Missoula Notebook
missoula notebook
Sweet Mother Lortab
Judging by the mental feebleness of some of the regular commenters here at New West, I’m guessing that a few of you are believers in so-called “intelligent design,” so can one of you please explain to me what is so intelligent about the human neck? I ask because I’ve apparently caused grievous injury to mine with nothing more than pillows, which seems indicative of the kind of bug that never should have made it past beta testing. [more]
Missoula Notebook
The Fire This Time
As the little people in the television never tire of informing us, we are a deeply divided nation these days, polarized to the extreme and unable to agree on much. For example, is Barack Obama an undercover Black Panther or a brie-loving snob? (I mean, you can’t really have it both ways.) Is John McCain a doddering opportunist who’s never held a policy position he couldn’t reverse, or… well, actually, that’s clearly what John McCain is, no question about it, and I assume we can all agree on that, at least. [more]
Missoula Notebook
Video: Most. Annoying. Wolf. Ever.In the video, the three bears are ambling along in a grassy clearing when this wolf comes up and just will not leave them alone.
Momma bear chuffs and charges and the wolf runs off… only to lope back into the frame a little later, nipping at the bear cubs and bowing down like a playful German Shepherd.
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Missoula Notebook
Your Very Own Copy of the Memo
I think the Obama-hating ranter assumed that this poor woman was requesting library-like silence so she could work undisturbed, but I doubt that this was actually what she wanted. Like me, I’m sure she anticipated a certain level of noise when she decided to settle down to work in a coffee shop. It’s just that — like me, like increasing numbers of everyone — she just probably also assumed that the days of loud cell-phone conversations in restaurants and coffee shops have pretty much gone the way of firing up a stogey in the same settings. [more]
Missoula Notebook
Links of the Week
Not to get all pedantic or anything, but "blog" is short for "weblog." The originators of the form were just logging the interesting things they found on-line. Of course, that was back when you had to blog by candle light.
In tribute to our internet forefathers, then, here are the ten best links I found this week, from severed feet to road rage, pot-borne salmonella, enemas, and much, much more. Happy Friday!
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Missoula Notebook
I Now Pronounce You WrongI’m a big fan of the letters to the editor. Sometimes they inspire, sometimes they infuriate, but it’s always interesting to get a sense of what’s on the so-called minds of your neighbors. Case in point: todays’ letter defending the institution of marriage, by Missoula resident Mike Dey. Mr. Dey’s letter is strange for a couple of reasons, but the thing that moved me to actually stir from my usual position stretched out full-length on the couch and boot up my computer was his use of a bizarre statistical anti-reasoning so innumerate (that’s the math version of illiterate) that it made my scalp itch. [more]
Missoula Notebook
Where is Barbara Bolick?
In a perfect world, it would have been impossible to forget the name of Barbara Bolick, the Corvallis resident who disappeared while hiking near Bear Creek, west of Victor, almost one year ago. In a perfect world, Barbara’s name would have been kept in front of us all this time, because in a perfect world it would have been impossible to get over this kind of mystery. It would have been incomprehensible that a 55-year-old mother of two could end up in the wind like this. [more]
MIssoula Notebook
It’s Just Not Working Out
Kathryn at the The Dog Blog posted recently about whether being a good pet owner marks one out as good parent material. Apparently Kathryn’s dogs are trained to get out of the way of other people on trails, the sight of which inspired some passing hikers to opine that Kathryn is “so ready to raise children after raising those two angels.” I agree with Kathryn that this is a stretch, since — as she points out — a dog owner can use certain tools and techniques that the law tends to frown on where children are concerned, such as shock collars, crates, and confinement to the back yard. Still, her piece came along at a moment when I’ve been thinking about the same question, though I come at it from a somewhat different angle. [more]
Missoula Notebook
Why, Yes, I Do Want to See Something Really ScaryOne of the great things about Missoula is how you can be sitting in Sean Kelly’s at 9:13 p.m. on a Friday evening, decide to catch a 9:30 movie, walk 10 blocks home to get the car, and still be settling into your luxurious stadium seat at the Carmike 10 before the previews have finished playing. The movie was The Strangers, which my neighbors Vin and Casey decided would be just the thing to see before they set off on Saturday morning for a weekend in remote back country somewhere up around Lolo Pass, and which I just had to see on general principles, being a fan of scary movies going way back. [more]
Missoula Notebook
How and Why to Hold a Baby Bird
Certain things about life and the universe snap into sharper focus when you are holding a baby bird in the palm of your hand, the first of these things being that just because something is homely, pathetic, and helpless now doesn’t mean it can’t soar like an eagle or at least a house wren later. Of course, it helps to be born with wings. [more]
