Roughing It - Chapter 69

Submitted by scott on Sun, 09/11/2011 - 14:18
A Passenger

There is a wonderful moment in this chapter when Twain steps out on deck of the schooner at night in the moonlight. The description of his vista is almost transcendent.

Some thoughts on the "Little Ice Age"

Submitted by scott on Fri, 09/09/2011 - 12:36

I've recently been responding to various requests to sign petitions related to Obama's environmental treachery, the latest being the Keystone pipeline project and canceling of EPA standards. One response I got on a Facebook post was what looked to be a rather cynical request to explain why humans were to blame for the "Little Ice Age" (LIA).

From Lalena to Kurt Weill and back again

Submitted by scott on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 15:49

Earlier today I had the desire to play some old Donovan music. I have an lp of his. I looked up some of the tunes on Wikipedia and found that the tune Lalena was actually named for Lotte Lenya, the singer/actress famous for her role in Kurt Weill's The Three Penny Opera, among other roles. I wonder how many of you out there have heard of it or him. Once upon a time Bobby Darin had a hit with a tune from The Three Penny Opera, Mack the Knife. But then who now remembers Bobby Darin.

Roughing It - Chapter 68

Submitted by scott on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 18:00
A Modern Funeral

This is a rather tedious chapter but may be of interest to those interested in traditional funeral practices of native Hawaiians. This is a good example of Twain padding his chapters (my opinion).