• 11:43 Make (and buy) your own Muppet extra! (fyi: video) bit.ly/7EHUt8
• 12:46 The Top Ten Books of 1709 (published in the British Mainland Colonies) bit.ly/6SOGdk
• 13:39 does anyone outside NC call it UNC-CH?
• 15:12 Interesting article on Abbeville; I do wish had learned about all issues of the War as a kid bit.ly/8N4W7Y
• 15:13 ...(w/ last tweet) Slavery is important, but my non-Southern classmates thought that all Southerners were slaveowners, for one
• 16:56 fireproof filing cabinets are ridiculously expensive.
• 19:51 Local USPS is made of fail.

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Notes and links for the Nieces' visit

Washington Monument: http://www.nps.gov/wamo/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm

Historic Wax Museum appears to be defunct, but there is a Madame Tussaud's in DC not too far from the Spy Museum: http://www.madametussauds.com/washington/

Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/visit/ is apparently right near the Folger. I wonder what they have on display?

Air and Space: http://www.nasm.si.edu/  I wonder if we'll have time to see both locations?

Natural History Museum: http://www.mnh.si.edu/ The Written in Bone exhibit sounds fascinating. I wonder if the nieces still have a sense of the macabre?

The Smithsonian Castle: http://www.si.edu/visit/infocenter/sicastle.htm

The originator of the phrase responds to the criticism to Alexis L. of OneGrandHome in Founder of Knitta, Please Speaks & Modifies Site One wonders if Knitta, Please is any more or less insensitive than Tigger Please or Ninja Please? What about Smurf Please, thanks to the Daily Show? (Sadly the Daily Show site has a naming problem with the N-word clip only actually bringing up the Colbert Report lead-in, not the Wilmore and Oliver clip, sigh) While I wouldn't suggest censoring anyone, it does behoove us to consider the impact of our words and terms on others. It comes down to being considerate of everyone, and try to think outside of our own limited perspectives. So I was thinking of what could perhaps take the place of KP, a term that conveys the same intent without the negative effects. Knit On! Knit-fiti. Knit-evar. Stitch-fiti (also includes crochet), etc. I am heartened to read that the Knitta Please book is actually planned to be titled Knit Graffiti, which is clearer without bad connotations. Of course I haven't knitted in what seems like forever...

• New cookbook blog post: Potato Latkes http://cookbook.atlow.org/2009/12/17/potato-latkes/ #

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After Tracy got sick last year, I spent a significant amount of time investigating pet insurance. I settled on Pet Plan based upon reviews, feedback, the cost and coverage, etc. It looks like this was a wise choice.

If anyone has a pet but does not have pet insurance, I strongly recommend you get some. If you would like a referral to Pet Plan, please let me know (and make sure I have your email) and I will gladly give you one.

Mirrored from atlow.org.

Stopped by the Vet this morning and Tracy is doing well. Very affectionate, nuzzly, and purring up a storm. They are going to remove the catheter this afternoon.

Mirrored from atlow.org.

I forgot to ask earlier. Finding bread without tons of added ingredients is difficult, even with the artisan breads. I know that several people on my flist have bread machines. Recommended brands or styles? Features?

I keep opening the lj entries of people with ad-sponsored accounts and getting huge pop-up things that gray out the page you're looking at and won't allow you to close them until they've fully loaded. Has anyone else been having trouble with this? There are a few things I haven't commented on because I closed the window rather than deal with waiting ten seconds for an ad I didn't want to see to load.

(I'm particularly wondering if those of you with paid accounts get exempted from this, as every so often I contemplate upgrading... on the one hand, I like my basic account; it has everything I need, and I won't be able to get it back if I change my mind, but on the other I do use this an awful lot, and possibly it would be the thing to pay for my web hosting, so to speak.)

A word I created (back in college) which seems particularly useful today: "Eurekduh: when you suddenly realize something which should have been obvious all along". People liked this and retweeted it.

IUBArchives tweeted an archive haiku "Read dead people’s mail, Snoop through their diaries, and Help you do the same." This is one of my favorite parts about being a historian/archivist - you get to read other people's mail and diaries and you don't have to feel guilty because they've all been dead over 100 years!

