The Idle Mind...

I hate being right all the time...

2012-01-11T14:49:00.006-05:00

So much for the "unlikely" fictional premise. Check this out:

First, Mayor Bloomberg went after smoking in public places. Then trans-fats, salt and sugary drinks.

Now Bloomberg — known for sipping fine wine and downing a cold beer from time to time — wants to crack down on alcohol sales to curb excessive drinking, according to a provocative planning document obtained by The (New York) Post.

The city Health Department’s far-reaching Partnership for a Healthier New York City initiatives proposes to slash the number of establishments in the city that sell booze.

Community “transformation” grants provided under President Obama’s health-care law would help bankroll the effort.

Read the entire article here: Super Totalitarian NYC Mayor Bloomberg Wants to Institute Prohibition-Lite in the Big Apple

More here: “Talk About a Nanny State. Why Don’t They Just Close All the Liquor Establishments?”

And here: Mayor's plan to limit booze sales

This sort of nanny-state move was precisely anticipated in The Last Bartender, which follows a cadre of barroom buddies and their not-so-respectful reaction to such an affront to liberty. Read the opening chapters here.

Hat tip to Furb over at Freedom Book Club for steering this my way.

More on the adventures of Nanny Bloomberg and his fellow neo-prohibitionists here: The Central Planners do what they do best... and here: And so it begins...

UPDATE Jan 12, 2012: Oops. On second thought... Cheers to you, Mike. Bloomberg flips on booze plan.

More on the aftermath from RedState: The Great Bloomberg Booze Backlash of 2012 "The great Bloomberg Booze Backlash of 2012 is just a taste, if you will, of what is boiling deep in American bellies. We’re getting fed up with the quickening pace of growing governmental control of our lives. It’s not just that we want our bacon and beer. It’s that we are entitled to be the directors of our own fates. The nonsensical, slippery slope argument about shared costs is as artificial as the foods you’d have us abstain from. "

A Seasonal Selection of Christmas Parrots...

2011-12-20T10:32:00.001-05:00

Who better to enjoy Christmas than a perpetual five-year-old?

It's still not too late to get the parrot lover on your gift list a copy of Little Birdies! (softcover or Kindle). Sample chapters are right here, but that would sort of give away the surprise, wouldn't it?

Celebrate Prohibition Repeal Day!

2011-12-05T17:42:00.003-05:00

It was 78 years ago today (Dec 5, 1933) that the Nation's 13-year grand failure of trying to regulate public morality was repealed by the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution.

3.2% ABV beer was actually legalized on April 7th of that year, when FDR signed the Beer-Wine Revenue Act, paving the way for the decriminalization of rum and eggnog just in time for Christmas.

Here's a brief refresher course:

Was that the end of it? Not at all. We got a small taste just last year with the great Four Loco panic of 2010. Not the mention the ongoing, decades-old War on Drugs, another government prohibition policy that gets more expensive, deadly and futile every year it continues.

So what's a determined tippler to do? Well, if you can read and drink at the same time, may I humbly suggest investing in a copy of my book, The Last Bartender. The book postulates the imposition of a second federal alcohol prohibition (don't laugh ... now that you're responsible for your neighbor's healthcare costs, don't you have a financial interest in his overall health as well?). As you might expect, this state of affairs isn't greeted with the same level as enthusiasm by everyone, and the story follows a cadre of those still-thirsty malcontents as they make their way through the new legal and cultural landscape. I promise it'll keep you both entertained and ticked-off.

I've written more on the subject here: And so it begins..., and here: Prohibition, Redux. And please stop by and read the first couple of chapters of the book here: Last Bartender Excerpts.

Update: Looks like the Neo-Prohibitionists have found another target: Drunken Gummi bears no laughing matter. Vodka-soaked candies are the latest method kids are using to get drunk. We'll have to add this to last year's other apocalyptic alcohol scourge that we all barely survived, the alcohol-infused whipped cream crisis. Your government, hard at work...

Update: Wait, there's more! I forgot all about the vodka soaked tampons. That article also covers the subject of "butt chugging," which I'll leave you to research on your own.

Drink up! While you can...

The World's Largest Indoor Rainforest...

2011-12-03T12:31:00.000-05:00

This is one helluva bird cage:

"Located inside of a giant, 22,000 square foot dome, the indoor tropical resort is about the size of eight football fields and wins the title of the world's largest indoor rainforest, as well as the biggest tropical sauna and spa complex in Europe. The complex is also home to more than 29,000 plants while cockatiels, parrots, and budgerigars provide animal life for the space."

I guess this means that Dan Grant's geodesic dome aviary featured in Little Birdies! is no longer as impressive as it once seemed, though for a backyard aviary a 100-foot diameter, 50-foot tall dome is still nothing to sneeze at.

Read the entire article here: Visit the world's largest indoor rainforest resort.
More on the Tropical Islands resort at their website.

What to do with all of that leftover apple cider...

2011-11-25T01:26:00.000-05:00

This'll make quick work of all of that fresh-pressed apple cider taking up space in your post-Thanksgiving refrigerator:

~ Fill a highball glass with ice.
~ Add two ounces of bourbon.
~ Add one ounce of apricot brandy/liqueur.
~ Fill with about five ounces of apple cider.
~ Drink and repeat application until desired effect is achieved...

"Reading is Overrated."

2011-11-20T10:07:00.000-05:00

Famed Jurassic Park paleontologist Prof. Jack Horner discusses his dyslexia and how reliance on his imagination fueled his rise in the scientific community:

Dr. Pepperberg discussing her research with Alex...

2011-11-14T11:04:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting video of Dr. Irene Pepperberg discussing her research involving Alex, the African Grey parrot. It's remarkable the degree to which the concept of avian intelligence - something most scientists take for granted today - was brushed off, even mocked, when she first tried to get funding for her studies. And what's really extraordinary is the degree to which Alex was able to use his acquired language skills in ad hoc communications. It's fascinating stuff, far more important, I suspect, than we realize right now. Check it out; it's well worth the time:

The underlying scientific premise of my novel, Little Birdies!, is based on Dr. Pepperberg's work. You can read the reviews here, and read the opening chapters here: Little Birdies! excerpts. And of course, you can buy it here (available in both softcover and Kindle). Check it out; if you're an Alex fan you'll love the book, I promise...

McSorleys Old Ale House...

2011-11-02T18:38:00.000-04:00

Here's a great video piece on McSorleys Old Ale House on East 7th Street in NYC. Gotta love a place that has no bar stools and only sells beer two at a time. Been there many a time myself and survived some epic parties, some of which I actually remember...

Visit their web site here: McSorleys Old Ale House

The Kentucky Honey Trap...

2011-11-01T11:41:00.000-04:00

Here's another cocktail that I've been pouring for quite a while now: The Kentucky Honey Trap. It's essentially a bourbon-based Rusty Nail (Scotch and Drambuie) and may be enjoyed in either a "Kentucky" or "Tennessee" version.

The Kentucky Honey Trap...
~ In a rock glass, toss in one or two ice cubes (for top-shelf bourbon), more for mixing bourbon.
~ Pour 1 1/2 or 2 ounces of bourbon.
~ Add about 1/2 ounce of Wild Turkey American Honey bourbon liqueur.

Like the Rusty Nail, the proportions of the two ingredients are approximate. Some people like it as high as 50-50 (very sweet); I prefer 3/4 - 1/4 mix for good bourbon, maybe 2/3 - 1/3 for everything else.

The Tennessee Honey Trap...
~ In a rock glass, toss in your ice.
~ Pour 1 1/2 or two ounces of Jack Daniels or George Dickel No. 12 Tennessee Whisky.
~ Add about 1/2 ounce of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey.

Enjoy!

The Kentucky Cobbler...

2011-10-23T23:57:00.001-04:00

My very own spirituous concoction, the Kentucky Cobbler, is now being featured on the autumn cocktail menu at the elegant Glenmere Mansion. The recipe is as follows:

In a mixing glass full of ice...
~ One jigger (about an ounce and a half) of bourbon (at Glenmere we use Maker's Mark).
~ One jigger of peach schnapps.
~ A healthy bar spoon of brown sugar (a fat teaspoon).
~ Cinnamon to taste.
~ Three ounces or so of sour mix.
~ Shake like all hell (you want to be sure to dissolve that brown sugar). Pour into a good-sized rock glass.
~ Garnish with a cherry and another light tap of cinnamon.
~ Drink and repeat until desired effect is attained.

Enjoy!

Aqua Vitae progress report...

2011-10-19T16:12:00.000-04:00

While I'll never win any speed-writing awards for this one, I am happy to report that, despite the many pressing distractions vying for my attention, the manuscript for my sixth novel, Aqua Vitae, has passed the 100,000 word mark. I was hoping to have it finished by this past summer, but life intervened, and things progressed more slowly than I would have preferred. So I'm not going to be foolish enough to make yet another prediction as to when it might be completed, but know that it's moving along, however slowly, that I can see light at the end of the tunnel, and so far, at least, it doesn't appear to be an oncoming train.

You can read the opening chapters here: Aqua Vitae Excerpts

Celebrity Norton Commando!

2011-10-07T12:33:00.000-04:00

Actor Keanu Reeves stages a getaway on his vintage Norton Commando. I'd put a little more commitment into that kickstart, but getting a cold Norton to start after only three kicks is nothing to sneeze at...

video platform video management video solutions video player

TMZ has the complete story here: Keanu Reeves - Scrape with the Law

"We will make a Dino-Chicken. Absolutely..."

2011-09-27T10:23:00.000-04:00

I can't wait until these guys hit the pet stores. But what do you feed a chicken with teeth?

From the article:

"Hints of long-extinct creatures, echoes of evolution past, occasionally emerge in real life—they’re called atavisms, rare cases of individuals born with characteristic features of their evolutionary antecedents. Whales are sometimes born with appendages reminiscent of hind limbs. Human babies sometimes enter the world with fur, extra nipples, or, very rarely, a true tail. Horner’s plan, in essence, is to start off by creating experimental atavisms in the lab. Activate enough ancestral characteristics in a single chicken, he reasons, and you’ll end up with something close enough to the ancestor to be a “saurus.” At least, that’s what he pitched at this year’s TED conference, the annual technology, entertainment, and design gathering held in Long Beach, California. “When I was growing up in Montana, I had two dreams,” he told the crowd. “I wanted to be a paleontologist, a dinosaur paleontologist—and I wanted to have a pet dinosaur.”"

Read the entire article here: How to Hatch a Dinosaur. Hmmm... perhaps someone should write a book...

On the fourth anniversary of Alex's passing...

2011-09-06T12:55:00.000-04:00

Dr. Irene Pepperberg's famed partner, Alex the African Grey parrot, died unexpectedly four years ago today. In his memory, I'm reposting the full NOVA segment on Dr. Pepperberg and her work on animal intelligence with Alex. It runs just under twelve minutes:

Watch the full episode. See more NOVA scienceNOW.

The underlying scientific premise of my novel, Little Birdies!, is based on Dr. Pepperberg's work. You can read the opening chapters here: Little Birdies! excerpts. Check it out; if you're an Alex fan you'll love the book, I promise...

