Neko Case. Blast Off.

She seems like the reluctant star who is about to take off with the latest album coming out March 3rd.

Paste: 17 Things I Love, By Neko Case
Her numbers 1 through 5 would be on my list too, but not in the same order.

NYT Mag: Wild Thing

For the last five years, Case has lived in a middle-class, one-story-house neighborhood of Tucson, not far from the city’s center. But this spring she’ll move to an old farm she bought and is now renovating in northern Vermont. “I want to get away from the social vampires in Tucson,” she says. “The people who have no lives of their own and meet me and know who I am and feel entitled to say negative things. I have good friends here, especially in the bands” like Calexico and Giant Sand. Members of these bands and others have often appeared on her CDs. “But a lot of it is just like high school. And I like forests and all the wildlife up in Vermont.” It’s hard to imagine what these acts of social vampirism might consist of, but she prefers to leave them unspecified. She also asks that the Vermont town’s name not be mentioned. “I’ve had stalkers,” she says. Alexandria, Tacoma, Vancouver, Chicago, Tucson and, next, Vermont. Case hopes that her new community will prove to be her permanent home. You wonder.

One of many reviews: Neko Case spins alt-country tunes into "Cyclone"

MJ: Ramblin' Woman Neko Case

Just Like Vinegar?

In that it is a miracle cleaner and sanitizer. It is electrolyzed saltwater. See LAT: Simple elixir called a 'miracle liquid'

Overcoming Ice Challenges

NYT with a blog post regarding one of the biggest challenges to offshore wind farms in the Great Lakes - ice. See: Freshwater Wind Farms for the Great Lakes?

Lima Is Still In The Top 10

When you grow up it will be much easier to live in Lima, OH than elsewhere. As Lima has been one of the most affordable housing markets for about the last 20 years. I don't think that is such a good thing.

See Lifehacker: The 10 Most and Least Affordable Cities in the US

Ten Most Affordable Cities with a Population Under 500,000
1. Lansing-East Lansing, MI
2. Sandusky, OH
3. Lima, OH
4. Springfield, OH
5. Bay City, MI
6. Battle Creek, MI
7. Canton-Massillon, OH
8. Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI
9. Utica-Rome, NY
10. Binghamton, NY

The "When I Grow Up I Want To Live In Lima" song by Mr. Fioretti:

When I grow up I want to live in Lima
Maybe get there on a big jet liner
Take me an hour or maybe two
Either way I'll get there to you
We'll all pile into a conversion van
Drive on down to the House of Hunan
When we get there we'll see what they've got
Change our minds and go to the China Wok

When we get bored we'll blow up BP
When we get hungry we'll go to Kewpee

Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah
[repeat]

A Wish That All Presidents Were Graduate School Lecturers

Professor-President Obama is demonstrating that the best leadership works in the classroom as well as the boardroom and as well in the political realm.

See Bob Herbert in the NYT: Obama Riding the Wave

He said that the fact that he’d been rebuffed so far in his quest for bipartisanship would not stop him from reaching out for Republican support.

“Going forward,” he said, “each and every time we’ve got an initiative, I’m going to go to both Democrats and Republicans and I’m going to say, ‘Here’s my best argument for why we need to do this. I want to listen to your counterarguments. If you’ve got better ideas, present them. We will incorporate them into any plans that we make, and we are willing to compromise on certain issues that are important to one side or the other in order to get stuff done.’ ”...

...But beyond his specific policies (and whether one supports them or not), Mr. Obama is emerging as the very model of the type of person one would want in high public office. He is intelligent, mature, thoughtful, calm in the face of crises and, if the nation is lucky, maybe even wise.

Feeding Elk Since 1912

Elk feedlots in Wyoming are extremely contentious. On one hand elk herds bring tourists and hunters to Wyoming, on the other hand, they destroy forest diversity. Good thing they have a good-natured guy like Brandon to administer the program.

See NYT: Debate Rages Over Elk Feeding

The Jackson herd, now tens of thousands of animals strong, became the foundation for a resurgent elk population. After the federal government stepped in to run the feeding system in 1912, a self-reinforcing loop of tourism, hunting, ranching and politics emerged. Having lots of elk in one place where humans would feed them, year in and year out, gradually became a goal in itself, shrouded with complex motives and enshrined by time.

