1 . When I was a child, I always wanted to be a superhero. I wanted to save the world and make everyone happy. But I knew that I’d need superpowers to make my dreams come true. So I used to embark on these imaginary journeys to find intergalactic (星系之间的) objects from planet Krypton, but didn’t yield much result. When I grew up and realized that science fiction was not a good source for superpowers, I decided instead to embark on a journey of real science, to find a more useful truth.

I started my journey in California, with a UC Berkeley 30-year longitudinal study that examined the photos of students in an old yearbook, and tried to measure their success and well-being throughout their life.By measuring the students’ smiles, researchers were able to predict how fulfilling and long-lasting a subject’s marriage would be, how well they would score on standardized tests of well-being, and how inspiring they would be to others.

Another aha moment came from a 2010 Wayne State University span research project that looked into pre-1950s baseball cards of Major League players. The researchers found that the span of a player’s smile could actually assist to predict the span of his life. Players who didn’t smile in their pictures lived an average of only 72.9 years, while players with beaming smiles lived an average of almost 80 years.

British researchers found that one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate. Wait — The same study found that smiling is as stimulating as receiving up to £16,000 in cash. That’s like $25,000 a smile. It’s not bad. And think about it this way: 25,000 times 400 — children smile as many as 400 times per day — quite a few kids out there feel like Mark Zuckerberg every day.

So whenever you want to tap into a superpower that will help you and everyone around you live a longer, healthier, happier life, smile.

Alan Joseph Oliver

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From the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali he learned and how it works in theory and practice, Alan Joseph Oliver relates the Yoga theory to his limited understanding of quantum mechanics. He believes he has settled David Bohm’s concept of Wholeness and the Implicate Order, which physics may or may not accept.

Adriana Carboni

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This book tells of the excitement and adventure of long-distance train travel as Adriana shares her experiences travelling through the ancient continent of Australia.

Kosti Simons

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$28.99 | $4.99

This memoir (回忆录) is about a barefoot pilgrim’s (朝圣者的) 111-day adventure including both the body and the mind as he takes you on a deeply felt and inspiring walk with God.

Peter Alway

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$ 23.99 | $15.99 | $7.99

Bonnie The Bandicoot decides to move into Steve’s home while hers dries out. The only problem is that Steve owns a dog. Will they learn to co-exist living in Steve’s home?

4 . On Wednesday morning-less than six hours before Hurricane(飓风) Ian made landfall-Kevin Ott and one of his sons went to Fort Myers Beach to check out conditions. Water started rushing in, two to three inches in a minute, forcing a retreat(撤退) to Ott’s home in San Carlos Park, about five miles east of Fort Myers Beach. On the way, he called his children’s maternal grandmother(外祖母) , Mary Ann Dineen, and asked if she wanted him to come and help her.

No, Dineen told him. She had “everything she needed to ride this thing out.” Things were fine at her place. She was having breakfast as usual. They hung up. A little while later, Ott decided to drive five miles south to his boat shop. After they got there, Dineen started calling. “Things are getting bad. I think you need to come down here,” she told him.

Ott got into his car with three of his kids and started driving to Dineen’s house. Before leaving, he fixed a boat to the back of his car. He took the boat toward Dineen’s place and got as close as he could. They’d have to go the final 1.5 miles by boat.

They met a man in a broken-down boat on the way. He had been trying to rescue(营救) his neighbors when his boat gave out, he told Ott. Together, they found his neighbors, one of whom was an old man “just about on his last breath.” They kept going and met many people in need of help. Ott was about to tell a couple that he couldn’t take them, but as he looked closer, he saw the mother was holding a baby wearing a life jacket. “I’m like, ‘We cannot leave these people,’” said Ott.

Ott finally got to Dineen’s and rescued her. They went back and reached Ott’s car. One of his sons dropped everyone off at a hotel.

5 . In 2012, fewer than 7% of Americans had read poetry, which was down from 17% in 1992. In 2015, poetry was one of the least popular art activities for American grown-ups, with under 10% picking up a book and reading for pleasure. Just when it seemed to be on its deathbed, Instapoetry — easy-to-understand poems that are short enough to fit in your Instagram description — came to save the day.