This post (from June 16, 2010) is also worth revisiting:

In a rather moving interview, Dr. Pepperberg relates the story of Alex's passing, and the immediate, and unexpected public and personal reactions that followed:

"He's not a circus act." Family resists temptation to turn white buffalo into a sideshow attraction...

2011-08-15T10:38:00.000-04:00

I saw this coming:

"Little Soldier says he's getting a lot of offers to take Lightning Medicine Cloud on the road to stock shows and the like. But, for now, he and his wife have decided it's best for the calf to stay home for scheduled events and by-appointment group outings.

The Little Soldiers have been determined that the animal not become a tourist attraction but rather a pilgrimage of sorts and a celebration of Indian culture. They say Lightning Medicine Cloud's birth is a blessing.

"It's been an honor and a privilege to share our honor and privilege with everybody else. Letting everybody see him," said Little Soldier."

Lone Star Adventure: Lakota Ranch: MyFoxDFW.com

I anticipated such crass commercial pressure in my novel Middle America (sequel to The Third Revolution). Here's an except on the subject from Middle America:

“Tommy, we heard about the white buffalo. That’s quite a big deal up in your neck of the woods, no?”

Running Wolf nodded. “Big Smoke, we call him. About two months old now. Doing well, very healthy. He’s not an albino; he’s got blue eyes, not pink. That’s good, albinos have many health problems.”

“Good for business, I would think,” Joe said.

“Yeah, that’s what our white partners say,” Running Wolf agreed, somewhat reluctantly. “It’s much more than that for us, though.” He sat back and drained his glass. Joe caught the bartender’s eye and pointed to the chief’s glass.

“Thanks,” Running Wolf said, as a fresh, frosty glass quickly appeared in front of him. “The white buffalo is a sacred symbol to many of the tribal nations. Each tribe has their own story, but they all involve the appearance of a beautiful woman, dressed in white, who presents the tribe with a pipe, or a parchment inscribed with tribal law, and instructs the people in the ways of prayer, and in the ways of nature, and of survival. When the woman leaves the people, she turns into a white buffalo.”

“So the birth of a white buffalo signals her return?” Ben asked.

“That’s right,” Running Wolf said. “The birth is a messenger of creation, a symbol of rebirth for the Native American community. Some say it means we’re on the verge of a cultural awakening; for others, especially in troubled times, it symbolizes the coming together of humanity into a spiritual unity. Unfortunately, for our white partners, it represents a one-in-ten million dollar marketing opportunity.”

“It doesn’t sound like something a true believer would be looking to cash in on,” Ben said.

“For us it would be like Christians charging admission to witness the Second Coming of Christ.”

“You gotta have T-shirts at least, right? You know, ‘I Saw the White Buffalo’ and stuff like that?” Joe said, half joking.

“Sure, why not.” Running Wolf shrugged and took another sip of beer. “I’m sure somebody will be selling T-shirts at the Second Coming, right?

“The crowds have already started,” he continued. “The word spread quickly among the tribal nations. That we don’t mind. It’s the television and radio commercials, all that. They’ve already signed some kind of contract with the Nature Channel. If it were up to them they’d have him appearing in a nightclub at one of the big casinos, or at least keep him penned up in one spot so he’d be easy for the general public to get to. It’s important to us that Big Smoke is allowed to live free, to find his place with the rest of the herd. He’s not a circus act.”

“How do you keep track of him out there? Though I suppose spotting a white buffalo in a sea of black ones can’t be all that tough,” Joe asked and answered his own question.

“We keep a close eye on him, to let the visitors know where he is, but mostly to protect him from predators. Buffalo calves are born with protective coloration … sort of a reddish-gold that’s difficult for the wolves and big cats to see. A white calf stands out like a neon dinner sign.”

“Well … let’s hope the legends are right, Chief,” Ben said. “Let’s hope you’re right and something good happens.” Ben raised his glass and the other two joined him in a toast.

Much more on the birth of Lightning Medicine Cloud here: White Buffalo born on Texas ranch...

An Accurate History of the Cenacle (Site of the Last Supper)...

2011-08-04T10:21:00.000-04:00

What's interesting about this recitation of the history of the Cenacle/David's Tomb is that rather then repeating the stories of legend and tradition, you're hearing an accurate rendition of the rather disputed and chaotic history of the location. The bottom line is that Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D., and along with it any original structure that may have played host to the Last Supper. What you see now is essentially a tourist attraction that was build up over a series of memorial chapels starting around 300 A.D.

All of this history is reflected in the back-story of my novel, The Cenacle Scroll. Check out the opening chapters here.

From The Cenacle Scroll:

Udi was standing in the courtyard of the three-story, 12th-century building purporting to house both King David's Tomb and, on the second floor, the Cenacle, believed by Christians to be the site of the Last Supper. The truth was King David was no more entombed beneath the building than he was under Udi's front yard. But it had been venerated as such for almost a thousand years and there seemed little point in stopping now.

The reality was that the Crusaders had constructed the building as a chapel to the Last Supper over an already existing synagogue memorializing David's Tomb. The romanticized tourist literature aside, in the eyes of the scientific community that's all it was, just a very old memorial chapel with nary a stone, scrap of plaster or fragment of tile ever found and dated to the time of Christ.

Charlie Weaver Bartender Toy...

2011-07-30T12:47:00.000-04:00

I had one of these when I was a kid. For those of you who know me well, I think it explains a lot...

Mixology has finally jumped the shark...

2011-07-15T09:46:00.002-04:00

I refer to myself as a bartender, never as a "mixologist," because if you sit across from me in the bar, I'm generally more interested in you than in your drink's garnish.

I'm always happy to place a fresh orange slice and a cherry in your whiskey sour, maybe even muddle a mojito for you, even though I know the only reason you're drinking it is because all the beautiful people are drinking it. But if you're looking for bugs in your drinks (on purpose) you and I are very different people...

And here's another "too much is never enough" trend that I predict will last as long as it takes for the recession to end and for the folks promoting this idea to get real jobs: barrel aging cocktails. It's not nearly as bad as the bug-garnish stunt above, which we all know is just a blatant pitch for a short filler segment on the Food Channel, and does has a quasi-legitimate ring to it, but, well, you judge for yourself...

If you'll pardon my cynicism for a moment - a Manhattan is a cocktail that is made from about 90 to 95% rye whiskey or bourbon, either of which has already generally spent four to six years or more in barrels (and in the case of bourbon, in charred barrels). I'm not sure what the extra few weeks or months on wood are supposed to accomplish here, except to oxidize the vermouth, which, in my opinion, is just taking a generally foul tasting fortified wine and making it taste that much worse (and likely charging the customer a nice premium for the pleasure...).

And now we're barrel aging Negronis? A negroni is one part gin, one part sweet vermouth, and one part Campari. All three ingredients have been steadily dropping like a stone in popularity for the last 30 years, with the possible exception of gin, which is showing a slight uptick recently due to the introduction of several high-profile, boutique brands. I understand the argument that gin takes to barrel aging better than vodka, but my feeling is that if this was such a great idea, the British or Dutch would have started doing this three hundred years ago, when the had easy access to gin, barrels and fire (should there be a need to char the barrels). Besides, negronis taste like crap, and a barrel-aged negroni can only taste like woody, oxidized crap.

These people disagree: Barrel Aged Cocktails, Barrel Aged Negronis, Barrel-Aged Cocktails: These Are A Thing Now

More on barrel-aging cocktails: Coming of Age

Spix's Macaws to be released in the wild in 2013...

2011-07-05T09:12:00.001-04:00

Here's an update on the critically endangered Spix's Macaw. Only 86 remain alive in the world, all in captivity:

Update (July 11, 2011) - More on this from The Washington Post: Qatari sheik takes endangered bird species under his wing.

Fun with Little Birdies! Visiting the Kakapo Chicks...

2011-06-13T09:17:00.003-04:00

Barbara Heidenreich, from Good Bird, Inc, has posted this great video of her visit with Kakapo chicks before they were released into the wild. Fascinating little critters...

Read more about Barbara's adventures with the Kakapo chicks here: Parrot Conservation and You!

Barbara was kind enough to review my novel, Little Birdies!. Here's an excerpt from that review:

"Most fiction these days seem to focus on murder mystery, crime or romance. I have to admit none of those genres spark my interest. However I recently came upon a novel perfectly suited for parrot enthusiasts who like character studies, suspense, drama and action!

Set in my old stomping grounds upstate New York, Lewis paints the terrain in great detail whether it be the university classroom, the parrot sanctuary, roadside fruit stands or wooded rolling hills. I enjoyed picturing the sights and sounds of upstate New York being invaded by a flock of misfits.

I think what I liked most about this novel was that it was a rollicking good adventure, full of science, suspense, a hint of romance, a few bad guys, a few heroes and of course birds as a focal point. Even with all that, there was also room for an important take home message. It certainly struck me when one of the good guys said to his bird "We take you into our home, and if we treat you right, if we earn your trust, you give us your hearts." Words of wisdom from a writer who knows the connection we share with animals."

Her full review can be found here: Amazon Editorial Reviews. And please be sure to visit the Kakapo Recovery site. Like they say, there are six billion people on earth, and only 131 Kakapo. Give a bird a break...

Update (July 6, 2011): Here are some of the chicks being released into their new home on Codfish Island, NZ:

Banding Peregrine Falcon Chicks on the Throgs Neck Bridge...

2011-06-07T13:21:00.000-04:00

Three-week-old Peregrine Falcon chicks get free jewelry! It's good to see the species rebounding so strongly...

They tried banding one of the dinobirds in Little Birdies!, but without much luck...

Paleontologist Jack Horner on Building a Dinosaur from a Chicken...

2011-06-07T11:13:00.000-04:00

Recorded at TED (Technology Entertainment and Design, March 2011), famed paleontologist Jack Horner touches on subjects ranging from Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, to recovering soft tissue from fossilized dinosaur bones, to his own efforts to retro-engineer a dinosaur from a chicken embryo. "If you want dinosaur DNA, go to the dinosaur." Fascinating stuff...

For my take on the subject, be sure to check out Little Birdies! As always, you can read the opening chapters here.

White Buffalo born on Texas ranch...

2011-06-02T09:52:00.016-04:00

From the AP: A rare white buffalo runs into a corral after a Native American naming ceremony was held in Greenville, Texas Wednesday, June 29, 2011.

But the real action doesn't start until the fourth is born...

"American Indian leaders around the nation are contemplating the birth of a white buffalo calf. The male, born on May 12th during a thunderstorm, is said to be only the third on record to be born without any active breeding efforts. The last verified white buffalo, named "Miracle," was born in 1994 and gave birth to four calves before dying in 2004.

Several American Indian cultures believe this type of bison portends future events, and therefore, tribal leaders will soon descend upon Little Soldier's ranch to determine what the calf's purpose and message is. The prophecy could be exceptionally important, given the fact that the calf was born during a thunderstorm.

Because this is, according to several tribes, the third white buffalo born, it means the next one born will portend the end times. So, at least the world is not going to end any time soon. Harold Camping, take note. Nothing is happening, at least not until that fourth one is born."

Sacred White Buffalo Born in Texas: MyFoxDFW.com

Read more here: Sacred White Buffalo Born on Texas Ranch

"One day you'll be speaking to us, and your words will be strong."

