December 2008
5 posts
2 tags
Several notable writers’ birthdays in the past couple of weeks: Dec 10: Emily Dickinson, who in 1862 alone wrote 366 poems. Dec 8: Mary Gordon, whom we had the fortune to see and hear her read at the Story Prize Award ceremony a year ago. Dec 2: George Saunders, one of our favorite writers, and this is what The Writer’s Almanac has to say about it:
He grew up on the South Side of...
WatchNPH!
November 2008
10 posts
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
California Appears Likely to Ban Gay Marriage →
It’s shocking that such intolerance can exist in California. Sure puts a damper on an otherwise beautiful day.
1 tag
October 2008
34 posts
2 tags
2 tags
Arkansas, by John Brandon →
Saw this book yesterday in the library. I was surprised. The book is interesting so far, 40 pages in. The book is a McSweeney’s Rectangulars and can be purcahsed here.
3 tags
2 tags
Van Winkle's Mill Archaeological Project →
“Archeology is not simply about finding old things that have been buried by time and dirt. As a subdiscipline of anthropology, archeology is inevitably about what those things can tell us about past people—their cultures, their lives and what their daily experiences might have been like. Van Winkle’s Mill offers researchers several important venues in which they can contribute...
3 tags
3 tags
1 tag
We’re on our 4th state and so far, all the names of the states can be traced back to the Native Americans (you know the people who used to roam on this great land until the Europeans came and…). So what happened to the Native Americans? I know the history ain’t pretty but we weren’t sure exactly what happened. We consulted with the all-knowing Google and we found out...
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
“I assume you share the name, Barry Hess, with me. That’s a good thing because...”
– Another Barry Hess, another mistaken identity, this time as the late Paul Newman’s son.
The story continues, on Barry’s blog.
2 tags
1 tag
2 tags
Some famous people of interest to me (of course, there are lots more) who hail from Arizona:
Linda Ronstadt, who sang the original Somewhere Out There in a duet with James Ingram (and here’s the mousey version from An American Tale)
jazz musician Charles Mingus
architect Frank Lloyd Wright
and, betcha didn’t know about this one, Joan Ganz Cooney, the creator of Sesame Street, which...
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
Our friend Josh Kamler (Tiny Gigantic / Language in Common) has this to say about Alaska:
So I lived in Alaska when I was six.
I learned both how to swim and read there - and yeah, I learned late because apparently the schools in Cali in the 70’s weren’t so good - and once, my mom got stuck in the muskegg, which is like quicksand, but muddy and kinda gross but not fatal. Also, I...
2 tags
If you are invited to go to a party dressed up as one of the 50 States, which would you choose, and what would you dress as? Our friend Naveen had such a party in 2006 (brilliant!) and he told us the story behind it all:
In April 2006, I became a citizen of the US and I decided to throw a party to celebrate. I didn’t have much time to travel cross-country (that was another thought) so I figured...
1 tag
3 tags
1 tag
3 tags
3 tags
“Offshore drilling, which both Obama and McCain have come to favor in recent...”
– Ask the Author: Philip Gourevitch takes questions about Sarah Palin and Alaska
September 2008
24 posts
2 tags
Alaskan Tropic →
“Of the many things revealed about the Alaska governor Sarah Palin since she became John McCain’s running mate last month, one of the most curious is the fact, reported two weeks ago, that she had a tanning bed installed in the state mansion in Juneau.”
I wonder what Matt Damon thinks about that.