041: Oversaturated

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, 2008.

040: Out on a limb

There are a lot of trees in my yard, but they've never been climbable, nor have I ever had a treehouse. I always envied whoever got to play in this one in Minneapolis:

both photos via Flickr

I wonder if one ever gets too old for treehouses.  If I ever had a home with enough land and the proper arrangement of trees, I suspect I'd want to do something like this:

Man, all three of these photos are making me dream of days when there aren't 12-foot snowdrifts in every parking lot in the area.  It'll only be two or three more months, right?

039: Four-eyes

My vision is pretty terrible.

I don't wear Coke-bottle glasses or anything, but I have trouble seeing farther than six inches without correction.  I have contact lenses, but I'm more comfortable all around when I wear my glasses.



Also, I think I look better with them than without them.  I got my first pair of glasses in second grade (my mother was very disappointed that I inherited the myopic genes) and went through a series of owlish wire-rims for the rest of elementary school.  There was a pair of ill-advised schoolmarm-specs in late junior high and early high school before I converted to the now-ubiquitous Hipster Glasses.



Now, you have to understand: I don't think the word "hipster" was big when I got my first pair of dark, heavy plastic frames; I just thought they looked a heck of a lot better than the nineteenth-century accountant frames I had at the time.



They constantly slide down my nose (and yes, I push them up by the bridge, the universal signal for geek), and they can get annoying, but I wouldn't give 'em up.



There will be no Lasik for me, thanks.  I will stand proudly beside my bespectacled brethren.  Besides, there's always the slight possibility that, behind the specs, one of us is Superman.

038: Occupational hazards

While sorting through several reams of correspondence today, most of which was printed-out emails, it occurred to me that it's kind of strange to have a job where I have to go through other people's letters.  Not to mention the fact that I usually have to at least skim the contents to make sure everything's going in the right place.  90% of these letters and emails were written without any thought of the possibility that someone outside of the sender and recipient would ever read them.  Normally, the correspondence I see is fairly professional, but in the last five years, I've seen some very personal letters sent to poets, some very surprising emails criticizing the professional conduct of well-known colleagues, and some frankly hilarious notes-to-self in the mix.  There is an inherent voyeuristic element to reading what strangers write to each other with the expectation of confidentiality, and while I try not to be nosy (because there are ethical issues involved here, obviously), it is interesting to get a peek behind the curtain on occasion.  And now, when everyone is trying to go paperless, there may be fewer opportunities for scholars to get those glimpses behind the public figures with the ephemeral nature of electronic communication.  I can't tell you how many researchers have read the correspondence and notes of the writers and poets whose papers are housed at my alma mater's archives, and it's a little disturbing to think that future students, biographers, etc., won't have the same resources for their research.

Of course, there's also a strong argument for paper shredders when you consider the fact that I came across a famous Hollywood actress's Social Security number several times in multiple files.  Be smart, people.  Seriously.

037: Superb Owl Sunday

Wil Wheaton and friends noted on Twitter that today would be more interesting if, instead of the Superbowl, people were talking about a Superb Owl.  So, in honor of that premise, here's a photo of a really great owl:

(via Flickr)

Go owls!

036: Doorbells and sleigh bells

I'm eventually going to run out of lyrics for these Saturday posts, but for the time being, here are this week's favorites:

Downton Abbey

All the promos made Downton Abbey look desperately dull, but everyone who watched it said it was fantastic.  And they were completely right.  I'm only halfway through the second episode, but I'm already engrossed.  Even though it's essentially about inheritance, there's something about the upstairs/downstairs contrast and interplay that makes the program really entertaining.  Also, the costumes.  The costumes!  (Tom and Lorenzo blogged the pretty pretty costumes).  In any case, I should know better than to doubt Masterpiece programming.  I think PBS just needs some better promo-makers.  Perhaps they could poach some of the USA Network people, whose commercials make me want to watch shows that I know I don't like.

