Our assignment today was to roam in two areas. In the morning, we were covering a new area, and we saw a reasonable amount of dogs and a surprisingly high number of cats. When we set up a static point clinic, the vast majority of the pets are dogs, because they can walk their dogs over relatively easily. People here…
Recently I acquired The Criterion Collection version of Robert Altman’s film, Short Cuts. The film is inspired by a collection of nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver, and the boxed set includes the book. I’ve wanted to read Carver for a while, and I’m glad I finally did. These stories, of ordinary people, were dark and quirky.…
Well, it’s confirmed. Our KLM flight is definitely a no-go. Initially, KLM sent me an email saying that our flight was a Covid-Tested corridor flight and is therefore exempt from the new Netherlands regulations. Now I’ve received an email that said that the first email was sent in error. Our flight is NOT a Covid-Tested corridor flight. It was just…
A Very Punchable Face, by Colin Jost. This is a really funny memoir by Saturday Night Live comedy writer and Weekend Update host Colin Jost. It’s filled with hilarious, self-deprecating stories from his childhood as well as his life as a stand-up comic and SNL cast member. The stories in the book are really, really funny. Laugh-out-loud funny. There’s a…
I’ve read all of Malcolm Gladwell’s previous books – Blink, The Tipping Point, Outliers, What the Dog Saw – and like millions of readers, I enjoyed them. He’s an excellent writer who really knows how to tell a story and capture your attention. Of all of his books, however, I liked this one the least. The enjoyment from some parts…
Today could only be described as exhilarating. We started this first day of our second week with what we thought would be a quick trip to the medical clinic to get my second post-exposure rabies vaccine (I got scratched by a kitten last week). Well, today is Saturday, and the doctor doesn’t arrive until 9:00. We couldn’t wait that…
After my recent safari to the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania where I saw many elephants, my fascination with them was rekindled, and I thought I’d read a book about them. Unfortunately, I found this book a little disappointing. I was hoping for a more scientific book, with a lot of detail about their biology and their social structure. This book…
Last night I packed my bags for the big safari. A towel, some soap and shampoo, contact lens stuff, insect spray, sunscreen, a change of clothes, and my Fujifilm camera (plus extra battery). Headed off to breakfast with my similarly excited colleagues, and then we went out to the parking lot to the safari vehicles, which were already waiting. Nine…
A long, very well-researched book that covers the band, from the early days in their respective former groups (Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, the Hollies) the group’s initial formation, the countless breakups and reformations, and their solo careers. The book gives great insight into the personal dynamics between the band members: the constant ego clashes (mostly due to Stills’s enormous ego),…
Today marked the last day of the first week of our Mission Rabies Tanzania project. Our assignment today was to go back to an area up in the mountains called Nkoarisambu. A Mission Rabies team had already been there, but the post-vaccine survey revealed that we’d fallen shy of the 70% needed to break the cycle and stop the spread…
I picked this book up in a thrift store for $3, which is surprising since the book was published relatively recently (2019). I still feel like a novice, so the first few chapters – about aperture, shutter speed, focal length, exposure, focusing, and composition – were a helpful review, although the presentation was a little dull. The last few chapters,…
Today was my kind of day. We drove around the Moivaro area, announcing through the loudspeaker that we were in the area, vaccinating dogs and cats for free. Then we parked in a residential area and went door to door, meeting people at their homes to vaccinate their pets. This allows us to walk through all the pathways and trails…
The 33 1/3 series of books are a collection of pocket-sized books that mostly provide a highly detailed analysis of one particular album by a group. Most of the books are short, around 150 pages or so. This book was quite a bit thicker than most, around 225 pages. I wish it was 500 pages, because I couldn’t get enough…
The first two days of this Mission Rabies vaccination drive, we worked “static clinics”. We drive to a place, set up our makeshift clinic, and people bring us their dogs. Today, we did “roaming clinics”. We drive through an assigned area announcing that we’re offering free rabies vaccinations to dogs and cats. When we see someone with a dog, we…
Today we were scheduled to vaccinate at two separate sites. We arrived at our first site around 8:15 and set up shop. A minute later, our team leader Lucy received a phone call informing us that a dog had been hit by a motorcycle on the road nearby. Courtnie and I grabbed our supplies and ran up the road, and saw…