May 19th, 2012
Roger Hill has witnessed some 300 tornadoes and hurricanes in his lifetime and had captured them on film for every major TV network, plus National Geographic, The Weather Channel, The Discovery Channel, and The Learning Channel. He is co-owner of Silver Lining Tours, America s leading storm-chasing tour company.
Peter Bronski is the author of At the Mercy of Mountains and Powder Ghost Towns. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.
 
Each year, at least 1,200 tornadoes batter the United States. While most occur in Tornado Alley a vast, weather-beaten swath of middle America in truth, tornadoes can occur almost anywhere. And where there are tornadoes, there are storm chasers. They come in all shapes and sizes, from hobbyists to researchers to professional chasers. There is one, however, who stands well above the rest: Roger Hill.
Hunting Nature’s Fury tells the story of Roger Hill and his love affair with storm chasing, taking you on a suspenseful and dramatic ride across the Great Plains, into the Deep South, even into the eyes of such recent hurricanes as Katrina. You’ll accompany Hill as he braves close calls, makes history, and gains insight into the science of severe weather. This is a story of a storm chaser obsessed with the storms that almost killed him; of resiliency in the face of disaster; and of humility in the presence of the awesome power of nature.
Includes eight color pages of jaw-dropping photos taken by Hill showing many of the storms chronicled in the book.
Hunting Nature’s Fury: A Storm Chaser’s Obsession With Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and Other Natural Disasters 
Adventures in Tornado Alley: The Storm Chasers
Mike Hollingshead has been intrigued by weather since he was a child and is a full-time storm chaser.
Eric Nguyen is a meteorologist who has been chasing storms for twelve years.
Meteorologist and veteran storm chaser Chuck Doswell provides an illuminating, accessible explanation of the science behind the storms.
 
From surreal skyscapes to wholesale destruction: the most dramatic scenes from the natural world.
The destructive power of nature has always been a source of fear and fascination, and never more so than now, when climate change and extreme weather conditions are constantly in the news. Across the central United States, the infamous storms of Tornado Alley are fueled by the collision of cold fronts from Canada and warm fronts from the Gulf of Mexico. People have been chasing these storms for decades in pursuit of thrilling experiences, but now a new generation of storm chasers is combining scientific knowledge with powerful images.
This book follows Mike Hollingshead and Eric Nguyen on seventeen chases through Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, illustrating the unfolding events with sequential shots and a running commentary by the chasers themselves. These spectacular storm portfolios are expanded with special features on weather phenomena like hail and mammatus clouds plus insights into forecasting and research. 340 color photographs
Adventures in Tornado Alley: The Storm Chasers 
Tags: Wilderness Press 1 editionRoger Hill
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May 19th, 2012
More interviews this week. Well … part three of my in-depth interview with THIS IS HORROR, one of the coolest horror sites on the Net. Yet again I blather my views on various aspects of the genre, though I focus more in this final section of chat on THE DEVIL’S ROCK – how it came about, how we devised the movie’s look, feel and ethos, etc – so please feel free to pop along there and check it out.
In case you’re wondering what relevance this has to the spooky woodland above … well, here’s the thing: it doesn’t.
In actual fact, this creepy coppice, and the various others that you see pictured at regular intervals in this column, are location shots taken by film director Paul Campion in advance of pre-production for our next movie collaboration, DARK HOLLOW – the adaptation of Brian Keene’s best-selling novel of the same name.
DARK HOLLOW is set in the heart of rural Pennsylvania, and for those who haven’t yet read it, it concerns a small country town on the edge of a dark and sinister forest, from which a magical entity emerges with extremely unpleasant intentions. It has much to do with arcane rustic folklore – most of it unique to Pennsylvania – and will be heavy on atmosphere and mystery (not to mention gore and sex, but both of those feature prominently in the novel as well, sometimes both at the same time, so blame Brian for that, not us).
For all this, it may surprise American readers of this column to learn that these pictures were not snapped in the Keystone State, or in fact anywhere in the USA, but over here in England’s New Forest, a deep, mysterious and much tangled stretch of woodland, originally planted as a hunting chase by William the Conqueror, who demolished half a dozen occupied towns and villages first in order to create the space, and slew any poor Saxon who objected. It now covers a vast area along the South Coast, encompassing the counties of Hampshire and Wiltshire. Perhaps in recognition of its violent origins, one English king – William the Conqueror’s second son, Rufus, was murdered in its gloomy depths – and his damned soul is supposedly still seen riding a black ram along the meandering footpath to Hell. Ghosts, goblins and other and apparitions supposedly abound in its various leafy dingles, and tales of witchcraft are commonplace there even today.
