My Town Monday: Glow-In-The-Dark Waves in San Diego, CA

Here's what our ocean looks like during the day...

Red Tide in San Diego (photo credit: Gary Robbins, Union-Tribune)


And here's what it looks like at night...

Bioluminescent waves (photo credit: Brian Witkin, google images)

Phytoplankton, an algae that blooms late in the summer, is lighting up our beaches thanks to a scientific phenomenon called bioluminescence. When these tiny creatures are jostled, a chemical reaction occurs at the cellular level, and, wow, a blue light flashes.

So, when a wave breaks, billions of these single-cell organisms emit blue flashes. It's kind of like a wave of fireflies. Of course, there are lots of fun ways to light up the night: run along the beach, stir the water with your foot, surf, throw water from a bucket, etc. I've even heard you can fill a bottle with sea water and flush it down your toilet.

How long will the red tide be with us? No one knows for sure. It arrived at the end of September and may suddenly leave if the weather changes and blows it out or if a bunch of salp, a small jellylike creature, drift in and eat them up or if... Then again, the red tide might stick around for a while.

But, at least for the moment, we have glow-in-the-dark waves in San Deigo!

I'm this week's hostess. If you throw up a My Town Monday post, let me know here or on the official My Town Monday blog, and I'l link to you on both.

Below are links to some interesting My-Town-Monday posts by other bloggers:

Debra of From Skilled Hands has proof of great beauty in her small Village of Peninsula, Ohio

Jeannette Marie Powell has a haunting post on Frankenstein's Tower in Dayton, Ohio. Ooooh...


Enjoy your Monday!



sources:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/27/red-tide-causing-stunning-bioluminescence-san-dieg/?sciquest
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/red-tide-glows-blue-along-the-san-diego-coast-photo/2011/09/30/gIQAFGXr9K_blog.
htmlhttp://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_27326fb7-8916-55b4-8633-829a61dc69fe.html

My Town Monday: Blue Whales Spotted, San Diego CA

Thank you Google Images for this picture of a blue whale. The swimmer is not me.

Endangered blue whales are being spotted off the coast here. This is unusual. While we're pretty good at predicting when gray whales will cruise by, blue whales don't have regular migration patterns. According to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the blue whales have come to visit for our krill. Thanks to complicated factors like super swirling ocean waters this year, we currently have an abundance of these shrimp-like creatures. Blue whales are always on the lookout for a swarm of krill. A blue whale might suck back 4+ tons or 40 million krill a day.

Blue whales (they're actually blue-gray) are enormous. In fact, they're the largest mammals in the world, growing to 75-100 feet (depending on the hemisphere). Males weigh about 100 tons, while females, ta dum, can weigh in at a hefty 150 tons. Nursing calves gain 200 pounds a day, which translates to 8 or so pounds an hour and 1 1/2 inches a day! How wild is this?! It's like you could actually watch them grow!

To help you get even more of a sense of how huge these guys are:
~50 people could stand on the tongue of a blue whale
~A blue whale's heart is the size of a car

Blue whales can communicate with each other over hundreds of sea miles. More than heard, their low rumbling sounds are actually felt. This is my favorite fact. Also, they're very fast swimmers. They generally cruise at 12 mph, but can ramp it up to 30 mph when necessary.

It's a good time to go whale watching. The blue whales will be here until Halloween. There are only about 5000 of these creatures in the world.

Oh, and just in case you don't know this, whales have belly buttons. ;)

Here's a link to the official My Town Monday blog for links to more posts about various corners of the world. Always of interest!

Oh, and Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to my fellow citizens!



sources:
http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/bluewhl.htm
http://www.10news.com/news/29413683/detail.html
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/planetocean/bluewhale.html

Happy Birthday Child #3

Yesterday at 8 pm on the dot, Child #3 turned sixteen! He's very energetic, competitive, smart, good-looking, optimistic, humorous, interesting, entertaining (perhaps too entertaining, according to a teacher or two). He's truly one of those people you like to hang out with.

It's hard to believe he's actually sixteen! Even harder to think about him leaving the nest in just a few years. (I have departure on the brain with Child#2 off for his freshman year at college.)

Below is a video (very short) of how Child #3's high school water polo team helped him celebrate the big day.




Watch out Child #3!!!!

The Book Review Club (October 2011)

Welcome one and all to the THIRTY-FOURTH meeting of our Book Review Club. (The caps are my shock at such a robust number of meetings!!)

Today you are in for many treats. We have terrific reviews, starting with one by my little sister! There she is, above and to the left, eating Indian candy. Next to her is her daughter/my niece noshing on a samosa (which you can't see, but is there nonetheless). The food goes with the book reviewed.

