Three quick links

I am writing two articles today (and one is for free, proving me a fool by Dr. Johnson’s dictum), so time is limited. But I am taking a break, and you must see these. First, as I said Larissa is going to London. Here is her account of her trip to set things up, which …

Read more

Blog Family

Two essential additions to the blogroll: First, the writer and falconer Rebecca O’Connor, from Banning, CA, a longtime Q. reader and member of the Not-Technically-Extant-But-Devoted-And-Sincere-Nonetheless, Steve Bodio Fan Club. And Patrick Burns (see Terrierman, below) whose own fan club just got a couple new members in Steve, Reid and myself. Enjoy!

Terrierman

Paul Domski sent me to this wonderful blog. It is the best working dog blog I have yet seen, and is not just for fans of “earthdogs”; Patrick Burns writes gracefully and knowledgeably about dogs, nature, politics,and conservation. For instance, his post on genetics, inbreeding and closed studbooks should be required reading by not only …

Read more

Guns for Food and Guns for Sport

In southern Europe, tiny shotgun bores have always been common. Descended from such oldies as the 9mm and 8mm Flobert rimfire cartridges, but now available in handily reloadable centerfire versions, they have always receieved scorn from american writers, as have their slightly larger brethren like the .410 and the 32- bore– ‘suitable only for rats” …

Read more

“Sue Your Schools”

Is literacy a thing of the past? “…for the first time in modern history less than half the adult population of the United States had read even a bit of poetry, fiction or drama in the entire year. While in 1982, almost 57 percent of Americans were ‘literary readers’—those who read literature on their own, …

Read more

Belated Da Vinci code link

Anthony Lane’s New Yorker review– scroll down– was the (devastatingly) funniest, but Steve Sailer’s might be the most perceptive (It’s funny too). Some snips: “…Brown, with all his talk of “the sacred feminine,” is being intentionally hazy about what pagans have tended to mean by it: i.e., fertility goddesses. Now, you can see a bit …

Read more

Just for fun

For sheer oddity it is hard to beat this story. I also love the very casual last line: “Marriages between humans and other living beings are not uncommon in India. A tribal girl was married to a dog near Bhubaneshwar recently.”

Evil Bastard Killer Eagles

Master zoological blogger Darren sent me this wonderful old Christmas card of his: It is all absolutely scientifically valid; for confirmation go here

Chicago, Chicago

Having banned handguns, homing pigeons, and foie gras, Chicago is now considering a ban on french fries. Other things up for consideration are diapers for horses, uniforms for cabbies, and a law allowing only smokeless cigarettes. On the fast food fat ban, Alderman Burke says he “… doesn’t know enough about the subject to identify …

Read more