Disqus - Latest Comments for chrislatray

Re: Q&A with Nonfiction Contributor Melissa Stephenson

Chris La Tray — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 23:50:46 -0000

Melissa's work is wonderful and I look forward to reading this piece. I also welcome the opportunity to encounter Carve for the first time.

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Chris La Tray — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 12:03:29 -0000

This sounds right up my alley.

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Chris La Tray — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 17:50:52 -0000

I bookmarked this to come back to, then got busy, and now I'm late to the party. As you can imagine, a lot of my fellow Missoulians were miffed over the title too. Me, I was happy. Missoula has a terrible pro-UofM football attitude that in many ways is part of why things were handled so poorly in these investigations. I know you and I disagree on this, but big time athletics, whether college or professional, have become a cultural scourge. The main reporter Krakauer cites -- Gwen Florio -- is a good friend of mine. We are in a little drinking-group-diguised-as-a-writing-group together, and we talked about this book for months before its publication, then after. The threats and hate mail she received while doing her reporting on this (she is retired now) were shocking. And they continue, as some anonymous shitheel has been sending letters of protest to every bookstore she visits as part of her current book tour for her new novel. Missoula regularly gets named on these "best places to live" stories in magazines, and I think as Missoulians we have to accept our dark side as well. Krakauer also came here and did a big town hall meeting after it was published.

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Chris La Tray — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 13:52:19 -0000

Which is why we love you.

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Chris La Tray — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 00:39:37 -0000

I bet you're just anal enough to know exactly how much text at a minimum you need to properly align with the thumbnail cover too, aren't you? Ha ha.

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Chris La Tray — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 15:11:08 -0000

I'll keep my eyes open for it, then. Sorry I haven't been "around" much. Doesn't mean I don't think about you, though.

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Chris La Tray — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 13:58:28 -0000

I don't care for the first cover much, but the second one reeks of Eat, Pray, Love knock-off, so I would ignore it after the slightest of glances and immediately struggle to swallow the throw-up gushing into my mouth from the pit of my stomach.

Your review makes me want to read it, though. Seems like something I might love.

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Chris La Tray — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 13:32:48 -0000

Truly makes me want to shoot more b/w myself. It's gorgeous.

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Chris La Tray — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 11:36:01 -0000

Oh, hell no.

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Chris La Tray — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 14:44:28 -0000

So I'm a week late . . . but Pumpkin? Holy shnikes.

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Chris La Tray — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 15:50:34 -0000

I'm not a curmudgeon. I just don't like a lot of stuff.

(Ha ha)

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Chris La Tray — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 13:31:12 -0000

Those dogs and goats pictures are almost more than I can take.

And even though I hate weddings, that series was pretty awesome too.

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Chris La Tray — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 15:52:54 -0000

I've seen this book, and seen other reviews. I may end up getting it. A couple initial thoughts I have, though, are these: when discussing the way humans change a landscape, we absolutely do overdo it. But it isn't an all or nothing game. For example, consider a beaver dam. Those things can be HUGE, and certainly affect the land around them. By the rules of some people, one could surmise that that isn't natural either. It's a fine line at time, this determination of what is truly wild.

I would also point out something John Vaillant said in his lecture that I agree with. When it comes to what people en masse care about, some of the smartest and wealthiest people in the world's sole reason for getting out of bed is finding more ways to make us not care about anything but what they prefer we do. It's all a matter of whom we choose to listen to. It's Us against Them, man! *shakes fist at sky*

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Chris La Tray — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 14:31:27 -0000

I'm just glad there's nothing about football this week. There is nothing positive about football.

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Chris La Tray — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 14:43:46 -0000

The better vid would be 7yo me being chased around by a couple a-hole roosters we used to have.

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Chris La Tray — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 14:00:33 -0000

The only wild animal I've ever been chased by was a moose, and I'm glad I had a helluva head start.

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Chris La Tray — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 13:03:29 -0000

I loved The Wave, even as I found it terrifying.

I'm not much of a Bryson fan. He's probably best known for the AP book (hell, there's a movie coming out based on it, for crissakes), and I didn't like that one at all. He committed the grave sin of really failing a critical piece of fact. If I recall, all through the book he was worried about black bears, and laughs off moose as big goofy animals. MOOSE ARE DEATH MACHINES ON THE HOOF. Black bears are generally scared of people, and I don't sweat them much at all, despite still respecting them. Moose, on the other hand, with trample you TO THE DEATH for NO GOOD REASON. Heh. Moose are not to be fucked with.

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Chris La Tray — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 20:35:15 -0000

For some time now I've been wanting to pick up a particular recording device (I already know the one I want) to carry with me and just start recording soundscapes. 30 minutes by the river. An hour from a hotel window. 15 minutes from a bench downtown. It's just something I find more and more fascinating.

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Chris La Tray — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 13:57:46 -0000

Pay close enough attention, and the world is full of this kind of thing, trading on stereotypes, etc. It makes network television, mainstream advertising, and most comedians impossible for me to deal with.

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Chris La Tray — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 10:50:43 -0000

Dog toy face is awesome.

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Chris La Tray — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 11:31:11 -0000

Aren't there two Book Passage stores out there? If so, do you have a preference?

I'll be getting this one very soon, along with Carl Safina's Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel.

Another great surfing memoir is Daniel Duane's Caught Inside. He's a great writer too.

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Chris La Tray — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 15:29:44 -0000

I subscribed to Audible.com about a year ago. I really enjoy it. I don't worry too much about getting through them in a hurry.

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Chris La Tray — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 22:00:46 -0000

Do you listen to many audio books, Lauren?

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Chris La Tray — Sun, 12 Apr 2015 16:19:48 -0000

Yep. In fact, I think I preferred the movie version of NCFOM better than the book.

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Chris La Tray — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 22:48:30 -0000

I'd hate suddenly needing to puke at Powell's, because finding the restrooms in that place can be a nightmare.