best of the internet - january
Stories I liked reading
Ossian, a literary hoax that swept up major figures of the Enlightenment.
If an incredible work of art turns out to be a forgery, does that make it less of a valuable work of art? I don't think so. Art should be able to take on a life of its own, separate from its creator, simply as a work with literary merit. Sure, the historical implications of works associated with particular traditions or historical figures add richness and character. But stripped of its context and provenance, great art should still be able to stand on its own. If it can't, then all its praises were empty.
Roomba pets at the South Pole. A cute little tale of Bert and Ernie, two roombas given whole personalities and lore by Antarctican scientists and researchers hungry for companionship.
Bali irrigation systems. This one's a bit longer, but it's worth the read. It's about how traditional Bali worship to the water goddess resulted in a perfectly calibrated, extremely well-engineered irrigation system. When the Bali government tried to "modernize" agricultural production of rice, by making farmers plant genetically engineered faster-growing rice seeds, food production on the island was completely disrupted as the new variety demanded more water faster than the rains provided it, resulting in drought. The new fertilizer also created poisonous algae blooms, hurting local fishing industries. Just another example of governments discrediting indigenous methods of doing things, and it hearkens back to the engineering adage - if it ain't broke, changing it will probably make things worse.
"He steals them, of course!" – how a famed Victorian collector of rare books acquired his copies. An amusing read with more adventure than you'd expect from musty bookstores and museums.
Random snippets
The oldest written melody for the oldest written song in English. Just a little thing I found that struck my fancy.
It's written in Middle English, from roughly 1260 in England. Whenever I see stuff written in Middle English I like to stare at the words and see if I can recognize any of them before looking at the translation to Modern English. https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/early-music/oldest-english-song-sumer-is-icumen-in/
Featured artist – Natalie Ciccoricco. Images not reproduced because I don't have the artist's permission, but she makes really neat art with embroidering (actual, three-dimensional, wooden) sticks onto watercolor paper using thread. It's a neat concept.
Fun little word game that I like to play. It's a timed game where you assemble words from a random set of letters, and tapping each letter plays a little note according to how many numbers you've placed. I like to try to get a whole octave.
Tracking bird migration – an interactive interface to see where the birds are going.
A widow who began her life's work in her 70s – the creation of botanically accurate "paper mosaic" flowers out of cut paper. Very impressive work especially considering it was done in 1772. Modern collage could never. Reproducing this work here because it's in the public domain.