On a keyword search at Yahoo news (for “NAIS”) I found this story today seeming to offer a hint of evident opposition, if not quite hope that the whole idea would simply crumble beneath its own ridiculousness. Here’s a snippet: “USDA, after hearing strong opposition from the industry, has abandoned its earlier decision to allow …
Author: Matt Mullenix
Writing for Money
As an aspiring writer for money and other good reasons, this Yahoo News piece caught my eye: Scrushy Said to Pay for Positive Stories. I’m unfamiliar with the court case it hinges on but gather the defendant managed to swing some good press from a freelance writer. A public relations firm and an influential local …
A Real and Present Danger
Reader Matt Miller of Boise sends this report from the Vancouver Sun: Group pays to end killing on central coast. The introductory paragraph in this story by Nicholas Read, reads: “For the first time in B.C. history, an anti-hunting group has bought theguide-outfitting rights to a prime piece of the province’s wilderness with aview to …
Art and Science, Part 1.5
More to illustrate the respective limits of art and science, researchers in the Netherlands (what’s with the Dutch, lately?) have determined that Mona Lisa’s smile is “83% happy.” From the text by Toby Sterling: “…the researchers scanned a reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece and subjected it to cutting-edge ’emotion recognition’ software, developed in collaboration …
Hunting Good for Wildlife? Imagine!
A story from today’s offerings by Reuters: Hunters helped save rare bird from extinction. As a patriotic, horn-tooting falconer, I immediately assumed “Peregrine recovery,” although that story is a little crusty, even for we hacks. Turns out this one is about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, a bird arguably saved from annihilation by hunters’ annual purchase of …
A Visit To New Orleans
In addition to shelving and re-shelving our eight books at the library, I take on as much freelance writing as I can find. A recent email from a construction industry clearinghouse: Could I find places of worship in New Orleans, take pictures of storm damage and draft an article for the website? I certainly could, …
If a Sparrow Should Fall
In this piece by AP writer Toby Sterling, a murdered House sparrow gets honorary internment in the Rotterdam Natural History Museum. After finding its way into an exposition hall, where for months volunteers took pains to set up millions of dominoes (4,002,136 tiles and a Guinness World Record if confirmed), the bird began toppling pieces …
Read The Whole Thing
Steve’s funny catchphrase makes a good title for this one. Reid, trawling the LA Times again for good tidbits, pulled up this story by Naomi S. Baron, professor of linguistics at American University in Washington. She begins: “A FEW YEARS BACK, I asked my undergraduates to read Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone. The class was discussing …
Meng the Whippet (1992-2005)
Thank you, Steve, for taking the time to share Kipling’s poem. Exactly right; but of course you (and he and probably everyone else here) know why in Heaven we keep dogs, despite the high cost. Meng gave us everything he had for thirteen years. He chased (and caught!) and flushed game for me and several …
Art and Science
Steve’s blog brings together three people with, among other things in common, keen interest in their surroundings. Each of us might agree that keen interest is warranted and required by our home places if they are to be even partially understood. Toward this understanding we bring our three perspectives: We have in Steve an experienced …