Turn up the A/C because this week we’re headed to Arizona’s Painted Desert. First stop, Meteor Crater.
Meteor Crater is located just off Interstate 40 near Flagstaff. Drive twenty miles to the east and you can stand on a corner in Winslow, Arizona (You have to be an Eagles fan to get that one).
Fifty-thousand years ago, a 150 foot wide meteortite struck the earth at 40,000 miles per hour. The result – a 700 foot deep crater (it’s 550 feet deep today) that’s 4,000 feet across and 2.4 miles in circumference. In the photo above you can see an observation platform in the lower right corner. That tiny yellowish speck at the end of the platform is a full-grown man.
The Painted Desert stretches from the Grand Canyon to the Petrified Forest, covering nearly 94,000 acres.
Petrified tree bridge
I’m visiting with the grandson this weekend, so I reached back into the archives for this post. We’ll be back on schedule Monday with a special guest blogger.
This weekend, more than 10,000 of the world’s top scientists, physicians, researchers, and health care professionals are gathering in San Francisco at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapthy (ICAAC). The purpose of this meeting of the great minds is to foster solutions to the problems associated with infectious disease. Each year, by invitation only, a handful of renowned scientists are selected to present their work, ideas, and new discoveries to their peers.
I’m pleased to announce that Dr. Denene Lofland’s abstract on preclinical microbiological, efficacy, and pharmacological evaluations of a novel chemical entity (new potential antibiotics) was selected for an oral presentation at the San Francisco conference. Denene also had three other abstracts accepted by the ICAAC committee. The oral presentation is listed on ICAAC’s website as:
Shown below is the chemical structure of a pentacycline, an antibacterial. It shows activity against common bacterial pathogens (like MRSA and E. coli).
Tetraphase image
This is Denene’s 14th ICAAC accepted abstract. She has also authored or co-authored 10 peer-reviewed journal articles, such as:
– In Vitro Antibacterial Activity of the Peptide Deformylase Inhibitor BB-83698
– DNA Binding Ligands With Improved In Vitro and In Vivo Potency Against Drug-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
A very alert Texas state trooper stopped this Department of Transportation pickup truck on I-10 near San Antonio.
An ordinary work truck, right?
Nothing here except the normal roadside emergency equipment.
Not quite.
The payload in this truck was originally planned as a payoff for the Mexican drug dealers who went to a lot of trouble disguising their delivery truck.
A raid on drug dealer’s house in Mexico produced the following:
*Photos sent to us from Paul Beecroft, coroner’s investigator in England. Neither of us are sure of the origin of the images, therefore we’re unable to give proper credit to the photographer. For now, we’ll just have to say, “Thanks.”
My friend, Paul Beecroft, a Coroner’s Officer employed by the Thames Valley England Police, has generously invited us to join him on a visit to the Second International Festival of Falconry. The festivities were held at the Englefield Estate on the outskirts of Reading in England. This is the home of Sir Richard Benyon.
On the 11th & 12th July, falconers from all over the world – over 50 nations – joined together to celebrate what is perhaps the oldest of field sport dating back thousands of years. From the Steppes of Russia to New Zealand, China, Europe, UAE and America.
Parade of Nations
Falconers traveled thousands of miles bringing with them their traditions, culture and music.
Front page of the programme.
There were a number of dignitaries there one of which was Prince Andrew.
Prince Andrew with Gyr Falcon.
Many were in traditional dress or dressed from bygone days. The event was colourful and spectacular.
Korean Faloconers.
Henry VIII
Peregrine Falcon
Black Eagle
Russian Falconer
Austrian Falconer
Turkmenistan Falconers
83 year-old Turkmenistan Falconer
American Falconer
Longs rows. Rows as far as the eye can see.
Red clay.
August sun.
Heat. Unbearable heat.
Humidity.
Men sweat like rain.
Bending. Pulling leaves.
Sunup to sundown.
Bottom of stalks.
Pulling leaves as large as palm fronds.
Sticky.
Goo between fingers.
Green worms like undulating fingers.
Mules
Wagons. Heavy. Laden with piles of waxy leaves.
