Science fans and Internet junkies no doubt have been caught glimpses of the latest set of images from NASA's astonishingly far-sighted WISE (Wide Infrared Survey Explorer) mission. Here's my personal fave: our closest galactic neighbor, Andromeda. Although about 2.5 million light years from our sun, this galaxy is actually bigger than the Milky Way, expertsContinue reading “Our galactic neighbor, seen as never before”
Category Archives: love poems to the world
Beautiful, But Not Paradise (a Nobel for Barack)
Giving the Nobel Prize to our new president, after less than 300 days in office, seems not just surprising but a little too flattering, doesn't it? Still, as the Prez said, as a call to action — on climate, as much as any issue — it's a worthy gesture. Personally, I would like to giveContinue reading “Beautiful, But Not Paradise (a Nobel for Barack)”
An Unrepentant Realist: Rackstraw Downes
Perhaps the most interesting name amongst the list of MacArthur Fellows — aka official geniuses — announced today is the realist painter Rackstraw Downes, known for his exacting portrayal of unbeautiful landscapes. Interesting to yours truly because if art is about opening our eyes to see afresh, what better means that to show us exactlyContinue reading “An Unrepentant Realist: Rackstraw Downes”
In Wildness, Truth. In Wildness, Life…
From an essay by Jay Griffiths in Drunken Boat: What is wild cannot be bought or sold, borrowed or copied. It is. Unmistakable, unforgettable, unshameable, elemental as earth and water and fire. Don’t waste your wildness: it is precious and necessary. In wildness, truth. In wildness, life. And, for the human spirit as for anyContinue reading “In Wildness, Truth. In Wildness, Life…”
The American Way to Find God
God has become a dirty word among many scientists and leftists, I'm sorry to say, because so many Christians use their interpretation of an old book to control their fears and blame others — immigrants, scientists, gay people — for the woes of the world. Meanwhile the real possibility of a societal disaster this centuryContinue reading “The American Way to Find God”
The Secret Blogger of the 19th Century (and Emily)
Some people (including James Wolcott) put Ralph Waldo Emerson at the top of the list of America’s greatest writers. Read his journals and you’ll see why: Emerson talking to himself outshines even the greatest of today’s bloggers with apparent ease. Which is why, on this day, the occasion of my youngest daughter’s 18th birthday, I’mContinue reading “The Secret Blogger of the 19th Century (and Emily)”
Your Own Personal Moon
James Thurber, who wrote a marvelous children’s book called Many Moons about this very idea, would be charmed by a new invention out of Russia — your own personal moon. At least, I think he would be charmed. Or, he might sue for copyright violation. Never know with a writer.
Sunday Morning on the Planet: Trees
Especially in this heat, we treasure our trees, soaking up the sun, holding back the clamor from the nearby road, keeping us sane. Here’s a favorite poem for many on the subject by the revered W.S. Merwin, courtesy of Garrison Keillor’s lively Writer’s Almanac: Trees I am looking at trees they may be one ofContinue reading “Sunday Morning on the Planet: Trees”
Sunday Morning on the Planet: Artists
They’re cooler than you or me. Here’s what a couple of them free-thinkers did with a house in Houston, dubbed Inversion.
Sunday Morning on the Planet: A Poet Speaks
Maria Melendez, one of the featured poets at this weekend’s Ojai Poetry Festival, had a line worth remembering on this lovely Sunday: Nature is an exercise in depth perception. More on the festival soon (time permitting). For now, an example in the mists of the Berkshires, via fotographicpoetry.
Kit Stolz 