How can anyone hate cilantro?
Author: Reid Farmer
Jaguar Captured and Collared in Arizona
This jaguar was captured “by accident” southwest of Tucson this week by biologists studying bear and mountain lion populations. He was fitted with a tracking collar and released. Beautiful animal! I remembered that we had posted on the subject of the jaguars’ reoccupation of southern Arizona previously, but until reviewing these had forgotten that one …
Neanderthal Genome Progress
Laura Niven’s colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany report they have reconstructed 63 percent of the Neanderthal genome using DNA retrieved from six Neanderthals. Ethical problems aside, once the work is complete, some experts are now convinced it would be possible to bring a Neanderthal to life. I suggest …
This is Art
A performance artist spends a year in a cell doing nothing. Exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art.
Pterosaurs Breathed in Bird-like Fashion
Fascinating post by an old friend of this blog, Darren Naish. I recently noticed that the NY Times Science Page has been regularly linking to his Tetrapod Zoology giving him well-deserved exposure.
Wallace Stegner Centennial
This NYT article marking what would have been author Wallace Stegner’s 100th birthday bears the apt title of “Stegner’s Complaint.” It’s a sad story that the legacy of a writer of his stature is inextricably linked with his neglect by the New York literary establishment. The concept of “regional” writers is something we’ve talked about …
Supply Your Own Caption
Hooded Merganser
I was finally able to grab a shot of one of these amazing looking birds.
Web Miscellany
Nanny state alert: in Belmont, CA it’s now illegal to smoke in your own home. The trials and tribulations of an LA area coyote trapper. A delicious sounding recipe for braised rabbit. According to this piece, self-publishers flourish. Money quote: “The point may soon come when there are more people who want to write books …
Parking Garage Fossils
The LA Times reports that a major deposit of Pleistocene fossils has been uncovered during excavations for construction of a new parking structure for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The site is conveniently near the Page Museum at the famous La Brea Tar Pits, which will be taking possession of the fossils. According …