Last week the great J.J. Cale, beloved by talents ranging from Eric Clapton to Neil Young to Widespread Panic, left our realm. But he'll never be forgotten, for "Around Midnight" and "Cocaine" and many other great songs. As a thoughtful obit in the Daily Beast pointed out, J.J. Cale songs don't seem to have beenContinue reading “J.J. Cale (Gotta Get Back to You, Magnolia)”
Author Archives: Kit Stolz
Prominent Republicans call for climate action now
Here's some news you won't see on FOX News: Four former EPA chiefs, all Republicans, back President Obama's climate action plan, and call for even stronger action, immediately: Each of us took turns over the past 43 years running the Environmental Protection Agency. We served Republican presidents, but we have a message that transcends political affiliation:Continue reading “Prominent Republicans call for climate action now”
Global weirding 2013: same temp in Ojai as in Greenland
In Greenland this week, temperatures reached an all-time high: 80F. The temperature in Ojai (in Southern California) today: 80F. WTF? In Greenland, the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) gently suggested that climate change might have something to do with the high temperatures. As reported by Jason Samenow for the Washington Post: The DMI says the warmthContinue reading “Global weirding 2013: same temp in Ojai as in Greenland”
Hailstones like lemon drops: Strange summer on the PCT
Mostly it's been dry, dry, dry this year in Southern California, but a week ago Monday, as I was on the Pacific Crest Trail in the Big Bear section, big old clouds came in and hung over the moon: Then Tuesday afternoon, heading over a ridge near Doble Springs, down came the hail. Biggest hailContinue reading “Hailstones like lemon drops: Strange summer on the PCT”
Dionysionism: A forgotten religion turned big business?
From a really penetrating book review by David Ulin in, yes, the Los Angeles Times, a fascinating historical idea/fact: "No one remembers," [author Lawrence Osbourne] tells us, "that Dionysianism was the most popular religion of the late [Roman] empire before the arrival of Christianity. It was Christianity's principal rival…We have even forgotten that Dionysianism wasContinue reading “Dionysionism: A forgotten religion turned big business?”
Saving John Muir’s favorite tree: Maria La Ganga
Everyone has good days and bad days, but especially so he Los Angeles Times in recent years, which has been absolutely devastated by cutbacks, subscription falloffs, print declines, and local editions cut. The tale of at times seems endless. Yet good people at the paper have kept on doing good work. It's worth celebrating aContinue reading “Saving John Muir’s favorite tree: Maria La Ganga”
Fun is a disaster that couldn’t really happen: Sharknado
So says the director of the instantly notorious Sharknado: Anthony C. Ferrante, the director of "Sharknado," studied the raining-animal phenomenon after he came up with the title "Sharknado," but kept hard science at bay, referencing one blood-soaked scene where a character uses a chainsaw to cut himself out of a shark that swallows him wholeContinue reading “Fun is a disaster that couldn’t really happen: Sharknado”
Day jobs of the poets: Grant Snider
From Grant Snider: Useful to remember that poets can practical too, and hard-working.
NASA: Stellar womb gives birth to monster star
From an ALMA (ESO/NRAJ/NRAO)/NASA press release: Observations of the dark cloud SDC 335.579-0.292 using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter array (ALMA) have given astronomers the best view yet of a monster star in the process of forming. A stellar womb with over 500 times the mass than the Sun has been found and appears as theContinue reading “NASA: Stellar womb gives birth to monster star”
Plan B for the climate: Time to research the idea?
In Harvard's alumni magazine, a profile of an energetic young professor, David Keith, who argues thoughtfully for researching geoengineering solutions to global warming. As skeptics continue to question whether global warming is real, and worldwide efforts to cut greenhouse gases stall, a small but growing number of scientists believe that humans may need to considerContinue reading “Plan B for the climate: Time to research the idea?”
Kit Stolz 