Author: Rich Horner
Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts
By Margaret Atwood Genre: Literary Memoir / Essay Collection / Cultural History Audio Availability: Narrated by Margaret Atwood and ensemble (dry, ironic, observational) Categories: The Burden of Observation & The Ledger of Human Nature 📖 The Blueprint (No-Spoiler Synopsis) Spanning eight decades of living through cultural, political, and ecological upheavals, Book of Lives gathers Margaret…
The Player of Games
By Iain M. Banks Genre: Space Opera / Strategic Science Fiction / Sociological Thriller Audio Availability: Outstanding narration by Peter Kenny (widely regarded as a masterclass in vocal pacing and dry wit) Categories: High-Velocity Tradecraft & The Ledger of Human Nature 📖 The Blueprint (No-Spoiler Synopsis) Jernau Morat Gurgeh is a master game player living…
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia
By Ursula K. Le Guin Genre: Philosophical Science Fiction / Political Speculative Fiction Audio Availability: Excellent narration by Don Leslie (deliberate, resonant, clear) Categories: The Mechanics of Morality & The Inventions & Problem Solvers 📖 The Blueprint (No-Spoiler Synopsis) Two worlds orbit each other in a fragile cold war. Urras is a planet of lush…
Birding Clay Point Park, Biloxi
October 18, 2026 Claypoint Park sits on Back Bay Boulevard in Biloxi, just south of the railroad tracks near Point Cadet — you may have wondered why this stretch feels so productive for birding and photography, especially during migration. The answer turns out to be Katrina. Before August 29, 2005, this area looked nothing like…
Time with old Friends
In the rear, Kathy, Patty, in red Jacket, and Charles. Front is Melvin and David Long time family friends the Walkers and the Stephens. Our families have been camping together since our grandparents met. October 13 through 15, 2026 Charles & Cathy’s Visit to the Mississippi Coast Charles and Patty have known each other all…
Migration at Ward Bayou 10/7/26
Patty is back home, and while she was away I put a new deck on her birding chair platform. Yesterday morning we headed out to Ward Bayou — migration season is in full swing, everybody’s headed south, and there’s plenty of color and activity out there. The waders were sparse, but hurricane Isaias out in…
Ocean Springs Front Beach & Back Bay Blvd
October 4, 2026 Between showers! Click the image to view full size and browse the gallery. Something exciting is in the works. While Patty was going through some old belongings, she came across slides — some of them 50 to 60 years old — and asked if I could try to digitize and recover them.…
Political Words — Team Brief (Revision 4)
October 2, 2026 Purpose Political Words is a MY VIEW project that defines commonly used and commonly weaponized political terms in plain, neutral language. The goal is accuracy and shared understanding, not persuasion. Readers are friends and family with a range of political views. You don’t have to agree with an idea to understand what…
Under the Hood
This page goes deeper into the words introduced in Political Words: where they came from, how their meanings have changed, and where scholars agree and disagree. Choose any word below to go directly to it. THE WORDS HOW POWER IS HELD Democracy Republic Authoritarianism Totalitarianism Monarchy Theocracy Oligarchy POLITICAL PHILOSOPHIES Liberalism Conservatism Progressivism Libertarianism THE…
POLITICAL WORDS
In the space of a single evening, the same word can be used three different ways. One speaker uses it as a description. Another uses it as a warning. A third uses it as an insult, and the audience applauds. Socialist. Communist. Fascist. Liberal. Conservative. These words turn up in speeches, headlines, and comment sections…
