Another trio of links

[dolorosa_12]

I've found that these briefer posts with three links seem to work better than longer links roundups, so I think they're going to become a semi-permanent fixture here.

First up, a link to the online exhibition put together by my former PhD supervisor (and others), A History of Ireland in 10 Words. This exhibition is a synthesis of work that they did initially on the academic Dictionary of the Irish Language, that they then adapted for a nonspecialist audience into a book, A History of Ireland in 100 Words, and then adapted into the exhibition. Apparently there were beautiful banners up all over central Dublin as well. The exhibition was meant to be in a physical space ... and then lockdown happened.

I found this article in The Guardian, in which newspaper reviewers and critics revise their former reviews (of music, films, books, etc), to be really interesting and thoughtful. I cannot believe the music critic who originally hated Daft Punk's Discovery album, though!

Finally, enjoy this video of Australian magpies singing together.

Comments

[ermingarden]

I just checked out the exhibition - it's so neat!! Thank you for publicizing it!

[dolorosa_12]

You're welcome! I really love all the ways the researchers on this project (which started out a rather dry, academic affair) went out of their way to make it accessible to the public.

[corvidology]

Thank you for the Magpies link. As you might be able to guess, I love all corvids. :D

[dhampyresa]

I was looking up the French name of Australian magpies* and found out they're not actually corvids, sadly.

*Cassican flûteur , btw. Flûteur is pipe-player and other cassicans are called butcherbirds, so I guess that makes it the pipe-playing butcherbird, which is pretty metal ngl.

[corvidology]

Ah, English Magpies are but then they have different black and white markings.

I should know better because English settlers abroad had a nasty habbit of naming a somewhat familiar looking bird after it's English name. In the US they have "robins" that are much bigger, of a different family and have orange breasts.

[dolorosa_12]

Yeah, magpies are pretty metal.

[dolorosa_12]

I love magpies too (and corvids in general, although as per the discussion below with dhampyresa, today I learnt Australian magpies aren't corvids). I'm glad you liked the birdsong.

[dhampyresa]

the online exhibition put together by my former PhD supervisor (and others), A History of Ireland in 10 Words.
So neat!

Finally, enjoy this video of Australian magpies singing together.
Love it!

Thank you for the links!

[dolorosa_12]

You're welcome!

I'm sad my supervisor and her colleagues didn't get the lovely museum exhibition they were planning, but this way their research can be shared with a much greater nuumber of people.

I'm glad you like the magpies!

[merit]

Ah magpies are the best (I say, as someone who seldom gets swooped). Though I am partial to kookaburras as well.

[dolorosa_12]

I never got swooped in the entire time I lived in Australia, which probably makes me feel more kindly disposed towards magpies as well. I think I read somewhere that the swooping is not a universal thing among magpies — only some of them do it, and they teach their offspring how to do it as well!

And yes, kookaburras are great, too.

[nerakrose]

that guardian article was a lot of fun? I don't know any of the original reviews (I only really started paying attention to the guardian in the past year or so) but it was fun seeing how these reviewers revised their former opinions.

[dolorosa_12]

Yeah, I should have said I hadn't read the earlier reviews either — like you, I found the article interesting as an illustration of the reviewers' thought processes, showing how and why they changed their minds.