Let's Talk About Sex (On The Beach)

Morning Commute
Lawrys Narrows
January 4, 2007

Once nearly exterminated, New England harbor and gray seals are on the increase in the Gulf of Maine. This rebound, the result of two decades of legal protection, is an environmental success story. It has also created a new set of environmental management problems: as seal populations have grown, encounters between humans and seals have also increased, both on shore and off. Commercial fishers and salmon farmers, in particular, are concerned that increasing seal populations are threatening their livelihoods — a situation which is complicated by the concurrent collapse of wild groundfish stocks in the region. (via: WhaleNet)

Male seals are taking advantage of the effects of climate change by having more sex, according to a new study. — BBC NEWS

All I'm saying, is that it sounds like somebody's keeping (Read: gettin') busy.

Or, take:

1 1/2 oz. Vodka
3/4 oz. Peachtree Schnapps
1/2 oz. Creme de Cassis
2 oz. Orange juice
2 oz. Cranberry juice
Orange slice
Maraschino cherry

Shake all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into a highball glass. Garnish with lime wedge.

And meet me in Lawrys Narrows.

•••

Salt-N-Pepa: Whatta Man
Salt-N-Pepa: Shoop

(Buy: Salt-N-Pepa: Very Necessary)

Let It Snow (Already)

Snowflakes
Photographed by Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley
Jericho, Vermont

"Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind." — Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley, 1925

I've had it up to here with global warming. I'm ready for snow. How about you?

•••

Joe Williams: Let It Snow!
(Buy: Joe Williams: That Holiday Feelin')

Too Many Bodies, And Not Enough Grass (Snow, or Wreaths)

Christmas at the Arlington National Cemetery
December 2005
U.S. Air Force photograph by Master Sgt. Jim Varhegyi

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo,
Shovel them under and let me work--
I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work.

Grass, Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

The Department of Defense has identified 2,915 American service members who have died since the start of the Iraq war. It confirmed the deaths of the following Americans over the weekend:

Jesse J. J.Castro, 22, Sgt., Army; Chalan Pago, Guam
Kristofer R.Ciraso, 26, Staff Sgt., Army; Bangor, Maine
Micah S.Gifford, 27, Specialist, Army; Redding, California
Jason I.Huffman, 23, Cpl., Army; Conover, North Carolina
Travis C.Krege, 24, Pfc., Army; Cheektowaga, New York
Henry W. Linck, 23, Staff Sgt., Army; Manhattan, Kansas
Joshua B. Madden, 21, Specialist, Army; Sibley, Louisiana
Yari Mokri, 26, Specialist, Army; Pflugerville, Texas
Travis L. Patriquin, 32, Capt., Army; Texas
Vincent J. Pomante, III, 22, Specialist, Army; Westerville, Ohio

•••

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra: Big Man
(Buy: Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra: Who Is This America)

Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble: Star Wars
(Buy: Akoya: Introducing The Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble)

Linton Kwesi Johnson: Reality Poem
(Buy: Linton Kwesi Johnson: Forces of Victory)

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes: Wake Up Everybody
(Buy: Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes: Wake Up Everybody)

Aretha Franklin: Someday We'll All Be Free
(Buy: Malcolm X: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack)