Giraffe Edition 15
Interview: Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal
Michael Proctor | King's Review | 2nd May 2014
Conversation about life and the Universe. "Future evolution is going to take place not on the Darwinian time scale, of natural selection, but on the technology time scale, because we’re obtaining the capacity to modify the genome. If there are communities a few centuries from now living on other planets, we’d surely wish them good luck in deploying all known science to adapt to an alien environment" (5,377 words)
The New Jet Age
Graham Boynton | Vanity Fair | 22nd June 2014
Portrait of Dubai International Airport and Emirates airline. Some froth on top, lots of interesting stuff underneath. Aviation accounts for 30% of Dubai's GDP, up from nothing 20 years ago. DIA is busier than London Heathrow. Location and investment have allowed Emirates to capture fast-growing long-haul routes connecting Asia and Africa with Europe and the Americas, thanks in part to US airlines' retrenchment (2,860 words)
The Man Who Saved The Dinosaurs
Richard Conniff | Yale Alumni Magazine | 12th July 2014
Yale paleontologist Robert Ostrom transformed our understanding of dinosaurs. Before his work in the 1970s they were seen as "plodding, thunderous monsters, cold-blooded and stupid". He showed them to "have been fleet-footed, highly predaceous, extremely agile", covered in feathers and related to birds. His view of birds as living dinosaurs, revolutionary when first presented, has become mainstream (2,385 words)
I Love All Your Teeth Equally
Eva Watson | The Toast | 7th July 2014
A dental hygienist talks about her work. Warning: grisly photos. "Today I received some brand-new, shiny instruments. Their smooth metal and aluminum surfaces seem to sparkle when the sun hits them just right. The power behind their modern technology makes me blush. It’s like receiving very expensive, razor sharp, pointy, water-squirty toys that I get to have fun with while having to act professionally" (2,935 words)
Seven Reasons Not To Write Novels
Javier Marias | Threepenny Review | 12th July 2014
Spain's greatest living novelist explains why you shouldn't follow in his footsteps. There are too many novels already; anybody can write one; even if you get published, the money is terrible and the fame minimal; posterity will forget you; writing is hard work. The only reason to write novels: You get to live, while you write, in a fictional world that, unlike the real world, is full of possibilities (1,600 words)
Video of the day: Beatles Rockband Intro
What to expect: Two minutes of animated Beatles, with music
Thought for the day
"There's so much comedy on television. Does that cause comedy in the streets?"
— Dick Cavett