Miscellanea, etc. / 17 Feb 2017

I've had a string of flare ups in the last couple weeks and have been spending more time at home than I would have hoped. Thanks to technology, though, here is a smattering of miscellanea that has kept me occupied in my couch-bound days:

/ / /

_ SCARS ARE BEAUTIFUL

Rachel Sussman, “Study for Sidewalk Kintsukuroi #01 (New Haven, Connecticut)” (via Hyperallergic)

“Cracks represent something in need of attention, and the surfaces we walk, bike, and drive over are usually overlooked until they’re in truly critical condition,” Sussman said. “By gilding them, it’s a way to see what’s around us with fresh eyes and to celebrate perseverance.”

Artist Rachel Sussman takes the Japanese tradition of kintsukuroi, repairing ceramics with gold, to the more macro scale of the floor, the sidewalk. I can't help but be drawn to her careful attention to the scars in our cities. Her work is currently part of an exhibition on gold at the Des Moines Art Center. (via Hyperallergic; emphasis my own)

Miscellanea, etc. / 01 Dec 2016

Even though Christmas music has been blasting in stores since mid- or even early November, I haven't been ready. Hearing Mariah Carey belting "All I want for Christmas is yooooooou" typically brings me delight (particularly in this context), but these days I cringe. Forget "Jingle Bell Rock." My ears are only ready for gentler seasonal music like the Nutcracker suite, or possibly Vince Guaraldi's jazzy Peanuts Christmas soundtrack. That's about it.

I'm not usually a grinch by any means, as Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year for festive and religious reasons. I've just been tired of the overflowing intensity of the news cycle and our world in general. First there was the election and the frenzy leading up to it -- now still ongoing. Then Thanksgiving whirled by, with the holiday-ness of the holiday season being thrust upon us without as much as a pause.

But perhaps December 1st and the creeping crescendo of cold weather makes it more "okay" to embrace winter and Christmas to come. I am slowly coming around to it. It feels more okay not to be "ready." Advent started this past Sunday for many Christians, and I am embracing the side of it that is about the long journey to Bethlehem.

So as a reflection of my (and perhaps your) mixed state, in this edition of miscellanea you'll find some articles about and not about the holidays:

Miscellanea, etc. / 21 Mar 2016

Inbox Zero is one goal for many in this digital age, but what about Browser Tab One? I'm terribly guilty of having a million browser tabs open in several themed windows. I cringe every time someone else uses my computer or when I have to bring it in for service. What if someone accidentally closes a tab I really needed? But then again, did I really need that webpage if I opened it several months ago and have yet to look at it? 

Miscellanea, etc. / 05 Feb 2015

Happy new year!

Although we're already a month into 2015, the year still feels fresh and brimming with possibilities.  It's also brimming with snow here in New England.  Some of the snow drifts and shovel-crafted mountains are taller than my head -- which isn't very difficult, given that I am only a smidge over 5 feet (or about 1.5 m for the rest of the world).

One of my new year's resolutions (a post on resolutions to come) is to write and blog more often, perhaps up to once a week if I can get my act together.

A glimpse of campus under cover -- about 2.5-3 feet.

And now, the miscellanea for this week: Five links that have caught my eye in the last few weeks, a mix of serious, random, and fun:


January 12, 2015: Five years since the Haiti earthquake, or is it three centuries?

A wordless comic with splashes of color illuminating a hunter's inadvertent adventure.

While waiting for Season 2 of Serial (my winter podcast discovery), a fun hyperlinked illustration to satiate the appetite.

Does joint pain have anything to do with the gut?  Some say yes.

Keeping your personal information out of the hands of data brokers.

///

Don't fall too far down the rabbit hole, though.

Miscellanea, etc. / 22 Oct 2014

miscellanea, n.

Syllabification: mis·cel·la·ne·a

Pronunciation: /ˌmisəˈlānēə /

Miscellaneous items, especially literary compositions, 

that have been collected together.

see miscellaneous, adj.

(Of items or people gathered or considered together) 

of various types or from different sources.

- Origin -

early 17th century: from Latin miscellaneus 

(from miscellus 'mixed', from miscere 'to mix') + -ous. 

In earlier use the word also described a person as 'having various qualities'.

// From the Oxford English Dictionary

Miscellanea: One of my favorite words, and one that well describes the many open tabs in my browser, the lists of links to check out that accumulate in my Evernote (that virtual trunk of stuff).

I've unearthed some of the interesting bits, so here are 5 links that have caught my eye in the last couple weeks, a mix of serious, random, and fun:

1 million Americans with an illness we don't really understand too well, and why

A family remembers their vibrant daughter Phoebe, who died earlier this term at MIT

On Haiti's former dictator Baby Doc and the legacy he left behind

Competition comes to the kitchen, and we the roaring fans

Why some of us can't help but reach for that nth cup of joe
 

///

Don't fall too far down the rabbit hole, though.