Author Jim Tomlinson is back from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth tour of the Mountaintop Removal sites. Please visit his journal and read about his experience:

The view from space only suggests the irreparable damage done to forests, valley streams, and the mountains themselves, its malignant spread more extensive now than in this somewhat outdated photograph. Driving through the faux-lunar landscape now is incredibly painful to anyone who loves the land.

I could be bitter that it is raining again and again and again, but instead I decided to take some photos, because the plants are loving it. So, here they are.

One of my glorious hostas, with some snow-on-the-mountain and pachysandra off to the side.

another beautiful hosta.

I’m a huge fan of ferns.

Another variety.

A bunch o’ ferns.

When we moved in here 2+ years ago, we had no idea this rock was there. It was completely covered by low-hanging hemlock branches and brush. I love it.

I believe I am borderline OCD and have been all my life, because of this and other parts of my anxiety riddled brain, I’m addicted to such things as horoscopes and tarot readings.

In times of high anxiety, I read my horoscope every day (in several different sources) and sometimes will get out my tarot cards do reading after reading after reading. I liken this to plucking the petals off a daisy or twisting the stem of an apple while repeating the alphabet to see which letter it would pull out on and that would be the first letter of the name of the boy who loved me. And don’t step on a crack or you’ll break your mother’s back (I still avoid cracks).

You know the drill.

Anyway, today’s horoscope (I’m Scorpio) seems especially apt for how I’ve been feeling lately:

It’s difficult for you to find relief when the waves of thoughts and feelings just keep rolling in. Now that wordy Mercury has entered the watery world of Cancer, you are more able to connect with others by sharing your emotions. However, don’t expect the intensity to dissipate, even if it becomes easier to express your heart for the next few weeks.

And I don’t know what I’d do without my monthly AstrologyZone horoscope that Ellen turned me on to.

My other obsession of late is to hang out on my submission page at duotrope (which if you use their service, you should give them a donation damnit!) and clicking through on all of my pending subs to see if there is any updated data on the particular markets.

There are many, many other obsessions of this sort, too tawdry to list, but suffice it to say that I’m in a state of high anxiety and I don’t even know why.

However, I’ve had one major success in the past years–I no longer do the sign of the cross every time I think about death. That was a hard one to give up but I seem so much less freakish now. Sort of.

Thanks to my pal, Robin, I learned that there’s a new Per Contra online featuring work from many talented writers, including:

Inertia, by Alicia Gifford

Dumpsites: On Flash Narrative, by Randall Brown

Sister Gwendolyn, by Antonios Maltezos

This story in today’s paper delighted me–He keeps a haven of poetry alive:

When he bought the venerable Grolier Poetry Book Shop in April, poet and professor Ifeanyi Menkiti took a leap of faith. It will take a lot of that to make the store succeed in a publishing world where poetry inhabits a tiny corner.

Menkiti is undaunted.

“I have a strong sense of hope and belief that poetry can help our world,” he said. “The sense of a world together has formed a very important part of my own poetry, and I’m hoping the Grolier can organize programs to keep that spirit alive.”

Ellen Meister‘s soon-to-be-published first novel is going to also be released on audio, read by none other than Lisa Kudrow. I just listened to this audio clip and cannot wait to hear the rest: Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA

The wonderful and talented Don Capone asked me to be part of a project recently and I eagerly accepted. Today he has announced the details. I am honored to be included in the anthology and am excited to see the final product.

You can read more about it at the web site: Rebel Press.

Did you watch the National Spelling Bee last night? As usual, it was fantastic, but the best moment was when Saryn Hooks spelled a word, was told she was incorrect and disqualified, only to be readmitted to the contest because, in fact, she had spelled it correctly but the judges had it wrong.

After that she was ON FIRE, but she did not win. Came in third, though.

An adorable Canadian girl, Finola Hackett, came in second. She lost on this cool word: weltschmerz

But the winner was Katharine Close of NJ:

Katharine’s modest but disarming smile turned into a gasp of joy Thursday when she aced “ursprache” which means a parent language to claim the Scripps National Spelling Bee title. She is the first girl to take the top prize in seven years.

I take my hat off to ABC for putting the bee on prime-time for the first time ever. I hope they will continue to broadcast it.

This is a fascinating story from today’s paper–Remains are identified as a boy pirate:

He was a boy, no more than 11, when pirates captured the ship he and his mother were sailing on in the Caribbean. As he watched the pirates haul off the ship’s cargo of sugar and tobacco, John King made a decision: He would leave his mother and join the pirate crew, led by Captain Sam Bellamy.

Now, 290 years later, King’s remains — his fibula, silk stocking, and shoe — have been identified among the wreck of Bellamy’s ship, the Whydah, 1,500 feet off the coast of Wellfleet. While teenage pirates were common in the 18th century, King is considered to be the youngest ever identified.

I’m pleased to see that edifice WRECKED is back in action with a newly redesigned site and fresh content.

Roger Ebert reviews An Inconvenient Truth:

In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to.

The spring/summer issue of Tarpaulin Sky is live and features work by Benjamin Buchholz (I’ve just recently become aquainted with this fellow and his writing–quite interesting stuff). Anyway, please do give him a read: Mailcall & Nowords .