Social Media Challenges:
I was nominated to post the covers of 7 books I love: no explanations, no reviews, just the covers. Each time I post a cover, I will invite a friend to take up the challenge as well.
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Posts Tagged ‘favorites
Beware the ides of March, Shakespeare, quotes:
Caesar: Who is it in the press that calls on me? I hear a tongue shriller than all the music Cry “Caesar!” Speak, Caesar is turn’d to hear.
Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March.
Caesar: What man is that?
Brutus: A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.
And there is always someone who can add a new twist, LOL.
The ‘singing’ stones of Stonehenge, Bath Chronicle, favorites, thin places: Love this place and the ancient-ness of it. Now Ifind out it sings! My sis and I visited when I was 18, and we hunted for her boyfriend’s initials which he supposedly had carved in a stone as a teen. You could walk all around the stones way back when …
It has long been a mystery to even the most learned expert of the Stonehenge monument – what is so special about the stone in west Wales that it was worth carting 180 miles to Salisbury Plain?
Most theories concentrated on how the famous bluestones of the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire can be buffed up to a strikingly polished shine. But now experts in the arts, rather than archaeology, have come up with a different theory – and it is not to do with how they look, but how the sound.
Researchers from the Royal College of Art in London spent months taking one lump of stone and tapping it on more than 1,000 rocks in the Carn Menyn area of the Preseli hills, and discovered something so remarkable it may well rewrite the history books about Stonehenge.
The bluestones ‘sing’ when they are hit, resonating with an apparently unique twang that does not appear to reach the same pitch or musical note as other stones which merely ‘thud’.
Some previous theories surrounding Stonehenge’s sonic qualities – the way the stone circle would have captured and reverberated sound – had been rather dismissed by the experts concentrating on astronomy and landscape, but the new study appears to reinforce the importance of sound, and the sonic qualities of the stones themselves.
“We found it was a noteworthy soundscape, with a significant percentage of the actual rocks making metallic sounds like bells, gongs, tin drums, etc, when tapped with small, handheld ‘hammerstones’,” said Paul Devereux, the study’s co-leader, a research associate at the college and an expert in archaeo-acoustics.
It is a phenomenon anyone sitting inside the stone circle during the summer solstice celebrations each year amid the cacophony of a dozen or so drummers can attest to.
“The stones may have been thought to have magical, qualities, mana, because of their exceptional sonic nature,” he added.
Sipho Mabona, Life-sized Origami Elephant from Single Sheet of Paper, Colossal, KKLB in Beromünster Switzerland: Colossal art!
Following a successful campaign on Indiegogo which raised nearly $26,000, artist Sipho Mabona followed through on his promise to fold a life-sized elephant from a single giant sheet of paper. The piece stands over 10 feet tall (3 meters) and took a team of nearly a dozen people over four weeks to fold. The final sculpture is on view at KKLB in Beromünster, Switzerland. Photos by Philipp Schmidli. (via My Modern Met)
Delaware man’s self-penned obit takes internet by storm, abc11.com, Walter George Bruhl Jr.: I love a good obit! I “will do an unexpected and unsolicited act of kindness for some poor unfortunate soul in his name.”
Walter George Bruhl Jr. of Newark and Dewey Beach is a dead person; he is no more; he is bereft of life; he is deceased; he has rung down the curtain and gone to join the choir invisible; he has expired and gone to meet his maker.
He drifted off this mortal coil Sunday, March 9, 2014, in Punta Gorda, Fla. His spirit was released from his worn-out shell of a body and is now exploring the universe.
…
Everyone who remembers him is asked to celebrate Walt’s life in their own way; raising a glass of their favorite drink in his memory would be quite appropriate.
Instead of flowers, Walt would hope that you will do an unexpected and unsolicited act of kindness for some poor unfortunate soul in his name.
via Delaware man’s self-penned obit takes internet by storm | abc11.com.
shacking up before marriage, TIME.com: Interesting.
“It turns out that cohabitation doesn’t cause divorce and probably never did,” says Kuperberg. “What leads to divorce is when people move in with someone – with or without a marriage license – before they have the maturity and experience to choose compatible partners and to conduct themselves in ways that can sustain a long-term relationship.”
So what’s the magic age? Kuperberg says it’s unwise to either move in or get married before the age of 23. But other family experts say that’s lowballing it. Economist Evelyn Lehrer (University of Illinois-Chicago) says the longer people wait past 23, the more likely a marriage is to stick. In fact, Lehrer’s analysis of longitudinal data shows that for every year a woman waits to get married, right up until her early 30s, she reduces her chances of divorce. It’s possible that woman may also be reducing her chances of marriage, but Lehrer’s research suggests later marriages, while less conventional, may be more robust.
via How Shacking Up Before Marriage Affects a Relationship’s Success | TIME.com.
MH370: Can this be possible? This is from a few days ago. this story keeps getting more and more unbelievable. Sounds like a Clancy thriller.
U.S. investigators suspect that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 stayed in the air for about four hours past the time it reached its last confirmed location, raising the possibility that the plane could have flown on for hundreds of additional miles under conditions that remain murky. http://on.wsj.com/1fsKDV5
Malaysian officials say they have no data indicating flight MH370 flew on for hours after last contact as reported by the WSJ. http://on.wsj.com/1kmANcz
impatient dog honks car horn for 15 minutes, Scotland, NY Daily News: She’s cute! 
via ▶ Dog blasts car horn in Broughty Ferry – YouTube.
So the 18-month-old pup did what she thought was best: She laid on the horn for 15 minutes.
“I came out of the gallery and looked down the street about a hundred yards away and saw a crowd gathered around a car and heard a honking sound,” Graham said, according to the Daily Star. “Then I did a double-take and realized that it was my car and I wondered if it was anything to do with the dog. She was sitting in there casually honking the horn.”
Several onlookers snapped photos and took video of the scene.
“I heard it and thought it was an impatient driver,” one video commenter wrote.
The Express reports that Fern’s anger didn’t subside when she saw Haddow returning.
