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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/20/opinion/how-animals-see-themselves.html Spectacle floods into my eyes whenever I watch a wildlife documentary. A vortex of small fish is gradually picked off by waves of oceanic predators. Snakes chase after marine iguanas. Giraffes clash at sunset. While the nature shows I grew up with were more like didactic lectures, their modern counterparts — all of which seem to have the word “Planet” in the title — have the bombast of summer blockbusters. Technological advances are partly responsible. Wild creatures are difficult to film, and when footage is fleeting and scarce, narration must provide the intrigue and flair that the visuals lack. But new generations of sophisticated cameras can swoop alongside running cheetahs at ground level, zoom in on bears cavorting on inaccessible mountainsides and capture intimate close-ups of everything from wasps to whales. Shots can now linger. Nature documentaries can be cinematic. But in the process, they have also shoved the square peg of animal life into the round hole of human narratives. When animals become easier to film, it is no longer enough to simply film them; they must have stories. They must struggle and overcome. They must have quests, conflicts, even character arcs. An elephant family searches for water amid a drought. A lonely sloth swims in search of a mate. A cheeky penguin steals rocks from a rival’s nest. ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story Nature shows have always prized the dramatic: David Attenborough himself once told me, after filming a series on reptiles and amphibians, frogs “really don’t do very much until they breed, and snakes don’t do very much until they kill.” Such thinking has now become all-consuming, and nature’s dramas have become melodramas. The result is a subtle form of anthropomorphism, in which animals are of interest only if they satisfy familiar human tropes of violence, sex, companionship and perseverance. They’re worth viewing only when we’re secretly viewing a reflection of ourselves. We could, instead, try to view them through their own eyes. In 1909, the biologist Jakob von Uexküll noted that every animal exists in its own unique perceptual world — a smorgasbord of sights, smells, sounds and textures that it can sense but that other species might not. These stimuli defined what von Uexküll called the Umwelt — an animal’s bespoke sliver of reality. A tick’s Umwelt is limited to the touch of hair, the odor that emanates from skin and the heat of warm blood. A human’s Umwelt is far wider but doesn’t include the electric fields that sharks and platypuses are privy to, the infrared radiation that rattlesnakes and vampire bats track or the ultraviolet light that most sighted animals can see. The Umwelt concept is one of the most profound and beautiful in biology. It tells us that the all-encompassing nature of our subjective experience is an illusion, and that we sense just a small fraction of what there is to sense. It hints at flickers of the magnificent in the mundane, and the extraordinary in the ordinary. And it is almost antidramatic: It reveals that frogs, snakes, ticks and other animals can be doing extraordinary things even when they seem to be doing nothing at all. Thanks for reading The Times. Subscribe to The Times While walking my dog, I see a mockingbird perched on a lamp post. With eyes on the side of its head, it has close to wraparound vision; while we move into our visual world, birds move through theirs. Their eyes also have four types of color-sensing cells compared with our three, allowing them to see an entire dimension of colors that we cannot; those colors, which are present on their feathers, allow male and female mockingbirds to tell each other apart even though they look the same to us. A mockingbird’s hearing differs from ours, too: It is so fast that when it mimics the songs of other birds, it accurately captures notes that fly by too quickly for our ears to make out. I watch the mockingbird for about a minute, during which it belts out a few bars and flies off. But what more does it need to do? The baseline condition of its existence is magical. Its simplest acts of seeing, hearing and feeling are spectacular without spectacle. Editors’ Picks What Should You Do When Your Partner Lies About His Earnings? Inside the Push to Diversify the Book Business When Antlers Tangle, Sometimes Both Animals Lose ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story By thinking about our surroundings through other Umwelten, we gain fresh appreciation not just for our fellow creatures, but also for the world we share with them. Through the nose of an albatross, a flat ocean becomes a rolling odorscape, full of scented mountains and valleys that hint at the presence of food. To the whiskers of a seal, seemingly featureless water roils with turbulent currents left behind by swimming fish — invisible tracks that the seal can follow. To a bee, a plain yellow sunflower has an ultraviolet bull’s-eye at its center, and a distinctive electric field around its petals. To the sensitive eyes of an elephant hawk moth, the night isn’t black, but full of colors. Even the most familiar of settings can feel newly