Not much going on around here. I've stopped knitting afghans for the moment to concentrate on some smaller projects. Last Saturday, the COVID-19 positive count at the company where Denis works was at twenty-one (up from twelve in just five days). They're critically short of drivers. Denis drives and doesn't make a move to help anyone with their golf clubs or luggage-- especially since almost all of the passengers remove their masks the second they're on the bus. He and I are both in agreement that they should shut the airport down, but the airport has proven time and again that profits are more important than people.
On Sunday, I received something I'd forgotten all about. Back at the end of April (?) I ordered a copy of William Shaw's Grave's End from the UK. Amazon UK told me it would take some time to get it to me. I was in no hurry-- good thing!-- so I went on about my business.
Amazon UK now seems to be using DHL for their overseas shipments, something they've never done before, but as long as it works, who cares? All I can say is that I was shocked and happy to finally receive the book.
If any of you look this book up on Amazon, you'll notice something strange. The cover is correct, but in the description, the title is listed as "Low Places." I wonder what that's all about?
While I'm wondering, I'll mosey on out to the link corral. Maybe one of them has the answer. Head 'em up! Moooove 'em out!
►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
- How to sell books in 2020: put them near the toilet paper.
- It's past time for the bookselling industry to reckon with its institutional racism.
- Counting down the greatest crime films of all-time: #6, Laura.
- Counting down the greatest crime films of all time: #5, The Godfather, Part II.
- You can now read and write Egyptian hieroglyphics with Google Translate.
- A 224-piece jigsaw puzzle featuring 43 different cat-shaped pieces that need to be herded together.
- A Publishers Weekly article which features The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Book launches get more creative.
- In an echo of the Mao Era, China's schools are in the middle of a book-cleansing drive.
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
- See archaeological treasures unearthed by U.K. residents during lockdown.
- A discovery in a Mexican cave may drastically change the known timeline of humans' arrival in the Americas.
- This ancient Greek shipwreck is now an underwater museum.
- Why the two-wheel chariot was so effective in ancient battles.
- New research reveals the surprising origins of Egypt's Hyksos dynasty.
- Do these 10,000-year-old flint artifacts depict human figures?
- This ancient Egyptian tomb was used for two different burials.
- In ancient Kazakhstan, nomadic herders kept their toothless pet cat alive.
►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
- A dolphin named Fungie has been living solo in this Irish harbor for decades.
- Beetles wearing tiny, robotic camera backpacks give bugs-eye views of the world.
- Ecologists dig prairie dogs, and you should, too.
- Llama cells could help scientists create a COVID-19 treatment.
- In a rare sighting, a wayward beluga was spotted off San Diego.
- A viper's DNA reveals an ancient map of South America.
- Images offer a rare glimpse of Cross River gorillas with their babies.
- A drowsy Dachshund puppy tries to play with four affectionate little ducklings on the sofa.
►The Happy Wanderer◄
- For eons, Iceland has endured calamity through books.
- Lagos: Africa's capital of noir.
- Liverpool's Crosby Beach is a mile of World War II Blitz rubble.
- The hidden history of the nutmeg island that was traded for Manhattan.
- Blood Falls, Antarctica.
►Fascinating Folk◄
- The best seller who hated best sellers. What Edith Wharton's library tells us about her reading habits.
- The world through Bonnie Parker's eyes.
- A moving celebration of Peter Bowen and his final public reading at Elk River Books.
- The time twenty-two-year-old Jay Parini chauffeured Jorge Luis Borges around Scotland.
►I ♥ Lists◄
- What 100 writers have been reading during quarantine.
- Eight mysteries that explore the simmering tensions and contradictions of the war at home.
- Ten iconic crime fiction series of the 1970s.
- Seven mysteries featuring standout seniors as secondary characters.
- Fourteen airy, puffy words for windy speech.
- Seven pieces of reading advice from history's greatest minds.
- A complete guide to Harry Bosch's Titus Welliver tattoos.
- It's a good time to start a series (or two).
That's it 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.
Stay safe. Stay healthy...and don't forget to curl up with a good book!
Oh, that's scary about the Covid-19 count, Cathy! I don't blame Denis one bit for keeping his distance from passengers. It would be safest if the airport shut down, at least for a bit, but as you say, it's always profits first (*eyeroll*). I hope you and Denis stay safe... Now, time to visit that Greek shipwreck and the Egyptian tomb. At least sitting here at home, I don't put myself or anyone else at risk...
ReplyDeleteWhat would we do without armchair travel?
DeleteI am sorry as well about Denis' situation with his job and the airport and the passengers. Seriously? They remove their masks when they get on the bus? How is that sensible? They don't know those people or where they have been. Sigh. As to the airport closing I'd say - yeah, ain't gonna happen. Partially because Phoenix is way too much of a hub to other destinations. Will keep both of you in my thoughts and prayers during this time, Cathy.
ReplyDeleteAs for your 'surprise' book - how fun! Enjoy!
Sensible? Sometimes I think "Sense" done gone and flew right out the window with most folks.
DeleteThat's stupid and outrageous behavior on the part of the bus passengers. Sounds like the company should put someone on the bus with the authority and time to see that masks stay on for the whole trip. That's just crazy.
ReplyDeleteIt is, but the company my husband works for as well as the airport and the city have proven time and again, that Money is what matters most. The company and the airport waited and waited and waited until they took any measures at all to stop the spread of COVID-19.
DeleteYes, profits always come first. That's why meat packers and poultry workers and food processing factory workers had to go back to work right away. And the disease spread in those plants.
ReplyDeleteWhy else is the insistence on everyone going back to school? So parents can work. The school set-up I saw on video from Florida looks like a sci-fi scence, which is probably scaring some children.
Anyway, I hope Denis is safe. The airport should shut down. The bus company should temporarily shut down and pay employees or let them get unemployment (which I hope goes up back to the $600/week). The irresponsibility and callousness of Congress in not continuing the benefits people need is just asrounding.
There must be a lot of fat cats whose stock porfolios are hurting. Our lives are all expendable in the chase for the almighty dollar.
DeleteYes! And did you notice that Wall Street is doing quite well? And the Big Five giant tech companies' values shot up?
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, I just found out that two families moved out of my building because the adults lost jobs (or clients) and the landlord wouldn't lower the rent. So they left.
Astounding.