A Sorry, Starlings Weekly Link Round-Up

 

The birdbath outside the big picture window continues to provide entertainment for us, but it's also providing plenty of exercise because of the neighborhood starlings. I have to admit that I've never been a fan of starlings (and neither has Denis), so it rapidly became tiresome when a flock of those birds began showing up multiple times per day to take baths in that front birdbath. When six to eight of them crowd in, it doesn't take long for them to splash all the water out, leaving all the other birds high, hot, and parched. Something had to be done, dagnabbit.

 

Cathy to the rescue!

 

 

I have to smile: that small circular inset photo even looks like our birdbath! This small solar pump has three adjustable arms that keep it away from the edge of the birdbath. That way, the fountain attachments won't spray all the water out on the ground. It also means that flock of starlings can't crowd in and flap all the water out. Mwahahaha! This little gizmo has also had the added bonus of attracting even more birds, including a little hummingbird that likes to come for a shower and a drink early in the morning.

 

If any of you are feeling sorry for the starlings, don't. There are three large birdbaths in the back garden that they can (and do) use. They were just being lazy like a lot of us humans and using the closest one to where they roost.

 

Pardon me while I feel a bit smug. Enjoy the links! 

 

 

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Why Annie Wilkes is the most terrifying King villain.
• The 2023 Audie Award winners have been announced.
• Why one person has embraced the world of online reading challenges.
• A Perry Mason Mystery: How Erle Stanley Gardner created a mystery classic.
• Kids from the 1960s imagine life in the year 2000, and their predictions are eerily accurate.
• Women now dominate the book business. Why there and not other creative industries?
• A brief history of the mug shot.
• Amazon is closing Book Depository at the end of April. Here's a list of affordable Book Depository alternatives.
  
• piper + ivy, a little shopping for book lovers.
  

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• A veteran of the book-banning wars on the importance of speaking out.
• "My book was banned": This Oprah's Book Club author tells us the full story.
• Democrats are bidding to use his own censorship law to ban DeSantis's book. 
• How to fight book bans-- and win. 
• Texas ranks among the lowest in library usage and the highest in book bans. Here's library use and spending by state. 
• EveryLibrary's list of state legislation of concern in 2023. 
• How long before a library worker is killed? 
• Facing a large budget deficit, Spotsylvania County, Virginia thinks one cut to the budget should be eliminating all school libraries. 
• Here's how one angry parent got all graphic novels pulled from a school district. 
• A library book issue erupted at a council meeting in Nebraska. 
• A nonprofit alliance is urging the Canby (Oregon) School District to revise its book challenge policy. 
• Siloam Springs (Arkansas) residents sound off on administrator firing and library books. 
• New Castle (New York) has taken an assertive stand against book bans. 
• The West Fargo (North Dakota) City Commission is backing the effort to overturn book banning bills if passed. 
• A Missouri Republican is targeting county library boards’ ability to levy taxes, only a week after the House cut all state aid for libraries. (I'd swear someone spiked the Kool-Aid in Florida and Missouri...)
• Oh oh. Conservative candidates won seats in the Metro East (Missouri) library board.
• The Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association talked shop and book bans in Texas.

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• How did a medieval spice cabinet survive 500 years underwater?
• 2,000-year-old Egyptian zodiac symbols covered in soot and grime have been found in a temple. More from Smithsonian Magazine.
  
• The ancient discovery made on the Miami River is so significant that it could derail development. 
• This rock crystal sat in a museum for nearly 200 years before they found out it wasn't a rock. 
• Scientists have decoded the smell of Cleopatra's perfume. 
• Ancient mummies from Mexico might be infecting humans.
• For years, an old painting was hanging behind a door in a family TV room. It turns out the painting was a Brueghel worth $845,000. 
• "Evil eye" jewelry that was used to protect a young girl 1,800 years ago has been unveiled in Israel. 

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Inbreeding may be causing the orca population in the Pacific Northwest to crash. 
• Watch as this grandmother calls deer to supper like Snow White. 
• Watch as a beautiful tiger named Susu takes her first unchained steps as a free animal. 
• New research is rewriting the history of American horses. 
• Watch as this playful deer splashes around in rain puddles with children. 
• A service dog caught a home run at a baseball game in Glendale, Arizona. 
• How an obsession with raptors and an obscure event from history inspired an environmental thriller.
• As glaciers retreat, new streams offer homes for salmon. 

 

►The Wanderer◄

• Arizona was just named the #1 state for scenic road trips. Here are three to try. (And they get even more spectacular when you venture off the paved roads.)
• When the Klan ruled Indiana and had plans to spread its empire of hate across America.
• A new monument in London will honor victims of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
• Fourteen tunnels made for walking.
• Roger Federer and Trevor Noah team up for a Swiss tourism ad.
• Rewinding to the great Indian empires before the British Raj.
• You can now buy the estate where Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice.
• "A living pantry": how an urban food forest in Arizona became a model for climate action.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• L.M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables, lived a far less charmed life than her beloved heroine.
• Ann Patchett, owner of Parnassus Books down the street from Covenant School in Nashville, opened her doors to a grieving community. 
• The miseducation of John Muir. 
• 17-year-old Damian Earley has earned a patent for his invention that helps keep garbage off the streets. 
• Money, murder, and Nancy Clem. 
• Manet and Degas were dear friends-- and spirited rivals. 
• Kwame Spearman has resigned as the Tattered Cover CEO to weigh a run for the Denver Public School board. 
• Annie Londonderry barely knew how to ride a bike when she set off around the world. 

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Twelve new forensic thrillers.
• Harini Nagendra's favorite historical mysteries.
• The most ruthless hired guns in classic crime fiction.
• The ten best podcasts for mystery lovers on the go.
• Seven misconceptions about the '80s.
• Five TV stars you probably didn't know were missing a finger.
• New Asian American and Pacific Islander literature for AAPI Heritage Month and beyond.
• The best new crime shows coming out in April.

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.

No matter how busy you are, don't forget to spend some quality Me Time with a good book!