I’ve had a wonderful time posting entries here for the last 1 ½ years. Now I’m turning my attention to other projects–although, on the principle of “Never say never,” I won’t rule out returning at some point.
I’ll leave both blogs up so that you can look at the archives, and I’ll be posting new links periodically on the links section of my website. Please drop by there from time to time, and always feel free to send me a message.
Definitely check out the great blogs listed in the right-hand sidebars of this blog and my other blog (Books, Words, and Writing).
Thanks so much for reading!
Posted by Amy as Blog Housekeeping at 7:28 AM EDT
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The Geek Hierarchy: Are you a comic book fan? a gamer? a Piers Anthony fan? a Trekkie? a Trekkie who speaks Klingon? a furrie?
Find out where you stand in the hierarchy.
Via Scribbling Woman.
Posted by Amy as Popular Culture at 8:08 AM EDT
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You Are a Grilled Cheese Sandwich
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You are a traditional person with very simple tastes.
In your opinion, the best things in life are free, easy, and fun.
You totally go with the flow. And you enjoy every minute of it!
Your best friend: The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
Your mortal enemy: The Ham Sandwich
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Via Books, Inq.
Posted by Amy as Fluffy Stuff at 2:29 AM EDT
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Diary of Martha Ballard:
Martha Moore Ballard was fifty years old when she began her diary on January 1 of 1785. Every day, for twenty-seven years, she recorded the daily events in her diary, beginning with the weather. Initially the entries were short and choppy, but gradually they became fuller and more regular. What began, most probably, as a record of her midwifery and healing work, grew into a remarkably steady account of both the ordinary and the extraordinary events in her life.
Martha Ballard’s massive but cryptic diary was handed down through her daughter Dolly’s family as a pile of hand-made diary booklets. Remarkably, none were lost. When a great great-granddaughter of Martha’s, Mary Hobart, graduated from medical school in New York in 1884, Dolly’s daughters gave her the diary. Mary Hobart had the scrambled leaves of the diary put in order and bound in homemade linen covers. And at the end of her career, in 1930, she donated the diary to the Maine State Library, where historian Laurel Ulrich found it fifty years later.
Posted by Amy as History, Women at 10:29 AM EDT
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Bird Cinema:
Bird Cinema was founded in May 2007. This is a video website for bird enthusiasts to watch and share original bird videos worldwide through the web. We look forward to seeing your videos on our site.
Posted by Amy as Animals, Science & Nature at 10:45 AM EDT
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Medieval and Renaissance Weddings: extensive information on vows, clothing, and much more.
Posted by Amy as Popular Culture, History at 1:09 AM EDT
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Inside Your Brain:
What’s your brain like? Is it soft and squashy, or hard and rubbery? … and is it really made of grey matter?
Posted by Amy as Psychology, Science & Nature at 1:24 AM EDT
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You Would Be a Pet Cat
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Independent and aloof, you don’t like to be dependent on anyone.
And as for other people, you can take them or leave them. You often don’t care.
You live your life by your own rules. And you have deep motivations that no one truly understands.
Why you would make a great pet: You’re not needy or greedy… unlike other four legged friends.
Why you would make a bad pet: You’re not exactly running down to greet people at the door
What you would love about being a cat: Agility and freedom
What you would hate about being a cat: Being treated like a dog by clueless humans
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Posted by Amy as Fluffy Stuff at 1:21 AM EDT
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A Brief Introduction To Starfish:
Starfish may well be the most unusual well-known creature. They have no front or back: they can move in any direction without turning. Rather than using muscles to move their hundreds of tiny legs, starfish use a complex hydraulic system to move around or cling to rocks.
Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:18 AM EDT
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History of Indian Art:
As India was well connected to the outside world through both sea and land routes, the influence of cultures of other lands have always been felt in the art of India. These myriad influences have enriched Indian Art over the years and in the new 21st century, one can see all these influences in the fine arts of India.
Posted by Amy as Arts & Culture at 1:16 AM EDT
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Sounds Like a Case of the Mondays: songs about Mondays by T-Bone Walker, Fleetwood Mac, The Bangles, The Mamas and the Papas, and many more.
Via MetaFilter.
