It may have implications for autism and schizophrenia, and it makes me wonder if it would help sociopaths.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wayne Bivens-Tatum: Libraries and Enlightened Views
Interesting article on why libraries collect from as many viewpoints as possible.
Favorite Song of the Day
Lorelei, by the Pogues. This is in my top 5, even though the Pogues as a whole aren't, I only listen to them every once in a while.
And Now for Something Completely Random...
from the Sarcasmist: The Dow drops on random news, is expected to rise with random other news.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
The State of Marriage
From Ed Brayton:
"An old classmate of mine from high school posted this to her Facebook account:
So, Larry King is getting his 8th divorce, and Elizabeth Taylor is possibly getting married for a 9th time. Britney Spears was married for 55 hours. Jesse James and Tiger Woods are, well... you know... Even Newt Gingrich is on his 3rd marriage. Yet the idea of same-sex marriage is what is going to destroy the institution of marriage? REALLY?!?
I wish I could remember who it was who said: "Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh are worried that gay marriage could destroy the sanctity of all three of their marriages."
Watching Beck Biggest Predictor of Tea Party Activism
A favorable view of Fox New's Glenn Beck is the most reliable predictor of who is involved in the Tea Party. Since I think Beck is a driver behind a lot of what is most wrong in this country, you can imagine my feelings...
GOP Hypocrisy on LGBT Issues
Are the GOP politicians really anti-gay, or talking so only to appeal to their base?
Why Discrimination Matters Reason #349,733
A school in Mississippi simply erased a lesbian student from the yearbook despite her stellar academic performance. Included in the yearbook were students that had been busted for drugs and one who had dropped out.
The Facts Behind Crimes Committed by Illegals in Arizona
There is no crime wave caused by illegals in Arizona. In fact crime has gone down there over the last few years.
It's Silly Season for Legislation
Some of the weirder laws passed recently. Slightly tangentially, I think any ballot initiative should be ruled constitutional before being placed on the ballot. I don't suppose that would work, but it might cut down on some of the stupider laws.
Tim Wise: Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black
Excellent article that illustrates what it is like to be a member of the privileged group. Wise focuses on issues of race and has written other good works on the topic.
Favorite Song of the Day
I'm listening to my favorite song playlist on my iPod, so thought maybe I'd post songs off it sometimes. I tend towards alternative rock, the more ballad-like songs, with some forays into Celtic music and odd other pieces.
Today's song: Iris, by the Goo-Goo Dolls. From the City of Angels soundtrack.
More Openly Gay Candidates This Election Cycle
There are more openly gay candidates running for office this year than ever before. It helps raise awareness of gay issues, but overall I say don't vote for someone because they are gay, but because they are qualified and effective leaders.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Doctor Who/David Tennant Fans: Tonight!
Great Performances is on my local TV station tonight and showing a version of Hamlet starring David Tennant. And it has another tasty science fiction tie-in - Patrick Stewart is playing Claudius. Oddly enough I saw the 1981 Derek Jacobi Hamlet recently (yay, Netflix) and it also had Patrick Stewart as Claudius.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Boobquake Results
Welll, yesterday when women dressed immodestly in order to test that Iranian cleric's assertion that such dress causes earthquakes, the overall level of quakiness went down. So, if you're a woman and live in California, your duty is clear...and apparently California women are giving generously of their charms!
Stephen Colbert on Bartering for Health Care
Colbert discusses how bartering for health care would work, as one current candidate for office advocates.
<table style='font:11px arial; color:#333; background-color:#f5f5f5' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='360' height='353'><tbody><tr style='background-color:#e5e5e5' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;'>The Colbert Report</td><td style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align:right; font-weight:bold;'>Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c</td></tr><tr style='height:14px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'Indecision 2010 Midterm Elections - Sue Lowdenwww.colbertnation.com</td></tr><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'></td></tr><tr style='height:18px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><table style='margin:0px; text-align:center' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='100%' height='100%'><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'>Colbert Report Full Episodes</td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'>Political Humor</td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'>Fox News</td></tr></table></td></tr></tbody></table>
Eugene Robinson on Arizona's New Immigration Law
It seems to be a bad law, though Robinson understands the frustration in the state that led to it.
iPad Changes a Life
A 99-year old avid reader with glaucoma is able to read again thanks to the iPad and has composed limericks using it.