Update (June 30, 2011): The Brit's take a look at the new white buffalo, Lightning Medicine Cloud, complete with some great pics and a short video. T he incredibly rare sacred white buffalo who's one in TEN MILLION

Lightning Medicine Cloud at six-weeks old

More here: Native Americans Gather For Ceremony Naming White Buffalo Calf
And here: Lightning Medicine: Rare white buffalo calf named

And from Fox News:

Here's the link to Lightning Medicine Cloud's official webpage: Lakota Ranch.
And here's Lightning Medicine Cloud's Facebook page. Welcome to the 21st Century, little one...

Update (July 4, 2011): Here's your chance to spend a few tranquil minutes with Lightning Medicine Cloud. They grow up so fast...

Prehistoric Park: Capturing Dinobirds....

2011-06-02T09:21:00.000-04:00

Here's a fun clip from the Animal Planet series Prehistoric Park.

Of course, in my book Little Birdies!, Mandy and Willie have to cook up their own ad hoc plan for capturing escaped dinobirds:

“So what do you think?” Mandy asked Willie, as they finally stood together watching the birds munch and crunch their treats. “Man-eating, killer birds or homesick pets?”

He knew the rational answer was probably “both” but decided to hold his professional opinion in reserve. “They seem to like you just fine,” he said.

“I don’t think they’re ever going to be as friendly as parrots,” Mandy observed, with an innocence that belied the obviousness of her statement. “It doesn’t seem to be in their nature. They never took to Uncle Dan or my brother much, now that I think about it.” She suddenly turned to face Willie, looking him right in the eye. “How are you going to capture them and bring them home?” Her tone implied that she wouldn’t be put off this time.

“Your Uncle didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me.”

What the hell… “The best we could come up with is that I’m going to try to dart them, two or three at a time if I can, one at a time if I have to. Then we’ll just throw ‘em in the truck, bring them home, and come back for more.”

“How are you going to get past all the cameras and tourists and state troopers down there? And won’t the rest of the birds be scared away when they hear the gun go off? And if you shoot them when they’re on top of the tower won’t they fall off and hit the ground?”

“The gun’s not that loud—it’s an air gun; it has more of a dull pop than a sharp crack or bang like a regular rifle. As for the rest of it, I have no idea. This was a more play-it-by-ear sort of plan. We’ll have to figure it out as we go along.”

Mandy’s face darkened with disappointment. “That’s really not a very good plan," she said.

You can read the opening chapters here: Little Birdies! Excerpts.

Things you can't do in New York...

2011-05-30T07:58:00.000-04:00

Follow the herd! No, not Wall Street, the real herd...

"Bringing Birdie Home" video...

2011-05-21T17:33:00.000-04:00

This is a fantastic, educational, soup-to-nuts primer on the subject of bringing home a companion parrot. It's well worth watching even if you already share your home with one (or several). It's chock full of practical advice as to what you can expect when you invite a parrot into your home, including safety precautions, dietary requirements, sanitation helpful hints, behavioral training and environmental enrichment suggestions.

Barbara Heidenreich, who is featured prominently in the video, was kind enough to review and recommend my novel, Little Birdies!. I mention this only to enhance her already stellar reputation in the avian community and to demonstrate her obvious impeccable taste in avian science fiction literature.

Another white buffalo enters the world...

2011-05-21T09:54:00.000-04:00

There are only about 50 white (non-albino) bison in the U.S. Here's the latest addition taking its very first steps...

Reminds me of the opening chapter in Middle America (except for the fence):

He’d traveled barely another 150 yards when something bright, in the thick of the herd, caught the corner of his eye. A large bull had been blocking whatever it was from his line of sight. The sun was glaring; he adjusted the brim of his hat to shade his eyes. It appeared white, or at least very light, certainly the wrong coloration for a calf, though from what he could see the size appeared about right.

A sheep maybe? He already knew that just wasn’t possible—coyotes would have taken a lost sheep long ago. He maneuvered Sierra around, kept her still, and reached for his binoculars. A dog?

Damn! The languid bull had again wandered into his line of sight. A cow also looked to be tending the thing, maybe even nuzzling it. “What the hell is that?” he asked aloud. Sierra snorted. He looked for the survey team but they were already out of view, lost in the undulating sea of knee-high grass.

“Let’s go girl. Easy … easy … walk slow, pretty girl. Walk slow.” He guided the horse cautiously into the outer fringe of the herd.

Though as a group the herd was slowly making its way southward, as individuals the animals were mostly grazing, standing in place for minutes at a time. Yearlings were the most active, nipping each other on the hind legs, running around, playing tag; some frisky young bulls were skirmishing, armed with horns still too short to do any damage. Cows were keeping a close eye on their calves, trying to squeeze in as much quality grazing time as possible in between their offspring’s unrelenting nursing demands. The grass was thick with flies.

Running Wolf slowly threaded his way to the edge of the herd, where the animals were sparsely collected, most standing hundreds of feet apart. This was dangerous, even foolhardy, and he knew it; he kept a sharp eye to his right flank, where he would turn his horse and bolt if any of the animals took offense at his presence. He halted the horse every 30 feet or so, both to temper his presence and to see if his view had improved any.

The bull was still blocking the frontal view, the cow the back. The whiteness was sitting in a heap in a crushed flat of grass; now he thought he could see some red, but not enough for a messy kill. He’d proceeded to a point where he just didn’t feel comfortable going any farther…he was now surrounded by more buffalo than he could safely keep an eye on. He eased Sierra back to the right, started moving ever so slowly, out and away from the herd. Then the big bull moved.

“Whoa.” He stopped his horse and reached again for his glasses.

He gasped. Really gasped. He gasped like he needed the air; like there was a big, gaping hole punched in his chest and he needed the air to fill it.

The creature, now clearly being licked and cleaned by the cow, struggled uneasily to its feet; its long, gangly legs splayed oddly trying to find a way to support its weight. Another bison calf had just entered the world.

But this calf was special. This calf could change everything. This calf was a white buffalo. A blue-eyed, white buffalo.

Running Wolf sat silently in the saddle, silently among the herd.

Dinosaurs are not extinct...

2011-05-14T06:25:00.000-04:00

...they're flying above your head.

For more adventures with dinobirds in your backyard, check out Little Birdies! Excerpts here: Read the first two chapters.

The meat of the future...

2011-05-04T10:29:00.000-04:00

Interesting video about raising bison out on Long Island. Substituting the American Bison for traditional cattle has many advantages: they're better for the land, better for the other native wildlife and produce a healthier meat. I covered this subject in great detail in my first two books, The Third Revolution and Middle America.

Here's a passage on the subject from The Third Revolution:

“What’s the difference? Don’t buffalo graze like cattle?”

“The bison are native to this land,” the chief said. “They’ve been here for tens of thousands of years. Cattle are from, I don’t know, Southeast Asia somewhere. Lowland animals. You have to encourage the grasses they like to eat, shelter them in the winter, kill all of the predators on the prairie, shoot the prairie dogs so they don’t step into their holes and break their legs. You have to fuss with the water access—cattle will hang out by their water source, they’ll crap in the same water they drink. They’re not very bright.”

He continued. “The bison, this is their land. They eat the native grasses. They’re fine on their own year round—even in the winter. They find their own food and water, and the rain and cold and snow don’t bother them. Prairie dogs don’t bother them; they don’t step in the holes. We don’t have to poison or shoot the wolves or the cougar or the coyote. They all live on their land together—the bison can handle the predators, and the predators know better than to attack a healthy bison herd. Especially when there are cattle around,” he laughed.

“The return of the bison lets us restore the balance to the land. They were here long before my people were, and a long, long time before your people were. All we really have to do is make sure they’re current on their brucellosis vaccinations, and only because the government makes us do it. Brucellosis doesn’t bother the bison. It only bothers cattle and cattle ranchers. And government inspectors.”

It's nice to see the world is catching up, however slowly... Read the entire article here: Farming Bison to Regenerate a North American Breed (Video)

Aqua Vitae...

2011-04-14T19:19:00.002-04:00

I've been working on my sixth novel, Aqua Vitae, for quite some time now. The distractions have been numerous and ongoing, but I'm finally getting around to finishing it up. As a sort of gun-to-my-head motivational ploy, I've posted the opening chapters online. The excerpts aren't completely polished, and some character names may well end up being changed in the final editing, but it reads smoothly enough for you to get the idea. Here's the teaser:

Wildlife biologist Jackie Banna may have found just the job to jump-start her stalled career. A potential client with seemingly bottomless pockets and plans for an unorthodox business venture has invited her to his private Caribbean island to discuss her coming on board.

At first glance, the place seems a textbook tropical paradise: glistening white sand beaches, lush highland forests, every inch teeming with exotic flowers and wildlife. But a closer look reveals widespread abnormal behavior among the native animal species; behavior that Jackie recognized as deeply problematic.

Despite her misgivings, she wasn't inclined to turn down a high-paying job on a luxurious private island, especially one that could remake her career, and she relished the independence and professional discretion she would be allowed. But with that independence would come responsibility, and she could already see that there was much more to this island than met the eye...

Please go ahead and check out the first three chapters here: Aqua Vitae.

American Bison at the Bronx Zoo...

2011-04-05T09:52:00.002-04:00

Well, I like bison, and I like the Bronx Zoo, so this post was a no-brainer. I spent a lot of time at the zoo, observing these very critters, when I was writing my first novel, The Third Revolution.

From The Third Revolution:

"Running Wolf took enormous pride in the herd. His people, the Blackfeet, had roamed the North American plains for over 5,000 years, as best anyone could tell, and had been calling this particular part of the country home for over 300 years. They’d lived in harmony with the bison and its Great Plains grassland ecosystem for all but about the last 100 of those years. They had been left no say in the matter; the buffalo were effectively exterminated around the turn of the 20^thcentury, predominately for their tongues, hides and horns, but also to “encourage” the native peoples to give up their traditional way of life and adapt an imposed version of a civilized lifestyle. The strategy was unquestionably successful in extinguishing the native people’s way of life—the world as they knew it was forever laid to waste. So successful was the Great Slaughter, that in the fall of 1907, the Bronx Zoo sent 15 of its New York City bison to the federally-owned Wichita Game Preserve at Cache, Oklahoma, followed in 1913 by an additional 14 animals sent to the Wind Cave National Game Preserve in the Black Hills of South Dakota, as part of an effort to re-establish a public breeding herd in the wild."

Read more here: The Third Revolution Excerpts. And read more on the Bronx Zoo's (the Wildlife Conservation Society) role in the restoration of our bison herds here: The American Bison Society, and here: The American Bison Society Timeline.

In what order should I read your books?

2011-03-28T09:03:00.000-04:00

I get this question once in a while and figured it was time that I got the official response on the record: except for the "Ben Kane" series (The Third Revolution and its sequel, Middle America), it doesn't matter. Little Birdies!, The Last Bartender and The Cenacle Scroll (ebook only) are stand-alone novels cast with their own unique characters and storylines and can be read in whatever order strikes your fancy. Summaries of all the books are conveniently located here: About the Books. I hope that helps...

Remington Model 700 History: The M40 (M24) Sniper System...

2011-03-25T17:05:00.000-04:00

Nice background video on Remington's famed sniper system:

The M24 sniper system makes several pivotal appearances in The Last Bartender, in the hands of Justin Gardiner, the story's central character. Read the opening chapters here: The Last Bartender.

