October 10 – 14, 2016 With the de-embargoing of Cuba, Cuban and American geologists can finally talk to each other. That’s a good thing, says guest Alex Witze, because Cuba is a crunched-up (and gorgeous) mess between a rock and an ocean. Michelle reminded us of Lady Ada Lovelace, an inventor of computer programming, who died […]
The People of LWON and their splendid guests have several ongoing preoccupations, and rather than have you try to mentally collate them over the years, we thought we’d devote a week to each preoccupation. That way they’ll all be in one place. I have a feeling this isn’t making much sense. However. This week is […]
September 19 – 23, 2016 You know the charming idea of effortless art, that you get in the mood and a couple hours later, you’ve magically got an incisive and elegant story or post or podcast? That idea always has been purest nonsense but it also, Rose says, gets in the way of being paid. You […]
I must tell you up front that Kathleen R. Walker, second author on “Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Longevity and Differential Emergence of Dengue Fever in Two Cities in Sonora, Mexico,” published recently in the Journal of Medical Entomology, is my stepdaughter. She’s an entomologist, she studies bugs; I occasionally have a bug question. I asked […]
Across the street are two houses with two small yards, connected so they look like one, shaded by trees, one of which has a rope looped in it. The little kids come out of both houses, run through the shade into the dapple-spots of sunlight, disappear back into the shade, grab the rope and swing, […]
Oh my but it was hot. The sun stayed out, the humidity kept climbing, the air was flat-white and dense, walking through it took more effort than it was worth. The temperature was in the upper 90’s, heat index in the upper 110’s, and they stayed that way for days. A cardinal sat in the […]
Here in the mid-August mid-Atlantic, it’s 99 degrees, heat index 106. It’s been like this ever since I can remember and it’s going to keep being like this. The air wraps itself around you, it doesn’t let you move, you push yourself through it, you can almost not breathe and I swear we’d be better […]
August 8 – 12, 2016 Helen, proud of herself and rightly so, shares her ingenuity in re: eating her vegetables with us and all humankind. Smart and generous both, is Helen. You know the problem with Rio’s harbor? Same with Cambridge, MA’s Charles River, and guest Emily Benson goes swimming anyway. Such beautiful berries with […]