Instapoetry appeared thanks to social media and Instapoems are usually no longer than a few lines and very direct. The influence Instapoetry has made in the poetry world is great. In 2017, poetry sales were twice what they were in 2016. In 2018, 28 million Americans were reading poems, which was the highest percentage (百分比) of poetry readership in nearly twenty years.

Many people have raved about the new type of poetry. The fact that it’s direct while also being touching is what interests many readers. Before the appearance of Instapoetry, many people thought of poetry as being long and difficult to understand. With Instapoetry, it is easy to understand what the author is trying to say. Readers don’t feel stupid or think the poetry needs to be studied carefully. It’s just simple beauty.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Instapoetry has been criticized (批评) for having no meaning and for seeming like passing thoughts thrown on paper, packed up (包装) all pretty and given to the general public. Instapoetry has also been seen as a disgrace (耻辱) to writers who have worked tirelessly to improve their skills and achieve recognition.

In a world filled with a huge amount of entertainment (娱乐活动), people often choose things that are more showy, eye-catching and don’t take up too much time. Instapoetry fits the bill perfectly. While poets who choose to stick to traditional poetry should certainly keep writing, Instapoetry could be just what the poetry world needs to get it back on its feet.

6 . Italy is a wonderful destination in the world. This Italy trip-planning guide tells you where to go, what to see, and most importantly, what to eat!

Springtime and early summer see mostly mild temperatures and crowds that range from moderate to dense. Summer is the most crowded season. Autumn is still packed, and the weather is pleasant. Generally speaking, wintertime is relatively less crowded.

Buy or reserve tickets in advance for those hot spots you want to see. But you may find restaurant service and trains that may run late. Take a deep breath, keep calm, just wait and adjust to the Italian slow style of life.

Italy is famous for pasta and pizza. At the seaside areas and on the islands, fresh seafood will dominate. Desserts are regional. Be sure to try some rare local cuisines wherever you are, rather than limiting yourself to familiar dishes.

Rome: The capital of Italy is home to Trevi Fountain, Piazza Venezia, National Roman Museum and so much more.

Florence: It is known for Michelangelo’s David, the treasures of Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio bridge and leather goods at San Lorenzo Market.

Milan: Italy’s fashion capital is also packed with important museums and is home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper.

Venice: Boating on the Grand Canal, enjoying the glory of St. Mark’s Square and seeing the smaller Venetian islands are popular.

7 . For years, scientists have debated whether humans or the climate have caused the population of large mammals to decline dramatically over the past several thousand years. A new study from Aarhus University confirms that climate cannot be the explanation.

About 100,000 years ago, the first modern humans migrated out of Africa in large numbers. They were very good at adapting to new habitats, and they settled in almost every kind of landscape — from deserts to jungles to the icy taiga in the far north.

Part of the success was human’s ability to hunt large animals. With clever hunting techniques and specially built weapons, they perfected the art of killing even the most dangerous mammals.

But unfortunately, the great success of our ancestors came at the expense of the other large mammals.

It is well-known that numerous large species went extinct during the time of worldwide colonization by modern humans. Now, new research from Aarhus University reveals that those large mammals that survived also experienced a dramatic decline.

By studying the DNA of 139 living species of large mammals, scientists have been able to show that the abundances of almost all species fell dramatically about 50,000 years ago. This is according to Jens-Christian Svenning, a professor and head of the Danish National Research Foundation’s Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) at Aarhus University and the initiator of the study.

“We’ve studied the evolution of large mammalian populations over the past 750,000 years. For the first 700,000 years, the populations were fairly stable. But 50,000 years ago, the populations fell dramatically and never recovered,” he says, and continues: “For the past 800,000 years, the globe has fluctuated (波动) between ice ages and interglacial periods about every 100,000 years. If the climate was the cause, we should see greater fluctuations when the climate changed 50,000 years earlier.But we don’t. Humans are, therefore, the most likely explanation.”