Sarcasmist: Aliens - Can't Any of You Shoot Decent Video?
The aliens have been trying to reveal themselves to us, honest!
Hate Crimes Legislation Does NOT Penalize Speech
This article explains the hate crimes law and points out that it does nothing to prevent anyone from saying, for example, that they think homosexuality is wrong based on their beliefs. That was one of the talking points the right used to demonize the law before and still after its passage, but it isn't true. The law doesn't kick in until after a violent act has occurred.
Monday, April 26, 2010
3D Printers
I've heard about 3D printers as revolutionizing the world a few years ago. Looks like it is getting closer to reality.
Financial Reform and Porn
Article that starts out about the scandal of extremely heavy use of porn duirng work hours by a number of SEC officials.... while the economy was going off a cliff. Maybe this is why they didn't discover Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme for years despite being told about it repeatedly by at least one person.
Nanowires Power Devices by Motion
Wow... this sounds terrific. Not only should it save energy, it provides another incentive to do something active.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Mai I haz - Loldogs, Dogs 'n' Puppy Dog Pictures - I Has A Hotdog!
via ihasahotdog.com
Sent by Crystal, who is both a dog lover and a dancer and loves this dog's charming manners...
Book Review: Waking the Witch
| Title | Waking the Witch (Women of the Otherworld, Book 11) |
| Author | Kelley Armstrong |
| Rating |   |
| Tags | series, paranormal, witches, mystery |
| Eleventh in Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series, which is one of my favorite paranormal series. Each book stars a different set of characters from Armstrong's universe. This time the main character is Savannah, a 21 year-old witch, who is the foster daughter of Lucas, a sorcerer, and Paige, a witch. Savannah is a powerful witch, and has been working at Paige and Lucas' private detective agency, which deals with cases involving supernaturals.Paige and Lucas have finally gone on a well-deserved vacation. Another investigator, Jesse, wants their help investigating the murders of three young women that might have a supernatural angle. Savannah decides to take the case on her own.Savannah has been a character in other books, but this is the first one in which she is the main character. She is a welcome addition to the other strong women characters in an excellent series. | |
| Publication | Dutton Adult (2010), Hardcover, 320 pages |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| ISBN | 0525951784 / 9780525951780 |
Book Review: Heat Wave
| Title | Heat Wave (Nikki Heat) |
| Author | Richard Castle |
| Rating | |
| Tags | mystery, series, tv tie-in, nikki heat, richard castle, police procedural |
| This book is a Clever Conceit. The TV series Castle (ABC Monday nights 10 pm) is a fictional mystery writer who helps a New York detective, Kate Beckett, solve crimes, and he creates a new mystery series around Kate, with the character name being Nikki Heat.Confused enough yet? So, for a writer, this is an unusual challenge, trying to keep two overlapping fictional universes straight.The book concerns the death of a real estate tycoon who dies in a 6 story fall. Nikki Heat and her squad gets the case. Along for the ride is Jameson Rook, celebrity journalist. It is a good read. Not great, but worthwhile. Even more fun is speculating on who really wrote the book. Stephen J. Cannell and James Patterson have appeared on the TV show, and it might be Cannell. I really like the TV series, by the way, which is why I read the book. | |
| Publication | Hyperion (2009), Edition: First Edition/First Printing, Hardcover, 208 pages |
| Publication date | 2009 |
| ISBN | 1401323820 / 9781401323820 |
Book Review: Her Royal Spyness
| Title | Her Royal Spyness (A Royal Spyness Mystery) |
| Author | Rhys Bowen |
| Rating | |
| Tags | mystery, series, england, scotland, royalty, 1930s |
| I've read some of Rhys Bowen's other series, the one about Constable Evans in a small Welsh town and the one about Molly Murphy, an Irish immigrant to America in the early 1900s. Liked them well enough to want to read this series when I heard about it. The main character is Lady Georgina, aka Georgie, minor English royalty. Her father was a Duke, her brother is the Duke now, but her mother was an actress. Georgie's father ran through most of the money, so now Georgie is desperate to get away from her brother's Scottish castle, so she goes to London. She needs money, though, so she starts cleaning houses. An unpleasant Frenchman shows up and claims that the last Duke gambled away the castle to him. Shortly afterwords the Frenchman turns up dead in the Duke's London house. Meanwhile Georgie is having even more than her usual number of accidents.The characters and story are pleasant.and I plan to read the rest of the series. | |
| Publication | Berkley (2008), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 336 pages |
| Publication date | 2008 |
| ISBN | 0425222527 / 9780425222522 |
Stephen Colbert's Advice to Lindsey Graham
....on how to deal with accusations of being gay because he's working on a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
Jon Stewart to Those Who Threaten Freedom of Expression
Jon gets outraged that Revolution Muslim, a group based in New York City, sent veiled death threats to the creators of the South Park TV show.
