Kit Stolz

Cheryl Strayed: To turn our suffering into beauty

From an unusually rich interview in The Millions, the friendliest of literary sites, with Cheryl Strayed, the author of the great and influential Wild: Cheryl Strayed: I’ve always thought that the important thing is to turn our suffering into beauty. And the image of the phoenix rising from the ashes has always been super-cool to me,Continue reading “Cheryl Strayed: To turn our suffering into beauty”

Edward Abbey: A place to make a grown man weep

Even a curmudgeon on the subject of Internet video must admit it’s a good thing that a filmmaker had Edward Abbey show him around the Arches National Park, where Abbey was a park ranger…back in l956. Essay by Edward Abbey “I Loved it…I Loved it All” from Ned Judge on Vimeo.

“Nothing is more permanent than the temporary”

A really good essay can be read and re-read just like a really good novel. Example: Austerity Measures: A Letter from Greece, by translator A.E. Stallings, in a recent issue of Poetry. Have read it several times. So good it's difficult to figure out what to quote in this poetry-rich piece. Every time I find aContinue reading ““Nothing is more permanent than the temporary””

What is going on with the alleged El Nino of 2012?

Six months ago, temperatures in the equatorial Pacific suggested that, after two years under the influence of La Niña, which tends to mean cold dry winters here in Southern California, that our ocean was turning towards an El Niño condition. Under that condition, warm temperatures and westerlies in the equatorial Pacific predispose those of usContinue reading “What is going on with the alleged El Nino of 2012?”

Campaigns avoid climate change: McClatchey

One (slightly) encouraging sign: The most emailed story on the McClatchey newspapers site recently was a story about how the campaigns are talking (or not talking) about climate change. Although climate change typically ranks below such issues as the economy, polling done in March 2012 by Yale University and George Mason University found that 72Continue reading “Campaigns avoid climate change: McClatchey”

Playing the ice of Lake Baikal

Steve Reich, your lake is calling…. Isn't that pretty? A little earth music for the end of the working week. (For more on Lake Baikal, the world's oldest, and most voluminous lake, among other superlatives, here's a translation of a Russian site suggested by the video.)

The Grim Reaper, 21st century edition: the Drone Master

To Business Insider, this logo for the Navy's drone warfare program is "awesomely bad." Ted Rall files it under "you can't make this shit up." Well, okay, but somebody obviously did make this up. It's all too real — the 21st century edition of the Grim Reaper. Gives executive decision making an ominous ring, doesn'tContinue reading “The Grim Reaper, 21st century edition: the Drone Master”

Faction: Why Truman Capote lied about himself

Biographer and psychologist William Todd Schultz argues on an Oxford University Press blog that Truman Capote lied about his past because he needed to be telling a story about himself. (If I understand correctly.) Schultz comments: Aren’t psychobiographers supposed to care about the facts? Yes, facts are crucial. Facts are the instruments of revelation. IContinue reading “Faction: Why Truman Capote lied about himself”

Butch Cassidy’s last chance goes for 175k

The auction covered here last Sunday really was fascinating, for all sorts of reasons. Who knew that Butch Cassidy thought he had a chance at a peaceful, law-abiding life, even after becoming infamous for robbery? Different time, different place. (Here's the basics, plus some of the backstory, for the curious.) And here's a pic fromContinue reading “Butch Cassidy’s last chance goes for 175k”