Have you heard about “zombie squirrels”? These squirrels, suffering from squirrel fibroma virus, grow strange-looking sores all over their bodies. In most cases, they recover from the virus. Still, I feel badly for them. It looks uncomfortable, even if they are not actually zombies. I do not feel badly for this squirrel. I saw it […]| The Last Word On Nothing
Two of the largest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities reported sharp declines in gas demand this week, raising questions about potential outages| Texas Politics
You might have read this post before. And you might have read it while listening to Jack Black sing “Peaches.“ And maybe you did both of these things while eating a peach!| The Last Word On Nothing
When I need to get out of my head, I go to Ellwood. This stretch of bluffs along the coast in western Goleta has trails through open grasslands and small paths that wind down to a wide beach, where you can find driftwood forts and views out to the Channel Islands. At its north end, a eucalyptus grove is home to winter roosts of monarchs. I have happy memories of wandering through the trees with a group of preschoolers in rainboots. When the sun broke through the clouds, dozens of the monarchs...| The Last Word On Nothing
In a few weeks, the back fence by the elementary school with be a place where migrants gather themselves before they leave. The fence is popular because of its temperature and the protection it offers. The sun hits the fence from mid-morning until late afternoon in May, and so many years of sun has turned what must have once been dark wood into a faded gray. But the fence also has a line of horizontal two-by-fours about a third of the way to the top, which seems to be the ideal combination of...| The Last Word On Nothing
There is always one section in our utensil drawer that is emptier than the others. Spoons are useful for so many things, and they seem to have a natural restlessness. They leap away from the confines of the kitchen. They jump into cars and carry-ons. Sometimes the places they go are even stranger. All they need is for some piece of china to whisper “Hey, diddle diddle,” and there they go, sneaking out with the dish again.| The Last Word On Nothing
Children born with a damaged gene needed for healthy brain development, SYNGAP1, experience seizures, sensory processing disorders, difficulty speaking, intellectual disability, and autism-like behaviors. It’s a condition without any treatments, one that’s hard both on parents and children, said Gavin Rumbaugh, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation &…| wertheim.scripps.ufl.edu
This week, a mourning dove has started to build a nest in the walnut tree outside my office window. I see it flying back and forth with twigs in its beak, perching on a piece of webbing, waiting for the right moment to swoop in. | The Last Word On Nothing
The Kung fu, Wuxia and Opera in Avatar I was listening to a famous opera actress speak of her transition to film and her telling of how much control she had to bring her face and gestures under called to mind a connection between the operatic and Cameron’s film Avatar. As I argued in my […]| Frames /sing