<table style='font:11px arial; color:#333; background-color:#f5f5f5' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='360' height='353'><tbody><tr style='background-color:#e5e5e5' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;'>The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</td><td style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align:right; font-weight:bold;'>Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style='height:14px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'South Park Death Threatswww.thedailyshow.com</td></tr><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'></td></tr><tr style='height:18px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><table style='margin:0px; text-align:center' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='100%' height='100%'><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'>Daily Show Full Episodes</td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'>Political Humor</td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'>Tea Party</td></tr></table></td></tr></tbody></table>
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Healing Power of Pets
Great article on using service dogs to help veterans with PTSD. There have already been studies on how training dogs helps prisoners, and now this. Gives even greater meaning to the title of Temple Grandin's book Animals Make Us Human. And while the effect may be most pronounced with dogs, I believe it applies to other pets as well.
Mashable: 5 More Ways to Go Green for Earth Day
Happy Earth Day, everyone! May the natural beauty of the earth inspire you, and may she continue to provide the bounty we need to live.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
John Shelby Spong on the Catholic Abuse Scandal
Spong is a retired Episcopal priest, and does a question and answer email periodically. Here is his answer to being asked if the news media is prejudiced against the Catholic Church:
Sally and Jon from The Washington Post, write:
Is the news media being fair to the pope? Is the media biased against the Catholic Church or its hierarchy? How would you advise the pope?
Dear Sally and Jon:
The bias in the media is not against the Catholic Church. That is little more than face-saving defensiveness. The bias is against the abuse of children and young people by priests. The bias is against a systematic cover-up on every level of the Catholic hierarchy. The bias is against saying how deeply this abuse is regretted on one hand and on the other promoting Cardinal Bernard Law, one of the most guilty prelates in America, to a position in the Vatican where he will no longer have to answer questions under oath. The bias is against the way Bishop Geoffrey Robinson of Australia was treated by the hierarchy of his own church after his report on clergy abuse in that country was so overt and honest, that it did not serve their cover-up needs.
It is not an anti-Catholic bias but a universal revulsion against this behavior across the world that finds expression in media coverage. There is also no rejoicing among other Christian groups, since this behavior in the Roman Catholic Church diminishes all Christians and hurts the cause for which all Christians work.
For this Church to pretend that they are somehow the victims of an anti-Catholic bias in the media is simply one more aspect of their unwillingness to see the depth of the problem.
John Shelby Spong
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Support the Troops
Too many are being diagnosed as having a personality disorder rather than post-traumatic stress disorder, and thus evading the cost of treating it. Shameful, especially when so many of the homeless are veterans.
Interesting Analysis of the Tea Party
from Andrew Sullivan filtered through Ed Brayton.
I think it makes an important point... people traditionally accuse the Democrats of being irresponsible spenders, but the Republicans are equally culpable.
Mencken Quote for the Satirists Among Us
Ed Brayton is a great fan of H.L. Mencken, and uses some great quotes by him, such as this one:
"He proves enough, indeed, when he proves by his blasphemy that this or that idol is defectively convincing--that at least one visitor to the shrine is left full of doubts. The fact is enormously significant; it indicates that instinct has somehow risen superior to the shallowness of logic, the refuge of fools. The pedant and the priest have always been the most expert of logicians--and the most diligent disseminators of nonsense and worse. The liberation of the human mind has never been furthered by such learned dunderheads; it has been furthered by gay fellows who heaved dead cats into sanctuaries and then went roistering down the highways of the world, proving to all men that doubt, after all, was safe--that the god in the sanctuary was finite in his power, and hence a fraud. One horse-laugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms. It is not only more effective; it is also vastly more intelligent."
