Did you know that every US state has its own flower?
More here via The Old Farmer’s Alamanac
Did you know that every US state has its own flower?
More here via The Old Farmer’s Alamanac
Country music has become one of my favourites genres, thanks in part to Yellowstone and my time in Texas this year.
It’s raw and soulful and I’m not surprised it’s experiencing somewhat of a revival — and a growing audience here in the UK.
Here’s a summary of last night’s annual awards + winners. 🎶
Armistice Day, also known as Remembrance Day or Veterans Day.
We ought not to forget what so many did for us.
A day of learning and note-taking with my mum yesterday at Dr. Rachel Gow’s ‘NeuroBloom’ event — bringing together speakers and participants interested in neurodiversity and our brain and gut health.
Rachel runs Nutritious Minds, and speakers included psychologists, researchers and educators 🧠
A brilliant conversation + Q&A at Cambridge’s E-Lab this evening, with Kevin McDonnell and Coco Newton.
Kevin is a healthtech founder and adviser, and Coco is doing research and work in the dementia space. More here.
I had some good conversations with other attendees, too. Lots of notes taken.
If you’re fascinated by space and lunar missions, my friend Jatan has been working in this area for years.
I learn something new every time I read his writing, especially when it comes to Indian Space — which continues to move along, fast.
Find him at: https://jatan.space/about and his blog here 🌙
“How to help left behind regions and workers” @ LSE this evening, with Gordon Hanson
A presentation on how automation, technological advances and hyper-globalisation have created ‘left-behind regions’ globally — and what the potential solutions might look like.
To date, Wikipedia is one of the best examples of mass, open-source collaboration and building trust at scale. Founder Jimmy Wales releases his book today.
I wonder whether something similar could be done with crowdsourced local news or student-run campus news.
The potential in this space is vast 🌐
British-born The Singh Twins have an exhibition on at Kew Gardens until April 2026.
They share cross-cultural perspectives of migration through immersive digital media — with lots of research behind it.
It’s an impressive example of blending art with history to tell nuanced and balanced stories.
An open-mic night in SE London this weekend.
”The reality is… cannabis is associated with a higher risk of anxiety, depression and… psychosis.”
”Studies have shown that… persistent cannabis users can have a reduction in the grey matter cells of their brain.”
— Dr. Lade Smith CBE (via The Sunday Times, 26th October 2025)
The entire history and practice of modern medicine is built on the finding of patterns in data. Ever since Hippocrates founded his school of medicine… observation, experimentation and the analysis of data have been fundamental to the fight to keep us healthy.
— Hannah Fry (📖 Hello World)
And because we had laid the groundwork for respectful conversation through shared memories… No one had to agree, but everyone was able to share and be heard. That’s when I knew we were building something sturdy.
— Lola Harmon-Ramsey (📝 Creating Differences Across Discord in Newaygo County)
An extensive international study conducted by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), shows that “AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory”.
45% of answers had at least one significant issue; 20% had major accuracy issues. More on the study here.
Daniel Gilbert did a study where he asked people how happy they were before, during, and after a vacation. The happiest day? The day before the vacation. They were still at work but mentally already on the beach… Anticipation triggers real joy.
We know from other studies that depression is… plaguing our young…
The hollowing-out of high streets, the death of the local pub as a meeting place, even the demise of the faithful postie as a daily point of human contact is exacerbating the problem.
— Sonia Purnell (via Byline Times, October 2025)
On such fundamental subjects as human dignity, the common good… poverty, peace, work and the environment, Catholic social teaching offers the wisdom of faith informed by reason or, as it is sometimes described, reasoning within faith.
📖 Catholic Social Thought, the Market and Public Policy
So I applied my mind to understanding wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly, and I came to see that this too is a chasing of the wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation; the more knowledge, the more suffering.
— Ecclesiastes (REB translation)
“But we are not destined to live in a world where truth is no longer distinguishable from fiction… We must be vigilant in order to ensure that technology does not replace human beings…”
— Pope Leo XIV, speaking this week to media representatives on journalism, communication, AI & algorithms
María Corina Machado… a name you might not have heard of before, but whose work will now be known and celebrated, having won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. 🕊️
A mother of three, a degree in engineering, a masters in finance, and a whole lot more – you can read her entry on wikipedia here. 🇻🇪
I just recorded a video today and I had a quick look for this feature that may be arriving soon… for now, I do see a Movies tab, beneath the Bookshelves one. Nice! Thanks @Manton (: It’s helpful having this all in one place. (I’ve recently been using MB as the tool for logging the books I’m reading)
I’m seeing blog posts from Matt Baer less frequently these days and I have to say, I can understand why.
Matt, alongside Manton here at micro.blog, is a wonderful example of someone slowly plugging away without much fuss.
The world is in need of more people plugging away at things without fuss.
One of the lies that exists in the world today is that it is not possible to make money and do good.
I can confirm that there are people doing both of these things.
Many of them are not active on social media, nevertheless making a difference and an impact in their small corners of the world. 🗺️
I’ve not experienced a performance venue quite like this one; a beautiful and spacious building in the midst of the countryside.
I’d thoroughly recommend a visit to Snape Maltings, a place with lots of good things to do and see — the photo inside the Concert Hall, below, doesn’t do it justice.
