Week 26-26 - Curiosities
Greetings from the Mesa
We had a most adventurous week with Mama KP. Lots of new eats, and lots of car rides to both new and old favorites. I was out of the house for four days straight, and it felt awesome! More adventures are in the works! We are on fledge watch this week with 3 baby Says Phoebes out of the nest, and nearly ready to launch. Love their grumpy faces so much. Pretty soon it'll be a meeping/cheeping free-for-all in the north portal. The zinnia bed that KP planted is blooming despite the constant blast furnace of heat/wind/storms. The hummingbirds aren't the only one enjoying the colorful blooms. Speaking of the blast furnace, I have never been so grateful to live in an adobe house.
Curiosities
- Giant Banana Pulled Over in Montana: Driver Says Cops Have Stopped Him 100s Of Times. This is definitely the feel good story of the week. Who doesn't like a good banana joke?
- My breakup with Amazon I feel this 100%. At the same time living rurally near a many times overpriced tourist town sometimes equals terrible access to basic goods. It's Amazon vs. Walmart a lot of the times. Which sucks. And we don't buy much beyond basic goods. Anyhoo. F the billionaires!
- Lincoln Memorial, before and after the construction of the pool. The reflecting pool is returning to its roots. Loving all the memes and the metaphor of it all... A reflection in cess.
- I'm really digging Weatherwise for up to minute weather - available on web or phone app. They've added a feature where you can see the livestreams of storm chasers in the app - which has been pretty exciting during recent tornado outbreaks.
- As lone star ticks move north, red meat allergies are on the rise Ticks. Yuck. Yale Climate Connections as some good articles. Related: it's as hot in Europe right now as it is in desert Arizona. That's normal right?
Consuming
Books:
Currently reading: Dragonflight (McCaffrey), Songlines (Chatwin), Judas Unchained (Hamilton)
Just finished micro-reviews:
Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton (Science Fiction):
I love a great space opera, and Pandora’s fits the 900 page bill. Earth has formed a Commonwealth and spread across the galaxy after developing wormhole technology. This book has it all, sci-fi space nerdery, adventure, mystery, politics, unknown alien threats, and some great characters. And some not so great characters. Sometime Hamilton writes like a 12 year old boy who just discovered their parent’s porn stash. The way he writes about some of the female and young characters is just ewww. That said I enjoyed being in this space opera universe and look forward to its equally long sequel.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (Fantasy):
My friend sent me this classic fantasy that I’ve somehow never read. And even though I keep saying I’m on a fantasy moratorium the genre keeps slipping in. Vin, a serf thief joins a group of resistance “fighters” to overthrow the Lord Ruler. In the process she discovers her magical roots, and falls lamely in love with a nobleman. The magic system is metal based. The world is bleak and mysterious. The characters are diverse and interesting. I’m a sucker for a strong female lead. The writing is a bit of a slog. I’m not sure I’ll finish the trilogy.
TV/Movies: We finished The Boroughs. The second half wasn't as good as the first, but i'm sad they cancelled the series. I thought they covered some interesting issues about aging, and relationships.
Music: KP is a Chris Stapleton fan, so we watched his performance on Austin City Limits. I'm not a country fan, but I appreciate his music - great lyrics, and his band is fantastic. Also, ACL production and sound is so good now.