1. It’s been a while since we had a LOLcat. I have this one hanging up at my desk:
2. Enjoy the Hokey Pokey as written by William Shakespeare. “Verily, I say, ’tis what it’s all about.”
Friday Unrelated Information
June 2012
Two Videos
Here is a video “trailer” for the Mars Curiosity rover landing on August 5, found via Bad Astronomy. It is worth the five minutes to watch it because in five minutes you can have your mind blown and your faith in humanity reaffirmed:
I usually dislike taglines but “Dare mighty things” at the end kind of made me tear up a little.
And here is a video created by the European Commission as part of the “Science: It’s a Girl Thing!” campaign to encourage girls to study science (it’s now been pulled from the campaign). This also blows the mind and brings you close to tears–but not in a good way:
To quote Elwood Blues, “Jesus H. Tap Dancing Christ.” To quote the article in The Atlantic where I found this, “…science sells itself. It needs no polish or varnish or manufactured appeal to be attractive to women. To imply otherwise is an insult. To science and to women.”
Wednesday Poem
This one rhymes! And is by Tennessee Williams (!). Who knew?
Clover
These are fragrant acres where
Evening comes long hours late
And the still unmoving air
Cools the fevered hands of Fate.
Evening comes long hours late
And the still unmoving air
Cools the fevered hands of Fate.
Meadows where the afternoon
Hangs suspended in a flower
And the moments of our doom
Drift upon a weightless hour.
And we who thought that surely night
Would bring us triumph or defeat
Only find the stars are white
Clover at our naked feet.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Less Doing, More Planning
The last thing I knit and finished was those legwarmers for my yoga teacher in February. (The knit tie was knitting up way too thick to actually tie in a knot, so that’s been shelved.) I just realized this lack of knitting may be contributing to feeling like I need hippie affirmations all the time.
But what to knit? Sure, I could finish the two sweaters for me lying around, but I think I need a new project. And I think Skyler needs a little hooded sweater for the fall.
Construction-wise, I think this pattern (“Duck Soup“) wins (knit in one piece, plus the cuffs and hood edges can be rolled back to accommodate him growing):
But I love the Christopher-Robin-ness of “Roo” (and the real toggle closures, vs. knitted ones):
So planning has begun. I just hope this kid doesn’t grow too fast between now and the end of the year–look how big he’s getting!
It’s Monday
Sit in it like it’s a drawer organizer and look dubious.
Friday Unrelated Information
1. I didn’t see this in time for the actual date, but last Friday the 14th was photographer Margaret Bourke-White’s birthday. Life Magazine (where she was one of four original staff photographers) has a really great feature up in honor of her.
2. This gif is pretty much the best thing ever if you’ve ever worked with clients.
Two Things To Make You Happy Today
1. Space always does the trick for me. I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Voyager 1, launched in 1977 with the famous golden record of Earth sounds, is nearing the very edge of our solar system. I think the Daily Mail put this fact in context really well:
With absolutely no attempt at hyperbole at all, it is fair to say that this is one of–if not the–biggest achievement of the human race. For, as we speak, an object conceived in the human mind, and built by our tools, and launched from our planet, is sailing out of the further depths of our solar system–and will be the first object made by man to sail out into interstellar space.”
2. And in further news of humans living up to the name, here’s something that’s been making the rounds: 21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity. I just had to think of the end of the second Lord of the Rings movie and Sam saying, “There’s still some good in this world, Mr. Frodo.”
Summer Solstice
Happy Summer Solstice! I still struggle with seeing this as a moment of fullness and celebration and not just the beginning of the long slide into winter, but a year of steady yoga and the Mystic Mamma site have really helped. Here’s a quote posted there in honor of the day:
And as we watch the field baking in the heat-–as we feel the sun’s power to burn as well as to bless–we can feel our own gifts, our own special abilities as they ripen and swell, and know that we, too, have the power to make a difference for growth or for destruction in the world.
It is a time to mark peak moments, moments of warmth and growth […], (it) is a time to invite fire into our lives-–fire to burn away all that we have outgrown and all that no longer serves us; fire that makes the wild things grow in us, for which our inner selves have longed.
Cait Johnson and Maura D. Shaw from Celebrating the Great Mother
Tuesday Pending Project: Dare I?
It’s summer, my inner hippie is running free on eight-mile hikes, and I have a co-worker’s mountain wedding to attend next month, so I’m playing with the idea of making a long dress.
Never mind the fact that I made a long skirt circa 2004 (inspired by this one from Kill Bill 2), wore it about three times, and then felt really self-conscious–look how “effortlessly glamorous” the fashion world tells us the long dress is:
Wear it lounging in a mod chair!
Wear it on the streets of a big city!
Wear it on a mountain top!
If you’ve seen my Pinterest project board in the last week, you can tell I’m trying to hunt down the right fabric for it. Because I think I need a long dress to wear three times and feel really self-conscious in to wear effortlessly and glamorously for the Summer of the Hippie.
(All images via Google. The search term “anthropologie maxi dress” gives you a veritable explosion of bohemia.)
Outdoorsy
I spent Saturday being outdoorsy and going to White Pine Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Look at all the gear we had–that must mean we’re really Outdoor Types, right?
Nature is hilarious
Yes, that’s an ice axe.
Still partially frozen…
…but starting to thaw.
On the way back down.