“Usually when Fern sees me she stands up and gets excited with her tail wagging,” Haddow said. “But this time she just gave me a sideways glance and kept on honking the horn.”
via Dog Honks Horn When Owner Takes Too Long To Return To Car.
The Harvard Classics, Download All 51 Volumes as Free eBooks, Open Culture:
Rather than simply curating for posterity “the best that has been thought and said” (in the words of Matthew Arnold), Eliot meant his anthology as a “portable university”—a pragmatic set of tools, to be sure, and also, of course, a product. He suggested that the full set of texts might be divided into a set of six courses on such conservative themes as “The History of Civilization” and “Religion and Philosophy,” and yet, writes Kirsch, “in a more profound sense, the lesson taught by the Harvard Classics is ‘Progress.’” “Eliot’s [1910] introduction expresses complete faith in the ‘intermittent and irregular progress from barbarism to civilization.’”
…
Over a hundred years, and several cultural-evolutionary steps later, and anyone with an internet connection can read all of the 51-volume set online. In a previous post, Dan Colman summarized the number of ways to get your hands on Charles W. Eliot’s anthology:
You can still buy an old set off of eBay for $399 [now $299.99]. But, just as easily, you can head to the Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg, which have centralized links to every text included in The Harvard Classics (Wealth of Nations, Origin of Species, Plutarch’s Lives, the list goes on below). Please note that the previous two links won’t give you access to the actual annotated Harvard Classics texts edited by Eliot himself. But if you want just that, you can always click here and get digital scans of the true Harvard Classics.
In addition to these options, Bartleby has digital texts of the entire collection of what they call “the most comprehensive and well-researched anthology of all time.” But wait, there’s more! Much more, in fact, since Eliot and his assistant William A. Neilson compiled an additional twenty volumes called the “Shelf of Fiction.” Read those twenty volumes—at fifteen minutes a day—starting with Henry Fielding and ending with Norwegian novelist Alexander Kielland at Bartleby.
What may strike modern readers of Eliot’s collection are precisely the “blind spots in Victorian notions of culture and progress” that it represents. For example, those three harbingers of doom for Victorian certitude—Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud—are nowhere to be seen. Omissions like this are quite telling, but, as Kirsch writes, we might not look at Eliot’s achievement as a relic of a naively optimistic age, but rather as “an inspiring testimony to his faith in the possibility of democratic education without the loss of high standards.” This was, and still remains, a noble ideal, if one that—like the utopian dreams of the Victorians—can sometimes seem frustratingly unattainable (or culturally imperialist). But the widespread availability of free online humanities certainly brings us closer than Eliot’s time could ever come.
via The Harvard Classics: Download All 51 Volumes as Free eBooks – Open Culture.
“Into the Wild” Moose Hunter Killed, News from the Field, OutsideOnline.com, Chris McCandless:
Samel was described as a passionate outdoorsman but also someone who had lived a troubled life. Late Sunday night, Samel was involved in a police chase after he was reported for drunk driving. Following a sustained pursuit, police units ultimately surrounded Samel as he sped toward an officer approaching on foot. The officer and another trooper opened fire on the pickup, killing Samel and injuring the other male passenger.
Samel had been under court orders to not drink after a DUI arrest in September, when he picked up two hitchhikers before crashing into a roadside ditch. Sunday night marked the end of a nearly 30-year criminal history for Samel.
In 1992, Samel was with a group of three moose hunters when they found McCandless almost three weeks after he died. According to Jon Krakauer, when the hunters arrived at the old Fairbanks city bus, a couple from Anchorage were already there but stayed back because of the stench and unsettling SOS note. It was Samel who eventually discovered McCandless in his sleeping bag.
via “Into the Wild” Moose Hunter Killed | News from the Field | OutsideOnline.com.
The Spring Break College Tour, A Survival Guide, WSJ.com: Been there, done that.
March Madness is upon us, by which I mean the tradition of taking your high school junior on a manic tour of college campuses. I’ve done it twice now, so I feel that I have some perspective on how to survive it.
As the parent, you have much to offer on this exciting and emotional journey—paying for it and doing the driving. But this limited influence does give you leeway to help design the trip, and here is where you can begin your subtle campaign of influencing where your kid goes to college. Keep your designs sub rosa, because the minute you say, “I’d love to see you at UMass Amherst,” she’ll set her heart on Sarah Lawrence. That one little sentence can cost you $40,000.
You’re only going to have a week or so on the tour, so you’ll have to pick your schools carefully. Most likely your kid will have already assembled a wish list of colleges to see. Don’t feel hurt if those places are far away from you—that is only because she wants to be really far away from you.
via The Spring Break College Tour: A Survival Guide – WSJ.com.
Jane Austen, real-life Mr Darcy, sofa, Mail Online:
A vintage sofa that belonged to the real-life Mr Darcy from Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice has sold for more than twice its estimate bid at £2,300.
The George III mahogany framed sofa is thought to have belonged to Thomas Lefroy, a love interest of the famous author who is believed to have provided the inspiration for romantic hero Mr Darcy.
The upholstered Art Nouveau piece was expected to sell for just £1,000 at Moore Allen & Innocent in Cirencester but today shocked collectors as a fan took it for £2,300.
restaurants, Spectacular Views: I’ve been to one!
You’re sitting: on top of a cliff
At: Post Ranch Inn
Looking at: the Pacific Ocean
Ordering: the nine-course Taste of Big Sur tasting menu
salt, 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics:
A senior adviser to the Sochi Olympics convened an emergency meeting late last week with top winter sports officials at the Park Inn hotel in the Alpine village here.
A situation had grown dire. It was not security, attendance or doping that was the problem. It was salt.
Four months earlier, Hans Pieren, one of the world’s leading experts on salt and snow, had told Sochi officials that the Alpine skiing events required more than 19 tons of salt, a crucial ingredient for melting soft snow so it can refreeze into a hard surface.
