Water! It seems to be everywhere. The earth in Southern Ohio (and sadly to a greater extent further south) is swollen with it. Plant life is lush with it, growing, expanding, dripping, filtering out the sunlight whenever it manages to shine through a cloudy sky. In this soupy environmental mix, I sit and peruse the news. And I've whittled it down to a few interesting tidbits I am calling "Tiny News."
1) Not all Tiny News is small, but "One Story" books are quite little. One Story (www.one-story.com) publishes 18 issues a year and each issue is ... one story. You can go online and order individual issues, or be smart and subscribe. The 3 issues I ordered arrived Saturday: "The Quietest Man" by Molly Antopol (#132); "The Husband" by T. Cooper (#138); and "Housewifely Arts" by Megan Mayhew Bergman (#142). I can't wait to read these little gems (they are approx. 5 x 7 inches in size and 26 or so pages, with a plain cover).
2) I recently saw a photo of Chattanooga's Hunter Museum of American Art on the Tennessee River and I would like to visit it. (This is Tiny News now, it will be bigger news if I do go and take a bunch of photos of Chattanooga. Including, hopefully, a choo-choo.
3) Colatura di Alici: "an ingredient used in Italy for centuries" states Lidia Bastianich (to the WSJ) for a burb entitled "My Magic Ingredient." "It's the juice that drains out of anchovies salted in a barrel." Hmmm.... My Magic Ingredient? Butter. Butter makes everything taste pretty darn good. I am not supposed to like it so much. Nor it's evil twin, salt. (sigh)
4) I read a lot of print and online media because I like to be surprised, see pictures of cool things, learn new things and read about other people and how their lives are going well. Sometimes I find Tiny News that sounds made up. Like a secret honor society of folks on Wall Street known as Kappa Beta Phi. They meet at the St. Regis Hotel, NY, in January and Fast Company magazine says new members "often dressed in drag, perform a far-from-PC variety show poking fun at Wall Street and government bigwigs. If the members don't like it, they throw dinner rolls."
I would very much like to see a photo taken from the audience's viewpoint, of members throwing their arms back and lobbing dinner rolls at executives onstage in drag singing poorly. I do not know why this sounds interesting to me, but it does.
I am a member of Beta Sigma Phi, a social/cultural/service sorority for women. We do not throw dinner rolls, we eat them. Except for a few who are watching their weight. Last month, we learned about flower arranging. Next month, scrapbooking. Our group is located in Ohio, but I suspect even a NY State branch of Beta Sigma Phi would not throw dinner rolls.
5) Spearmint: I have been ahead of the times. For years I have bought spearmint oil, put a drop of it in the middle of a tablespoon of body lotion (like Curel, or St. Ives) and rubbed it on my arms and legs for a refreshing pick-me-up. Now, spearmint is all the rage, says the Wall Street Journal, and you can buy "Fresh Mint Leaf Cologne" ($55 for 30ml) at jomalone.com. Or, you can buy Curel Moisture Lotion ($7.99) and spearmint oil ($14.50 for 11 ml, which will last you for many years) at the links I've indicated to save you money, time, and keep you freshly scented. Note: I have allergies and asthma, and am very sensitive (not in a good way) to cologne. My spearmint trick has never given me any problems.
6) More Tiny News: "Get to the Good Part: In Praise of Shortened Attention Spans" by Terry Teachout, author of Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong, wrote recently in the Wall Street Journal about Oxford University Press's "Very Short Introduction" Series "in which celebrated experts write with extreme concision about their areas of expertise. Each volume in the series is about 140 pages long... ...You don't have to be in a hurry to learn from these books, for it is their compression that makes them so invaluable. Force a writer to be brief and you force him to think clearly--if he can." Oh, I love that last line! Here's a link to the series. There are 275 volumes (topics) in the series.
7) worldofmoney.org coaches kids in poor communities on financial literacy and business skills. Sounds like a good thing.
8) I love the story in the Wall Street Journal recently on the Argentinian man, Pedro Martin Ureta, who has created a huge guitar from trees (best seen from the air) in honor of his wife. It's made of 7000 trees. His wife died in 1977 at age 25. Here is link to a cool video that shows the guitar from the air!
9) "Authentically Disney, yet distinctly Chinese," that's how Disney describes Shanghai Disney which has broken ground and should be up and running in 5 years. I am saying no more....
10) Tiny News Phrases: "Even the moon looks cold." Lisa Colbert, ABC6 Columbus weather reporter. Also heard on NPR, someone being interviewed and described his "multi-hyphenated existence." I believe it was this gentleman, playwright Majahat Ali. I thought this an interesting term, familiar, I am sure to many, but one that I hadn't really heard before.
