By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/22/2016
Back in 2012, after Hurricane Sandy, I had a week-long furlough caused by a lack of electricity at my office near Union Square. That’s when I created this crazy idea: Read comics over a period of 26.2 hours, or read 1,572 pages of comics while doing nothing else. With the latest blizzard approaching Mega-City One and residents […]
By: Kenneth Kit Lamug,
on 1/16/2016
This is a children’s picture book structure break down for Mousetropolis by R. Gregory Christie. This breakdown will contain spoilers. Once upon a time: (Pages…
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By: Jennie,
on 9/7/2009
So, Greg over at The Happy Accident wanted pictures of our TBR piles. It took me a few days to gather mine and move it up to the guest room bed (which was the only place in the house large enough that I could take over for a few days).
These books fit into the following categories:
1. Books I have purchased or otherwise acquired but haven't read yet.
2. Books Dan has purchased or otherwise acquired that I would also like to read.
3. Books that have been sent for review that I want to read and review.
4. Books I have checked out from the library.
There are about 400 books...
Here's a closer shot of my book headboard:
And here's a closer shot of the books along the wall:
Also, a few weeks ago, Abby (the) Librarian asked us for pictures of where we blog. Everyone has such nice blogging spaces! Technically, there is a desk in the guest room and that's where I should be blogging. But, then I'm away from the general action of the house, so most blogging takes place at my kitchen table:
To the left is my pile of books to review and my all-important cup of coffee. Then my lap top, a tube of aloe vera (because I stupidly forgot to wear sunscreen to the Nationals game yesterday and am now bright red) an empty bag of sugar snap peas (blogging requires nutritious snacks!) my currently-reading pile, my date book, and my reading logs and notes I made while reading the help the reviewing process. Also, random computer cords.
We'll get back to book reviews soon!
Critter is very excited. He's packed his bag and is ready for his Blogland adventure.
All the entries are in my handy-dandy tupperware bowl of winningness and Critter is about to milk his pants from the the excitement. (If you haven't noticed, this critter is part cow.)
And the first person Critter will come to visit is . . . . .
PJ HOOVER!!!!
YaY PJ! Critter will be able to enjoy Texas w/o the fear of too much perspiration. :0)
But don't worry folks. There are 14 more places that Critter will get to visit, so you still have 14 more chances to win a visit by following him on his journey I will post links to the places that Critter is going so you'll be able to have another chance on the other blogs. PJ's blog is PJhoover.blogspot.com. Check out her blog and watch for Critter to show up! :0)
OK, here's a couple things for fun. Who knows, you might even get something good out of it.
First is the random title generator. When I tried it there were some rediculous titles (obviously) but there were actually a few that I liked too. One was "Waves in the Ashes" If you go to the link, let me know what good titles came up for you.
Here's the link to the Random Title Generator
The random plot generator is hillarious. I'd be surprised if you get a really good idea out of this one, but who knows, perhaps this could be good for a creative writing exercise or just something to get your creative juices flowing.
Here's the link to the Random Plot Generator
Enjoy! :0)
Need help making decisions this weekend? You're in luck. I'm allowing you use of my CrAzY random 8 ball. It's always right . . . as long as you ask it a random crazy question as opposed to a serious one. For example, you need to ask it things like
should I put sardines on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich
should I sing and dance the Macerana while I'm standing in line at the bank today?
Should I change my name to Villinus Schmataximus?
You know. That kind of stuff. Let me know what you ask it and what kind of advice you get so I may share in your joy.
First off, Thanks to Rena, I have been able to answer the life long question that has been gnawing at the pitt of my soul. What would I look like if I were an M&M. 
Tara posted this test on her blog. This test was (for the most part) scary-spot-on for me! While age and life circumstances has taken a bit of my "energy and talking" away, this is still mostly true. I'm not always a big talker, but if I feel comfortable, I can be. Go to typelyzer, stick in your blog address and they analyze your personality based on your blog. This is what they said about me:
The current "tag" around blogland is sharing your senior picture. So. Here it is in all it's Aqua-Net glory. Looking at this picture I have to wonder how much of the ozone I am personally responsible for.