But the organizers did not listen, to their great regret. Now, with 10 days of competition remaining, many of the Games’ signature events were in jeopardy of being compromised, and even canceled.
Tim Gayda, a Canadian consultant who is a senior adviser to the Sochi organizers, called the meeting Thursday night, according to some people who were there. He told the group that the strongest kind of salt, the large-grain variety, was simply not available in Russia. Mr. Gayda asked the group an urgent question: Does anyone know how we can get 25 tons of salt — tonight?
via A Mad Dash for Salt Rescues Olympic Slopes – NYTimes.com.
Rachel Ries, Urban-Rural Split, Ghost of a Gardener, NPR: Really good NPR segment from Sunday.
Sometimes you need to get away from the thing you love. NPR’s Rachel Martin talks to singer Rachel Ries about her new album, Ghost of a Gardener, which she produced after taking a couple years off from music.
via Rachel Ries’ Album Reflects Her Urban-Rural Split : NPR.
Humans of New York, Susie’s Senior Dogs: Loved this …
I’ve got to tell you guys about all the amazing things happening over at Susie’s Senior Dogs. So we started this page on a whim last week, for the purpose of placing old dogs in new homes. (And by we, I mean 95% my girlfriend, and 5% me– let’s be honest.) Nearly 100,000 people “liked” the page in 24 hours.
We’ve posted about 11 dogs so far, and 6 of them have been adopted– from all over the country. It’s just been an incredible success. Almost all of these dogs were ten years or older, and many of them had been in shelters for a long time. Check out these pictures of the pups in their new homes. Remember, these guys were sleeping in cages just last week.
From Left to Right: Nina (13), Fancy (12), and Max (10).
A Wrinkle in Time, favorites: A Wrinkle in Time was a favorite book of my early reading life. Truly started me on my love of reading path.
“It was a dark and stormy night.
In her attic bedroom Margaret Murry, wrapped in an old patchwork quilt, sat on the foot of her bed and watched the trees tossing in the frenzied lashing of the wind. Behind the trees clouds scudded frantically across the sky. Every few moments the moon ripped through them, creating wraithlike shadows that raced along the ground.”
Happy 52nd anniversary to the beloved Mighty Girl classic A Wrinkle in Time! Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 Newbery Medal-winning fantasy novel about the adventures in space and time of Meg Murray, her brother Charles Wallace and friend Calvin has been capturing the imaginations of young readers for generations. In recent years, the novel has also appeared in new forms including a wonderful graphic novel adaptation and on a t-shirt for teen and adult fans.
To learn more about the original novel, recommended for ages 9 and up, visit http://www.amightygirl.com/a-wrinkle-in-time
Winnie-the-Pooh, favorites: And another favorite …
“And then, all of a sudden, Winnie-the-Pooh stopped again, and licked the tip of his nose in a cooling manner, for he was feeling more hot and anxious than ever in his life before.”
On February 13, 1924, Punch magazine published a short poem titled “Teddy Bear” by Alan Alexander Milne, one of the magazine’s editors and a frequent contributor. The poem, inspired by the stuffed teddy bear so dearly beloved by Milne’s four-year-old son Christopher Robin, was included in Milne’s collection of children’s verses, When We Were Very Young, illustrated by Punch staff cartoonist E. H. Shepard and published later that year. But the bear’s very first appearance in Punch was the birth of Winnie-the-Pooh, which Milne released two years later and which went on to become one of the most timeless children’s books ever written.
In the summer of 1929, the Dominion Gramophone Company set out to capture prominent British authors reading from their work. In this rare recording, Milne reads the third chapter of his classic, “In Which Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting and Nearly Catch a Woozle,” made all the more delightful by his enchantingly melodic voice — please enjoy:
https://soundcloud.com/brainpicker/a-a-milne-reads-from-winnie-the-pooh
Buckhead’s Beltline, Path400, Parks & Recreation, Curbed Atlanta, multi-use trail: Another multi-use trail!
Great news for multi-use trail zealots: The first phase of PATH400, a Beltlineian trail that will wend for 5.2 miles through Buckhead parallel to Ga. 400, is set to break ground Feb. 17. Officials are hoping the path will lend Buckhead the same sense of interconnectedness the Beltline’s Eastside Trail has provided neighborhoods east of downtown and Midtown. “PATH400 will be a tremendous asset,” Jim Durrett, executive director of Buckhead CID, said in a press release. “Our community will enjoy new pedestrian access to schools and the local business district, opportunities for outdoor recreation and a greater sense of connectedness. It’s a wise investment for Buckhead.” PATH400’s first phase will be a half-mile stretch from Lenox Road at Tower Place up to Old Ivy Road. Extensions could soon follow.
via Buckhead’s Answer To Beltline Will Break Ground This Month – Parks & Recreation – Curbed Atlanta.
Worth your time …, Molly Wilmer Barker: Loved this post!
With the recent drug overdose of Philip Seymour, comes up (again) the age-old conversation about whether addition and abuse of drugs and alcohol is the result of a disease or just a really bad habit to overcome…I’ve got a thought that is somewhat unrelated to either, but perhaps worth considering.
Addicts and Alcoholics, with a few years of good, grounded sobriety under their belt, are some of the absolute coolest people on the planet. They have an outlook that carries with it a good dose of humility. Many have been to the depths of their own darkest despair and, through a variety of ways, climbed out, up, through or over, whatever beliefs, obstacles, brain chemistry that bound them to a behavior that dimmed the bold, light-filled people they really are.
The addicts and alcoholics I know…who live daily expressing the humility and gratitude their recovery brings…are also some of the most creative souls on the planet.
One in four people are affected by addiction…either in their own lives or in the lives of their loved ones, co-workers, acquaintances.
Today, rather than debate the best route to recovery/treatment, I will hold those still suffering…in this space…a gentle reminder that even in the darkest moments, there is hope.
via Molly Wilmer Barker.
“Le Tricorne”, Picasso: Tapestry travesty.
