Monday, August 30, 2010

Fair








We made it to the fair yesterday. We ate a few things. We saw bunnies and knitted things and other textiles. The Lindstrom fish was there. We saw art and people with funny hair.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Cataloging News

Did you hear that many libraries are abandoning the Dewey Decimal system for Netflix categories? The Cronk of Higher Education writes about it here.

Dewey Decimal CategoryNetflix Category
000 – Computer science, information & general worksSci-Fi & Fantasy
100 – Philosophy and psychologySpecial Interest
200 – ReligionFaith & Spirituality
300 – Social sciencesGay & Lesbian
400 – LanguageForeign
500 – Science (including mathematics)Sci-Fi & Fantasy
600 – TechnologyDocumentary
700 – Arts and recreationMusic & Musicals
800 – LiteratureRomantic Comedy
900 – History, geography, and biographyCerebral Drama

Maybe Google will clean up their meta-data and start using the Netflix system too (better than nuthin').

Friday, August 20, 2010

Friday Fun

I was digging around, looking for ideas, when I found this "watch cat" photo. I don't think I ever posted it before, but even if I did, who cares? I love how fluffy and orange he looks in the sun.
I found this in my London photos - isn't the contrast between the fancy, old fashioned light post and the modern plexiglass with chrome great?

And this, a street performer on the south side of the Thames in London. She reminds me of one of my favorite street artists in Santa Monica.
Someone was looking at rare books the other day at the library. I love the hand colored plates of insects in the old books.
This is from Franconia. Doesn't it describe me oh-so-well? ;-)

I bought this at Eichten's Bistro (thanks Kathy). My mother's aunt Virginia was an incredible cook, and she used to make jam from the chokecherries on the farm. I look very forward to opening it (as soon as I'm done with my current jar of my Auntie's rhubarb). I haven't had chokecherry for so long I'm a virtual chokecherry virgin.
That's it. I put in my notice today. In two weeks I'll be able to do things like cook dinner, clean my desk and pull weeds. And knit more. And read more. Can't wait!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Monday, August 16, 2010

News In Brief

What is this woman watching so carefully?
The awesomeness of The Wee One:
I'd forgotten how entertaining it is to watch a newborn's facial expressions. He's amazing. He also slept through breakfast, which was great, because his mother and I got to talk without interruption (ok, maybe we paused on occasion to watch his facial expressions).

In addition to meeting newborns, I've been knitting a little. I started this in....April? and have part of a sleeve left now:
Boy-child got new shoes for back to school:
Custom Vans. He and Girl-child chose the colors.
Three weeks to go and I'll have some free time.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Franconia Sculpture Park

A big part of my "daycation" last Tuesday was spent at the Franconia Sculpture Park.





It was fantastic!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

World's Largest Knitted Fish

150 balls of bulky yarn.
A bunch of determined knitters.
A record breaking event.
A fun daycation activity.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Women in Movies

Found this little treasure through The Kat's blog:
Have you ever heard of the Bechdel test? It's a test, popularized by cartoonist Alison Bechdel, that asks three questions of movies:

1. Are there at least two women characters in the film?
2. Who talk to each other?
3. About something other than a man?

If a film fulfills all three, then it passes the Bechdel test. If it doesn't, then it doesn't.

The full article regarding the Bechdel test and recent sci-fi movies can be read here. It's revisited here. I rather like this John Scalzi; must go investigate further. For info on Alison Bechdel look here. Her book Fun Home is fantastic.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Letters of Note

Take a look at this site - "Correspondence deserving a wider audience"... a virtual treasure trove of ... so many things! The writing, the trivia, the historical situations big and small that the letters remind you of when you read them.

Be sure to check out the thank you section. I love Obama. I loved the book Life of Pi too (sorry Sarah). And although Andy Warhol was known to be an asshole, the folks at Campbell's Soup apparently appreciated what he did for them. I wonder what he thought of the thank you letter.

Honestly, has there ever been a better way to pass the time than by following endless links through the Internet?


Sunday, August 1, 2010

Wonder and Monsters

One last shot from Shadow Puppets. You know how there are moments when you are reminded of that special sense of wonder that children have? This little girl provided us with one of those moments at the Kenwood show:
Then we stumbled upon a monster artist at the Red Hot Art event in Stevens Square Park yesterday. I love, love, love her stuff.
Many of her monsters make me think of Where The Wild Things Are. She also reminds me of Girl-child; two young women who maintain a child-like playfulness in life. It can manifest itself in little things that are part of everyday or through their more formal creative efforts . It doesn't really matter, since it's all great fun and makes others smile.
She has an etsy shop and a facebook page. Stop by and visit her.
There were lots of other things there too, but I can't share today. I love Christmas shopping in July.