Monthly Archives: April 2006

Death of a mass market paperback

Posted on April 26, 2006 by Kirsten

A tour through a book’s P&L, by someone who’s done lots. My favorite line from the comments: Just like politics and sausage. Maybe it’s best not to know how it’s made. Found via the always-entertaining Booksquare. Technorati Tags: publishing

Posted in Books, Writing | Comments Off

The sky is more than pretty

Posted on April 26, 2006 by Kirsten

Blue light apparently delivers the wavelengths needed to regulate our circadian rythmns, according to research described in Science Daily. Blue sky is a mixture of wavelengths dominated by short wavelength light that gives a blue visual sensation. According to Mark … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Science | 1 Comment

Relationship farming

Posted on April 25, 2006 by Kirsten

This Mother Jones article by Micheal Pollan ranges a bit too far for my taste, at times, into anti-capitalist/anti-globalist rhetoric, but there are some good points, too. The article profiles Joel Salatin, a self-described “Christian-libertarian-environmentalist-lunatic farmer” who sees himself as … Continue reading →

Posted in Pop Culture | 4 Comments

There’s spending, and then there’s spending

Posted on April 24, 2006 by Kirsten

I don’t consider myself knowledgeable enough about the Monroe County budget to speak to whether there’s any fat that could be trimmed. But when it comes to the national budget, clearly some spending decisions are driven by politicians’ craven attempts … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Rochester, New York | Comments Off

Speaking of organic

Posted on April 24, 2006 by Kirsten

Here’s a review of a new book, We Want Real Food, by Graham Harvey, which examines the effect of the depletion of soil nutrients on the nutritional quality of our food. To some extent, we’re able to compensate by taking … Continue reading →

Posted in Health | Comments Off

Look, ma, no dandylions

Posted on April 24, 2006 by Kirsten

Actually there are a handful — you may be able to make them out toward the top of the photo. But. There are far fewer than there were last year, which is a reason to celebrate, because this marks the … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Nature | 1 Comment

Neigh!

Posted on April 24, 2006 by Kirsten

Was actually three horsemen that rumbled through Rochester, New York, this week. Death (Robert Wegman), Destruction (collapsing parking garage) and Taxes. I’ve blogged about the first two already. Here’s the third: County Exec Maggie Brooks has proposed a tax increase. … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Rochester, New York | 7 Comments

“Whatever she could lay her hands on”

Posted on April 23, 2006 by Kirsten

I’m fascinated by the idea of transformation: the idea that a person might be born one thing, and then through intention, will, perhaps practice, become something else. If it happens at all, true transformation is exceedingly rare, although to appreciate … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Metaphysics, Spirituality | 1 Comment

City living

Posted on April 23, 2006 by Kirsten

Here’s an interesting article in New Scientist about an emerging subspeciality in behaviorism/evolutionary biology: how animals adapt when they move into urban areas. I blogged about urban coyotes here, with a link to an article that briefly discusses how coyote … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Science | Comments Off

When people were cat food

Posted on April 22, 2006 by Kirsten

Here’s an interesting piece in The Chronicle Review by anthropologist Donna Hart, who surveys the evidence and makes the claim that early man was most prey, not predator. She writes: Large-scale, systematic hunting of big herbivores for meat may not … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Science | Comments Off