Another Strook with something I drew, read, and listened to.
Drawn
Every year, I make a birthday poster for my children with a theme that reflects what has been on their minds that year. For my daughter, it was already her seventh birthday, with (inevitably) our new furry housemate playing the leading role this year.
Read
Last week, I described how President Theodore Roosevelt's life was intertwined with natural history, hunting, and nature conservation.
In the wonderful River of Doubt, by Candice Millard, it turns out that Roosevelt's interest in nature and exploration was not just lip service. After a failed attempt to become president for the third time as an independent candidate in 1912, Roosevelt decided to become an explorer himself. He set up an expedition to map the little-known Rio da Dúvida, a river in the Amazon. The combination of heavy wooden canoes and elevation differences made for a difficult expedition. Roosevelt was seriously injured in the jungle and had to be carried out alive by the other expedition members. The 760 km long river was eventually renamed the Roosevelt River.
I find the intersection of civilizations fascinating. The former president of the hypermodern United States meets a tribe that is seeing a white man for the first time.
An American president who becomes an explorer sounds like a far-fetched novel, but it is all true.
Listened
Wednesday's new album is wonderfully varied. The first single, Elderberry Wine, was a nice country track. Townies, on the other hand, sounds more like the better gritty 90s work of bands like Bettie Serveert and Pavement. A bit of college rock too. But with a steel guitar.
See you next week!