Snacks for thought
1. Recently having written a post on Picher, Oklahoma, a colleague noting my interest gave me a followup article in the September issue of Wired magazine, Welcome to Armageddon, USA. Written by Ben Paynter, it details the final throes in the death of an American city.
“Picher isn’t simply another boomtown gone bust. It’s emblematic of what happens when a modern city dies: A few people stay behind, trying to hold on to what they can. They are the new homesteaders, trying to civilize a wasteland at the end of the world.”
2. Interested in Roger Clemens, here’s the facts from the 2008 congressional hearings, given me by our US Documents librarian.
Guilty or not guilty: did Roger Clemens take steroids to help him improve his baseball game? These are the two congressional hearings that were held in 2008 when he plainly stated that he did not take steroids or any other performance-enhancing substances. But as we have heard these last two weeks he is now being indicted for taking just these substances. Here is what he said two years ago– 
The “Mitchell Report,” volume one–
The “Mitchell Report,” volume two–
Give them a minute to download.
3. Young Bill and I have already gotten tickets and hotel reservations for the September 24-25 Celebration of Books in Tulsa. This is your get a move on reminder.
4. And to keep you chuckling until the long weekend, read Laurence Hughes’ Huffington Post post Books that Sell. What ad would you want to see in your favorite book?
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Comments
Dearest Kitty–
1. Picher has been an under-reported story in this nation. Oh, we hear something every once in a while, but nothing like we heard with Love Canal. The Wired article is a very interesting take on the issue.
2. I don’t follow MLB, unless it’s the World Series, and the Yankees are not playing, and it’s a team I can get behind, like the St. Louis Cardinals.
3. I’ve registered and my hotel room is booked for the Celebration of Books. Especially looking forward to hearing Michael Cunningham speak.
4. Hughes’ post gave me a good chuckle. If I had an e-reader, I’d like to see ads for speed reading courses.
Really, though, this post made me think back to my Agatha Christi reading days. All of those Pocket Book editions were filled with ads at the back for other mysery novels. So I guess I wouldn’t mind some reader advisory-type ads. “If you liked this book, well buddy, here’s a novel you’re just gonna love!”
I’m reading “The Passage” by James Cronin, and I think the Oklahoma Tourism Department could advertise in that “book.” The novel’s good, but Cronin gets the Oklahoma parts all wrong!
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Kitty–
See the comments section of The Passage posting. My FB friend Richard and I talk about the Oklahoma problems in the book:
Great post, Kitty! The Wired article is now online:
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_madmaxtown/
OK, got to go get ready for the Apple Product Launch with Mr. Jobs. Ain’t goin’, just followin’ the blog.