Review: The Sky Atlas by Edward Brooke Hitching”
Tag Archives: space
10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #63
In the 63rd edition of 10 Interesting things, we peer into a Russian spaceship, bear witness to interspecies tenderness, mysterious creatures, the sad closing of a Sydney shop with a whimper, and enjoy a surreal rendition of the Chinese zodiac in one epic painting. Hope you will stick around, with a click-bait intro like that,Continue reading “10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #63”
Ancient Word of the Day: Kawaakari
Kawaakari (Japanese) Kawaakari is a mystical Japanese word that means the glow of a river or stream in darkness or dusk, or the gleaming surface of a shadowed river (Japanese 川明かり). Kawaakari can also mean the reflection of the moonlight off flowing water. Obumbro (Latin) A similar word in Latin in Obumbro. To shadow overContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Kawaakari”
Wāhanga o Te Rā/ Times of the Day in Māori
Learn some new words in Māori during Mahuru Māori/Māori Language Month. Here are the various times of the day…enjoy! Waenganui pō – Midnight Te Pō – Night Atapō – Before Dawn Ata Hapāra – Breath of Dawn Atatū – Just after sunrise Awatea – River of Light Ata – Morning Poupoutanga o te rā –Continue reading “Wāhanga o Te Rā/ Times of the Day in Māori”
Japan’s 72 gossamer-light and poetic microseasons
The traditional seasons in Japan are marked out by impercetibly small changes in nature across 72 miniature seasons in a year, each lasting 5 days and reflecting the fleeting, impermanent and diaphanous beauty of nature and all of its wonders. There are 24 divisions or sekki in the calendar that are split into 72 kōContinue reading “Japan’s 72 gossamer-light and poetic microseasons”
10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #34
It’s been a long time baby. Perhaps you have been pining for this little buttery pastry of uplifting sugary goodness. I haven’t forgotten about you, I’ve been baking away in the oven for ages. So here it is…straight out of the oven for you… Celestially divine embroidery by Ophelie Trichereau Find her work on PatreonContinue reading “10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #34”
Ancient Word of the Day: Deliquium
Latin v. delinquere: “to lack, to fail In 1836, Francis Baily travelled to the Scottish Borders to see a solar eclipse. He witnessed a macabre and beautiful phenomenon. A row of lucid points, like a string of bright beads of irregular distance and size from each other. These suddenly appeared around the circumference of theContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Deliquium”
Ancient Word of the Day: Nadir
Nadir ˈnā-ˌdir (from Arabic) The lowest or worst point. The sunken place of great depression or degradation. Astronomically, it is the point to opposite to the zenith. Merlin by Ralph Waldo Emerson He shall not seek to weave,In weak unhappy times,Efficacious rhymes;Wait his returning strength,Bird, that from the nadir’s floor,To the zenith’s top could soar,TheContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Nadir”
10 Uplifting things I found on the internet this week #7
1. Moons of Nirn: A 90 minute atmospheric ambient mix An epic and transporting mix of emotional ambient music, along with stunning footage of the Aurora Borealis. This makes for an awe-inspiring background soundtrack to the rest of my top ten. 2. Wycrow: Finding Stillness Inspiring fellow blogger Wycrow talks about how to find stillnessContinue reading “10 Uplifting things I found on the internet this week #7”
Book Review: The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
Peter and Beatrice Leigh are a childless 30-something British couple who are devoutly evangelical Christians and are living in a Britain of an imagined near future. In this imaginary Britain things look largely similar to how they are right now, except that there’s a colony of humans living on a faraway planet called Oasis. TheseContinue reading “Book Review: The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber”
Content Catnip 