Pioneering female journalist Nellie Bly begins a successful attempt to travel around the world in less than 80 days #OTD in 1889.
In 1888, Bly suggested to her editor at the New York World that she take a trip around the world, attempting to turn the fictional Around the World in Eighty Days (1873) into fact for the first time. A year later, at 9:40 a.m. on November 14, 1889, and with two days' notice, she boarded the Augusta Victoria and began her 24,898 mile journey. via @wikipedia
It's #BlackHistoryMonth, and in 2024 I'm reflecting on the fact that although I've known about Walter Rodney and his seminal work "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" for years, it wasn't until I started reading it last year that I found out that Rodney was assassinated by his own Guyanese government in a car bombing. He was 38.
I'm obligated to point out to fellow white people, in case you missed it, the trend of white people lionizing a heroic Black person in a show of solidarity while studiously ignoring the vicious violence enacted against that person by the powers that be.
Also, Rodney was banned from Jamaica and from his teaching position at the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica. This caused protests that escalated to riots in Kingston in 1968. Part of the wave of protests that swept the world from that year to the next.
If you're one of those organised people who is already thinking about Christmas presents, the FT has just named Blue Machine as one of its best science books of 2023.
And one of the nicest things about the reaction to it has been that even people who have no initial interest in the ocean really love it, as well as those who start as fans. Do give the gift of the ocean this festive season!
Ottawa Book Festival Platforming Far-Right Speakers Uses Fake Employees and Misleading Sponsors
"But not only will this year’s event platform several far-right speakers linked to the 2022 Freedom Convoy occupation, a number of the festival’s corporate sponsors and key employees also appear to be misleading or fake."
👉 Info about organizers in article.⬇️ Please read it.👀
I wrote a new book, called YOU DESERVE A TECH UNION. It’s coming out real soon. (I’m freaking out a little tbh!!) If you’d like to support the book slash get the word out, here’s how you can help!
I just sent a letter demanding AI companies remove my works from their training data. Use the Authors Guild's letter template to send your own. But please do augment it with your own details (I added my publication info. And called them parasites) #AI#Books3#author#books
Just finisihed this & it's brilliant: Katalin Kariko's story of her life. She was convinced that mRNA therapies could work decades ago & did the foundation work, all while being ignored, never promoted & struggling for jobs.
Today, millions are vaccinated with mRNA vaccines & she has a Nobel prize.
It's a great story, and leaves a lot for the scientific system to think about. Highly recommended.
This picture was commissioned by the Translators’ Section of the Swedish Writers’ Union. The creator has received fair remuneration and has chosen to remain anonymous. They have given their permission to the Union for unlimited dissemination and downloading of the picture.
So please, post it on Social Media, send to writers, journalists, teachers, publishers, etc.!
For this of us accused of buying too many #books - Umberto Eco was on our side:
'It is foolish to think that you have to read all the books you buy, as it is foolish to criticize those who buy more books than they will ever be able to read. It would be like saying that you should use all the cutlery or glasses or screwdrivers or drill bits you bought before buying new ones'
AI-generated books on Amazon now have the potential to kill people, as they've moved into the realm of mushroom foraging. Guides have popped up like, well, mushrooms, packed with information that makes no sense and could easily be dangerous, illustrated with structures that are "the mycological equivalent of a picture of a hot blond with six fingers and too many teeth," writes Vox's Constance Grady. Here's more.
Happy Birthday Sir Isaac Newton who was born today 381 years ago!
His pioneering book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, first published in 1687, consolidated many previous results and established classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and shares credit with German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for developing infinitesimal calculus, though he developed calculus years before Leibniz.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is published #OTD in 1937.
The novella has been banned from various US public and school libraries or curricula for allegedly "promoting euthanasia", "condoning racial slurs", being "anti-business", containing profanity, and generally containing "vulgar," "offensive language," and containing racial stereotypes, as well as the negative impact of these stereotypes on students. Many of the bans and restrictions have been lifted. via @wikipedia
English novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley died #OTD in 1851. She is best known for writing the Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, which is considered an early example of science fiction. She edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her historical novels include Valperga and Perkin Warbeck, the apocalyptic novel The Last Man and her final two novels, Lodore and Falkner. via @wikipedia
French author, poet, and playwright Jules Verne was born #OTD in 1828.
His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the Voyages extraordinaires, a series of bestselling adventure novels including Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1872). via @wikipedia
"Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience."
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (ed. 1793)
British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights Mary Wollstonecraft was born #OTD in 1759. In "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" (1792), Wollstonecraft argued that women are not naturally inferior to men but appear so only because of a lack of education.
Author Adiba Jaigirdar on embracing queer Muslim stories: 'I'm writing books I wish I had' (www.thepinknews.com)
Adiba Jaigirdar talks positive LGBTQ+ Muslim representation, writing joyful queer stories and her latest novel, The Dos and Donuts of Love.