Category Archives: Photography

Gunfire in the Aspens: the Realities of Cabin Life in the Rockies, With an Appreciative Nod to Walter Kirn in the New York Times

So I read today’s piece by Walter Kirn in the New York Times about cabin life and its status as an eddy of the American Dream (“Cabins, the New American Dream,” found here) with some amusement and recognition: I live … Continue reading

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Rafting the Green River & Digging for Trilobites: What We Do in the West

So I haven’t been blogging for a while because I’ve been manning the oars of a white water (well, sometimes brown, green, or just a little frothy) raft in central Utah, the 84-mile stretch of the Green River from Sand … Continue reading

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Review of Kent Wascom's "The Blood of Heaven," Plus a Mission Debrief

So my review of Kent Wascom’s impressive debut novel, The Blood of Heaven, appears today in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s a rollicking book, and I have to say I keep thinking of that Hatfields & McCoys miniseries whenever … Continue reading

Posted in books, Climate Change, Cormac McCarthy, Photography, The West, Weird Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life Over Tech in Santa Fe and Beyond

So it seems I haven’t had a minute to blog in the last couple weeks, mainly from being too busy with “real” life—as opposed to the virtual world we often live in these days—in a visit to Santa Fe, New … Continue reading

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On "Medicated Barbies" & (a World) Not Safe for Facebook, Plus Tanning Moms and Pirates

So I’ve become a (sometimes reluctant, but who isn’t?) user of Facebook—or that infection otherwise known as “social media”—though I’m pretty intermittent, maintaining some self-discipline to only log on when I have the time (yeah, right). I told a friend … Continue reading

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Review of Kevin Grauke's "Shadows of Men," Plus a Northern Harrier To Boot

So last Sunday my review of Kevin Grauke’s debut collection of short stories, Shadows of Men, appeared in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s an excellent book—at times funny, at times touching, and pretty much hits the nail on the … Continue reading

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Proposition 64 Passes in Colorado & Mitt Is a Loser, Which Means It's a Good Day

So my (second) home state of Colorado voted to legalize “recreational” marijuana. Cool. It’s like volleyball now! (Only where you keep forgetting the score.) Enough already with this Prohibition, Part II. Obama even mentioned “this warming planet” in his acceptance speech—though … Continue reading

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On David Quammen's "Spillover," Today's Election, and the Great Horned Owls Beside Me

So I’ve been reading David Quammen’s new book, Spillover (2012), on emerging diseases (and particularly zoonotic viruses, a la Ebola, Marburg, HIV, SARS, etc.), and I keep feeling sicker and sicker. It’s like I’m catching Ebola from reading this book. But … Continue reading

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Review of David McGlynn's "A Door in the Ocean"

So my review of David McGlynn’s just-published memoir, A Door in the Ocean, appears today in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s a good book, and gives an interesting insider’s viewpoint of competitive swimming, how grueling and isolating it can … Continue reading

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On Frozen Penises and Rivers Coated With Pelican Feathers: Reading Stephen Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage," About the Lewis & Clark trip of 1804-6

So I’m heading up to Montana/Wyoming in a month, to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, and to get warmed up for it, I’m reading Stephen Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage (1996), which is in some ways a retelling of the Lewis & … Continue reading

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