The Blue Firmament

... 'Tis very sweet to look into the fair
And open face of heaven, to breathe a prayer
Full in the smile of the blue firmament.

Playa Colibri on Golfo Dulce, La Palma, Osa Peninsula, and Keats.

Ahem, Fido.

Turns out he's a little man, I just happened to first meet him before The Fall. He still breaks my heart.

(Soundtrack by The Magnetic Fields)

"Vultures pee down their legs to cool off."

Over a month ago, one of our regular freelancers wrote short feature, maybe 600 words, about vultures. It's been the one article our readers have specifically written in response to in the last month or so. (Emphases, again, mine.)

MARCH 20

Costa Rica Home to More
Vultures Than Reported

The article by Mitzi regarding vultures of Costa Rica last week was interesting, but there were a couple of inaccuracies. Mitzi got her information from a staff member of Zoo Ave.

[Three paragraphs detailing said inaccuracies.]

Zoo Ave does very good work and employs lots of people, but most are not experts regarding birds.

– Henry

APRIL 3

Vultures Are Omnivores
And Cannibals, Too

Concerning Mitzi's article about vultures: Having spent much of the past 50 years in rural Latin America, I have some knowledge of the habits of vultures, mostly the black vulture. It may be a surprise to some to know that a favorite food of the black vulture ... is each other! That is to say, they will fiercely and voraciously devour each other when they can. I have seen a large flock of them feeding on a carcass of livestock at the edge of the road, when a passing vehicle smashes and injures some of them, whereby, those feeding on the carcass will leave it and attack and eagerly devour their brethren.

This vulture seems to be omnivorous, as I have also seen them eating rotting coconuts (discarded pipas) and baby turtles. I don't think there is much in the way of organic matter they won't eat, just so long as they can get their beak on it without a threat to themselves.

– Samuel

APRIL 24

Vultures Play Dead,
Vomit and Urinate

It's not widely known, but owners of vultures that are in captivity for a broken wing, for example, have learned that they can be very endearing pets, squawking and rushing happily over to greet them.

Owners have also learned not to startle vultures.

When frightened, vultures will over and play dead. If that doesn't work, they then proceed to throw up. You cannot imagine what the smell of vomit can be like from an animal that only eats dead things.

In addition, when overheated, vultures pee down their legs to cool off.

Vultures also, it appears, are hard to get rid of. The Dade County Courthouse, which had vultures roosting moodily on the roof, peering down at people going to trial, tried electricity, noise, gunshot and who-knows-what to encourage them to perch elsewhere, to no avail at the time.

– Susan

Crossbred Vultures
Are Fun to Name

As a follow-up to the letter concerning the common American black vulture, I submit the following experience that persons interested in this topic may find of interest.

Many years ago when at the market in San Salvador, I was approached by a rustic looking individual carrying a cardboard box, and in the box was a brood of the strangest looking birds I have ever seen: The feet and head and neck were those of the black vulture, beady eyes, hooked back, etc. However, the body was not that of a vulture, but of a different shape, while the plumage was multicolored. The vendor offered them for sale, and giggling, related the following to me: His children on his farm had captured a black wild vulture and he had enclosed it in a pen of domestic fowl to keep as a pet. The vulture had crossbred, and the progeny were those birds he carried in his box, he said.

I would suggest that any reader in a rural area having domestic fowl catch a male and female black vulture and enclose them, out of contact and sight of each other, as follows: The female with several male turkeys, chicken cocks, and ducks, and the male with females of the same or more species. Keep them continuously together for a few moths or a couple of years and see what, if anything, results – meanwhile, think up a good name to call them. One may go to the Internet for information about distinguishing male and female vultures – I suppose one could use slabs of old meat as bait.

– Steve

A Superlative Twitter Day

ME: What’s your favorite book?

BIZ: I loved Sherlock Holmes when I was a kid.

ME: But you’ve helped destroy mystery.

sǝʌoɯ ʇı ʇǝʎ puɐ

Shameless

You know a copy editor's job by what you don't see: misspellings, misplaced commas, or – heaven forbid – an incorrect style reference to the Public Works and Transport Ministry and things of that sort. Mostly it's a thankless job, but on the other hand, we're also the ones who get to help write the quippy headlines, teasers, kickers and photo captions that entice all of you to buy the actual substantive articles, thereby saving profitable journalism.

