The Flatland Almanack

The Heartbreak of Rodent Rejection

THE FLATLAND CHRONICLES.  You don't know what it's like to be hated by the hamster you love.  Read more here...

Pictures from the Earth: The Cascades

THE FLATLAND CHRONICLES. While working within my meme group, I stumbled on this glorious photo-essay relating to the Pacific North West of America's range of volcanoes.  As a lover of writer Ursula K. LeGuin, I am deeply fascinated by that part of the country, though I haven't spent much time there (and don't expect to).  Read more here.....

Blogcombing: "A Gentleman's Domain"

JUST EAT THE DAMN PEACH.  Nicholas, who knows jazz and the jazz age, has posted a clip of jazz dancing back when the phrase really meant something.  Read more here....

Blogcombing: Zenmomma

THE FLATLAND CHRONICLES. In my intermittent travels around the blogosphere I stumbled across a fabulous photo essay posted at Zenmomma's Garden.   I don't even know how to describe it, but I have a go at trying here, before linking you directly to the thing itself. 

Blogcombing Twofer: Headlines for the Coming Year Foretold & A Passage to India

For a good, fear-purging gallow's laugh:  At Central Sanity, one of the political blogs I regularly read and actually enjoy, Bridget Magnus posted a set of headlines for the new year.  Read more....

To feed your soul and stimulate the eye and brain, check out a marvelous photo-essay by Smiler.  Read more....

Blogcombing: "What Have the Faithful Done?"

THE MARGINAL CHRISTIAN'S HANDBOOK.  A lovely blog post from a lovely blog answers this question in a way that helps even institution-mistrusting marginal types like me see grounds for hope.  Read more here....

Blogcombing "Open Grove" & "Adventures of a Serious Writer"

THE FLATLAND CHRONICLES.  At "Open Grove" I found a list of 12 ready-made resolutions for New Year's, being very tired----again, some more----of the way I make everything, even the things I do for fun, into a source of strain and tension.  True, this is a stressful time.  But even when I'm not under any outside stress, the way  I get myself going is by means of threats and rebukes.  I even remember now where I learned to do this!  So even knowing in advance the high failure rate of resolutions to break old habits, I am going to give it a whirl.  (Blogcombing Claudia) 

Another friend of mine set out a list of editing tasks that infuriate and frustrate her (sound of hollow laughter).  It's one of those pages you see that you know will come in handy later on.  (Blogcombing Serious Writer)

Blogcombing: Altjiranga Mitjina

THE FLATLAND CHRONICLES.  I have reached the time of life where I simply don't hear a lot of new music unless someone brings it to my attention.  I can't deal with the chaff anymore, so I just have to find people who will show me what's good.  One way---I'm afraid I'm quite serious---was through Starbucks, though lately they've been letting me down.  I've been dismayed by their much greater emphasis on classical music (feh; and I'm not ashamed of this, shut up) and collections of oldies. I can't tell you how much I don't love Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin and other freaking "crooners" from my parents' era and how many good memories their music doesn't bring back.  Thank God for this site, Altjiranga Mitjina. My specific homage to it is here (and I loves a Sixties theme, natch, so I just love the look of the site).   PS.  Not to confuse that blogger's preferences with mine, the author of that site has a very open mind to all sorts of music and does like at least some of those "crooners."  (I even hate the word "crooner.") 

Torture is a Religious Issue---Make Your Voice Heard

THE MARGINAL CHRISTIAN'S HANDBOOK. I always imagined, as a matter of common sense, that Jesus would feel rather strongly about torture.  After all, he experienced it himself.  Curiously, many right-wingers who claim to be among Jesus's sunbeams don't see any application for "Do unto others" when it comes to people they're (rightly, of course) afraid of. 

If you're a person of faith (any faith) who opposes torture, you'll want to read this post. 

The Bonfire of the Vanities

<Get "Cleopatra" by Damozel |THE FLATLAND CHRONICLES.  I have reached that age where cosmetic surgery is a definite temptation. You know:  that age when some things still appear salvageable, only not necessarily for that much longer.  I can't afford it and I am not even especially vain (I have other faults, but not that one).  So it's probably a good thing that I can't get out of my head a post written by one of my internet friends:  Blogcombing "On a Limb with Claudia":  Bad Plastic Surgeries.    Then I thought about it some more and posted  Random Link O' the Day:  Bad Plastic Surgeries Part 2