Then #UKSnow became a trending topic (meaning lots of people were using it in their tweets). Most of the people I read were in London. 'Is it snowing in Scotland?' I asked. Answer: no, not really. Maybe this weekend. So the tag #UKSnow = lie. Should have been "Southern England Snow" (but that's a bit long, I suppose).

Then I went a read a friend's blog and tweeted this in response to a comment there: "Okay, ppls, here is your clue: east coast colonists were not All fleeing Ebil Repressive Europe. They thought: 1. Go. 2... 3.Profit!" The phrase in the comment was "Our country was founded by various sects of christians fleeing the oppression of both Catholic Countries and England after all." This drives me up the wall, espcially since I live in a state full of people who were looking for a place to make money/their fortune/own their own land. Maybe they were fleeing a country with too little land and too many people, but not everyone who shipped West across the Atlantic was looking for Religious Freedom (can I blame Massachusetts and the beatification of the 'pilgrims' for this version narrative becoming dominant in American history?)

When I got home, there was a black widow spider in the basement stairwell. I asked if maybe RAID would kill it, and despite its toxicity, decided to take action. I sprayed it with RAID and then smooshed it with the far end of a broomstick. There are a few exceptions, but I don't like killing other living things, and the superstitious part of me dislikes killing spiders. Still, I wasn't going to let a poisonous one live in my house.

I want to do a post on this, so I'm setting this up as a reminder with links to maybe provide speculation.
Racism Is Not Crafty by Alexis L. of OneGrandHome
Responding to Knitta Please with Words and Actions also by Alexis L.
The Elephant in the Room on RiffeRaff
Stake in the Ground from Crafted Life

Essentially when I first stumbled upon Knitta, Please I liked the concept, and found the name clever. I don't think I grokked the character names as spoofs of rapper names. But I only saw it from my side. I never thought how this would be see by other eyes. Some see the name as racist, some see it as clever, some think it is appropriation and some think folks are making a mountain out of a molehill. Lots of thoughts are spinning through my head, but the main thing is that while we have freedom of speech, we should consider how those words are received by all people.

If you have the time to read the first link and the comments associated (ignoring the obvious trolling ones) it might open your eyes a bit.
Does the name of the group Knitta, Please remove the power of the N word or is it casually racist and inappropriate?

Tracy got to come home last night, but he was not peeing enough so he is back at the vet and they have done another catheter.  Wait and see.

Mirrored from atlow.org.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 roundup:
A friend's husband died this morning of complications from H1N1. There aren't words for the sorrow I feel for her and her family and close friends. It makes me more determined to get an H1N1 vaccine and to make sure that my friends, family, and co-workers stay aware of their health.

Links:
- A house that deserves to be restored: Historic Holt House, Washington, DC bit.ly/57h0iu Really cool digital renderings. How did I never know this house even existed?
- How do you say "ye" when spelled with a thorn? bit.ly/726AxI (it's a blog post - go comment!)
- Looking at the Adopt-a-book (for conservation) program from my alma mater and wishing I had $2000 for the medieval book of hours or $4,500 for the 1751 copy of the Rambler... bit.ly/8jMaB5 Or any of them, really. My parents and I are talking about adopting one of the books as a birthday present for me. I'm thinking maybe one of the fashion books which are under $1,000 and also Relevant to my Interests.

A word about this post: I think that I somehow made two LoudTwitter accounts. I've deleted one of them, and will see how the tweets ship tomorrow (if they do). Once I figure that out, the plan is to change it so that tweet posts are private. You see, Twitter only saves the last few hundred tweets, so this is the only way I have to archive them. What I'll do is come in and edit some of them as I've done this one, if I think the content will be interesting to others.

• New cookbook blog post: Sweet Potato Latkes http://cookbook.atlow.org/2009/12/15/sweet-potato-latkes/ #

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Winter University will be hosted by Isenfir on 2/6/2010 in Mineral VA. I hope to see many fine smiling faces on those eager to learn that day.

Poll #1499473 UofA77
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None, participants: 17

Are you planning on teaching at Winter University in Mineral VA on 2/6/10?

