Friday, February 28, 2014

The Alternate Universe Weekly Link Round-Up



Way back in those good old days, doctors used to send patients with breathing problems out here for the clean, dry air. It's been a long time since they've done that. There's always something in bloom here in Phoenix. If you're riddled with allergies, it's not always the best place to visit-- especially when the wind blows like it did today. Most of my allergies are caused by things that do not grow in the desert, but on those days when the air is chockful of pollen, my nose decides not to differentiate. There was a period of time this morning when I thought I was about to sneeze myself into an alternate universe. Zounds!

Did I hide indoors? Of course not! I took a pill, got my camera, and Denis and I had a lovely, lovely afternoon at the Desert Botanical Garden where blooming swaths of the landscape looked like Impressionist paintings, and the air was filled with the chatter of visitors from all over the world. We also saw tons of wildlife, like Arizona's state bird, the cactus wren, who's busily picking bugs off a cactus in this photo. I took a lot more photographs, but those will be for another post sometime next week. In the mean time, I'd better mosey over and rustle up some links for you folks!


Bookish News & Other Interesting Tidbits
  • In a "what was she thinking???" moment, author Lynn Shepherd says J.K. Rowling has had her turn and should stop writing. Yikes!
  • From beyond the grave, Stieg Larsson names his suspect in the murder of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme.
  • How did computers uncover J.K. Rowling's pseudonym?
  • A fantastic astronomy photo of the day showing the aurora over New Zealand.
  • Strategies for arranging the family bookcase-- for those of you who have only one. (I feel your pain.)
  • For the first time, there are less than a thousand independent bookshops in the UK.
  • Socorro Ramos will be 91 this year, and she still goes in everyday to run her bookstore.
  • Speaking of J.K. Rowling once again, she's planning an entire series of crime novels to follow The Cuckoo's Calling.
  • Amtrak has a plan to give free rides to writers.
  • There is an amazing village in The Netherlands designed just for people with dementia.
  • Want your money to do as much good as it possibly can? Don't donate it to fancy colleges.
  • I think my husband's favorite film is The Sound of Music. This week, the last of the original Von Trapp Family Singers, Maria von Trapp, died at the age of 99 in Vermont.
  • A short Youtube video called Ranting about Books that hits several of my own pet peeves.
  • Whether you have one blog reader or ten or one hundred or... here's why you're a big deal.

Archaeology, Book Candy & Bits of the Bizarre

I  ♥  Lists

That's it for this week. Don't forget to stop by next weekend when I'll have a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!




4 comments:

  1. I remember when doctors used to send patients to the desert. I love your photo!

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  2. Cathy - Sorry to hear about your allergies. I fight 'em myself. You did get some lovely 'photos though! And as always, thanks for the links. I'll be really interested to see what happens with the 'Robert Galbraith' series...

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    1. I seldom ever have to wrassle with allergies, so I know how lucky I am!

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