Calahan Skogman – Blue Graffiti
He is proud to be from a small town in middle-of-nowhere Midwestern America. And he wants you to know why. With his debut novel, Blue Graffiti, Calahan Skogman relishes in portraying a place he is all too familiar with, albeit Johnston is a figment of his imagination. Pouring his soul out in words about the environment he grew up in was not enough for Mr. Skogman, he goes further and creates a believable world of situations and relationships with realistic characters. On a cross-country drive, it’s small town you could stumble upon, pop into the local bar, where you’d spot ruggedly-handsome construction-worker Cash eying the beautiful green-eyed, Rose. It’s the straight-forwardness of Calahan’s writing that captures the reader, he paints a realistic picture of Johnston and it’s inhabitants without meandering into long-winded prose, yet he has found a way to draw the reader in to a romantic tale of self-discovery without depending on cliches. Calahan Skogman’s enthusiasm for life and telling his story is compelling, his large beaming smile radiates through the airwaves. As the conversation weaves into questions about sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll, Calahan articulates with the care and thoughtfulness of a seasoned raconteur. It may come as no surprise then to learn that Skogman is a critically acclaimed actor. He tells of dressing-up as a kid and a fascination for the arts while eagerly pursuing a career in professional sports. Perhaps these juxtapositions are why Calahan is such an engaging guest and how he has crafted an exceptional book in Blue Graffiti.
Jennifer Ackerman – The Bird Way: A New Look At How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent and Think
“There is the mammal way and there is the bird way.” But the bird way is much more than a unique pattern of brain wiring, and lately, scientists have taken a new look at bird behaviors they have, for years, dismissed as anomalies or mysteries –– What they are finding is upending the traditional view of how birds conduct their lives, how they communicate, forage, court, breed, survive. They are also revealing the remarkable intelligence underlying these activities, abilities we once considered uniquely our own: deception, manipulation, cheating, kidnapping, infanticide, but also ingenious communication between species, cooperation, collaboration, altruism, culture, and play. Drawing on personal observations, the latest science, and her bird-related travel around the world, from the tropical rainforests of eastern Australia and the remote woodlands of northern Japan to the rolling hills of Lower Austria and the islands of Alaska’s Kachemak Bay, Jennifer Ackerman shows there is clearly no single bird way of being. In every respect, in plumage, form, song, flight, lifestyle, niche, and behavior, birds vary.
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