A U.S. appeals court on Thursday declined to block the U.S. Justice Department from releasing a special counsel’s investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. The ruling from the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit appeared to clear the way for the release of…
Library to host book club interest meeting
Published 7:01 pm Thursday, January 9, 2025
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Chinese travellers planning to visit Thailand for the upcoming Lunar New Year are expressing growing concerns over safety, following the recent disappearance of Chinese actor Wang Xing, whose case has gone viral on social media.According to the South China Morning Post, many prospective tourists have turned to online forums to ask blunt questions such as, “Is Chiang Mai safe?” and “How can I convince my travel agency to refund my expenses if I cancel my trip to Thailand?”These anxieties were triggered by the high-profile incident involving Wang, who arrived in Thailand last Friday for a work-related shoot.The actor, who had been relatively unknown in China until his disappearance made headlines, was reported missing shortly after his arrival in the popular tourist destination.Thai authorities acted swiftly, rescuing Wang from a human trafficking operation in a Myanmar city located near Thailand’s border.The actor was discovered on Tuesday, disoriented and with a shaved head, after being held in a fraudulent online scam operation. According to officials, Wang was a victim of human trafficking.Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has sought to address such concerns, directing her country’s tourism as well as security agencies to try and contain the fallout.“We must manage this situation effectively to prevent any impact on our tourism industry,” Shinawatra was quoted as saying by KhaoSod.Shinawatra said the reaction was not solely about tourism, however, adding that it highlights broader concerns about technological security and transnational scam operations, including call centre fraud.”
Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore take a fateful trip to upstate New York in the movie “The Room Next Door.”New Jersey subbed in for our northern neighbor in some scenes of the film, which is acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language movie.Almodóvar won the Oscar for best foreign language film for “All About My Mother” (1999) and best original screenplay for “Talk To Her” (2002).“The Room Next Door,” released in New York Dec. 20, is now playing in one Jersey theater — The Clairidge in Montclair — and will expand to more Jersey theaters starting Jan. 16.Almodóvar, Swinton and Moore tell a story about terminal illness, death, love and friendship in the film, which is based on the 2020 novel “What Are You Going Through” by New York author Sigrid Nunez.”The Room Next Door” is mostly set in Manhattan and upstate New York.Sony Pictures ClassicsSwinton plays Martha, a former war reporter, and her fellow Oscar winner Moore plays Ingrid, a novelist. The characters, who are friends, worked together earlier in their careers. The New Yorkers reunite as Martha faces down a grim diagnosis. As they get reacquainted, Martha has a question for Ingrid, one that changes the course of their time together.Swinton was nominated for the Golden Globe for best female actor in a motion picture drama for her performance in the film (see trailer below).The movie, which won the Golden Lion at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, is set in Manhattan, upstate New York and beyond for flashbacks in the film.Filming for the Sony Pictures Classics movie took place in New York, Madrid and New Jersey.The film’s Jersey theatrical debut being in Montclair echoes scenes in the movie.Director Pedro Almodóvar on the set of “The Room Next Door” with Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.Sony Pictures ClassicsSwinton and Moore can be seen perusing books in Montclair Book Center. Almodóvar also filmed at Montclair State University.The Westfield police station plays the Lake Hill, New York police station in the story, which also stars Emmy winner John Turturro and Alessandro Nivola in smaller, supporting roles.This past spring, Moore was seen filming scenes in Westfield with Turturro.“The Room Next Door,” rated PG-13, runs 1 hour and 47 minutes and is currently playing at The Clairidge in Montclair and more New Jersey theaters starting Jan. 16.Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at [email protected] and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.
