Friday Shorts April 20

~ Find an image of a giant posted over at Nameless Creek this morning

~ Serving Suggestion: think about how you might use ScrapBlog. It is immensely easy to use, free, fast and rather attractive, even in its early stages. Here’s my early sandbox scribble. Have a civic event to tell about or report? a church gathering, vacation, event or project coming up or past that would lend itself to a visual slide show? Look for this program to really take off. But don’t quit your day job.

~ With all the very unpleasant reportage at WVTF this week, there was some question if there would be time for the usual Friday essays. Mine (the piece you’ve read here, or some version of it, about children and nature) will air this morning, and can be heard online from the WVTF NEWS web page.

~ Maybe, just maybe, I’ve gotten past a hurdle in the purported and future “color images book” project. First, I’ll likely go with the 8.5″ x 8.5″ format for a number of reasons. And second, after going all around the world the past few days looking for the combination of inexpensive printing AND wholesale distribution, I’ve settled on expensive printing and wholesale distribution. That leaves me with Lightning Source (as is Slow Road Home at this point) for printing. The book’s retail price will have to be significantly higher than if I had it printed in China, but at least I won’t be stuck with 900 “inexpensive” books in the ANNex. I can produce the proof and be done and ready for supplying demand for less than $200, and if it doesn’t fly, I’m only out my time and effort–which lies mostly ahead of me.

~ And I spoke in the Earth Day piece yesterday about leaving a smaller environmental footprint. Would you be willing to go THIS FAR? a year without toilet paper? Yikes!

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fred
fred

Fred First holds masters degrees in Vertebrate Zoology and physical therapy, and has been a biology teacher and physical therapist by profession. He moved to southwest Virginia in 1975 and to Floyd County in 1997. He maintains a daily photo-blog, broadcasts essays on the Roanoke NPR station, and contributes regular columns for the Floyd Press and Roanoke's Star Sentinel. His two non-fiction books, Slow Road Home and his recent What We Hold in Our Hands, celebrate the riches that we possess in our families and communities, our natural bounty, social capital and Appalachian cultures old and new. He has served on the Jacksonville Center Board of Directors and is newly active in the Sustain Floyd organization. He lives in northeastern Floyd County on the headwaters of the Roanoke River.

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  1. I just heard the essay. It was well done and very appropriate after what happened Monday at the hands of a sick mind and a lost soul who I have heard was deep into violent video games in HS. Thanks!