politics, fringe watching, and other stuff
The French presidential election was yesterday and Emmanuel Macron handily beat the right wing Marine Le Pen 58.5 - 41.5%. In many countries, the US included, that would be considered a blow-out. A week ago, French pollsters had them closer, at about 44 - 54. That's even better. But some of us see that margin as uncomfortably close. Le Pen isn't merely right wing, she's very far right. She's not…
Madison Cawthorn does not like Ukraine on a train, he does not like it in the rain. he is not the meme master he'd like to be. Let's take this apart, shall we? "I do not stand with Ukraine "I do not stand with Russia" Both-sideserism plays into the hands of the aggressor. Like it or not, Cawthorn, by saying his, you side with Russia. "I do not stand with the UN or NATO." Interesting. The US was…
I got up and got ready to go on time. It took me forty minutes and two calls to finally get a cab. When I got to the clinic, they told me I was too late and they had cancelled my appointment. However, they checked with the doctor, and she was able to slip me into the next spot. The appointment was productive. We reviewed my medications. That was the whole point of the appointment. My various…
The usual gang of fools decided to hold a freedom convoy here in Anchorage. They went to the Cabela's parking lot where the city council member from Eagle River, Jamie Allard, welcomed them. She posted a video of herself saying there were hundreds and hundreds of them (it looked more like tens and tens to me) and added, "I don’t know how traffic is going to do with all of these guys, but we don’t…
Now that six of the seven episodes of #BookofBobaFett have aired, I have thoughts. Last summer, I signed up for Disney+ and binge watched The #Manalorian and was pleased to see that I only had a few months to wait before there would be a new related show to watch. In the mean time, Disney announced two more shows; Obi Wan Kenobi , which, of course is set between the first trilogy and his death in…
The far right has been trying to claim truck drivers as their people for the last dozen years or so. Remember the million trucker ride to Washington to protest "Obama <mumble, mumble> we're not racists!"? Since then, there have been regular trucker protests in Australia, Canada, and the US and they have all been embarrassing failures. They are still failures. Not long ago, someone noticed supply…
Around December 7, 2020, a meme began to float around the internet comparing the daily death tolls from Covid to to a few other high casualty days in American history. Because of the day it appeared, I assume the point was to draw a contrast to Pearl Harbor, a day that shocked the country into action and our current fickle leadership. The motive behind the meme seemed good. What I disliked about…
I've started researching my next book. It's going to be about permafrost and, yes, there will be mammoths.
This is a rerun of a post I wrote around this time a few years ago. I think it's still relevant. ********* The men in black (MIB) entered UFO lore in 1956 in a book entitled They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers . The author was one Gray Barker who had been a member of one of the first American UFO groups, the rather ambitiously named International Flying Saucer Bureau (IFSB). Though Barker's…
I was at the local Barnes & Noble the other day picking up a birthday present for my sister and, while there, decided mosey over to the science section to see if they had any copies of my book. What to my wondering should appear, but a paperback edition of Discovering the Mammoth . It looks very nice. I bought a copy to show people and took it to dinner at my corner brewpub. While I was showing it…
Over the years, I've written many lengthy posts for social media and my blogs discussing my mental health issues, but I've never managed to hit the submit button on any of them. This post won't be any different. Just trust me, it's real. Real enough that the State of Alaska officially qualifies me as handicapped. I've been working with caseworkers from the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation…
Too long; didn't read version: I'm unemployed, broke, and the storage place is going to auction off all of my belongings in a few days. Send money. When I began blogging, about fifteen years ago, I debated with myself over how personal I wanted to get. Should I talk about my depression and other issues or stick to commenting on the rest of the world? I chose the latter. I'm a fairly shy and…
In the three-hundred-fifty years since Europeans first received reports of a mysterious creature in Siberia called the mammoth, nothing has engendered more public fascination about them than the occasional discovery of nearly intact, frozen carcasses with flesh still attached. At some point in the nineteenth century, frozen mammoths became a staple of catastrophist theories. As one of the usual…
This week the book was reviewed in The Wall Street Journal . The reviewer (Richard Conniff) takes a while to get to the book, preferring to start with wondering who I am. Discovering the Mammoth is one of those books that make you wonder about the author as much as about his topic. John J. McKay writes that he got started with a single blog post aiming to establish "a chronology of what was known…
As of Tuesday, my book is officially out. Rush to your local bookseller and demand they sell you a copy. Get your friends and family to buy one. Badger your local library to acquire multiple copies. Donate one to your high school. Nag the school board to design a course based on it. I'm available for interviews. I'm available for signings. I'm available for lunch (if you're paying). Let's sell…
Lately, I've been riding the bus into different parts of town running errands and getting back in touch with my bus rider roots. This morning a cruise ship docked in town so, not only did each segment of my voyages have its own unique flavor, each one was spiced by the addition of curious outsiders surrounded by volunteer tour-guides of every race, age, and degree of sobriety helping (or…
Oh look, here's another review. Barnes & Nobel has this one on their page for the book. Library Journal When people first encountered the extinct mammoth remains, opinions varied on what these creatures were. In a thorough look at the beginning of paleontology, especially cultural influence and assumptions, technical writer McKay traces how people interpreted this mystery. The author organized…
Today, I have a review on Booklist Online . It will also go out in their weekly news letter. It's recommended both for adults and teens. Since it's behind a subscription wall, I'll quote the whole thing here: Discovering the Mammoth: A Tale of Giants, Unicorns, Ivory, and the Birth of a New Science. McKay, John J. (Author) Aug 2017. 256 p. Pegasus, hardcover, $27.95. (9781681774244). 569.6. Humans…
The book has been printed. The printer started shipping to wholesalers last week. It should finally work it's way into your local bookstore the first week in August. Meanwhile, the British science journal, Nature , is planning to review it and the Christian Science Monitor will be interviewing me for their review page.
My answer to a Quora question: History is a useful narrative constructed from what we know about the past. Let me unpack that bit by bit. "History is a ... narrative..." History is not an accurate reproduction of the past and it is not all of the facts. History is a story (as the word indicates). We know he names and home towns all of the soldiers involved in D-Day. We know what many of them ate…
This is an expanded version of something I just put on Facebook. Most of my Facebook friends know I currently live in Anchorage, Alaska. I hope here to get some advice from a wider audience. Here's a gratuitous mammoth picture so you'll stop and read the post. My mammoth book comes out in six weeks. I need to do what I can to help promote it. My publisher is sending out review copies to some…
Publisher's Weekly , the trade journal of the publishing industry, chose the Discovering the Mammoth to be reviewed this week. They can only review a fraction of the new books each week, so I think this is a good sign.
I don't usually post pictures of myself online. None of my social media avatars are pictures. But, the publisher needed a dust jacket photo, so I may as well share it. After all, it's going to be printed by the millions when my book becomes an international, runaway bestseller.
My accomplishment of the day. He can dish out cold-hearted sneers all day, but remind him of his dog-murdering son and he turns all mushy.
Last night, at around midnight, I finished the last revisions on my book and shipped it off to publisher. My editor will be taking it to the London Book Fair next month. She also told me Nature has requested a review copy.