Introducing Fyrefly's Book Blog Search!

A while back Fyrefly had a wonderful idea and, moreover, she followed up on it. She created the Book Blog's Search, a search engine for book lovers. Any time you want to know what other bloggers have thought about a book, you can go to the page, type in the book name, and presto! You have a list of reviews to read. There's no need to wade through commercial sites and non-reviews that mention the book. Fun and useful too. Oh, and I should warn you: Also a time-killer. There is a lot of fascinating reading material right there.

Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut, Part One, a sort of review that is almost spoiler free

So I'm continuing my tradition of behind-the-times reviews with The Impossible Astronaut.

This one's tricky to review in all kinds of ways. It's tricky because it's the first part of a two-parter, tricky because it's a season opener, and tricky because it left me all off balance.

This is not to say I didn't like it. I was glad, glad, glad to see the Doctor back and was kept wondering "What's next?" the whole time, and the aliens, while not quite as creepy as everyone kept telling me they were (Sorry, but that honor still goes to the original Weeping Angels), were plenty unnerving.

In fact, so long as Day of the Moon delivers (and I expect it will), the whole "off balance" thing will be good. It's just hard to say yet...

Why off-balance? Plenty of unexpected events, for one thing, but this episode also is a complete change of tone from last season's end or from the Christmas special. The Impossible Astronaut is a far more somber story, weightier somehow, even (or perhaps especially?) without the universe at stake and with the minimum of running through corridors. Amy, Rory, and River are also much more serious than previously. Also, the pacing was different, though I have a feeling that relates to it being a genuine single story told in two parts.

A random list of elements I found notable:

The pairing that really shines this time is the unexpected one of Rory and River, especially as Rory demonstrates that he knows very well what it means for someone to imprint on the Doctor. He's been dealing with the results for most of his life, after all.

This aliens were a mixed bag. Moffat can do creepy when he wants to (which is often), but he's done it so often and so well now that I was expecting something, well, creepier. Their modus operandi is scary enough and their unknown goals might be even more so, but... but there is a close up, and in close-up, they just don't work.

The picnic. I loved the picnic. It was so relaxed and friendly and in such beautiful scenery and so wonderfully shot that it's only looking back on it now that I realize that it was also filmed as though it were on an alien planet. Kudos to the team; it was perfect.

The control room from The Lodger. Moffat remembers the unanswered questions from The Lodger. That was not a loose end! Mind, he hasn't answered said questions, yet, but he remembers them.

Theories? I don't have any theories. I'm too confused.

Well, ok, I do wonder about possible links between this and Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead, but that has a lot more to do with name and image similarities than any real, concrete clues or clue-finding.

I think I'm going to watch the episode again while I wait for Day of the Moon.

*wanders off humming happily

*pops back in for a moment to say:
There. A review that is almost entirely spoiler free. That was hard. I don't know if I can do it again.

Girl Genius--Again

Two of my favorite characters are in the middle of a showdown. Tarvek and Gil really are fun when the get to posturing, and I love the way Agatha responds. (Which means I also have to link to "Who thought having two boyfriends was a good idea?" at the beginning of the "Cinderella" story).

Just Because

I spotted this one while out walking.

Nasturtium: The Vanilla Berry's First Bloom

The Vanilla Berry nasturtiums I wrote about earlier bloomed! At least, one did. It's a very pretty flower, sort of a pale yellow with cheerful orange streaks on the inside, sort of a clownish bloom. I'm glad I have it, and I'm looking forward to more of them blooming and, eventually, sprawling throughout the garden.

I would not, however, describe it as "buttercream" with a "delicate etching of deep strawberry" (as per the seed packet). Now I'm even more curious about the "deep maroon" and "soft cream" single blooms the "Night and Day" mix purports to have. I think it will be a few weeks, though. I only just transplanted the seedlings, after all. Incidentally, I just started reading The Tea Lover's Treasury, and the introduction mentions "nasturtium leaf sandwiches." Anyone ever heard of those?

The Other Blue Heron

This is the heron whose nest I spotted a couple of weeks ago, over near our church. The palm trees are over by an apartment complex, and it occurred to me today that the people on the upper floors probably have a very good view of the nest from above. I hope they're taking advantage of it.

The upper picture shows how very well the herons camouflage themselves, even though they are very big, blue(ish) birds.

Median Herons

This tree, right in the middle of the street, has four nests in it. It's difficult to get a good look at it, but I'm sure at least two are active.

Here are two of the babies from different nests enjoying the sun.

Library Blue Heron

The library blue herons were more retiring than usual.

All but one, that is. He was ready to stand tall and tell the world what he thought.

Seagulls

I love seagulls. They always seem so mythic and strange in flight.

And then so goofy on the ground, but that is for another day and another time.

For now, I am admiring their grace, beauty, and wonder.

