“Riot of Life” at 8000 Feet Below Sea Level

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Watch Under the Sea Near Antarctica, ‘a Riot of Life’ Discovered in Super-Heated Water on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Startling discoveries have been made of heretofore unknown species in explorations of deep ocean waters near Antarctica. Learning about all these newly discovered species, my mind turns quickly to thoughts of extraterrestrial life. After all, we know that conditions in space would be extreme, even more extreme than 800 degrees and all the pressure that must be exerted on life at 8000 feet below sea level. Still, if life forms can flourish in those conditions, maybe there are some kinds of organisms, beyond our current imaginings, that would also thrive in deep space. // more . . .

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400 Years Later, More Room for Books at Oxford University

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Memories came flooding back this morning when I found online an article originating in the Oxford Times, headlined “Bodleian Library Gets an Upgrade.” Andrew Ffrench reports,
“Just over a year ago, library staff began transporting books to the South Marston site from Oxford, from its store in Nuneham Courtenay, and from a Cheshire salt mine, which was also being used to store part of its vast collection. The book move, the biggest since the library opened in 1602, was completed on schedule. One milestone was December 23, when the seventh million volume was shelved. The library, one of the oldest in Europe, and known to scholars as the ‘Bodley’ or ‘the Bod’, has 11 million volumes and is only second in size to the British Library. It is one of a handful of legal deposit libraries, which are required to keep a copy of every new book published. The completion of the move is part of the Bodleian’s plan to free up space and make its treasures more accessible for the public by providing larger display areas. Earlier this year, a collection of Franz Kafka’s letters to his sister went on display. The Treasures of the Bodleian exhibition included part of Jane Austen’s first draft of her unpublished novel The Watsons, which went on show for the first time since it was bought at auction earlier this year. Marco Polo’s travel manuscript from the 14th century, the Codex Mendoza, and a handwritten draft of war poet Wilfred Owen’s ‘Anthem For Doomed Youth’ also went on display. ” // more . . .

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#Fridayreads/12-30, ‘Field Gray’ by Philip Kerr, a Bernie Gunther Novel

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#Fridayreads Philip Kerr’s Field Gray, a Bernie Gunther novel featuring the detective who’s navigated the amoral world of Berlin before, during and after WWII in seven magnificent books. The latest has especially brilliant plotting, w/the narrative taking Gunther and his memory through all the war years as he endures harsh interrogation from Yanks who arrest him in Cuba in 1954. I find inflections of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib in the book. Kerr is a master. If you’ve never read a Bernie Gunther novel, I urge you to begin the series. March Violets is the first, and I do recommend you read them in order, though one could also just start with Field Gray.

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Stay With GoDaddy for Influence, or Ditch ‘Em?

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TPM’s IdeaLab has a very thorough analysis covering the controversy buffeting web hoster GoDaddy in the past week. Until today they’d been supporting the controversial SOPA bill that failed as Congress ended its recent session. SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) has been criticized by netizens who fear it will just allow large content owners to dominate the streams of […]

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#Fridayreads/Dec. 23

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#fridayreads Just finished reading one of Archer Mayor’s great Joe Gunther mysteries, ‘The Ragman’s Memory’ and listening to compelling audiobook of ‘The Psychopath Test: Inside the Madness Industry’ voiced by author Jon Ronson. Now moving on to read his ‘Men Who Stare at Goats.’ Ronson’s a great reporter w/obsessive interests that mirror my own.

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Two Great Graphic Novels Coming as Ebooks

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I just got an email from Montreal comics publisher Drawn & Quarterly, a company that produces exceptionally fine graphic novels and comic nonfiction, announcing their first entry into the ebooks space with two books by artist/writer Chester Brown. I think their email is worth quoting at length, because this is a fine print publisher stepping in to ebooks and because of their ebook royalty, which they explain will be an equal share with their authors. This is especially topical, in light of Michael Chabon’s new arrangement with Open Road Media, which I’ve discussed in an earlier post today. Bravo to D&Q and Kobo! This is an exciting publishing collaboration. //more

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Chabon’s Hyperbole Undermines his Fair Critique

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I suggest that the book industry view the cost savings from the diminishment of print as a kind of “peace dividend” for authors and publishers and other stakeholders like retail booksellers. Parties should share fairly in whatever windfall is to come. I would accuse the major publishers of being shortsighted and dumb and in thrall to old ways, but I fear that hyperbole like Chabon’s will only further degrade the debate and discussion that must proceed between publishers and authors, lest Amazon eventually become the monopoly publisher and bookseller many bookpeople nowadays fear is looming in our collective future. //more

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All the Romneys’ Horses

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In a weird and offensive article last Sunday that was headlined “Two Mitt Romneys–Wealthy Man, Thrifty Habits,” the New York Times reported on the Republican pol’s supposed ambivalence about his enormous wealth. I barely gave it a look at the time, quickly relegating it to the category of things I didn’t need to know about.

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