When Norton was King - Hogslayer: The Unapproachable Legend

2011-03-10T22:52:00.000-05:00

"Anyone familiar with motorcycle drag racing has heard of Hogslayer, the famous dual-engine Norton dragster. And it’s only appropriate that the most successful drag racing bike of the 1970s have its story told through a sharp-looking documentary film."

I once had my Norton go into a "death wobble" on the Long Island Expressway while I was cruising at about 85mph. I was able to safely accelerate out of it and continue home at 60 mph, with my pulse racing at about 200 beats per minute. Very invigorating, those Nortons...

More on the coming documentary here: Hogslayer: The Unapproachable Legend

Replicating the Famed Carlos Hathcock "through the enemy sniper scope" shot...

2011-02-21T18:00:00.001-05:00

In the opening chapter of The Last Bartender, an unseen American sniper replicated Carlos Hathcock's storied counter-sniper shot that ended the career of "the Cobra" in the jungles of Vietnam. The demonstration below clearly shows that such a shot is more than merely the stuff of legend (or novels).

Gunnery Sergeant Hathcock discusses the legendary shot starting at about 5:30 below. Don't miss it...

"I shot it where the glint was..." Reach out and touch someone...

NOVA scienceNOW Special - Dr. Irene Pepperberg and Alex...

2011-02-10T19:03:00.001-05:00

Here's the full NOVA segment on Dr. Pepperberg and her work on animal intelligence with Alex, the African Grey parrot. It runs just under twelve minutes:

Watch the full episode. See more NOVA scienceNOW.

They don't teach you this in school...

2011-02-09T10:56:00.002-05:00

I've always been fascinated by people who somehow manage to detour off of life's tried and true career path buffet and stumble into something that they are uniquely qualified for. Tyler Keillor is one such person:

Tyler Keillor has been preparing fossils, creating skeletal reconstructions, and sculpting flesh models of prehistoric life at the University of Chicago since 2001. He also worked at the Field Museum of Natural History in exhibits, and learned many artistic skills in a former career: creating special effects and makeup for film, TV, and theatre.

Here's a few short clips of Mr. Keillor at work, from his web site:

Be sure to stop by Tyler's website; there are plenty of interesting photos, more videos and some informative articles as well. And here's a recent article with a bit more of his background: Paleoartist's skill brings dinosaurs to life.

Super Bowl Parrot Commercials...

2011-02-06T14:31:00.000-05:00

There are tons of parrot commercials out there, some better than others. Here's a small sample...

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Not Super Bowl, but good for a few yucks nevertheless:

Not a commercial but might as well be:

"Everybody likes the talking bird..."

More Amusing Marc Morrone Outtakes...

2011-02-05T09:57:00.001-05:00

Pet expert Marc Morrone has earned a reputation as the Dr. Dolittle of the television world, calmly dispensing advice from behind a table of lion-laying-down-with-the-lambs domestic wildlife. Well, the advice may be accurate, but in truth the bucolic menagerie takes a little "management:"

I've posted this one before:

Marc was kind enough to blurb my book, Little Birdies!. Here's a quote:

"Another mark of a world-class novelist--the late Michael Crichton comes to mind here--is attention to detail; especially scientific detail. There are few things more upsetting for me than when an author ruins a perfectly good story by getting the facts wrong. Such is not the case here. Like Crichton, Lewis has exhaustively researched his subject matter, providing the reader with a convincing and realistic platform from which to launch the story."

Much obliged. And for what it's worth, I find it easier to catch escaped birds with the lights off. It evens up the odds a bit...

Brew local, drink local...

2011-02-03T09:38:00.001-05:00

Here's a nifty look at a small craft beer operation out of Brooklyn, NY - Sixpoint Craft Ales. I like it because it looks like they're working at about the same scale (especially with those 15-barrel conical fermenters and conditioning tanks) as the guys as the Brookwood in my book, The Last Bartender. Of course, my characters had the strategic advantage of having their product be illegal, which reliably increases profitability, does nothing to dampen demand, and eliminates both commercial competition and troublesome government regulations. But Sixpoint is able to make their deliveries during daylight hours, so that's something in their favor. Cheers!

Read the opening chapters of The Last Bartender here

Another Kakapo attack!

2011-01-31T08:25:00.000-05:00

Yet another Kakapo that can't seem to keep its sharp claws off of a human head. Fear not; everybody gets out alive...

An Avian Time Machine...

2011-01-30T10:35:00.001-05:00

By now you know how obsessed I am with dino-birds, even if you still refuse to read my book (we'll get to that later). Fossil remains of Sandhill Cranes have been dated back to 2.5 million years, and fossils of closely related, possibly even directly related specimens have been dated back to the Miocene Epoch (some 10 million years ago). This extends the species' family tree back further than any living bird. Still about 50-some million years short of a true dino-bird, but old enough to have earned a measure of our respect and admiration.

Listen to this critter and tell me you don't hear the faint echo of a Velociraptor calling to you from somewhere back on its family tree:

You can learn more about this ancient species over at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Now I know you haven't read my book, Little Birdies!, because I've seen the sales figures. If you have a Kindle, the e-version of the book will set you back all of $3.49. That's the fruit of a full year of my life for less than the cost of a Starbucks "grande." Seriously, that's incredibly depressing. Are you afraid it's not going to be worth the money? Afraid you're not going to enjoy the story? Look, if you're here listening to the call of a Sandhill Crane, believe me, you'll enjoy this book. I wrote it for you, I really did. You can read the opening chapters here, skim some of the reviews here. And you can purchase the book here. Please, if not for me, do it for the birds; they're smarter (and far more tenacious) then you might think...

A quick look at Remington's new M-24E1 Modular Sniper System...

2011-01-24T08:56:00.003-05:00

It looks kinda freaky, but it's still an old-school Remington 700 at heart:

Here's another look:

In The Last Bartender, Justin Gardiner, an Operation Enduring Freedom vet and black-market homebrewer, maintains a close working relationship with his trusty, bolt-action M-24, chambered in the flat-shooting .300 Win Mag. And yes, you may assume that it's a skill set that comes in handy at some point in the story...

Read more about the new M24 here: Army Upgrades the M24. Read the opening chapters of The Last Bartender here.

Rescued African Grey Parrots on the road to recovery...

2011-01-12T08:16:00.001-05:00

Stuff like this really ticks me off, but at least the dirtbags got caught and the birds have a shot at recovering their former lives. I do think that the smugglers should be sentenced to a month or so in those little boxes (and left in the hot sun), with nothing to eat but scraps of sugar cane.

If you'd like to see what transgenically-empowered Grey Parrots can do when they're really pissed off, check out Little Birdies!. Sample chapters here. It's the feel-good book for parrot lovers..
More here: Scores of African parrots rescued from alleged smuggler.
And here: UWEC needs help to feed rescued parrots

Night Frights writ large...

2011-01-04T10:37:00.008-05:00

By now everyone has read about the news of "birds falling from the sky" out of Arkansas and Louisiana. So far, necropsies performed on representative samples of the birds have all indicated that the creatures died of internal bleeding and blunt-force trauma, with no indications of any sort of poisoning or lightening strikes involved.

While both the political and Biblical/Apocalyptic conspiracy theorists are tripping all over each other trying to paint the unfortunate event with their own special brand of crazy, those of us who keep exotic birds in our homes recognize this for what it likely is: night frights.

For the most part, a bird's night vision is as poor as its daytime vision is acute. It's why both wild and caged birds securely settle-in and perch themselves at dusk, well before it gets dark - they don't want to be caught out in the open when the lights go out.

That said, the fight-or-flight response is deeply embedded in prey animals, and, in the case of defenseless birds, it inevitably means flight. Birds that are frightened out of their sleep will hit the air first and think about it later. In caged birds we call this "night frights," and most of us have been awakened to the panicked thrashing of our domestic flock trying desperately to flee from some imagined threat. Panicked birds will fly full-force into walls, windows, cage walls, wedge themselves behind mirrors and furniture, etc. They can't see the "danger" in the dark, they can't see the rest of their flock in the dark, and all they know is that they're alone and something's chasing them. The only solution is to switch on the lights, let the bird/birds awaken fully, and try to put everyone to bed again. Loads of fun at 2:30 in the morning.

The birds in question, red-winged blackbirds, weigh about 2 1/2 ounces, and can fly from 17 to 28 miles per hour. You can imagine the results when something that light smashes into a building, a telephone pole, a heavy tree branch, or flies into the ground at close to 30 mph - internal bleeding and blunt-force trauma. Whether it was a fireworks display or an hungry raccoon or snake that spooked the flock, it resulted in near simultaneous panic and mass confusion, thousands of birds rising into the air, totally blind, terrified and smashing into each other, and heading off into the darkness at full speed until something solid stopped them forever. I like a good government conspiracy or alien probe story as much as the next guy, but Occam's razor demands that we accept the hypothesis that answers the question with the fewest new assumptions. I'm putting my money on night frights...

More here: 4 and 20 blackbirds, and 4,000, dead in the sky. "Celebratory fireworks likely sent thousands of discombobulated blackbirds into such a tizzy that they crashed into homes, cars and each other before plummeting to their deaths in central Arkansas, scientists say..."

Here's a nice rundown of the black helicopter stuff: Counting Dead Blackbirds: Conspiracy Theories Abound In Arkansas

Worldwide phenomenon! Swedish birds 'scared to death': veterinarian

Update: "I told you so..." Fireworks likely cause of massive Ark. bird kill

Another Update: "I told you so (again). In a thoughtful radio interview, Cornell Lab scientist Kevin McGowan pretty much confirms everything I said above: Radio Interview About Dead Blackbirds

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-25T00:18:00.000-05:00

Hot Plate!

2010-12-19T09:07:00.001-05:00

I never get tired of this stuff! Yet another intrepid Fiestaware collector with a Geiger counter. Watch and learn:

And another!

For more on this better-than-scifi phenomenon check here and here. To see why any of this matters, read The Cenacle Scroll...

Spix's Macaw Breeding Center

2010-12-16T14:17:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice look at how eight of the seventy remaining Spix's Macaws spend their day. The species was declared extinct in the wild (Brazil) in 2000.

The Central Planners do what they do best...

2010-11-26T10:31:00.001-05:00

... screw up. Apparently Mayor Bloomberg's smoke-free urban Utopia has hit a few (very predictable ) snags. You'd have to be remarkably ignorant of history, economics and human behavior not to be able to see this coming, but when have you ever known a social engineer to let reality stand in their way?

"The underground tobacco market is spreading like a fast-growing cancer in the wake of tax hikes that make New York cigarettes the most expensive in the nation -- and it's costing the state tens of millions a month in lost tax revenue, a Post analysis has found.

Government data show that New York state is being smoked out of as much as $20 million a month from all these illegal cigarette purchases -- an estimated 7.3 million packs a month sold off the state tax radar."

Be sure to read the entire article here: Black-Market cigarettes costing NY $20M a month.

More here: Menthol Ban = Black Market

Geniuses. Everything the government touches turns to shit.

Dino-Birds cause chaos on Staten Island!

