Gemma D. Alexander

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Blue Poppy

I visited the Reykjavik Botanical Garden one July, and discovered that it looked a lot like any Seattle garden in May. Lilacs and rhodies, spring bulbs – the usual. Probably quite an achievement in that cold climate, but ordinary to gardens from warmer climes. There were some interesting near-arctic natives. And then there was this. The Himalayan blue poppy, Meconopsis. Stuff of legend and 4-inch pots costing $10 or more. I have tried so often to grow them, and never with any success. But here they were, happily blooming in Reykjavik.

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Anathem, Ballroom Thieves, Doe Bay, Doe Bay Fest, James Gleick, Maldives, Moondoggies, multiverse, Neal Stephenson, polycosm, time travel

FOMO, the Multiverse, and Doe Bay

Doe Bay

I was reading Neal Stephenson’s book Anathem when my family made its annual pilgrimage to Doe Bay Fest on Orcas Island. It was a hard book to get into in the middle of summer, but sometimes what you read and what you live integrate in the strangest ways.

Constitution Article 1 §3.4: Vice President Breaks Ties and Records

Lately democracy has been taking a global beating, and the U.S. has not been immune, what with a Russian-influenced presidential election and a new president who appears not to understand or even be familiar with the Constitution. I want to be better at democracy than old 45 is, so I’m studying the Constitution, and blogging what I learn. I’d love to make it a study group. After all, in a functioning democracy we should all be Constitutional scholars. Read More

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horses

Dead Tired

Icelandic horses (don’t call them ponies!) are famous for their extra gait, the tolt, which is unique in the world. But it’s not the only thing unique about them. Unlike horses everywhere else in the world, they do not necessarily sleep standing up. In fact, they often take a break flat on the ground, legs out, in a position most of us associate with dead horses.

Life is tough for Icelandic horses, who stand out in the snow and wind year-round, and rarely enjoy the shelter of a heated barn like horses elsewhere. Do they get dead tired battling the weather all the time? Or are they just clever little horses that know how to below the wind when there’s no shelter to be found?

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clips

Summer Work

Image c/o Gratisography

Summer. Work. I’ve never quite outgrown childhood’s summer vacation mentality, and it’s even harder now that I have kids of my own who get 10 weeks off. It’s a challenge to coordinate their freedom with my work, but I like to think I manage it with the grace and style pictured here.

Um, anyway, I have had a few things published so far this summer. Read on to see what you’ve missed.

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Blue Poppy

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FOMO, the Multiverse, and Doe Bay

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Constitution Article 1 §3.4: Vice President Breaks Ties and Records

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Dead Tired

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Blue Poppy

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FOMO, the Multiverse, and Doe Bay

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Constitution Article 1 §3.4: Vice President Breaks Ties and Records

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Dead Tired

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Summer Work

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