Kittling: Books: A Coming Out of the Fog Weekly Link Round-Up

I'm sitting here on a Tuesday afternoon, looking out the window to watch clouds scudding across the sky. We're in between periods of rain here in Phoenix. Light rain, which will soak in, thankfully. The weather is reminding me of UK forecasts with its "sunny intervals." We Americans just say "partly cloudy," but there's something more cheerful in the UK terminology.

I feel as though I'm slowly coming out of a tremendous fogbank. I'd stopped knitting for weeks. Now I have three different projects on the go. The new home health company I'm dealing with is providing 95% of the supplies for my leg which is a complete turnaround from the old company that was shackled by my insurance company to the point where all my needed supplies were out of my own pocket. Believe you me, I'm appreciating the money I'll be saving! And... I no longer hesitate to sit at the computer since it's not an instrument of torture now that I've finally sorted out Denis's affairs.

I still haven't made a move about Christmas decorations. Probably because they're all in a shed outside, and who wants to drag them into the house in the rain? Not I!

The only way I have yet to come out of my fogbank is in my reading. My reading has slowed to what is for me a crawl. We shall see what happens because I'm still slowly readjusting my routine.

My thoughts are with anyone else who's been experiencing fogbanks of their own. May you start having those sunny intervals and then full-blown sunshine. Virtual hugs to you all!

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

From The Guardian: How would-be authors were fooled by AI staff and virtual offices in a suspected global publishing scam.
Quiz: If you can name all ten of these Thanksgiving movies, you're ready for the holidays.
Why the Golden Age of Detective Fiction still influences mystery today.
How Southern crime fiction became a publishing powerhouse.
Florida public schools are banning these 55+ books without review.
Theft or civil disobedience? 16 books go missing after a Kentucky church urges members to check out and never return library books about LGBTQ+ people.
The biggest fails in license plate history.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

Merit's wig: a 3,400-year-old Egyptian headpiece smoothed down with ancient homemade hair gel.
Archaeologists have have found the lost Iron City of the Silk Road in the remote highlands of Uzbekistan.
Ancient Pompeii's elite may have built lavish towers on top of their villas. Here's what they may have looked like.
Fascinating animation reveals the inner workings of the Colosseum in ancient Rome.
Archaeologists deciphered crumbling hieroglyphs to reveal the name of a forgotten Maya queen who ruled 1,400 years ago.
A fire ravaged a historic 200-year-old tavern in Ohio. These are the artifacts archaeologists found in the wreckage.
Three decades of research reveal a forgotten medieval castle on a Scottish island.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

Caught between empires: on the fate of the Amur tiger.
Sperm whale speech has human-like "vowels."
The comeback of California's gray wolves just took a tragic turn.
22 animals you don't want to mess with. (I've had my own experiences with a cassowary, ostriches, and a goose. I won't count numbers 3 and 4 on the list.)
Witness an extraordinary wildlife restoration at Rwanda's Akagera National Park.
This snail can regrow its eyes-- and understanding how may one day help humans with injuries.
Scientists are using drones to unleash thousands of mosquitos in Hawaii in a bid to save native birds.

►The Wanderer◄

The ancient art of harvesting fruit in the desert.
7 American ghost towns you can still walk through. (I've been to a lot of ghost towns in Utah and here in Arizona, but I was still surprised to see that I'd been to one on this list-- Bodie.)
Miami Beach's newest art installation is underwater-- and it doubles as a habitat for fish and coral.
In praise of old maps. (I love maps.)
Underwater forests return to life off the coast of California, and that might be good news for the entire planet.
Quiz: Can you name the country from its capital city?
In 100 seconds, see the impact of humans on planet Earth.

►Fascinating Folk◄

Artist Percy Lam immortalizes Hong Kong's neon signs, one stitch at a time.
How Michael Connelly keeps The Lincoln Lawyer series fresh.
Ship stewardess Ella Sheldon, the lonely diarist of the high seas.
Who was Molly Pitcher? Exploring the Revolutionary War icon.
Artist Edvard Munch was haunted by physical and mental illnesses, but he was also fascinated by them.
At 107 years old, neuroscientist Brenda Milner is still unlocking the mysteries of the brain.
The Coast Guard's most potent weapon during Prohibition? Codebreaker Elizebeth Friedman.