Two from Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll, one of my favorites for having invented the Mad Hatter and the Red Queen, not to mention the rabbit into whose hole she fell, has always fascinated me.   Jaberwocky is at the bottom. . . The Walrus and the Carpenter BY LEWIS CARROLL “The sun was shining on the sea,       Shining with all [...]

Rep Allen West, (R) Florida’s Controversial Representative

Well, sometimes it takes a little looking to find an approximation of the truth.  Allen West, republican congressman from Florida has been accused of some inflammatory statements during Black History Month.  Not that Rep West is pure as driven snow.  He represents an affluent coastal district from Palm Beach Gardens to Oakland Park.  His history [...]

A “Modest Proposal” for Better Barbecue

This post is a little disturbing and I have received some anxious mail about it.  Jonathan Swift, a satirist makes outrageous suggestions about how the Irish, impoverished by absentee landlords might improve its economy. It is a metaphorical satire, which, were it written today, might reference  Ireland, Greece, or Portugal.  Improving their balance of payments [...]

Homo Sapiens, Homo Habilis and/or Neandertalis?

I’m not going to apologize for a distant hominin relative who lived 50,000 generations ago.  I have enough trouble dealing with an in-law’s funny uncle (the one whose lap you couldn’t sit on). History tells us that many of us wouldn’t be here if grandparents had been in church instead of the drive-in.  In the [...]

Whither Goest MoveOn.Org?

Today I received an email from a political action org that I had grown to respect.  Now it appears that they are expanding into something akin to a “vanity press” operation where you provide the issue – any issue – and they will assist in distribution techniques. I can think of many things I would [...]

NRA Sending Constitutional Committee to Aid Libyan Freedom

Give Me Libya or Give Me Death! Now that Libya has freed itself from the long, dark night of Gaddafi’s 40 years of autocratic rule, the National Rifled Association is sending a delegation to assist the new Libyan government that will help them fashion elements of their constitution similar to our own, tracing its roots [...]

Oh My, the Sky is Falling! Earthquake Hits Eastern US!

Millenarians Aided by Forces of Nature What a day!  Bumpass, VA (23024) reports a major earthquake felt  a level VII shock on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale (5.9 Richter). (http://www.dmme.virginia.gov/DMR3/earthquakes.shtml) Rev. Gerald Wellfall declared it was God’s Punishment for abandoning the Defense of Marriage Act that forbade the marriage of same sex couples and general  [...]

Grace Slick and Dopamine

I tire of American politics.  I tire of the “patriot” mob costumed as revolutionary heroes who would, in another age, be dressed in white robes and hoods at an outdoor Klavern meeting with raised torches. So, I am going to try to restrain myself from commenting on them and return to blogging about new finds [...]

Vanity: My dear, You’re Looking Positively Pubescent

This is a post in response to a post in Slate (http://www.slate.com/id/2299256/) I picked up from http://susansayler.wordpress.com/, often a source of interesting material.  Supplemenal info at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/ The thesis of the source article is “Why has the maximum age of death not advanced beyond about 114 despite medical advances.” Certainly, this a complex issue but what [...]

4th of July at the River Bottom Campground

For those of us fortunate enough to be unemployed so we are able to enjoy this independence day from the airy elegance of our 60-sq ft (5.5 sq meter) residence this holiday near the beach in San Buenaventura on the very edge of the river bank, we wish all true Americans a happy 4th!   [...]