This is a 6,000-year-old underground village in China.
In Beiying village of Zhangbian Township in central China's Henan Province, there's an incredible kind of ancient home you won't believe exists until you see it.
Locals dug (挖 wā) deep pits (坑 kēng) into the ground and carved living spaces into the surrounding walls.
The coolest part? They're naturally warm in winter and cool in summer. Talk about eco-friendly design before it was even a cool thing.
Today, more than 100 of these homes are still preserved, attracting tourists from all over who come to explore this unique, time-travel-like village.
[Photo: VCG] #脉动中国 #travel
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Archaeologists uncover 2,000-year-old wooden bridge linking England and Wales.
In the historic town of Chepstow, a team of archaeologists recently made a remarkable discovery.
Chepstow, with its 12th-century Norman castle and rich history, is known for its strategic importance throughout various periods.
Archaeologists have previously uncovered evidence of prehistoric, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon fortifications within its borders.
However, the most recent revelation has taken historians and archaeologists by surprise.
During an “extreme low tide event,” researchers stumbled upon a remarkably preserved wooden bridge, believed to have been constructed by the Romans around 2,000 years ago.
This ancient structure, hidden beneath layers of mud for centuries, served as a vital link between England and Wales long before the modern boundaries of these two countries existed.
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“Here is Hvaldimir, the white whale and the fisherman Joar who released him from the harness" 🐋
Born on this day in 1950, American musician and actor Steven Van Zandt,
(Little Steven or Miami Steve), guitarist with South Side Johnny, then Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul.
He starred as Silvio Dante in the TV Series The Sopranos.
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Boracay in its golden mood 🌄
Early Is Almost Over….
There’s only one advantage fiat can’t fake.
Being early.
And once it’s gone?
You don’t get it back.
You can buy in later.
You can still participate.
But the leverage? The edge? The outsized upside?
Gone.
See, being early isn’t just about timing.
It’s about asymmetry.
It’s about getting 10x return while others get 2x.
It’s about moving before the headlines, the hype, and the herd.
Right now, 0.01 BTC still feels early.
Still skippable.
Still “not urgent.”
Still something people plan to do… eventually.
But what happens when the window slams shut?
When 1 million sats costs $10,000…
Or $50,000…
Or worse, when access disappears before price even spikes?
Because that’s how it always happens:
People ignore the quiet phase.
They wait for approval.
They wait for proof.
They wait until it’s trending.
And by then?
The leverage is gone.
The upside is priced in.
And early is just something other people were.
Don’t fall for it.
Because stacking 20,000 sats a week isn’t about becoming rich overnight.
It’s about positioning.
It’s about claiming your share before it’s swallowed.
And that’s the thing no one tells you:
📉 Fiat rewards followers.
📈 Bitcoin rewards foresight.
So if you’re waiting for a “better” entry point?
You’re not being cautious.
You’re trading the most valuable asset of all: your early status.
You will never get to be early again.
Unless you move now.
Stay early, stack sats.
Anarko
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The Meaning of Happiness Without Alcohol: Alan Watts’ Lessons on Presence and Escape.
by Quint | Aug 15, 2025 | Alcohol, Anxiety
life without alcohol presence blog image
The Meaning of Happiness Without Alcohol: Lessons from Alan Watts’ Life and Death
Alan Watts once wrote that happiness is not something we pursue but something that arises when we stop resisting life as it is. His 1940s book The Meaning of Happiness argued that contentment is discovered, not manufactured. The irony is stark. Watts himself died of alcoholism at the age of 73, undone by the very escape his philosophy rejected.
As a UKCP psychotherapist with over thirty years of practice, and as someone in recovery, I find this tension profoundly human. Watts understood that happiness comes from presence, yet like so many of us, he turned to alcohol when faced with unease.
What Watts Meant by Happiness
In The Meaning of Happiness, Watts drew on Eastern philosophy, psychology, and Christian mysticism to show that happiness does not lie in possessions or altered states but in learning to accept the present. We suffer, he believed, because we cling to illusions of control and separateness. The answer is not to strive harder but to yield to life as it is.
Happiness, in his view, is not a prize but a recognition. It is what remains when we stop fleeing the moment in front of us.
Why Alcohol Could Never Be Part of This
Alcohol numbs and distances us from experience. It interrupts emotional processing, fragments sleep, and leaves us more restless than before. Watts’ philosophy insists that we meet life directly. Alcohol teaches us to avoid it.
Modern neuroscience reinforces this. Alcohol briefly boosts GABA and dopamine, which bring calm and pleasure, then rebounds with cortisol and disrupted REM sleep. The cycle leaves us anxious, tired, and unbalanced. Far from a gateway to happiness, alcohol undermines the very clarity Watts described.
The Paradox of His Death
Watts’ own struggle makes his work more poignant, not less. It shows the gap between knowing and living. Philosophy is not the same as practice, and even the wisest thinkers falter.
In my practice, I often see this gap. People know alcohol worsens their anxiety, yet reach for it in the evening. They understand it fragments sleep, yet pour a glass to quiet their thoughts. Watts embodied this paradox on a grander stage: he wrote brilliantly about presence but succumbed to absence.