Most people agree that the fate of “Le Tricorne” rests squarely in Mr. Rosen’s hands. The interior of the Four Seasons was given landmark designation in 1989, canonizing the achievements of Mies van der Rohe, the architect who designed the 38-story skyscraper, and Philip Johnson, who designed the restaurant, the costliest ever constructed when it opened in 1959. The Picasso, however, was excluded from the designation because, as the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission explained in a statement, it was owned separately and could be moved.
via At Four Seasons, Picasso Tapestry Hangs on the Edge of Eviction – NYTimes.com.
Stephen Curry, Bay Area Warriors, Davidson College, CharlotteObserver.com:
Marsten said it’s telling that every Warriors fan seems to know Curry went to Davidson, the small, academically elite college north of Charlotte.
“He’s very proud of his roots, very proud of Davidson. Warriors fans understand about that,” Marsten said. “If you asked them where (Warriors forward) David Lee played, I don’t know that they’d know. And he won two national championships at Florida.”
This works because it’s not an “image.” It’s who Dell and Sonya Curry raised their three kids to be.
via Stephen Curry loves the Bay Area and the Bay Area sure loves him back | CharlotteObserver.com.
Europe’s 12 most impressive metro stations, lists, CNN.com: Very fun!
But as the following stations show, more than 150 years after the London Underground opened, there\’s a lot more to a great subway stop than getting from A to B.
Passing on body hatred, Essential Mums: A good lesson …
But all of that changed when, one night, we were dressed up for a party and you said to me, ”Look at you, so thin, beautiful and lovely. And look at me, fat, ugly and horrible.”
At first I didn’t understand what you meant.
”You’re not fat,” I said earnestly and innocently, and you replied, ”Yes I am, darling. I’ve always been fat; even as a child.”
In the days that followed I had some painful revelations that have shaped my whole life. I learned that:
1. You must be fat because mothers don’t lie.
2. Fat is ugly and horrible.
3. When I grow up I’ll look like you and therefore I will be fat, ugly and horrible too.
Years later, I looked back on this conversation and the hundreds that followed and cursed you for feeling so unattractive, insecure and unworthy. Because, as my first and most influential role model, you taught me to believe the same thing about myself.
Paris, Metro Makeovers for the Abandoned Stations of Paris, Messy Nessy Chic Messy Nessy Chic: Very cool!
Anyone who wants to make a swimming pool out of an abandoned metro station neglected for 75 years, has definitely got my attention. The ghosts of the Parisian underground could soon be resurrected if city voters play their cards right in the upcoming mayoral elections. Promising candidate, Nathalie Koziuscot-Morizet, who would become the first female to ever hold the post in the capital, has released the first sketches of her plans to reclaim the city of light’s abandoned stations.
via Metro Makeovers for the Abandoned Stations of Paris | Messy Nessy Chic Messy Nessy
GI Joe, Yahoo News, kith/kin: I always liked to play with my brother’s dolls … and now they are 50. Makes me feel old.
The birthday of what’s called the world’s first action figure is being celebrated this month by collectors and the toy maker that introduced it just before the nation plunged into the quagmire that would become the Vietnam War — a storm it seems to have weathered pretty well.
Since Hasbro brought it to the world’s attention at the annual toy fair in New York City in early 1964, G.I. Joe has undergone many changes, some the result of shifts in public sentiment for military-themed toys, others dictated by the marketplace.
via GI Joe, the world’s first action figure, turns 50 – Yahoo News.
Nathan Edmondson, alphacomics, @nathanedmondson: I love being able to claim a connection to a graphic artist writer … Second cousin once removed.
Written by @nathanedmondson both Black Widow and Punisher are new tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/OZ2zsKvYEI
Future of Transportation, The Atlantic Cities: world without car ownership …
If connected vehicle technology becomes mandatory in American cars, as the Department of Transportation recently suggested it might, the most obvious benefit would be safety. Cars that can tell other cars their speed and position are far less likely to crash. But as David Zax pointed out at Cities earlier this week, that’s just the beginning. Combine connected vehicle technology with intelligent infrastructure and driverless cars and you get a commute that’s both quicker and hands-free. You could even rely on autonomous taxis to chauffeur you from home to work.
In that sense, a world without car crashes may just be the first step to a world without car-ownership.
via Imagine: A World Where Nobody Owns Their Own Car – Eric Jaffe – The Atlantic Cities.
google doodles, Harriet Tubman: 
Musée Nissim de Camondo, Letter From France | How to Visit Some of Paris’s Finest Museums but Skip the Crowds: Donna Morris took us to Musée Nissim de Camondo … opened up a whole world of interesting historical research!
Richard Harbus for The New York Times
The Musée Nissim de Camondo boasts one of the great collections of 18th-century decorative arts.
It also holds a tragic story. When Camondo died in 1935, he left his mansion and collections to France’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs. His only condition was that the house be turned into a museum and named after his son, Nissim, who died as a combat pilot for France in World War I.
The family felt protected when the Nazis occupied France. A marble plaque at the entrance to the house states otherwise. It announces that Camondo’s daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren, his last descendants, were deported by the Germans between 1943 and 1944. They died at Auschwitz.
The French government kept its word, turning the house into a museum and naming it after Camondo’s son.
via Letter From France | How to Visit Some of Paris’s Finest Museums but Skip the Crowds.
Martin Luther, history: Today is the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther. He was one interesting guy. Among other things, he introduced congregational singing of hymns …
Martin Luther was born November 10, 1483. His intellectual abilities were evident early, and his father planned a career for him in law. Luther’s real interest lay elsewhere, however, and in 1505 he entered the local Augustinian monastery. He was ordained a priest April 3, 1507.
In October 1512 Luther received his doctorate in theology, and shortly afterward he was installed as a professor of biblical studies at the University of Wittenberg. His lectures on the Bible were popular, and within a few years he made the university a center for biblical humanism. As a result of his theological and biblical studies he called into question the practice of selling indulgences. On the eve of All Saints’ Day, October 31, 1517, he posted on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg the notice of an academic debate on indulgences, listing 95 theses for discussion. As the effects of the theses became evident, the Pope called upon the Augustinian order to discipline their member. After a series of meetings, political maneuvers, and attempts at reconciliation, Luther, at a meeting with the papal legate in 1518, refused to recant.
