hyperaccumulators

Thanks to Super Punch, we learn that there is a class of highly-specialised trees that have evolved a particular affinity for normally toxic metals.
As the appropriately named Doctor Antony van der Ent explains to the BBC’s science desk, a species that they are studying in New Caledonia has high concentrations of nickel in its sap (latex) that researchers speculate may be a defence against insect predation. Under threat from deforestation from strip mining activities and slash and burn farming, scientists hope to study how the mechanism, called hyperaccumulation, works and perhaps to harness it to purify soils contaminated by industry or waste or even passively mine the ground for metals, harvesting the accrued resources with the plant—an extraction strategy called phytomining.

when life gives you lemons

Derived ultimately from the Arabic word for swindler, mafioso did not necessarily carry the negative connotations on the island of Sicily where it took on the qualities of swagger and fearlessness and the mafia itself arose, as presented quite fascinatingly by Æon Magazine, due at least in part to the success of another Arabic transplant, the lemon.
The unification of Italy (previously Sicily was ruled by a Bourbon dynasty and the residents of the island probably viewed the mainland as just another in a long succession of colonial powers) intersected with the medical insight that citrus would prevent scurvy in sailors on long ocean voyages and translated to a huge windfall for those who kept orchards on the island. More and more groves were planted to keep up with demand and in order to prevent loss of the valuable fruit through theft, guards were employed to supplement the unreliable or non-existent defence that local police or the courts could provide. Eventually such protection, merited or otherwise, became customary with a growing cut of the proceeds going to wardens who had established themselves as fixtures of the marketplace and de facto authority.

thunderbirds are go!

Messy Nessy Chic delivers an amazing appreciation of the universe of Supermarionation, conceived by puppeteers Sylvia and Gerry Anderson, whose sets and scenery are truly something to behold even if one might dismiss the preternatural uncanniness of the cast, marionettes whose faces referenced contemporary celebrities.
Spanning several stand-alone series and broadcast throughout the 1960s and later in syndication and homage, one iteration became the first television programme in the UK filmed entirely in colour and Thunderbirds itself, considered the most commercially successful series of the genre, enjoyed a merchandising success unrivaled until that of Star Wars. Visit the link above to learn more and to see more clips of the shows.

lodestar or ship of state

Nearly as good as when fired FBI director James Comey projected rather arch dialogue, quite generously, into the head of Trump, the anonymous contributor of a New York Times editorial piece, whom everyone wants to identify, peppered his missive with some distinct language including the term lodestar, figuratively, an individual who serves as a role model or guide—referencing the loss of John McCain but the endurance of his example, which may help reveal authorship.
Speculation does not even discount the possibility that it might be the viceroy Pence himself, having used the word on several occasions. Ironic were it true, the apparent courage of conviction that Pence has for Trump’s pandering policies is probably the one thing preventing the legislator from moving towards impeachment since it would mean the ascendancy of this or another creatures of Trump’s court and perhaps there’s evidence forthcoming damning enough (and incontrovertible enough) to not just impeach but annul this regime and every thing it’s undone.

6x6

au bout du fil: a surreal animated short by Paul Driessen from the National Film Board of Canada

busytown 2018: mansplainers and swamp drainers (previously), via Kottke

creative commons: potential changes to European Union’s intellectual property law could give rise to censorship machines and a link tax

off the wall: an analysis of Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”

foremal: IKEA partners with Per B Sundberg to create a line of homewares with a gothic aesthetic

going up: researchers at Shizuoka University to conduct a proof of concept trial for a space elevator, via Slashdot 

kunst und kohle

A consortium of museums in Germany’s post-industrial heartland, das Ruhrgebiet (previously), is bidding a conflicted adieu to its withering coal-powered past.  Still the world’s largest producer of the particularly dirty variety of lignite (a very dubious honour) and amid ongoing protests to retire extraction and burning of coal altogether, the museums curate a fascinating, nostalgic reflection on the culture informed by coal towns and mining communities through a variety of artefacts that attest to working conditions and the relationships forged by the families whose daily routines included confronting mortality—either through accident or backbreaking labour. Read more about the retrospective of exhibits at Hyperallergic at the link above.

empathising-systemising

The always brilliant Nag on the Lake introduces us to the “genius of Earlswood Asylum,” James Henry Pullen, through an inaugural exhibition that explores the life and imaginative work of an autistic savant confined for nearly seven decades.
As was the standard practise for the patients to learn handicrafts (see some other examples of Outsider Art to come out of institutions here and here) to support themselves and the asylum, Pullen demonstrated master level skill in carpentry and technical drawing, making elaborate scale models of ships as well as furniture for the wards. The asylum superintendent, Doctor John Langdon Haydon Down—best remembered for his description of the genetic condition that bears his name and also first employed the term savant—treated Pullen rather humanely, allowing him to dine with the staff rather than the general population and encouraged Pullen in his projects, which eventually garnered the attention of Queen Victoria and the royal family.

i’m like a racing car passing by

Also to mark the occasion of Freddie Mercury’s birthday, the Awesomer brings us the musical stylings of Seb Skelly who delivers a one-man rendition of Queen’s 1978 uplifting song “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Arranged for a brass quintet all performed by Skelly, the sheet music as well as the original version is available at the link above.