Sunday Reading

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, falling on the heels of Earth Day. So here is some appropriate Earthy reading.

First, a short post on one of The New Yorker blogs about the global impact of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull called "Laughing at the Volcano," which begins "Icelanders apparently think that this whole volcano business is funny -- which is a bit rich coming from people who came up with the name Eyjafjallajokull."

And this fascinating essay in the New York Times by Simon Winchester, the man who brought us The Professor and the Madman, "a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English Dictionary" called "A Tale of Two Volcanoes." Winchester compares and contrasts the activity of the current Icelandic volcano with the blast created by a similar tiny vent opening up on the island of Krakatoa in Indonesia in 1883. You won't want to miss the part about the Edvard Munch painting "The Scream" and its relationship to Krakatoa.

And from the Daily Mail (UK), some cool photos here.

Happy Reading!