Next week I'll have to make sure to share photos of my Tombstone roses. With all this rain, they're beginning to go ballistic. I don't think I've ever seen as many buds on them as I'm seeing now.
And as far as rain goes, I'm writing this intro on another rainy Tuesday, but yesterday things began to return to normal here at Casa Kittling with a new carport being put up, and some arms of the blown-over senita cactus being planted. I'm glad to have some weather protection overhead at the side of the house again.
Starting over with the senita cactus & a mockingbird enjoying the new birdbath. |
Enjoy the links!
►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
- When a novel's author is also its narrator.
- Six of the best ways to get paid to read books.
- How to organize your books, according to people with thousands of them.
- Growing numbers of women in the UK are joining forces with friends to run independent bookshops.
- Author Christopher Bollen on Americans abroad and setting as an active character.
- Why more young people become nearsighted sooner.
- The real history behind The Librarian of Burned Books.
- The ballad of Cary Grant's suit in North by Northwest.
- Here's a quiz for you: Discover Your Inner Trailblazer. Which famous woman from history are you? (My answer: Jane Goodall.)
►Book Banning & Censorship◄
- A bill regulating Arkansas libraries has failed in committee, but that doesn't mean they won't try again.
- The Oklahoma Senate has passed a bill to restrict access to library books.
- The State of Illinois has proposed the first anti-book ban legislation. Makes me proud to have grown up in the Land of Lincoln.
- The Maryland man who painted "Groomer" on libraries has been caught with child pornography.
- Here's a list of anti-censorship groups across the U.S.
- Wareham (Massachusetts) schools have adopted a "framework" to challenge controversial books and materials.
- Rob Port went to a library in North Dakota to attend a book ban protest and "didn't see a single pervert or groomer."
- How Moms for Liberty is shaping school board races in Warwick, Pennsylvania.
- A Kansas state representative called grade schoolers' drawings of rainbows proof of indoctrination. And people actually voted for this man?
- A Tennessee resident has sued the Wilson County library panel over secret meetings to restrict books.
- Ron DeSantis's book ban mania targets Jodi Picoult-- and she hits back.
- What are we protecting children from by banning books?
- A coalition has formed to battle the growing number of library eBook bills surfacing in state legislatures.
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
- A third-century-B.C. woman was buried facedown with a nail hole in her skull. Here's why.
- One of America's most elusive shipwrecks has been found along the Washington coast.
- See photos of a stunningly preserved 52-foot-long Book of the Dead papyrus from ancient Egypt.
- A traveler buried his gold and never returned. Then a volunteer found it 800 years later.
- A 4,000-year-old city along a Chinese river is a breakthrough for understanding ancient life.
- An uncovered Mayan sculpture may show a female ruler with a captive.
- A Roman "dry cleaner's shop"-- almost 2,000 years old-- has been uncovered on a street in Pompeii.
- A dried lake has revealed a new statue on Easter Island.
►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄
- Scientists say photos show a female orca swimming with an adopted baby pilot whale, which is a unique case.
- Watch this busy baby beaver distinguish tools from toys.
- Watch a playful sea lion try to steal a diver's watch.
- Watch footage of 1,000 baleen whales in a record-breaking feeding frenzy in Antarctica.
- In Namibia, lions are kings of the beach.
- See thousands of sandhill cranes gather in Nebraska for their long journey north.
- A recent study says crocodiles could save us from deadly infections.
- Inside Canada's polar bear jail.
►The Wanderer◄
- An Australian woman discovered the world's oldest message in a bottle while walking along a beach.
- Scientists have named new fungus-killing compounds after Keanu Reeves.
- Crime & the City: Kyoto, Japan.
- You, too, can stand on the Castaway crossroads at Neece, Texas.
- Dark Sky Communities protect the night sky from light pollution.
- Here's how wildfires can destroy the ozone layer.
- Notre-Dame repair reveals another historic first: 800-year-old iron reinforcements.
- A monument to Harriet Tubman has been unveiled in New Jersey.
►Fascinating Folk◄
- Meet Smithsonian archaeologist William Fitzhugh who studies the mysterious Mongolian deer stones.
- Traute Lafrenz, the last surviving member of the anti-Nazi group the White Rose, has died at the age of 103.
- The female philosophers unjustly excluded from the canon.
- The untold stories of the women who led slave revolts.
- Meet Vidar Haslum, the man who collects fading place names.
- Turn Filippo Bernardini, the Italian manuscript thief, loose.
- The women who ran Genghis Khan's empire.
