Dune: An Appreciation at 50 Years :: Monthly Calling Dune a science fiction novel is like calling A Song of Ice and Fire a fantasy series. You’d be correct, but you’d also be running the risk of reductionism. Like George R.R. The novel revolves around a savior, a spice and a bunch of sand. On the surface, there’s enough jargon in that synopsis to convince any sci-fi skeptic to remain skeptical. Every character in the novel has a motive, and, as motives are wont to go, they are tainted as much by noble ambition as they are by greed. This allows Herbert to ask very pointed questions about the ways in which humanity’s desire to control its own destiny impacts every aspect of its existence. This sets Dune apart from the run-of-the-mill space sagas. Fifty years on, Herbert’s magnum opus is still a bizarre work of realism in the midst of its forays into the fantastic.
Xhosa - Introduction, Location, Language, Folklore, Religion, Major holidays, Rites of passage PRONUNCIATION: KOH-suh LOCATION: South Africa (eastern, urban areas) POPULATION: 6 million LANGUAGE: Xhosa (Bantu) RELIGION: Traditional beliefs (supreme being uThixo or uQamata ); Christianity The word Xhosa refers to a people and a language of South Africa. Well before the arrival of Dutch in the 1650s, the Xhosa had settled the southeastern area of South Africa. Christian missionaries established their first outposts among the Xhosa in the 1820s, but met with little success. Under apartheid (a government policy requiring the separation of races), the South African government created separate regions that were described as Bantustans (homelands) for black people of African descent. These regions were proclaimed independent countries by the apartheid government. Before the arrival of the Europeans in the late 1600s, Xhosa-speaking people occupied much of eastern South Africa. The Xhosa language is properly referred to as isiXhosa . Ramphela, Mamphela. Switzer, Les.
55 Historic Photos Got Colorized. It Changes Everything. Even if you’re a history buff that is well-versed on historical events, these photos might change how you feel about certain moments in history. A Redditor gathered together a group of cleverly edited historic photos; seeing these blew my mind. They’re not digitally altered to the point of ruining the photo, they are simply colorized. Somehow, just adding color to some of these incredibly iconic images makes it seem entirely different. These images seem less impressive or historic when they appear so modern (although you may feel differently when you see them). If only they had modern recording technology back then… Source: Reddit Did history look quite the way we picture it in these colorized photos? Share these enlightening photos with others by clicking below.
World minimum marriage age: Chart shows the lowest age you can legally get married around the world - World - News - The Independent Estonia now has the lowest marriage age in Europe with teenagers able to get hitched at 15 with parental approval. Globally, the average legal age of marriage for boys is 17 and 16 for girls but many countries permit them, particularly girls, to marry much younger. Several places, including the state of Massachusetts in the United States, allow girls as young as 12 to get married in "exceptional circumstances" with the consent of a judge. But in many cases this is a leftover from an earlier age and is rarely tested. Read More:Indian child bride, 13, writes letter begging to stop marriage but father vows to continueForced marriage: How hundreds of terrified British victims of the tradition are being failed every year by the services they need mostThe forgotten girls: By 2020, there will be 50m child brides under the age of 15Isis in Libya: Families forced to marry girls as young as 12 to fighters for protection as clinics see growing number of miscarriages and STDs Loading gallery 1 of 20
The Khoisan Once Were Kings Of The Planet. What Happened? : Goats and Soda In Namibia today, members of the ancient tribe of hunter-gatherers still forage. New genetic research reveals they were once the largest group of humans. Stephan C. Schuster/Penn State University hide caption toggle caption Stephan C. Schuster/Penn State University In Namibia today, members of the ancient tribe of hunter-gatherers still forage. Stephan C. Some 22,000 years ago, they were the largest group of humans on earth: the Khoisan, a tribe of hunter-gatherers in southern Africa. Today, only about 100,000 Khoisan, who are also known as Bushmen, remain. How did it happen that a group that was once in the majority is now so small? First of all, the fact that 7 billion people now live on earth makes it almost impossible for us to understand how few people lived in the past. What happened to tip the balance? Changes in the climate. The Bushmen know which plants and herbs are good to eat — and which will heal their ailments. How do the Khoisan maintain their way of living today?
How Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce became a hero of civil rights advocates. Edward S. Curtis/Library of Congress On July 4, 1872, settlers of the Grande Ronde Valley in northeastern Oregon paraded through the streets of their tiny county seat, La Grande, before sitting down for a feast and public recitation of the Declaration of Independence. Afterward, two guests stayed behind—large men about 30 years old, their long braids banded and feathered, wearing bright blankets, clusters of necklaces, and intricately beaded shirts and leggings. In the 10 years of La Grande’s existence, local Indian chiefs had regularly attended Fourth of July celebrations, affirming peace and friendship with the United States. A settler introduced the guests as Joseph and his younger brother Ollokot, leaders of a nearby Nez Perce band. Joseph and his brother had come to La Grande to speak with the area’s congressman, who was home for recess, and a local man who had just finished serving as the federal superintendent for Indian affairs for Oregon. Library of Congress
Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture I was halfway through a job interview when I realized I was wrinkling my nose. I couldn't help myself. A full-time freelance position with a long commute, no benefits, and a quarter of my old pay was the best they could do? "Are you interested in permanent jobs instead?" "I could consider a permanent job if it was part-time," I said. She looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language and went right back to her pitch: long commute, full-time, no benefits. Now that I'm back, I'm angry that my own country isn't providing more for its people Before I moved to Switzerland for almost a decade, American Reality was all I knew. In other words, for the hours worked, I was making minimum wage, if that. My husband and I were so accustomed to American Reality that when he was offered an opportunity to work in Switzerland, we both thought about travel and adventure — not about improving our quality of life. But without realizing it, or even asking for it, a better life quality came to us. "No.
