Boca Chica Beach in the RIo Grande Valley, Texas, has been a secret place for generations of locals to fish, barbecue and camp. And then SpaceX came to town. @TexasObserver writes about how the launchpad and production facility for Elon Musk’s space-technology company loom over Boca Chica, and the efforts of some residents to resist further development.

https://www.texasobserver.org/remembering-boca-chica-beach-before-spacex/

#Texas #BocaChicaBeach #SpaceX #ElonMusk #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

Rotting logs contain multitudes. @KnowableMag reports on how they’re home to critters, bacteria, fungi and more — and scientists are only scratching the surface of how the vital ecological process of breaking down wood works.

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2025/rotting-logs-mini-ecosystems-habitat-and-food

#Science #Ecology #Biology #Forests #Fungi ##Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

President Donald Trump is promising to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine — with the participation of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but without Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that’s not acceptable to him. @timkmak’s Counteroffensive looks at another country, Finland, which preserved its independence 80 years ago after war with Russia by giving up land and declaring neutrality. Will Ukraine be forced to do the same? https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/will-ukraine-be-forced-to-become

#Ukraine #Finland #UkraineRussia #Trump #Putin #Zelenskyy #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

Of the 94 movies at the recent Sundance Festival, three came from Africa. For @thecontinent, Wilfred Okiche looks at Kenyan documentary “How to Build a Library,” Tunisian coming-of-age story “Where the Wind Comes From,” and “Khartoum,” which was made by four Sudanese filmmakers and a Brit, and tells the stories of five people who escaped to East Africa after the military coup in their home country.

https://continent.substack.com/p/review-africa-at-sundance-libraries

#Film #Documentary #Entertainment #Movies #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

Are you marking Valentine’s Day this year? @TheConversationUS looks at how Victorian London went gaga for greeting cards. Back then, you were expected to send a Valentine in return regardless of your feelings, which meant you could buy cards with messages that proclaimed mutual admiration, encouraged patience, or politely discouraged future attention.

https://theconversation.com/how-valentines-day-was-transformed-by-the-industrial-revolution-and-manufactured-intimacy-247441

#History @histodons #ValentinesDay #GreetingCards #Lifestyle #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

Lastly, nobody reacted to this when our @CultureDesk shared the story but we thought it was fascinating. Back in the early 2000s, American elementary school students used to stack cups in gym class, and it was all down to a clown-turned-teacher named Bob.

https://defector.com/if-you-ever-stacked-cups-in-gym-class-blame-my-dad

#LIfestyle #UnitedStates #School #Education #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

@Flipboard @TheConversationUS nope

@Flipboard @TheConversationUS

Looking at thyself within the glass,
You appear lost in admiration;
You deceive yourself, and think, alas!
You are a wonder of creation.

😁 The Valentine for a narcissist !

@erikcats Same here!