Infantile Amnesia On my eldest daughter’s second birthday, we ferried her to one of her favorite parks. After cake, singing, and gifts at a shelter house, I took her toward the playground. When we approached the slides, a smile erupted on her face that seemed to illuminate the entire planet. It was one of the […]
Fat Bear Week Katmai National Park in Alaska is a massive tract, larger than Connecticut. It’s home to one of the most alien locations on the planet: The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The result of the largest volcanic eruption by volume in the 20th century, the valley is strewn with ash, in some places as
Medicanes The world’s largest storms occur in its two biggest oceans, the Pacific and Atlantic. Tropical cyclones are massive dynamos that produce swirling destruction on unparalleled levels. We call storms that transpire in the Atlantic or Northeastern Pacific hurricanes, while those in the Northwestern Pacific go by typhoons. In the Indian Ocean and the extreme
Bennu & OSIRIS-REx As humans, we’re engrossed by the physics and metaphysics of beginnings. How did the universe arise? If we banged into reality in a big way, what existed beforehand? Did a creator create or did we spontaneously congeal? The answers to these cosmological questions might be beyond the grasp of beings designed to
Bennu & OSIRIS-REx Read More »
The Cake Forest The 1990s produced some fantastic rock music, both mainstream and underground. The bands most people recognize focused on riff-heavy guitars and soaring vocal melodies, mixed with a healthy dose of distortion. As with any era, some acts garner widespread success without adhering to the sound of the decade. For example, the Wikipedia
Will-o’-the-Wisp SCULLY: The National Weather Service last night reported atmospheric conditions in this area that were possibly conducive to lightning. MULDER: Possibly. SCULLY: It is feasible that the truck was struck by lightning, creating the electrical failure. MULDER: It’s feasible. SCULLY: And you know, there’s a marsh over there. The lights the driver saw
Ball Lightning The stovepipe sharply rattled. Laura looked up and screamed, “Ma! The house is on fire!” A ball of fire was rolling down the stovepipe. It was bigger than Ma’s big ball of yarn. It rolled across the stove and dropped to the floor as Ma sprang up. She snatched up her skirts
St. Elmo’s Fire The power of the goddess, having indeed been manifested in previous times, has been abundantly revealed in the present generation. In the midst of the rushing waters it happened that, when there was a hurricane, suddenly a divine lantern was seen shining at the masthead, and as soon as that miraculous light
The Search for Lost Birds It feels like finding a unicorn or a Bigfoot. — John C. Mittermeier Auwo was once a woman. She worked hard all day in her family’s garden, but when she returned home, her family offered her only plain food while they ate dishes made with coconut cream. This went on until,
The Search for Lost Birds Read More »
Do the Ankole-Watusi The amount of money that he’s spent on this whole darn project between the car and the bull I could’ve had a brand new kitchen. — Rhonda Meyer Americans are most likely familiar with the word “Watusi” thanks to a 1960s dance craze. In 1962, the Orlons scored a number-two hit with The Wah
Do the Ankole-Watusi Read More »