Luther was excommunicated on January 3, 1521. The Emperor Charles V summoned him to the meeting of the Imperial Diet at Worms. There Luther resisted all efforts to make him recant, insisting that he had to be proved in error on the basis of Scripture. The Diet passed an edict calling for the arrest of Luther. Luther’s own prince, the Elector Frederick of Saxony, however, had him spirited away and placed for safekeeping in his castle, the Wartburg.
Here Luther translated the New Testament into German and began the translation of the Old Testament. He then turned his attention to the organization of worship and education. He introduced congregational singing of hymns, composing many himself, and issued model orders of services. He published his large and small catechisms for instruction in the faith. During the years from 1522 to his death, Luther wrote a prodigious quantity of books, letters, sermons and tracts. Luther died on February 18, 1546.
via February 18: Martin Luther, Theologian, 1546 | Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music.
A favorite!
If—
BY RUDYARD KIPLING
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
At ATL … Picking up “my” Edward who is flying in from DEN where it is SNOWING! He will get in a visit with his grandmama Lindsey then off to UGA to visit friends and try out a game Between the Hedges.
Edward and his grandmother ..
And of course a few random ones for you …
Well, of course, the Google designers are Dr. Who fans. Brilliant.
Chef Mario Batali’s world came crashing down on him when he realized that Crocs, purveyor of foam comfort shoes, was discontinuing his favorite color: orange.
He literally wears them everywhere
via Mario Batali Orders 200 Paris of Orange Crocs | TIME.com.
Beijing, World’s Worst Airports, lists, WSJ, kith/kin: My personal experience supports this.
Stories of travel in Chinese airports are a horror genre in their own right, and with good reason: When it comes to on-time arrivals or departures, the country’s airports are literally the worst in the world.
According to FlightStats, which tracks airport statistics, Beijing’s airport ranks dead last among the world’s top 35, with fully 82% of flights failing to leave on time. Second worst was Shanghai, at 71%.
Such chronic tardiness has led to periodic passenger meltdowns and even physical altercations. Last year, the country’s Civil Aviation Administration was prompted to issue a circular urging officials to maintain better order and ensure that overexcited passengers who vent their rage by “smashing counters and rushing onto runways” are punished.
Even Hong Kong, which prides itself o
via Beijing, Shanghai World’s Worst Airports for Delays – China Real Time Report – WSJ.
Malala Yousafzai, United Nations, education of women, worth watching:
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot by the Taliban for promoting education for girls, celebrated her 16th birthday Friday at the United Nations by demanding that world leaders provide free
via Malala Celebrates 16th Birthday With UN Address – YouTube.
The Quartet , Roger Ebert: Who recommended The Quartet? With lines like, “the only alternative is to become guest of honor at the crematorium,” I am not not so sure …
In a luxurious British retirement home for retired musicians, two questions circle each other. One involves former opera stars who were once married, long ago and briefly. The other is about a gala that may be able to raise enough money to keep the home from closing.
…
We understand that these characters made a lot of money in their lifetime and can afford this expensive retirement. But practical details at Beecham House are murky. There seem to be no elevators, and all the octogenarian residents, even Jean with her hip replacement, use the stairs. The staff consists of the supervisor and a few nurses. We understand why that would be enough for the stage, but Hoffman’s film accepts all the limitations of a stage play and just doesn’t care. It’s curious, for example, that not a single one of the residents seems to have a single relative. No children. No grandchildren. Nobody.
This movie will no doubt be pitched to the same audiences that loved “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.” It even brings Maggie Smith along. But it lacks that film’s life, intelligence and spirit. It has a good heart. I’ll give it that. Maybe what it needs is more exotic marigolds.
10 Degrees South, restaurants, Atlanta GA: South African restaurant … very good. 🙂
BOBOTIE SPRING ROLLS $8.50sweet ground beef curry, served with chutney.
BILTONG $10.00cured beef slices.
CALAMARI $9.00grilled and tossed in lemon caper butter sauce.
LOLLIPOP LAMB CHOPS $14.00 two marinated chops, served over mashed potatoes.
via 10 Degrees South menu – Atlanta, GA 30342 – (404) 705-8870.
JK Rowling Pseudonym, Robert Galbraith’s ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’:
The novel was published in April by Sphere in the UK – the same imprint at Little, Brown as her first fiction novel after Harry Potter, The Casual Vacancy. Set in London, it features a one-legged private detective called Cormoran Strike, who is hired to investigate the death of a supermodel called Lula Landry. The book’s description on Amazon says “You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you’ve never seen them under an investigation like this.”
Harry Potter fan site The Leaky Cauldron says the book has so far sold just 1,500 copies, and that a second Galbraith book is to be published next year. Update: Since the news broke, New Statesman reports that the book’s Amazon sales have gone up more than 150,000%.
via JK Rowling Pseudonym: Robert Galbraith’s ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’ Is Actually By Harry Potter Author.
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Born in 1968, Robert Galbraith is married with two sons. After several years with the Royal Military Police, he was attached to the SIB (Special Investigation Branch), the plain-clothes branch of the RMP. He left the military in 2003 and has been working since then in the civilian security industry. The idea for protagonist Cormoran Strike grew directly out of his own experiences and those of his military friends who have returned to the civilian world. ‘Robert Galbraith’ is a pseudonym.
via JK Rowling Pseudonym: Robert Galbraith’s ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’ Is Actually By Harry Potter Author.
Ten things, freshman, college, lists, http://www.ajc.com, worth reading:
10. Use this time to plan for your future.
“Know thyself” (Socrates), “To thine own self be true” (Shakespeare), and “Just do it” (Nike) are good words to live by, Appleby said.
“College is a time to explore and get to know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, dreams and passions,” he said. “If you do that, you’ll make a plan to take the courses that will help you be who you want to become.”
via Ten things that every freshman needs to know about college | www.ajc.com.