OK. But here's what I'm really proud of. A middle-school friend of mine (that I've reconnected with through Facebook) has been posting some pictures that have made me rather nostalgic. My best days of school were in 5th and 6th grade. One of my 15 minutes of fame was when I won a snow sculpture contest with 4 of my friends. Those were the days when snow was fun. As an adult, I've gladly turned in my midwestern snow shovel for a NC sand pale. I still like to make sculptures, though my preferred medium includes sunshine, ocean and a bathing suit.
P.S. That's me in the middle.
Anyway. This blog isn't fun when I just talk about myself. Now it's your turn to take a walk down memory lane. Do you have any newspaper or t.v. moments of fame? What are some of your proudest moments?
First I will address the obvious:
*Yes those are a picture of our family socks
*Yes I took the picture
and
*Yes I realize that posting picture of my socks most likely indicates that I have some sort of blogging dependency problem. I will tackle that issue once my friends and family successfully carry out an intervention. (but they have to catch me first)
Now. Take a good look at the picture above. Notice anything? Like maybe NONE of those socks have a match!!!!!! Where did they all go? This is just one load.
Sure, recently I discovered that my 6 year old was using socks for Barbie dresses and sleeping bags but that only accounts for a handful of our missing footwear. What about the others?
I wonder if there are some evil puppet-masters that go around sock-napping freshly washed footwear in order to exploit them for their shows. Or maybe my house is a safe haven for disgruntled socks everywhere. Take a look at the picture. Maybe one of these socks ran away from your house and have sought refuge here. Perhaps I shall start taking individual sock pictures and putting them on milk cartons and junk-mail post-cards. MISSING SOCK!
Strangely enough, a friend brought to my attention (thanks John!) that there are web-sites like everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=24013 that explore the explanation of missing socks. Some of these include wormholes, communism, sock gnomes and my personal favorite is here in quotes.
Brenda Posted a fun meme on her blog. Here it is:
Find a song that sums up what you think it means to be a writer and post the lyrics on your blog and why you've chosen it. It doesn't have to be your favorite song, it just has to express how you feel about writing and/or being a writer. It can be literal, metaphorical, about a particular form or aspect of writing - whatever you want. Then tag 5 others to do the same (reprint these instructions).
I'm tagging anyone who reads this blog (and you do not need to tag others), So, You!. Yea, you. The one with the eyes reading these words. TAG! You're it! ;0)
It didn't take me any time at all to choose a song. I already knew what to pick. Over the summer I made a slide show of our summer vacation set to this song. While I was making it, all I could think of was how much this song made me think of writing. So, here it goes:
PLAYGROUND by SIA (with explainations)
Come with me to a place of fantasy I'll take you on a seesaw. (I write fantasy and I want to take the reader along)
Come with me to a place that's by the sea, I'll take you upon a boardwalk.
Take my hand I'll take you to the sand, you and me will build a castle.
Ready set go, I'll race you to the wall, I will win I am the fastest. (I often have to tap into my inner child in order to write, and I want others to enjoy what I create. I want them to feel like thy aren't just along for the ride, but that they are apart of the ride.)
I don't wanna grow up, bring me all the toys you can find (this is reality. Growing up isn't fun!)
You don't wanna grow up, you can be my partner in crime.
I'll be sure to write you from the war, put your guns away its tea time. (I love the simplicity of this line and the different ways this can be taken. I think about going from one game to another, and how it's all about fun.)
Water bombs and tea towel tired moms, looking for a little me time (back to reality again. I'm a tea towel tired mom looking for a little me time. As a matter of fact, writing is when I hang up my tea towel and have "me time"
close your eyes and count to 35, you may never ever find me
close your eyes and then I realize you are never far behind me (again, bringing the reader along,hoping the story is interesting enough to follow, but not so confusing that they get "too far behind or want to stop reading."
I don't wanna grow up, bring me all the toys you can find
You don't wanna grow up, you can be my partner in crime.
Lets have fun let me out under the sun, will you take my hand lets see how far we can run
etc. etc. etc.
