Columns

Cinema Cindy Reviews ‘Tomorrowland’

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By CYNTHIA BIDDLECOMB
Los Alamos

“Tomorrowland”, which opened Friday, is part Baby Boomer nostalgia, part encouragement for teenage idealists, and part inspiration for even younger dreamers.

It is a simple enough story for older elementary kids to follow and visually intriguing enough for adults to be entertained. For some, the last scenes get a bit preachy, but the message is clear: keep dreaming and let hope be your guide.

George Clooney plays a grown up Frank Walker, a boy genius whose story opens the movie. Thomas Robinson plays the 12-year-old Frank, who enters his homemade jet pack in Read More

Proposed Los Alamos Bag Ban Bad For Environment And Freedom

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By PAUL J. GESSING, President
Rio Grande Foundation

The Los Alamos County Council is considering banning plastic grocery bags. More than 200 municipalities in the United States, including two in New Mexico – Santa Fe and Silver City – have banned the distribution of lightweight plastic shopping bags.

Proponents of bag bans, specifically the Sierra Club, claim they will reduce litter and protect the marine environment, diminish our consumption of resources and emissions of greenhouse gases, reduce waste, and save taxpayers’ money.

Unfortunately, the supposed environmental benefits Read More

Food On The Hill: Dino Kale Chips

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Kale chips. Photo by Felicia Orth

Food On The Hill
By FELICIA ORTH
Los Alamos

Dino Kale Chips

Kale chips are easy and inexpensive to make, and fun to eat. The kale that tastes best as a chip is Lacinato kale, also referred to as “Dino kale” or “Tuscan kale.” Lacinato kale was cultivated in Italy in the 18th century, and grown in Thomas Jefferson’s garden in 1777. 

To assure crisp, delicious chips, just observe a few pointers: make sure the kale leaves are dry before oiling. Use very little oil and salt and bake the leaves in a single layer on the baking pan. Store them in an airtight container only after Read More

Yang: Abundancy & Motivation 3.0

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By ELENA YANG
Los Alamos

Abundancy & Motivation 3.0

“When we enter the world, are we wired to be passive and inert? Or are we wired to be active and engaged?” I can’t imagine anyone with a functioning mind would answer the former. And as adults, wouldn’t we prefer to work in the latter mode, engaging our minds to be in charge?

One of the comparisons I learned from Mr. Dan Pink’s TED talk on motivation and his book, Drive, has become my favorite: In 1995, Microsoft began a monumental project to assemble the information needed for their “encyclopedia on CD-ROMs, and later online.” “On Oct. 31, 2009, Read More

How The Hen House Turns: Roosters In Danger

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How the Hen House Turns
By CAROLYN (CARY) NEEPER Ph.D.
 
Roosters In Danger

After growing up well defended from crows, Peeper took on a masterful air that defied assault. He would watch with indifference as the crows landed within the chicken pen and took a few grains of leftover corn. They were nearly as tall as the hens, but were shaped more like bullets than pears, which made for a strange assortment of silhouettes strutting about the pen.

Eventually, the crows would sidle up to one of the hens and try a few quick swipes with their beaks before the master of the yard, now a handsome game cock, flew Read More

Smart Design With Suzette – Classic Design

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Classic kitchen with a wow factor. Courtesy photo

Smart Design With Suzette – Classic Design

By SUZETTE FOX
Los Alamos

I’ve written about how to get started in a kitchen remodel, how to create a budget and touched on schematic design. Next, learn what’s timeless, classic so your remodel won’t look dated in five years.

Classic with a hint of AWESOME

When renovating, it’s easy to overlook the details when there are so many decisions to be made. If you want a classic look with a “wow factor” – it’s definitely in the details.

The choice of backsplash, countertop, sink, soft-close hinges and good Read More

Home Country By Slim Randles: Big Bang Theory?

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Home Country
By SLIM RANDLES

Instead of the philosophy counter, we were at the righteous round table yesterday, because Herb got there first and he picked. It’s a good venue at the Mule Barn truck stop when you’re expecting more than three or four members of the world dilemma think tank.

But we weren’t expecting Windy.

Here he came, Alphonse “Windy” Wilson, feed store philosopher extraordinaire, and parlayer of his own peculiar palaver.

Hi guys,” Windy said, “what a treat to discover you all here in togetherness this fine morning.”

“We’re here every morning, Windy, drag up a chair,” Doc said.

“You Read More

Pastor Granillo: Monsters Under The Bed

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By Pastor RAUL GRANILLO
Los Alamos

Having four kids of my own, I instantly know the cries of a child who has just had a nightmare. My response is instinctive—I don’t even have to think about it. I instantly jump out of bed and run to comfort my child. 

Each one of my kids has had that night when they swear there was a monster under the bed. That feeling of terror is one that I myself have not forgotten from my own childhood. I wonder if anyone can ever really forget what it’s like to be absolutely scared of something that may or may not exist.

Even as an adult, my monsters haven’t disappeared, they’ve just Read More

NMED Secretary: A Safer New Mexico

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A Safer New Mexico

By Cabinet Secretary Ryan Flynn
New Mexico Environment Department

A little more than a year ago, a drum of transuranic waste packed with incompatible materials ruptured after being transported 300 miles through New Mexico from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad. When the drum ruptured and released radiation into the atmosphere, Gov. Susana Martinez and her administration moved quickly and decisively.

Immediately after being notified of the release, the New Mexico Environment Department was on the ground in Read More

PEEC Amateur Naturalist: The Human Ecology Of Ponderosa Trees

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This is the perfect tree for climbing and taking turns going up. Mothers can climb it as well. Photo by Robert Dryja

 

PEEC Amateur Naturalist
By ROBERT DRYJA
 
The Human Ecology of Ponderosa Trees
 
We tend to think of the ecology of the natural world as separate from what people do or the way they live. This difference quickly disappears when children and parents together explore the forests around Los Alamos. A good observation point is between the new Nature Center and the Jewish Center, where an arroyo divides a small forest of ponderosa trees into two sections.
Read More