Geoff Dyer writes so well it seems somehow demeaning to call him a critic, but that's how the world slots him, pretty much, and in books like "Out of Sheer Rage" — his admiring account of D.H. Lawrence's battles — he helps redefine the form. At only 56, last week Dyer suffered a stroke, while livingContinue reading “Pain can lead to growth: Geoff Dyer (and the research)”
Author Archives: Kit Stolz
Rolling the dice on El Nino: Too soon to predict?
Given that this is the worst drought on record in California, it's natural for people to hope for El Niño and all the rain that a good strong El Niño can bring. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported: …even as hope dims for a March miracle storm, climatologists say weather conditions could change this year ifContinue reading “Rolling the dice on El Nino: Too soon to predict?”
The lightly connected blossoms of spring: Kay Ryan
This one from the wondrously succinct Kay Ryan speaks to me of spring: "So Different," Kay Ryan A tree is lightly connected to its blossoms. For a tree it is a pleasant sensation to be stripped of what’s white and winsome. If a big wind comes, any nascent interest in fruit scatters. This is so different fromContinue reading “The lightly connected blossoms of spring: Kay Ryan”
American public exceptionally dumb: Ted Rall
The 'toon below from Ted Rall is factually accurate. It's a fact that the much-reviled mainstream media reported on the NSA spying on Americans long before Edward Snowden spoke up. (To give an example, back in 2012 James Bamford in Wired reported that "The NSA…has the ability to eavesdrop on phone calls directly and in realContinue reading “American public exceptionally dumb: Ted Rall”
New kind of dinosaur discovered (by Tom Toles)
Meet the new dinosaur (aka "the 500-lb chicken from hell.") Tom Toles sees an irony: The new GOP faces the same climate reality as the old GOP.
Follow the Leaders (into climate change)
From artist Issac Cordal: Berlin, 2011 h/t: Barbara Medaille
Do newspapers still matter? PSU study says yes
Excellent story in the Journalists Resources blog on the importance of newspapers. To put it simply: a prof at Portland State University named Lee Shaker set out to quantify the question by coming up with a measure of civic engagement and then looked at two cities with newspapers that went away (the Rocky Mountain News, inContinue reading “Do newspapers still matter? PSU study says yes”
Facing Drought Together: Ojai Valley News
Let me share Kimberly Rivers' thoughtful newspaper story about an event here in town I helped launch —Facing Drought Together – which did draw a good crowd, and got a lot of conversation started I hope. Here's an excerpt from story in the Ojai Valley News: “I took away the realization that a lot of other people in OjaiContinue reading “Facing Drought Together: Ojai Valley News”
Drought expert to Ojai: You have too many damned trees
JPL/NASA scientist Bill Patzert gave Ojai some hell this afternoon, as part of the Facing Drought Together event: From an excellent, may I say, story in the Ventura County Star by Anne Kallas: “Don’t expect a quick fix. Droughts are slow in coming, and they are slow getting out of. We need to change the wayContinue reading “Drought expert to Ojai: You have too many damned trees”
Everything you always wanted to know about drought*
Four of us from the Ojai Valley area, all concerned citizens from very different backgrounds, think that we need to talk frankly about the drought, and more, do what we can about it. Not just for ourselves, our properties, gardens, orchards, trees, lands, and wildlife, but also for our community.
Kit Stolz 