U.S. President Joe Biden said at a White House briefing Thursday afternoon that federal resources and additional funding have been made available to California to fight the wildfires that he described as the “worst fires to ever hit Los Angeles.” The money will be used, the president said, to cover all of the costs for…
Basseterre, St.Kitts (January 08, 2025) – St. Kitts Tourism Authority has been accepted into Virtuoso®’s exclusive portfolio of luxury travel partners, comprising 2,300 preferred suppliers in 100 countries. According to Kelly Fontenelle, Chief Executive Officer of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, inclusion in Virtuoso will present new sales and marketing opportunities to the network’s luxury travel advisors and their highly desirable clientele. Virtuoso agencies worldwide sell an average of (U.S.) $35 billion annually, making the network the most significant player in luxury travel. “Virtuoso’s acceptance process is incredibly selective, so becoming a preferred partner is a true honor,” said Fontenelle. “The reputation Virtuoso member agencies have for outstanding dedication to their clients is a perfect fit with our own bespoke approach to service. Now that we’re part of this renowned network, we look forward to offering Virtuoso advisors and their clients the special amenities, values and experiences that surpass their expectations.” St. Kitts Tourism Authority joins Virtuoso’s collection of the finest luxury hotels, resorts, cruise lines, airlines, tour operators and other travel entities worldwide. These partners, which specialize in world-class client service and experiences, provide superior offerings, rare opportunities and exceptional value for Virtuoso clients. These prestigious providers are able to market to Virtuoso clients via network vehicles and to Virtuoso agencies through multiple communications channels and events, including Virtuoso Travel Week, luxury travel’s preeminent worldwide gathering. St. Kitts Tourism Authority’s acceptance into Virtuoso gives it direct relationships with the world’s leading leisure travel agencies in North and Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. The St. Kitts Tourism Authority stands out as a distinctive addition to the Virtuoso network due to its commitment to providing unparalleled, bespoke travel experiences. With a focus on eco-friendly tourism and vibrant cultural immersion, St. Kitts offers a unique blend of adventure, relaxation and authenticity. For more information about St. Kitts Tourism Authority, call +1(869) 465-4040 or visit www.visitstkitts.com. About St. KittsSt. Kitts is the larger of two islands that make up the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Eighteen miles of green mountain ranges stretch from Mount Liamuiga in the north to the southern peninsula—each end, an entirely different and equally fulfilling experience. The island’s serendipitous location between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea gives its coast distinctively varied hues. Our beaches range from golden tones to salt-and-pepper and alluring black volcanic sand. Venture deeper into the magic of St. Kitts and discover what the destination holds while simultaneously venturing introspectively into a journey of self-discovery. Peel back the many layers of our beautiful island to discover the culture, history, adventure and culinary delights around every corner. About VirtuosoVirtuoso® is the leading global travel agency network specializing in luxury and experiential travel. This by-invitation-only organization comprises over 1,200 travel agency locations with more than 20,000 travel advisors in 58 countries throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Drawing upon its preferred relationships with 2,300 of the world’s best hotels and resorts, cruise lines, airlines, tour companies and premier destinations, the network provides its upscale clientele with exclusive amenities, rare experiences and privileged access. Normalized annual sales of (U.S.) $35 billion make Virtuoso a powerhouse in the luxury travel industry. For more information, visit www.virtuoso.com.
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The core, which will help give insight into previous Ice Ages. Photo: APPaolo SantaluciaToday at 03:30An international team of scientists announced yesterday they have successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet, penetrating nearly 2.8km to Antarctic bedrock to reach ice they say is at least 1.2 million years old.Analysis of the ancient ice is expected to show how Earth’s atmosphere and climate have evolved.
Therese Foldvik holds up a small, faded
book, bound in leather.Inside are fragile, yellowed, handwritten
pages where secrets of the past have been recorded.This particular book is an ancient magic text – a privately owned black book, also known as Cyprianus.Foldvik and her colleagues at the University of Oslo’s Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages have borrowed the black book.To date, around 100 Norwegian black books
have been registered, though many more likely remain in private collections throughout the country. The oldest known copy dates back to the late 1400s.
These black books offer a glimpse into historical beliefs, where magic was woven into folk traditions. Most black books are unique, often handwritten. Owners commonly gathered recipes and remedies from various sources over time, sometimes spanning multiple generations.
The pages were a little jumbled inside the cover, but Therese Foldvik has sorted them.
“There’s something really fascinating in here,” says Foldvik as she carefully flips through the book.
“There are runes.”
Foldvik can read the runes but will not reveal exactly what is written. The exact transcription has to be provided to the owner first.
“But it’s a biblical reference,” she says. “It ends with amen.”
Likely kept in secrecyThe index at the beginning of the book
is typical and shows that the books were used in daily life, says Ane
Ohrvik, a professor at the University of Oslo and expert on black books.“Owners could look up recipes to cure illnesses in both humans and animals,” she says. Other spells aimed to expose thieves
or witches, bring luck in games and love, or reveal hidden truths.However, these were not books you
carried around or read from openly. They contained magical content, says Ohrvik.“We have to remember that many of these black books were written during the time when witches were persecuted in Norway,” she
says.“Some of the content in black books involves summoning the devil. This involved invoking imagined forces and attempting to manipulate them to carry out tasks on one’s behalf,”
she says.One example comes from a black book stored at
the National Library of Norway, dated to the mid-1600s. A multi-page incantation to make a thief return stolen goods concludes as follows: ‘I conjure you by the 7 fatherless
devils, who are Beelzbub, Grogou, Sosten, Lupus, Largus, Beatrix, Hesefy: and
request from you 7 devils that this thief, within 24 hours, be driven back with his theft in the name of Satan, Beelzebub, Belial, Astaroth, Bebel,
Sisilo, Erebi, Bamale, Rebob, all devils in hell, amen.’