I learn something new every day. It may be Tiny News, but all that adds up, doesn't it?
Art & Photography ~ Writing & Books… All settled within a heart that loves creativity, trees, animals, hills, and the changing seasons.
Showing posts with label top news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label top news. Show all posts
May 16, 2011
April 8, 2011
12 Top News Stories Sent from My Couch
My mind is still a bit unfocused, or should I say "focused intently on unrelated things for short periods of time" so here goes:
1. Blogger does not accept paragraph returns when accessed through Internet Explorer. Foxfire to the rescue...of my mental health. If you use Blogger you probably know what I mean. If not, please advance to #2.
Thank you to February Grace and Stephen Parrish for the suggestion to try Foxfire (please click on the links and see their fine blogs....in fact, go there soon, because Stephen has a cool video up right now with "Ideal Stephen Parrish" avator...Oh heck, I'll just paste it below and make it easy for you). My son, Jesse, has advised me to use Foxfire for years. One of the companies he's involved with Snipi was first designed for use with Foxfire. And my sister Joan uses Foxfire...all smart people, so I now join their ranks.
2. Still irritated at Microsoft—what's going on with Windows Explorer on my laptop? All of a sudden for no apparent reasons the "View" choice does not show the little mini images of graphics as it always has for-like-ever and now I have no idea which photo "0193283.jpg" is unless I give it a real name that I can remember. If this happens on my desktop, I'm toast. I like my technology to make sense, be predictable and not change unless I ask it to. And then if I do yet should not have, it must be easy to find the solution. I'm thinking of switching to a Mac....
3. WOUB reported that a memorial service was held next to the Japanese trees here in Athens, Ohio. I wish I'd known about this. Here's a nice link to OU's Japanese Student Association. I like that their Twitter feeds show a real interest in the blooming of the cherry blossom trees. Also, this Sunday, April 10th, is the 2011 Sakura Festival in Baker Center, which would be a great thing for locals to attend to celebrate Japanese culture (including food!).
4. Combat to Compost: Soldiers Learn Organic Farming. Cool segment on NPR yesterday. The program is in California. I wish it would come here to Ohio too. Athens is one of the best places in the country for organic farming and there is still room for more vendors in our Farmer's Market.
5. Kathy Morman shared the lost-and-found story of her dog, Brandy, with me for my book (Open Your Heart with Pets, Dreamtime Publishing, 2007). Brandy has been battling bronchitis, but she's turned the corner and is doing much better. This was great news and Tyler, Farley, and Jackie give Brandy (and her sister Gracie) 2 paws up! (See photo of Brandy and Gracie below, courtesy of Kathy Morman.)
6. Why did the weatherman, excuse me meteorologist, just refer to Southern California as "So Cal"? I think weathermen should not use slang, nicknames, or try to be hip with their fancy graphics. But I'm just a grumpy Midwesterner this morning.
7. Driving down Rt. 33 in SE Ohio yesterday near Nelsonville I passed the sure sign of spring, the woodcarver who sets up along the Hocking River. He and two other men were there, with a huge, maybe 6 foot, piece of wood, saw at the ready, something wonderful waiting to emerge. I always miss him when I go by and he is not there. One day I, too, will have a big carved bear or eagle or totem or something in my yard, if only to keep this guy doing what he does.
8. The Wedding: 600 million people are expected to view William and Kate's wedding. I hope she gets the dress right... I also hope they have a marriage of love, respect, fidelity... all that good stuff. Go, young people: Wave, wed, and go do lots of good works. Try not to muck things up.
9. Speaking of things mucked up.... "members of Congress will still get paid" says GMA announcer. The Federal Government, shutting down. Will this be much ado about nothing? Will I notice? There's a "shut down clock" on Times Square. "We are fighting three wars and troops will not get paid." Now that I notice. That is just wrong, in every way. Also, Donald Trump, I do not want you to be my next president.
11. I'm so upset that the artist who created the Bird's Nest Stadium (where those lovely events were held during the Olympics in China) has been arrested. That stadium design increased my love of Chinese art a hundredfold, it was the best visual hook of the entire games and meant more to me than the eerily perfect synchronization of the opening ceremonies. Set Ai Weiwei free, China.
12. I had to go back to the dentist yesterday because a temporary cap came off, and also it was so thin it had a hole in it, which in my mind seemed to have doomed it to fail from the start.
The dental assistant replaced it with a metal temporary, which at one point popped off and went INTO MY THROAT! I sat up and started acting like our Chihuahua, Jackie, when she has a weird "reverse sneeze." All sorts of things went through my mind like: "Am I going to have to have surgery or is this no big deal?" "Could this thing get stuck in my tiny throat?" "What will this metal do in the acids of my stomach?"