Posted by Amy as Music at 1:56 AM EDT
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Birthday Calculator: “get fun statistics and your astrological data.”
Here’s just a small part of what the site tells me about those born on my birthday:
Your Native American Zodiac sign is Owl; your plant is Mistletoe.
You were born in the Egyptian month of Menchir, the second month of the season of Poret (Emergence - Fertile soil).
Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 27 Kislev 5721.
Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 28 Kislev 5721.
The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.17.7.4.0 which is
12 baktun 17 katun 7 tun 4 uinal 0 kin
The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Friday, 26 Jumadiyu’th-Thani 1380 (1380-6-26).
The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 17 April 1960.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 17 April 1960.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 2 March 1960.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 5 June 1960.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 12 June 1960.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Thursday, 22 September 1960.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 12 April 1960.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 1 March 1960.
Your birth tree is
Fig Tree, the Sensibility
Very strong, a bit self-willed, independent, does not allow contradiction or arguments, loves life, its family, children and animals, a bit of a butterfly, good sense of humour, likes idleness and laziness, of practical talent and intelligence.
Posted by Amy as Fluffy Stuff at 1:02 AM EDT
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Wienerama: if you’re a fan of dachshunds and want to watch them doing cute things, check out the videos here.
Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:02 AM EDT
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Rapunzel’s Delight: a site featuring information for women with long hair (e.g. ways to braid it).
Via Quiddity.
Posted by Amy as Fashion at 1:51 AM EDT
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The Unofficial History of the Hatfield-McCoy Family Feud:
Over the years, there have been many famous feuds between families and family members, perhaps none more infamous than the historic Hatfield-McCoy Family Feud. Over time, our site will develop into a place were others can tell the story of their Family’s Feud vis-a-vis the most famous one in history. One of the common themes will be to investigate the causes of these feud, and the perpetuation of family animosity, in many cases even despite no longer remembering the origin of the feud.
Via El Dorado County Library’s What’s Hot On The Internet This Week.
Posted by Amy as Popular Culture, Psychology, History at 1:57 AM EDT
2 Comments »
How To Compost:
From beginners to experts this web site is designed to be a hub for all composting information. No matter what your interest is, you’ll find something here worth you time. Our goal is to be the best resource on the internet for composting information. On our site you will find articles and links covering all topics about composting and organic gardening.
Via El Dorado County Library’s What’s Hot On The Internet This Week.
Posted by Amy as Gardening at 1:41 AM EDT
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Internet Archive: Movies:
Watch full-length feature films, classic shorts, world culture documentaries, World War II propaganda, movie trailers, and films created in just ten hours: These options are all featured in this diverse library! Many of these videos are available for free download.
The items available really are diverse: from Reefer Madness to Tweetie Bird.
Via El Dorado County Library’s What’s Hot On The Internet This Week.
Posted by Amy as Television & Movies at 1:34 PM EDT
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Testing For Asperger’s Syndrome or High-Functioning Autism:
Anyone involved with geeks will know that we share many character traits with those suffering Asperger syndrome: obsessive attention to detail, social awkwardness, and some difficulty relating to other people. A few years ago, I ran across a test used to diagnose Asperger syndrome, and was surprised to note that it seems like a thumbnail description of your average geek.
. . . .
Cambridge psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and others designed this test, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2001. This test was devised from a Globe and Mail article.
I placed just under the level of the average math contest winner.
Via Bourgeois Nerd.
Posted by Amy as Psychology, Fluffy Stuff at 12:29 AM EDT
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Images That Changed The World: Warning–some very graphic shots of violence and death.
Some people might be offended or upset by these images but this isn’t my intentions I just want it to be thought provoking and enlightening, and for people to talk about the past and to never forget, because we need to learn from past events other wise we will keep repeating history.
Posted by Amy as Photography, History at 1:29 AM EDT
2 Comments »
In 2002, the topic for the prestigious Reith Lecture series was A Question of Trust. The lectures were given by philospher Onora O’Neill.
Here’s a brief overview:
We say we no longer trust our public services, institutions or the people who run them. Politicians, accountants, doctors, scientists, businessmen, auditors and many others are treated with suspicion. Their word is doubted, their motives are questioned.