If all that isn’t strange enough for you, check out the image on the right – it’s the inn sign for a lovely and ancient pub in the heart of the forest, The Trusty Servant. In case you were wondering, it isn’t supposed to be demonic so much as allegorical – it depicts the Hircocervus, a mythical monstrosity said to represent something unreal but understandable. (I’m sure students of philosophy can enlighten us more on that).
Okay, I suppose all of this must seem like a bit of a diversion from our pre-production schedule involving DARK HOLLOW, but I only mention it to illustrate that, even when UK-bound, we are treating Brian’s weird and scary subject-matter with the utmost respect.
In other recent news, I was pleased to see my chapbook of last year, KING DEATH, published by SPECTRAL PRESS, get short-listed for a British Fantasy Award in the capacity of Best Short Story. These days, I’m a bit too long in the tooth to get too excited by this sort of thing. I had three short-list nominations last year, in various capacities, but ultimately none of them won the big prize, and this year I’m up against stern opposition in the form of Simon Bestwick (for Dermot from Black Static), Michael Marshall Smith (for Sad Dark Thing from A Book of Horrors), Adam Nevill (for Florrie from House Of Fear), Rob Shearman for Alice Through The Plastic Sheet from A Book Of Horrors) and Angela Slatter (for The Coffin-Makers’ Daughter from A Book Of Horrors). So it’s going to be another tough contest.
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May 16th, 2012
Deer hunting is a sophisticated sport that has been created by way of hundreds of years of practice. In historical times, obviously, any way to catch and kill a deer was the correct way, as long as it fed and sustained the community. On the other hand, scaring potential game off, or firing a shot and missing, meant failure. Whilst deer hunting has carried over to the modern-day world, the question of how to deer hunt has far more solutions now, as leisure hunters have produced several modern-day styles of coming home with a deer or two to boast.
Stand hunting is considered the most popular form of deer hunting techniques. Stand hunters use tree stands, which can be elevated platforms attached to tree trunks. Some tree stands use boxes rather of platforms for far more safety. Tree stands give hunters better vantage points to make it simpler for them to produce the killing shot. There are many types of stands for hunting. There are even stands that resemble little houses on stilts, for more comfort and safety for the hunter. People might even choose to order accessories for his or her stands, such as bow holders, covers and umbrellas. Stand hunting is so well-known that deer have truly gotten used to it all through the years. Half a century ago, deer did not look out for potential predators above the eyeline. Nowadays, deer look up to spot hunters who’re looking for a kill.
Still hunting, alternatively, may possibly provide hunters far more possibilities at a kill, due to the fact with still hunting, the hunter looks for deer instead of waiting for them to come into view. This technique can also be known as stalking the prey. With still hunting, game hunters typically go to spots inside a range exactly where deer are probably to travel, probably following maps, hoof trails or other components. Once a hunter spots a region she or he thinks a deer is likely to pass through, he waits there for a while and shoots game if he gets lucky or moves on if he doesn’t. Still hunters need to exercise great care as hasty motion might give one’s placement away to deer and push them away, defeating the purpose. Novice hunters may also run into difficulties if they’re not mindful in hunting deer employing still hunting.
Dog hunting is an interesting way on how to deer hunt, and traces its origins back again to the hunting-and-gathering days of humanity. Dog hunting is actually among the list of ways canines turned domesticated and later a very integral part of human life. Canines grew to become man’s best good friend simply because he helped him hunt. In contemporary dog hunting, skilled dogs chase down deer until finally they arrive into the line of sight of the hunter. This type of hunting demands a well-trained dog that may adhere to instructions very easily, and of course who will spot prey nicely and chase it right down to its master.
In understanding how to hunt deer, it’s crucial to learn these different sorts of hunting. All of them have their pros and cons, and it is up to the hunter to find out which one works best for the situation at hand.
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May 16th, 2012
Wednesday May 16, 2012, 3:01 am
Already signed.
Bill To Ban Hunting With Hounds In California Passes Committee!
SB 1221, a bill that would ban hound hunting in California, passed the Senate Natural Resources Committee on April 24. The vote was split right down the political divide with five democrats voting aye and three republicans voting no. The California state capitol was overrun with cammo and cowboy hats on one side, animal advocates on the other. Each side was able to make statements, and at the end of the hearing, the score was bears and bobcats 1, hunters 0.
Thanks to the hundreds of IDA members in California who contacted the Natural Resources Committee about this bill, and those who showed up at the hearing in Sacramento! It worked! Please respond just as strongly when we contact you again about this bill soon. The bill now heads to the Appropriations Committee. There are a few more steps this battle isnt quite won yet.
IDAs Hope Bohanec spoke at the hearing on behalf of IDAs California members, encouraging the committee to ban the cruel practice of hunting with hounds. Many people find hounding inhumane and even some hunters consider it unsportsmanlike. A 2011 survey by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, Inc. revealed that 83 percent of California voters oppose the practice of bear hounding.