Seen on the Pier

I'm not sure the author of the sign was aware quite how ambiguous it was:

Seal on the Beach

Unfortunately, what seemed a great photo opportunity probably came about because the seal is sick. There were some folk on the beach who told me they'd been watching him all day, and this was as active as he had gotten--except when animal control came by, at which point, he wouldn't let anyone near. Animal control was going to come again. Certainly he was paying far less attention to the presence of people (standing respectfully back, but still there) than he ought to have.

I hope he'll be ok. He may (I theorize based on almost no data) be one of the animals suffering from domoic acid.  Or, maybe not. Maybe animal control was able to come, take him somewhere safe, and give him whatever medicine he needed.

Ceramic Birdhouses

Or whatever it is you call birdhouses not truly intended to house birds. They are beautiful, though, whatever the term for them.

Just Because

Someone has a strange sense of humor.

Demonic Geese?

Seriously, what are these things? They kept glaring at me with those big red eyes.

Edit: I went ahead and asked on GardenWeb It turns out they are Egyptian Geese. The Wikipedia article describes them as a "striking species." That's one way of putting it.

Mr. Bloomfield's Orchard by Nicholas P. Money, a crabby almost book review

The review of Mr. Bloomfield's Orchard is only almost a book review because the truth is, I did not finish. I'm not sure quite how far I got, but I was short of my teeth-gritted goal of one hundred pages. I don't usually bounce off books quite this hard. Usually, if I don't finish, I simply put the book down and wander away, only later realizing that I am never going to return.

Money and I were, off to a rocky start from the beginning, since he chose to start his section on phallic mushrooms by mocking the Victorian squeamishness about them. I'm fond of the Victorians, and I dislike people using them as stock characters. Still, it was a minor irritation, and I could have sailed smoothly (if somewhat torpidly) onward through the book, if Money hadn't decided it would be a good idea to throw in some snide comments about the Chinese. Apparently they use more Head and Shoulders shampoo than anyone else ("probably due to the dwindling supply of dodo semen or passenger pigeon eggs," Money adds), they have too many children ("It is a tragedy in a country as populous as China, that anything from tiger turds to whale afterbirths can be sold as long as the suggestion is made that their consumption enhances erectile function"), and, worse, they are religious.

Which led to our next parting of the ways. Almost from the first, Money keeps a steady stream of witticisms aimed at religious people--all or any, lumped together in a large broth. To an extent, this is normal. Almost all science authors seem to assume that religious people don't read, or at least, that we don't read science books(1), so writers almost invariably feel the need to include at least one aside about the nutty religious people. Presumably, it is there to help bond the writer and reader in one, warm, happy pair of rationalists who can then wander happily through the rest of the book. Generally,  though, once the writer has made his or her obligatory remark, it's over and done with, and we get along very well with atoms, or ants, or whatever. Money, however, would not shut up. I quit counting, and reading, shortly after his long spiel about "drunken witchdoctors" vs. (presumably sober) scientists.

The bits in between were boring. The writing is fairly pedantic and there are very few illustrations; most of them are black and white, so they're not much use for identification or admiration.

I have a big bag full of books just waiting to be read.

Trouble is: None of them are mushroom books. Anyone got any suggestions? There are lots of interesting-looking fungi popping up, what with all the rain, and I'm curious.  I have vaguely fond memories of In the Company of Mushrooms: A Biologist’s Tale by Elio Schaechter, but I don't think it's quite what I'm looking for just at the moment.

(1)The Chinese, however, do read, and everyone knows it, so I'm surprised Money's editor didn't take a pencil to his remarks.

Nasturtium Celebration

  I love nasturtiums; they scatter themselves widely, orange and golden jewels spilling out of garden pots, climbing trellises, and flinging themselves recklessly over barren cement, relishing the cool weather and vanishing come summer.

Because of their easy-going nature, I've given little thought to kind or type, simply admirinng, assuming that the orange and yellow were all and more than enough in the nasturtium world.

Then I stopped at the seed rack and found out: There are more. Now I have "Vanilla Berry" wedged in wherever I can, and a packet of "Night and Day" just went into the ground. I can't wait!

Note: Links semi-randomply chosen to show the hypothetical color of the flowers. I'll post real images when they flower.

Owls Again

A sleepy baby owl in the daytime at the park behind the Huntington Beach Central Library.

Happy as Clams

Actually, I suspect the clams in question aren't very happy.

The crows, on the other hand are having the time of their lives.

Another Blue Heron Nest

I was walking down the street near our church when I heard a familiar, insistent "Kek-kek-KEK." Sure enough, there was a nest in the area, one I had successfully not seen on several walks.

Still working on this whole business of seeing.

And, while I'm at it, I still haven't seen a crow's nest. According to Lyanda Lynn Haupt, they're easy to spot. So far, I've managed to watch crows carrying sticks in a suspiciously nest-building sort of manner (ie, a lot over a given time span and in a fairly purposeful manner), but I've yet to see any building. Some day.

In the meantime, I've some more blue herons to watch.

Peekaboo

I finally caught the baby blue heron in his nest! That's him, peeking up through the leaves there.

