Mushroom Weather

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You know how we like mushrooms here at QSB, right? [If not, please see the “Mushroom Madness” article on pages 7-14 of our Winter 2012/2013 issue.] So, it was exciting, when I saw the information that mushrooms have some control–albeit extremely local control–over the weather.  From the abstract to a 2013 paper by Emilie Dressaire, Junius Santoso, Lisa Yamada, and Marcus Roper: “[F]ungi actively manipulate their local fluidic environment by altering the buoyancy of the air surrounding the mushroom using a combination of water vapor and active cooling. This manipulation allows spore escape and dispersal from caps that may be spaced a few millimeters above the ground, or apart from each other.”  Basically, mushrooms release water vapor that then creates a localized wind that disperses their spores. Cool, right?

IMG_5107Oh, yeah, it’s mushroom weather where I live, too. They’re popping out all over now that we’ve had a little moisture.  See what you can find in your area.

Faux Bois

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When given the opportunity to wander around the gardens at The Huntington not too long ago, I ran across someone who is definitely following his vision, using his hands, and being a master craftsman.  He’s not using machinery and his entire project is time-consuming and, obviously, a labor of love. Terence Eagan is painstakingly restoring the faux bois works (arbor supports, etc.) that were created at the Huntington in the 1920s and have since been decaying.IMG_5002IMG_5003Luckily for me, he stopped his work and graciously posed for a few photos and told me about his project and how he worked so hard get the restoration approved and funded.  Fascinating!  And just the kind of thing we advocate at QSB.

See videos and articles on his website.  Also, the Huntington is well worth a visit if you find yourself in southern California.

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No faux bois in this particular part of the Huntington’s gardens.

Happiness is a World Series Championship

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We watched the rebroadcast of the victory parade in San Francisco last night and enjoyed seeing the way the fans and the San Francisco Giants interacted.  Looked like a love fest.  I’m surprised (it sure wasn’t a given this year) and gratified that “my” team won the Series.  If you’re a baseball fan, I hope you enjoyed the season no matter what the outcome for your team.  But, tell me: What will you do to keep baseball withdrawal at bay?  It’s a long time until Spring Training and I need suggestions, people!

IMG_5108And, isn’t it funny how invested people (including myself) get into a game? And call teams “ours” and say things like “we won”…even though we had nothing to do with the outcome?

Ef You Don’t Watch Out!

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I’m not swearing at you (get your mind out of the gutter). I am quoting poetry. That’s from James Whitcomb Riley’s “Little Orphant Annie.”  Interesting article and the text of the poem appear over on the Paris Review.  The article caught my eye because this is one of the poem’s that my dad had memorized–whether because he had to do so in school or because someone recited it to him, I don’t know.  Anyway, he used to do dramatic recitations of it and then grab my shoulder on the refrain. Spooky! And I loved it.

Check it out.

Appropriate for the month of Halloween, too for “..the Gobble-uns ‘at gits you
Ef you
Don’t
Watch
Out!”

Food for Thought

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From Heracles by Euripides, translated by William Arrowsmith:

All is change; all yields its place and goes;
to persevere, trusting in what hopes he has,
is courage in a man. The coward despairs.

Give a Book

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It’s World Book Night, UNESCO’s International Day of the Book (and Shakespeare’s birthday).

A list of books are chosen each year and these are specially printed (royalties waived) and given out to those who normally don’t read or don’t have access to books. Or you can buy copies on your own to give out. This year’s list contains a few of my favorites.

 

 

The Elusive Next Issue and Books (again)

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Hello out there. It’s been an entire year since there was a new issue of QSB Magazine. I haven’t abandoned the magazine but I do have a continuing loss of mojo. So, no more promises about a particular date for the new issue. I hope there will be one in the not-too-distant future. That’s all I can tell you for now.

But, I have been reading (and failing to start a new book club with a friend of mine). Over the past couple of months I’ve really enjoyed the following:

The Humans by Matt Haig. The Taste Tester found this one for me and I’m glad that he did.

 

 

 

The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light by Paul Bogard. The title sums it up. A sad but hopeful read.

 

 

 

The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss. If you ever loved Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo (or his other books), this one’s for you.

 

 

What have you particularly enjoyed reading lately?