Carrion Luggage (Book)

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Carrion Luggage

Carrion Luggage

Native to the Americas, the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) travels widely in search of sustenance. While usually foraging alone, it relies on other individuals of its species for companionship and mutual protection. Sometimes misunderstood, sometimes feared, sometimes shunned, it nevertheless performs an important role in the ecosystem.

This scavenger bird is a marvel of efficiency. Rather than expend energy flapping its wings, it instead locates uplifting columns of air, and spirals within them in order to glide to greater heights. This behavior has been mistaken for opportunism, interpreted as if it is circling doomed terrestrial animals destined to be its next meal. In truth, the vulture takes advantage of these thermals to gain the altitude needed glide longer distances, flying not out of necessity, but for the joy of it.

It also avoids the exertion necessary to capture live prey, preferring instead to feast upon that which is already dead. In this behavior, it resembles many humans.

It is not what most of us would consider to be a pretty bird. While its habits are often off-putting, or even disgusting, to members of more fastidious species, the turkey vulture helps to keep the environment from being clogged with detritus. Hence its Latin binomial, which translates to English as "golden purifier."

I rarely know where the winds will take me next, or what I might find there. The journey is the destination.

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Elisa, Stik of Clubs

about 22 hours ago
In response to "Bad Idea Genes"

Personally, I've never touched the genealogy genre because it honestly feels like too confining of a genre. It strikes me as something that would be dominated by non-fiction and essays. Even though I've become more of an essayist in middle age, this genre isn't exactly in the same mold as the media analysis pieces I tend to write.

Side note: I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers the Bad Idea Jeans SNL skit. I think about that one perhaps more than I should be publicly admitting.

2 Like

Elisa, Stik of Clubs

a day ago
In response to "Depolarization"

I think the concepts behind the depolarization challenge can also be applied to science and science communication. There was a (non-research) piece published in Nature a few months ago that provides a great example of this, but only part of it is publicly available (that I've been able to find so far). It acknowledges that an educated iteration of tribalism has contributed to mistrust in the scientific community globally and that things will need to change in their part.

1 Like

Lazy Writer est 4/24/2008

a day ago
In response to "Depolarization"

Some people want to change but i think the majority are set in their ways or on their comfort zone. As far as our government goes..they refuse to work together..they have forgotten why they are there. It will be like this and worse until Christ returns!

💘 Richard 💘

a day ago
In response to "Depolarization"

I pride myself on the fact that, as a supervisor, I was always happy to let my subordinates fully and completely present their ideas and positions before I told them NO.

1 Like

Annette

Feb 13, 2026 at 4:21pm
In response to "Slop Shop"

As I was reading this, Chingu used me as a launching pad to jump up to his comfy pillow on top of the bookshelf.

Real cats are better than AI cats.

Fight me.

2 Like

Brandiwyn🎶 v.2026

Feb 13, 2026 at 1:39pm
In response to "Slop Shop"

I used to rely on .gov pages as reliable.

1 Like

Storm Machine

Feb 13, 2026 at 11:29am
In response to "Slop Shop"

Occasionally, my kids and I talk about AI videos. The fakeness, how to spot it. Trying to help each other to spot this stuff.

2 Like

💘 Richard 💘

Feb 13, 2026 at 10:33am
In response to "Slop Shop"

The most important takeaway from this:

"I'd also add this: Be humble enough to know that you can be wrong. Be brave enough to admit when you're wrong. And allow space for the idea that sometimes, your ideological opponents are right."

We all need to print that on a wallet-sized card and read it at least once a day.

2 Like

Lazy Writer est 4/24/2008

Feb 12, 2026 at 5:59pm
In response to "Rough Beasts"

I am just me! Hopefully not a moron! lol

TJ says, "keep on keeping on!"

Feb 12, 2026 at 4:34pm
In response to "Rough Beasts"

I agree, most of us just are. There are others who are without thinking; these are of the archetypes, morons.

1 Like

February 15, 2026 at 10:30am

#1108406

Bad Idea Genes

Today, a bit of a break as I use this space to participate in "26 Paychecks "

[E]

Tell us about one (1) genre that you've never written anything for. Name the genre and tell us why it's not something that has sparked any writing from you.

Thing is, I've been here for a while, and I've written a bunch of things both here and elsewhere. And I tend to experiment, sometimes. So I can't absolutely guarantee that I've never written in some particular genre. Hell, I probably have something listed under "Fashion," which is one genre I've always said I knew nothing about.

But, upon browsing the list of genres here, I came across one that I don't think I've ever touched, which is Genealogy.

There's nothing wrong with genealogy. I get wanting to know where people come from, much as I enjoy tracing word origins. It's just not a particular interest of mine.

You'd think it would be, right? Since I was adopted as an infant, surely I must feel a burning need to track down my genetic ancestry! Well, um... no. I don't. Never have. Nothing more than idle curiosity or being able to answer inheritable disorder questions for the doctor. I have had some interest in tracing my adoptive parents' origins, but any attempts led me to dead ends and I gave up, never having written about it. Dad always warned me I'd find skeletons, anyway, and unlike a character in a horror story, I actually listen to warnings. I don't always heed them, mind. But I listen.

Short one today to keep it "about 200+ words," but that suits my mood today just fine.

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