And a long line of comedians have proved it true, from the fools in the courts of royalty to Laugh-In, to Saturday Night Live, to the Daily Show and the Colbert Report.
Professional Preening
Well, I can't help but like this quote:
“From his refined accent, his quiet voice and his apparent omnisience I took him for a librarian.”
George Orwell
From The Road to Wigan Pier Diary
Sen. Franken in Hearing Addresses Issue of Harassment of LGBT Students
See the details. This is NOT a minor issue, for several reasons. One, it affects so many LBGT students. Two, it is often more than verbal bullying, it often includes physical assault. Three, in so many cases, teachers and administrators are doing nothing to stop it from happening.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Another Reason to Like Admiral Mullen
He warns that the consequences of striking at Iran would most likely be unexpected and bad, though the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran, he believes, would also be bad. He says the military and the President are carefully weighing all the options.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Mashable: 9 Ways of Doing Good with 5 minutes or $25
Nice article on saving the world even when time and/or money is short.
The Low-Down on "Judicial Activism"
Basically, both the left and the right are now using "judicial activist", a term you'll be hearing often with the upcoming Supreme Court nomination, to mean a judge who disagrees with the speaker. Wha a lot of people fail to understand, and Brayton has explianed well in the past, is that cases that go to the Supreme Court are cases about which there is judicial disagreement. The justices refuse to hear cases with solid settled law.
Ed Brayton on Glenn Beck
From a couple of posts:
From former Bush speechwriter Bruce Bartlett (the sane former Bush speechwriter, as opposed to Marc Thiessen):
"Bill O'Reilly might look like a clown compared to a traditional news anchor, but compared to Glenn Beck he looks like Edward R. Murrow."
Second:
"Oh yeah, being called a patriot by Glenn Beck carries such currency with me. Getting weepy eyed when a Lee Greenwood song plays does not make someone a patriot. Glenn Beck wouldn't know patriotism if it crawled up his pantleg, perched on his ass and yodeled the Battle Hymn of the Republic. He's a carnival barker on the political midway, a con man who gets rich by fleecing the ignorant and the credulous with fantastic tales of invented conspiracy."
Bullying of LGBT Students
Some horrifying statistics from an ACLU blog post:
"A recent GLSEN survey found that nearly nine out of ten LGBT students reported being bullied or harassed at school. A third said they'd been physically attacked for being LGBT. This climate of hostility in school hallways leads to lowered GPAs and higher drop-out rates among LGBT students who are harassed."
I'm intolerant of this intolerance.
Hospital Visitation Rights
One horrible aspect of discrimintation agaist gays and lesbians is how often, even with medical power of attorney, LGBT folk are denied the right to visit their ill or even dying partners. President Obama is happily trying to end that practice.
Paul Krugman on Financial Reform
Excellent post from Krugman laying out the theories about what caused the financial crisis and what the fixes are, with his opinions on each.
What Goldman Sachs Did
Since I'm pretty ignorant in economics and finance, I found this article quite useful.
Donors Choose - Help a Teacher
Another site from Marylaine Block:
"DonorsChoose.org - an online charity connecting you to classrooms in need
http://www.donorschoose.org/
Teachers often have wonderful, hands-on learning projects that require a little money up front - and these days, that money is hard to come by. Teachers can explain their projects here, along with their projected cost, and anyone who'd like to contribute can choose which projects they'd like to fund. You can also read about how completed projects funded here worked out."
For All the Cooks Looking for Healthy Recipes
Found this on Marylaine Block's weekly Neat New Stuff newsletter:
101 Cookbooks - Healthy Recipe Journal
http://www.101cookbooks.com/
Vegetarian Heidi Swanson's chatty blog about recipes that "intersect my life, travels, and everyday interests." She demonstrates that concoctions from natural whole foods can be appealing and tasty. Search or browse by ingredient or by categories like Appetizers, Dessert, Soup, Holiday, Low Carb, Whole Grain, etc. to find yummy sounding recipes like Coconut Red Lentil Soup, Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa, Chocolate Puddle Cookies, Porcini Mushroom Fettuccine, and lots more.
