An assortment of links

1. Nancy Pate reviews six summer thrillers.
2. Joe Manning tracks down the identity of the woman in an historic Dorothea Lange photo which is also a Shorpy favorite.
3. Why the highball is the ideal whisky cocktail. At least during the summer.
4. Tyler Cowen wonders if Dali, Yunnan is the very best place in the world to visit right...

Apollo 8 book review

Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon By Jeffrey Kluger ★★★★★

Book recommendations for April 2017

Bonnaroo lineup 2017

The official Bonnaroo lineup 2017 was announced January 11. The June 8-11 festival is headlined by U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Weeknd and Chance the Rapper. This list was updated April 5, 2017 to include new additions to the music lineup and to the Comedy Theatre.

Book recommendations from January, February and March 2017

From the first quarter of 2017 I recommend Celine and Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.

The Princess Diarist only partly delivers on the title

I was warned right in the title that Carrie Fisher would share her diary. On that she doesn’t disappoint. But the title kind of promises details about life on the set of the first Star Wars movie. On this The Princess Diarist falls short.

Carrie Fisher: I had to comport myself with something approaching dignity

Had I known it was going to make that loud of a noise, I would’ve dressed better for those talk shows and definitely would have argued against that insane hair (although the hair was, in its own modest way, a big part of that noise). And I certainly wouldn’t have ever just blithely signed away any and all merchandising...

GE wall-mounted refrigerator history

[caption id=”attachment_451” align=”aligncenter” width=”1200”] Ge wall mounted refrigerator.[/caption]

Banyan Tree

[caption id=”attachment_416” align=”aligncenter” width=”1200”] A banyan tree in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.[/caption]

Old San Juan journal

• The harbor at San Juan Bay is a hive of activity. There are cruise ships, sailboats, commercial ships, ferries, seaplanes and regular planes all moving about. If you have the opportunity, grab a coffee or cocktail and sit and watch.
• The cruise terminal docks are also a hive of activity of a different kind as vendors pitch services and wares.
• The oldest building...