RIP, Finn,
Cory Monteith, ‘Glee’ : Sad …
Cory Monteith, the handsome young actor who shot to fame in the hit TV series “Glee” but was beset by addiction struggles so fierce that he once said he was lucky to be alive, was found dead in a hotel room, police said. He was 31.
Monteith, who played the character Finn Hudson on the Fox TV series about a high school glee club, was found dead in his room on the 21st floor of the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel on Vancouver’s waterfront at about noon Saturday, according to police.
Deputy Police Chief Doug Lepard said there was no indication of foul play. Monteith’s body was found by hotel staff after he missed his check-out time, Lepard said.
“We do not have a great deal of information as to cause of death,” Coroner Lisa Lapointe said.
Lepard said Monteith had been out with people earlier and that those people are being interviewed.
“I have no words! My heart is broken,” Dot-Marie Jones, who plays football coach Shannon Beiste on “Glee,” said in a post on her Twitter account Saturday night. She called Monteith a “hell of a friend” and an “amazing” man.
via Cory Monteith, Star of Hit Show ‘Glee,’ Found Dead – ABC News.
Twitter, favorites:
Jane Austen @DailyJaneAusten 3m
“It is not every man’s fate to marry the woman who loves him best.” ― Jane Austen, Emma
via Twitter.
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Albert Brooks Verified account@AlbertBrooksFilmmaker, actor, author Albert Brooks. Originally joined Twitter to promote my book. Now trapped. Cant get out. Help. http://amzn.to/gUl6Fb
I am J.K. Rowling.
via 12 Twitter.
Maira Kalman’s Philosopher’s Walk, cover art, The New Yorker, favorites: Every once in a while I search Maira Kalman because I just love her work. I found two today …
“I’m going to be teaching a short seminar to fourth-year illustration students in Jerusalem,” says Maira Kalman, the artist behind this week’s cover, “Canine Couture.” “I gave them a few pre-assignments: one is to take a half hour walk every day for ten days. Without cell phones, just walk and observe what’s around you for half an hour. And I am sure—I’m very sure—that asking them to spend half an hour without a cell phone is like asking them to take their clothes off. No cell phones, no cup of coffee—just take a solitary walk. If you want to be pretentious about it, Immanuel Kant is famous for taking his walk everyday at 3:30 P.M., so I suggested that time to them. It’s a good time of day; it’s a little bit tired, a little bit sleepy time of day. I’m hoping good things will grow out that.”
See below for a slide show of Kalman’s New Yorker covers, many born out of her solitary walks.
via Cover Story: Maira Kalman’s Philosopher’s Walk : The New Yorker.
Isaac Mizrahi, Maira Kalman, Home Design Spring 2013, New York Magazine: Mizrahi and Kalman, interesting neighbors, don’t you think? … “But if I had to choose one thing that I love, there is nothing. I am very sad to think about having stuff, and not having stuff. There is a sense about wanting to have nothing, and then there is a sense about having everything and not giving anybody anything and keeping it all.”
Maira Kalman’s Dream Place
The artist draws the room of her fantasies—and talks to longtime neighbor and friend Isaac Mizrahi about how her Tel Aviv has influenced her New York.
Do you think that Sara Berman, your mother, understood aesthetics and design principles on the same level as you do?
No, no. I think that she just wanted to have nice things around her. But she also never spoke very much. She was a wonderful mother in amazing ways, but we never had conversations about things. You know, I have no idea what she thought of anything. It was more like, Pass the salt.
Where do you think you got such a sensibility about … objects?
Well, my sister is an artist and an interior designer. She went to high school for art. I went to high school for music. But then it was in the air, it was all around us. And then it was meeting [Maira’s late husband the designer] Tibor and graphic design, so that whole world opened up, kind of from nowhere.
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Which object in this apartment do you like the best? Which means the most to you?
I still do have the little lunch bag that my mother made out of a towel and embroidered with my name on it for when I went to kindergarten. And it’s this big. I think she gave me five sandwiches and three apples, it’s huge! But if I had to choose one thing that I love, there is nothing. I am very sad to think about having stuff, and not having stuff. There is a sense about wanting to have nothing, and then there is a sense about having everything and not giving anybody anything and keeping it all. But the things that I have keep changing and go into different rooms. It is always a conflict.
Is it a commitment thing, the fact that you change so much?
In the I regret everything I say mode? [Laughs.] I regret everything I do.
Yes.
I regret everything: nice “up” ending for our talk!
But does it come from a joyous place when you choose things, or does it come from a critical, mean place?
I think it is like starting fresh. Every Monday morning is new hope. And I just like the idea that the set changes. It is a set. That is my home.
via Home Design Spring 2013 – Isaac Mizrahi and Maira Kalman — New York Magazine.
Henri Nouwen, Psalm 46:10, know/acknowledge, Be Still, favorites, FPC 2013 PW Retreat, Kanuga : I very much enjoy The Henri Nouwen Society’s daily meditations. Today his service (he is deceased) focused on my favorite bible verse. I will remember that it is important to keep a still place in the market. I am also interested in their translation and the use of the term “acknowledge” rather that “know.”
I also loved hearing the story at the FPC PW Retreat of how one woman wanted to hear Nouwen speak at Kanuga and when a snow storm came through and made it impossible for some to attend, she got a seat! It was meant to be.
A Still Place in the Market
“Be still and acknowledge that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). These are words to take with us in our busy lives. We may think about stillness in contrast to our noisy world. But perhaps we can go further and keep an inner stillness even while we carry on business, teach, work in construction, make music, or organise meetings.
It is important to keep a still place in the “marketplace.” This still place is where God can dwell and speak to us. It also is the place from where we can speak in a healing way to all the people we meet in our busy days. Without that still space we start spinning. We become driven people, running all over the place without much direction. But with that stillness God can be our gentle guide in everything we think, say, or do.