A Friend's Comments on Being Southern
A friend of mine, who doesn't wish to be identified by name, but is a native white Alabamian like me, had the following comments on proclamations about Confederate history that I found interesting:
"The first of my family arrived in Jamestown in 1610. By the mid-18th century, we had achieved the American dream of owning property. I grew up in Alabama, but now live in Virginia inside the Capitol Beltway with a view of Washington, DC. When I first started working in the area, I lived in Fredericksburg. Everyone thought my move from Alabama would have to be a cultural shock, and it was, but not the shock that many thought it would be. Alabama is known as the “Heart of Dixie” and the “Cradle of the Confederacy,” but it was not until I moved to Fredericksburg that I almost felt like I had left the United States and moved to the Confederate States of America. Fredericksburg is very proud of its history, and the Battle of Fredericksburg was one of the major battles won by the Confederacy. Like so many people and places in the South, Fredericksburg is sometimes contradictory – proud of Confederate past and giving 64% of its vote to Obama in 2008.
When I first moved to Northern Virginia, I found it amusing that a major street in the DC area is named after the President of the Confederacy, but now Jeff Davis Highway is very much a part of my daily life. It is very true that the Civil War (or the War of Northern Aggression) has never ended. The reason that I use the alternate name for the war is that Davis worked so hard to prove that it was not a war of southern aggression and would not allow the Confederate troops to push on into and capture Washington. If he had been more aggressive at the beginning of the war the outcome of the war could have been different, but that is an argument that will never be resolved.
The governors of Virginia and Mississippi are not the only governors to proclaim April as Confederate History Month – there are several including Alabama, Texas, Georgia, and Louisiana. The interesting (and ironic) point to me is that the governors that have made this proclamation are all Republicans. As the article pointed out, the two previous Virginia governors (both Democrats) did not make a similar proclamation. The governor before these two Democrats was Gov. Gilmore (a Republican) and he also created a controversy by proclaiming April as Confederate History Month. Abraham Lincoln (the first Republican President) was in office during a most uncivil war in which brothers (including some in my family) fought on different sides.
In September 2008, during the Presidential Campaign, I had dinner in Alexandria, Virginia with several people from Alabama and I made the statement that the Republican Party has taken over the State of Alabama lock, stock, and Ku Klux Klan. This made one woman extremely angry and I asked her who she thought the Klan was voting for – Obama? A Klansman once told me that after over 100 years of fighting Republicans, the Klan had no choice but to join them. A few months ago someone that lives in Virginia told me that racism no longer exists in the country, but I must respectfully disagree and say that racism is alive and well throughout this country.
Even though I had six ancestors who fought for the Confederacy and another ancestor that was a Methodist minister who served as a Confederate Army chaplain, I have no desire to celebrate Confederate History Month. It is time to let the dead bury the dead, and move on to living issues. We need to push for even better health care for all U.S. citizens, equal rights for all U.S. citizens, reduce the stockpiles of nuclear weapons, and learn to live in peace with other nations and with each other.