But, alas, with determination there was soon a lovely ping! in the dentist's stainless steel sink, a temporary firmly affixed to stubby tooth, and a cold drink soothing my irritated throat and frazzled nerves.
Have a great weekend!
Janice
1. Blogger does not accept paragraph returns when accessed through Internet Explorer. Foxfire to the rescue...of my mental health. If you use Blogger you probably know what I mean. If not, please advance to #2.
Thank you to February Grace and Stephen Parrish for the suggestion to try Foxfire (please click on the links and see their fine blogs....in fact, go there soon, because Stephen has a cool video up right now with "Ideal Stephen Parrish" avator...Oh heck, I'll just paste it below and make it easy for you). My son, Jesse, has advised me to use Foxfire for years. One of the companies he's involved with Snipi was first designed for use with Foxfire. And my sister Joan uses Foxfire...all smart people, so I now join their ranks.
2. Still irritated at Microsoft—what's going on with Windows Explorer on my laptop? All of a sudden for no apparent reasons the "View" choice does not show the little mini images of graphics as it always has for-like-ever and now I have no idea which photo "0193283.jpg" is unless I give it a real name that I can remember. If this happens on my desktop, I'm toast. I like my technology to make sense, be predictable and not change unless I ask it to. And then if I do yet should not have, it must be easy to find the solution. I'm thinking of switching to a Mac....
3. WOUB reported that a memorial service was held next to the Japanese trees here in Athens, Ohio. I wish I'd known about this. Here's a nice link to OU's Japanese Student Association. I like that their Twitter feeds show a real interest in the blooming of the cherry blossom trees. Also, this Sunday, April 10th, is the 2011 Sakura Festival in Baker Center, which would be a great thing for locals to attend to celebrate Japanese culture (including food!).
4. Combat to Compost: Soldiers Learn Organic Farming. Cool segment on NPR yesterday. The program is in California. I wish it would come here to Ohio too. Athens is one of the best places in the country for organic farming and there is still room for more vendors in our Farmer's Market.
5. Kathy Morman shared the lost-and-found story of her dog, Brandy, with me for my book (Open Your Heart with Pets, Dreamtime Publishing, 2007). Brandy has been battling bronchitis, but she's turned the corner and is doing much better. This was great news and Tyler, Farley, and Jackie give Brandy (and her sister Gracie) 2 paws up! (See photo of Brandy and Gracie below, courtesy of Kathy Morman.)
6. Why did the weatherman, excuse me meteorologist, just refer to Southern California as "So Cal"? I think weathermen should not use slang, nicknames, or try to be hip with their fancy graphics. But I'm just a grumpy Midwesterner this morning.
7. Driving down Rt. 33 in SE Ohio yesterday near Nelsonville I passed the sure sign of spring, the woodcarver who sets up along the Hocking River. He and two other men were there, with a huge, maybe 6 foot, piece of wood, saw at the ready, something wonderful waiting to emerge. I always miss him when I go by and he is not there. One day I, too, will have a big carved bear or eagle or totem or something in my yard, if only to keep this guy doing what he does.
8. The Wedding: 600 million people are expected to view William and Kate's wedding. I hope she gets the dress right... I also hope they have a marriage of love, respect, fidelity... all that good stuff. Go, young people: Wave, wed, and go do lots of good works. Try not to muck things up.
9. Speaking of things mucked up.... "members of Congress will still get paid" says GMA announcer. The Federal Government, shutting down. Will this be much ado about nothing? Will I notice? There's a "shut down clock" on Times Square. "We are fighting three wars and troops will not get paid." Now that I notice. That is just wrong, in every way. Also, Donald Trump, I do not want you to be my next president.
11. I'm so upset that the artist who created the Bird's Nest Stadium (where those lovely events were held during the Olympics in China) has been arrested. That stadium design increased my love of Chinese art a hundredfold, it was the best visual hook of the entire games and meant more to me than the eerily perfect synchronization of the opening ceremonies. Set Ai Weiwei free, China.
12. I had to go back to the dentist yesterday because a temporary cap came off, and also it was so thin it had a hole in it, which in my mind seemed to have doomed it to fail from the start.
The dental assistant replaced it with a metal temporary, which at one point popped off and went INTO MY THROAT! I sat up and started acting like our Chihuahua, Jackie, when she has a weird "reverse sneeze." All sorts of things went through my mind like: "Am I going to have to have surgery or is this no big deal?" "Could this thing get stuck in my tiny throat?" "What will this metal do in the acids of my stomach?"
But, alas, with determination there was soon a lovely ping! in the dentist's stainless steel sink, a temporary firmly affixed to stubby tooth, and a cold drink soothing my irritated throat and frazzled nerves.
Have a great weekend!
Janice
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