Category » media
March20
iMovie
One of my favorite things to do when I’m in full procrastination mode is put movies together in iMovie. I have absolutely no fucking idea what I’m doing but I’m amazed at how much I can accomplish with just a few “how the fuck do I do that?” google searches.
Here are my two most recent “movies”.
January23
think thanks in the hizouse
My friend Liz is full of good ideas. I love being friends with people who have good ideas; it makes life so much more interesting.
Anyway, she came up with the idea to create a website that would provide people with a way to express gratitude daily. Why? Because expressing gratitude daily will actually make you happier. It’s all scientifically proven and shit.
I believe in this project and so I offered to help where I can.
Go check it out.
July12
wearing nothing new
We’re on a spending fast, so I’m particularly attracted to ideas like this.
Jessi Arrington packed nothing but 7 pairs of undies for her trip to Palm Springs and bought everything she wore for the week at thrift shops. When the week was over, she donated it all back.
I’m leaving for New York on Friday to attend/co-host my sister’s bridal shower. I have nothing to wear. NOTHING. I mean that. I’m nursing and my boobs are bigger than ever and I’ll have to actually nurse AT the event. So unless I want to pull a giant boob out OVER the top of a dress, I’ll need to figure something else out. This talk was just the inspiration I needed.
July14
helvetimail
I love gmail. I loved it even before they offered themes. When they started offering themes, I loved it even more. Still, I never got really excited about any of them. I picked the minimalist one and called it good.
My sister was visiting last weekend, and while she was using her gmail account I saw that hers was more minimal STILL. It was lovely. I was EXCITED about it. And I was jealous she found it first.
It’s called Helvetimail. It’s a userscript that works with your browser to change the look of your gmail. I love it. To death.
I even donated some money to the dude who keeps it up, because you know what? I appreciate that people work hard to provide good design for free. All you have to do is NOT charge me, and I will pay you. Ha.
July06
the book you don’t read won’t help
I have my head in books lately. Right now I’m reading “The Abstinence Teacher” by Tom Perotta. It’s making me squirm (in a good way).
I was going through an old blog I kept from 2002-2005 and found a post about listening to “The Professor and the Madman” by Simon Winchester on CD while on a road trip.
I think I had my head in books then, too.
I found it interesting, so I’ll just repost it here. [Warning: this is from the "I type only in lowercase" era. You have my permission to be annoyed.]
last week i rented an audio book called ‘the professor and the madman’, by simon winchester, to listen to while driving down to grand rapids.
usually, as is the case with most people, i think (i hope!), i listen to about 20 minutes of whatever audio book it is i happened to choose before my mind starts to wander and an unspecified amount of time passes before i realize that i am NOT listening and i have no idea what’s going on in this book. remarkably, this didn’t happen during ‘the professor and the madman’, in fact, i listened attentively to the whole thing.
as a result, i have become completely obsessed with the making of the oxford english dictionary, lexicography, and the fact that, according to mr. winchester, lexicography seems to attract some very odd people.
it is important to note, i think, that i once lived just down the road on walton st. from the oxford university press, in oxford, UK, where the dictionary was printed. and, also, that james murray, the first editor, lived with his wife and 11 children on banbury road, which was also not far from where i lived in oxford. ok, i’m bragging, but i can’t help it.
here are a few facts that i find FASCINATING about the making of the OED and i would be VERY surprised if you, too, didn’t find these things interesting:
1.0) the OED is unique in that it doesn’t only list words that are correct, or only in use. the OED lists EVERY WORD EVER USED in the english language.
2.0) in order to accomplish the weighty task of listing every word ever used, the editors decided that everything ever WRITTEN needed to be read. they enlisted the help of thousands of volunteers….asking them to read anything and write down words they found interesting, with a quotation using that specific word and send it in to the ‘scriptorium’ in oxford. j.r.r. tolkien was a contributor, if that impresses all you hobbit-lovers out there.
3.0) it took 70 years to complete the first edition of the OED. sadly, james murray, the OED’s editor, wasn’t alive to see it completed. james wrote many of the definitions himself, trying to complete 33 words per day. it took them five years to go from a-ant. when it was finished in 1928, the work contained over 400,000 words and phrases in ten volumes.
sure. i’m a nerd. but god, it’s good stuff.
Have you read anything lately that blew your mind?
