Kit Stolz

Why We Must All Have An Opinion on Everything Today

A friend reminded me of a great essay by the novelist and short story writer Richard Ford on the subject of our velocitous life, which ran a few years ago in the NY Times. It’s long, so I’m going to post it below the fold, but know that it’s very much worth reading. Here’s the crucial quote:

Put simply, the pace of life feels morally dangerous to me. And what I wish for is not to stop or even to slow it, but to be able to experience my lived days as valuable days. We all just want to keep our heads above the waves, find someplace to stand. If anything, that’s our human nature.

Early Spring

Spring came last week to Upper Ojai, with Santa Ana winds and a wildfire in not-far-off Orange County. It’s early this year; in fact, when I talked to our local fire station, they couldn’t ever recall a Santa Ana wind in February…which in theory, of course, is winter. Every year since l991 I have walkedContinue reading “Early Spring”

The Sportsman Hunts in Jest, but the Creature Dies in Earnest

Speaking of hunting…the remarkably unpredictable Andrew Sullivan links to a first-rate 2004 op-ed piece by Matthew Scully, author of the excoriating "Dominion," on the brutality required of our politicians: Groveling in word is no longer enough, however, to convince sport hunters you’re one of them. And so we now have the dreary ritual in whichContinue reading “The Sportsman Hunts in Jest, but the Creature Dies in Earnest”

Cheney’s Latest Screw-Up

Dick "Last Throes" Cheney, who is already believed to be a liar by most of the American public, on Saturday managed to shoot a fellow hunter in his party while out on a quail slaughter. Lots of good commentary on this on the web, but here’s the best reaction I’ve seen to date, off theContinue reading “Cheney’s Latest Screw-Up”

Do Big Problems Require Big Regulations?

A great piece in this week’s New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell looks at how to effectively solve problems when–it turns out–the real issue is not a large group of small offenders, but a small group of gross offenders. The issue at the heart of the story is homelessness. It turns out that cities in thisContinue reading “Do Big Problems Require Big Regulations?”

If It’s Saturday, the LATimes Must Be Kicking Butt

Don’t know why it is, but in the last couple of months the LATimes (reg. required) has been shockingly good on Saturdays. Maybe it’s just a quirk, or maybe this is where they park the enviro/science stories. Who knows, but here are four examples from today, with a crucial line from each: * AContinue reading “If It’s Saturday, the LATimes Must Be Kicking Butt”

A Thousand Words on Katrina

We’ve all seen a lot of pictures from New Orleans after Katrina, but this is a real winner. They’ve asked bloggers not to republish it, but they do want visitors. Took a look.

Enviros vs. Nimbyites

People often confuse environmentalists, who–crazily–care for the whole envelope of life that supports us on this planet, with Not In My Backyarders, or NIMBYites, who are very concerned with what is happening in their neighborhood, but often show little interest or involvement in the big planetary picture. The only way to show the essential idealismContinue reading “Enviros vs. Nimbyites”

BLM: We Didn’t Mean It! Honest!

A day after a Oregon congressman called for an investigation into the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to cut off funding to Oregan State University researchers who dared publish a study that contradicted the Bush administration’s forest policy…the BLM changed its mind and restored the funding. Gee, I wonder why. In the Oregon State DailyContinue reading “BLM: We Didn’t Mean It! Honest!”

Bush Adminstration Lashes Out at Irksome Scientists…Again

From today’s Oregonian, yet another story about the Bush adminstration trying to stifle scientists who dare to express views inconvenient to the administration’s anti-environmental agenda: The federal government has abruptly suspended funding for Oregon State University research that concluded federally sponsored logging after the 2002 Biscuit fire in southwest Oregon set back the recovery ofContinue reading “Bush Adminstration Lashes Out at Irksome Scientists…Again”