Nutcrackers, Snowmen... and A Very Naughty Christmas.

Improvements for the bundled calendar and contact apps, plus welcoming Fantastical to the Windows platform. ($56.99 annual subscription new, free update, 67.2/30.1 MB, macOS 12+)

Artist Dale Chihuly's whimsical glass art pops up in botanical gardens and museums all around the world.

Mosaïcultures Internationales Montréal invited countries all over the world to submit their most awe-inspiring horticultural sculptures.

Tailor Your Decor to Enchant Clients and Customers

The New Yorker’s fiction editor, Deborah Treisman, talks with Salman Rushdie about “Quichotte,” his apocalyptic quest novel. A few years ago, when the four hundredth anniversary of “Don Quixote” was being celebrated, Rushdie reread Cervantes’s book and found himself newly engaged by a much-improved translation. He immediately began thinking of writing his own story about a “silly old fool,” like Quixote, who becomes obsessed with an unattainable woman and undertakes a quest to win her love. This character became Quichotte (named for the French opera loosely based on “Don Quixote”), who is seeking the love of—or, as she sees it, stalking—a popular talk-show host. As Quichotte journeys to find her, he encounters the truths of contemporary America: the opioid epidemic, white supremacy, the fallout from the War on Terror, and more. “I’ve always really liked the risky thing of writing very close up against the present moment,” Rushdie tells Treisman. “If you do it wrong, it’s a catastrophe. If you do it right, with luck, you somehow capture a moment.” At the same time, the novel gives full rein to Rushdie’s fantastical streak—at one point, for instance, Quichotte comes across a New Jersey town where people turn into mastodons. Treisman talks with the author about the influence of science fiction on his imagination, and about his personal connection to the tragedy of opioids. Rushdie’s much younger sister died from the consequences of addiction, and the book is centrally concerned with siblings trying to reconnect after separation.

For a week, knights, elves and fairies made the rolling hills of Gippsland their home as they battled for glory. Meanwhile, a dragon-decorated castle is becoming a popular choice for weddings.

The National Book Award winner's new book delves into matters of family grief and loss

Hayden Library - PQ7298.2.O3 A6513 2016

Nature knows what it’s doing, and roboticists are more than happy to steal evolution’s ideas to make a plethora of curious and clever machines.