We haven’t done this in a while! The Reindeer People by Piers Vitebsky. Account by an anthropologist of his life and times spent with the Eveny, a reindeer herding native people in Siberia. On Steve’s recommendation. Purity of Blood by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Historical novel set in 1620s Spain and sequel to his earlier “Captain Alatriste.” …
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The Laki Eruption
The BBC has an interesting story about a forgotten natural disaster in Great Britain. In 1783, the Laki volcano in Iceland erupted, and belched clouds of toxic gas (mostly sulphur dioxide) that blew over Britain and much of Western Europe. The clouds must have lasted for weeks, and researchers in the UK have recently estimated …
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 …
Metal Detectors
The BBC reports that archaeological finds are up 45% in the last year in the UK due to increased activity by metal detector enthusiasts. It is interesting to see that there is a large national organization there for these amateur researchers and a large on-line database for recording their finds. Follow the link for the …
Traveling with Animals
Reid sent a rather silly NYT piece (seems to be behind their damned firewall now) about people who travel with animals, mostly professionally or because they can afford to. I must admit there are times when we do, at least if we know there are good places to stay. Here is a photo of Lib …
Gun Humor
This comparison, re Chas, of the AK, the AR 15, and the Mosin Nagant, is utterly irresistible for those who like such things. There are MANY comparisons but how about this one on ammo? If you have an AK “You buy cheap ammo by the case.” If you have an AR Clone “You lovingly reload …
One More on AR
This one needs highlighting re the new proposed NM regs. From the mouth of PETA: “Each and every one of us can make a difference. Please, make a pledge rightnow to take personal responsibility, not just for neutering your owncompanion animals, but also to neuter or spay every unsterilized animal youencounter. Is there an unneutered …
The Latest
Apologies to all who care– we are still struggling through the detrius of 2006 and preparing for what promises to be a serious Animal Rights battle in New Mexico. We spent the holidays just getting over being sick and are still dealing with things like an unexpectedly returned sick hawk,a re- mortgaged house, and other …
Archaeology Fatigue
This piece reports that many residents of Easter Island are getting fed up with the disruption of archaeologists working on their island. They resent the resources that are being devoted to restoring the moai, the iconic prehistoric statues that Easter Island is known for, and land set aside to preserve prehistoric sites. As the article …
Where the Buffalo Roam
Well the gist of this NY Times piece is that they’ve been roaming around so much that they have interbred with cattle. The Times says that there are estimates that of the 300,000 bison in the US, only about 10,000 are genetically “pure” – don’t carry genes from cattle. The Times makes this out to …