Friday, March 27, 2009

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


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