(Occasional Series Alert!) No doubt Steve will give Reid a run for his money on the list of books he’s currently reading. As usual, I’m reading just the one. This week it’s Annie Dillard’s wonderful memoir An American Childhood. Herein Dillard charts the start of an arc, the life of a lucky girl from Pittsburgh …
Month: August 2006
“Eppur, si muove…”
Many more enjoyable posts to come soon– this one infuriates me. Derb tipped me to the fact that Pope Benedict has apparently fired the Vatican astronomer for casting aspersions on what we here refer to as “intelligent” design. From The Daily Mail: “Benedict favours intelligent design, which says God directs the process of evolution, over …
Meat in Almaty
Our friend and dog-in-law Vladimir Beregovoy in Virginia had some intelligent things to say about feeding dogs, and also sent a photo his son Serge took while picking up a relative of our pups from our friends in Almaty. “I believe in adaptation and body wisdom of a dog dealing with natural foods. I would …
Killer Raccoons….
… are terrorizing Olympia in Washington state, killing cats and abducting small dogs. Read and weep– or maybe laugh, as Oscar Wilde said re the death of Little Nell. “The problem got so bad that residents Kari Hall and Tamara Keeton even started a Raccoon Watch after having an emotional neighborhood meeting attended by about …
What is Hunting?
Patrick has a looong and — profound, subtle, exhaustive– post on what hunting is and isn’t, prompted by the moronic nouveau country singer Troy Gentry’s arrest for shooting a caged bear. It must be read by anyone– any adult– who cares about these things. Its title, naturally, is “Hunting and Fishing Like Adults”. A few …
FYI: Montana and More..
Let me start with a few links to things of interest. There will be more, on everything from mushrooms to Anonymous Best Guns.. Mary sent this unusually detailed and intelligent report from Montana on the return of the Peregrine. They do make one common error, surprisingly because the rest is so good: PEREGRINES WERE NOT …
Aztec Cannibalism
Wire services have released this piece on a project near Calpulalpan, Mexico that has unearthed direct evidence that Aztecs sacrificed and ate a party of Spanish conquistadors, their allies and camp followers during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Ritual sacrifice and cannibalism by the Aztecs has been pretty well attested, though lately some have tried …
Pluvialis Returns
Just noticed this morning that Pluvialis has returned from her trip to Central Asia. Helen links to her trip photos that she has loaded to Flickr. We look forward to reading about her journey when she’s over her jet lag.
What Reid is Reading
I just checked, and we haven’t done this since May. Before the Dawn by Nicholas Wade. Anyone interested in human evolution needs this book. Osman’s Dream:The History of the Ottoman Empire by Caroline Finkel. You must understand the Ottomans to understand today’s Balkans and Middle East. Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the …
More Random Beach Art
This is starting to turn into an occasional series. I saw this delightful “beach henge” on Tuesday evening. Do you think the dark glasses on top of one of the cairns is an essential part of the installation? I have no idea. As I finished taking this photo, two middle-aged blonde ladies in flowing faux-Hindu …