A Childhood by Harry Crews (also re-read: Florida Frenzy.) Harry Crews is probably in his seventies, a professor of writing in Florida, and grew up among the rural poor of north Florida and southern Georgia.A Childhood is his memoir of that. Somebody in the NYTBR said that it is “..about a part of America that …
Apologies
… for non- existent bloggage. I have been busy, ill, overextended, and probably depressed, though too much A, B, and C to take notice. I am involved in a lawsuit over last year’s work (if it is ever resolved it will be a splendid tale for Michael Blowhard’s critiques of modern publishing); am trying to …
Happy National Pigeon Day
Who knew?
The Atlantic: Is Google Making Us Stoopid?
This article by Nicholas Carr in the current Atlantic Monthly has been engendering a fair amount of discussion around the web, mostly centering on the following passages: “Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My …
Consolation for Pluto
Most of you probably remember the Sturm und Drang a couple of years ago when the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto from the status of a true planet. Steve even commented on a resolution introduced in the California legislature (you can always count on them!) condemning the demotion as it would cause “psychological harm to …
Friday Feeder Friend
Eurasian collared dove. This bird was new to me, but the species is apparently spreading throughout the continental US at a very fast pace. Steve and I were discussing them a few weeks back, and he said that these doves had gone from absent to the most common bird in Magdalena in the space of …
More From the California Legislature
Introduced in the Assembly, AB 2233 adds a section to the State Vehicle Code that states: A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while holding a live animal in his or her arm or arms, or upon his or her lap.
Another Darwin Award Nominee
Inglewood man recovering after he’s bitten by rattlesnake he picked up. The man was bitten twice at Edward Vincent Park by a snake he thought was harmless
Was Napoleon Poisoned?
I’ve always found this story interesting and my recollection was that the preponderance of evidence indicated that he had been poisoned. But a new analysis of clippings of his hair done by Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics has evidence that points in the other direction: “They conducted a detailed analysis of hairs taken from …
Fisher Populations Rebound
To the consternation of some suburbanites. I must admit I have never seen one. Spooky picture, huh?