Recent Comments:
How to become well read {DIY Life}
May 16th 2008 5:09PM Shane -- I read everything, and I disagree about Shakespeare. ;) I think it does help to see the plays as well, but honestly, reading scripts doesn't drive *everyone* crazy. People who really have problems can try the "No Fear Shakespeare" editions, which have parallel texts. I personally always preferred the WSP Folger Library editions... no parallel texts, but notes and illustrations on the facing pages.
This is Debra's post and she has a right to put in it what she wants; while I agree with the majority of what she says, and it wouldn't matter if I didn't, I'm a bit snootier about best-sellers (even though I love young adult fantasy by people like Diana Wynne Jones, Ysabeau Wilce, and Garth Nix). I do have to say that, if it had been my post, I also would have included Fadiman and Major's version of "The New Lifetime Reading Plan." Every one of their recommendations has been a joy to read.
(You can find a list at the following link, but it's better to have the book itself, because they recommend specific editions, talk about translation issues, etc.
http://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/grtfad4.html )
Michael Dirda's recent books of recommendations are also good, as is the list in, IIRC, Adler and Van Doren's "How to Read a Book." The Modern Library list D. linked is great; I believe there's a parallel list for nonfiction that's worth hunting down, but all I can remember about it at the moment is that the top pick was "The Education of Henry Adams."
No arguments about your research concept: those are all things that I would also recommend. It's possible to become a well-informed amateur on most topics, if you're willing to do the work. :)
(For me, it always starts the day I realize that there's something about which I need to be a lot less ignorant, maybe because it's coming up in conversations and I'm not understanding half of the references I'm hearing.)
On the flip side of all this is Pierre Bayard's "How to Talk about Books You Haven't Read," which postulates... well, check it out. You'll see.
One yard of fabric, so many possibilities {DIY Life}
May 16th 2008 1:27PM While there are many cute things here, I have to make that doggie like... last week. It's a neeeeeeeeeed. *squee*
(Now I just need to find the time....)
Fish kites for Children's Day {DIY Life}
May 6th 2008 10:36PM Glad you liked it! :D
When I was in kindergarten... I don't think i knew *why* we were making them, but we made fish kites (well, we stuffed ours with newspaper) -- I still have mine! I think it's such a cute and fun project for kids.
I'm not sure what I'm going to talk about when I run out of Japanese holidays... ;)
Crafty Chica's decorative concrete coasters {DIY Life}
Apr 23rd 2008 11:23PM Aww, hi Kathy! It's great to hear from you. I love these coasters... the way you finished them has a slightly medieval, ecclesiastical look that I enjoy. I think you also have some shout-outs in posts I did on your suitcase painting project last year and on the long, long thing I wrote for Day of the Dead. Anyway, I'm super-glad you dropped in!
Dye wool and silk with Kool-Aid and your microwave {DIY Life}
Apr 20th 2008 7:30PM Hehe -- I see, now that you've pointed it out to me -- that this tute is really for loose roving that you may want to felt later anyway. Since you said "fiber," I assumed that yarn was in play. You can definitely do this kind of dyeing to yarn that's already been spun... it's been around for years. Lime and grape colors turn out esp nice.
But if people use yarn instead, they shouldn't try the "spinning the water out" thing with yarn that isn't labeled "superwash" -- it'll probably stick to itself or felt into a clump. It's easiest to just lay the wet yarn over a clothes hanger and let it drip dry.
If you do want the loose roving to felt, the balls in the last page make nice cat toys (with a bell in the middle) or beads (on a string). Works better if it's 100% wool, but won't be as bright and shiny.
Paula Abdul dumped over her 4 hour beauty routine {Styledash}
Apr 11th 2008 3:23PM If a woman has long hair, and part of "getting ready" is taking a shower, then drying and flat-ironing or curling the hair or putting it in rollers, yes, 3 hours sounds about right. 4 seems a bit excessive.
There are ways to be lower-maintenance with long hair, though... like eschewing all the curling/ironing.
Make a ribbon dispenser box {DIY Life}
Apr 7th 2008 3:17PM I neeeeeeed one of these.
I've seen styles (for sale or to make at home) that involve setting eyelets into the front of the box, too, to run the ribbon through, but this one seems like a lot less work. Thanks, A! :)
Exclusive: Caprica casting info revealed {TV Squad}
Apr 4th 2008 2:26PM Sounds interesting, but (well, depending on the outcome of this season) I would have preferred five seasons of BSG itself.
And by "depending on the outcome" I don't mean "I wish they would extend it past this season" so much as "I wish SFN hadn't insisted on this being BSG's final season, but if a hypothetical non-final-season version of season 4 were good, it would be nice to see a season 5."
Obviously, what we now have is an endgame, so it would probably be pointless to extend it past the planned last episode. I would have given them more time to get there.
Tim Gunn beats Stacy London {Styledash}
Apr 3rd 2008 4:02PM I don't like Stacy's style or trust her taste, and I'm never too happy about the results of her makeovers. (It's not that the person didn't need a makeover, it's that she's not the person to do it. Clinton is better.) Disagree away. ;)
I'd pick Tim any day. That said, I didn't care for his show any more than I like WNTW-US (I love WNTW-UK)... primarily because Veronica was a bit of a pill in the episodes I saw.
Pete Wentz creates make-up line {Styledash}
Apr 3rd 2008 3:57PM Oh, Pete Wentz. I don't hate your music, but you are so NO DAVID BOWIE.