Slow.
Muscles straining.
Hooves dig into orange soil.
Hazy sky.
Bending. Bending. Bending.
Tired, so tired.
Foreman pushing.
Move! Move! Move!
Water from bucket.
No shade.
Tired eyes gaze at horizon.
Endless fields.
Sun high in sky.
Baking.
Blistering.
Long sleeve shirts and straw hats.
Skin glistening.
Hands calloused like old leather.
Bending, pulling.
Loading wagons.
Almost dark.
To the barns.
Tie leaves.
Fingers cramping. Stinging.
Hang bundles.
Curing.
Black snake slithering at feet.
Disappears.
No time to worry.
Tomorrow’s coming.
Soon.
Little Round Top
Railroad cut where the victim in Joyce’s novel was found.
McPherson Ridge
McPherson Barn
Cemetery Hill
* * *
Author Terry Odell is giving away a copy of this fine book. Please visit Terry’s website for details.
Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life. Denene and I are leaving Boston as of 6:00 this morning. We’re moving to a warmer climate where I won’t have to spend the entire winter shoveling and blowing snow. Last winter’s 66 inches of the white stuff did me in.
We’re looking forward to our new city. And, luckily, there’s a very strong writer presence in the area. Those folks have already welcomed us with open arms and invitations for me to speak at several events. I feel at home even before we arrive.
Today, we’re traveling – a 15 hour trip from here in our RV, which is where we’ll be living until we close on our house here and buy a new one in the new spot. But we’re all set, and we’re excited.
So, so long Boston! We’ll be pahking our cahs somewhere else from now on.
My next big event is Killer Nashville. I hope to see you there.
These images were all taken in New Zealand, where I spent a month with Chris, Keith, and Dan Malloy. They surfed. I made a short film and took photographs.
Alix Lambert is an artist, writer, producer, and director. Her work has been featured on PBS, HBO, Nightline, and GQ Magazine. Her art has been showcased in The Venice Biennale, The Museum of Modern Art, The Georges Pompidou Center, and the Kwangju Biennnale. She is currently Executive Producer for an hour-long segment on criminal tattoos that will air on The History Channel.
This week, instead of a trip to a physical location I thought it might be fun to visit with our former presidents. Maybe even learn a couple of their dirty little not-so-well-known secrets. Lets see how many of these you knew.
Were you aware that one of our former presidents regularly shed his clothing to skinny dip in the Potomac River behind the White House?
John Quicy Adams was quite fond of his early morning au natural swims. However, paddling around the brisk waters literally caught him with his pants down when reporter Anne Royal snatched the president’s clothing and refused to return them unless he gave her an interview. President Adams gladly granted her request.
Which president became penniless?
Ulysses S. Grant invested all his money into a brokerage firm that eventually went bankrupt. But even when he was flat broke the former president refused an offer of $100,000 from P.T. Barnum. The circus owner offered the large sum of cash for some of Grant’s personal items. He wanted to display them in a traveling exhibit.
Cow manure instead of a pistol.
That’s what President Abraham Lincoln chose for a weapon when challenged to a duel by James Shields, a democratic contender for the office of president. “Cow dung at twenty paces,” was Lincoln’s response to Shields’s duel challenge. The duel was called off.
Cheaper by the dozen…plus two.
President John Tyler raised fourteen children. Seven were by his first wife, Letitia. The other seven were by his second wife, Julia. His youngest daughter lived for more than a century after Tyler’s presidency ended.
A bank robber and drug dealer go into a… No, that’s not the opening line of a joke.
Bill Clinton’s half sister, Diane Dwire Welch served time in Virginia for bank robbery. The president’s half brother Roger spent time behind bars for selling drugs.
The East Room is the largest room in the White House.
First Lady Abigail Adams used the room to hang out her laundry on rainy days.
Abigail Adams
*UPDATE*
Three-year-old Briant Rodriguez who was kidnapped at gunpoint on May 3, 2009, has been located and returned to his mother. The two suspects are still at large.
Police Procedure and Investigation: A Guide for Writers