The Khoikhoi and the San The Man Who Documented Native American Cultures Edward Sheriff Curtis The Man Who Documented Native American Cultures by Chris Nelson Born on a Wisconsin farm in 1868, Edward Sheriff Curtis became fascinated with photography early on, building his own camera at the age 10. As a teenager his family relocated to Seattle, where he photographed Princess Angeline (aka Kickisomlo), the daughter of the Duwamish chief Seattle, after whom the city is named. Curtis recognized his life's calling as a documentarian of Native American cultures and quickly joined expeditions to Montana and Alaska to do just that. In 1906, Curtis was approached by the financier J.P. Though Curtis often romanticized his subjects, at times photographing them in ceremonial attire not regularly worn and wigs to conceal contemporary hair styles, he was an outspoken opponent of the devastating use of relocation and reservations. Apsaroke, 1908 Sioux, 1907 Apache, 1910 Tewa, 1906 Cheyenne, circa 1900 Siksika, circa 1910 Arikara, 1907 Wishham, 1911 Jicarilla, 1904 Hopi, circa 1900
The Geography of Empathy and Apathy Compassion is tricky. Solidarity is a minefield. Did you add the French tricolour to your Facebook profile picture? If not, are you a heartless bastard, or worse, an apologist for the terrorists who killed over 120 innocent civilians in Paris? But if you did, how long before it is acceptable to remove the unsightly bleu-blanc-rouge from your carefully curated profile pic? And also: Why didn't you festoon your face with a Lebanese flag to show your sympathy for the dozens of victims of the twin suicide blasts in Beirut, just a day before the Paris attacks? As shown by this cartoon map, the crude offensiveness of which is shocking only in so far as it is true. The map details five concentric zones of compassion. The second circle of sympathy comprises most of Latin America (but not Venezuela, nor the Central American states), the part of Eastern Europe squeezed between Russia and the West, Egypt, South Africa, India, and South Korea. There's worse depths our empathy can sink to.
Photographs of the Islamic Tuareg tribe where women embrace sexual freedoms The Tuareg have maintained their way of life for centuries, crossing from one side of the world's largest desertYet beneath the traditional way of life lies a progressive society where women's rights have been embracedFamilies trace their line through the women and not the men, with women owning the tents and animals Pre-nups and divorce are everyday - with parents throwing their recently separated daughters 'divorce parties'But the rise of extremist Islam in the region could put all this under threat as a more conservative lifestyle prevails By Flora Drury For Mailonline Published: 06:55 GMT, 24 June 2015 | Updated: 15:49 GMT, 25 June 2015 For centuries the nomadic Tuareg tribe have crossed the Sahara desert, sometimes being led by the blind who used their heightened sense of smell and taste to pick a safe path across the ever-shifting sands. But behind the ancient way of life is a culture so progressive it would even make some people in liberal western cultures blush.
Driver of the largest mass extinction in the history of the Earth identified Life on Earth has a long, but also an extremely turbulent history. On more than one occasion, the majority of all species became extinct and an already highly developed biodiversity shrank to a minimum again, changing the course of evolution each time. The most extensive mass extinction took place about 252 million years ago. It marked the end of the Permian Epoch and the beginning of the Triassic Epoch. About three quarters of all land life and about 95 percent of life in the ocean disappeared within only a few thousand years. Gigantic volcanic activities in today's Siberia and the release of large amounts of methane from the sea floor have been long debated as potential triggers of the Permian-Triassic extinction. For their study, the BASE-LiNE Earth team used a previously often neglected environmental archive: the shells of fossil brachiopods. Over thousands of years, increasing amounts of nutrients reached the oceans via rivers and coasts, which then became over-fertilized.
Norway's "Sorry" monument to 91 dead witches His firm paid a king-sized fine for trying to sell planes to Iran. That same company was a member of the politically connected Clinton Global Initiative. An Iranian businessman accused by the U.S. government of violating sanctions on Iran donated money to the Clinton Foundation, The Daily Beast has confirmed. Vahid Alaghband’s Balli Aviation Ltd., a London-based subsidiary of the commodities trading firm Balli Group PLC, tried to sell 747 airplanes to Iran, despite a federal ban on such sales. Alaghband is one of an array of questionable actors who’ve been found in recent months to give to the Clinton Foundation. But Alaghband stands out from the rest, because the beneficiary of his firm’s deals with Tehran was an Iranian airline accused by the U.S. government of working with the regime’s foreign intelligence operatives and shipping arms and troops to Syria. On the Clinton Foundation website, Alaghband’s company is listed as a donor in the $10,001 to $25,000 bracket.
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