Friday, February 27, 2015

The February in Phoenix Weekly Link Round-Up




Another peaceful, balmy week has passed here at Casa Kittling. Rain is predicted by the weekend, and I hope we get some. Denis and I are planning a trip out on the Apache Trail soon to check on all the wildflowers that should be in bloom, and one to the Water Ranch to see how many of our feathered winter visitors are still here in town.

February in Phoenix
I just went out to take the photo to the left. The quality isn't very good. The brilliant sunshine here in Phoenix has a tendency to wreck havoc with colors. But that's a tiny sliver of my back garden-- the Tombstone roses are beginning to bloom and join the tiny yellow puffballs of the sweet acacia tree in filling the air with fragrance. It's the time of year thousands of people pay to come here to experience, and I know why.

I know all about the gloom of February. Of the cold. Of walking outside and feeling your nose hairs freeze when you take a breath. Of the patches of black ice and piles of dirty, gritty slush lining the streets. Or... *shudder* That will be the end of that! There's even waist-deep snow in Monument Valley.

If you aren't fortunate enough to be able to escape the snow and cold, please stay safe and warm-- preferably with a hot drink and a stack of good books. Take a look at the tiny white blossoms beginning to cover my fence and know that spring will come to you, too.

But these links will arrive even faster. Head 'em up! Move 'em out! 



Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits
  • Harper Lee isn't the only author who has a unearthed book being published this year. A discovered Dr. Seuss book will be in bookstores this summer.
  • A new Pirates of the Caribbean movie starring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow is currently filming in Australia.  Dead men tell no tales!
  • Statistics from the Cooperative Children's Book Center show that children's books are shifting toward diversity.
  • J.K. Rowling is a treasure. Have you read the letter she wrote to a fan she met on Twitter?
  • The Willard Library is considered by many to be the most haunted library in America.
  • A lost Sherlock Holmes story has been discovered in a man's attic. Of course there's a bit of controversy surrounding it.
  • Here's a businessman who knows how to treat his employees. 
  • How many of the greatest books by women have you read? (Me? 36 out of 102. Unfortunately I couldn't count the ones I started but didn't finish, or the ones sitting on my TBR shelves.)


Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones
  • A vast bed of metal balls have been found in the deep sea.
  • Divers have found a record trove of gold coins (over 1,000 years old!) in the Mediterranean.
  • The warship that inspired The African Queen is still in operation at age 100. 
  • A Mayan mural reveals an ancient photobomb. 
  • Two new works by artist Paul Cézanne have been discovered.
  • Plague graffiti in a Cambridgeshire church reveals a heartbreaking find. 
  • Right here in the Phoenix metro area, a man found a $35,000 treasure at Goodwill.
  • Earlier this month I shared a link about the sweater once owned by Vince Lombardi that sold at a Goodwill store for 58¢. The auctioneers thought it would sell for $20,000. The operative word being "thought." 
  • German archaeologists in southern Egypt have found two statues of the goddess Sekhmet.
  • A CT scan has shown that there's more to this 1,100-year-old statue of Buddha than meets the eye.


Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett

The Happy Wanderer


I  ♥  Lists


Book Candy
  • Drool Alert! Put on a bib before you check out this delicious new bookstore that just opened in Romania!
  • Someone with a sense of humor created his own book sections at a local bookstore. 
  • Books a Million asked Twitter followers for photos of their to-be-read piles, and the followers obliged.



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 wonderful weekend-- and read something fabulous!



8 comments:

  1. Well, since I've been stuck in solitary here during the ice, snow and freezing temperatures, I am so glad your flowers are blooming. How beautiful to see
    that as I hear the weatherpeople say in the 20s again Friday.

    J.K. Rowling wrote a lovely letter to the young man whom she helped. That
    is nice. But I'm still annoyed about the gruesomeness of The Silkworm and
    the sexist (to me) resolution and perpetrator.

    I've only read about 17 or 18 of those "classic" books by women. So, I
    must print out the list and read more of this list, although I would not
    agree with every choice -- although some of my favorites are there:
    Beloved, Color Purple, White Teeth, The God of Small Things, and
    a few more.

    I'll return and read other links. (I sent one from last week about pets
    who obstruct reading to several animal lovers, who loved it.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you're able to recover from your bout of cabin fever soon, Kathy!

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  2. Cathy - Brilliant sun or not, that's a beautiful 'photo! I'm glad you've had a quiet week; those are always good. We're slated for some rain this weekend, so we'll see if that happens or not. In the meantime...I have ancient graffiti and murals to check out :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're saying rain here, too. We shall see!

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  3. I am so looking forward to the wildflowers here. It will be a bit longer. We've had snow flurries this week and freezing rain. Sigh. I want my bluebonnets!

    OK, as to all the "discoveries" of new books/stories - I'm wondering how many authors will be using that particular storyline in upcoming books. Just saying.

    I saw that "best crime writers" list elsewhere. Some I knew and loved. Some I had never heard of. New authors to read. Yay!

    Loved the "interesting" book sections. If I had seen that at the bookstore (looked like a B&N), I would have laughed out loud and scared people, likely.

    And those TBR pictures - well, my first thought was "so many 'important' books, so literary, where is the genre fiction?". A few had some mysteries or other, but my TBR is a little different. ;-)

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    Replies
    1. I had the same reaction to those TBR photos, Kay. I think many of the respondents wanted to impress everyone with what they thought they should be reading instead of showing us all what they actually were reading!

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  4. That hummingbird is adorable. Have to send that out to bird lovers.

    I must say that everyone's TBR piles are so neat and organized -- and clean. Mine are piled up on the foyer/dining table, and some are in boxes or envelopes. And then more are on my bed.

    I'm inspired to neaten them up -- maybe. Too much fun reading blogs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Personally I'm a bit suspicious of the fact that everyone's TBR piles are so neat. They just might be the sort of people who cleans the house before the maid arrives. ;-)

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