Happy New Year!

If 2014 hasn’t been going so well for you, here’s your chance for another reboot, with the Year of the Horse.

Tuesday, all 55 counties in WV canceled school. As of 10 PM Tuesday night, all but four counties were canceled for Wednesday, and those four are on a two-hour delay (and will probably cancel).

So today’s word is: fun!

The four that didn’t cancel? Brooke, Gilmer, Mason, and Ohio counties.

That really was a terrible book. So in honor of me finishing it, today’s word is: automaton

I really didn’t like this book.

As most everyone knows by now, there was a chemical leak into the Elk river in Charleston WV that led to a state of emergency in 9 of our 55 counties.

First, some clarification and geographical grounding.

Here are the watersheds in the state. I live up in the corner near the only straight lines in the state outline, in Monongahela county in the Monongahela watershed. (We’ve biked into PA along the local rail trail.)

Here are the affected counties:

So you can see that despite the fact that the Monongahela river flows north, we’re nowhere near the chemical spill.

This picture shows you the location of the spill, and the affected counties:

Since Thursday afternoon, we’ve had constant updates, notification that for the nine counties, Boone, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam, Roane, and Cabell, were under a state of emergency, and residents were not to use water except for flushing toilets and putting out fires.

I was initially confused by the “putting out fires” bit until I realized that some chemicals can lead to water that could, in fact, catch fire. So it would be best to clarify that putting the contaminated water on a fire wouldn’t cause an explosion.

Yeah.

So what did this mean to those in the affected counties? It meant that all schools, hotels and restaurants in the area had to close.

Stop for just a second, and think of all the times during the day you reach out and turn on a faucet. Can you count the number of times today you turned on the tap and water came out? All those times you went to the faucet without thinking, someone in those counties was attempting to do the same thing, and then remembering they can’t turn on the water.

In the affected areas, you can’t wash clothes, dishes, or your hands. You can’t shower or bathe. You can’t drink the water or cook with it.

All those little thing you do every day without thinking, they can’t do.

In West Virginia, most of us get our water from our rivers.

And our treated sewage goes right back into those same bodies of water.

Well, it’s treated most of the time. In Mon county we historically had problems with heavy rains overwhelming our sewage treatment plants and putting untreated sewage directly into the river. But they changed the storm drains to go directly into the streams and river, which is good, because the amount of new construction–the amount of concrete and asphalt where there used to be woods and fields–in Morgantown has led to more and more run off. Has led to flooding where before the ground would just soak up the water.

When I was growing up, most of the local creeks looked like this:

Confused?

Does this help at all?

Most streams and creeks were orange from acid mine drainage. Water from mines went straight into nearby streams and creeks.

Streams and creeks that fed into the rivers from which got our water.

So, you see, water quality has always been a problem in West Virginia. Big companies, often with out-of-state owners, would come in to take our resources–our forests, our coal, our natural gas–and leave the forests and creeks and streams and rivers damaged.

Why would they care? The owners didn’t live here.

If we didn’t like it, they’d just take their jobs and leave.

So, we took the short end of the stick, and, well, we took it. And our streams were polluted and our forests cut and our mountains flattened.

So when I heard about the chemical spill into the Elk river, I didn’t imagine an isolated incident.

I was instead reminded of how what happens in West Virginia doesn’t matter, unless it gets in the way of taking our resources so they can be used in other, more important, areas of the country.

Oh, just came across this, which made me feel ALL the better.

So yeah, keep those dirty lights on.

ADDENDUM the First:
I forgot to point out that more than 300,000 people were affected by the chemical spill. That’s more than 16% of the population of West Virginia. So although it was only 9 of our 55 counties affected, it is still a large percentage of our population.

ADDENDUM the Second:
Critics Say Chemical Spill Highlights Lax West Virginia Regulations (NY Times)

I heard (but don’t have a link right this second for verification) that the plant was known to be in poor condition.

I really hate the way it sounds, “I’m highly sensitive” but that doesn’t make it less true.

There’s an online questionnaire you can take, and for me, some of the questions are gimmies:

I am particularly sensitive to the effects of caffeine.
I startle easily.
I make a point to avoid violent movies and TV shows.

Hell, I’ve been teased about all those things for years. “GOD NO! Don’t let Michelle drink coffee!”

Of course, some of the things don’t fit. I don’t see myself as more sensitive to pain, but I am super bothered by some physical sensations, like itchy clothes or the seam on my socks being in the wrong place. And “I find it unpleasant to have a lot going on at once.” is false, perhaps because I’m simply used to chaos.

Does this discovery matter in the long run?

Not really.

But it is interesting. And I found some interesting suggestions on how to deal with being sensitive.

Realize that you’re the one and only master over yourself, and no one can have power over you unless you let them.
Don’t take things personally.

Both of those are easier said that done, and are things I have a very hard time with, but, as with many things, it sometimes helps to know that it’s not that I’m crazy, it’s just that I react differently than many people.

Not bad, just different.

