The Great Minimum by G.K. Chesterton

The Great Minimum

by G.K. Chesterton 

 It is something to have wept as we have wept,

It is something to have done as we have done,

It is something to have watched when all men slept,

And seen the stars which never see the sun. 

 It is something to have smelt the mystic rose,

Although it break and leave the thorny rods,

It is something to have hungered once as those

Must hunger who have ate the bread of gods. 

 To have seen you and your unforgotten face,

Brave as a blast of trumpets for the fray,

Pure as white lilies in a watery space,

It were something, though you went from me today. 

 To have known the things that from the weak are furled,

Perilous ancient passions, strange and high;

It is something to be wiser than the world,

It is something to be older than the sky. 

 In a time of sceptic moths and cynic rusts,

And fattened lives that of their sweetness tire

In a world of flying loves and fading lusts,

It is something to be sure of a desire. 

 Lo, blessed are our ears for they have heard;

Yea, blessed are our eyes for they have seen:

Let the thunder break on man and beast and bird

And the lightning. It is something to have been. 

Offbeat Humor

pic.twitter.com/XVFzK9Rrhg

— Rothmus 🏴 (@Rothmus) July 26, 2025

 

Data Talks

This is one of the craziest ideas I've ever seen. He converted a drawing of a bird into a spectrogram (PNG -> Soundwave) then played it to a Starling who sung it back reproducing the PNG.

Using the birds brain as a hard drive with 2mbps read write speed. https://t.co/f5gEyyK1MH pic.twitter.com/GfJE79wuuF

— Sterling Crispin 🕊️ (@sterlingcrispin) July 27, 2025

 

The Pond in the Castle Kammer on Attersee Lake III circa 1909 by Gustav Klimt

The Pond in the Castle Kammer on Attersee Lake circa 1909 by Gustav Klimt (Austria, 1862-1918)

Click to enlarge.

History

A Native American man in a canoe reportedly washed up in Spain many years before Columbus set sail https://t.co/Knv1P35JCJ pic.twitter.com/btYESpXaK4

— aegg (@castawaymariner) July 26, 2025

 

An Insight

NEW: NY Times Pulitzer winner Jeff Gerth: "The media isn't looking for Russiagate scoops nor will they fairly present the ones others get if they reflect poorly on their prior reporting. Theyre in a defensive posture & arent inclined to report deeply on anything that helps Trump"

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) July 27, 2025

 

I see wonderful things

This 2,000-year-old Roman ring uses a curved stone to bend light, making a carved image look 3D. pic.twitter.com/3Fcbj5UojN

— Muse (@xmuse_) July 26, 2025

 

Offbeat Humor

An old Soviet joke. The Russians arrest a Jew for studying Hebrew.

“Why are you studying Hebrew in Russia? You will die before being allowed to go to Israel.”

“When I die, I will go to heaven and everyone there will speak Hebrew.”

“Ha! And what if you go to hell?”

“I already…

— Branislav Slantchev (@slantchev) July 24, 2025

 

Data Talks

Many birds have four colour-sensing cone cell types in their eyes (unlike our three and most mammals' two), giving them vision into the UV range, and (presumably) a much richer experience of colour. Birds that appear dull brown to us likely appear resplendent to other birds https://t.co/WMb37H9VFG pic.twitter.com/ismiQGEMrz

— Bryan Hoyt (@bryhoyt) July 27, 2025

 

Black Sky White Pines by Jef Bourgeau

Black Sky White Pines by Jef Bourgeau (American, 1950 - ) 

Click to enlarge.