I found this online …
Henri Nouwen talked with his hands. He told stones, mostly about himself. Most of aU, I remember a story told and a story lived.
Henry told about being invited to visit The Hermitage in Russia to see Rembrandt’s “Return of the Prodigal.” Other viewers filed by at a rapid clip, but he was allowed to sit in a chair for two hours and just look. He looked at the figures in the background, the father and the broken son.
The father had both hands on the boy’s shoulders. One hand was the gnarled hand of a working man. The other, Nouwen said with a dramatic pause, was the delicate, tapered hand—”of a wotnan”! God suddenly became larger for this Catholic priest.
It was a stunning moment. Over four hundred people—power people, mostly—looked through Nouwen’s eyes and saw the feminine nature of God. People wept.
Later, as Nouwen told about the L’Arche Daybreak Community in Toronto, where he served, he told about his friend Bill, a mentally handicapped man who was in the scholar’s care.
Bill was on the stage with Henry, as was a nun from Daybreak. When Henri invited Bill to come to the microphones and speak, I remember thinking that people had come a long way to hear the Dutch scholar, not Bill.
To give Bill support, Nouwen stood next to him at the microphone. Bill was overcome by the prospect of speaking. He simply laid his head on Nouwen’s shoulder and wept.
A room filled with church leaders suddenly glimpsed the incarnate nature of true ministiy. Our work isn ‘t about liturgies that we fight over, buildings that we fight over, books of worship that we fight over, hymnals that we fight over, small bits of institutional power that we fight over, or doctrines that we are willing to kill over. Our work is to stand next to one another and provide a shoulder for weeping.
via The Wayward, Wanton, and Wasteful Daughter | Reformed Worship.
27
Feb
13
2.26.13 … paper or plastic? …
“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2013 Lenten labyrinth walks, Myers Park Baptist Church:
I almost did not walk today … but decided there would be days when I definitely could not walk, so at 10:10 PM, I walked. It was 42° and foggy. It’s nice that the labyrinth at Myers Park Baptist is lighted.
As i walked I thought about the TMBS Proverbs lesson from earlier today at First Presbyterian Church. I loved Kirk’s use of advertising to demonstrate our folly!
Paper or plastic? I learned something new …
Blessings!
Ben Affleck, Argo, Rolling Stone, CIA, Fake Sci-Fi Flick, Wired Magazine: Two interesting articles …
QA: Ben Affleck on Directing ‘Argo’ and Surviving Hollywood | Movies News | Rolling Stone
How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran | Wired Magazine | Wired.com.
Kickstarter, Oscars, shoutouts:
The begging and scraping that goes into getting a film financed is rarely mentioned among the glamour and triumph of the Academy Awards.
Not so with the short documentary “Inocente,” which became the first Kickstarter-funded film to win an Oscar.
Co-directors Andrea Nix and Sean Fine praised the crowd-funding website to reporters backstage. They said it helped them generate community involvement as well as dollars.
Nearly 300 people donated $52,000 through the site to fund the documentary chronicling the life of a homeless teenager in San Diego.
“It’s a great new outlet for films, and especially for documentary films,” Fine said.
Waltz, Hathaway, Supporting Oscars, WSJ.com: What did you think?
The Oscars got under way with edgy humor and a surprise win on Sunday.
Host Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the animated series “Family Guy” and last summer’s hit movie “Ted,” sought to tread a careful line between respect and comedy as he opened the show with his trademark brand of bawdy humor.
He enlisted William Shatner, playing Captain Kirk from “Star Trek,” to show a series of offensive skits Mr. MacFarlane performed in an alternate future. In them, he made fun of famous actresses for their frequent nudity, re-enacted the alcohol- and drug-filled movie “Flight” with sock puppets, and propositioned Sally Field, nominated for her role in “Lincoln.”
The star-filled audience, which initially reacted hesitantly to jokes about Mel Gibson and Chris Brown, seemed to warm to Mr. MacFarlane as he mixed his “fake” skits with musical numbers more in the tradition of past hosts like Billy Crystal.
FiveThirtyEight, Oscar ballot:
Batting .500
FiveThirtyEight’s Oscar ballot — after getting off to a fairly inglorious start by choosing “Lincoln”‘s Tommy Lee Jones instead of “Django Unchained”‘s Christoph Waltz for Best Supporting Actor — got back on track with Anne Hathaway’s win for Best Supporting Actress.
Nora Ephron, Oscars 2013: Miss Nora Ephron … When Harry Met Sally | Nora Ephron’s Best Film Moments | NewsFeed | TIME.com.
Searching for Sugarman, Oscars 2013: Congratulations to Searching for Sugarman on winning the Oscar tonight for Best Documentary!
This true story epitomizes the multifaceted and wonderful relationship between South Africa and the USA! Have you seen it yet? What did you think?
via Facebook.
favorites, Twitter, oscars 2013: And this was my favorite tweet from last night …
Richard Dreyfuss @RichardDreyfuss
I always dreamed that the score of one of my films would be used to play people off at the Oscars. We did it, Steven! #oscars2013
9:15 PM Feb 24th
ChristCare, Malcolm Muggeridge, Jesus: The Man Who Lived, Beethoven Missa Solemnis – Agnus Dei, YouTube: I loved starting a new study with my Christ Care group …
Agnus Dei – Beethoven Missa Solemnis – YouTube.
Biography of Malcolm Muggeridge – Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
19
Feb
13
2.19.13 … unpacking …
“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2013 Lenten labyrinth walks, Davidson College Labyrinth and Peace Garden, Hobart Park, Proverbs, unpacking:
Prior to my walk, I had a soup and salad with Molly at the Soda Shop. The soup was not so hot but Molly’s caramel milkshake was divine. She was right to quip, “It’s not like the Soda Shop is known for its soup.” It was fun to see how things are different on the one hand, yet how much they are the same on the other. Molly seems to love it here, as do most of her friends. I am joyful for that.
Who doesn’t like to hear the bell on college campus. 🙂 Right before I began my walk, I heard the college’s bells ring 3 o’clock, and as I was finishing up, I heard the bells ring 3:15.