2010-11-23T08:44:00.000-05:00

Well, at least to the degree that all birds are dino-birds. But these guys do look the part more than most. And of course, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservations (DEC) needs to get involved in this escalating crisis:

"“There are a lot of people that are concerned about the turkeys. There are also people who like the turkeys,” said Suzanne Mattei of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Mattei said rather than continue talkin’ turkeys on Staten Island, the state wants to stick its neck out and do something. So it is sending questionnaires to all the affected residents, asking whether they can peacefully coexist. Should the birds be relocated somewhere safe, or, as a last resort, euthanize them, in a so-called Thanksgiving harvest? Or perhaps testing them for disease and then donating them to charity."

More on this here: Wild Turkeys Invade, Take Over Part Of Staten Island
Apparently, the flock, now numbering about 100 birds, formed about ten years ago when a women released a few birds. Here's another look at the situation, including "turkeys playing chicken:"

If you're at all curious as to what might happen should the disruptive flock instead be populated by carnivorous, pack-hunting, transgenic psittacines, please check out Little Birdies! (read the opening chapters here). I promise you a more substantive story...

And so it begins...

2010-11-18T09:10:00.015-05:00

When I first cooked up the underlying premise for The Last Bartender, I was worried that most folks might find it a bridge too far (literary agents certainly did...). The idea that the federal government would attempt to undertake a second alcohol prohibition after the historic crash & burn of the 1920-1933 "Noble Experiment" seemed just plain silly.

Of course, when I first released The Third Revolution back in 2003, the idea that a state might exert its independence by nullifying unpopular and oppressive federal legislation seemed likewise absurd. Today, a majority of state legislatures are at least considering legislation allowing their citizens to opt out of certain unpopular and oppressive parts of the recent federal takeover of our healthcare system.

So here we are:
Alcohol panel ready to act on caffeinated malt beverages: "Federal regulators deem the drinks unsafe. North Carolina could ban them today."
FDA might prohibit caffeinated booze: "Nearly two weeks after Michigan banned Four Loko and other alcoholic energy drinks, the federal government is looking to do the same."
Buzz over Four Loko drinks sparks sales: "Fans rushed to snatch the last caffeinated cans of Four Loko off store shelves as the federal government warned four companies that their caffeinated malt-alcohol drinks are "unsafe" and violate federal law."
FDA to block sales of alcoholic drinks with caffeine: "Alcohol has been legal to buy, sell, and consume in the US since the repeal of the 18th Amendment in 1933. Caffeine has never been illegal in the US, and millions of people consume it in soft drinks, coffee, and tea every day. But what happens when you put alcohol and caffeine together? The manufacturers incur the wrath of the nanny state..."
Obama brings back Prohibition: "What is illegal about booze? To be sure, a few states have outlawed them. I suppose that is their prerogative. But the federal government is specifically barred in the Constitution from doing this. Is President Obama unaware of the 21st Amendment? States, not Congress — and certainly not the president or his flunkies at the FDA and FTC — control booze. So why are we doing this?"

A Chick Beer Four Loko Review:

Is Four Loko dangerous? The FDA doesn’t say: "Since Americans have been mixing rum with caffeinated cola beverages for over a century, and in recent years, voraciously downing Red Bull vodkas, you’d think the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in breathlessly moving to ban Four Loko and other alcoholic energy drinks this week, would have distinguished the two.
"Four Loko and Our Irrational Fear of Cognitive Enhancement: "Four Loko is in the news! For a caffeinated malt liquor drink that comes in an assortment of barely palatable flavors, it sure is generating a lot of controversy. The FDA is banning it! People are taking sides and making bathtub home-brew! Politicians are binge drinking it for SCIENCE! Some folks think the ban might be classist or infringe our freedom of speech! Why is everyone so upset over this disgusting fusion of energy drink and booze?"

Anti-Four Loko advocates promise they’re not after your Irish Coffee. Also, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union still exists. "It’s not every day a hip crowd goes bonkers over a malt beverage that tastes like raspberry battery acid and sells for a Jefferson at the gas station next door. Since the federal government announced a vendetta against the idea that you could profit from putting liquor and caffeine in a can, everyone wants a shot at the tin Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. You can’t resist it."

Mad about Four Loco: "The folks leading the anti-Four Loko campaign believe that they have the duty to prevent you from buying prepackaged drinks that put alcohol in your caffeine...

"D.I.Y. Four Loko: "Four Loko is a 23.5 ounce caffeinated alcoholic beverage that’s taking our country by storm. With an estimated 260 milligrams of caffeine and just under 6 shots of alcohol per can, this beverage earned the nickname of “Blackout in a Can” for a good reason. For less than $4 a pop, there’s not a quicker, cheaper or worse tasting way to get your drink on..."Preview

Alcoholic Whipped Cream Causes Buzz On Campus: It might look like a regular can of whipped cream, but if you take a closer look at the label, you'll see why some university students are really buzzing about whipped lightning. "I think it's awesome, you can throw it on some Jell-O shots. It'd be fantastic," UCF student Bo Frisby said.
Finally, The Black Scourge Of Four Loko Is Off The Nation’s Store Shelves: Our long national nightmare is over. An alcopop that’s built up a cult following is being removed from US stores in its current form today on the orders of the Food and Drug Administration.

And on and on... Back in the day, we used to call alcohol and caffeine drinks "Irish Coffee." If you overindulged, you might annoy the crap out of your fellow tavern patrons by running your mouth at a mile a minute, maybe end up in the emergency room after a particularly nasty bar fight, perhaps wake up in the morning on your neighbor's lawn, or, if your luck gave out, wrap your car around a telephone pole. Overindulgence of alcohol is a risky and potentially dangerous undertaking, always was, always will be. The U.S. Federal Government isn't going to change that by outlawing any particular, albeit politically incorrect, concoction. But that reality didn't stop them from trying the first time, and clearly, it's not stopping them this time around.

The Last Bartender isn't looking so silly now, is it? You can read the first few chapters here. Do it before some self-righteous Senator decides that your doing so would present an unacceptable risk to your impressionable young mind...

A Quick Peek at New Paltz...

2010-11-16T14:58:00.000-05:00

This short clip opens with a great shot of the Shawangunk Ridge, including a nice, clear look at Sky Top Tower. The town of New Paltz sits about five or six miles below the ridge. The area is the setting for much of the action in the second half of my novel, Little Birdies!.

Read the opening chapters to Little Birdies! here.

Nice bird room...

2010-11-14T09:51:00.000-05:00

I love people who go all out for their flock. This beats the heck out of those background posters you can buy to hang behind your bird's cage. And the cockatoo that's laughing while the poor artist is trying to explain his work is hysterical...

Read more about it here: Painted paradise: Bob Nolan's 'Rainforest' is Going to the Birds. It's not quite the aviary that Dan Grant constructed in my book, Little Birdies!, but it's a close second...

The Spix Macaw...

2010-11-12T17:41:00.000-05:00

This is the best video I've seen of the critically endangered Spix Macaw. Native to Brazil, they are unfortunately extinct in the wild; only about 85 specimens exist in captivity.

Marc Morrone takes us on a tour...

2010-10-31T10:28:00.003-04:00

Pet and avian husbandry expert Marc Morrone takes us on an informative tour of his Long Island pet store, Parrots of the World. He speaks at some length about the various parrot and pigeon species that he breeds and sells...

Marc was kind enough to review my third novel, Little Birdies!. Here's what he had to say:

"One of my favorite books of all time was Watership Down, by Richard Adams. The author's descriptions of the pastoral English countryside were vivid and organic, and transported the reader into an imaginary world in ways that only a great novel can do.

It's that ability to carry readers away and immerse them in a fictional world that I most like about Little Birdies! by Anthony F. Lewis. The fact that the setting for much of the book was New York's densely forested Hudson Valley and the spectacular Mohonk Mountain House only upped the measure of personal satisfaction for me. Lewis captures the region's look and feel in a manner that effortlessly sweeps the reader away to the woodland steams and primordial highlands that inhabit the story.

Another mark of a world-class novelist--the late Michael Crichton comes to mind here--is attention to detail; especially scientific detail. There are few things more upsetting for me than when an author ruins a perfectly good story by getting the facts wrong. Such is not the case here. Like Crichton, Lewis has exhaustively researched his subject matter, providing the reader with a convincing and realistic platform from which to launch the story.

There are many good stories around. What sets books like Little Birdies! apart from the rest is the author's attention to detail and the ease with which he draws the reader into the story. Do yourself a favor ... curl up with a copy of Little Birdies! and be prepared to be transported."

You can pick up your copy of Little Birdies! (available in both softcover and Kindle editions) here. And the next time you're in Rockville Centre, be sure to stop in and see Marc, and please tell him I said hello.

Even birds like birds...

2010-10-19T12:40:00.000-04:00

Here's a touching avian encounter that most of us wouldn't expect to see around our backyard bird feeders:

While I did include both Blue and Gold Macaws and Wild Turkey in Little Birdies!, I have to admit I didn't think to feature them in the same scene. Now I know...

Radioactive Fiestaware and the people who detect it...

2010-10-17T09:13:00.002-04:00

After all of the research I did for The Cenacle Scroll, I'm not surprised that there's a lot of radioactive Fiestaware still being uncovered out there. What amazes me is how many people have Geiger Counters...

I've posted more on the subject here, and here. The Cenacle Scroll is non-radioactive (though honestly, I don't have a Geiger Counter, so who knows?), and is available as a Kindle e-book...

Talking about talking parrots...

2010-09-29T13:37:00.000-04:00

Looks like talking parrots have broken through into the mainstream media again, this time in an intelligent look and conversation about a Michael Dalton of Clearwater, FL and his 19-yr-old Green & Gold Macaw, the talkative Arielle.

You can read the entire article here: Is this parrot really talking?

Mr. Dalton has written a book (Another Kind of Mind: A Talking Bird Masters English) about Arielle's 6,000 word vocabulary and his related research, and has a detailed website on the subject at ParrotSpeech.com. Of course, I've written my own book about talking birds (Little Birdies! ) but I don't actually own one (though Noodles the Lovebird does manage to communicate remarkable effectively in her nippy, nonverbal way...), so I won't be scoring a cushy television interview anytime soon. But don't let that stop you: you can read excerpts here, listen to some readings here, and read the reviews here. Talking birds can be a lot more fun than many talking people (in your heart, you know that's true...).

"Birds are technically dinosaurs."

2010-09-19T11:00:00.002-04:00

In a far-ranging, almost hour long discussion, famed paleontologist Jack Horner talks about all things dinosaurs. The dino-chicken discussion start around 15:00. About a half-hour in, he talks about what a very tiny window on the past we actually have, that fossilization is extremely rare, and how it is limited by location and continental geologic activity spanning millions of years. The Jurassic Park/Michael Crichton discussion starts at about 48:00. If you're interested in dinosaurs/paleontology, put on a pot of coffee; this one is well worth your time.

"Dinosaurs were the dominant land animal for 140 million years, and those are the extinct ones; they're still a dominant animal as birds. So how and why a few big, clunky ones went extinct is, to me, not interesting at all." Fascinating stuff...

And if that's not enough for you, please be sure to check out Little Birdies! "...you'll never look at birds the same again! "

Paleontologist Jack Horner on resurrecting extinct life-forms...