unfamiliar through the senses of other creatures. I walk my dog — Typo, a corgi — three times a day, passing the same streets and buildings that I’ve seen thousands of times. But though this urban landscape seems boring and stagnant to my eyes, its smellscape is constantly fascinating to Typo’s nose. He sniffs constantly, his nasal anatomy allowing him to continuously draw in odors even while exhaling. He sniffs the individual leaves of emergent springtime plants with utmost delicacy. He sniffs patches of dried urine left behind by the neighborhood dogs — the equivalent of a human scrolling through a social media feed. On every walk, there’ll be at least one moment when Typo grinds to a halt and excitedly explores a patch of sidewalk that looks nondescript but is clearly bursting with enthralling odors. By watching him, I feel less inured to my own life, more aware of the perpetually changing environment around me. Such awareness is a gift, which Typo gives to me daily. These sensory worlds can be difficult, and sometimes impossible, for nature documentaries to capture (although some, like Netflix’s “Night on Earth,” make a valiant effort). No special effects can truly convey the wraparound nature of bird vision to the front-facing eyes of a human viewer or translate the wide spectrum of colors visible to a bird into the much narrower set that our eyes can see. Nonvisual senses are even harder for a visual medium to capture. You can play recordings of a whale’s song, but that doesn’t show what it means for whales to hear each other across oceanic distances. You can depict the magnetic field that envelops the planet, but that can’t begin to capture the experience of a robin using that field to fly across a continent. In his classic 1974 essay, “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?” the philosopher Thomas Nagel wrote that the conscious experiences of other animals are inherently subjective and hard to describe. You could envision yourself with webbing on your arms or insects in your mouth, but you’d still be creating a mental caricature of you as a bat. “I want to know what it is like for a bat to be a bat,” Dr. Nagel wrote. Most bat species perceive the world through sonar, sensing their surroundings by listening for the echoes of their own ultrasonic calls. “Yet if I try to imagine this, I am restricted to the resources of my own mind, and those resources are inadequate to the task,” Dr. Nagel wrote. Our own senses constrain us, creating a permanent divide between our Umwelt and another animal’s. Technology can help to bridge that chasm, but there will always be a gap. Crossing it requires what the psychologist Alexandra Horowitz calls “an informed imaginative leap.” You cannot be shown what another Umwelt is like; you must work to imagine it. Watching modern nature documentaries has almost become too easy, as if I am being passively swept away by the torrent of vivid imagery — eyes open, jaw agape, but brain relaxed. By contrast, when I think about other Umwelten, I feel my mind flexing and the joy of an impossible task nonetheless attempted. In these small acts of empathy, I understand other animals more deeply — not as fuzzy, feathered proxies for my life, but as wondrous and unique entities of their own, and as the keys to grasping the true immensity of the world.

https://www.moto1pro.com/pruebas-motos/voge-300-rally-trail-de-verdad-para-el-a2 The range of Voge 2022 motorcycles is made up of multiple types of motorcycles such as scooter, naked, scrambler, adventure, even an electric motorcycle. Within the adventure range, our protagonist completes the range below, being the most accessible trail bike but also with the most accentuated off-road qualities . Its sister -Voge 300 DS- was already marketed in the catalogue, with which it shares a base and multiple pieces, also with a trail look but with a more asphalt orientation. It may interest you: Test Voge 650 DSx and 500 DSx Do not miss: New Voge 300 Rally The Voge 300 Rally was presented at the 2021 EICMA show and has a very marked off-road aesthetic inspired by the legendary models that participated in the Dakar Rally in the past. But this does not stop at aesthetics, since it is a real trail bike with which you can do tracks, trails or even enduro. This is the Voge 300 Rally. Main features The front of the Voge 300 Rally is integrated by a double halogen optic that joins the fairing in a very attractive way. Aesthetically, both the smoked screen (which protects quite well) and the front part of the fairing is very successful. It has a fairly legible backlit LCD display -although not so much in extreme conditions of a lot of sun and dust as the test day- in which to view the typical data of the motorcycle (including gear engaged) as well as partial, trip and a USB port for charging devices such as GPS or even mobile. Voge 300 Rally test: real trail for the A2 Regarding the cycle part, the Voge 300 Rally relies on a newly created multi-tubular chassis and 41 mm inverted fork with 205 mm of homologated travel. At the rear, it has a monoshock absorber with linkages. The engine that equips the Voge 300 Rally is manufactured by Loncin. It is a 292 cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder with a declared power of 28.5 hp and a torque