Sunspots 672

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: There is a pulp magazine archive, of magazines published in the middle, more or less, of the last century, which may be accessed free of charge. Warning -- some of the covers are rather racy, and/or demeaning to women. There is a good search feature. I entered "Jack Vance," and was easily able to access his splendid The Dragon Masters, an award-winning story about what human nature is and isn't. Files can be accessed in several formats, including .PDF.

(and Science) Gizmodo on the discovery of pigments.

An atheist movie critic is positive about Paul, Apostle of Christ, which is currently in theaters.

Christianity: Gizmodo and other sources report that China has banned all on-line sales of Bibles.

Finance: On why US automakers might not be well served by relaxing fuel efficiency standards (as the Trump administration is in the process of doing).

Humor: Listverse tells us 10 interesting things about M&Ms.


Politics: A former Postmaster General says that President Trump is wrong -- the Post Office makes money delivering for Amazon.

Science: Scientific American reports that orangutans use plants as medicine.


Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

I'm thankful for pigments

I’m thankful for pigments – chemicals that absorb some colors of light, but reflect some. There are the pigments in my eyes that let me see color. Then, even more important, the pigments in leaves, which absorb some of the sun’s energy, so that plants can make food. (Not green pigments – green light mostly goes right through leaves, or bounces off them.) Some of these pigments are still there when the green is gone, making fall colors. And then there are signal pigments, in many animals and birds, and even plants, which help them attract mates, or warn off enemies, or attract pollinating insects. And pigments that make things just plain beautiful.

Thanks for reading!