Pawprints From Space

Those of us who grew up south of Chicago - which is 98% of the state - are sick and tired of all the Illinois bashing thanks to the various shenanigans of the former governor and various other elected folk. For the record, Illinois was a great place to grow up. I would go back in a heartbeat. I grew up in Peoria, back when the City was two and a half times larger than it is now - like much of the Midwest a lot of major industries have moved on but still that river city has a lot to offer. Oh sure there are the usual issues you have in any city that size (well over 100,000 currently). But there is history, art, theatre (will it play in Peoria?), good schools and corporate heaquarters of international companies (e.g. Caterpillar). Heck there's hockey, minor league baseball and the government's agricultural research center. You want it? Odds are Peoria has it. It also has great people. Peoria has a nature center I practically grew up in that is a true gem. Private and public u...

So ... whatcha reading? Better yet ... how are you reading it? Are you a gadget junkie? Did you rush out and get an eReader as soon as the first one rolled out of that factory far, far away? What kind is it? A Kindle? Which version? A Nook? An iPad? A Kindle app on some other device? Or maybe you're all hipster and old school. You actually picked up a volume made from GASP!! paper. You breathe in that luscious smell of new book ... or even old book. The sweet dusty, musty richness of an old tome that weaves its spell around your senses and takes you on journey of the imagination.  Better yet you went to the LIBRARY!! You borrowed a book, or six, for FREE!! You have in your possession the one most valuable thing a person in this country can have. It is a ticket to faraway lands, to rich literature, to ancient cultures, to current yet different cultures and learning from all over the world. It opens doors, increases knowledge, sets the mind free to dr...