2010-09-15T08:15:00.001-04:00

Some interesting thoughts from Jack Horner on the future of paleontology:

Right now if you asked the National Science Foundation how much they thought they were going to be funding in paleontology over the next 30 years, they’d probably say zero, because they’re not very much into historical science. Historical science is being left in the dust. But paleontology isn’t a purely historical science, or at least it won’t be for much longer, because soon we may have the capability of resurrecting extinct life-forms. If we want to see an animal like a velociraptor [a small carnivorous dinosaur], we will be able to create one by genetic engineering. It won’t be a genuine one from the past, but it could be a reasonable simulation. It might even be possible to make something that looks like a T. rex, once we understand what all the genes do and how to turn them on and how to turn them off.

Read the entire interview here: Dinosaurs Might Soon Walk out of the Museum and Into the Lab. Of course, I've got my own reasons for cheering on the development of test-tube dinosaurs...

Anyone remember these?

2010-09-05T17:49:00.000-04:00

I was outside smoking a bowl of Boswell's earthy Northwoods tobacco, when I started waxing nostalgic for the old BlogAds that I used to run for The Third Revolution and Middle America. So I fired up the old Mac Laptop and rummaged through the files to see if I still had them. I did! These, as best I can remember, are circa-2004 through 2006:

Pretty cool, huh? Those were the days when I actually had a few (albeit very few) bucks to spend on ads. Oh, if you've read The Third Revolution but haven't yet gotten around to the sequel, Middle America, I noticed that Amazon has finally knocked a few bucks off the softcover book; it's now only $13.67 (I think it was released at $17.00, so that's quite a haircut). Enjoy...

"From a Master Brewer, a Master Beer..."

2010-08-29T16:39:00.000-04:00

Finally, The Last Bartender snags its first review:

With "The Last Bartender," from Anthony F. Lewis comes this master tale. Set in the not too distant dystopia, "The Last Bartender" chronicles the exploits of Justin Gardiner, a sharp shooting bartender turned brew meister. ...

Things quickly spiral out of control, with a maelstrom of cops, mafioso, and snipers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, with its spirit of adventure, rebellion, and mafia figures. "The Last Bartender" has a few enjoyable tangents which tie together very nicely at the climax of the book. Unlike the beer of the same name, "The Last Bartender" truly is a Meister Brau, and its author is a master craftsman.

Please take a moment and read the entire 5-star review...

Travelers Attacked by a Gang of Kea Parrots...

2010-08-24T10:44:00.000-04:00

This is hysterical. The birds are obviously just looking for an easy meal, but are clearly not ready to take no for an answer. And they seem a lot bigger then I thought they were, don't they? Watch the whole thing, it just keeps getting funnier...

You know how attached I am to flocks of pack-hunting, predatory parrots; check out Little Birdies!. Excerpts, reviews and podcasts here...

Monk Parrots move into Manhattan...

2010-08-10T08:48:00.002-04:00

I wonder if their colony nest is rent controlled?

If you're interested in reading about a parrot invasion of a different sort, be sure to check out Little Birdies! In that book I did reference the existence of local Quaker (Monk) parrot colonies, though at the time I was writing it, the only nearby flocks I was aware of were living in Connecticut. They've since been spreading fast, with sizable flocks now thriving in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, as well as in Manhattan. Excerpts, author readings, and reviews from the book may be found here.

Thank You, Freedom Book Club!

2010-08-03T10:56:00.000-04:00

In a previous post ( In the company of giants... ), I talked at length about what an honor it was to receive a nomination to be in the running for the Freedom Book Club's August, 2010 Book of the Month. Well, the voting ran the entire month of July, and, when the dust settled and the votes were tallied, The Last Bartender came out ahead.

I'll spare you the repetition of everything I said in my previous musings on the subject; suffice it to say that I'm deeply honored by the book's recognition.

The publishing industry is undergoing its greatest change since Johann Gutenberg pioneered the use of movable type printing around 1439. Technology has wrestled the keys to the modern presses from traditional, large publishing houses and their literary agent gatekeepers and handed them to the authors, most of whom would never have seen their words in print otherwise.

This wholesale decentralization of the publishing process hasn't been without its problems. As the top-down model crumbles and the cocktail party literati lose their grip on the velvet rope line, the reading public has been faced with thousands of new authors flooding the field, some worthy, others perhaps less so. How to choose?

That's where organizations like the Freedom Book Club come in. Since 2008, they've spotlighted twenty-eight books as their Book-of-the-Month, promoting generally underappreciated authors and providing readers with recommendations from peers who enjoy reading books that promote individual liberty. Other book clubs and organizations promote other sorts of books: the New York Times Bestseller list makes recommendations to its audience, Oprah makes recommendations to hers, Glenn Beck to his. All serve the same purpose -- to help like-minded readers blaze a trail through the crowded jungle of book selections. It's a role that will rise in importance as the publishing world further decentralizes.

Without the assistance of such guide lights, new authors have a very difficult time breaking through. That's why I'm so appreciative of the Freedom Book Club's recognition. Normally, I'd be in a dark corner, by myself, screaming "Read me! Read me! I'm begging you ... will someone please just take a chance and read me!" The Freedom Book Club just came along, flicked on a flashlight and pointed it at me. It's a good feeling...

Something New...

2010-07-31T11:12:00.000-04:00

For me, at least. One of the standard bits of advice you get from the "experts" when it comes to selling books is to contact your local, independent bookstore and do a "reading" and book signing. I've never tried this, mostly because I deeply suspect that it's a huge waste of time for everyone involved. I can't imagine that anyone seriously wants to sit in a metal folding chair for forty minutes listening to an author read a couple of chapters from the new book. If anyone shows up at all, it's to get their book signed; sitting through the reading is just the price of admission.

That said, just in case anyone does want to hear me read some excepts from my books, now you won't have to wait until I invite you to the local bookstore for a reading (we both know you weren't going to show up, anyway...). Using this nifty little app (CinchCast), you're now able to listen to me drone on from the comfort of your home, sitting, hopefully, on something other then a metal folding chair. Here's a sample from The Last Bartender:

More readings from The Last Bartender can be found here: The Last Bartender Readings.
Readings from Little Birdies! can be found here: Little Birdies! Readings.

If this is not something that appeals to you, remember, it could have been far, far worse. I could have used video...

The Smartest Parrots?

2010-07-13T11:35:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you, but I have my hands full with just Noodles the Lovebird flying around the house. I can't imagine what the place would look like after just a few hours of one of these feathered wrecking balls tearing through the place. This is a fascinating documentary; try to watch the whole thing:

"Experimentation rather than instinct is the hallmark of intelligence."

If you think you'd enjoy reading more about painfully intelligent, pack-hunting, predatory birds and the humans who can't cope with them, check out Little Birdies! I promise you will not be disappointed...

"Look Inside the Book"

2010-07-06T11:52:00.000-04:00

Amazon has activated their "Look Inside the Book" feature for The Last Bartender. I'd be honored if you'd take a few minutes to avail yourself of this nifty feature, and sample a short reading of the story. And it looks like they've included at least some of the sample pages of The Cenacle Scroll and Little Birdies! that I cleverly and self-servingly inserted at the end of the book. Thanks again for your support, and please enjoy the tour...

In the company of giants...

2010-07-05T16:08:00.003-04:00

We've all watched those big Hollywood and music industry award shows where someone shoves a microphone in a nominee's face so they can predictably declare that "...it's an honor just to be nominated."

Like many, my (admittedly cynical) reaction is frequently; "Yeah, right!"

As many of you may already know from my recent Twitter-storm, my latest novel, The Last Bartender, was nominated as a finalist for the Freedom Book Club's book-of-the-month. The honor of that nomination was soon amplified when I realized the company I was in. Also nominated were Ray Bradbury (for Fahrenheit 451) and Robert Heinlein (for The Moon is a Harsh Mistress) , and Brad Linaweaver & J. Kent Hastings (for Anarquia).

I actually re-read Fahrenheit 451 earlier this year for the first time since high-school, so you could imagine my surprise when I found myself mentioned on the same page as Mr. Bradbury, and my book in competition with his timeless, iconic story. The same must be said of Mr. Heinlein, author of not only The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, but classics like Starship Troopers and Strangers in a Strange Land, as well.

All that being said, I'm still not above asking for your vote. While I'm forced to freely admit that I'm not nearly as deserving as the competition, I definitely need the promotional exposure more than they do. Help me!

You can read a few sample chapters of The Last Bartender here, and purchase a copy here (very reasonably priced, I might add...). Thanks for your support, and many, many thanks to the membership of the Freedom Book Club for your recognition. It's an honor just to be nominated. And I mean it.

Sigh ... the sounds of my youth...

2010-06-20T08:45:00.000-04:00

Here's a nice example of a beautifully restored, 1972 Norton Commando 750. Personally, I might choose to live without the orange paint (mine was originally a sort of blue sparkle - I had it repainted a high-gloss black, with gold lettering and pin-striping by the famed Vic Kessler). It looks to me like the pipes have been shortened a bit, and those finned intake rocker covers are definitely aftermarket. I see that the factory turn blinkers are still cluttering up the profile - in my day, we used to call that "extra weight." But she sounds great, is idling nice and strong, and is definitely ready for a nice little romp. Enjoy...

Dr. Irene Pepperberg talks about Alex's passing, and his impact....

2010-06-16T06:36:00.000-04:00

In a rather moving interview, Dr. Pepperberg relates the story of Alex's passing, and the immediate, and unexpected public and personal reactions that followed:

The Last Bartender is now available in Paperback...

2010-06-12T23:29:00.000-04:00

My fourth novel, The Last Bartender, is now available in paperback, and just went live on Amazon. Here's the back page synopsis:

Set in the near future, The Last Bartender follows Justin Gardiner, a highly-decorated Operation Enduring Freedom veteran who returns home to work as a bartender.

Just a few years into his new career, rising healthcare costs and other political factors lead to a new prohibition on alcohol — all bars are closed, retail alcohol sales are halted and criminalized, and Justin finds himself out of work. Soon afterwards, Justin and his barroom cohorts buy a rundown Catskill resort and set up an ambitious bootlegging operation, supplying keg beer to the New York City area.

Events start rapidly spiraling out of control as the Drug Enforcement Agency closes its net and the mob aggressively moves in on the moneymaking operation, leaving Justin and his friends caught in the crossfire of the opposing forces.

The novel is also available as a K indle Ebook.

A fully functional LEGO Sniper rifle...

2010-06-12T09:32:00.004-04:00

I'm sure this is illegal somewhere, but let's at least pause to admire the engineering prowess that went into its construction:

More video and pics at The Inquisitr, and at YouTube. If you're a real LEGO fan, get the whole story at MOCpages. The muzzle velocity leaves a little to be desired, but maybe with the proper rifling and some stronger rubber bands...

If you want to read about a sniper - turned - bartender - turned - bootlegger - turned ... well, read the book: The Last Bartender.

Dr. Irene Pepperberg discusses Alex, the most famous parrot...

2010-06-09T08:36:00.002-04:00

Here's a pair of recently released videos of Dr. Irene Pepperberg discussing how she acquired and trained Alex, the famed African Grey parrot:

Pepperberg's groundbreaking work in animal intelligence and in the communicative abilities of parrots form a big chunk of the scientific basis for my third novel, Little Birdies!. You can check out the opening chapters here. And please consider visiting The Alex Foundation to learn more about Dr. Pepperberg's work.

