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Have a Happy Thought: It’s never too late to switch careers. Take Edward Lear, for example. Aside from sounding like a weird mashup of Shakespearean tragedies, this incredible artist had several careers – starting serious, and ending… less so. In his early life, Lear used his love and talent for drawing to put food on the table. Don’t think that means what he drew was boring… he was one of the great naturalist artists of the late 19 th century, drawing incredibly accurate pictures of living animals: ​ ​ By Edward Lear - First edition of Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots. Originally a painting by Edward Lear posted to flickr at Macrocercus aracanga. Red and yellow maccaw, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7798168  ​ ​ Greater sulphur-crested cockatoo in Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots, 1832 By Edward Lear - sAHdEw7PismRDw at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimed...

Have a Happy Thought: If you haven’t had a good look at a banknote recently, you really should. There is some incredible artwork as well as security features, and it’s all fascinating . (For example – did you know that New Zealand bank notes are actually printed in Canada ?) The European Union is doing a full re-design of the Euro. And for the first time, they’re proposing the possibility of “portrait” view… must be for the TikTok generation . Either way you hold a banknote, some of the imagery, and the stories behind them, are amazing. Here’s just a quick sample – There are 10 Design profiles, each of which have six denominations… so lots to look at (and lots for you notaphilists to plan for your future collections!): Image: Design A, focused on how culture is formed. In landscape mode.   Image: Design B, focused on bird species in relation to its habitat. In landscape mode.   Image: Design D, with different de...

Have a Happy Thought: Sunshine lifts your spirits. If you’re in the northern hemisphere right now, you’re getting plenty of that sunshine. And statistically, if you are a human, you are more likely to live in the northern hemisphere. (although statistically, if you receive this by email, you are juuuust more likely to be in the southern hemisphere.) More humans live in the eastern hemisphere than the western, as well. This gives rise to some very interesting maps, like… Here is a view of the globe that captures only 7% of humanity: Image: Map of the earth where a small dot represents 2,500 people. The bottom image shows New Zealand pretty much in the centre, and only represents 7% of humanity. Source: Bill Rankin, 2015. CC BY-SA. This uneven distribution of humanity on the planet means that, in northern hemisphere summer, during the eastern hemisphere mid-day, there are times where 99% of humanity is in sunlight (unless there are clouds, but you get the point). Image: map of ...

  Have a Happy Thought: People in the ancient world had… interesting ideas about what animals were out there in the world. For example, meet the Bonnacon. You see how the people are holding their noses? Apparently this bull-horse mashup excreted very stinky poo at a very high speed whenever it was threatened. (Although if this picture is correct, it is very embarrassed at doing so). De Natura animalium , ca. 1285, Bibliothèque Municipale de Douai, Ms. 711, f. 8r –  Source Or take the leucrota: an animal the size of a donkey but made up of (from front to back) a horse’s head, a lion’s chest and front legs, but the hind legs of a stag. Folio 15v - Leucrota. | The Aberdeen Bestiary | The University of Aberdeen   Now, you might rightfully say that these are obviously fantasy creatures. But the thing is, these animals are right in the same “bestiary” (a book about animals, like an illustrated encyclopaedia… remember those?) as animals that we definitely recognize, ...

Have a Happy Thought: Previously, I shared the amazing leaf artwork of Japanese artist Lito, who cut leaves into meticulous, beautiful scenes. Today, another leaf-based artist Susanna Bauer takes our breath away. From embroidery that turns the edges of leaves into intricate lace   To stitching parts of leaves together in mind-bending patchwork   Or using cotton thread to hollow and highlight the natural veins within a magnolia leaf You might look at your autumn pile of leaves a little bit differently this year!   Check out more of her work on her artist’s page: work — Susanna Bauer or where her work has been featured Meticulously Stitched Leaves Transform into Tender Sculptures by Susanna Bauer — Colossal Meet Susanna Bauer, the artist who crochets on fallen leaves

  Have a Happy Thought: In Aotearoa New Zealand, as in much of the southern hemisphere, now is the time of (visible) fungi: aka a forest walk right now is your best chance to see mushrooms. (other than getting out a $50 note of course) Image: the iconic blue mushroom on the back of the $50 note. Credit: RBNZ $50 banknote - Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Te Pūtea Matua Mushrooms, possibly due to their being an interesting mix of delicious and deadly, are fascinating for many people. Not least of whom: Beatrix Potter (yes, she of Peter Rabbit fame). In her spare time, she was a mycologist – studier of mushrooms and other fungi. And of course, she drew pictures. Here are just some examples of her talent. Flammulina velutipes Himeola auricula Oops! Not mushrooms, just bunnies multiplying like… mushrooms. A picture drawn by Beatrix Potter a year before her first known letter to a publisher talking about Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter. Yellow Grisette ...

Have a Happy Thought: A few weeks ago I shared this year’s winners of the “Green Nobel Prize.” And that got me thinking a little bit about the names of prizes – how some prize names are… a bit uninspiring (let’s be honest – “Goldman Environmental Prize” doesn’t resonate with most of us); others have become inspiring (I’m betting the Nobel Prize didn’t have the same ring to it 100 years ago that it does now). Meanwhile, other names just sound inspiring from the get-go. India has the Bharat Ratna, or “Jewel of India” Kenya has the Order of the Burning Spear. Its highest honour is to recognise someone as the Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya. Malta, holding to Catholic traditions, recognizes Knights Grand Cross of Justice Professed of Solemn Vows. Japan brings botanic poetry to its decorations with the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum and the Order of the Paulownia Flowers Image: Paulownia imperialis (Syn. Paulownia tomentosa) from Siebold/Zuccarini, Flora Japo...

  Have a Happy Thought: Have you ever been frustrated with a thing, or surprised that someone else hasn’t already solved some issue? So you spend like 10 minutes knocking together just the bare bones of a solution that will work for you… And then put it out to the world, only for it to be taken up by an entire field of researchers. (I’ve definitely done the first part, but maybe not the second part!!) That’s what John C. Wells did in 1982, when he was trying to help define vowel sounds in the English language.   Now, anyone who has ever spoken with an English-language speaker from another country, or perhaps even a different part of the same country, is aware that vowels in English are… slippery, at best. What Wells was trying to do was come up with groups of words that, as long as they are said by someone with the same accent, use the same consistent vowel sound. While someone with a different accent would use a different (but still consistent) vowel sound across those words....