Did you ever wonder where the words Halloween, ghost, witch came from? Find out here.
A fascinating interview with Jim Ruland and Richard Carr’s Pushcart-Nominated poem, “To A Child Born And Dead Prematurely In The Monstrous Forest” live now in the November Ink Pot.
Just read a WIRED article (Don’t Knock the Birdbrains) about how a group of scientists are studying songbirds (finches and canaries)to understand how they “manage to be among the only species that learn how to make new sounds.”
Why is this important to humans?
Scientists at this week’s annual Society for Neuroscience convention in San Diego said research into bird songs can lead to greater understanding of human speech and the mysteries of how animals develop new neurons and memorize things. It helps that bird brains are small, leaving few places for singing abilities to hide.
But, of course, it all comes down to the pick up line:
Indeed, mating is the main motivation behind birdcalls, although they can also help birds declare their territory. Typically, only male songbirds sing — although in some species females and males sing duets — and they often develop repertoires of hundreds of songs. Why? “The more you sing, the more the female is stimulated. But females get bored,” said Marler, the UC Davis songbird pioneer. “If you can switch from song to song, that’s much more interesting.”
A Way to Love God
Robert Penn Warren
Don’t forget to fall back tomorrow at 2AM on October 31. Here is more information than you ever wanted on Daylight Savings Time.
Horrifying and yet necessary study reveals the brutal truth:
about 100,000 people have died as a result of the war, including many women and children killed in coalition airstrikes.
The lead author of the report pushed to have it published pre-election because:
he wanted voters to have the information before making their choice, and so that they would hold the candidates accountable for their Iraq policies.
Read the full story on Boston.com.
Baseball and Writing
by Marianne Moore
Did you happen to catch any of the footage of Clinton at any of the Kerry events last night on CNN? He was a little bit weary, maybe, and definitely thinner but still able to get the crowd going.
Here’s one of my favorite quotes:
“If one candidate’s trying to scare you, and the other one’s trying to get you to think; if one candidate’s appealing to your fears, and the other one’s appealing to your hopes; you better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope.”
And this Clinton quote on Bush:
“Only a very foolish person goes all the way through life and never change positions on anything in the face of new evidence.”
Swimming is an amazing flash by the incomparable Jeff Landon in this week’s Pindeldyboz.
myfanwy collins 