Therese Foldvik presents another privately owned book.
“I haven’t started working on this one yet. It will be a surprise for all of us.”
The book is intact and well-preserved, with its pages still bound together.
“You can tell from the handwriting that it’s not easy to read.”
The book is written in Gothic script. This script was used in Norway well into the 1800s and features an alphabet slightly different from the Latin one, says Ane Ohrvik.
The age of the books can be determined by
identifying the type of Gothic script used, as the dates written in the books are often misleading, Ohrvik explains. “They often backdated the books to appear older than they actually are,” she says.
From left: Ane Ohrvik and Mette Moesgaard Andersen.
(Photo: Elise Kjørstad)
Secret knowledgeAt a time when there were few doctors in Norway,
many so-called wise men and women practiced folk medicine. Documents
show that at least some wise men were owners of black books.“There could be rumours about someone being a black book owner. It might even strengthen their position in the local community or
their reputation as a healer,” says Ohrvik.Mette Moesgaard Andersen, a PhD candidate in religious studies at Aarhus University in Denmark, researches black books. At the University of Oslo, she is comparing Danish and Norwegian black books. In the introductions of Danish black books, the content is often described as secret, but for those familiar with it, it is considered scientific knowledge.“The introductions say that you shouldn’t make
a snap judgement if you find something you think is strange. The Norwegian books
often contain a story about how Cyprianus gained his knowledge,” she says.The dark sorcererThe story of Cyprianus represents a kind of
origin story for the black books.“Cyprianus is one of the most notorious mythical figures of the Middle Ages,” says Ohrvik.It is a tale of a dark sorcerer who realised he was practicing black magic and evil. “He then converts to Christianity and becomes a
devout Christian. However, Cyprianus retains a certain ambivalence,” she says. Perhaps he still carries something of the dark sorcerer within him. “I think the black books play on this when
they are called Cyprianus. The book holds both good – and perhaps also evil,” she says.
Another of the books in the archive in good condition.
(Photo: Elise Kjørstad)
Bat headTherese Foldvik works on transcribing black books, which are uploaded to a platform called SAMLA, a digital archive.She shows one of the spells she recently translated, which describes how to reveal secrets: Place a bat’s head on the
chest of a sleeping person, and they will speak of their deeds in their sleep. At the bottom of the page, there are unknown
words that resemble Latin.“These can be noa words, a
substitute for words perceived as dangerous. When used in the right contexts,
they were believed to have magical power,” says Ohrvik.Medicinal effectsAne Ohrvik is involved in a project where
researchers are examining plants used in folk medicine. Some plants mentioned in black books do indeed have medicinal properties.“It’s not just about faith but also experience-based knowledge that actually worked,” says Ohrvik.
Ohrvik rummages through the filing cabinet and finds a black book in significantly worse condition.
This is often how they are found.
“They’re often well-used.”
This book appears to have several writers,
the researchers point out, which is quite typical.Therese Foldvik uses a computer program
that helps with the transcription of the handwriting. Then she has to fine tune
the transcription.She has just started translating pages from the thin booklet. One of the spells describes how to protect cows from all evil with the help of a plant called common valerian. The spell is presented within a short story involving Jesus and Mary. Foldvik points to a place on the page where
a comment has been written in different handwriting.’This is nonsense,’ it says.
A later owner of the book had written the comment.
(Photo: Elise Kjørstad)
“There are actually comments throughout the entire book,” Foldvik notes as she flips through more pages. ‘Blasphemy,’ it says in one spot. ‘Intellect should use such a book.’Medieval self-help booksOle Georg Moseng is professor emeritus at
the University of South-Eastern Norway’s Department of Business, History and Social Sciences, and specialises in medical and health history. He describes the black books as a kind of medieval self-help guide. “They contain a lot of advice, such as how to get
your horse to eat, remedies for stomach aches, or hair loss,” he says. Little difference between folk medicine and doctors Before the mid-1800s, the
dividing line between folk medicine and academic medicine was extremely thin, Moss
explains. “Often, they completely overlapped. The faith healers of the 1700s were doing the same things as the doctors. They used herbal decoctions, plants containing toxins, and similar treatments,” he says. ——— Translated by Nancy Bazilchuk Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
WASHINGTON — Here’s what supply chain stakeholders know for certain about intermodal transportation: It involves freight moving between air, land and sea. Beyond that, well, there are more questions than answers.