This is great! I feel inspired to write now! :0) Thanks Brenda
Click on the youtube below to hear the song. Enjoy!
I haven't done one of these in a while and I feel like bringing my alter ego to the surface. Click on the link below and come play along! Let me know who you are and we can meet at Mr. Tumnus's house for tea. ;0)
Here's my results: 
You're Reepicheep
Take Which C.S.Lewis Character are you? today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.
Pole Gallery Art is popping up in Apex, NC this summer. Keep your eye open for monsters, racoons and critters of all kinds displayed on random street corners! It's nice to have something to smile about in traffic for a change! :0)
For more pictures, click here: Polegallery.blogspot.com
Portland based designer Gavin Potenza (Exploratory Design) has cooked up a series of sweet stamps. The series which was inspired by the work of Otl Aicher is entitled Homage to the Stamp.
contemporary, ephemera, graphic design, stamps, USA
Vintage modern stamps from Israel - 1975 Arbor day collection
Ok we’re back. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Pretty chill one here. Watched Dial M for murder by Hitchcock. Tonight it’s either Stray Dog by Akira Kurosawa or Brute force by Jules Dassin.
Now onto the stamps….
Great stuff going on here. Johnny blue bird is eating cherry nugs off a psychedelic tree. Meanwhile on the left, rectangle legs is rolling deep in lollipop marsh.
Hotel Astoria Lucerne was located in Luzern, Switzerland. As they claim in their promotional material, they were the “most modern Hotel of Central Switzerland”. After looking at this I brochure, I believe them. I’m not sure if the hotel still exists. I was able to find some information on a Hotel Astoria Lucerne designed by Herzog & De Meuron but, I’m not sure if bears any relation. I realize Herzog & De Meuron are modern day architects, but possibly they renovated the existing structure? Anyone have any info on this?
brochures, ephemera, graphic design, hotels, Mid century, modern, swiss, switzerland
What? Why? How? Essential Product Information - Sweet’s Catalogue Service
©1942 Design by Ladislav Sutnar
Sweet’s Catalog Service provided catalogs of building and plumbing supplies to architects and contractors. Ladislav along with Knud Lönberg-Holm were responsible for presenting the information within these catalogs in a clear, concise manner.
The promotional, folded sheet above explains the need for easily accessible product information especially during times of war (this was written in the midst of World War 2). As Sweets maintained, providing essential product information in an effecient way could eliminate waste and speed production:
The increasing need for speed in war production is reflected in increasing demand for product information.
In order to be useful such product information should be comprehensive, concise, coordinated
Prefiling of catalogs has been developed as a means for controlling the flow of essential product information
Beautiful layout, far ahead of its time.
For further reading, I suggest Steven Heller’s article Ladislav Sutnar and Knud Lönberg-Holm
By: Becky,
on 1/7/2008
The last TedTalk to make a big impression on the home education blogs and groups was Ken Robinson's, on how schools educate children to become good workers rather than creative thinkers.
The next TedTalk to start making the rounds and already making a splash is Five Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do by Gever Tulley of The Tinkering School, a summer program to help kids ages seven to 17 learn to build things. The talk comes from Tulley's book in progress, Fifty Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do; click the book link and you'll find some of Tulley's labels which should be familiar to Make fans; we here at Farm School are always keen on subversive labels and stickers. As I once quoted Charles Darwin,
"Doing what little one can to increase the general stock of knowledge is as respectable an object of life as one can, in any likelihood, pursue."Gever Tulley and Matt Hern, author of Watch Yourself: Why Safer Isn't Always Better (and whom I wrote about here) certainly seem to be on the same wavelength.
By: Maggie Summers,
on 6/24/2007
When my husband and I have two days together it is always jam-packed. Working full time and cramming in all the to-do's and wish lists on the weekends is always a challenge.
By: Paintgranny,
on 5/13/2007
I already have every issue of STARMAN and THE SHADE (both series) cued up and waiting. Should be an excellent cold weekend to stay indoors, even if we won’t be getting any snow in my corner of the U.S.