There is one other interesting piece of irony about our history and that is the fact that a portrait of Jefferson Davis hangs inside the Pentagon. I know this because I have seen it. It is in the hall of portraits of former Secretaries of War/Defense, and Jeff Davis was a Secretary of War for the United States"
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Book Review: Changes by Jim Butcher
| Title | Changes (Dresden Files, Book 12) |
| Author | Jim Butcher |
| Rating |  |
| Tags | |
| Poor Jim Butcher. People keep flocking to his Dresden files series no matter how much he pushes them towards his sword and sorcery series. I'm part of the crowd, having read all of the first series and none of the second... but then sword and sorcery isn't a genre I'm particularly fond of.I continue to think that the main problem with the Dresden Files is that Harry is always forced to fight against odds that are close to impossible, without enough help or resources. In this one, the prize in the fight is the best one Harry has ever fought for. He finds out that he has a daughter by his former lover, and the daughter has been kidnapped by a very old and powerful vampire of the Red Court who plans to sacrifice the girl in order to curse Harry and his kin. Harry is a wizard of the White Council which is at war with the Red Court, and the outcome may determine who wins.So Harry and his friends and allies are tested as never before, and it produces a book that is very much a page-turner. I'm happy I read it on the weekend, as it was about 1 am before I finished it.The book ends in an unexpected way that may put the future of the series in doubt. I'm anxious to see what Butcher comes up with next. | |
| Publication | Roc Hardcover (2010), Edition: First Ediition/First Printing, Hardcover, 448 pages |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| ISBN | 045146317X / 9780451463173 |
Book Review: Changes by Jim Butcher
| Title | Changes (Dresden Files, Book 12) |
| Author | Jim Butcher |
| Rating | |
| Tags | |
| Poor Jim Butcher. People keep flocking to his Dresden files series no matter how much he pushes them towards his sword and sorcery series. I'm part of the crowd, having read all of the first series and none of the second... but then sword and sorcery isn't a genre I'm particularly fond of.I continue to think that the main problem with the Dresden Files is that Harry is always forced to fight against odds that are close to impossible, without enough help or resources. In this one, the prize in the fight is the best one Harry has ever fought for. He finds out that he has a daughter by his former lover, and the daughter has been kidnapped by a very old and powerful vampire of the Red Court who plans to sacrifice the girl in order to curse Harry and his kin. Harry is a wizard of the White Council which is at war with the Red Court, and the outcome may determine who wins.So Harry and his friends and allies are tested as never before, and it produces a book that is very much a page-turner. I'm happy I read it on the weekend, as it was about 1 am before I finished it.The book ends in an unexpected way that may put the future of the series in doubt. I'm anxious to see what Butcher comes up with next. | |
| Publication | Roc Hardcover (2010), Edition: First Ediition/First Printing, Hardcover, 448 pages |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| ISBN | 045146317X / 9780451463173 |
Book Review: A Murderous Procession
| Title | A Murderous Procession (Mistress of the Art of Death) |
| Author | Ariana Franklin |
| Rating | |
| Tags | |
| This is the fourth book in Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death series. Franklin is one of my favorite authors of all time and all genres, both for this series and her incredible stand alone novel City of Shadows.This series is about Adelia Aguilar, who grew up in a golden era in Sicily where it was possible for women to be trained as doctors. Adelia was the adopted daughter of two doctors, and follows in her father's footstep as a doctor and especially a pathologist. In the first book in the series she is sent to England to help King Henry II solve murders that threaten his kingdom. Henry forces her to stay in England, and she finds a lover who can't marry her, being a bishop, and has a daughter by him.In this book, Henry has a different need for her, to accompany his and Eleanor's 10-year old daughter Joanna to Sicily for her marriage to the king. Adelia is accompanied by her lover Rowley the Bishop of St. Albans, as well as Mansur, the Muslim who has been with her since her first trip to England, but without her daughter and her daughter's nurse. Henry holds them hostage so she will return to England.Two years before, Adelia was forced to kill the outlaw Wolf. His lover Scarry was thought to have died in the cleaning out of the outlaw's lair, but he survived and now hunts Adelia. Adelia refuses to believe it until after there have been too many deaths.This may not have been my favorite in the series, but it does not disappoint. Franklin (pen name of British writer Diana Norman) continues to create rich characters and to create a nuanced and complex picture of the time and place that Adelia inhabits. | |
| Publication | Putnam Adult (2010), Hardcover, 352 pages |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| ISBN | 0399156283 / 9780399156281 |
Book Review: Animals Make Us Human
| Title | Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals |
| Author Johnson, Catherine | Temple Grandin |
| Rating | |
| Tags | |
