lynnweaver.com

On the nightstand, reading for Spring 2012

LW — Sun, 06 May 2012 22:47:16 +0000

I finished Rachel Maddow’s Drift last week. After reading this excellent book I found myself wishing she would abandon the Prison Channel (MSNBC) for full-time writing, or at least a show that could be devoted for a full hour (no commercials) to a topic that not only interests her, but matters a great deal to all of us. The book, as you might expect, enjoys the same sort of brilliant, thorough, funny (funny sheesh, not funny ha-ha as a friend of mine used to say), well-researched, thought-provoking and yet accessible treatment that she gives many topics on her TV show. Only in writing (superb writing) and at length.

On the stack near the bed now:

Ransom Riggs novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which, despite being a best-seller, looks like a very promising read. It is illustrated with amazing photos of, well, peculiar children. Quirk Books, 2011.
On a very different note, Paul Krugman’s End this Depression Now! W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.
I have a feeling this will be a good and yet maddening book of the sort that makes you a little crazy because the right and reasonable course seems to beyond the capability and willingness of our politicians (including the chief one in the White House) or the understanding of just about anyone sheeplike and uninformed enough to keep supporting the GOP and its candidates.
Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton. Pantheon Books, 2012.
Despite the apparent oxymoron of the title, the topic makes abundant good sense to this atheist with rewarding ties to a church community. A sneak peek gives me confidence that this will be a well-written book.

YNP Good Friday 2012

LW — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 01:50:05 +0000

Yellowstone in spring. In truth, June is spring in Yellowstone. April is still winter. And it is all beautiful and in our backyard.

Today was a great day with friends Annette and Linnea.

Wolves, coyotes, and bald eagles, too. But as I set up the spotting scope we lost them in the driving wet snow and mists.

The coast is not clear

LW — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 23:19:06 +0000

I’ve yet to find a beach where dogs can run free. Dibs has been very patient.

Judging by the condition of some beaches, dogs should run free and people should not.

Can’t get steady Wi-Fi signal or even a steady XM radio signal on any roads in the state so far. Montana is a techno wonder, not to mention extremely liberal, by comparison.

It’s windy, rainy, and I have a cold with extras. As soon as the wind dies down enough to take down the trailer without losing the roof panels, I am leaving this godforsaken state.

Butte, America

LW — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:11:45 +0000

I had forgotten about this photo from one of my Butte outings until I came across it on the Web today. I took this in 2010 on one of my many outings to Butte with camera. When film-maker and videographer Jon Jost asked if he could use it on his blog as part of an American Pastoral series of photos, I was pleased. That’s where I found this today while searching for something else on the Web. Below are some more from that March 2010 day in Butte with my friend Linnea (who also loves the town and likes to photograph it), plus one from 2003 (the black and white with houses and mountains).