Platinum Preppy pens

My mother got me a pair of these pens for my birthday several years ago, and they're the best fountain pens I've come across yet.  The perpetual problem with fountain pens is proper ink flow, and I've hardly had any issues with these.  I'm shopping for refills for my black and red pens, and I'm in the market for a purple.

Finishing projects
I finally finished a sweater I've been knitting for ages (previously mentioned here) and it looks even better than I'd hoped.  I just have to block it, which will stop the slight curling edges along one shoulder, and it'll be all ready for...spring.  Oh, well.  At least it's a lightweight sweater.

Typewriters
Someday I'd like to own a lovely manual typewriter.  Until then, I'll enjoy window-shopping.

Community
I love that this show can do a Dungeons & Dragons-themed episode and make it cool.  I love that they turned the most disastrous anti-drug presentation ever into the most successful anti-drug presentation ever.  The paintball episode from season one is quite possibly the best thing I've ever seen.  I would marry Troy Barnes, no matter how obtuse he may be.  The only problem with the show is that it's on at the same time as The Big Bang Theory.  Thank God for DVR.

035: Concessions

What I would be wearing if weather were not a factor (note the height of the snowdrift...):

Scarf, sweater, belt & tights: Target
Dress: vintage via Twitch Vintage
Shoes: vintage via Gypsy Warrior Vintage
Awkward hair: genetics

That is my "Wait, what poses do fashion bloggers do, Mom?" pose.  With concessions to the weather, this is what I actually wear out:

Extra-warm hat: Target
Crazy rainbow scarf: knit by me
Coat & gloves: Macy's
Boots worn literally every day in winter: DSW
"Why so cold?" expression: me

Today, though, I didn't need the polar-fleece-lined hat, since we've almost hit 30 degrees!  Exciting.

Also, the two-plus feet of snow on the roof (!) has been melting in the "warm" temps today, and so far no leaky windows, so the ice dam removal folks get the thumbs-up from me.  (Their pricing, however, leaves much to be desired.)

034: Gung hay fat choy

From my Chinese household to yours, be it Asian or not...

Happy Lunar New Year!

And welcome to the year of the rabbit.  May we all have the rabbit's good luck in the coming year.

033: Unrest

You may have heard that my favorite newsman, Anderson Cooper, had some trouble in Egypt today:



These were reportedly pro-Mubarak demonstrators that attacked journalists throughout the day.  Going into the midst of the protesters is either very brave or very stupid, but either way, having journalists on the scene to report events as they observe them -- rather than depending on state-run TV or unverified reports -- is important.  Regardless of how these events ultimately play out, the impact will be far-reaching, and for the sake of the Egyptian people and the reporters from around the world putting themselves in harm's way to show us what's going on, the very least we can do is pay attention.

032: Just the facts, ma'am

I love PBS.  We sat around for two hours after dinner, watching the two episodes of Pioneers of Television shown tonight, doing a rundown of early TV westerns and crime dramas.  Two weeks ago, they ran one about science fiction shows.  I think my frequent use of the television label speaks for how much I watch, and my go-to genre is the crime drama, so I was particularly interested to see the overview of the way it all started.

Watch the full episode. See more Pioneers of Television.

Some of these shows I've never seen and have barely heard of -- I'd never heard of Mannix at all -- but I find the behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the actors and writers fascinating.  You can see how some of the crime shows on the air today evolved; the humor on Castle owes quite a bit to The Rockford Files (and the latter's creator, the late Stephen J. Cannell, was a consultant for the former), and Law & Order's "these are their stories" tagline is akin to Dragnet's "the story you are about to see is true" introduction.  This is the kind of stuff I find interesting and entertaining.  No, I don't get out much, how could you tell?

Anyway, if I've learned only one thing from this series it's this: Martin Landau and Veronica Cartwright have been on every television show, ever.  Seriously, look it up -- those two are everywhere.