“Habit became tradition; tradition became culture,” said Bruce Smith, who served for 22 years as senior biologist at the National Elk Refuge here, operated by the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.

Now a new and tightening circle of challenges is closing in on the elk and the human system that has sustained them, forcing a debate over the science, emotion and economics of protecting these magnificent animals and the landscape they inhabit. At the center is a critical question: Did human kindness backfire, setting the elk up for disaster?

When To Go To The Veternarian?

You can decide by checking symptoms at Vet Help Direct.

Via Mashable.

Addicted To Pets Via Oxytocin

Salon.com interviews Meg Daley Olmert, author of "Made for Each Other": The love that dare not bark its name

I get the impression that she thinks wolves became domesticated via nursing human mothers raising wolf pups.

You Give Me Fever

Fascinating story about doctors from the 19th century having sporadic success in putting tumors and cancer in remission by inducing fever.

See AmeriSci: Healing Heat: Harnessing Infection to Fight Cancer

The thinking is that cancer cells are designed to keep the immune system from reacting too strongly. Having a fever ramps up the complete immune response which includes dealing with cancerous cells.

This reinforces my hypothesis that RSV related wheezing in toddler and infants is partly due to the accompanying fever; in that, the body responds to the fever by ramping up the immune response and inadvertently attacking and constricting the respiratory system.

A President Who Gets "It"

This is why I gave to the campaign and voted for the man.

President Obama: Days of Building Sprawl Are Over

So transportation is not just fixing our old transportation systems but its also imaging new transportation systems.

That’s why I’d like to see high speed rail where it can be constructed. That’s why I would like to invest in mass transit because potentially that’s energy efficient and I think people are alot more open now to thinking regionally in terms of how we plan our transportation infrastructure. The days where we’re just building sprawl forever, those days are over.

The 100 Best Business Books

The list was compiled by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten: Books In The 100 Best

Andesitic Crust Without Plate Tectonics? Crazy.

Half-baked Asteroids Have Earth-like Crust

The researchers hypothesize that the asteroid had a diameter somewhat larger than 100 kilometers, which would be sufficient to hold enough heat for the asteroid’s rocks to partially, but not completely, melt. The asteroid would remain undifferentiated, but the melted portions could erupt on the asteroid’s surface to form the andesitic crust.

'This Is Spinal Tap' Turns 25

VF: This Is Even More Spinal Tap

How come there has never been a Spinal Tap sex-tape scandal?

Tufnel: We tried. There was no interest.

What group that’s popular today reminds you of yourselves when you were the New Originals?

Smalls: We do. We really remind us of ourselves.

Tufnel: We have to, because no one else will.

St. Hubbins: But the great thing about the Internet—I’m sorry to bring it up—is every day a new group will appear and then disappear and never be heard from again. And I think it’s wonderful. That’s the way it should be.

Tufnel: That reminds me of us.

"Lesbians Have A Special Fondness For Kate Winslet"

It is because she is gorgeous.

NYT Magazine Oscar Issue: According to my own highly unscientific survey, just about everybody loves Kate Winslet.

Kate Winslet in 'Extras':

This Is Not Why People Live In Wyoming

1st Wyoming ozone advisory issued this winter

Dogs Give Back

Black wolves picked up the gene from domesticated dogs.

See NYT: New World Wolves and Coyotes Owe Debt to Dogs

Beer In List Form

Kate Hopkins from the Accidental Hedonist makes a list of the 22 Types of Beer.

Neko Case Is My Favorite

Neko gives more background as to why she writes "sad songs, about tigers" at Spinner: Neko Case Tells PETA to 'Blow'

"I always watch TV on the treadmill, and so many times there'd be some horrible animal disaster -- somebody being mauled to death by a tiger or an elephant that rampaged. Those stories are so depressing, and the animal is always the one who gets murdered at the end. I don't know why people act so shocked. You got in the cage with the tiger, you were harassing it and then it f---ing killed you. It's a f---ing tiger. What the f--- were you thinking?"

What's The Deal George Michael?

No one really knows if Michael Cera wants in the movie or not.

See:
The 'Arrested Development' Movie Ping-Pong: Is George Michael Really In?

Ron Howard Not Worried About Getting Michael Cera For ‘Arrested Development’ Movie

Petition To Have An Official White House Farmer

The impetus: Farmer in Chief

The story: Web site sows support for White House farmer

The web site: White House Farmer