The 104th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board provided a fertile setting for more than 13,000 educators, regulators and private businesses to consider diversified research into how to get from here to there, and the elusive goal of making it all more efficient.
At a meeting of the TRB’s Intermodal Freight Transport Committee, attendees bruited about assorted ideas in free-form brainstorming outside of the conference’s lectern sessions.
The discussions also underpin TRB mandates that its committees develop research needs statements, as a pathway to funding science-based review.
Dominic Menegus of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) detailed progress on the development of a geospatial layer focused on intermodal freight transportation for BTS’ Office of Spatial Analysis and Visualization. A geospatial layer functions like a legend on a paper map with a specific theme or feature, and can be used to aid land use, planning and development.
Menegus said his current focus is on dry bulk shipping of agricultural products, minerals, and scrap and recycling at ports. These surveys can track, for example, the changes in size of a coal pile at a terminal and, when cross-referenced with dock data, railroad waybills and terminals information, provide greater insight that can guide freight transportation investment.
Menegus told the meeting that he is seeking input on public and private data to further understanding as a basis for future conversations. He asked, without a hint of irony, what “the line in the sand” should be for intermodal dry bulk items for, say, defining a dry bulk transload facility.
The overall goal, he said, is to piece together a geospatial one-stop shop for intermodal that will validate trailer-on-flatcar (TOFC) and container-on-flatcar (COFC) facility locations, and physical and operational attributes from data sources including the Intermodal Association of North America, Surface Transportation Board and railroad websites.
The meeting-goers suggested that roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro), construction materials and free trade zones be added to the survey’s scope, and a separate layer created for warehouse/distribution center/intramodal — including Amazon.
The meeting was told that because distribution center leases typically run seven years, it would be useful for a survey layer to help determine the capability of facilities for other uses such as manufacturing, or adjacency to a rail line for delivery of plastic pellets, as they are inherently flexible.
Menegus said funds are available to explore those options, including from metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and state transportation departments, which could lead to allocated funding for a new layer in 2026.
One suggestion cited an expected waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration covering cargo drones that should be accounted for, as such activity was already underway in Phoenix and other locations.
Survey talk turned to inland ports, the only area in the supply chain, it was pointed out, where there was elasticity during the pandemic, as well as a layer for barge-to-truck and truck-to-truck movements.
Menegus said a layer covering liquid bulk transport was completed in January 2024, with a beta testing release scheduled for the end of this month that will enhance owner-operator trucking information in the database.
There was a separate discussion of Ukraine and how best to repurpose its army of military drones as the war with Russia winds down and operations and researchers transition to civilian functions, which could make the country the global leader in drone use. Students at the University of Southern California’s Geospatial Sciences Institute are currently looking at techniques for reconstruction.
Talk about data in any setting and the subject of AI is sure to surface. The meeting was told of a business survey that found AI at the bottom of respondents’ interests. Like blockchain a few years ago, AI is buzzy, but machine learning and neural networks, it was pointed out, have been around for years.
Other attendees asked that as far as distribution centers, the committee’s agenda should get away from research and cultural sexiness, and focus more on what it means to be “outside the door.” It’s a challenge, some said, because at the DOT and MPO level, AI and data are in day-to-day use to gauge economic impact and how to leverage future investments. One attendee even suggested improvement in weather forecasting, as it saves so much time, money and effort in the transportation sector.
Talk of where the future supply chain workforce will come from — such as accounting for a demand shift in the next 10 years from diesel mechanics to chemists for battery power — will be a critical need and AI is a huge driver for that.
A participant told the meeting that there was a need for committees and workshops to examine how goods are moving out the door, with a focus on separating development and planning on external transportation from daily operations.
Students, attendees said, need to hear from people engaged in actually moving freight, such as beneficial cargo owners, “who know what it’s like to put boxes on a truck.”
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
Related coverage:
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Railroads’ dilemma: The good jobs no one knows about
It is Tuesday, 10:30 PM, when I find myself standing in my kitchen.
It started with “just one cookie” from the fresh cookies I baked for the office tomorrow, but here I am, stuck on either five… or is it six?… of them.
As I reach for another, a vague thought again runs: Why is it so impossibly hard to stop?
If you have ever been in this situation—and let’s be honest, who hasn’t?—you are not alone, and more importantly, you are not without willpower. There is actually some terrific research about that sweet, round treat’s hold on us, and it’s far more than just simple hunger.
