Reality hunger for March 9, 2011

Why would someone create a replica of Blackie, complete with every single nick and scratch, including the wear pattern from Mr. Clapton’s belt buckle and the burn mark from his cigarettes? And why is that replica expected to fetch at least $20,000 at Wednesday’s auction, and probably much more? —"Urge to Own that Clapton Guitar Is Contagious, Scientists Find," NYT

The turtle, which scientists say could be more than a century old, is revered as the incarnation of a mythical creature that snatched a magic sword from a 15th-century king and returned it to its divine owners beneath the water, giving the lake its name, Hoan Kiem, or Lake of the Returned Sword. Romantics say the turtle is that legendary creature, believing it to be more than 600 years old. —"Turtle in Hanoi Escapes Would-Be Rescuers," NYT

Turtle diary

Pyne was referred to Jereb, who has worked on an assortment of animals over the years, including numerous turtles and tortoises whose shells are sometimes repaired with fiberglass, acrylic, Bondo, epoxies and other inorganic substances.

His approach to Lucky's problem was inspired in part by a tortoise about whom he'd read that had a front leg replaced by a halved billiard ball glued to its front shell. —The Press Democrat

(From Jane)

Turtle diary (I think I've used this headline before)

Come on, people—get that turtle metaphor right.

To see how it should be done, grab the January Blvr. while you can and read Joshua Clover's piece, "Notes on the Meltdown."

Shell game

Fifty-one years ago, a traveling circus performed at the new zoo in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province in southern China. For a cash payment, the circus left behind a large female turtle. Zookeepers slipped the turtle into a large pond, where for a half-century it hibernated in winters and poked its pig-like snout above the water’s surface every spring. The walls of the zoo became the equivalent of a time capsule. —"China's Turtles, Emblems of a Crisis," NYT

Are there any novels narrated by turtles?

I was reminded of this.