Cockatoo's dancing correlates with human intelligence...

2010-06-07T09:33:00.000-04:00

Here's a piece from the CBS Sunday Morning News Show featuring Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo. The scientists make the interesting observation that a bird's ability to move rhythmically is tied to their ability to speak. No news here for bird lovers; we always knew that the term "bird brain" was a compliment...

When Dino-Birds Ruled the World...

2010-05-27T17:39:00.000-04:00

Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Gastornis geiselensis lived about 41-56 million years ago, and picked up right where its dinosaur cousins left off. The video also ties in rather nicely with my recent post about avian biting power. Hat tip to The Dinosaur Fossil Blog.

If you find this even remotely interesting, you're sure to enjoy Little Birdies!. Trust me on this...

This is what a 350 lb. per square inch bite looks like...

2010-05-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

In Little Birdies!, there was some discussion of the relative biting power of various species. Humans clock in at about 100/150 lbs/sq. inch, dogs at 300, maybe 320 lbs./sq. inch. A big Hyacinth Macaw, like Big Max in the book as well as the one shown below, can bite at about 350 pounds per square inch. This is what that looks like:

I was cringing while watching this. It's so obviously dangerous for the bird; one of those steel bars could easily have snapped back into the bird's eye or head and ... well, I guess we wouldn't have seen the video then, would we? I would have removed him immediately and let him live on a playstand or something until I could get an adequate cage in there for him.

That aside, I think this is a great, if unfortunate, illustration about how these large parrots are wild animals in every sense of the world, and that inviting one into your home is a major undertaking and commitment. How long do you think your living room or bedroom furniture would stand up against that beak? Don't get me wrong, I love companion parrots, but you have to remember: it's always all about the bird.

Anyway, FYI, a big snapping turtle has a bite of approximately 1,000 lbs./sq. inch, while a big crocodile can top 2,500 lbs./sq.inch. The discussion in the book continues on about the bite of a rather powerful, unknown creature that has been spotted in the area. Check out the excerpts to get started...

The new cover...

2010-05-22T19:34:00.000-04:00

Here's a look at the new cover that will grace the soon-to-be-released print edition of The Last Bartender. I'll upload it to the Kindle edition as well, soon as I update that file with a refreshed version of the manuscript (that'll happen some time early next week). Kinda cool, I think...

It must be the old bartender in me...

2010-05-22T11:27:00.000-04:00

I've poured a lot of Johnnie Walker in my day, and have even enjoyed a few sips myself. This little piece tells the storied history of the world-famous brand, and is well worth watching. A tip of the top hat to Sex, Cigars & Booze for uncovering this gem:

"An amazing 6-minute short film for Johnnie Walker whisky featuring Robert Carlyle walking the hills of Loch Doyne in Scotland recounting, in full detail, the story of how the Scottish farmer turned his product into the world famous brand it is today. Other than the great story, it was filmed in one continuous shot. It took Robert 40 tries to finally get it right."

Johnnie Walker is, of course, proudly poured at the Brookwood Resort, an old Catskill speakeasy featured in my latest novel, The Last Bartender. The story is presently only available as a Kindle ebook, but I'm in the process of finalizing the new (professionally done) cover and hope to have the print edition out to you in June.

Another cool look at hot dinnerware....

2010-05-19T14:45:00.001-04:00

A little while ago I posted a piece about radioa ctive dinnerware. In brief, red Fiestaware made from 1936 through 1943, and from 1959 through 1969, used Uranium as a coloring agent in the glaze. Watch this:

That's one way to keep the soup warm...

Middle America available for Kindle...

2010-05-17T15:57:00.000-04:00

My second novel, Middle America, is now available as a Kindle ebook. Middle America is the sequel to The Third Revolution. It was originally released in 2006, and has been carefully updated and re-edited for this electronic edition. You can find a couple of sample chapters here, and the reviews here.

U.S. Sniper Rifle to get an upgrade...

2010-05-14T15:59:00.003-04:00

This, I believe, is old news, but posting it gives me a chance to provide an update on the progress I'm making on The Last Bartender. First, the article, from Popular Mechanics: The U.S. Sniper's More Accurate, Quieter Rifle.

"For snipers, every war is different. Recognizing the differences between conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army is now selecting a contractor to upgrade the 22-year-old Remington bolt-action rifle to become a more effective killing machine. The Army will pour about $5.6 million into upgrades to the M24, with the new gear expected to be delivered to troops by this fall. The M24's barrel is being modified to shoot heavier .300 Winchester Magnum rounds, instead of the 7.62mm NATO ammunition, which should extend the rifle's maximum effective range by hundreds of yards to a maximum of about 1400 yards. The suppressor will reduce the noise and flash of the gun so snipers can stay in their hiding positions much longer after they fire."

In The Last Bartender, former army sniper Justin Gardiner uses the old school, bolt-action M24 chambered in .300 WinMag. Existing M24s are typically chambered in .308 Win (7.62x51mm NATO), but were also available in the more muscular .300 WinMag. The rule of thumb was that the .308 was fine for distances up to around 800 yards, the .300 WinMag up to around 1,000 yards. The article indicates that they've extended that maximum range out to 1,400 yards - I don't know if that's right or wrong, but I suppose that an updated, round-specific barrel twist rate and rifling, and superior optics could help in that regard.

So where is The Last Bartender? Well, the Kindle Edition has been available for a couple of months now. I've finished formating the manuscript for a print edition, and expect to have the cover art in hand by the middle of next week (I've already signed off on the design). So, hopefully, everything will be submitted to the publisher by the end of next week, and the print edition should be available on Amazon by the beginning of June.

Right now, the Kindle Edition remains on sale for 99 cents. After I submit the (print) manuscript to the publisher, I'm going to update the Kindle Edition so that it matches the book version (there were some copy-editing corrections, some minor formatting changes and a small handful of re-written paragraphs). At that point I'm going to raise the (Kindle) price to $3.49, the same as the rest of my ebooks. Still reasonable, I believe...

So if you've been waiting on the book, hang in there. It's on the way...

Pet Expert Marc Morrone on the oil spill...

2010-05-04T08:35:00.001-04:00

Pet expert, TV personality and owner of the internationally renowned pet store, Parrots of the World, Marc Morrone made an appearance on Fox & Friends to say a few words about the effect that the Gulf oil spill will have on wildlife breeding habitats.

This second, "After The Show" segment is actually more interesting:

Marc, of course, was kind enough to review my third novel, Little Birdies!. His own new book, A Man for All Species, is now available on Amazon. And here's a little more on that fantastic Victoria Crown Pigeon he's holding.

Record-Breaking Sniper Shot...

2010-05-03T12:06:00.001-04:00

British army sniper Craig Harrison has logged the longest sniper shots in military history by dusting two Taliban machine gunners from a distance of 8,120 feet (2706 yards). That's better than a mile and a half, and beat the old record by 150 feet or so. The bullets took almost three seconds to reach their target.

Corporal Harrison took his shots in November of 2009, but the details were released to the news media only today.

The new record sent me digging through the manuscript of The Last Bartender, which I'm in the process of locking down for print publication. I'd referenced the previous record in there (held by a Canadian sniper using a .50 caliber system) and needed to adjust the text to reflect the new reality.

Corporal Harrison used used the pricey, British-built L115A3 Long Range Rifle, firing a 8.59mm (.338 caliber) bullet. Here's a brief video describing the weapon system:

It really gives new meaning to the phrase "Reach out and touch somebody." I'm hoping to get the print version of The Last Bartender out to you by June. Meanwhile, the Kindle version is already available, and the first two chapters are available here. Nice shooting, Corporal Harrison!

May 6, 2010 Update: Here's a Fox News clip featuring a brief discussion of Corporal Harrison's accomplishment. It's not very technically astute but it does give you some idea of how difficult making a shot like that is, much less two consecutive shots.

700 Parrots. Man, that's a LOT of food prep in the morning...

2010-04-26T12:31:00.000-04:00

The World Parrot Refuge provides a home for over 700 parrots that have been turned in, abandoned or rescued. The birds are allowed to live out their lives among their own kind and in more free-flight space than they could ever be practically allowed in a typical home situation. Check out their informative video:

Obnoxious plug alert!

In Little Birdies!, Dan Grant has his own, perhaps slightly more exotic, private parrot refuge, and is driven by the same motivations of those good folks who do it for real. He does end up with a bit more than he bargained for, though. You can read sample chapters here.

E-Books Really ARE Different Animals...

2010-04-20T08:31:00.001-04:00

I spent the bulk of yesterday tweaking and "republishing" the Kindle e-book edition of Little Birdies!. The mini-project started out as my wanting to add one sentence to the manuscript -- I'm reading Suzie Gilbert's Flyaway, and I wanted to amp up a paragraph describing the world of wild bird rehabilitation.

I added my sentence and then, as long as I was under the hood, decided to make a few other changes. I completed the list of my published novels that appears in the opening, title pages. I added sample, promotional chapters of The Last Bartender and The Cenacle Scroll to the end of the book. I standardized all of the the fonts in the manuscript so they were more "Kindle-friendly." I added hard breaks in between chapters, also something Kindle appreciates.

Editing these things is time consuming and difficult. A Kindle e-book (Birdies, for instance, with its new promotional chapters) is essentially a 440-page-long, single scrolling web page. You not only have to check it for the usual array of typos, spelling errors, formating screw-ups and the other copyediting land-mines that you would normally scan for in a hard copy edition, but must add to that (and fix) the seemingly inexplicable HTML conversion artifacts that always creep into the mix. It's actually worse that that, since, for me at least, publishing a Kindle e-book involves converting a Word.doc to HTML to Kindle's proprietary DRM (digital rights management) AZW file format. Stir in the sub-standard reader-emulator that Kindle gives you to work with, and you've got a real party on your hands.

What's interesting about this process, though, is that I'm able to edit and/or update a book "on the fly." After "republishing," the book will effectively be off-the-market for only two or three days while Amazon confirms that it is what I say it is, and then the new version will be available to the public, and at no cost to the publisher (that would be me). I reedited and reformatted the book on Monday, and the new version will be available to readers by Wednesday or Thursday. Try doing that with a print version.

Let's go to the zoo!

2010-04-16T14:12:00.000-04:00

Here's a nicely done, six minute tour of the Bronx Zoo:

Because I like the zoo...

Professor Jack Horner - Bringing Dinosaurs Back From Extinction

2010-04-13T19:42:00.001-04:00

Famed "Jurassic Park" Paleontologist Jack Horner is the guest on These Days, a talk-show on KPBS radio in San Diego. He talks about his book, How to Build a Dinosaur, and covers the complexity and benefits of the ongoing research into doing just that. It runs about 22 minutes: Bringing Dinosaurs Back From Extinction

The story of my own dinobirds can be found in Little Birdies!, available in both softcover and as a Kindle e-book.

Prohibition, Redux

2010-04-10T13:23:00.001-04:00

Alcohol Prohibition was the law of the land in the U.S. from 1920 to 1933, and I think we all know how well that worked out. Today's "War on Drugs" (or, more correctly, the War on (Some) Drugs...) seems to be working out about the same. Here's a brief refresher course:

My latest novel, The Last Bartender, postulates the imposition of a second federal alcohol prohibition (don't laugh ... now that you're responsible for your neighbor's healthcare costs, don't you have a financial interest in his overall health as well? Your government certainly thinks so...). As you might expect, this state of affairs isn't greeted with the same level as enthusiasm by everyone, and the story follows a cadre of those still-thirsty malcontents as they make their way through the new legal and cultural landscape.

