Todd Klein's Blog, page 248

Gone Birding

Images © Todd Klein.

May is my favorite time of year to watch birds, and that’s what I’ve been doing lots of this week, one reason why I’ve been posting less often. Also on my agenda has been creating a new birdwatching map of Belleplain State Forest for New Jersey Audubon, entailing a day of research there (and more birding). After heavy rain early in the week, the weather cleared on Thursday, giving me time to get out there and see great birds like this tiny Black-and-White Warbler. Warblers are so hard to photograph — they’re not only small but constantly moving, and often far away in the treetops. This was a lucky shot at Higbee Beach WMA, where I spent some time Friday morning.

After that I spent several hours at the Cape May Bird Observatory’s Northwood Center in Cape May Point putting together the World Series of Birding finish line signs. Here are all the teams listed with a space for their final species total. As groups come in next Saturday evening at the Grand Hotel in Cape May, they will go over their tally sheets and turn them in to the officials, who will post the numbers on these boards. It was quite a job putting them together this year, lots of cutting and pasting to get everything to fit.

This morning I was back in Belleplain helping lead a NJ Audubon walk, as I’m doing most Saturdays this month. Lots more good birds were seen like these Chipping Sparrows…

…and this Brown Thrasher. Dozens more, but these were the only ones I got good pictures of.

Next Saturday is the World Series of Birding, our Big Day for fun and fundraising. There’s still time to support Ellen’s and my team, you can read about it here. Hope the weather’s as good then as it was today!

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS 29

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

A long time ago I wrote THE OMEGA MEN, which took place in the Vegan star system, created by Marv Wolfman as the home of New Teen Titan Starfire. There was a mad goddess, X’Hal who was still pretty mad last time I saw her. Now she’s turned up on the planet Kalosa where Kyle Rayner and company are checking out her new approach. It’s all sweetness and light, X’Hal is now a nurturing goddess bringing health and prosperity to her worshippers. She has a new champion, Kaland’r, a heroic woman in the Koriand’r style, who works to bring X’Hal’s message to new worlds like this one. Kyle is suspicious, but everything looks good…until the Godkillers show up. A story particularly interesting to me, but I think you might like it to. Nice work by writer Justin Jordan with artists Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessy.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: THE ROYALS 2

Image © Rob Williams & Simon Coleby.

So, in this series it’s royalty that have all the super powers. England has two princes, Arthur, a drunken lout, and Henry, a hero unable to stand by when his country’s armed forces need him. Then there’s Princess Rose, who hasn’t seemed to commit to either of those paths yet. But by entering the (World War Two) field of battle, Henry has broken a long-held truce of the royals around the world. Now some from other countries are joining the fray. In America there is no royalty, so an attempt is made to put together a band of heroes without powers but trained and dressed for the part, along the lines of Captain America. We’ll see how that goes. The script by Rob Williams is entertaining, even if he does lay on Arthur’s awfulness rather thick. He handles Winston Churchill very well. The art by Simon Coleby is great, almost photographic in places, looser in others. A fun ride so far.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN CORPS 29

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

I can see the plan in the writing of this and other Green Lantern comics at present. Something like: we have all these GLs throughout the universe, who else is out there we can connect with or battle? Thus the Durlans, who we know as the home species of the Legion of Super-Heroes’ Chameleon Boy in the future, become one of the Corps’ enemies, while one Durlan, Von Daggle, is revealed to be a former secret GL agent and thus a traitor to his own species. Von Daggle is giving everyone trouble in this issue. John Stewart and company want him back on their side, the Durlans want him on theirs, and Daggle seems to want to get away from it all. It’s a good storyline by Van Jensen and features excellent art by Bernard Chang. (Great to see a personal vision again on this title, one guy doing it all.)

Recommended.

Rereading: THE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

Continuing my rereading of the entire Holmes stories on my phone, this is the second collection of short stories, published in 1894. Famously it ends with an attempt by Arthur Conan Doyle to kill off his popular character. Let me take the stories in order.

“Silver Blaze” is somewhat reminiscent of “Hound of the Baskervilles” in that it takes place at a remote country estate and over open ground. “Blaze” is a champion race horse of great value who has gone missing, with his trainer found dead in the moor of blow to the head. More strange things surround the crime, including the famous “curious incident of the dog in the night-time,” a dog that did not bark. Great story.

