The View From Kalamazoo
Untitled
Send in the clowns…
…don’t bother, they’re here.
There is not enough chocolate in the world to make the past two weeks better. Not. Enough.
In the news
Back in the…er, Russia? Western European Rare Manuscripts Exhibited in Hermitage
Blogs return the English Language to the Middle Ages
Rare Bohemian Medieval Manuscript Acquired
[the following from mirabilis.ca]:
International partnership to digitise world’s oldest known Bible: The Codex Sinaiticus
As panic sets in
Tomorrow is the last f-ing day for fresh clay! Aieeee!
So last night…discovered the lid for my covered casserole didn’t make it through bisque, had a couple of mugs’ bottoms drop out. The evening was singularly unpleasant for that sort of nonsense. Threw a huge platter and someone suddenly coming up right behind me caused me to jump while I was cutting it off the bat and I botched it. It was a like a grand comedy of errors, I swear.
I need to get in there and work – I have a beehive-shaped vessel (with awkward lid) that I want to make a handle and spout for. I have a completed kyusu pot that I want to make a set of yunomi for. I should make a honkin’ big bowl (to complete an assignment), since all of my attempts at a simple 15″ vase have come to nought – I seem to manage size fine when it comes to width (I have another platter, waiting for trimming, that took up the entire surface of the bat. I think it’ll be oribe green, my current fave, and I’m considering iron under decoration, too), but I struggle with height. Of course, this is only my second term (and I spent almost no time on the wheel last term), and I hadn’t touched a wheel since, probably, ’87 or ’88…so I suppose I’m ahead of myself, but it’s still frustrating. High-strung perfectionists are always high-strung perfectionists – I’ve just temporarily transferred my anxiety from paper to clay.
I fear that I’ll still be behind on my assignments, since several mugs have, in some way, committed suicide. (including picking up the bat in the damp room that had two on it – and someone had moved things around, it seems, because one rolled right off the back and out of the covering bag, hitting the floor. Piss.) I have much temptation to take a slightly-long lunch and go in before my dreaded business managers’ meeting this afternoon. Much. Of course, all hell is breaking loose around here. No rest for the wicked.
(and I have a ton of trimming and glazing to do, but that can all be done after tomorrow, when I can’t start any new projects, anyway – only two more classes!)
Oh, and of course I’ve had no time to finish a chart for a friend, or work on my limericks-in-process. I don’t know why I thought my post-surgical recovery would be a ‘break’…I’ve been very good at beginning projects – significantly less adept at finishing them.
We won’t even discuss the microfilm from the BN I should spend quality time with. Not even going there.
Big blogging brains
From the Eide Neurolearning Blog regarding the effects of blogging on the brains of bloggers: (conclusions very briefly excerpted)
1. Blogs can promote critical and analytical thinking.
2. Blogging can be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive, and associational thinking.
3. Blogs promote analogical thinking.
4. Blogging is a powerful medium for increasing access and exposure to quality information.
5. Blogging combines the best of solitary reflection and social interaction.
Read the whole entry (highly recommended!).
Heed your astrologer!
Beware the Ides of March
And so there it is
Finally! Bad server, bad bad server!
Been cleaning house – a lot I’ve not kept up with to the left went the way of the dodo, so those links are buh-bye.
links I’ve stumbled across here and there (server down, can’t go back and check originator. sorry):
Venetian Grinds: The secret behind Italian Renaissance painters’ brilliant palettes
Skeleton over 2,000 years old found in Geneva cathedral
having a rare meme moment here:
1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?
Can I have a first house, uh..first? How about somewhere close enough to Nashville to easily visit my compadre at MTSU and my sis and her fam in Nashville proper? Then my folks could stay there on visits, too, as long as my mother didn’t re-arrange the kitchen every time she stayed…
2. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLES OF CLOTHING?
Blue jeans, preferrably covered in clay. (which means I’m on my way home from the studio. hehe) Oh, and I have a great black suit…
3. THE LAST CDs YOU BOUGHT?
I. Don’t. Even. Know. It was long, long ago.. Sad, isn’t it?
4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
6:00 if I don’t get into the snooze alarm cycle. Somewhat later if I do…bad me.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?
Microwave for sheer hours-of-use. Coffeemaker comes in at a close second, but only because it’s a weekend item – I usually have no time and have my first cuppa at the office.
6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Hm. Anything I could teach my children. Or…cello, maybe – I was always fascinated by strings, since my schools growing-up had non-string orchestras.
7. FAVORITE COLOR?
Depends. Usually greens and blues, I suppose.
8. WHICH VEHICLE DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR, MOTORCYCLE, OR SUV?
I have children, so only one of the three mentioned would suffice. I gave up preferences long ago…
9. DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE AFTERLIFE?
most days.
10. FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOK?
The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The Glassmakers of Gurvyn. Hop on Pop.
11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
Autumn. Spring is a close second.
12. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?
Nope.
13. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Photographic memory. Not particularly super, I suppose..
14. CAN YOU JUGGLE?
Jiggle? Well…
Oh. juggle. nope.
15. ONE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?
Grandpa.
16. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED?
summer clothing in a plastic box, cat fur. probably more I don’t want to know about.
17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DAY?
Any day without whining.
18. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
Burger – I’m not a fan of sushi. Not at all.
19. FROM THE PEOPLE WHO NORMALLY READ YOUR BLOG, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Almost no one responds – so no one. Or Bri.
20. ON WHICH BLOG DID YOU FIND THIS MEME?
Terminaldegree, and then everywhere else. Sheesh!
21. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?
Iris. Or Gladiola.
23. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL?
Seafood, drawn butter, and thou. 😉
24. DESCRIBE YOUR PJS.
Usually too-large flannel PJ pants and a t-shirt. Oh, the sexiness of it all.
25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST?
Anything I don’t have to prepare myself.
26. DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB?
I like it just fine, considering.
27. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?
Prof – teaching, discussing, writing… Never happen, I guess.
28. WHAT AGE DO YOU PLAN TO RETIRE?
Retire? Ha! Who can afford to do that anymore?
29. WHERE DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
Computer. Don’t laugh – it’s 13 years in June.
30. SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT YOU HAVE NEVER DONE BEFORE.
Travel overseas – however there’s that pesky money thing…
Oh – and buy a house. Again, same peskiness.
In the News
fantastic sites, thanks to mirabilis.ca:
Hand Bookbindings at the Princeton University Library
Treasures in Full: High-quality digital editions, free to your desktop
In-con-thievable!
That man I married tells me this here island of boring gets an average of 300 hits a day. A. Day.
400 yesterday.
24 people searched on the string lisa+carnell yesterday. 24! (s’okay, no one ever spells Elisabeth correctly – no Z, man, no Z!)
Holy crow. Holy language-I-should-refrain-from-using-in-front-of-300-people.
How the hell are ya? Who the hell are ya?
I take requests. No table dancing, however.
Yo
Dude, if you haven’t gotten your Program yet, you will, OK? The world is not ending, the sky is not falling – and bulk mail will hurry for no man.
