Register!

I'd like to thank these three ladies for setting up their table and registering voters. What I really like about the Obama campaign is that folks are willing to give up a Saturday to help change this country. Because it isn't Barack the man that's going to get that change, the people need to work to get that change and they are.

And, I find that very exciting!

Coco T Baracks the Vote!

Ja, mon Peace out!

I Been Healed and so can you!

We were out beating back teh Islamofascist Blackberry bushes and Virulent Yuccas that encroach our front sidewalk. We suffered many pricks, and were vexedly sore by the end of the day. Upon applying Healin' Hollers ™©® Miracle Salves, our symptoms were instantly relieved!

I thank Sister Alice for her amazing potions. I urge all of you to purchase said salves and ointments from Miz Alice!

In the latest, second 100 year storm last month in Arkansas, Miz Alice was STRUCK by lightning, so you know her shit is sanctified! This is her front room and you know insurance didn't cover all of that!

The World Without Us

The title reminds the cynic in me of the question asked of Gandhi: “What do you think of Western Civilization”, to which he replied, “I think it would be a good idea”.

Alan Weisman’s natural history, The World Without Us (St. Martins Press $24.95) attempts to discover what exactly would happen if all the human beings disappeared from the planet.

Weisman begins by examining what would happen to our homes and buildings if we weren’t here to maintain them (keep your home repairs going folks!); to the New York subway system (it would flood within days); how cities would crumble; how billions of birds would flourish without glass to fly into, breaking their necks: and, really, how cockroaches would perish without heated homes for them to nest in. Without us, nature would reclaim the abandoned areas of the world like Chernoybl, and the Mayan Empire that so mysteriously disappeared.
The author has traveled throughout the world in search of his answers. He takes us to the Guatemalan jungle, the DMZ in Korea, the last remnant of the primeval European forest in Poland, the Chunnel between France and England and the devastation of the man-made disaster in Cyprus. Along the way, he interviews engineers, biologists, astrophysicists, ethicists and religious leaders. Paleontologists recreate the world of megafauna, like the giant sloths, larger than mammoths, who lived before the coming of homo sapiens, and who could re-emerge were we not here to hunt them into extinction.
Weisman is a very good writer. All the concepts he presents are done so in a lucid and accessible manner. The book reads much like a non-fiction thriller, a veritable page-turner. As a natural history, it has much to teach us; as a prophecy, it has much to frighten us. And the main lesson? Without us, nature will heal what we have done to it.

Yes, It is True

As some of you already know, and as many of you may have heard, Tammy and I have decided to close Jackson Street Books at the end of the month (though we will be available some dates in June as we pack up). We have sold our home in Seattle, and are purchasing one in Hoquiam, which is on the Washington coast, and just off Hwy. 101.

There are a number of reasons why we made this decision. The most obvious one is that we just haven’t had the sales we need to sustain ourselves and make a living. In fact, we probably should have closed earlier than this, but we kept thinking we would turn the corner and start making a little bit of money. Alas, it never happened. We think we have great customers, and if you are seeing this, you have, in some way, either through your purchases or other support, kept us going these past four years and we are very grateful. There just aren’t enough of you, though.

It is fashionable for independent bookstores to blame business failures on Chain stores and Amazon, or other on-line competition. We won’t do that. Chain stores and on-line affect all of us, some more than others, perhaps, and level the playing field. Those institutions have their place, and are part of a changing world of commerce. But we would ask all of you to continue to support your local independent bookstore… and other independent retail businesses. They really serve us well, and many fine people make their living at them.

Tammy and I, although we regret not making Jackson Street Books work here, are excited by our impending move. We have found a house that will more than adequately store our books, and we will continue to sell books on-line through www.abebooks.com and www.biblio.com. We will also probably set up an alternate website that can accept payments, but that will wait until after we move. Currently we blog at jacksonstreetbooks.blogspot.com if you care to check in on our adventures. We will also now find the time to do the things we enjoyed doing before we started this venture, like gardening, and baking.

And, of course, any excuse for a party! We will have a going away party at the end of the month to which you are all invited. We will send the details in our next (and, sniff, last) newsletter.