An I Wish I Could've Been There Weekly Link Round-Up

 

Denis's back is very slowly improving-- much too slowly for him, and I understand completely. I can't even remember if I told you the specialist's diagnosis. One of his vertebra is being compressed, and there's a pocket of infection around it.  No fun at all, especially for a man who takes a pill and expects it to work miracles in five minutes or less. Denis and I have been married now for twenty years, and I've realized that the one area where my spousal knowledge was very sketchy was how the man deals with pain. It can be eye-opening, and I wish for his sake that my knowledge was still deficient.

While we've been taking it easy so Denis's back will heal, I learned that one of my heroes was here in Phoenix, and not only just in Phoenix but in one of my very favorite spots in Phoenix, the Desert Botanical Garden! The hero? Sir David Attenborough. The 95-year-old was working on his latest project, The Green Planet, which focuses on the plant life of Earth. One episode of the series is "Desert Worlds," and for it, Attenborough gloved up and stuck his hand in a teddy bear cholla at the Desert Botanical Garden. I've watched the film clip on Facebook and Instagram. 

Ignore the little triangle on the first photo. I just took a screenshot, so there's no video to play. That first screenshot shows him after he stuck his hand in the cholla. The second screenshot shows the autographed glove afterwards.

How I would've loved to have been there to watch!!!

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• How did Iowa City become the first UNESCO City of Literature in the United States?
• Why do we keep reading a book we're hating? (The last time I did this, I was in school.)
• Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading, and daydreaming.
• The Newbery Medal is 100. It's smuggled some real duds onto our library shelves.
• What does it mean to be a mood reader?
• Teens are coming out for the newly created Kutztown Banned Books Club.
• Why the can opener wasn't invented until nearly fifty years after the can.
• Why do we eat popcorn at the movies?

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Thousands of pre-Hispanic structures have been found along the route of a controversial railway in Mexico.
• Scotland considers a pardon for thousands of accused "witches."
• The legend of the Sun King's perfume bath at Versailles.
• A Roman town has been uncovered in Britain as the dig for a new rail line reveals "exquisite" ancient finds.
• Egypt will mark the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by inaugurating a new, lavish museum.
• New funding will help highlight five Black history sites in the American South.
• A treasure hunter struck gold with the discovery of a 700-year-old Henry III coin. 
• Psychedelic beer served at intimate dinner parties helped an ancient empire in the Andes rule for centuries.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• I mentioned Mr. Goodbar, the young Mexican gray wolf, in a previous round-up. Trump's border wall prevented him from heading south and finding a mate. Well, some shining example of humanity (pardon my overdose of sarcasm) has shot him, and most of the young wolf's right hind leg has been amputated.  
• The folks at The Guardian ponder should animals have the same rights as humans?
• A chickadee trapped in a bird feeder stayed to hang out with its rescuer.
• I really enjoyed this post about the birds in Texas' lower Rio Grande Valley. Thanks, Dorothy!
• Monarch butterfly numbers soar in California after dramatic losses.
• See these first-ever photos of polar bears playing house in the Russian Arctic.
• The mutation that gave us tiny dogs can be found in the DNA of ancient wolves.
• A major new study finds that there are at least 65 species of animals that laugh.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Raye Montague, the "hidden figure" who revolutionized naval ship design.
• The women rulers whose reigns reshaped the medieval Middle East.
• Meet Licoricia of Winchester, the "most important" Jewish woman in medieval England.
• The bookish life of Betty White.
• Eight-year-old Dillon Helbig slid his handwritten book onto a library shelf, and now it has a years-long waiting list.
• Billie Farrell, the first woman commander of the U.S. Navy's oldest ship, takes the helm.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• This revealing map shows how long it takes to learn the most popular languages in Europe.
• This beloved Gaza bookshop will be reopening after a successful global campaign.
• The wooden quilt doors of New Orleans.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Eleven of the most dazzling hoards ever discovered.
• Nine of the best crime dramas based on true events.
• On learning and re-learning American history: a reading list.
• Little Free Library swag for super fans.
• Fourteen historical fiction novels based on real women.
• 2022: the year of dark fantasy.
• The archive that treats protest buttons like rare books.
• Seven facts about Black History Month.

That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. And don't forget to curl up with a good book!