“The Yellow Face” is a tale of marital strife and a strange face seen in a house neighboring that of the client, a house which the client’s wife seems continually drawn to. At the heart of it is the story of an unusual marriage for the time. Interesting, but at times it seemed dated.

“The Stockbroker’s Clerk” is one of those elaborate con schemes that Doyle was fond of concocting. This one is clever and interesting, even if the clerk is clearly gullible and being duped.

“The Gloria Scott” is a story told to Watson by Holmes as being his “first case,” a mystery encountered while visiting the home of a college friend. It’s one of those “rich men with a sordid past” stories, involving blackmail, and evil deeds at sea. Not bad.

“The Musgrave Ritual” is a classic puzzle story involving an old moneyed family and their odd ritual, two missing servants (one presumed drowned) and a secret room. Excellent!

“The Reigate Squire” is a burglary mystery where Holmes takes an active part in the action once his investigation begins to close in on the truth. A note of odd origin, and blackmail are involved. An exciting one.

“The Crooked Man.” There seem to be a lot of rich and/or important men around in Holmes’ England who have embarrassing secrets and shady pasts. This is one of those. This time there’s a love triangle involved, as well as betrayal and torture. Ah, Victorian England.

“The Resident Patient” is about another of those rich men. This one has set up his own personal doctor in practice downstairs from his own home, where he lives in fear of intruders, with good reason. Holmes is put on the case by the doctor, but not in time to prevent a murder.

“The Greek Interpreter” is a rare unsolved case that is still full of interest and action. A man fluent in Greek is kidnapped and force to act as an interpreter in what is clearly a criminal matter, trying to force a Greek prisoner to sign some documents. The interpreter is released unharmed, and takes the case right to Holmes. When they find the scene of the event, details emerge, but the criminals are long gone.

“The Naval Treaty” involves a missing document that is politically important and dangerous if sold to other governments, stolen from a clerk who is so upset by the crime that he has a nervous breakdown. When Holmes and Watson hear his story, it appears the man is still under threat from someone trying to break into his room. The set-up of this situation is far-fetched, but entertaining.

“The Final Problem” introduces master-criminal and Holmes foil Professor James Moriarty, and his criminal network with threads throughout London and England. Holmes has been trying to break that network and have all the principals arrested, but Moriarty himself is an equal match for the detective, and Holmes finds his own life in danger. An escape to Europe with Watson is planned to take him out of trouble, but the trip does not succeed, leading to the famous fight between Holmes and Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls, where they apparently both tumble to their deaths. Doyle felt he wanted to write other things, and this was his way out of the Sherlock Holmes stories, giving him a grand finale. It didn’t work, but it still makes for fine reading, the best in the book, and one of the best Holmes stories of all.

Recommended.

Back Bay Birds

Today was one of those glorious ones that spring on you. The weather prediction had been for clouds and rain. Instead the storm system passed through overnight and today was sunny, warm and delightful, the nicest day of the year so far. Ellen and I spent some time at Shell Bay Landing overlooking the back bay between the Garden State Parkway and Stone Harbor enjoying the water birds like this Snowy Egret fishing for his lunch.

On shore some Brant (a small goose) were feeding in the marsh grass and reeds.

Laughing Gull numbers are growing, most looking sharp in their breeding plumage, with a deep red bill, charcoal black head and white eyelids.

Willets are robin-sized shorebirds that don’t look like much sitting still, but in flight they have wide stripes of black and white on the wings, and a call that says their name, “will-willet.”

There were a few Herring Gulls around, too, larger than the Laughing Gulls with that large red spot on the lower bill.

But the star attraction, and the reason we’d come to this spot, was a large flock of Whimbrel, large shorebirds with long curved bills and stripey heads that are often hard to find. We had good looks at a few dozen of them before something spooked the flock and they flew off. A fun hour out in the lovely spring sunshine.

The World Series of Birding 2014, how you can help!