Do you see the smile on my little sister's face? It's because she's sharing a book she absolutely loves.( And maybe a little bit because of the candy.) Thanks for joining in this month, Sheilagh! You're the best!

SECRET DAUGHTER by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Secret Daughter, Shilpi Samaya Gowda’s first book, is about motherhood. The story follows two families, one in India and one in America. Americans Somer and Krishan adopt Asha, Kavita’s birth daughter.

Kavita lives in a small village in India, in a culture that favours sons. When she gives birth to her second daughter, there is only one way she can save her from the same fate as her first daughter. Barely a day after giving birth, Kavita walks all day to Mumbai with her sister, carrying her new baby, and leaves her in the orphanage. It is the only time Kavita defies her husband, Jasu. She never forgets this daughter and often imagines reuniting with her.

On the other side of the world, Somer, after several miscarriages, agrees to consider adoption. Her husband, Krishan, who was born in India, encourages her to adopt a child from India, and they end up adopting Kavita’s daughter, Asha.

The story follows the lives of Somer, Krishnan and Asha, who wishes to know more about her birth parents, as well as Kavita, Jasu and their much anticipated, but disappointing, son. Throughout the story, the author shows the relationships between family members and the difficulties they face over time, leading up to Jasu’s moving recognition of Kavita’s bravery.

This story will tug at your heart strings long after you've closed the book.

To read more about Shilpi Somay Gowda and watch an interview with her, please click here.


Below are amazing reviews put together by amazing reviewers. All for you. Please click through.

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Jody Feldman: DOING THE GALAXY GAMES: THE CHALLENGERS by Greg R. Fishbone (Middle Grade)

Staci of Life in the Thumb: THE EMERALD ATLAS by John Stephens (Middle Grade)

Kaye of the Road Goes Ever Ever On: THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman (/Middle Grade/Young Adult)

Stacy Nyikos: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis (Young Adult)

Beth Yarnall: THE GIRL IN THE STEEL CORSET by Kady Cross (Young Adult Steampunk)

Lucy Sartain of Ranting and Raving: THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE by Liz Gallagher (Young Adult)

Sarah Laurence: YOU ARE MY ONLY by Beth Kephart (Young Adult)

Keri Mikulski: LIPSTICK LAWS by Amy Holder and POPULAR by Alissa Grosso (both are Young Adult)


ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: ROBOPOCALYPSE by Daniel H. Wilson

Patti Abbott: TURN OF MIND by Alice LaPlante

Stacy of The Cat's Meow: THE VIRGIN SUICIDES by Jeffrey Eugenides (literary)

Kathy Holmes: LEARNING TO SWIM by Sara J. Henry (Women's)

Scott Parker: HEAT RISES by Richard Castle (Mystery)

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: A HUNDRED THOUSAND DRAGONS by Dolores Gordon-Smith (Mystery)


NONFICTION REVIEWS

Linda McLaughlin: A FIRST-RATE MADNESS: UNCOVERING THE LINKS BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND MENTAL ILLNESS by Nassir (Adult)

Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: PHYSICS OF THE FUTURE by Michio Kaku (Adult)



Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

My Town Monday: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Well, well, well. Guess who's coming to lunch (yes, it's lunch, not dinner, but I couldn't resist the title!) in sunny San Diego?



It's our very own President Obama! No surprise that he's smiling. We've promised him our world-famous wonderful weather AND lunch at a private home in swanky La Jolla. Yes, it's the same swanky La Jolla where Child #3, Child #4 and I spent a large portion of our summer thanks to ambitious Child #3's determination to take a high-school Spanish class.

It's kind of weird to think the president is just a hop, skip and a jump west of our little house today. Unfortunately, I won't be attending his fundraiser luncheon. $5,000 per plate is a smidgeon beyond my budget. As is the additional $10,000 to have my pic taken with the President. (Although wouldn't that have been a fun photo for the blog!!?) And there's also the small matter that my name wasn't among the 160 on the guest list!

After lunch, the President is headed up to LA. In fact, he won't be far from his old stomping grounds of Occidental College, where Child #2 is currently studying.

IF I were going to the luncheon and found myself next to the President, here's what I'd say:

-Thank you for changing the horrible health care system in this country even a little bit. Now Child #1 is insured once again under our plan and can remain there until the ripe old age of 26. I can't begin to tell you the number of his friends (people in their early 20s who are part-time students working jobs that don't offer medical) who were completely and utterly uninsured.

-Please forgo your visit to the House of Blues in West Hollywood and instead stop in at Occidental College and deliver these home-baked cookies to Child #2.

