Round Up

Okay folks, stop breeding already!!!!

Earlier this week I paid homage to Penguin Books. I would be remiss if I didn't mention my other all-time favorite publisher, the small press, Persephone Books. Persephone reprints forgotten classics by twentieth-century (mostly women) writers. Each one in their collection of seventy -two books is intelligent, thought-provoking and beautifully written. There website is beautiful and I could literally spend hours just reading each book review. The site also features a fortnight letter and back issues of their quarterly magazine The Persephone Quarterly. From reading their delicious site I learned that Noel Streatfeild, the author of one of my favorite children's books, Ballet Shoes (1936), also wrote adult fiction.

The amazing Nicola Beauman founded the press, and with her one staff member Jamilah Ahmed, brings these gorgeous books forth with such amazing attention to detail. Ms. Beauman authored the book A Very Great Profession: The Women's Novel: 1914-1939, and was very aware that many of the twentieth century women writers that she spoke of so eloquently in her book, were esentially lost in the minds of today's public. In establishing a feminist press, she chose to publish mostly titles from that period covered in her book. If you want to know about this incredible woman here is an article about her.

Alas, I don't own any of the reprints, but my goal is to purchase maybe one or two a year. If they weren't located in England, I would purchase more. Simple goals I have these days-to have all matching hangers in all of our closets, to be able to spend at least 1 day a month at Elizabeth Arden, and to own Persephone reprints.

Innsitting-what a cool job for anyone, but especially for retired folks.

Shorpy has some gorgeous black and white photographs by Dorothea Lang.

I have been a fan of Ken Wilber's ever since I read Grace and Grit: Spirituality and Healing in the Life of Treya Killam Wilber (1991). I've read a few of his other works and he is mind-boggling. Some cool person has compiled a list of books recommended by Ken Wilber.

I had not heard about this, but apparently there is an interesting story behind the Liberian Flag. 7 women sewed the Liberian flag and this book is about the. What's cool about this book is that you can obtain it from Amazon through digital delivery for 49 cents. (via Black Threads).

And speaking of the fascinating blog Black Threads, look at the post for June 6, 2007. It appears that one of the Gees Bend quilters has filed a lawsuit against William Arnett and a few others. It breaks my heart to think of these quilters, many of them elderly, most of them poor, being exploited. I'm not surprised, but it still sucks. I hate, hate, hate it when people take advantage of others. Oh yes, my hackles are up.

I think I posted about Word Spy before, but it's so freakin' cook, I'm going to post about it again. Any site that says that it's devoted to lexpionage, well what can I say.

Mr. Lee CatCam.

I've always had this fascination with bees (yes, yet another fascination). I would be(bee) tickled pink if I could visit the Moir Rare Book Collection at the National Library of Scotland.

Everyone have a good weekend.

"Evolution goes beyond what went before, but because it must embrace what went before, then its very nature is to transcend and include, and thus it has an inherent directionality, a secret impuls, toward increasing depth, increasing intrinsic value, increasing consciousness." Ken Wilber, A Brief History of Everything