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It's a rainy, stormy Saturday here, so here's a story from today's Guardian about the first canine forensic reconstruction -- a dog that lived 4,500 years ago on the island of Orkney.
Handsome fellow, Y/Y?
Handsome fellow, Y/Y?
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Feb. 15th, 2019 07:48 pmTuesday [July] 6 [1847] start 8 oclock. go 18 miles. camp on the bank of a stream from the platt river where the Indians had camped. we burnt their wickeups for wood. some waided the river to get wood. brought it over on their backs. the camp did not all get up last night neither have they to night. Smoots co have not been heard from since Monday. Grants co did not get up to night.
~ "The Diary of Patty Sessions, 1847," Covered Wagon Women: Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1849, page 168. I have added punctuation, month, and year.
You guys, this is a great book, but when I got to this part I actually SAID OUT LOUD, "But that didn't belong to you!" See? They came across a Native American camp, tore the shelters apart, and burned them for fuel. Now, yes, maybe the Indians had abandoned the camp and weren't coming back, but how could these settlers have known that? Omfg. :-(
Anyway. Here is something awesome -- a first print, first edition, SIGNED COPY of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Omfg again, but in a good way. His WORKING COPY. This is like ... a holy grail. :DDD
~ "The Diary of Patty Sessions, 1847," Covered Wagon Women: Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1849, page 168. I have added punctuation, month, and year.
You guys, this is a great book, but when I got to this part I actually SAID OUT LOUD, "But that didn't belong to you!" See? They came across a Native American camp, tore the shelters apart, and burned them for fuel. Now, yes, maybe the Indians had abandoned the camp and weren't coming back, but how could these settlers have known that? Omfg. :-(
Anyway. Here is something awesome -- a first print, first edition, SIGNED COPY of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Omfg again, but in a good way. His WORKING COPY. This is like ... a holy grail. :DDD
Now this is October
Oct. 16th, 2018 04:25 pmGrey, drizzly, dreary, chilly, all the y-words. We turned on the heat for the first time this season yesterday and were treated to that wonderfully autumnal scent of burning dust (ugh). The good thing is the rain and chill seems to have tamped down the mosquito population somewhat. Also I put fleece sheets on the guest bed and flannel sheets on the master, and they are both so nice and cozy (both beds have electric blankets too). (Don't @ me; I get cold at the drop of a hat.)
This is a very cool and amazing article from the Guardian -- Peter Jackson's movie project for the centenary of the end of WWI. He took original film footage and newsreels and basically DID MAGICAL THINGS with them. The trailer for the finished product is included in the article and has to be seen to be believed. They Shall Not Grow Old, article and film trailer.
This is a very cool and amazing article from the Guardian -- Peter Jackson's movie project for the centenary of the end of WWI. He took original film footage and newsreels and basically DID MAGICAL THINGS with them. The trailer for the finished product is included in the article and has to be seen to be believed. They Shall Not Grow Old, article and film trailer.
NYC in 1911
Oct. 10th, 2018 08:09 pmVery cool 7-minute+ film from 1911 of a short tour through New York City. Speed-corrected so everything moves smoothly. Lots of hats. And horses. This is really an amazing little film.
1911: A Trip Through New York City
1911: A Trip Through New York City
Happy November Thursday, for everybody else. :D
It's just the two of us (and Layla!) so our Thanksgivings are pretty quiet, but later today we'll have turkey breast and some other good stuff. Mister Nightdog_barks is in the kitchen making cranberry sauce. *g*
I've been using Ancestry.com -- I go months and months in between research, so when I sign in again there'll always be something new. This time the new item is my maternal great-grandmother's marriage license/certificate. She was married March 2nd, 1876, in Kentucky. She was sixteen when she wed, had an absolute BOATLOAD of kids (a couple of whom died very young), and passed away in 1941 in Texas, aged 82. When she was born, James Buchanan was President, Victoria was Queen, Osahito (Kōmei) was Emperor of Japan, and Friedrich Wilhelm IV was King of Prussia. :D
It's just the two of us (and Layla!) so our Thanksgivings are pretty quiet, but later today we'll have turkey breast and some other good stuff. Mister Nightdog_barks is in the kitchen making cranberry sauce. *g*
I've been using Ancestry.com -- I go months and months in between research, so when I sign in again there'll always be something new. This time the new item is my maternal great-grandmother's marriage license/certificate. She was married March 2nd, 1876, in Kentucky. She was sixteen when she wed, had an absolute BOATLOAD of kids (a couple of whom died very young), and passed away in 1941 in Texas, aged 82. When she was born, James Buchanan was President, Victoria was Queen, Osahito (Kōmei) was Emperor of Japan, and Friedrich Wilhelm IV was King of Prussia. :D
Still October
Oct. 12th, 2017 04:26 pmAlthough today it doesn't feel like it. We're on the temperature roller coaster (again) and today it is going up. By Sunday it is supposed to be down again.
Here are a couple of links I liked today --
Flying the deceased in Alaska, which made me think of the sequel working I have to Northern Light, in which House is an Alaska bush pilot. The sequel is one of those WIPs that is SO CLOSE to being finished, and yet. I don't know why this has happened more and more often the older I get. :-P
All the things that are womens' fault, by Rebecca Solnit. I laughed out loud at some of this, but. Yeah.