Two weeks from tomorrow, Saturday May 10th, is the annual outdoor escapade and fundraiser known as The World Series of Birding. Ellen and I have signed up with the Cape May Bird Observatory Century Run team as usual. Along with many other teams we will attempt to spot as many bird species as possible. The top teams will go from midnight to midnight, and cover the entire state of New Jersey. Our Century Run team’s goals are a little more relaxed: we go from 5 AM to about 9 PM and stay within Cape May County. It’s still a marathon to test one’s determination and stamina, but usually a lot of fun, too. Each participant pledges a minimum of $1 per species seen, which you can supplement with pledges from friends and family if you like. And that, my good friends, is where you can participate!

As in the past, I’m encouraging you to make a pledge for my WSB big day, to help me raise funds for the Cape May Bird Observatory, part of the New Jersey Audubon Society, and their valuable mission of conservation, education and research. You can pledge any amount, but the usual method is to pledge per species seen. Last year our total was 137 species, not our best effort, but not bad. A more typical total is 140 species. If we tally 140 species, a pledge of 50 cents per would result in a monetary gift of $70. A pledge of $1 per species would mean a gift of $140. As a bonus, I’m offering any of my Signed Prints as incentives: for a pledge of 50 cents per species, the print of your choice, for $1 per species, any two! Higher pledges are welcome and will garner more prints in the same ratio. Pledges lower than 50 cents will get you a signed comic or two that I lettered, my choice, if you would like that. All pledges will support education about and preservation of New Jersey wildlife and natural resources, as well as my enduring gratitude!

Here’s a LINK to my blog about last year’s WSB Century Run, if you’d care to read it. And if you’d like to pledge, click the CONTACT ME link  here or in the right column of this page and let me know by email. I’ll be collecting pledges until May 9th. Our team will be out there tallying on the 10th, rain or shine, hoping for good weather and lots of migrating birds. Who knows, maybe this year we’ll hit the elusive goal of 150 species. That would be super!

And Then I Read: THE JEWEL IN THE SKULL by Michael Moorcock

Image © Michael Moorcock.

Michael Moorcock is a legendary fantasy and science fiction author with dozens of interconnected novels to his credit. I’ve tried a few over the years, liking some, not others, but never diving fully into his work. Last year, at the urging of my friend artist J.H. Williams III I read three connected novels about Von Bek, one of many characters that are aspects of his Eternal Champion, beginning with “The War Hound and the World’s Pain.”  I liked them a lot. Recently I decided I was ready for more Moorcock, and asked J.H. what I should read next. He recommended the novels about Hawkmoon, beginning with this one.

The first half of the book focuses on a small swampy country on the Mediterranean ruled by Count Brass, an old campaigner in many wars, and clearly a strong survivor. The world he lives in is an alternate version of our medieval period, and while many parts of Europe are mentioned, the names have alternate spellings, and the history is quite different. This world is being gradually conquered by Granbretan, an empire centered in London (or Londra in the story), while the armies of Europe are trying and failing to hold them back. Karmarg, Count Brass’s territory, has stayed out of the fight, but when Baron Meliadus, a powerful warlord from Londra arrives to negotiate with Brass and then attempts to abduct his daughter, the neutrality of Kamarg is over.

Meanwhile, back in Londra we find Hawkmoon, former Duke of Köln (Cologne), being held prisoner by the wizards and rulers of Granbretan. They implant a soul-sucking jewel in his skull that will eat his brain if he turns traitor, then send Hawkmoon on a mission to recruit Count Brass as an ally. This does not go as they hoped, and soon Brass and Hawkmoon have joined forces.

The story is well told, and the characters are interesting in this novel. It’s more of a war story than a philosophical one as the Von Bek novels were, but I certainly like it well enough to read more.

Recommended.

Egg Dyeing Contest Results!

Thanks to everyone who voted on our egg dyeing contest (on Facebook), here are the results. First place went to 28, by myself. Second place was a tie between 25 by Ann Smiga Greene and 23 by me. Third place was a tie between 20 and 2,  both by Ann. Four eggs tied for Fourth place: 4 and 14 by David W Greene, and 33 and 36 by me. Several of the winners have already been eaten, but they remain immortalized here!

2014 Easter Egg Coloring Contest

Every year Ellen and I and her sister Ann and family color Easter eggs. We’re competitive and artistic, so it’s kind of a contest, and this year you’re invited to vote on your favorite or favorites. We’d like to know what you like best, so please vote. You can do so here, or on my Facebook page. Thanks!