Round Up

RIP John Hope Franklin-you were a star and your light will never be dimmed.

The Amazon blog Omnivoracious has finished the Books of the States with their Washington, DC entry. I have been trying to keep up with this, but I think I'll have a sit down and read all 51 entries.

Look at this very cool Happy Birthday cake mold.

Since moving to the Washington, DC area 25 years ago I have become fascinated with all of the various associations that exist. Many association headquarters are located in the Washington, DC area. My latest find is located in Topeka, Kansas-the National Pigeon Association.

Alli-grater (tee-hee)

I hope everyone tuned in to HGTV last week to see the documentary A Man Named Pearl. This gentle spirit has done something so amazing. I love topiary gardens, and I would love to see his in person. A famous Maryland topiary garden is Ladew Topiary Gardens, another must see that I haven't managed to get to yet.

I love Lia Lintern coats. If I were richer and thinner I would definitely have to purchase one.

Animal Planet has a program called Dogs 101. Each episode discusses a particular breed and introduces you to the human families that have been adopted by that breed, the various quirks of the breed, possible medical problems of the breed and so on. (and as much as I love Animal Planet there visually dull, clunky site leaves a lot to be desired). I was channel surfing the other day and I came across Cats 101. I am allergic to cats therefore I don't know much about them.

What I learned about cats is the following: Siamese cats (not my favorite) are born all white, and that the Algonquin Hotel in NYC, yes the one with the famous Algonquin Round Table, has a cat, and has had a resident cat for years. The cat that lives there now is named Matilda and she has an email address and everything.

I knew that I tend to like the furrier cats, and if I could have a cat it would probably be either a Maine Coon, Russian Blue even though they tend to be slinkier than I like, and the Ragdoll, which I absolutely fell in love with.

I already knew about calico-colored cats being female. This wikipedia article is interesting. I had never heard the term tortoiseshell cat before.

Neat idea for a bulletin board-hoop de doo. Here is the etsy shop.

Look at some of the participating institutions at Flickr commons-Library of Congress, Swedish National Heritage Board, Oregon State Archives and the New York Public Library to name a few. And remember about Shorpy, another great image resource.

Another book that I would like to read is Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Capella Glory by Mickey Rapkin. Apparently college a capella singing group competitions are all the rage and they can be a bit cutthroat. I sang in my school chorus for 4 years and the work that went into the two shows we did each year was incredible, and we seldom sang a capella.

This video book review for the book Life List by Olivia Gentile is awesome.

Thriftstore hell-a Flickr pool devoted to some oddities found in thrift stores.

I leave you with a quote about gratitude from Zora, some gorgeous cherry blossoms, and a wish for a Happy Weekend.

"You love like a coward. Dont' take no steps at all. Just stand around and hope for things to happen outright. Unthankful and unknowing like a hog under an acorn tree. Eating and grunting with your ears over your eyes, and never looking up to see where they acorns are coming from." Zora Neale Hurston

Round Up

Who doesn't have a bunch of old t-shirts hidden away in the drawer; possibly outgrown? Why not send them to Campus Quilts and have a quilt made out of them.

Oh no, donut pies.

A man who is attempting to visit all of the museums in Connecticut. This is such a great idea.

I think Chumby is oh so cute! I must have the amethyst.

I enjoy reading how women in particular turn their hobbies into businesses. I have been searching for years for something like that for myself, but so far no luck. See what this enterprising woman is doing with broken plates. Here is her Etsy shop.

Great story about the tree that owns itself.

Origami Post-It box.

I worked on a project in library school about all of these author contests and the various awards given out to authors. Since then I have become a bit obsessed with finding new contests. I had never heard of the Cheerios New Author Contest . The work that wins the award will be included in boxes of, you guessed it, Cheerios.

I happened to catch an episode of the televison program Life the other night. This isn't something I usually watch, but you know how it is. You are all propped up in bed just so. You have finally gotten the pillows just right, your reading material is near, and the remote is right there next to you. Even with all of that convenience you are still just too damn tired, drifting in and out of sleep, to change the channel.

Anywho-while I was watching the program last night the fabulous Gabrielle Union was guest starring. Why doesn't the viewing public see more of this woman? She's talented, beautiful, and built like a brick *house. All of the qualities that Hollywood loves. I loved her when she was in the series remake of Night Stalker with the equally delicious Stuart Townsend. That series didn't last too long. Anyway-HOLLYWOOD WAKE UP. Ms. Union is a gem.

I have always wanted to belong to a book club, but then I think how stubborn I am about my leisure reading, and I think it might be better not to belong to a club. However, I am very enamored with Fables and the story behind its creation.