Onora O’Neill challenges current approaches to accountability, investigates sources of deception in our society and re-examines questions of press freedom.
Posted by Amy as Ethics, Philosophy at 1:23 AM EDT
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Fairy Tales of Happy Slaves is a review by Mick Brown that definitely makes me want to buy the book: In Search of the Blues: Black Voices, White Visions
by Marybeth Hamilton.
Posted by Amy as Music at 1:02 AM EDT
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If you’re a research junkie, like me, check out The Best Online Research Apps/Sites You’ve Never Heard Of. Good place to get started on history, art, and more.
Posted by Amy as Research at 1:58 AM EDT
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Beethoven: Symphony No. 3: terrific site that explains the symphony and gives extensive background.
Via Quiddity.
Posted by Amy as Music at 1:51 AM EDT
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The original Who’s On First showed the comic genius of Abbott and Costello, and nothing can ever top that version.
That being said, the Star Trek version with Kirk, Spock, McKoy, and Scotty is still a lot of fun to read.
Posted by Amy as Popular Culture, Television & Movies, Humour at 1:40 AM EDT
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The World History of Male Love:
History is written by the victors. They choose what will be remembered, and what covered up. So it has been with male eros. Looking at any history textbook, one would think that never has a society praised love between men, never has a painter, a poet or a pope shared his bed and his heart with another male. Evidence of same-sex love has been either quietly suppressed, as with the Greeks and Romans, or quickly destroyed, as is still done with newly unearthed Inca and Mayan art. The result of this deception has been a needless polarization of society and untold suffering for those people who happen to fall in love with others of their own sex.
Uncensored, the historical record reveals an opposite reality: the male love instinct is a universal constant. Only society’s attitude towards it has varied. All cultures have regulated male love, weaving varied tapestries of ritual around it. And a few have tried - to no avail - to regulate it out of existence.
Posted by Amy as Popular Culture, History, Relationships at 1:36 AM EDT
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Pearl at the terrific blog Humanyms pointed out the extremely challenging quiz Be a Chocolate Detective:
Any Cultural Detective requires an open mind and critical thinking. A good detective should also be able to carry on an interesting conversation and enjoy life a bit. The following quiz will help you develop these abilities.
Chocolate has its roots in traditional rainforest village life—from Brazil to Ghana and Indonesia. Chocolate has influenced traditions spanning most of the globe for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years.
You may want to open a second browser window to do some research as you answer the quiz. Particularly helpful will be the International Cocoa Association website, http://www.icco.org/
I decided to do this quiz purely on my own and was quickly humbled to find that, out of a potential score of 10, 500 points, I received 1200 (and some of those were lucky guesses).
Humph. I’m off to take solace in a chocolate bar.
Posted by Amy as Food, Fluffy Stuff at 1:38 AM EDT
2 Comments »
In case you’re not familiar with the quirky music of Tom Waits (or even if you are), check out the lyrics for “Just Another Dimestore Novel”.
Here’s the first verse:
Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Well, I said, looky here, baby, I’m here for the same reason you are. I’ve been married to the same woman for twenty-five years, and not once has she asked me what I do for a living. She tells me that she loves me but I know that she’s a gyppy. I find matchbooks in her purse from every goddam bar in town. Her mother’s a transvestite and her father was always a Fuller Brush man, but he was bald as a doorknob and hell, I was afraid to try.
Via idiolect.
Posted by Amy as Music at 1:48 AM EDT
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Countries in Pop Culture: take the quiz to see if you can identify the worlds of Rocky and Bullwinkle, George Orwell’s 1984, Dilbert, and more.
Via Neat New Stuff On The Web.
Posted by Amy as Popular Culture, Fluffy Stuff at 11:17 AM EDT
2 Comments »
Folkstreams: The Best of American Folklore Films:
A National Preserve of Documentary Films about American Roots Cultures
streamed with essays about the traditions and filmmaking. The site includes transcriptions, study and teaching guides, suggested readings, and links to related websites.
Via El Dorado County Library’s What’s Hot On The Internet This Week.
Posted by Amy as Television & Movies, History at 1:04 AM EDT
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