Fourteen states do not allow hunting bears with hounds including Montana, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Washington. Hounds are vulnerable to injury and death in hunting accidents from guns, vehicles and the prey they are pursuing. Some of the hounds are treated inhumanely, including being abandoned in the field, and others suffer abuse from neglect and lack of veterinary care. Many of the dogs are abandoned at animal shelters, exacerbating the drain on shelter resources.
IDA would like to thank State Senator Ted Lieu for introducing this bill that would ban hound hunting of bears and bobcats in the state of California. We also thank the five yes votes Senators Fran Pavley, Christine Kehoe, Alex Padilla, Noreen Evans and Lois Wolk. Please click here to find their contact information and thank them for their support of SB 1221. IDA will keep you updated on this important legislation as it moves through the legislature.
To support our work please click here.
http://www.idablog.org/victory-bill-to-ban-hunting-with-hounds-in-california-passes-committee/
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May 13th, 2012
After the first Red Bull Storm Chase in 2006, the Storm Chase is back!
By hunting down 3 massive storms anywhere in the world, 10 athletes will battle for the crown of the ultimate storm windsurfer.
THE CONTEST FORMAT
The contest format is simple: Everybody can register, 50 applicants will be shortlisted by a jury, 10 riders will be selected with an online voting and these 10 riders will compete in the first mission. Six of them advance to mission number two and in the final mission the top 4 riders will battle for the ultimate Storm Chaser’s crown. To guarantee raging conditions, Red Bull Storm Chase 2012 will be mobile to the max, with a 4-month holding period and just 48 hours to mobilise riders and global contest crew on-site before the storm strikes.
SUGGEST A DESTINATION
To make sure the 3 missions match the most perfect storms at the perfect time, everybody is invited to nominate their favorite destinations until May 31st. An team of experts will go through all the nominated destinations and assess them regarding their suitability for the competition. Six destinations will then be shortlisted and announced as possible competition locations on July 16th, three of them will be sailed.
“The starting flag goes up when the winds exceed 10 Beaufort (54 knots / 100 kmh / 62 mph), “ says Red Bull. To date, 63 riders like Philip Köster, Alex Mussolini or Thomas Traversa have already registered and feel ready to challenge these 54 knots. The registration is open until June 28th. After the registration is closed, 50 applicants will be shortlisted by the jury containing of Robby Naish, PWA head judge Duncan Coombs and PWA photographer John Carter. If you are also ready to chase the storm, you can register here.
World-class windsurfing needs first-rate judging and so in association with the PWA (Professional Windsurfers’ Association), Head Judge Duncan Coombs will oversee the contest. “The Red Bull Storm Chase opportunity gives us a dream contest. On tour, we usually arrive somewhere in the hope of scoring good conditions. Now we’ll travel to the storm instead of waiting for it to find us. We can expect to pull-off a competition in the most extreme wind and wave conditions, in new-found places. We will do our best to push the boundaries of competition and to explore the world’s most radical conditions.”
Red Bull Storm Chase 2012
- May 1 – May 30: Spot submission
- May 1 – June 28: Rider registration
- July 2 – July 15: Top 50 Online Voting for the 10 finalists
- August 1 – November 30: Contest, 3 storms
Pic: Körber/redbullcontentpool
Red Bull Storm Chase 2012 – Preview, 10.0 out of 10 based on 13 ratings
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May 13th, 2012
In the movie 300, there is a scene where the doomed leader of the Spartans finds out that that they are vastly outnumbered by the invading Persians. The Persian archers are so many – he is told – that when they fire their volley, the Persian arrows will blot out the sun. Hearing that, the Spartan warrior doesn’t quail or advise the army to flee. Instead he throws back his shoulders and says “Good. Then we shall fight in the shade.“
I remember reading that sentence in the original Greek in Herodotus’ Histories and thinking “Wow. That is audacity.” To look at overwhelming odds and then to throw your shoulders back and take them on - that’s audacity.
Today, the word audacity has negative connotations in English. It’s most often used when we’re upset with someone and can’t believe they did something. “He had the audacity to suggest it was all my fault.” The Merrim Websiter dictionary defines it as “intrepid boldness” and being “bold or arrogant disregard of normal restraints”.
How did audacity become a bad thing? It didn’t used to be. In fact, audacity came from the Latin verb “audere”, which means “to dare”. The ancient world celebrated boldness, from the doomed Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae, to Cleopatra, to the Viking explorers to Hua Mulan. Daring people took on odds that were against them, and while they didn’t always succeed, they did make an impact.
But today, sticking your neck out is frowned upon in many ways. “Wait to get noticed”, people say. “Pay your dues.” “Don’t take on too much.” “Don’t rock the boat.” The cautions are everywhere.
And in an uncertain economy, being cautious seems like a good plan. This is the time to do exactly what you’re supposed to do to get a good job, right? It’s not the time to be taking risks.
