The Round Two Weekly Link Round-Up

I can see why there are certain things that doctors may not choose to tell us. If they did, chances are pretty good that many people would have the "Why do it if it's only going to happen again?" attitude. I have to admit that I would probably fall into this category a few times myself. But not when it comes to my eyesight.

During my annual eye exam, my doctor told me that I was developing secondary cataracts. A whopping 50% of the population does. So... I will be facing cataract surgery again sometime in the future. The good news is that the pesky things don't come back a third time.

Am I bothered about this news? A little bit. Unlike many other people, I already knew that there was a chance that something like this would happen, and-- with my luck-- I knew I'd probably be one of them. But since I'm now familiar with the procedure, it's not going to be a big deal when it's time to go through it again.

*sigh* It sure would be nice if I had some good luck once in a while, though!

And on that note, I'm going to mosey on out to the corral. Head 'em up! Moooove 'em out!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Remembering Gore Vidal's slyly subversive mystery novels.
• Library eBook lending poses a rising problem for the publishing industry.
• When New Yorkers were menaced by banana peels.
• The dark history behind the year's bestselling debut novel, Where the Crawdads Sing.
• The game Candy Land was invented for polio wards. 
• The USPS has unveiled 2019 stamps honoring military dogs.
• How far into the past could a modern English speaker go and still be able to communicate with others? 
• A Steinbeck story about a chef and his cat has been published in English for the first time.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• This ancient Roman joke pen from thousands of years ago was all about thrifty giving, and here's the Smithsonian's take on it.
• Who were the mysterious Neolithic people who enabled the rise of ancient Egypt? 
• Adventurers are going to test the theory of the existence of an ancient Egypt-to-Black-Sea route.
• Scientists and miners are teaming up to preserve opalized fossils.
• Eat like royalty with this cookbook from the emperor who built the Taj Mahal.
• An ancient Viking drinking hall has been unearthed in Orkney.

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• A record haul of elephant ivory was seized in Singapore, and with the addition of pangolin scales, it was worth over $66 million in total.
• Unhatched bird embryos communicate with their siblings by vibrating their shells. 
• Beehive "fences" protect farms from elephants and elephants from firebombing farmers.
• These amazing photos reveal the hidden light of undersea life.
• To protect wildlife, national park rangers are using an unusual tool: radar guns.
• A mother elephant uprooted a transformer in Andhra, India, one day after her calf dies of electrocution.
• A pair of empty-nester loons adopt a Mallard chick in northern Wisconsin.
• Elephants are now being hunted for their skin, which is being turned into "ruby"-like jewelry.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• The best of Butch's Wild Bunch: how the real outlaws who rode and robbed from Montana to Bolivia became cinema heroes.
• Janaki Ammal, the pioneering female botanist who sweetened a nation and saved a valley. 
• Inspector Morse composer Barrington Pheloung (one of my favorites) has died. How many of you know that Pheloung used Morse code in his theme for the TV series?
• H.R. Giger and Bolaji Badejo brought to life the ultimate alien costume.
• Why John Dillinger's relatives want to exhume his body.

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• The Fairbank (Arizona) train robbery. Not far from Tombstone, there's not much left of Fairbank, but I've walked its dusty main street.
• Ethiopia planted 350 million trees in twelve hours-- a new record.
• Kardung La, a pass over three miles up in the Himalayas, is one of the highest drivable roads in the world. 
• A birds-eye view of Ramsey Canyon Preserve.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 50 states of true crime. Every state has an infamous crime-- and a book about it. 
• Eight true crime books that combine the personal and the literary.
• Eight crime writers moonlighting in other forms of literature.
• Eighteen men who need to be banned from writing female characters forever. 
• Fourteen international bestsellers you may not have read, but should.
• 70 facts you might not know about iconic British novelist Jane Austen.
• Parenthood noir and the rise of the psychological thriller.

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!