I was thinking about my unsuccessful hunt on Sunday, and how totally unaffected by my failure was my dog Rina. She was just as happy at the end of the hunt as she was at the beginning, and was still busy finding birds long after my hawk had given up trying to catch them. I …
Author: Matt Mullenix
Letter To a Friend
Like catch-and-release fly fishing, there is such a thing as catch-and-release falconry. It is not so widespread a practice among falconers as it is among anglers, but its practitioners espouse many of the same arguments in support of it. For what it’s worth, I strongly disapprove. This week I received a very cordial letter (actual …
Ban, Ban, Ban-n-Ban. Ban.
If we asked Reid to paste up all the nutty news from California, he wouldn’t be writing much else. Since I’m not writing much else lately myself, I’ll wing this one at you. “Los Angeles and L.A. County authorities are studying whether to bar hydrogenated vegetable oils as an ingredient in restaurant menu items,” according …
Fake Heads
In the “TRENDS” section of the LA times, Reid found this piece of possible Q.-reader interest: “Wild, styled and gleefully cruelty-free.” Staff writer David Keeps uses that description to categorize the artificial animal trophies he claims are “becoming fashionable wall decor, especially for urban hipsters.” Keeps interviews a number of retailers who speculate as to …
Doggie Downers
If this makes the Doom and Gloom column, then at least it suggests a way to feel better. Reid found this LAT piece entitled “Fido’s Little Helper,” a reference to the growing trend in giving psychoactive medications to pets. Laugh, but we do buy them sweaters. And last week I saw a commercial for a …
Bigfoot: Exposed
In the “What I Read Over Christmas Holiday” column, I give you Bigfoot Exposed (subtitled, An Anthropologist Examines America’s Enduring Legend). My copy of this 2004 publication by University of Florida professor David J. Daegling* was a gift from the author, who happens to be married to my wife’s first cousin. Thanks again, Dave! With …
The Family Sighthounds
Happy New Year, y’all! I’m home in Georgia this week, firming up family ties and rediscovering my accent (pronounce it: ax-sant). Eight days under one roof with my parents and own children offer plenty opportunities to ponder genetic determinism. There have been few surprises along those lines this week, but one of them was Mom’s …
Steve’s Books and Kiran Over Mongolia Make ESPN
Last month we spotted ESPN outdoor correspondent James Swan recommending Steve’s books in his column here. Today our falconer friend in Japan, Isaac Nichols, forwarded another of Swan’s pieces; this one describes falconry as the “ultimate interspecies cooperation” and features the movie Kiran Over Mongolia (reviewed first at Querencia!). Once again, Swan takes the opportunity …
Bird flu?
Probably not. But Steve’s got something of a nasty respiratory thing to deal with. He sends his apologies for not posting and asked that I spread this to everyone. Um, maybe that is not the best way to put it. Convey the news, I mean. (cough)
New Orleans Writers
A friend from Idaho asked me this week, “What’s the deal with New Orleans? We get conflicting reports up here.” I told him what I could, which isn’t much, since we get conflicting reports down here in Baton Rouge, just an hour away. I posted earlier on some of the Crescent City’s musicians here and …