We don't have to write 700 words of concise, objective text, just a couple dozen witty ones within set character limits. The most readily available bits involve some pun and/or pop culture reference. I've also finagled nods to Keats and Coleridge, Boyz II Men and Salt-N-Pepa. Of course, as happens in 92% of my day, something that strikes me doesn't quite strike everybody else the same way, and I have to go around and poll the editorial staff to support my claim that "The Windmills Cry Mary" is not too obscure a reference. (That one passed. Many others did not.) These are some of my favorite flourishes I've snuck in there in the last year.

For the Daily News subscribers' email, which gets two photos, when I edit it, I try to get the two photo kickers (the word/s in bold before the caption) play off each other. It may seem like an added layer of difficulty, but it actually helps to direct and pin down the creative possibilities swirling overhead. I know that maybe only a pair of readers actually notice the tandem wit – on a good day – but, hey, nerds have to entertain themselves somehow:

Who loves themselves some Velvet Underground? Moi:





But this was, and will always be, my all-time favorite:

The Sageness of the Pubescent

Students in an 8th grade class at one of the private American schools here sent in letters to the editor as an assignment this week, which I had the joy of editing. Here is their* most poignant prose, emphases mine:

As someone who is interested in the environment and likes chocolate, this article caught my attention right away. I am a supporter of the belief that fun and interesting facts help us preserve this wonderful planet.

– Michael

It is always good to find new things in nature that can be useful to us, and it has many advantages. But ambition is dangerous. That is why I ask Costa Ricans to please take care of Tirimbina Rainforest and be respectful to nature.

– Pam

Based on the information this article has provided, and as a person living in Costa Rica, I’ve reached the conclusion that unlicensed taxis should be banned. There are several reasons as to ban these taxis. There is no organization, if something occurs, there is no record of the taxi, and if one thing fails in the country’s structure, the whole country will come crashing down. If they enforce the laws regarding unlicensed taxis, the country will be more organized and an organized nation is a happy nation.

– Angela

The author provided really good examples and points of view from the taxi drivers. I think that maybe she could explain a little better what happened and why the taxi drivers were so mad and why they went on strike. Also, I think that it would have been good for her to maybe put her own opinion in it.

– Phyllis

I agree that the Petroleos de Nicaragua CEO did a good job on signing this deal. I was a resident in Nicaragua for almost four years and I clearly understand the situation the country is living in.

– Andy

The taxistas have finally decided to take the issue into their own hands and will eventually try to solve this issue with violence. I truly agree with this behavior; sometimes we have to fight and use violence as a last and desperate resource in order to get justice and fairness.

– Dwight

*All names have been changed, since the travails of middle school are enough in themselves to at least merit suffering the snark of an incorrigibly caustic editorial assistant in anonymity.

Nudity solves everything.

Sadly, her last name was not Paris:

Dear Tico Times,

We love Costa Rica. We were lucky to find a beautiful nudist resort located at the edge of a rain forest. This rustic Costa Rican hotel and club also has a restaurant with fantastic food. Everything about being nude in Costa Rica seems so natural. I read so many letters where people express their unhappiness in Costa Rica, but there are just as many problems in the U.S. Instead of picking on Ticos, go find a place like Mi Amor Resort, enjoy yourself, and be glad you were lucky enough to spend time in Costa Rica.

Twyla
Zephyrhills, FL

I Love 'My' Dog As Much As I Love You

The neighbors' little lady made my day today while I was taking out the trash:

The Corn Islands

Photos, in which Rachel and Holly go on a bona fide vacation to a tropical oasis, Nicaragua's Corn Islands, on the Caribbean:

When Words Get Tired

Granada is a photogenic city:




Starring: a haircut at Hilda's, the Boy Jesus Laboratory, the Man of the Mauve, and more colors and patterns.

Both Equally Commanding

While buying a sno-cone in Granada, the big-bellied man in a red button-up shirt takes the book from my hand to read the cover:

him: cor-MACK?
me: si, COR-mack.
him: mc-car-tee ... el general?
me: (pause) ah, otro mccarthy.