of 25 Nm associated with a six-speed gearbox. We will see later that it is a capable engine and in accordance with the approach of this bike. Among the standard equipment includes disc brakes with disconnectable ABS on both trains, 265 mm and two-piston caliper at the front and a 220 mm caliper and disc at the rear. For these parts, Voge is committed to in-house manufacturing, which is why they have told us that they have not suffered many delays when it comes to delivering motorcycles since they can directly manufacture almost 100% of the motorcycle. The height of the seat is 915 mm, the bike is somewhat high for those sizes less than 170 cm although, when you get on the bike, it goes down quite a bit. Being an off-road compartment bike, it has to be tall in order to be more capable off-road. The weight in running order is 158 kg , a weight that does not give a problem to be able to move the motorcycle while stationary. The tank has a capacity of 11 litres , which together with the declared low consumption (3.2 liters per 100) is enough for great motorcycle days. Regarding the specific trail equipment, the Voge 300 is equipped with disconnectable ABS , spoked rims with the usual off-road measurements (21 inches at the front and 18 at the rear) with trail tires , enduro footrests, luggage rack, sump protector and engine guards. How is the Voge 300 Rally doing? Although we had been summoned to a central hotel in Guadalajara, we had already been warned that the route was going to run 80% off-road , so we adapted our equipment to ride off-road. The first impression when you see the bike is that it is narrow and… tall. The seat, as we have mentioned, is at 915 mm but, it is true that as soon as you sit down, the rear suspension is lowered and the tank area is narrow (I am 172 cm tall and reached the ground well). The riding position is comfortable , and one of the positive aspects of trail adventure bikes is their position for long days on the bike. Everything is at hand and the screen, although it is not adjustable, is smoked and protects well from the wind . Although for road routes, it would have been a success to have been able to lower the dome and thus have greater clarity of vision for the field sections. We start up and begin our test in the city, where the bike performs very well. The handlebar has a wide turning radius so weaving between cars is very easy. The engine pushes well in the middle of the rev counter, so you have to be careful not to let it drop too much. Even so, it is a very nice engine that, together with a negligible consumption, makes the Voge 300 Rally an excellent companion for errands in the city, going to work, university... We left Guadalajara and headed down a secondary road towards the countryside. The bike behaves very well on bumpy asphalt , the suspension is firm, the brakes respond well and being light (158 kg) it is quite fun. Of course, the more twisty and slow the road, the better , the 28.5 CV spread a lot but in open spaces it is no longer so comfortable. Born for off-roading Voge was clear that the bike should withstand the demanding treatment of off-road and for this reason they prepared a presentation for us with hard-trail sections in which to put the small bike from the Voge adventure range to the test. We left the asphalt, disconnected the ABS from the handlebars and started the tour on the open track. The terrain generates a lot of dust, so it is advisable to leave a reasonable distance between press colleagues. In these conditions of wide tracks with fine sand, the bike behaves very well, you can go fast , the suspensions filter the terrain, the brakes have bite and it's fun between corners. We changed gears and began to ride on narrower roads, trails full of stones with ups and downs that put the bike's capabilities to the test . In my case I admit that I had some prejudice about the tires, I thought they would not perform well in the field but nothing could be further from the truth, going up big slopes we always had grip and traction as well as on the fast track. The truth is that they have been a good choice for this type of motorcycle. The day continues along demanding trails, where we noticed that the suspensions in more complicated sections have a soft setting and that the steering is somewhat imprecise in some sections with stones. It is true that we are putting the bike in extreme conditions, but that was the objective. We went back to a road link, where I was able to see how with respect to the maximum speed I achieved a top speed of 125 km/h on the scoreboard . Therefore, it is a motorcycle with which you can consider trips and exits from the outskirts, although taking these parameters into account. Pros, cons and price The Voge 300 Rally emulates the spirit of the 80's enduro trail bikes with a very interesting proposal: to be an ideal light trail bike for those who want to start in the world of motorcycles or want to have a more versatile bike. It is very capable off-road but can also be used perfectly on a daily basis as well as on the road. Regarding the aspects that could be improved, there are some finishing finishes that could have been better taken care of, such as the visible screws of the screen and the handles, which could be adjustable . The vibrations