Class Proposals are due 12/21. Does that give you enough time to put your proposal together?

Would an LJ form make it easier to submit classes?

Class Title:

Class Description:

length?

Class size limit?

Fees?

Special requests?

As a student, is there something in particular you wish to learn that I can track a teacher down for?

Not dead. I keep meaning to write something, but I think my brain has presently unglued itself to the point of bullet points or nothing. Hence, bullet points:

*It is difficult to work on "super secret" presents in a craft room with no door, directly at the top of the stairs.

*I keep ending up in situations where I'm surrounded by other people complaining bitterly about an absent party. Usually for good cause, but I'm starting to wonder... there is a point, I think, where sharing information and/or warning others about a potential problem is useful. There's also very much a point where it devolves into maliciousness and dustballing, and only makes the problem worse to deal with later. Which raises the question: how do you tell when you've hit that point? Also, as mainly an outside observer, is there any way I can say, "look, can we talk about something a little less defamatory?" without being offensive or revoking my gossip rights.

*It has occurred to me that the proper phrasing of one of the things people keep yelling at me about in fencing goes thus: If I want to be closer to a person, so that I can hit [him], and said person steps closer to me, there is a part of my brain which says "yes, this is progress; I should be able to turn it to my advantage." Older and wiser and better people tell me that it is not at all useful, and more likely to get me hit. Evidence points to their often being right, but this has yet to stop my subconscious from telling me that a change in conditions that I am a) aware of and b) wished to come about should be of benefit to me even when someone else has initiated it.

*I have several short story kernels hovering in my back-brain, but none of them have conveniently turned up enough plot to write yet. One may yet involve Junior High young mad scientists and glitter, but that remains to be seen.

*Saturday included a lovely visit to Longwood Gardens (complete with excellent hot chocolate and award winning cream of mushroom soup) and one of the conversations at dinner has made me once again consider recording the mouse carols (Slime molds from the realms of glory, Tree frogs we have heard on high, etc) Also, I have purchased a packet of slow-bolt cilantro seeds, in the hopes that growing my own will result in edible cilantro without the second half of the bag melting into green slime overnight.

*Finished reading Meji book 2, in which the copy editing is far better and the story continues epic. I was slightly disappointed that it had the same odd end twist as the last book about twins-separated-at-birth that I read, although as a) I can't remember what that book was called (I think I picked it up as a teen because it had a winged horse on the cover...), and b) they are otherwise entirely unrelated, this is a rather silly complaint.

*Have also started Mansfield Park & Mummies, which reads very much like something that heuchera and I would have come up with in the grasp of paper writing procrastination, particularly if the vortex-that-is-Alison and the various other OGASP/marching band types had gotten in on the execution of it. Mostly a very light touch on the humor, and appropriately absurd.

*Still working on the stairs. But there is visible progress, despite my having re-varnished in bits of ancient silver square-cut glitter that appear to have been varnished in at the last re-varnishing. They're about half-way up the dark part of the steps, though, so not too obvious.

*Contemplating the iniquity of making more brownies or somesuch. It is too near the solstice to want to be awake.

*Instead, I am about to go and make a melty cheese sandwich, with steak sauce and cut bits of raw mushrooms in the middle. It sounds rather odd, but I tried it on a whim and was favorably impressed. Better than peanut butter and pickle. (not, admittedly, that that one was so good...)

Those of you with munchkins - no Roman shades for you!

Seriously - the CPSC is urging anyone with young children to remove ANY blinds or shades that have cords attached.

Note: the honeycomb blinds with no cords are awesome (although I'm not hip enough to know whether they're currently in style...)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34421715/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

At the Hearthsong outlet store just north of town I got a little string of dollhouse christmas lights. They're powered by 2 AA batteries and have an on/off switch. At the moment they are taped to the top of my monitors, and it is awesome. I may have to go and get another two strands, just because they're $2 each (and if I got a little rosemary cone, it would be So Cute!)

In other news, I'm re-thinking the twitter feed thing. Partly because the feed isn't working the way I want it to.

10 more days to Christmas!

Flu.

*cough* *cough* *groan* *whine* *whimper*