“…to Junior’s mind, there had always been cicadas. But sometime, long before he could remember, he’d been on his father’s hip, looking up into a tree at a cicada for the first time—for the very first time; that buzzing saw had always been there, but to know where it came from—to see the frantic flutter […]
Cicadas — Menace or Manna? Read More »
There is a great deal of ambiguity in Merriam-Webster’s definition of the word reckless: marked by lack of property caution: careless of consequences. What I would consider a lack of caution, others might view as appropriate for the circumstances, as demonstrated in a previous blog post. In most scenarios, it’s a talking point, but when
Reckless enough to get noticed? It Depends. Read More »
Sculpture is something you bump into when you back up to look at a painting. ~Adolph “Ad” Reinhardt Guilty as charged. Bucolic scenes such as the Hudson River School paintings draw me in like flies to honey. I admit I haven’t always granted sculpture the respect it is owed. I have given it thought lately,
Sculpture – Creating the Essence of the Wild Read More »
You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write. ~Annie Proulx It isn’t just the shape of stories that I love. It’s the shape of the letters. When the
Does it Matter How You Write It? Read More »
To me, there is nothing more soothing than the song of a mosquito that can’t get through the mesh to bite you. Madison Smartt Bell Spring has sprung and summer will be here before we know it. With the heat’s arrival, we will also hear more birds and more buzzing. Some of those buzzes are
That Bites! But Does It Bite You More Than Me? Read More »
What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are. ~ C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew I have observed that people of equal intelligence do not necessarily arrive at the same conclusions when given identical data. Yes, this was mentioned
Perception and Physiology Read More »
We receive our inheritance the day we learn a skill from a parent. How we use that skill will determine how far we go! ~Andrew-Knox B Kaniki Most of us have likely compared our physical characteristics to family members to determine where we got the shape of our eyes or the length of our fingers.
Your Inheritance – What’s in it for You? Read More »
Smiling, he smuggled me an extra-tender ear of buttery sweet corn, which I gnawed to cob in three seconds. Aware I no longer ate human. Rather like a homeless dog. ~ Robert Newton Peck, Cowboy Ghost I can relate. I do love corn on the cob, slathered in butter, lightly salted, heavily peppered. Makes my mouth water
For the Love of Corn – Food and Fuel Read More »
Why should I stretch? Does a cheetah stretch before it chases its prey? ~ Ken Griffey, Jr. I’d argue that Mr. Griffey, fast as he was, wasn’t built the same way as the fastest land creature on earth. While humans win at endurance against any other land animal, even Usain Bolt could not beat a
This Will Be A Fast One – About Cheetahs Read More »
Caramelization is the sweet dance of sugar under heat, transforming from crystalline to a rich, golden elixir, a testament to the delicate balance between time and temperature. ~Unknown I’ve never made caramel candy myself, but I do confess that I love caramel far more than the ubiquitous chocolate. As I was treating myself to a
Sweet & Salty – Caramel Read More »
Wise men come to see a child of greater wisdom and honor divine. ~ Richelle E. Goodrich In almost every manger I’ve ever viewed, I have seen baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, farm animals, and … wise men. How many wise men? Always three. Why do we think there were three–no more, no less? And what
About Those Wise Men Read More »
Any family tree produces some lemons, some nuts and a few bad apples. ~Unknown If you don’t see the truth in this, your family may be an outlier. Anyway, as with the fruit and vegetable oddities mentioned in my November 7th post, food group classifications can be wildly diverse. And so it is with the
Fascinating Family Trees Read More »
People think dreams aren’t real just because they aren’t made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes. ~ Neil Gaiman I agree with Mr. Gaiman to some extent. Dreams are real; we do have them. Whether they are possible to execute
Dream a Little Dream, But Why? Read More »
Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education. Mark Twain He wasn’t wrong, according to Brittanica. Cauliflower and cabbage are in the same family. Further, cauliflower is considered to be a domesticated version of cabbage. That conjures visions of cabbage heads marauding among the scallions, but I digress. While thousands of families consume what
A Potpourri of Naming Oddities Read More »
I’ve always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept, all the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed. ~ David Benioff, City of Thieves Generally speaking, I drift off to sleep shortly after my head hits the pillow. But
What Does Sound Have to Do with Sleep? Read More »
We . . . go out into the Waste Land of Experts, each knowing so much about so little that he can neither be contradicted nor is worth contradicting. ~ G.M. Young, Victorian England: Portrait of an Age And with that, I will admit to a few things. I am often intrigued by questions that make others
Characters, the Special Kind Read More »
Who you gonna believe? Me or your lying eyes? ~Attributed to Groucho Marx In December of 2022, I published a post about Foley art, which is a process by which studios create background sounds for television shows or movies. Listeners think they recognize the sounds as footsteps or thunder, for example. However, it’s all fake.
You Can’t Believe Your Lying Eyes Read More »
You hear about adrenaline, how it spurs you on and gives you uncanny strength, but there’s a flip side. The feeling is heady, out of control. It heightens your senses to the point of paralysis. You have to harness the power or it’ll choke you down. ~ Harlan Coben, Tell No One As with many physical
Adrenaline Rush – the Good & the Bad Read More »
Take a look if you’ve ever wondered why cookies are called biscuits in England. And why, if you ask for chips across the pond, they won’t be crunchy.
Pudding, Biscuits, and Chips Read More »
Luz’s manner of speaking made it clear that she had no idea what she might say next. It wasn’t that she made things up, strictly speaking–only that facts were merely a point of departure for her.~ Daniel Alarcón Based on multiple conversations with a variety of people, I have come to the conclusion that some
As a Manner of Speaking Read More »
Crows are ubiquitous. But how much do we know about these glossy-feathered scavengers? And how many crows does it take to qualify as a murder?
Music can take us to an emotional high or reduce us to tears. How long have humans been hearing melodies, and how are those works of art created?
A Brief History of Music & Methods of a Songsmith Read More »
Afraid of all that slithers? Snakes are good for the environment, and most of them are trying to avoid you, too. Read and learn!
Snakes: Your Fear & Their Role Read More »
If you know someone’s personality type, their behavior begins to make sense. ~Tom Butler-Bowden We all know at least one adrenaline junkie. Someone whose idea of a good time equals that of Evel Knievel. And probably all of us “enjoyed” having someone on a school project or work team who provided entertainment, but didn’t add
Your Personality Type, Sad Movies, and You Read More »