| I've only recently heard about Temple Grandin, that she is a woman with autism and that there has just been a movie made about her life. So this is the first of her books that I've read. Grandin has a PhD in animal science and has spent much of her life working with farmers, ranchers, and meat handlers to make life easier for the animals that end up as food. In this book she has chapters she starts with some of what neurological studies of animals have shown, including what emotions animals feel All tend to be have the same positive and negative emotions. The main positive emotion is seeking, which is mostly curiosity about the environment. Other emotions are rage, fear, panic, lust, care, and play. So Grandin tries to privide animals with environments that stimulate the positive seeking, lust, care and play emotions and do not trigger fear, panic, and rage. This isn't entirely cut and dried, though, as she thinks puppies, for example, need to learn to tolerate some frustration in order to learn they can't always get what they want right away.She has chapters on different kinds of animals most important to humans as pets, co-workers, companions, and even food. The chapters cover dogs, cats, horses, pigs, cattle, chickens and other poultry, zoos, and then a chapter on why she works with the food industry. All of it is organized around explaining what gives all of these animals the best possible life. She shows that not only do individual animals differ -everyone who has had more than one pet knows that - but that different kinds of animals have different social structures and needs. She is also willing to challenge conventional wisdom. In the chapter on dogs, for instance, she reveals that most of what we think we know about wolves and dominance hierarchies is wrong. Wolves in the wild live in families of dad, mom, and pups. There isn't a whole lot of dominance shown between mom and dad, and siblings almost never fight for dominance. Dominance hierarchies do come into play between wolves and dogs when animals that aren't part of a family group are forced to live together and figure out how to get along. She believes it is more natural, though, for dog owners to think of themselves more as parents than pack alphas. The end result is somewhat the same - teaching the dog manners and how to accept boundaries.Grandin has been heavily criticized for some animal activists for working with the food industry. I honor her for it... she knows that it will be a long time, if ever, before humans stop breeding animals for meat, and what she has done is figure out way of making the animals' lives better. That seems to me to be a worthy goal, though she admits that the most difficult part of making those lives better is to train those who deal with the animals in behaviors they don't always find easy.This book is a fine one and I plan to read Grandin's books about her childhood and her autism.
| |
| Author – Johnson, Catherine | |
| Publication | Mariner Books (2010), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 360 pages |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| ISBN | 0547248237 / 9780547248233 |
Book Review: The Anteater of Death
| Title | Anteater of Death: A Zoo Mystery |
| Author | Betty Webb |
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| This is the first in a new series by Betty Webb, who also wrote the Lena Jones series about a private eye in Scottsdale, AZ. I enjoyed the Jones series, so was eager to read the new series about Teddy Bentley, a zoo keeper. Teddy has a complicated family history. Her father fled many years ago after embezzling funds from the law firm where he worked. Teddy's mother is a society matron who has married several times since her husband left, but is currently unmarried and making Teddy's life miserable by trying to force her to fulfill her social obligations. Meanwhile, the husband of someone who had been Teddy's best friend in high school, and who is from the family that owns the zoo, has been murdered. The person who the police think did it is someone Teddy feels must be innocent. Complications include that the police chief was Teddy's boyfriend in high school and her mother broke them up because he wasn't socially acceptable.I liked the book quite a bit, liked Teddy and some of the other characters. Webb also presents quite a spirited defense of zoos and what they do, which comes at an interesting time because I just read Temple Grandin's Animals Make Us Human, which points up some of the problems of zoos but also some possible solutions.The next book in the series, the Koala of Death, is due out soon and I look forward to it. | |
| Publication | Poisoned Pen Press (2008), Hardcover, 270 pages |
| Publication date | 2008 |
| ISBN | 1590585607 / 9781590585603 |
Book Review: Hell Gate
| Title | Hell Gate |
| Author | Linda Fairstein |
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| Another good entry in Fairstein's Alex Cooper series. Alex is an assistant DA in charge of the sex crimes unit, the job author Fairstein used to have in real life. In this book, a boat bringing in illegals from Eastern Europe almost intercepted and in their panic a number of the illegals jumped ship and drowned. One of the female corpses, however, was stabbed to death. Another body is found in a well on the property of Gracie Mansion, the mayor's residence. Gracie is one of three Federal style mansions left in the city, and the plot involves all three them at some point. Is someone in the mayor's administration involved n the murder of the woman in the well? Are the two cases tied together?Recommended reading. | |
| Publication | Dutton Adult (2010), Edition: First Ediition/First Printing, Hardcover, 400 pages |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| ISBN | 052595161X / 9780525951612 |
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