Friday, August 05, 2016

The Mud in the Cement Pond Weekly Link Round-Up




People all over the Phoenix metropolitan area have been complaining about this monsoon season being a dud. The occasional storm would roll through, hammering one suburb or another-- trees down, flooding, etc. Reading the comments on weather bulletins posted on a local news station's Facebook page, I would wonder at the people who wanted the same thing to happen to them. Obviously these were people who lived on the upper floors of apartment buildings. The most that they could foresee happening to them was a brief power outage or a slower than usual commute home. Those of us who own homes probably have a slightly different perspective. I know I do.


The state of my pool and yard.

Tuesday afternoon the storm clouds began moving in from the southwest-- probably the worst direction possible for Casa Kittling. For a while, they kept themselves slightly west of us, but then the really big, really dark, ones began to pile up. There was no high wind. There was no grumbling of thunder or flashes of lightning. None. But I didn't like the looks of that sky, and I rounded up my book and drink, and I got out of the pool and went inside. At 5:30 PM (about ten minutes later) it began to rain. Less than two hours later, our area had received three inches of rain. That's 43% of our annual rainfall. In less than two hours. You can see what it did to my pool. The deluge almost made its way into the house, and the closet in the guest room did spring a leak. It could've been a lot worse, but-- hey-- I hope those Facebook commenters got all the rain they wanted!

Before I start dealing with the mud, I'll head out to the corral for those links I've been saving for you. Head 'em up! Moooooooooove 'em out!


►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
  • The great Victorian letter swindle
  • The historical timeline you keep in your head is all messed up.
  • Archaeologists have made an exciting discovery in a dig at the Alamo. 
  • A "lost" painting by artist Charles Le Brun for Louis XIV is being carefully restored. What an amazing transformation! 
  • Will a hidden treasure chamber discovered under Machu Picchu finally be revealed? 
  • Scientists in Bolivia have found the footprint of a carnivorous dinosaur that's nearly as big as a T. Rex. 
  • The remains of a lost Spanish fort has been found on the South Carolina coast.
  • Archaeologists in Mexico have found a water tunnel under the Pakal tomb in the Mayan ruin site of Palenque
  • A sword that lay in a barn in Northern Ireland for fifty years is a rare Bronze Age discovery. 
  • Why ancestral Puebloans honored people with extra digits
  • Aerial photos are revealing England's ancient archaeological sites. 
  • Ancient ships of death: were they on missions of politics or plunder?
  • A Craigslist ad has led to the discovery of a world-class art collection in Berkeley. 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
  • Find out why this elephant was named Hercules. (And I'd better not hear about some big game hunter with more money than brains killing Hercules so he can have a trophy to bring home.  Grrrrr!)
  • A U.S. Marine Corps horse has been honored for its value in the Korean War. 

►The Happy Wanderer◄
  • Twenty-five photos that prove the world can be an utterly wonderful place.
  • One of my absolute favorite subjects when it comes to the history of travel: the Harvey Houses of the Southwest. Fred Harvey helped create a railway paradise.
  • Camping like an alien. 
  • Building the Bishop Rock lighthouse off the coast of Cornwall, England, must have been interesting.

►Fascinating Folk◄
  • The forgotten wife of Charles Dickens.
  • What's so special about Jerry Emmett being an Arizona delegate to the Democratic National Convention? (So good to read an article about Arizona that wasn't about political stupidity!) 
  • When Cervantes was captured by pirates. 
  • Chances are, when you're watching classic movies and musicals, you're listening to the voice of Marni Nixon, who died recently at the age of 86. 

►I ♥ Lists & Quizzes◄



That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!


6 comments:

  1. Wow! That's some deluge! You're lucky it didn't get into your house, Cathy! I hope the cleanup's not too bad. Thanks as ever for the links. That Spanish fort is calling me...

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    1. Some of it did get into the house, Margot, but nothing compared to what it did outside.

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  2. Too much water at once is just as bad as not enough water! I feel for you.

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    1. Who was it that said, "Moderation in all things"? :-)

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  3. A very thought-provoking article from WaPo on 'beach reads" written by, for and about white women.
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/what-exactly-is-a-beach-read-anyway-summery-sexy--or-sexist/2016/08/05/41ea6ea8-58e5-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html

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    1. Thanks for the link, Kathy. I have yet to read the article, but I've always thought the term "beach read" was derogatory.

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