- Ferris Jabr writes a fascinating feature for the New York Times about how trees appear to communicate:
There is conflict in a forest, but there is also negotiation, reciprocity and perhaps even selflessness. The trees, understory plants, fungi and microbes in a forest are so thoroughly connected, communicative and codependent that some scientists have described them as superorganisms.
- Twitter gets nerdy with art history jokes:
i have an edvard munch joke that’ll have you screaming with laughter. https://t.co/IbNhsPerS1
— Monica Lewinsky (@MonicaLewinsky) November 28, 2020
- For the New Yorker, Francesca Mari writes about Los Angeles’s housing crisis and the emergence of a new type of “house-sitting” for empty properties:
No. 265, along with thousands of other homes in L.A., was acquired by Wedgewood, a real-estate company, founded in 1983, that specializes in flipping homes, managing everything from lockouts and financing to renovation and staging. In gentrifying neighborhoods, empty houses are sitting ducks, so companies like Wedgewood hire Weekend Warriors and other house-sitting services for cheap security.
- On December 4, the new documentary on Billie Holiday, Billie, came out on VOD and in select theaters. While I look forward to the day when movies and books stop using the first names of women artists as their titles, it looks like this film compiles some really special footage and interviews.
- A photo campaign is capturing the impact of clearcutting trees in British Columbia, the Guardian reports. This practice is not only destroying majestic forests but is detrimental to ecosystems. The photos say it all.
- Having stress dreams about being in crowded spaces where people aren’t wearing masks? Me too. And we’re not alone: Madeleine Aggeler analyzes the significance of this particular nightmare:
To me, this particular stress dream adds credence to the “threat simulation theory,” which argues that dreaming is a sort of defense mechanism, a way for humans to work through their fears and anxieties in a low-threat environment. In other words, by allowing you to repeatedly and safely play out a situation where you are without a mask, and putting yourself and others at greater risk of contracting COVID, your brain is helping you better prepare for and avoid that situation in real life.
- A memorial garden will be created in London honoring those who died from the coronavirus pandemic. “A total of 33 blossoming trees — one for each borough — will form the centrepiece of the garden, which will be open to the public.”
- You might’ve seen that Trump is making the citizenship test harder. Did you know that a past question on the test asked applicants to identify how many stars there are on a quarter? Turns out the question was deleted “after it was noted that the right answer depended on the quarter.” 🙃