Some books that I would like to read are:

• A Romance on 3 Legs: Glenn Gould's Excessive Quest for the Perfect Piano by Katie Hamner. I am a Glenn Gould fan and I would love to find out even more of the eccentricities of this musical genius.
• My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff. Ms. Nalebuff (love the last name) is only 18 years old and has been accepted at Yale. This book is about woman and their first menstrual cycle. This is a touchstone in every woman's life and I'm sure these stories are touching, humorous, and memorable.
• Cafe Society: The Wrong Place for the Right People (Music in American Life) by Barney Josephson. Memoir about the owner of the legendary interracial New York City night clubs Cafe Society Downtown and Cafe Society Uptown and their successor, The Cookery. Famously known as "the wrong place for the Right people," Cafe Society featured the cream of jazz and blues performers--among whom were Billie Holiday, boogie-woogie pianists, Big Joe Turner, Lester Young, Buck Clayton, Big Sid Catlett, and Mary Lou Williams--as well as comedy stars Imogene Coca, Zero Mostel, and Jack Gilford, and also gospel and folk singers. A trailblazer in many ways, Josephson welcomed black and white artists alike to perform for mixed audiences.
• 2182 Kilohertz or 2182 Khz by David Masiel. This book has the backdrop of the Arctic, which has always been an attraction for me. I have a feeling this book is filled with big, brawly,sweaty men. You know the kind that can strike a match in the palm of their hand. That's not usually an appeal for me, but I have heard so many great things about this book it is going to have to go in my TBR pile. Oh, the 2182 Kilohertz title refers to the radio frequency used at sea to broadcast emergencies.

I had to submit an interlibrary loan through my public library to obtain a copy of Life is A Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally by Patti Digh. The book came from her blog and the book is amazing. If you think it's some namby-pamby New Age crapola-You are so wrong. I am planning to get two copies of this gem-1 for me, and 1 for a gift to my public library. Here is Ms. Digh's blog.

I am going to paraphrase a quote from Life is a Verb for my end quote for this entry. Of the many wonderful quotes contained in the book, this particular quote struck a powerful chord with me. I have been going through some troubling times of late, and I think I am going to come out of this on the other side eventually. This quote made me stop and really think about things and it is one I will always keep in the forefront of my thoughts. (if this quote should be attributed to someone else please excuse my error. I already returned the book to the library or I would look it up.)

"We cannot give our power away to the people who took it from us in the first place." Patti Digh, from her book Life is a Verb.

Round Up

Neglected Books Page-nice blog with some very interesting books.

It's Women's History Month. I am not a huge fan of these monthly tributes, but if the schools use these months to educate children about people who have not been included in the history books, then I guess it's a good thing. One item that I found out this month is that the inventor of the windshield wiper was a woman-Mary Anderson.

I came across this site when I was looking for some book award winners: Award Winners Blog.

Excellent blog about NYC history-Patell and Waterman's History of New York.

History of Smiley.

If I were an author I would love Cite Alert. Cite Alert notifies the author by email whenever the author's work is referenced in another publication.

JURN-search 2, 060 scholarly art and humanities ejournals.

I noted before that I am not a huge fan of Twitter. I think it's great in a way, but it's not for me. There's even a librarian's twitter (Tweet It) directory.

I love the New York Times and I am not even a newspaper aficionado. I even love the font they use on their website. This article came in handy the other day when I was having some computer woes at home.

A woman that I used to work with would have us cracking up at work telling us stories about her family. Her husband was retired, and he ran some sort of business out of his home, so he was home all day. She was always telling us how he was addicted to the Weather Channel. He would call her during the day and give her all of these weather updates. I tend to look at the Weather Scan (we have Verizon FIOS so I don't know if that's something that everyone can get or not). It gives me all of the weather information plus I get to hear nice jazzy music. Of course the Weather Channel has a blog.

This Sendak bento box lunch is incredible. Where the Wild Things Are never looked so great.

I think everyone loved Mr. Rogers. These 15 Reasons Mr. Rogers was the Best will endear him to you even more.

Am I the last person to hear about YouTube sensation Lauren Luke? When I first watched her video I had a hard time understanding her thick Geordie accent. The more I watched the more I was charmed by her and her brogue. If you like eye makeup then you must simply watch her videos. Here is a story about her from Vanity Fair. Here is her website.

Scanwiches: scans of cross-sections of sandwiches.

Take the dysfunctional reading quiz.

Dr. Spencer Shaw received his Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to Librarianship in Academic and Children's Services. He is the first American of African descent librarian in Connecticut.

I bet these gorgeous candles smell as good as they look.

That's all folks.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.-" Mark Twain

DST

I will pick up with the round up next week.

The only thing I have to say today is Spring ahead is this weekend. Since I complain about this every year I did not want to be remiss and not complain about it this year. I HATE DST!!!!!!!!!! It is not normal to have daylight at 9:00 p.m. I loate this time of year. I do not like warm weather and this stupid DST is just a harbinger of what is to come!!! Plus, I just hate that humans are constantly manipulating nature to satisfy their ridiculous needs. And no, I don' think that it saves NRG.

And by the way-it is Daylight Savings Time, not Daylights Savings Time. Sort of annoys me like Christmas Eve Night does.

Okay, there's this year's rant.

"I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for hours will take care of themselves"`Philip Dormer Stanhope - 4th Earl of Chesterfield Letters to His Son