…
Why Cookies Are Irresistible?
High fat and sugar content are not usually found within the same food products in nature. Fruits contain natural sugars, but very little fat; nuts, on the other hand, contain a lot of fat and little or no sugar. Cookies, however, provide this powerful combination in each bite and what scientists call a supernormal stimulus, meaning that it activates our pleasure centers even more actively than natural objects.
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Ashley Gearhardt, who specializes in food addiction, discovered in her study conducted in 2011 that this combination elicits the same responses in the brain as the substances of abuse. Sugar and fat are sent to our brain at the same time, and this sends a message to our brains that this is a high-energy-dense food source worthy of chasing after, she says.
However, more than the sugar-fat mix, cookies are hard to resist for a number of reasons. Their texture is also very important as well. A study carried out proves that humans prefer foods with complex textures, like a crispy outside and a soft inside, because they involve more of the senses.
Cookies, especially fresh cookies, provide this great texture to the recipe.
Then there’s the aroma.
Such stimuli, like the smell of cookies being baked, elicit feelings that automatically stimulate hunger. When the sweet, buttery smell arrives at the olfactory bulb, our body is rehearsing to eat and starts the cephalic phase, where insulin is released. It is this early insulin release that helps to control the blood sugar levels prior to a meal.
Besides, things such as the sight and smell of foods can stimulate the brain reward system to secrete more ghrelin, a hormone that promotes hunger. This form of hormonal reaction might make us hungrier when smelling freshly baked cookies.
When you bite into a cookie, then?
This is where it gets really interesting. What happens in our brain when we bite a cookie? The answer is both simple and complex.
When people eat foods with high sugar content and fats, there is an increase in the nucleus accumbens, also referred to as the brain’s ‘reward center,’ when compared to the effects of sugar or fat as a separate entity.
This pleasure center secretes the chemical dopamine, the same chemical that plays its part in love, addiction, and other pleasurable events.
However, with natural foods, the dopamine signal does not shut off in the same manner as it does with processed foods, especially cookies. Dr. David Ludwig of Harvard Medical School said this is because our brains never developed a stop mechanism for processed foods that contain such high levels of sugar and fat.
Besides, our brain has very strong associations with cookies. Our memory processor, the hippocampus, records not only the taste but also the smell, the environment, and all the feelings. This is why the smell of cookies… Baking could take one directly back to the time he spent in his grandmother’s kitchen or back to childhood.
Exposure to cookies makes the brain produce dopamine in preparation for the reward in the first bite. It then becomes hard to stop once we have taken the first bite because the brain releases neurochemicals and hormones that compel us to continue eating.
The Sugar-Insulin Cycle
What occurs in our bloodstream helps explain why that first cookie creates a chain reaction that leads to overindulgence.
It is a fact that when we take a cookie, blood sugar level increases very fast because of the refined carbohydrate.
This sudden increase tends to invoke a secretion of insulin from the pancreas in an effort to get blood sugar levels down.
But a candy bar or cookies, for example, may trigger a kind of response that scientists dub an insulin overshoot—a reaction in which the body produces slightly more insulin than is truly required.
This leads to less blood sugar than the normal baseline, which creates a physiologic state that leads to cravings for sugars.
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The Emotional Connection
No other food item seems to carry the emotional baggage that cookies do.
Cookies occupy a very special niche in one’s emotional geography. Often they are first treats given to children for good behavior. It’s one of the most potent psychological reward systems that can last a lifetime.
Moreover, the statistics validate it.
An International Food Information Council poll conducted on consumers in 2020 found that cookies conjured up positive memories or emotions in 85% of respondents, the highest for any dessert.
Masterful marketing has undoubtedly succeeded in appealing to emotions.
The average American is showered with lots of cookie-related advertisements every year, and many such promotions evoke the memories and emotions associated with cookies rather than focusing on the cookie itself.
…
Get out from this cookie cycle.
An understanding of our rather complicated relationship with cookies does not mean we are in their hands truly.
It gets to that personal habit loop of cookies. Every habit has three components: a trigger, a routine, and a reward. By identifying these elements in our cookie-eating patterns, we can begin to modify them.
Some truly practical ways come from research done. The studies show that just putting cookies into opaque containers and into a less-accessible location reduces consumption.
Mindful eating techniques also work.
…
I hope you enjoyed reading. This blog post comes from what I’ve learned and what I think and believe. Sign up for my Medium newsletter.
Here is my substack in case you want to read more of my works.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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