As I walked, it really struck me how clean the labyrinth was today. The landscapers must have come and blown it clean right before I walked. Not a leaf on the labyrinth.
My mind today focused on the Tuesday Morning Bible Study Class that I had just attended at First Presbyterian Church. We are studying Proverbs, and this week we focused on Proverbs 1-9. My group is very insightful, and Kirk Hall is unbelievable in leading us through this very deep book. We “unpack” the material. I laugh because Kirk repeatedly tells us that we are going to have to unpack a passage, a phrase or a word. My generation, and oh how I hate to say my generation, does not use that term “unpack.” It always strikes me as funny. When I unpack, I take how what I used, and note what I have taken unnecessarily, hoping to learn from my mistakes … I wonder what Kirk means when he says “unpack.”
This was my favorite passage from Proverbs 3 that we unpacked today.
13 Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,
14 for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
those who hold her fast will be blessed.
19 By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations,
by understanding he set the heavens in place;
20 by his knowledge the watery depths were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.
Now that I have finished my walk … and announced it to the world by striking the gong …
I returned to Charlotte, did some shopping and then went home for a long nap with my two puppies and one cat.
Blessings
2013 Festival of Legal Learning, Recent Developments in Internet Law: There’s a lot to watch out for …
Recent Developments in Internet LawDavid W. Sar, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard; and Marcus W. Trathen, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard
The law struggles to keep pace with developments in internet technology and online business models. This session will review the most significant recent developments in internet law, including online video, privacy, data security, trademarks, copyrights and cyberliability. the session is relevant to both litigators and transactional lawyers.
Jane Austen, quotes, juvenilia — Jack and Alice.
In spite of the wine she had been drinking, poor Alice was uncommonly out of spirits; she could think of nothing but Charles Adams, she could talk of nothing but him, & in short spoke so openly that Lady Williams soon discovered the unreturned affection she bore him, which excited her Pity & Compassion so strongly that she addressed her in the following Manner.
Twitter, favorites:
The White House (@whitehouse)
2/18/13, 6:30 PM
In honor of his birthday, see George Washington like never before with the @googleart project: at.wh.gov/hPtFA pic.twitter.com/CETCRqPj
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A New Way to Tour the White House – YouTube.
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Maria Popova (@brainpicker)2/18/13, 6:40 PM
For President’s Day, a brief animated history of how the American Presidency was invented j.mp/135i3DG
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via Inventing the American presidency – Kenneth C. Davis – YouTube.
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Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost)
2/18/13, 5:50 PM
Jon Stewart calls out CNN‘s coverage of the Carnival Triumph huff.to/12KxCR1
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“CNN has been on the case, for some reason giving this boat crisis wall-to-shit-covered-wall coverage,” Stewart opined, before rolling a clip of a CNN anchor showing a young girl on the ship waving to her mother via the TV cameras.
“You’re not heroes, guys,” Stewart said, referring to CNN. “It’s not a hostage situation or a baby in a well. You reconnected them? They weren’t supposed to see each other. They were on a cruise for a few days.”
via Jon Stewart Calls Out CNN’s Carnival Triumph Cruise Ship Coverage: ‘You’re Not Heroes’ (VIDEO).
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USA TODAY College (@USATODAYcollege)
2/18/13, 5:56 PM
5 ‘feminist’ colleges and what it’s like to attend them – usat.ly/VrKI5F
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“We all come to MHC learning [that] our job as MHC students is to make history in our field and eventually become influential women,” Libby, a junior at Mount Holyoke, says.
From a women’s leadership center to their feminist a cappella group Nice Shoes — whose repertoire includes female empowerment songs — MHC graduates strong, activist women.
“After going to [an all-girls high school] I needed a feminist institution. I needed a college that supported women and their power,” Libby says.
via What it’s like to attend one of 5 “feminist” colleges | USA TODAY College.
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Cali Lewis (@CaliLewis)
2/18/13, 5:58 PM
How to backup your data from the cloud with Google Takeout – geekbeat.tv/takeout
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Travel + Leisure (@TravlandLeisure)
2/18/13, 6:00 PM
The top travel sites and apps: @Pintrips, @SeatGuru, @TingoTeam, @BackBid and more from @orwoll on @todayshow. Watch: tandl.me/XEcDOv
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RunwayForTheBallet (@RunwayBallet)
2/18/13, 5:31 PM
Here is it is peeps…the ONLY chance you have to win FREE VIP tix for #runwayfortheballet w/ @CharlotteMag. Enter now! charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Maga…
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Join them for an exciting blend of fashion and dance benefitting NC Dance Theatre. Mingle and enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres from Luce and libations while experiencing a runway show featuring the hottest looks from Macy’s.
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Jeff Elder (@JeffElder)
2/18/13, 6:11 PM
“It was like God was on the radio.” – My mom on growing up with FDR president.
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Laurel Ann Nattress (@Austenprose)
2/18/13, 6:13 PM
Was ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Inspired by Jane Austen’s First Love? – Speakeasy – WSJ (This is news?) #Pandp200 blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013…
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Laurel Ann Nattress (@Austenprose)
2/18/13, 6:14 PM
‘The Real Jane Austen,’ by Paula Byrne – NYTimes.com #JaneAusten nytimes.com/2013/02/17/boo…
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Maria Popova (@brainpicker)
2/18/13, 6:20 PM
This is lovely: @debbiemillman interprets the Second Amendment in a new series of posters against gun violence j.mp/135aw7U
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Laurel Ann Nattress (@Austenprose)
2/18/13, 6:28 PM
Enter 2 win a copy of The Complete Novels of Jane Austen. Ends Feb 21. #JaneAusten #PandP200 #giveaways goodreads.com/book/show/1584…
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Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday)2/16/13, 2:38 PM
Kramer invents a reverse SodaStream to take carbonation out of fizzy drinks. J: “Just leave the bottle open!” K:”You don’t get it, Jerry!”
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