Week 03-24 - Curiosities
Greetings from the Mesa
We are alternating between clouds and sunshine so the animals take advantage of the solar gain whenever they can. This week was a bit of a catch-up work wise after last weeks well snafu. We finally got our dump card so we could take garbage in - always so satisfying to get rid of a months worth of trash (it's a rural thing I guess, or maybe because it's 20% of the cost of city garbage). Officially at month 5 of waiting for our electrical line extension to be completed. Any day now? Maybe? Waiting...waiting...waiting... The frustration is palpable.
Curiosities of the Week
Go traditional Scottish (Daily Record) and carve a terrifying turnip instead of a pumpkin for Halloween. And a little bit more about the history of the carvings - When people carved turnips... (Smithsonian Mag) I learned about this tradition from this weeks book Luckenbooth. And since I'm something like 60% Scottish I'm 100% here for it this year.
The Alvarez and the Crater of Doom (History of Geology)
The geological evidence supports the hypothesis that a large extraterrestrial mass collided with earth.
According to the most popular scenario, the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous marking the end of dinosaurs, large marine reptiles and ammonites, was caused by the consequences of the impact. Shock wave and fire storms were soon followed by the release of large quantities of gas from the vaporized rocks, rich in carbonates and sulphates. The gases reacted with the water vapor to form acid rain, and the dust in the atmosphere blocked the sun causing a many years-long nuclear winter. Depending on the locality and the ecological niche that a species occupied - and a good dose of luck - these changes decided a species' fate - to survive or to be doomed.
Book to read: Filterworld (NPR) - How social media algorithms 'flatten' our culture by making decisions for us. Give me all the challenging and surprising!
Inside My Mid-Life Crisis (Esquire) Writer Viet Thanh Nguyen shares his thoughts on mid-life crisis. "So in my mid years, I try not to give a damn about unimportant things and unimportant people. The important people—friends and family, children and partner—still concern me... the art is all that matters."
Do not mess with Mychal! (Washington Post) He is a beacon of light in the darkness. He definitely rekindled my love of the library. We have an amazing one for such a small town!
Two years, 400 journalists and 50 climate experts: Here’s what we learnt about how to report on climate change (Reuters Institute) "Find your mango" Here in northern New Mexico the mango might be the piñon tree and their nuts.
Consuming
Books: Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan (Fiction). The writing is so good. The characters are intensely crafted and interesting. The story is compelling and intricately woven. Loved it. *****
Thinking about:
Neverending war and how anyone can still support the orange clown.
Thanks for reading, see you next week!