Friday, April 12, 2019

A Feeling Puny Weekly Link Round-Up




Folks in my family very seldom ever said they were "sick" or "ill" or "didn't feel good." No. We tended to say we weren't "up to snuff," or we were "feeling puny." And if you asked us how we felt while we were under the weather, we'd most likely say "with our fingers." When we were feeling better? "I'm able to sit up and take nourishment." See? I've always talked funny, and it's only gotten worse after years of living with a British submariner.

To get back on track, I've had a feeling puny week, and pollen is the main culprit. More than plentiful winter rains have led to super blooms of every flowering plant in the valley, and you can practically do the backstroke through all the pollen in the air. The last time I remember it being so bad was back in the late 1970s when monster winter rains led to 500-year floods. (Yes, I had to move to the desert to experience 100- and 500-year floods.)

What kind of patient I am can probably be best shown by a photo I took at the Phoenix Zoo before I went down for the count.


Like the cheetah, I turn my back and sleep. And don't come in too often to ask me how I feel! (With my fingers, remember?) But I am well on the way to being my usual bright-eyed and bushy-tailed self, so let's take a look at those links!



►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
  • C.J. Box on drones, cowboys, and the American West.
  • Forensic genealogists at Parabon NanoLabs are using DNA databases to solve cold cases faster than anyone could have imagined. But how will their techniques hold up in court? 
  • Elly Griffiths explores the landscapes of Gothic fiction through the ages.
  • A landlord wants a Brooklyn man out of his home of 46 years. Why? Because he has too many books.
  • Our love affair with eBooks is over.
  • Emily Dickinson's black cake was boozy and delicious. 
  • An entertainment advertising executive explains what movie posters communicate through their color schemes.
  • Alexandra Dumas's magnum opus was a massive cookbook.


►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
  • The medieval masterpiece, the Book of Kells, is now digitized and put online.
  • On display: a stunning Viking bead necklace belonging to a pagan sorceress. 
  • Recently unearthed documents reveal the day-to-day life of Mary, Queen of Scots.
  • An ancient Babylonian artifact that was seized at Heathrow Airport in London has been returned to Iraq.
  • Henry VIII's famous sunken warship the Mary Rose had an African crew.
  • A study has found that Bronze Age Irish bog butter is actually made from dairy.
  • A study has found that paintings featuring blue and red hues sell for the most money at auction.
  • The striking jade death mask of ancient Mayan King Pakal the Great is on display in Mexico City.


►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
  • The carcasses that mountain lions leave behind power entire insect ecosystems.
  • Birds and humans are depicted together in this rare scene from 12,000 years ago.
  • Scientists have reawakened cells from a 28,000-year-old woolly mammoth.
  • In memory of Yellowstone Wolf 926F.
  • A hot and thirsty koala seeks cool refuge in the air-conditioned environment of a winemaker's car. (And animals are stupid, eh?)
  • An orangutan was shot 74 times. She survived.
  • The first-ever fossilized mother bird with an unlaid egg has been found.
  • The high-tech, humane ways biologists can identify individual animals.


►The Happy Wanderer◄


►I ♥ Lists◄



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!


10 comments:

  1. Glad you are feeling better. Thanks for sharing some fun links to browse

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  2. So glad to see you're up to doing the weekly round-up.
    Yes, agree, pollen is the culprit here, too. And lots of trees on my block. My own plants are pollinating, too, can't touch them.

    Well, just checking in. Will read the links later on, but am so glad you're up to putting them up there. I hope you kept liking Scrublands.

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    Replies
    1. Barring unforeseen incidents, my review will be up on Tuesday.

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  3. Sorry to hear you've been struck down by the pollen, Cathy. I've been hearing that it's especially bad in some areas (and the count is up where I live, too, so I've been feeling it. Hope you're all the way back soon.

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  4. Glad you are feeling better, Cathy!

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  5. Wonder if I can get sponsors for a trip to Calabria? Love that article.
    And Salt Lake City sounds good to me with the arts and cultural centers -- never knew this.
    And then murder in Helsinki? Have read Kati Hiekkapelto's books, have to venture further into that icy country, while remembering a loved one whose family was Finnish.
    Links are great.

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