MARTINA NICOLLS - NEWS AND UPDATES FOR OCTOBER 2020
Hello everyone. October is here - the month of the blue moon and Halloween. A blue moon occurs when there are two full moons in the same calendar month. October 2020 has a full moon on 2 October and again on 31 October - on Halloween. The second full moon is the blue moon (but it's not really blue). A blue moon occurs about every two and a half years, with exceptions. The next blue moon occurs on 30 August 2023. In 2037, there will be two blue moons in the same year - in January and March - which is rare.
This email includes updates on Paris (where I am currently staying), my animal website (Similar but Different in the Animal Kingdom), my aid development work, articles, photography, and general points of interest. For my aid development work, I am currently working on flexible deliveries for basic education in rural Somalia for children of nomadic and migrating families, including addressing the educational challenges for internally displaced persons (IDP). I am working remotely, due to the coronavirus pandemic. But I do have praise for a humanitarian rat (see below)!
Regards, Martina
PARIS BLOG Here is a recent blog on my Feast & Famine blog site about the photography exhibition, Man Ray and Fashion, in Paris from 23 September 2020 to 17 January 2020. Read blog: about Man Ray and Fashion. PARIS BLOG Here is one of my latest blogs about Paris on my website: The Paris Residences of James Joyce. Read blog: about Claude Monet and his Water Lilies. THE PARIS RESIDENCES OF JAMES JOYCE My latest book, The Paris Residences of James Joyce, was released on 1 May 2020. READ MORE |
PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO I saw a beautiful Emerald Damselfly at the Botanical Garden in Paris. TAKE A LOOK AT THE PHOTOGRAPH AND MERCHANDISE |
MY WEBSITE: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM One of my most popular posts in September on my website, Similar but Different in the Animal Kingdom, was about the anatomy of a snail's head. In October, for snail lovers like me, I will be posting two articles on snails: one about the Iberian Threeband Slug and another about the True Glass Snail, so look out for them. Read article: The Anatomy of a Snail's Head ANIMAL RESEARCH Here is an an interesting article about the longest dive underwater by a whale. Remember, a whale has to hold its breath underwater, so this feat has stunned scientists. Read article: The Longest Whale Dive Ever Recorded. TAKE A LOOK AT THE UNDERBELLY OF THE AMAZON MILK FROG AND MERCHANDISE |
POPULAR BOOK REVIEWS
My most viewed Feast & Famine blog last month, September 2020, was my 2015 book review on Karen Engelmann's novel The Stockholm Octavo, with 400 views during the month. It is based on the real-life clairvoyant Ulrica Arfvidsson.
Read book review: The Stockholm Octavo.
LITERATURE The country of Georgia has wonderful poets, such as the brilliant Shota Rustaveli, but one of my favourites is Galaktion Tabidze. Here is my article, Letter to Georgia, about my appreciation for the translation of his poems into English, The letter was published in three newspapers in Georgia (two in the Georgian language and one in an English-language newspaper). Read article: Letter to Georgia. |
LITERATURE AND THEATRE The poetry of Englishman John Keats is undergoing a transformation. A dedicated group of musicians and friends has created a project called Keats the Musical (KTM) aimed at setting his poems to music. I wrote an article for the KTM website, and the composer also responded to the piece. Read article: For the Love of the Lyre and the Lyricist |
AID DEVELOPMENT WORK
When I was working in Cambodia last year, I popped into the Apopo Rats Visitor Centre in Siem Reap to see the training of hero rats to detect landmines. In September 2020, one of the hero rats in Tanzania won an award. For the first time, one of Britain's highest animal honours has been awarded to a rat. In a virtual ceremony on 25 September, the UK charity PDSA gave Magawa the Rat a gold medal for lifesaving work. Here is my 2019 article (with lots of photographs) after my visit to the Cambodian rat centre.
Read article: Rats: de-mining hero rats.
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