I was hoping to record a bit of the noise they make, but people kept stopping by to ask what I was looking at, so all I got was series of jumbled recordings of grass, sky, and tag-ends of conversation.

I can't complain; as I recall, that's how I found the herons myself, the first time, by asking someone what they were looking at. 

Wasp Farm by Howard Ensign Evans: A book review

And a very belated book review this is, too. I read Wasp Farm by Howard Ensign Evans a while ago and enjoyed it. It's not quite as charming as John Crompton's The Spider, but very nearly. How could I not like a book that seriously gives advice on how best to attract wasps:

Attracting wasps is not difficult; in fact, it is easier than not attracting them. One merely needs to be lazy. Let the weeds and brambles row up, and don't prune the roses and fruit trees or cut out dead sumacs and elderberries: the more unkempt vegetation the more insects for wasps to prey upon and the more hollow or pithy twigs the more cavities for them to nest in. Plow a garden and plant it to interesting things, but don't cultivate too conscientiously and by all means don't go overboard on insecticides: share the wealth with the insects which, after all are mostly attractive and rather amusing (even a worm in the salad provides interesting dinner conversation)

Essentially, Wasp Farm is the tale of time spent in a house chosen specifically because it had a wasp-friendly sort of yard. Evans and his family cultivate, admire, and describe wasps in a friendly approachable way. He likes insects, and he wants everyone else to like them, too.  Seldom have I so wanted to invite an author over for dinner--though possibly without the worms in the salad.

 Oh, and I love his philosophy of learning:

For every man owes it to himself to be reasonably well informed on the subjects that interests him. We should read the great naturalists and try to grasp their sense of wonderment, their mode of marshaling facts to support new concepts. The modern naturalist is better informed, for he stands on the shoulders of giants; he also has the help of technological advances such as the camera and the computer. Perhaps he will never propose a great theory or found a new field of investigation. But to gather well-documented facts which add to the sum total of human knowledge is in itself a noble thing. It need not be wasps...it might equally well be fungi, filed mice, or tardigrades. There are enough unsolved problems in an average back yard to keep a battalion of naturalists occupied for their lives.

Drawback? It is older (originally published in 1963), and the pictures are, therefore, black and white. This should not keep anyone from reading the book. It just means that instant recognition of real, live wasps is unlikely, if Wasp Farm is the only source of information available.

Now that I think of it, it's time I went and saw what else by Howard Ensign Evans is available out there.

Just Because

Is this better or worse than a lizard at large?

Balboa Library: Blue Herons

They were having quite a convention the other day. There were at least five in the tree, plus babies. I still don't know how many nests are active, but it's quite a lively, chatty collection.

Huntington Beach Central Park Some More

 Rain suits Huntington Beach Central Park very well. So does sunshine after rain.

Bartlett Park, Huntington Beach, Again!

Big, scraggly ugly weeds at the edge of Bartlett Park.

Yet even they have flowers. The bees like them, and I've seen any number of ladybugs on them.

Bartlett Park, Huntington Beach

Yup. Rain suits Bartlett Park:

A glamor shot of Bartlett Park in the sunshine.

It is full of all sorts of grass and buzzing with life. All sorts of little creatures hopped and flew, and several larger ones skittered around, just out of sight.

A crow surveys one of the drier areas.

Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve

Several months ago, someone told me about the Osprey nesting in the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve and urged me to go take a look. Eventually, she drove me out there in a car, so I would know where to go. We didn't really get to look, though, because all we could do was drive, look out the window, and leave. Wednesday, I finally went to really look, hoping for a closeup. It didn't quite work out as well as I had hoped since the Osprey nest is well out in the reserve, and the light was behind the bird. It was also quite a distance from the only parking area I found, so we had to walk back; no great hardship as the road is one-way, slow-traffic, and wide enough to share, but unexpected. Still, I've now seen the Osprey, and it is nice to know it's nesting there. Also, it was good seeing some of the water birds in their spring finery. I've only really been paying attention to them since winter, and they are much snazzier in their spring garb. I also got distracted by a black-and-yellow not-bee (bumblebee?) by the path.

The not-bee (a bumblebee?). It was a beautiful, shiny, velvety creature. I wanted to pet it. I never have dared stroke a bee, not even a dead one, just in case, but they look a bit bristly. This one looked soft, almost cuddly.
Edit: I checked. It is a bumblebee.

There's the osprey. I don't even know if this is one of the adults or one of the babies. I'm guessing a baby because it was not quiet, calling quite often, especially when another raptor flew over.

The bird that provoked the commotion. I think it's a turkey vulture.

The science center was closed. Oops. I should have done the research. I had sort of assumed we'd be able to park in the center and look at things. That would only be true if we were a class coming on an appointment. Next time I will know.

A cinnamon teal, resplendent in Spring fashions.

I ought to be able to identify these, and I cannot. They do look lovely in their spring garb, though. Edit: Thanks Haucusuchus for putting me out of my suspense. The birds are American Avocets. I first started being interested in some of the water birds in the fall. It's amazing how different they look now that spring is here..

Just Because

This made me smile.