His death does not discredit his message. Instead, it shows how difficult the work of acceptance really is. To know that happiness lies in presence is one thing. To practice presence in the face of discomfort is another.
Happiness as Presence, Not Avoidance
Watts’ central claim is as relevant as ever: happiness is inseparable from presence. It cannot be manufactured or drunk into existence. Alcohol offers sedation but not integration. It soothes for a moment and leaves us emptier after.
This is why alcohol is not simply missing from Watts’ thesis. It is the opposite of it. His philosophy asks us to face anxiety and joy alike without clinging or escape. Alcohol interrupts that work.
A Lesson for Today
In therapy, I hear many clients say, “I can’t fall asleep without alcohol,” or “It’s the only thing that helps me cope.” These are modern echoes of the same paradox. People know escape does not last, but the lure of quick relief is powerful.
Watts’ life and death highlight this truth. Happiness cannot be thought into being. It must be lived, day by day, in the way we meet our discomforts. Recovery from alcohol, in particular, teaches this: the only way through is to stay present.
What We Can Learn from Watts’ Paradox
The tragedy of Watts’ alcoholism does not undermine his philosophy. It deepens it. His life shows the difficulty of living the insights we hold dearest. His death shows what happens when the urge to escape wins out.
For those of us working to live with anxiety, stress, or sobriety, the lesson is clear. The meaning of happiness lies not in avoidance but in presence. Alcohol, however seductive, can only offer the illusion of relief. The real thing is already here, if we dare to stay with it.
About the author:
Quint Boa is based in London has two complimentary professions.
Twenty years ago he founded Synima, a video & animation production company which works with organizations to produce bespoke video content in finance, technology, L&D and the healthcare sectors. Synima has grown from its London base and currently has offices in Amsterdam, New York and Los Angeles. Quint is personally very keen to develop ways in which AI based animation can be used to support mental health services.
Quint is also a qualified psychotherapist (UKCP, COSRT, ACAT). As such he uses media appearances to advocate for the role of animation in psychotherapy, and the use artificial intelligence (AI) where appropriate.
He has created free to download, peer-reviewed animations to support individuals with various presenting problems.
They are available for download here, and through his Instagram (@quintboa), YouTube, and TikTok channels. They have garnered several prestigious awards in both the UK and USA, with over 250,000 views, saves, and downloads.
For a deeper exploration of how animation can be effectively integrated into psychotherapy, check out his book, ‘To Infinity and Beyond’. Quint also delves into this topic regularly on his weekly podcast, ‘Shrinked by Quint’.
Quint is available for all media and press appearances, you can download his press kit here.
Interested in learning more?
Contact Quint today.
Video and animation production services (through his company, Synima)
Consultancy (on healthcare, AI, mental health and more)
Media Psychotherapist
(Qualified: UKCP, BPS COSRT)
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On this day in 1986, the Genesis single “Land of Confusion” debuted on the UK Singles Chart at #28 (November 22)
The band’s bleak, but cautiously hopeful assessment on the state of the world, features lyrics by Mike Rutherford, and appeared on their thirteenth studio album “Invisible Touch”.
On the charts “Land of Confusion” was a worldwide hit, peaking at #4 in the US, #7 in Germany, #8 in Canada and Switzerland, #9 in New Zealand and Ireland, #10 in Sweden and the Netherlands, #14 in the UK and Belgium, #18 in Finland, #21 in Australia, and #27 in Austria.
Of course, you can’t hear the song without thinking of the iconic video clip, featuring the brilliant caricature puppets by the popular British television show Spitting Image.
The video, directed by John Lloyd and Jim Yukich, and produced by Jon Blair, won the short-lived Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video during the 30th Annual Grammy Awards.
The video was also nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year in 1987, but lost to "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel (coincidentally, former lead vocalist of Genesis).
This post is dedicated to @inpc. Not sure why, but I thought you might like it.
#Genesis, #LandOfConfusion, #philcollins, #mikerutherford, #TonyBanks, #mtv, #80srock, #80smusic, #dailyrockhistory, #thisdayinmusic, #onthisday, #invisibletouch
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Four men from the Baining people of Papua New Guinea, participating in a traditional ceremony, probably a fire dance.
The men wear elaborate, traditional masks made of bark cloth, which are a central part of Baining culture.
The masks usually represent forest spirits or ancestral spirits and are meant to be frightening.
Their bodies are painted with natural pigments, and they carry traditional accessories such as spears and claws.
The fire dance is an important ceremony performed on special occasions, such as thanksgiving, initiation rites, or to exorcise evil spirits.
This photograph is a famous image by photographer Jimmy Chin, who documented the traditions of the Baining people.
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Thailand…🇹🇭.
4 More Stoic reminders from
Marcus Aurelius and Seneca.
Thailand is a Southeast Asian country.
It's famous for its tropical beaches, opulent royal palaces, ancient ruins, and temples adorned with Buddha statues.
In Bangkok, the capital, an ultramodern cityscape rises alongside tranquil canal-side communities and iconic temples like Wat Arun, Wat Pho, and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew).
Thailand…🇹🇭
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