Except that doesn’t work anymore.
The time for audacity
The US economy is struggling. 50% of Gen Y college graduates are unemployed or underemployed. The whole “study hard, go to college and you’ll get a good job” employment paradigm is broken. Job openings regularly receive 50+ applicants, and many applicant report having to go to 5+ interviews with the same company just to be considered.
This is a time when doing what you’re supposed to do isn’t going to work. Employers aren’t looking for the good, interchangeable employees, they’re looking for the people who stand out.
In other words, your competition for jobs has blotted out the sun. Now you must fight for your future in the shade.
This is the time to have audacity. It’s the time to go after big goals – to actively chase your dream job instead of competing with tons of others for that basic entry level job. It’s the time to start your own business. It’s the time to stop being shy about promoting yourself, and to go out there to create your personal brand.
When Virgil wrote of Aeneas founding Rome, he wrote “Audentes fortuna iuvat” (Fortune favors the bold.) Today’s job market also demands that you have audacity. Where’s yours?
Author:
Katie Konrath blogs about creativity, innovation and “ideas so fresh… they should be slapped” at www.getfreshminds.com. She works for leading innovation company, Ideas To Go.
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May 10th, 2012
Because it isn’t. Plain and simple. It’s a crying shame, while I’m on the subject of hunting, that many state agencies like the Pennsylvania Game Commission derive nearly all of their budget money from the sale of hunting and trapping licenses. What does that tell the other citizens of that state who chose not to hunt, trap and fish for keepers? Do they also have a seat at the table?
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May 10th, 2012
RILEY SAYS…
October 17, 2011
Ya know, I’ve read or listened to most of what Linda Jane has written and she hasn’t told any lies… I may not agree with everything she says, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been forthcoming about it. Living with an addiction isn’t easy, but during your few lucid moments (this is one of them) it’s refreshing to have a chance to talk about it.
I think a lotta people confuse “late stage” with “end stage” addiction. In the first there is hope, in the second there really isn’t. Which isn’t to say that a lot of us don’t go on living, we’re just not real happy with it. You’re torn — as I am — with the want to be on your own, drive drunk, or pee your pants and the knowledge that if you did, you’d be dead rather quickly.
So here’s to all of you out there who are living with an end-stage addict — and adjusting to it — and for those of you who aren’t (adjusting to it, I mean), I can only hope you come around to Linda Jane’s vision of the future — bleak as it may be — instead of slogging on your merry (?) way feeling sorry for yourselves…
November 2010
Since my friend, Linda, decided to take off into the blogosphere, I thought it would be appropriate if I added some comments….
First, let me say that (just like it’s her blog) these are MY comments… I think that, drunk or sober, young or old, female or male, we all see things through filters… Mine are different from Linda’s and affect my viewpoint no more correctly than do hers…
That having been said, let me start out with my take on this whole blog thing: Because Linda and I have lived together and apart for over forty years, I’ve been privy to a lot of the stuff she’s talking about (whether I agree with it or not) and, again, because we drink our coffee out of the same pot every morning, I get to hear her inputs — and others responses — almost as soon as they hit the ‘net… I’m writing some of this in hindsight as well, since it took some prodding by Linda and others to get me to put pen to paper.
…Let me say at the outset that alcoholics like to talk and drunk or sober they like to lie. Linda says “You’ll seldom tell the truth when a lie will do”… I have often started my story in AA meetings with “I was born a po’ black chile in the ghetto in Detroit”... Now that’s a bald-faced lie (I’m white and was born in a farm town in Iowa), but it shows you where I’m coming from… keep that in mind as I go along…
…In How Did I Get Here and Absence of Sanity, Linda gives a good, if somewhat brief, overview of her life up to now… If I disagree or don’t know about parts of it, it’s because I was drunk or not there… bear in mind that Linda attributes all or most of my conditions/symptoms to alcohol and not to my being over seventy years old… and, yes, we do have nice sunrises here… I enjoy them too… And my (temporary) sanity.
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May 7th, 2012
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May 7th, 2012
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 in hot pursuit – click above image to watch the video
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The blokes at Autocar got themselves a real live Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. What to do with it? Why not strap a camera to the back of a pretty fast car, and let the 638 hp supercharged LS9-engined beast chase you all over a test circuit like a great white hunting a seal? Or is that like a cheetah chasing down a gazelle? An eagle after a snake? A dogo argentino pursuing a wild boar? You get the idea — the Zed Argh One is a killer and just toying with whatever’s in front of its gaping maw. The lead vehicle will soon be killed and consumed, metaphorically speaking of course. And you’re going to simply love what happens at 1:54. Have a watch buy herve leger, after the jump. Thanks to Jonathan for the tip.
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This entry was posted on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 2:21 pm and is filed under replica watches.
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