Amazing underwater photography

  The winners of the 2022 Underwater Photographer of the Year have been announced.  Here’s the first place winner, by Rafael Fernandez Caballero, showing a group of 5 whale sharks feeding near the Maldives.  Click the image for a larger view. And here, from Alex Dawson, is the wreck of the Tyrifjord near the Gulen dive-resort… Continue reading Amazing underwater photography

Saturday Snippet: Vintage Mark Twain in the California goldfields

  As part of my research for my most recent novel, “Wood, Iron and Blood“, I re-read the works of Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain), looking for information concerning the California gold rush and the following period.  (He visited the goldfields at the end of the Civil War.)  I thought you might enjoy one of… Continue reading Saturday Snippet: Vintage Mark Twain in the California goldfields

The ecclesial solution to squirrel infestations

  Received from A. M. on MeWe: The Presbyterian church called a meeting to decide what to do about their squirrel infestation. After much prayer and consideration, they concluded that the squirrels were predestined to be there, and they should not interfere with God’s divine will. At the Baptist church, the squirrels had taken an… Continue reading The ecclesial solution to squirrel infestations

Botox wars in the desert?

  It’s not often that a headline can make me do a double-take in disbelief, but this one certainly did. Dozens of Camels Ejected from Saudi Beauty Contest over Botox Huh??? Saudi Arabia’s popular King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, which kicked off earlier this month, invites the breeders of the most beautiful camels to compete for… Continue reading Botox wars in the desert?

Er… judge… about those hippos…

  I’m still laughing after reading this report. The offspring of hippos once owned by Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar can be recognized as people or “interested persons” with legal rights in the US following a federal court order. The case involves a lawsuit against the Colombian government over whether to kill or sterilize the… Continue reading Er… judge… about those hippos…