A Happy New Year timelapse video shot by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. It was made by Giacomo Sardelli who downloaded NASA images which he then edited into a timelapse film of extraordinary beauty.
The Guardian Short Stories Podcast presents British actor Simon Callow reading Charles Dickens' A Christmas Tree. The short story is a sort of reverie and look back at childhood imaginings inspired by the magical sight of a Christmas tree.
It is a tragic day in America when a person has murdered nearly thirty people, eighteen of whom were small children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
Unimaginable horror. I just cannot fathom the mind that could do such a thing to children. It is beyond words. I feel bad for the people at that school, in that community and for the entire country.
There is a spreading sickness in America and it is brutalizing our children.
The Unhistorical blog has some nice animated GIFs from Fritz Lang's science fiction masterpiece, Metropolis.