![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.conversiondiary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/7_quick_takes_sm1.jpg\" "\\"7_quick_takes_sm\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u2014 1 \u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s been some discussion this week about what happens after death to the soul<\/a>, but this\u00a0New York Times<\/em> article (\u201cGiving New Life to Vultures to Restore a Human Ritual of Death<\/a>\u201c) is focused on a religious concern about what happens to the body<\/em>.<\/p>\n Fifteen years after vultures disappeared from Mumbai\u2019s skies, the Parsi community here intends to build two aviaries at one of its most sacred sites so that the giant scavengers can once again devour human corpses\u2026<\/p>\n The plan is the result of six years of negotiations between Parsi leaders and the Indian government to revive a centuries-old practice that seeks to protect the ancient elements \u2014 air, earth, fire and water \u2014 from being polluted by either burial or cremation. And along the way, both sides hope the effort will contribute to the revival of two species of vulture that are nearing extinction. The government would provide the initial population of birds.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/a>\u2014 2 \u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n In last week\u2019s Quick Takes, I had recommendations for books to give as gifts<\/a> (and if you\u2019re giving anything else, I\u2019d much appreciate you using the affiliate links in that post to place your orders), but this week, io9 turned up a free book you can enjoy right now<\/a>. \u00a0It\u2019s called\u00a0Scientific Amusements<\/em>, it turned up in the library of Harry Houdini, and it tells you, among other things, a handy trick for cracking nuts with falling knives:<\/p>\n <\/a>\u2014 3 \u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n I included Hilary Mantel\u2019s\u00a0Wolf Hall<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>in my best of the year list, and I was delighted to find an NPR interview Terry Gross did with Mantel over Thanksgiving<\/a>. \u00a0In keeping with the holiday season, the discussion was heavy on the beheadings.<\/p>\n MANTEL<\/strong>: Yes, it seems strange to us, doesn\u2019t it, but for a while they \u2013 the people at the Tower of London didn\u2019t know whether Anne was to be beheaded or burned. And, you know, typical bureaucrats, they\u2019re sending frantic notes saying: What kind of scaffold have we to build? When you look at it through the bureaucratic language, it all becomes even more chilling because to them it\u2019s just an administrative problem. They just want to get things done efficiently.<\/p>\n After all, it\u2019s not every day that one executes a queen of England.<\/p>\n GROSS<\/strong>: So I\u2019m not sure if this is something you\u2019ve thought about before or not, but I know that you wrote, I think it was your very first book, about the French Revolution, and now you\u2019ve written about Henry VIII, and there are several beheadings in these books. So excuse me for asking this, but if you had to be beheaded centuries ago, would you have preferred the guillotine, or the axe or sword customarily used in England?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/a>\u2014 4 \u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n I know this makes me a terrible East Coast liberal, but I\u00a0hate<\/em> listening to NPR. \u00a0Or any radio or books on tape. \u00a0My eyes get bored! \u00a0So, I only listen to even my favorite book on tape<\/a> while I\u2019m doing something eye-intensive like embroidery or weaving. \u00a0And, although I love NPR\u2019s stories, I always read the transcripts.<\/p>\n That means I hadn\u2019t ever heard Terry Gross\u2019s voice til I saw this short, wonderful video:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n