I had a ton of fun writing this book. As many of you know, I worked as a bartender in many a ginmill in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, from the elegant (Trumpets Bar in the Grand Hyatt Hotel and Elmer's in the El Morocco Club), to the rightfully famous (Peter Luger Steak House) to the sleazy (way too numerous to mention). I'm selling it as fiction, but there're many former revelers still walking the streets of Queens who know that many of the personalities and scenes scattered throughout the story are anything but. That's assuming they can remember...

The Last Bartender is now available as a Kindle E-Book. You may read a couple of sample chapters here. Cheers...

Deciphering the Zebra Finch's Songbook...

2010-04-01T09:32:00.000-04:00

We know that parrots are smart. But did you know that baby Zebra Finches learn to sing the same way that human infants learn to speak - by imitating a parent?

From Songbird genome analysis reveals new insights into vocal behavior:

The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), which derives its name from the black-and-white stripes on the male finch's throat, serves as a valuable model for studying human speech, communication and neurological disorders. The finch is the first songbird — and the second bird, after the chicken — to have its genome sequenced.

A major reason researchers decided to study the zebra finch genome was the male bird's ability to learn complex songs from his father. At first, a fledgling finch makes seemingly random sounds, much like the babble of human babies. With practice, the young bird eventually learns to imitate his father's song. Once the bird has mastered the family song, he will sing it for the rest of his life and pass it on to the next generation. ... In addition to male songbirds, other animals that communicate through learned vocalizations include other songbirds, parrots, hummingbirds, bats, whales and humans.

"These findings will transform scientific research on the songbird system," said Story Landis, Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), which also provided support for the study. "Although scientists understand much about how songbirds acquire and modify their vocal patterns, the availability of the genome sequence will allow insight into the molecular underpinnings of this natural behavior. This could lead to better understanding of learning and memory, neural development and adaptation, and speech and hearing disorders."

Read more on the subject here: Tweet: Scientists decode songbird's genome, provide clues on language learning.

Research in a similar vein was introduced at the beginning of my novel Little Birdies!, and formed the basis for Dr. Ross's work with transgenic African Grey Parrots. Little Birdies! is available as a softcover book or as a Kindle ebook...

Your Radioactive Dinner Setting...

2010-03-29T16:31:00.001-04:00

Well, only if you're still setting the dinner table with your old Fiestaware from the 1960s. From 1936 through 1943, and from 1959 through 1969, the manufacturer used Uranium as a coloring agent in the glaze. The process needed to be discontinued from 1944 to 1958 as the U.S. government needed any and all available Uranium stockpiles for the war effort and the subsequent nuclear arms race. Seriously.

The use of Uranium in pottery glazes is central to a major plot twist in The Cenacle Scroll. The first example of such usage dates back to 79A.D., to a sample of green/yellow mosaic glass taken from a Roman villa near Naples, though that fact is in dispute. I managed to exploit that little-known factoid into a cause of considerable consternation for my protagonist and to the God-fearing public at large.

Uranium has also been used in glass (Uranium or "Vaseline" glass) since the mid-19th-century, reaching its peak popularity from the 1880s to the 1920s. The uranium content varies from around 2% to upwards of 25% for some mid-19th-century pieces. And you were worried about standing too close to the microwave oven!

The short video clip below demonstrates how "hot" a single piece of red/orange Fiestaware can be:

If you're interested in seeing how a smattering of science can be twisted into an entertaining societal farce, please be sure to check out The Cenacle Scroll, available at Amazon as a Kindle e-book.

The Origins of Intelligence, Parrot, Human or Otherwise...

2010-03-20T09:57:00.000-04:00

In Little Birdies!, Dr. Donald Ross gets the ball rolling with his controversial experiments in animal intelligence, implanting a human intelligence gene into six African Grey Parrots. As presented in the book, Dr. Ross is particularly interested in the biological underpinnings of the evolution of intelligence. From Little Birdies!, chapter three:

This latest success, the creation of transgenic parrots, was just the most recent high point in a short career dotted with high points. As a Ph.D. candidate, he had done groundbreaking work on the evolutionary role of intelligence—attempting to answer, at the genetic level, basic questions—like how primates developed such a high a level of intelligence, while, say, tree frogs, had not. If intelligence held such great evolutionary advantages, how come tree frogs and hamsters didn’t develop 140 IQs? In some respects, the answer was self-evident—for a 140 IQ the physics of anatomy demanded a three-pound brain, something that could be a distinct disadvantage to anotherwise two-ounce tree frog.

Ross pursued the overarching hypothesis that animal life had all of the intelligence that any form needed to compete effectively in its respective ecosystem, and no more.

So how did nature modulate that necessary intelligence? What were the biological underpinnings that determined why a parrot was smarter than a tree frog, but not as smart as Homo sapiens? How did a creature’s genetic blueprint redraw itself in order to express the necessary level of intelligence to allow that creature an effectively competitive position within its ecosystem?

Ross wanted to know. His research had already shown that the NR2B gene had considerable inﬂuence on the biomechanics of that question. His new line of inquiry would test the limits of genetic involvement, utilizing creatures that had already demonstrated the ability to master, at least on an elementary level, associative speech.

Ross stepped aside and allowed a determined looking nurse to barrel past him. New York Presbyterian Hospital was right around the corner—just across the street from the university—and whatever she was doing tonight was likely to be more important to somebody than anything he had planned. It was starting to ﬂurry again. It looked like they had gotten about an inch earlier in the day, and that was on top of the six inches they’d been hit with a week before. But the sidewalks on 65^thwere well-sanded and salted, melting the snow as soon as it hit the ground, leaving a sole-sucking, sloppy slurry for Ross to splash through.

I wonder what those little birds are thinking? Ross thought.
So this morning I come across this clip of palaeobiologist Simon Conway Morris discussing virtually the same subject. Not only does he sound like Prof. Ross, he even sort of looks like him:

It's gratifying to know that my fictional Dr. Ross was barking up the right tree. Now if he could only sell some books for me...

Oh, Little Birdies! is also available as a Kindle E-Book.

Sky Top Tower...

2010-03-14T18:50:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick little video, apparently taken from one of the upper floors of the Mohonk Mountain House, showing the snow covered lake and overhanging cliffs. About 25 seconds in, the photographer zooms right in on Sky Top Tower at the top of the hill, providing a great, clear look at the structure. If you've read Little Birdies!, you'll recognize this as a pivotal location in the story:

Real Transgenic Fish vs. Fictional Transgenic Parrots...

2010-03-12T15:53:00.000-05:00

You know, after writing at length about transgenic parrots, you'd think I'd be a little more open to the idea. But I find this whole transgenic salmon with a human "six-pack" a bit creepy. Make up your own mind:

Ugh. If you prefer that your transgenic wildlife remain fictional, check out Little Birdies!, now available in softcover or as a Kindle E-Book.

The M24 Sniper System...

2010-03-10T10:51:00.000-05:00

In my latest novel, The Last Bartender, the protagonist, Justin Gardiner, is a former Army sniper, working behind a neighborhood bar after returning home from two tours in Afghanistan. His weapon, an old M24—based, like the newer model, on the venerable Remington 700—returns home with him, and appears several times over the course of the story.

This video describes the features of the M24-A2. They seem to have upgraded the optics considerably (Justin's M24 has a fixed-power (10X) scope), and the stock looks like it has a few more bells & whistles compared to the previous model, but otherwise it looks quite similar to the one used in the story.

The Last Bartender is now available as a Kindle E-Book.

Does the world really need yet another Holy Grail story?

2010-03-08T09:24:00.001-05:00

Well, yeah, at least more than it needs another vampire story. The Cenacle Scroll takes a slightly different view of the Grail narrative than you might be used to. The story postulates that the historical vessel -- used by Christ to celebrate the Last Supper -- was essentially the first-century equivalent of a Howard Johnson's water tumbler.

This isn't meant to be disrespectful in any way. Jesus and the Apostles were, after all, wandering from town to town, and, according to most accounts, had just arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. I doubt they showed up at the public house for their celebratory meal with their own complete set of dinnerware. Like any of us when traveling, they would have availed themselves of the proprietor's utilitarian place settings; in this case, likely a collection of robust, unadorned, kiln-fired stoneware.

If it was a Passover meal (a position with which not all scholars agree; see Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?) there likely would have been a large, celebratory wine goblet. If we assume that to be the Holy Grail, we can also assume that the apostles left it behind, as it was the property of their host. Like the rest of the table clutter, after the guests had left it would have been emptied, tossed into a basket, cleaned and returned to a shelf, possibly to be used on the following day for another set of travelers.

Where did it end up? Well, that's the stuff of which novels are born...

Conveniently, my take on the matter, The Cenacle Scroll, is available as a Kindle E-Book. And a couple of sample chapters are available here.

A Quiet Moment from the American Serengeti...

2010-03-07T10:03:00.000-05:00

Here's a quiet, contemplative moment with American's largest native mammal, the bison:

From Bringing Bison back to North America:

"The next 10 to 20 years could be extremely significant for restoring wild populations of American bison to their original roaming grounds. But for this to happen, more land must be made available for herds to roam free, government policies must be updated and the public must change its attitude towards bison."

I'm doing what I can. Please read the whole article here: Bringing Bison back to North America

The Last Bartender now available as a Kindle e-book.

2010-03-04T08:49:00.000-05:00

My fifth novel, The Last Bartender, is now available as a Kindle e-book. I'm still having some difficulties with the cover image (it's white on white), but you'll get the idea. Here's the snapshot synopsis:

Set in the near future, The Last Bartender follows Justin Gardiner, a highly-decorated Operation Enduring Freedom sniper who returns home to work as a bartender.

Just a few years into his new career, rising healthcare costs and other political factors lead to a new prohibition on alcohol — all bars are closed, retail alcohol sales are halted and criminalized and Justin finds himself out of work. Soon afterwards, Justin and his barroom cohorts buy a rundown Catskill resort and set up an ambitious bootlegging operation, supplying keg beer to the New York City area.

Events start rapidly spiraling out of control as the Drug Enforcement Agency closes its net and the mob aggressively moves in on the moneymaking operation, leaving Justin and his friends caught in the crossfire of the opposing forces.

I think the story will appeal to fans of The Third Revolution, as it's an oppressive government action (a second alcohol Prohibition ) that triggers the main storyline. Also, if you've got a passing interest in homebrewing, cannabis-infused beer, or rundown Catskill resorts, well, be sure to check it out. And I think that gun-culture fans will find a lot to like here. I'm making it available for only 99¢ for the time being to try to generate some chatter. Hope you enjoy it...

African Grey Parrots Hit the Links...

2010-03-02T13:04:00.000-05:00

Heh. Two of my favorites: parrots and golf....

Read the article here: Parrots heckle golfers

How to Make a Book - Old School

2010-02-25T17:18:00.000-05:00

As I sit here preparing my third book in two weeks for digital publication, I came across this (from Omnivoracious):

Personally, I prefer my laptop...