of the single-cylinder engine are notorious, although you can get used to it. We have also noticed that the off-road brakes are somewhat harsh , you do not have much modulation capacity. I leave the price for last, and for 4,490 euros this bike can be yours . It is a motorcycle that will give you a lot for little, with which you can have fun on but especially off the road. Without a doubt, it is a great option for those who have an A2 license or for those who want to have a second motorcycle with moderate maintenance that allows them to "let off steam" off the asphalt. The Voge 300 Rally is already available at the brand's official dealerships in two color variants: the white-blue version that we have tested and the gray-yellow version. Currently (June 2022) it has a free insurance promotion for the first year and financing possibilities. THE BIKE IN DETAIL... Voge 300 Rally test: real trail for the A2 LCD DISPLAY It is small in size but very complete in terms of the information to be displayed. Tachometer, gear engaged indicator, fuel level... It also integrates a USB input. Perhaps we miss a little more light power in very sunny conditions, but it is a higher-end motorcycle display. Voge 300 Rally test: real trail for the A2 TIRES Manufactured by the Asian brand Timsun, they have surprised us with their good performance on bumpy asphalt as well as off-road. Good grip and traction capacity that has allowed us to overcome the obstacles on the route without problems. Voge 300 Rally test: real trail for the A2 ENGINE Manufactured by Loncin, it is an engine adapted to Euro 5, a single-cylinder 292 cc and 28.5 CV engine that performs well, is elastic and moves the motorcycle with ease. Its weak point is the vibrations it emits from mid-range. Voge 300 Rally test: real trail for the A2 ESTHETIC Inspired by the Dakar bikes, the Voge 300 Rally catches the eye and is very attractive live. The color combinations are successful and the detail of the rims with the decoration of half of them is very original. Voge 300 Rally test: real trail for the A2 DRIVING POSITION The Voge 300 Rally is a very comfortable motorcycle considering the height of the seat. The screen covers the air quite well, the handlebars are wide and the placement of the footrests is correct. The seat has seemed soft and comfortable for long distances.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61890804 A powerful earthquake has killed at least 1,000 people and injured 1,500 in eastern Afghanistan, an official of the ruling Taliban told the BBC. The Taliban appealed for international help for the rescue effort as pictures showed landslides and ruined mud-built homes in the province of Paktika. The quake struck shortly after 01:30 (21:00 GMT Tuesday) as people slept. Hundreds of houses were destroyed by the magnitude 6.1 event, which occurred at a depth of 51km (32 miles). It is the deadliest earthquake to strike Afghanistan in two decades and a major challenge for the Taliban, the Islamist movement which regained power last year after the Western-backed government collapsed. The earthquake struck about 44km from the city of Khost and tremors were felt as far away as Pakistan and India. Witnesses reported feeling the quake in both Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, and Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Taliban officials asked the UN to "support them in terms of assessing the needs and responding to those affected", Sam Mort from Unicef's Kabul unit told the BBC. The UK's special representative to Afghanistan, Nigel Casey, said the UK was in touch with the UN and was "ready to contribute to the international response". Earthquakes tend to cause significant damage in Afghanistan, where dwellings in many rural areas are unstable or poorly built. Speaking to Reuters news agency, locals described horrific scenes of death and destruction in the aftermath of the late-night earthquake. "The kids and I screamed," said Fatima. "One of our rooms was destroyed. Our neighbours screamed and we saw everyone's rooms." "It destroyed the houses of our neighbours," Faisal said. "When we arrived there were many dead and wounded. They sent us to the hospital. I also saw many dead bodies." "Every street you go, you hear people mourning the deaths of their beloved ones," a journalist in Paktika province told the BBC. Local farmer Alem Wafa cried as he told the BBC that official rescue teams had yet to reach the remote village of Gyan - one of the worst hit. "There are no official aid workers, but people from neighbouring cities and villages came here to rescue people," he said. "I arrived this morning, and I - myself - found 40 dead bodies." Most of the dead, he said, were "very young children". The local hospital just did not have the capacity to deal with such a disaster, the farmer added. 