Remembrance!
Susie and Eric’s home in a suburb of Olympia, Washington, is filled with trinkets and tokens from their extensive cruising experiences: Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Bahamas, Bermuda, Mazatlán, ….
But there is one problem. Susie, in her 50s, has no memory of those cruises, or of any vacation she has ever taken. Indeed, she cannot recall a single moment in her marriage to Eric or before it. And, no, it is isn’t dementia or neurological disease of any known sort.
Susie
Surprise!
A strange thing happened last Christmas. A suspicious US customs official opened a parcel mailed across the Atlantic. It turned up in Newark in a FedEx shipment labeled as “art craft/toy.” Claimed value? $37. Oh, and it also had a message: Joyeux Noel (“Happy Christmas”)! Apparently it was posted by a “Robert” to a climate-controlled warehouse in Long Island, NY.
The alert official discovered—to his surprise—a painting, instead of an “art craft/toy.”
Miracle!
Robots can do it now—walk on water.
So reported scientists from Seoul National University and Harvard, in “Jumping on Water: Surface Tension–Dominated Jumping of Water Striders and Robotic Insects,” published in Science. They created this ultralight leaping gadget/robot that mimics the way pond-skimming insects negotiate water.
Jumping robots have been around for a while. The new thing here was to learn how to make the robot jump off the surface of water. But water-striders
Aging!
It is inevitable. You age. And things begin to fall apart. Your mind and your body. They crumble. Till you die. (Nice thought, huh?)
But there is something called the “paradox of aging.” An upside to the downturn. And that is that your mood, sense of well-being, and your ability to tackle stress actually keep improving till your last day! A paradox, indeed.
Researchers noted all this in “Paradoxical Trend for Improvement in Mental Health With Aging: A Community-Based
Anger!
Ye olde city of Dallas has an “Anger Room.”
It was established a few years ago by Donna Alexander, as a space for irritated and stressed folks could take out their tension in a violent way—but not on others. Instead they could warmly and passionately wreak havoc on televisions, furniture, and even on mannequins. For a charge, of course.
Seclusion!
Several months ago, while traipsing around Greece, I had the opportunity to visit Meteora, in Central Greece, with some friends.
Metéora (Μετέωρα = “middle of the sky,” related to the English “meteor” and “meteorology”) has these massive natural pillars and towers. While stunningly impressive, what is even more so is the presence of 700-year-old monasteries on top of several of these natural formations, almost suspended in the “middle of the sky.”
Desensitized!
Frank Abagnale has the dubious distinction of being one of America’s most prominent fraudsters and conmen. His life made it to Hollywood (in the 2002 movie, Catch Me If You Can, where he was played by Leonardo DiCaprio), not to mention into a Broadway musical. He claims to have assumed at least eight identities including a doctor, a lawyer, and a Federal agent. Abagnale also escaped from prison twice.
[Now he is—get this!—a well-respected security consultant, lecturer
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.