-Yes, you can have a few of the cookies.

Here's a link to the official My Town Monday blog for links to more posts about various corners of the world. Always of interest!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Monday!

The Book Review Club (September 2011)

Labor Day is firmly behind us. Children are back at school. It's time to find out what everyone's up to reading-wise. Because I have the happy job of collecting the links, I'm the first to notice any little trends. Something must be in the air this month because we're reviewing mostly adult fiction books. Under my review, you'll find the links to several marvelous reviews. I always look forward to our reviews, but this month looks especially interesting!

THE SUSPECT by L.R. Wright

L.R. Wright (stands for Loreli Rose, but everyone called her Bunny) is one of my favorite mystery authors. Apparently, a lot of people feel this way; Chatelaine magazine nicknamed her Canada's Queen of Mystery. LR Wright was born in 1939 in Saskatchewan. In her early 20s, she performed with a Canadian touring company, where she met and married a fellow actor, John Wright. They divorced after 33 years, then remarried five years later. L.R. Wright was a journalist in Calgary for several years. She traveled and taught lots of writing classes. I wish I'd taken one. Sadly, she died of breast cancer in 2001.

THE SUSPECT, L.R. Wright's 4th novel, was published in 1985. It is the first mystery in the Karl Alberg series. The series has 9 books! Staff Sergeant Alberg (of the RCMP) lives in the sleepy town of Sechelt on the quiet coast of British Columbia. He falls in love with the town librarian, a woman he met through the newspaper personal ads. Karl is a great detective--persistent, zealous, intelligent, observant,curious, likeable. He also has this bewildered air about him. For example, he's still puzzling out how he ended up divorced and struggles with his long-distance relationship with his two teenage daughters.

THE SUSPECT is more of a "Why'd He Do It?", than a "Who Dunnit?" You know the identity of the murderer very early on (as in by pg. 2). In fact, the book opens with the murder. Then, over the course of the story, you watch Alberg figure out who the murderer is and why he committed the crime. The author doles out back story in perfect amounts, and this keeps the mystery interesting and fresh.

THE SUSPECT, in fact all of Wright's books that I've read, relies on amazing characterization. Even the setting is pretty much a character. This book won an Edgar. It may be have been the only Canadian mystery ever to win an Edgar. THE SUSPSECT was slated to become a movie starring Donald Sutherland, but I learned recently that this project has been dropped. Hopefully, not forever.

Great book. Great author. If you've never read anything by L.R. Wright, give her a whirl. You'll probably become a fan. Click here for her official website.

And, now, here are the links to reviews of all manner of fascinating books!

ONE LONELY YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEW ;)

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: TEXAS GOTHIC by Rosemary Clement-Moore


ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Staci of Life in the Thumb: SO NEAR by Liza Gyllenhaal (Literary)

Kaye of the Road Goes Ever Ever On: PEACE LIKE A RIVER by Leif Enger (literary)

Lucy Sartain of Ranting and Raving: MISERY LOVES CABERNET by Kim Gruenenfelder (women's fiction)

Linda McLaughlin: THE COFFEE TRADER by David Liss (historical)

Sarah Laurence: TIGERLILY'S ORCHIDS by Ruth Rendell (mystery)

Scott Parker: THE GENTLEMEN'S HOUR by Don Winslow (crime)

Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: WICKED APPETITE by Janet Evanovich (comic/supernatural thriller)

Stacy Nyikos: THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova (thriller)

Beth Yarnall: CHARMED AND DANGEROUS by Toni McGee Causey (comic romantic suspense)


NONFICTION REVIEWS

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: LAST ACTS OF KINDNESS by Judith Redwing Keysar (health)


Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!




http://www.lrwright.com/biography.html

My Town Monday: Happy Labor Day!

I do love Labor Day.

Why?

#1. I usually end up at a fun bar-b-que. (This year, I'm bringing an easy schmeasy Caesar salad where I mix two store-bought dressings together.)

2. I feel perfectly justified in trying to do as little as possible.

3. It marks the end of the summer. I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to my upcoming quiet Tuesday morning when my children will be back at school. I love them dearly. We've had a busy, fun-filled summer together. But it's time to move on. I have much writing to do this fall, and it's easier to be productive and thoughtful and creative in a calm, peaceful house.

In keeping with #2, here is a link to last year's Labor Day post. If you're anything like me, you've forgotten all the trivia I looked up for you last year. ;)

Please check out the links to the other My Town Monday posts on the official My Town Monday blog.

Happy Labor Day! Don't overly bestir yourselves!