Friday pearls o' poo

Of course, June Cleaver would never wear pearls of poo, silly - and doesn't she look nice? But
I've been hit with a Grade-A, Biosafety Level-4 cold and feel like barely warmed-over poo meself, so the pearls I'm blowing your way may seem somewhat poo-like. Just lookie what I've found:

Some folks think that Beatrix Potter is kids' stuff, but her illustrations are amazing. Here's one modern-day writer/illustrator's take on "Hairy" Potter.

So what's an ecological book-lover to do? Yes, we want to save ancient forests, but we do love our books fresh off the press. Join the discussion here.

What's a "literary Darwinist"? The Times of London will fill you in. How do we explain the basic human need to ingest stories?

And you always thought that Daphne de Maurier was the second Mrs. DeWinter, but you be wrong-o, according to this little revelation. Seems the Daphy dame was really more like Rebecca her own bad self. OK, but who was the real Mrs. Danvers, is what I want to know.

Here's a British blog list that everyone probably knows about but me. It's a great place to get lost. Is there an American one I'm missing?

And in keeping with my Armistice Day salute: While I knew that the whole poppy thing came from the John McCrae poem "In Flanders Fields," I didn't know that the idea for wearing poppies in commemoration of the war dead came from a good ol' Walton County, Georgia girl in 1918. Give it up for Moina Michael.

Now, if I can just put my head on my desk and look like I'm working until 5pm . . .