There are times when the phrase “Absolutely, totally, gobsmackingly, mindbogglingly amazed” just doesn’t cover it, but I find that in the Queen’s New Year Honours list I am now a Knight, for services to literature. This means that fans, while not calling me Sir, must now refrain from throwing things. Regrettably, no sword is included in the box :)
Ook!
National Geographic, 1,000 Days in the Ice. 1893, Fridtjof Nansen sets out to to reach the north pole. The plan? Build a reinforced boat, intentionally get trapped in the ice, and then sit back and enjoy the three-year ride. Didn’t quite work out, but man, bold plan. If you liked the Shackleton craze of a few years ago, you’ll dig this.
Sounds like the guy was a total stud:
Nansen was a strapping blond man, fair complected, with a frosty stare and a truculent face that seemed slightly at odds with the refinements of his intellect. Nansen stood apart from the quixotic glory hounds who characterized much of polar exploration’s golden age. Call him a Renaissance Viking: He was a gifted writer, a sought-after lecturer, a first-rate zoologist, and a prominent statesman. Fluent in at least five languages, adroit with a camera, he made beautiful maps and illustrations, kept up a voluminous scientific correspondence, and brought an element of cerebral precision to all his explorations. A contemporary German scientist said of Nansen that he “knew how to handle the microscope as well as the ice axe and skis,” and his scientific achievements were notable, including a groundbreaking paper on the nature of the central nervous system.
Pursued humanitarian work after his exploring days were over, eventually winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.
My Dad just brought this cool George Kennedy perspective on Paul Newman to my attention. Here’s that scene from Cool Hand Luke on YouTube.
Paul Newman, great actor and even better person, has died at 83. Greencine has a wonderful collection of tributes and thoughts. Crushed. I’m going to go watch Nobody’s Fool.
Telegraph: Author Terry Pratchett on NHS Alzheimer's policy:
"The NHS kindly allows me to buy my own Aricept because I'm too young to have Alzheimer's for free, a situation I'm OK with in a want-to-kick-a-politician-in-the-teeth kind of way."
Be sure to read his full speech (PDF). He donated £500,000 (a bit over $1M) to the Alzheimer's Research Trust.
I'm Jim Biancolo, and this is stuff I found interesting that I thought you might like too. Here are some of my favorites if you want to start there. Mostly I link to other people, but some stuff is mine, like:
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