He didn’t look at Thea. ‘She was dry, that horse of yours,’ she said. ‘I had to hold her back or she would’ve been sick.’

‘She’s a greedy animal sometimes,’ he said. ‘Not mine, though, she belongs to my aunt in Fuglevik. The trap, too. I’ve been working on the new chapel in Tomb, but they needed a rest for a while. Suppose I should’ve gone home to Engelsvik, but I hadn’t seen my aunt for a long time so I took the opportunity.’

‘We heard you were living in Kristiania,’ Thea told him.

‘I was there for a time, after my apprenticeship in England. But I’ve been back a year or more now; there’s a lot of work for a builder in these parts.’

‘For those with money,’ Solveig said. ‘Not for the poor.’

He laughed. ‘As ever. The poor look to America for a life.’

‘And the rich, too, or so we’re told,’ Thea said. ‘Seems to be more folk sailing away every time you look round.’ When he didn’t reply she said, ‘But maybe you’re thinking of emigrating yourself?’

‘Not me,’ Kristian said. ‘My thoughts keep me close to home. When I found myself out here this morning I could only wonder where I’d find some pretty girls.’

Thea’s cheeks began to flush again and she hurried to the kitchen, where she’d left the sourdough in a mound on the table. She poured a shallow pool of goose grease on the table and pounded the dough until it had absorbed the fat, gave it a little more flour to take the stickiness away and folded it into a round. She covered the pot of goose grease with a wooden stopper and placed it back on the shelf. Next to it she kept a smaller pot of pig lard, which she used for the same purpose, and next to that was an even smaller crock of whale oil, which was used for feast days and weddings. Though there had not been a wedding for a long time.

I bike along the NE Branch Trail which, for large sections, is completely devoid of tree cover. In the summer it can get quite stifling (among other problems) so naturally I got jealous when I found out about Qatar’s planned cooled bike path. It has a shaded canopy and misters.
Dubai is also developing a bike plan and they may use the same bike path plan.
Knowing a little bit about how the Sheik of Dubai gets things done, it will probably be the “best bike path system in the world.” I hope he takes such pride in it.
Tree cover is far better in my opinion, and this seems excessive; but after biking around Phoenix all last summer I can see how in a hot, dry climate it’s probably necessary (though not here in DC).

Fortunately, when you’ve got a pannier full of oil money, 115 degree daytime temperatures are no big deal. The Emir hired the Rand Corporation and Rand proposed a 30 kilometer shaded, solar-powered, mist-cooled bike path. The Emir gave the green light and with no cumbersome democratic processes to get in the way the project sailed through to approval.

Then Lopate asked a couple questions solicited on index cards from the audience; the first question, asking the writers to describe their writing methods, got only boos from the audience because of its banality, and I was delighted to see Richard Ford yell out “Next question!” Before they moved on, though, Eco, looking inordinately pleased with himself, explained his writing method — he starts on the left side of the page and works his way over to the right. This got a laugh.

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Alexis Rowell writes about Sustainable Consumption and Production in Europe:
Food is something that affects us all. We all have to eat. But very few people know the extent to which oil underpins our food system, how much carbon is used in the production of food, how much water is used, and the impact the food system therefore has on climate change.
The current all-time highs in oil prices – $117 a barrel in April 2008 – is sending convulsive shudders down the food chain . . .

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The Right Brain vs. Left Brain Test.
Do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise? I’ll tell you what I see . . . later . . .

A personal message from 91 writers in solidarity with the people of Iraq.

In Sum
In the middle of the nineteenth century, the murder of China deserved to be called The Opium War. Victoria, the drug trafficking queen, forced dope on the country in the name of the freedom to trade.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the murder of Iraq deserved to be called The Oil War. George W. Bush, more pipeline than president, crushed the country in the name of the freedom to lie.

Eduardo Galeano
Uruguayan writer and historian
translated by Mark Fried

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“Today we daily see the infighting between the candidates for the Presidency of the US. All of them are talking about how fast they will try to End the war in Iraq, as well as bringing “the boys home”. We have heard that before.
Not least way back when the US was destroying Vietnam. I do not see any reason why we should believe them today.
They will continue to fight for the Oil, not for Peace and Stability and Democracy. And we will be forced to continue to give the US credits so they can fight this war.
I believe it is more important than ever to take part in the Protests against this unjust war. It is a threat to all of us. Stop financing this war by giving US the financial support!”

Henning Mankell
Swedish writer who gained bestseller stardom with his series of crime novels featuring inspector Kurt Wallander.

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“The invasion of Iraq was a criminal act.
The occupation of Iraq remains a criminal act.
The British government under Blair and the United States administration are war criminals.
It’s as simple as that.”

Harold Pinter
author, Nobel Prize in Literature 2005

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