In honor of Veterans Day, I’ve put together this collection of military aircraft named after birds of prey.  (A work in progress–additions welcome.)                                                                                                          

Kinky Friedman meets Carl Hiaasen with a Bronx/Texas twist in Jerome Charyn’s new Issac Sidel novel UNDER THE EYE OF GOD. With cynically screwball characters and caricatures that will leave you smiling or recoiling at nearly every turn, don’t expect to make a whole lot of sense of the frenetic plot. But have no fear. Charyn will somehow manage to keep you entertained. UNDER THE EYE OF GOD continues a mytery series that began back in 1974. Jerome Charyn (b. 1937) …

At dawn, the bald eagle rises from her nest, gliding through the fog along Virginia’s South Fork Rivanna River, not really sure what she seeks. She is a symbol, a hope for a better tomorrow. She is a nation, flying proud and free. Soon, the eagle begins to climb. There is a steep slope here, she discovers, and she feels compelled to find out where it leads. Breaking through the mist, she ascends to the top of the little mountain, …

What a wild week it’s been with the destruction of Hurricane Sandy. We were fortunate to have dodged a bullet here in the Virginia Piedmont, sandwiched between the worst of the storm’s wrath to our Northeast and the massive snows to our west. The media pictures of the storm’s devastation break my heart. We should all do as much as we can to help those in need. Sandy’s impact has also gotten me thinking about our postmodern culture’s relationship with …