- New documents suggest that Leonardo Da Vinci's mother was an enslaved teenager trafficked to Italy.
►I ♥ Lists◄
- Spouses with secrets.
- On social justice and crime stories.
- Novels that highlight the community's role in responding to crime where institutions fall short.
- Twenty book apps for every kind of reader.
- Thirteen thrillers about deadly friendships.
- The most powerful love stories of all time.
- Six historical fiction books that deserve screen adaptations.
- Ten mysteries and thrillers to watch for Women's History Month.
So glad your carport's finished, Cathy! This weather has been so strange the past couple of months - I hope it settles soon. But still, they say our reservoirs are supplied again, and there's a heavy snow pack. So it's been good for the drought. OK, off to that Chinese city!
ReplyDeleteI just worry about what's going to happen when all that snowpack does melt!
DeleteSo glad the carport is installed and that you can regrow the cactus, Are those green bushes part of it? Glad that cute bird is enjoying the birdbath.
ReplyDeleteNo, the green bushes are bougainvillea, Baja fairy duster, and orange jubilee yellow bells.
DeleteIt is so neat how they can re grow those cactus!
ReplyDeleteYou can't always do it, but this type of cactus is one that you can.
DeleteMy quiz result: Ruth Bader Ginsburg (I'll take it!).
ReplyDeleteMy reaction to the Jodi Picoult story this week involved being glad that she spoke out, with a side thought for the advantage that writers have in such circumstances; but at the same time I'm really annoyed that it took being targeted for someone to speak up. The whole issue of book bans has been going on for months, and with plenty of media coverage, so it shouldn't be news to anyone involved in the book business at this point. (And I'll say that I am involved in working against book bans in my community, so I'm not advocating for anyone to do something more or different than what I do.)
Now I'm going to start on the other links by looking into the Librarian of Burned Books story ...
I was happy with my Jane Goodall response, but I'd certainly be happy with RBG, too! And I agree with you about more people speaking out, although Stephen King did and there was some backlash about what he said.
DeleteBook bans have gone on for years, but now this is a hot button issue and has been increased exponentially, Decades ago, Our Bodies, Ourselves, a major book on women's health put out by the Women's Health /collective, was banned in some states. The American Library Association has history on this, and has been opposing the bans for years,
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the book banners are just in it for their fifteen minutes of fame, but they are still causing a lot of damage.
DeleteThe number of men who have been petrified over the workings of a woman's body is ridiculous and has caused untold death and tragedy along the way. A little bit of knowledge goes a long way towards understanding and enlightenment, you Neanderthals-- understanding and enlightenment that would have benefits for you, too.
Willful ignorance is exhausting.
The control and laws spreading to states are deliberate with a clear goal. Margaret Atwood was not wrong in her predictions,
DeleteNo, but I was thrilled to see that some of the Neanderthals shot themselves in the foot. They were so scared when the Affordable Care Act passed that they amended state constitutions to say that citizens had the right to make their own health care decisions. Just in case the federal government decided to do that, you know. Now, with Roe v Wade overturned, these same cretins rushed to put abortion bans on the books in the states where they live. Unfortunately for them, judges are telling them, "Hey, you seem to have forgotten that amendment you added to the state constitution saying that people have the right to make their own health care decisions-- which includes abortion. Therefore, you cannot outlaw abortion." Warms the cockles of my heart, that does.
DeleteWarms my cockles too, Also, every referendum on abortion access no matter how it's written and by whom, shows people don't want the government taking away their rights, even in
DeleteKentucky. I mean Idaho is heading to The Handmaid's Tale. And watch the case in Amarillo, Texas,
It sickens me. I tried to watch the TV version of The Handmaid's Tale, but it made me so angry that I had to stop.
DeleteI am like RBG but I could have answered the test differently in many ways. Love that beaver, Interesting histories about women we were never taught,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad those histories are finally coming to light.
DeleteAnd I just learned about Cecelia Payne, an astronomer who discovered what the universe is made of although a male astronomer who took the credit pushed her out of the way/
Deletei
I think if we had a dollar for every time that happened, you and I could both retire to the south of France in total luxury. At least the truth is finally coming to light.
DeleteYep. South of France is my ideal spot or Tuscany. Payne's story is so interesting, and where did I learn about her but Facebook.
Delete,
I might change my vote to the Amalfi coast. Hmmm.
DeleteWe are a far way from roses blooming in our yard. It's blowing a very cold wind right now and don't know when the cold rains will let up. Preparing for spring, I guess.
ReplyDeleteWith all this preparation, it better be a humdinger!
Delete