amidst the mayhem

of working in the library ...

1. Watch a volcano create an island.

2. And speaking of things that impair air travel ... read this highly interesting article on "A World Without Planes."

Everything would, of course, go very slowly. It would take two days to reach Rome, a month before one finally sailed exultantly into Sydney harbour. And yet there would be benefits tied up in this languor.

Those who had known the age of planes would recall the confusion they had felt upon arriving in Mumbai or Rio, Auckland or Montego Bay, only hours after leaving home, their slight sickness and bewilderment lending credence to the old Arabic saying that the soul invariably travels at the speed of a camel.

This new widespread 'camel pace' would return travellers to a wisdom that their medieval pilgrim ancestors had once known very well. These medieval pilgrims had gone out of their way to make travel as slow as possible, avoiding even the use of boats and horses in favour of their own feet.

They were not being perverse, only aware that if one of our key motives for travelling is to try to put the past behind us, then we often need something very large and time-consuming, like the experience of a month long journey across an ocean or a hike over a mountain range, to establish a sufficient sense of distance.

3. And speaking of unique transportation situations, the Art of Manliness presents, "How to jump from a speeding car."

Sometimes when I’m driving, I’ll imagine scenarios that would require me to jump out of my speeding car. I know I can’t be the only one who does this. I do it mainly to pass time while in traffic, but I think there’s also a part of me who wants to be prepared if (in the unlikely instance) I actually have bail out of a moving vehicle to save my life. The scenarios that I usually come up with are 1) my brakes go out and my car is about to fly off a cliff Thelma and Louise style and 2) a criminal organization has put me in the backseat of a car and is transporting me to an abandoned warehouse to beat me with a baseball bat. In both cases, jumping from a speeding car is probably the best option for survival.

I've definitely thought about this before.

4. A collection of articles celebrating Pope Benedict's 5th annversary as Supreme Pontiff. [via Mike P]

5. A campaign dedicated to ending "the cross clap," something I'm grateful to have never witnessed. What is "the cross clap"? Now you know.