My friend Jason observed, in a more general why-write-a-blog post, that a stranger in a strange land often writes, daily even, about "about all the new and interesting things that caught his eye". Over time though, and so partly as a result of familiarity and partly as a result of other things...

One of my dreams, when I first arrived in Rome, was to be able, on a hot summer evening, to walk out to my own lemon tree and pick a still-warm fruit to grace my ice-cold G&T. Sixteen years and four removals later, that tree, bought from a lorry at the side of the road, is still with me and, this wi...

When I re-entered social space after a three-week break, there was a very pleasant surprise. My friend Jason had relaunched his Doubtfully Daily Matigo podcast. I binged on the first five immediately (alternating with another short podcast) and then caught up fully this morning.

Legalized marijuana is going the way of all agricultural commodities in the United States, and that shouldn't be a surprise. A really interesting analysis by 538 reveals that the price of pot has dropped for grower and dope fiend alike, and with big money at stake -- $6.7 billion this past year and $20 billion the dream for 2021 -- big money is very interested. The market, according to 538:

increasingly favors big businesses with deep pockets. As legal weed keeps expanding, pot prices are likely to continue to decline, making the odds of running a profitable small pot farm even longer.

Botany One reviews Food: Delicious Science, a newish TV series from James Wong and Michael Mosley, originally produced on BBC2 as The Secrets of Your Food. Among the "entertaining stories" that Ian Street singles out for special praise:

Watching James Wong and Michael Mosley participate in a...