The KGB-Tiger Beetle Edition

My yard is full of these wonderful green tiger beetles. These beetles get their name because they are active visual predators and can give a little nip if picked up, a bit like some Kansans I suppose. So on to the carnival.

First up is a new blogger to me, Diane Silver. Writing in her blog Kansas Voices, she observes that in contrast to the popular mythology about Kansas, GLBT people are becoming integrated into Kansas society, even in rural areas. She also contributes to another blog, In This Moment.

Yet another new blogger to me is Diana who writes on the entanglement between doctors and drug companies in her post, The Appearance of Impropriety, in her health related blog, Somebody Heal Me. By the way, both these bloggers are in Lawrence. She also has a post on the upcoming Michael Moore documentary called Sicko. Diana learned about the KGB from Josh's blog, Thoughts from Kansas. Josh, by the way, notes an anniversary for one of the longest running Kansas Blogs,Peg at Kansas Prairie.net. Peg writes:

"Recent studies suggest about 60-70 million blogs exist on line and nearly 175,000 new ones crop up daily. The vast majority of blogs that are started are either abandoned or isolated. Most people on the internet have a blog or two they read and follow. I try to keep my blog list updated. If the blogger isn’t contributing regularly, I drop them…the exception being my good friend, Jesse, who writes excellent material when he has time."

From new faces to new geography, emawkc writes about Lebanon Kansas which is just about the geographic center of the lower 48 states in his post, The More You Know About Lebanon Kansas. He goes to Lebanon to buy custom grown beef and he gives links about the advantages of this beef, free from hormones and antibiotics.

This probably is a good time to note that this is the centennial year of Rachel Carson's birth. The modern environmental movement is often dated from the publication of her book Silent Spring. In my submission, Rachel Carson: At the Commons, I report on a recent event at the University of Kansas on Carson's legacy.

John at Blogmeridian discusses his reaction to the recent book burning in Kansas City by a frustrated book store owner and contrasts that with his experience at the Bookaholic in Wichita. I grew up to respect the written word, and I can't imagine burning books. It seems to me that books have become just another commodity to be bought at the lowest price and discarded after a reading. Too bad. Maybe this is another symptom of the information overload discussed by Joel Mathis at Cup O' Joel. He asks us how we cope with information overload. So you might go on over and give him some suggestions. Joel observes:

"There are days when the knowledge feels wide but shallow. The RSS feed? I haven’t bothered to count, but I’m calculating that it brings me upward of 1,000 postings a day. Most of them, I just scan the headlines. I plunge into only a few."

I know exactly what he means. Personally I don't worry about information overload since in spite of the oft repeated claim that the amount of information doubles every several years, most of information is at best redundant and, at worst dead wrong. Of course, none of this applies to our Kansas bloggers!

Next week, the KGB heads on over to Blogmeridian. So submit something via the KGB's carnival page, or contact John through his blog.

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