"The footage was filmed near the BBC Radio 1 building in Great Portland Street, and shows specks of white light flying at high altitude over the capital. A larger object then emerges from behind a cloud before vanishing moments later." Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/ufo/8599547/UFOs-spotted-over-London.html

I watched the recent TV documentary - on iPlayer as I have no desire to own a TV - which featured the popular Fantasy author Terry Pratchet at Dignitas Clinic. He spoke to two people before they chose to take their own lives at the clinic, and he watched as one of them did so. We, the viewers, watched too. Inevitably the programme has caused a storm of protest. People argue about the sanctity of life being violated, and are concerned about the dismissal of various religious ideas, the ethics of money earned through aiding suicide, the potential exploitation or ‘removal’ of vulnerable people, and the possible grim ramifications of state-sanctioned suicide. These are valid points which need serious consideration. Who has the right to define any standard on what is a good and worthwhile life for anyone other than themselves? My definition will differ from yours, and yours will differ from the next person’s, and so on and so on, endlessly. Pratchet’s documentary emphasised that

"Hidden among sandstone hills in remote western Tibet, a stretch of honeycomb-shaped caverns is way beyond the reach of most travellers. Known as the Donggar Piyang grottoes, the 1,000-year-old caverns in the Tibet Autonomous Region's Ngari Prefecture hold one of the world's greatest collections of Tibetan Buddhist murals...  Frescoes that are currently open to the public mainly depict Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other deities, but also feature animals that are not native to Ngari." Source: http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2011/06/rare-look-into-tibets-largest-buddhist.html

"It is my view that long before that there would be a big population of people who are several hundred years old...." Nick Bostrum is the Director of the Future of Humanity Institute. Source: http://www.bedeutung.co.uk/magazine/issues/3-life-death/withey-interview-bostrom/

Browse through a gallery of beautiful stained glass created by artist Michael Watts, whose website rightly describes his work as "romantic with a decidedly old-world European flair".   His work is exquisite! Visit: http://www.studiowatts.com/index.html

"Seventeen lost pyramids, thousands of tombs and more than 3000 settlements have been discovered in Egypt, using infrared technology from 700km above Earth.  "'These are just the sites close to the surface. There are many thousands of additional sites that the Nile has covered over with silt,' (U.S. Egyptologist) Sarah Parcak said." Source:  http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/article/9519866/egyptian-pyramids-found-from-space/

An excellent gallery of photos from India: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/media/set/?set=a.230450446965140.70777.100000005601801

"Wealthy Britons can now pay to freeze and store their stem cells as an 'insurance policy' that could be used to treat diseases they develop in the future or even grow new organs.  "The companies behind the project, which charges £2,495 to collect and store the stem cells in cryogenic freezers for 20 years, have begun taking the blood samples from their first clients..." Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8556764/Blood-stem-cell-bank-to-provide-biological-insurance-for-adults.html

"The paradigm experience of solitude is a state characterized by disengagement from the immediate demands of other people - a state of reduced social inhibition and increased freedom to select one's mental and physical activities." Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201105/solitude-vs-loneliness/solitude-part-2-the-benefits-it-brings-and-the-special-str This reminds me of Tristan.  He was certain that the only way to develop any real knowledge of the self was through embracing solitude.  By removing the demands and distractions of other people, he hoped to then focus on discovering the true essence of his inner immortal self, (or soul, if you prefer that term).  I tend to stand somewhere in-between, in that while I'd agree that solitude offers uninterrupted opportunity for inner work, I find also that a deliberately created contrast between solitude and socialising presents a greater strengthening of unfolding knowledge.  In plain English, it'