My Own Thoughts

Barbary lions were part of medieval London zoo. I wonder if this would be good for Dielli, especially as part of the king’s menagerie. Ur ziggurat for Dielli. New sea monster species, found in Canada. This is a new genus of dinosaur, though a pleisosaur. prehistoric crocodile sea hunter, different from above.

I enjoyed this book. It is the second in a duology (Dragon’s Bone is first.). There are several scenes in the book, perhaps as many as five, that were so well written that I quit reading forward and went back and re-read them, sometimes as many as four times. It is a wonderfully developed world, [...]

This is the beginning of a series by Patricia Briggs. When I finished the novel, I wished I had purchased the other books. Ward, a nineteen year old idiot, is the main character. But he’s not an idiot, he’s just been playing one because his father is a murderer and has it out for him. [...]

is a delightful character, created by Charlaine Harris, who is excellent at vampire stories and murder mysteries like Three Bedrooms, One Corpse. The main character is a single woman, thirty, an ex-librarian who doesn’t have to work for a living because a friend died and left her money. She meets a tall, handsome, older man [...]

Zibellini: animal fur, the whole animal’s skin– marten (or sable) The animal was associated with childbirth, and wearing its fur was believed to increase a woman’s fertility and protect her during pregnancy. Since antiquity, the marten had been thought to conceive through its ear or mouth (and therefore chastely). for Dielli

CNN is carrying the story of the Shanks. Debbie Shanks was a Walmart employee and got her insurance through Walmart. When she was given permanent brain damage in an accident, she won a million dollars. $417,000 of that was put in a trust to pay for her long term care at a nursing home. Walmart [...]

A petition to stop the crescent memorial is now being circulated on the ground in western Pennsylvania. As a complement to this old fashioned canvassing effort, an electronic petition has also been created at ipetitions.com. Please circulate far and wide! The petitions highlight four cases of apparent Islamic symbolism in the memorial design. Here is [...]

It’s an Edmonton dinosaur found in North Dakota and its skin looks much like we expected it to look. “The process of decay was overtaken by that of fossilization, preserving many of the soft-tissue structures,” Manning said. To see a photograph, go to National Geographic.

That doesn’t mean it actually means that. One problem with the world today is that we as a nation no longer hold to truth. I mean we no longer believe in truth. We think that any thought is as good as another. Any opinion is as good as another. There are no actual facts, not [...]

I think that often people mis-state the question, asking, “Is America a Christian nation?” This question could mean “Are most Americans Christians?” or it could mean “Is it a nation that is based on Christianity?” or (as most who answer with a resounding no are actually discussing) “Is America supposed to be a Christian nation [...]

After his marriage, George Washington, like his father before him, served for a considerable time as vestryman in Truro parish. Later he served in the same capacity in Fairfax parish. He is recorded as having served on the building committees of Falls Church and Pohick Church–the latter edifice, being built from plans which he drew,7 [...]

Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear. Thomas Jefferson Does that preclude him from believing? I would say that [...]

I was in Thailand on “spring break.” Actually, I was in Thailand on spring break. I was also in Thailand for 4C’s, a very important rhetoric convention that was not, in fact, anywhere near Thailand. But all the English classes were cancelled for an extra week so TAs could go to 4C’s. I was far [...]

to me. At least, if it’s not new I only vaguely remember it. Found at Common Room, which I’ve been reading for quite a while now. But rarely have so many posts in one day appealed to me personally as something I need to blog and mark.

the book, had the whole history of the volcanic eruption and what it brought to the known world–including 18 months of yellow skies and then a clearing followed by fire and brimstone falling from the sky in China. (This is in my novel, though set 2000 years earlier than it occurred.) National Geographic says folks [...]

discussed at one of my regular reads. HG only has a mild case, though, and it appears to be exacerbated by pollen. She’s really, they say, having hay fever and her body confuses that with peppers and paprika. Here are some old posts on the topic: Nightshades Food List Discussion of solanine in nightshades and [...]

on living history and the recounting of a tale of French heroism and German duplicity and lives saved. A wonderful story.

Reader Max K. found another Islamic website with a Mecca-direction calculator. It can be used to construct yet another graphical demonstration that the Flight 93 memorial points to Mecca. Muslims face Mecca for prayer, with the direction to Mecca calculated by the great circle method. Enter your street address into the search field at QiblaLocator.com [...]

This is for younger geek children, but is very funny.

I read a lot, normally. But teaching eight classes this semester I have found myself falling behind. I’m busy, busy, busy. And when I have a moment to myself, I get on the internet instead of reading books. Now, I like the internet. I get my news from there. I learn things. But it isn’t [...]