Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Earth with dark soot particles


The Dark Side of Carbon
As interest in Earth's changing climate heats up, a tiny dark particle is stepping into the limelight: black carbon. Commonly known as soot, black carbon enters the air when fossil fuels and biofuels, such as coal, wood, and diesel are burned. Black carbon is found worldwide, but its presence and impact are particularly strong in Asia. Black carbon, a short-lived particle, is in perpetual motion across the globe. The Tibetan Plateau's high levels of black carbon likely impact the region's temperature, clouds and monsoon season. Image Credit: NASA


12/15/2009 23:00:00

12 great under-recognized novels



Mr. Samler's Planet Saul Bellow

If On a Winter's Night a Traveler Italo Calvino

Geek Love Katherine Dunn

Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro

The Trial Franz Kafka

Blind Date Jerzy Kosinski

The Book of Laughter Milan Kundera
and Forgetting

Love in the Time of Cholera Gabriel Marquez

Kafka on the Shore Haruki Murakami

Laughter in the Dark Vladamir Nabokov

The Violent Bear it Away Flannery O'Connor

The Secret History Donna Tartt






Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Chekov in Tombstone

Green fern and tree


December 24, 2007; Armstrong Redwoods, California

From Andrey Bitkin, Chicago, Illinois. FujiFilm, FinePix, S5 Pro.