Finished Lev Grossman's The Magician's Land and loved it, although I did think at least one plot point got wrapped up a little too neatly, and I definitely considered the possibility that the author had actually truly forgotten about it until the last minute and then realized he needed to say something. I do recommend the entire trilogy -- it was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed each book.
Read Michael Wallis' David Crockett: The Lion of the West, which was a pretty interesting biography of ... Davy Crockett. For those who might be interested, it also serves as a good introduction to the history of Scots-Irish settlement in Tennessee and the Eastern Seaboard. I must say that none of the "founding fathers" of Texas come off very well in this book. Which is something I already basically knew, but ... ouch.
Now reading Stephen King's It, which I read when it came out. I don't remember very much of it, and I wanted to read something spooky during October, so here we are.
Here are a couple of links I liked today --
Flying the deceased in Alaska, which made me think of the sequel working I have to Northern Light, in which House is an Alaska bush pilot. The sequel is one of those WIPs that is SO CLOSE to being finished, and yet. I don't know why this has happened more and more often the older I get. :-P
All the things that are womens' fault, by Rebecca Solnit. I laughed out loud at some of this, but. Yeah.
Finished Lev Grossman's The Magician's Land and loved it, although I did think at least one plot point got wrapped up a little too neatly, and I definitely considered the possibility that the author had actually truly forgotten about it until the last minute and then realized he needed to say something. I do recommend the entire trilogy -- it was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed each book.
Read Michael Wallis' David Crockett: The Lion of the West, which was a pretty interesting biography of ... Davy Crockett. For those who might be interested, it also serves as a good introduction to the history of Scots-Irish settlement in Tennessee and the Eastern Seaboard. I must say that none of the "founding fathers" of Texas come off very well in this book. Which is something I already basically knew, but ... ouch.
Now reading Stephen King's It, which I read when it came out. I don't remember very much of it, and I wanted to read something spooky during October, so here we are.
Hello New Year
Jan. 1st, 2016 03:59 pm2016 is partly cloudy and cool here (48 degrees, 8.9 degrees Celsius). We had a fairly quiet New Year's Eve -- only a few firecrackers going off, which the dog mostly ignored.
I have been reading Michael Punke's The Revenant (on which the movie is based). It's a comparatively short novel, only about 270 pages, and a really straightforward adventure story.
Not much else yet, so here's a fascinating article about a long-forgotten medieval settlement -- New England, on the Black Sea. :D
I have been reading Michael Punke's The Revenant (on which the movie is based). It's a comparatively short novel, only about 270 pages, and a really straightforward adventure story.
Not much else yet, so here's a fascinating article about a long-forgotten medieval settlement -- New England, on the Black Sea. :D
Bits and Bobs
Oct. 12th, 2015 02:42 pm1) Remember when I said the weather had definitely changed? Well, I lied. Or, I think the better description is THE WEATHER LIED. It is 91 degrees right now (32.8 degrees Celsius). Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 89. Yesterday it was 90. IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE 78 OR BELOW. //weeps//
2) Finished Bettyville and really liked it. Started Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon and am generally enjoying it so far.
3) Still walking at night with Layla and I think we are up to almost two miles (I will have to take my pedometer to be certain). We are not seeing nearly as much wildlife -- we saw a pair of armadillos last week and a cottontail a few weeks ago, but just crickets and toads otherwise. Mister Nightdog sees rabbits almost every morning early when he and Layla walk, but there's just not very much at night now.
4) Speaking of Layla, this morning Mister N was mixing up a cleaning compound for the kitchen sink (vinegar, baking soda, boiling water) and she barked at the whistling teakettle. And then, for good measure, she barked at the plastic jug of vinegar on the kitchen counter. Because it was Wrong. :D
5) A missing piece of the Epic of Gilgamesh has been discovered! It's a slightly more complete version of Tablet V, and new details include birds, monkeys, and cicadas in the Cedar Forest, home of the gods. There's a somewhat longer report here, with more pictures.
Five things, as they say, make a post. :D
2) Finished Bettyville and really liked it. Started Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon and am generally enjoying it so far.
3) Still walking at night with Layla and I think we are up to almost two miles (I will have to take my pedometer to be certain). We are not seeing nearly as much wildlife -- we saw a pair of armadillos last week and a cottontail a few weeks ago, but just crickets and toads otherwise. Mister Nightdog sees rabbits almost every morning early when he and Layla walk, but there's just not very much at night now.
4) Speaking of Layla, this morning Mister N was mixing up a cleaning compound for the kitchen sink (vinegar, baking soda, boiling water) and she barked at the whistling teakettle. And then, for good measure, she barked at the plastic jug of vinegar on the kitchen counter. Because it was Wrong. :D
5) A missing piece of the Epic of Gilgamesh has been discovered! It's a slightly more complete version of Tablet V, and new details include birds, monkeys, and cicadas in the Cedar Forest, home of the gods. There's a somewhat longer report here, with more pictures.
Five things, as they say, make a post. :D