'Every street you go you hear mourning' In remote areas, helicopters have been ferrying victims to hospitals. Even before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan's emergency services were stretched to deal with natural disasters - with few aircraft and helicopters available to rescuers. Speaking to the BBC, a doctor in Paktika said medical workers were among the victims. "We didn't have enough people and facilities before the earthquake, and now the earthquake has ruined the little we had," they said. "I don't know how many of our colleagues are still alive." Communication following the quake is difficult because of damage to mobile phone towers and the death toll could rise further still, another local journalist in the area told the BBC. "Many people are not aware of the well-being of their relatives because their phones are not working," he said. "My brother and his family died, and I just learned it after many hours. Many villages have been destroyed." Most of the casualties so far have been in the Gayan and Barmal districts in Paktika, a local doctor told the BBC. Local media site Etilaat-e Roz reported a whole village in Gayan had been destroyed. There were no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage in Pakistan, according to BBC Urdu. Decades of conflict have made it difficult for the impoverished country to improve its protections against earthquakes and other natural disasters - despite efforts by aid agencies to reinforce some buildings over the years. Afghanistan is prone to quakes, as it's located in a tectonically active region, over a number of fault lines including the Chaman fault, the Hari Rud fault, the Central Badakhshan fault and the Darvaz fault. Over the past decade more than 7,000 people have been killed in earthquakes in the country, the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports. There are an average of 560 deaths a year from earthquakes. Most recently, back-to-back earthquakes in the country's west in January killed more than 20 people and destroyed hundreds of houses. An injured victim of the earthquake receives treatment at a hospital in Paktia, Afghanistan, 22 June 2022. IMAGE SOURCE,EPA Presentational grey line Afghanistan: The basics The Taliban run the country: The hardline Islamists took over Afghanistan last year, almost 20 years after being ousted by a US-led military coalition There's a food crisis: More than a third of people can't meet basic needs and the economy is struggling, as foreign aid and cash dried up when the Taliban took power Women's rights are restricted: They have been ordered to cover their faces in public and teenage girls have not been allowed to go to school

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https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2022-ford-bronco-raptor-first-drive-four-wheeler/ With roots tracing back to 1966, Ford has truly honored the off-road heritage of its Bronco brand with an Ultra4-inspired SUV that compromises nothing for the dirt enthusiast. The Bronco Raptor is unapologetically fast across rough tracks, confident and composed on the blacktop, and one of the most adept machines available from the factory for picking through hair-raising obstacles. 02 ford bronco raptor 2022 filterSEE ALL 22 PHOTOS Ultra4 racing is an off-road decathlon. Excelling at these events requires a machine that can navigate punishing mud and deep sand, grind across rocks, twist over logs, and throw down the raw power to conquer sloppy hillclimbs and the open desert. Ultra4 racing is at the heart of the Bronco Raptor's design, and the integration of competition-validated equipment elevates it beyond the other vehicles in the Bronco lineup, where it joins the ranks of the Ford F-150 Raptor and the Ranger Raptor (for global markets).

https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/fashion/shilpa-shetty-nikamma-promotions-fashion-looks-7976861/lite/ Shilpa Shetty never fails to inspire — be it with her workouts or her impeccable style. Not one to play it safe, the actor keeps experimenting with varied colours and silhouettes, raising the fashion quotient and how! As such, she was seen promoting her recent release, Nikamma, in an array of impressive ensembles. Buy Now | Our best subscription plan now has a special price Hopping on to the sequin fashion bandwagon, Shilpa slipped into a hot pink shimmer sari and teamed it with a matching sleeveless blouse. With her hair left open, she accessorised this look with diamond accessories. Prior to this, she had worn a poppy mango solid dress featuring rose gold mirror work and a hand-embroidered blouse. This Arpita Mehta backless ensemble featured a thigh-high slit and a plunging neckline.Keeping it chic, the actor had also donned a multicoloured printed lehenga set by Saaksha and Kinni. The ensemble featured a crop top with a sweetheart neckline and frilled sleeves, a matching lehenga and a sheer dupatta.

https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-06-22-22/index.html The Russian Ministry of Defense has claimed it has targeted and destroyed “155-mm M-777 howitzers” provided to Ukraine by the US and European allies, in a statement accompanying a video it released Wednesday. Russian used high-precision artillery strikes to destroy the “155-mm howitzers made in the USA," its Ministry of Defense claimed. It’s unclear how many M777 Howitzers were allegedly destroyed, but it’s not the first time Russia has made similar claims. CNN has reached out to Ukrainian officials for comment on Russia’s claims but has yet to hear back. CNN could not independently verify the destruction of M777 Howitzers, but it is widely understood that levels of attrition are high on both sides of the conflict.