Monthly Archives: June 2009

Ojai Activists to Launch Local Currency (maybe)

Don't often get to announce that a newspaper story I wrote for the Ventura County Star made the front page of the Sunday edition. Pretty thrilling for a late-blooming ink-stained wretch. Here's the lede: Ojai activists are hoping to launch a new form of local money as soon as this year, but no one knowsContinue reading “Ojai Activists to Launch Local Currency (maybe)”

Threat of Global Warming Publicized…in l958

In the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society last September, scientists William Connolley and Thomas Peterson and journalist/equaintance John Fleck routed a favorite line of climate change deniers, to wit: An enduring popular myth suggests that in the 1970s the climate science community was predicting “global cooling” and an “imminent” ice age, an observation frequentlyContinue reading “Threat of Global Warming Publicized…in l958”

The Sexiness of Henry David Thoreau (ca. 2009)

Who would've thunk it? From a clever Los Angeles Times food piece, with a great pic and quote: First the quote, from raw food advocate/punk rocker Amanda Brown: People don't realize that just as there are all these professional people going to train at Le Cordon Bleu, there is a whole generation of chefs whoContinue reading “The Sexiness of Henry David Thoreau (ca. 2009)”

Global Warming Drives Flamingo to Nest at 12,000 feet

Apparently. It's just one of four environmental disasters seen in Chile in recent months: Over the course of approximately three months, thousands of [rare Andean flamingos] abandoned their nests on a salt lake in the Atacama Desert in the far north of Chile. Their eggs failed to hatch, and all 2,000 chicks died in theirContinue reading “Global Warming Drives Flamingo to Nest at 12,000 feet”

Well Running Dry in Southern Europe. EU Warns

A stupendous climate change report, complete with extensive interactive graphics on emissions, now can be found on the European Environment Agency site. Part of the story is about how climate change is making life drier and more difficult in Southern Europe. Story includes a great graph on "water stress" in a country, called the WaterContinue reading “Well Running Dry in Southern Europe. EU Warns”

Trying to Figure Out the Shape of the World

I'm not a big fan of talks on the Internet, but I have to admit, I liked this one from Mythbusters, whatever that is…by Adam Savage, a delightful art director, on how much he learned from his colossal failures.  No transcript, unfortunately, but he concludes with a lovely line, in which he talks about kidsContinue reading “Trying to Figure Out the Shape of the World”

The Danger of Using Checks

My piece on being hugely ripped off by check fraud from last week's Ventura County Reporter…I'm still dealing with the mess, and the creditors. The alarming truth: According to the accounting firm Ernst & Young, more than 500 million fraudulent checks are written every year in the U.S., out of a total of approximately 60Continue reading “The Danger of Using Checks”

George Orwell Pooh-Poohs the NBA Finals

Well, not exactly, but if he were here today, Orwell would no doubt mock it as part of "the lunatic modern habit…of seeing everything in terms of competitive prestige." Here, from a memorable essay called "The Sporting Spirit," in a newspaper column from December 14, 1945, Orwell speaks (taken from George Packer's great Facing UnpleasantContinue reading “George Orwell Pooh-Poohs the NBA Finals”