Archives
Alcohol on the brain
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/10/Alcohol-on-the.mp3[/podcast] Human beings have been using and abusing alcohol for a very long time: roughly 10,000 years, give or take a long weekend. The effects of drinking too much of the stuff have been known for every one of those 10,000 years (although individuals somehow seem to forget them within a remarkably short time frame). For decades, scientists have been trying to understand the mechanism behind the reduced muscle coordination and sedative effects of alcohol. The assumption has been that alcohol acts on the brain’s neurons, but nobody could figure out exactly how. A new study indicates that may be because they’ve been looking in the wrong place. Not only that, the ...The world’s oldest winery
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2011/01/The-Worlds-Oldest-Winery.mp3[/podcast] My wife and I are wine enthusiasts. We belong to all the local wine societies, have written about wine for local magazines, occasionally conduct wine tastings and we’ve even got our own wine-related website, The Willetts on Wine (www.willettsonwine.com). That being the case, I keep an eye on wine news: and this past week an interesting wine story cropped up, when scientists from America, Armenia and Ireland reported finding the oldest known winemaking operation—they dated it to about 6,100 years ago—in an Armenian cave. Wine begins, obviously, with grape juice, extracted either by mechanical means (squeezing the grapes in a press) or by the time-honored method of stomping the grapes with your feet. Once you’ve got juice, you put it in ...The Willetts on Wine: Madeleine Angevine and beyond: adventures in wine-tasting
Adventure, discovery and exploring the unknown are all aspects of a great vacation—and a great wine-tasting. This summer we had both, when our trip to British Columbia brought us the Larch Hills Winery in the Salmon Arm area. Upon discovering at our hotel that the Okanagan’s northernmost vineyards were only a few minutes’ drive away, we headed out with GPS in hand. A winding, switch-back road took us to the top of a mountain, where both a vineyard and a spectacular view awaited. Larch Hills specializes (for obvious reasons) in cool-climate viticulture. We tasted several of the winemaker’s offerings, and found, to our surprise, that our favourite was made from a ...The Willetts on Wine: East is east, and west is west…but which has the best wine?
Here's the wine column my wife, Margaret Anne, and I wrote for the Summer issues of Fine Lifestyles Regina and Fine Lifestyles Saskatoon... *** It’s Canada Day as we write this, and we’re feeling patriotic. Today’s Rider game is even a classic East-versus-West match tailor-made to resonate with the Canadian psyche. This is a wine column, not a sports column, but that East-versus-West dynamic can be found in the world of Canadian wines, as well...and here in Saskatchewan, we’re right in the middle of it. Grapes and wine make an early appearance in Canadian history. What we call Newfoundland Leif Ericsson named Vineland way back ...The Willetts on Wine: How do I rate thee? Let me count the ways…
One last bit of writing from the spring issues of Fine Lifestyles Regina and Fine Lifestyles Saskatoon, as the release of the summer issues approaches. Here's "The Willetts on Wine," the wine column I write with my wife, Margaret Anne... *** When you go into the liquor store, you’re faced with a bewildering selection of wines. So many bottles, so many possibilities. How do you choose a good one? You could judge the wine by its label, of course, and many do. Which is why wineries try so hard (sometimes a little too hard, if you ask us: Fat Bastard, anyone?) to come up with unique names for ...The Willetts on Wine: Wine – it’s what’s for dinner
Continuing the run-up to the release of the spring issue of Fine Lifestyles Regina, here's "The Willetts on Wine," the wine column penned by my wife, Margaret Anne, and myself, from winter issue of FLR, in which it premiered. Eventually there'll be a dedicated Willetts on Wine website to replace the old Blogger blog we haven't updated in forever. But for now...enjoy! *** It seems like cooking dinner these days is a high-wire balancing act. You’re expected to perfectly balance protein, veggies and carbohydrates while also serving up fresh (preferably local) ingredients, delectable tastes, and tantalizing textures. Throw in the expectation of a perfect wine match, and ...It’s alive! It’s alive!
The Willetts on Wine.Wine’s not just good for your heart…
...it may also (both red and white) combat tooth-decay and upper-respiratory-tract-infection bacteria.Photo of the Day: Glasses at the Ready
More photos here.Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home…
...you're stinking up my wine:Ladybugs may look pretty but they also have a dark side. In some places, the polka-dotted insects have become a nuisance by invading homes and crops, including some vineyards. To make matters worse, the bugs produce a foul-smelling liquid that, besides irritating homeowners, can be inadvertently processed along with grapes and taint the aroma and flavor of wine.***A growing number of winemakers say that their wines have an abnormal aroma and flavor, known as ‘ladybug taint,’ that resembles the bug’s characteristic odor. Winemakers report that there are more ladybugs in vineyards and on the grapes during harvest. Experts believe that the bugs accidentally become mixed into the juice during ...
Edward Willett is a Subscribe to my weekly science column for free!
Advertisement
Donate
Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
Facebook
Flickr
GoodReads
RSS
Twitter
Email
