August | 2014 | Beth Byrnes

Guilty of their own murders

Posted on August 22, 2014 20 Comments

We have had an extraordinary 2014 so far, given all the events transpiring domestically and abroad. Striking are the number of incidents involving teenagers killed for no or minor reasons. I don’t want to be too technical in discussing this, because if we zoom in too closely, we tend to get buried in the specific details […]

Bleeders in a world of sharp edges

Posted on August 15, 2014 26 Comments

My grandfather used to compare me to a cartoon character named Nippy, who was always mischievous and often wrong. Today we found out that many in the media who rushed to judgment about the cause of Robin Williams’ depression and suicide being attributable to relapsed substance abuse got it wrong. In a statement released Thursday, his widow Susan said: “Robin’s […]

Depression is an affliction of the gifted

Posted on August 12, 2014 19 Comments

I certainly did not plan to post this morning, but given the news yesterday about the passing of a great talent, artist, and human being, I thought I would just throw out a few thoughts. It has been my observation that extremely intelligent people comprise a disproportionate percentage of those who suffer from clinical depression. […]

Insects eat up more urban trash than rats do—and they’re dying out

Posted on August 4, 2014 15 Comments

I rarely re-blog, but this is a topic about which I feel very strongly. We may not like the look or “feel” of insects surrounding us, but they are vital to our ecological well being. At our house, we encourage outdoor insects like ants (excellent for cleaning away detritus and aerating soil), earthworms, spiders, bees, […]

The newbie wed – prologue

Posted on August 2, 2014 20 Comments

For those of you who have been kind enough to follow me for the last year, you know I talk a lot about my relationship with my significant other, Geoffrey and my experiences living among his extensive family in Southern California. You can view previous posts to see the earlier stories about our meeting and marrying back […]