While Alaska and Northern Canada have been giggling up their parka sleeves, much of the US has freaked out over the weather.

So today’s word is: wonderland

So, I’ve really enjoyed the mysteries by non-English writers I’ve been reading, but I’d like to find more books set in non-English speaking countries or places that are culturally different from what I normally read.

I absolutely adore Sergei Lukyanenko‘s Night Watch series–I re-read it in the fall and am currently listening to the audible versions.

I also love John Burdett‘s Sonchai Jitpleecheep series, which although written by a native English speaker, he’s one who lived in the place about which he’s writing.

I’ve been a fan of Andrea Camilleri and Arturo Pérez-Reverte for quite awhile. And I’ve recently read some excellent mysteries by Henning Mankell, Karin Fossum, Arnaldur Indridason.

But I want more. As may or may not be obvious from my love of fantasy, I like reading about places with which I’m unfamiliar. And Bangkok and Moscow are just about as foreign to me as Middle Earth and Newford.

I found this site, , which had some suggestions, but I want more.

So, recommendations please! If you want you can peruse the Fantasy and Mystery authors I’ve already read.

And if you want to squee about a particular author and tell me all the reasons I need to read them, that’d be awesome as well.

Here are the books I read in December. Yes, I read mostly mysteries.

~ Mystery ~

Kurt Wallander
The Fifth Woman (1996/2000) Henning Mankell translated by Steven T. Murray (Rating: 9/10)

Inspector Erlendur
Silence of the Grave (2002/2005) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder (Rating: 8/10)

Inspector Sejer
Don’t Look Back (1996/2002) Karin Fossum translated by Felicity David (Rating: 7/10)
He Who Fears the Wolf (1997/2003) Karin Fossum translated by Felicity David (Rating: 8.5/10)
When the Devil Holds the Candle (1998/2004) Karin Fossum translated by Felicity David (Rating: 3/10)

~ Supernatural Mystery ~

Detective Inspector Chen
Snake Agent (2005) Liz Williams (Rating: 8.5/10)
The Demon and the City (2006) Liz Williams (Rating 8.5/10)
Precious Dragon (2007) Liz Williams (Rating: 8.5/10)
The Shadow Pavilion (2009) Liz Williams (8/10)

~ Fantasy ~

Day Watch (Audio Version) (2006/2010) Sergei Lukyanenko and narrated by Paul Michael (Rating: 8.5/10)

~ Comics ~

Fables Vol. 19: Snow White (2013) Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham

~ Anthology ~

Kicking It  (2013) edited by Faith Hunter and Kalayna Price (Rating: 2/10)
I’d like to point out that several of the stories here were very good and worth searching out, but as a whole it was a very disappointing anthology.

Here’s what I have on pre-order for 2014:

January
Ashes & Alchemy (The Gaslight Chronicles)  Cindy Spencer Pape  Jan 6th eBook : This is a fun series, in spite of the boinking. I was a little disappointed in the last book, and hope it picks back up with this book. (steampunk, romance, erotica)
Black Arts: A Jane Yellowrock Novel  Hunter, Faith   Jan 7th paperback : This has been a pre-order book for me since I read the first book. (supernatural fantasy, mystery)
Up from the Grave (Night Huntress)  Frost, Jeaniene  Jan 28th paperback : This is another automatic pre-order series, despite all the boinking. (supernatural fantasy)

February
Broken Homes: A Rivers of London Novel  Ben Aaronovitch  Feb 4th eBook : I devoured the first three books in the series this summer, and am looking forward to this addition. (urban fantasy, mystery)

March
Night Broken (A Mercy Thompson Novel)  Patricia Briggs  March 4th eBook (I switched to eBook format when the series shifted to hard back) : I really love Mercy, and hope she gets a break in this book. (supernatural fantasy, mystery)
Why Kings Confess: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery :  C.S. Harris  March 4th eBook (I previously bought this in hardback, but am now delighted to have an eBook option) I love this series so much I have all the books in hard back. And might end up getting this book as a hard back, just for symmetry. (historical mystery)

May
Reborn (Shadow Falls: After Dark) C. C. Hunter  May 20 eBook : Shadow Falls was a YA series that finished up this summer, but this is a spin off following a character I quite like, and who has appeared in several short stories. (supernatural fantasy)

June
Fairest Vol. 3: The Return of the Maharaja Sean E. Williams et al June 3 : I will NOT read this until I have read Fables. (comics)

July
Fetch  Thurman, Rob  July  1st paperback  (?) This book isn’t actually listed anymore. I’m hoping it’s a new Cal Leandros book. Because that may be my favorite series going right now. Which is saying something.
Fables Vol. 20: Camelot   Willingham, Bill et al July 8 trade paperback : I will read this BEFORE I read the newest Fairest. (comics)
Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels)   Ilona Andrews  July 29 eBook (I switched to eBook format when the series shifted to hard back) This is another series I’ve pre-ordered since reading the first book. (supernatural fantasy, mystery)

So, what are you looking forward to reading? Anything I should be aware of?