A Random Collection of Articles

I lack the mojo to give you a theme this week. These will just have to do.

Feral Hogs Are the Invasive Menace You’ve Never Thought About (Wired). These animals came to mind because we saw several young hogs (I think they were beyond the piglet stage) last weekend in a field out in front of the Westinghouse facility on Bluff Road. We were on the way to the Congaree National Park. (We did not hear or see the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker).

Rick Rubin- Magic, Everyday Mystery, and Getting Creative (On Being With Krista Tippett). The awesome is out there, and in here. But you have to go looking for it. It won't surprise you to learn that Rubin is a phenomenal listener as an interviewer. Of course he is, because how are you going to notice all this beauty if you occupy all the space.

Alt-Country: Where Did it Come From and Where Is It Going? (No Depression). I learned a great deal from this article, and I consider myself a pretty faithful student of the genre. I think Son Volt's Trace was the album that first hooked me, but many more have followed.

Design Standards for Court & Government Forms (Margaret Hagan). Perhaps I am intrigued by these ideas because most if not all of the forms I am asked to complete are asinine. Very few are ever revisited or updated. And, like much of what passes for "compliance," the only reason to get them done is because you "have to." What if forms were designed differently?

5-Minute Breathing Exercises Can Improve Your Mood and Reduce Anxiety (Washington Post Well+Being). Noticing your breath and learning to do this automatic action a little more intentionally can be very powerful.

Speaking of Trace . . .