Tuesday, September 27, 2016

First Presidential Candidates Debate 2016



Oh, man, I've got a "drink every time Donald lied" headache this morning.

Friday, September 23, 2016

Ohhh, No, No, No, No, No, No, No!

It was expected of me that I was to bow to the name of Andrew Jackson... even at the expense of my conscience and judgment. Such a thing was new to me, and a total stranger to my principles.
-Davy Crockett



Every critic, every detractor, will have to bow down to President Trump. It’s everyone who’s ever doubted Donald, who ever disagreed, who ever challenged him. It is the ultimate revenge to become the most powerful man in the universe.”
-Omarosa Manigault.


Omarosa Manigault is, according to Wikipedia, "an American reality game show and reality show personality. She was a contestant on the first season of Donald Trump's The Apprentice. She later returned for the sequel, Celebrity Apprentices, and the All-Star edition of the show." She is now Donald Trump's Director of African-American Outreach and the above quote is from the PBS program FRONTLINE special "The Choice 2016." It airs on Tuesday night (September 27th).


Monday, September 19, 2016

With Liberty And Justice For All

-from The Pledge of Allegiance

(Student Joseph Rakes attacks attorney Ted Landsmark with the American flag, April 5, 1976).
I remember this photo as it was seared into my brain at the time.  It is still shocking and NPR writes about it today.

Friday, September 16, 2016

At Heart I Am A Librarian

-Juliana Hatfield (American musician and singer-songwriter)

University of New Hampshire librarian, Robert Morin

"We are New Hampshire's public research university, providing comprehensive, high-quality undergraduate programs and graduate programs of distinction. Our primary purpose is learning..."
-Beginning of UNH mission statement

Well, that's a lie. After working for the University of New Hampshire in its library for almost 50 years, Robert Morin left the university 4 million dollars in his will. The school is planning to use 1 million of the donation to buy a new video scoreboard for its football stadium.




Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Shannon's Dog

"If I could be half the person my dog is, I’d be twice the human I am."
-Charles Yu






My husband and I were walking the dogs last night when a friend who was driving down the street pulled over to talk to us.  She had her dogs with her and since they are friends with my dogs, all four dogs were very happy to see each other. After chatting a bit our friend drove off and we continued our walk.

When we reached our friend's house instead of passing it by Dusty turn into the front walkway to go and visit her dogs. At first I laughed because we had already seen the dogs in our friend's car and I thought Dusty was being a goof but then I realized that wasn't true. Actually, he was a genius who understood both quantum mechanics and the thought experiment, Schrödinger's cat.  In Dusty's interpretation of the Schrödinger’s Cat experiment his doggie friends could be either in the car or in the house but he wouldn't know which until the front door of the house opened.   And that, my friends, is how a genius thinks.


Monday, September 12, 2016

Sewing Books



I pick up this set of  Better Homes and Gardens Creative Sewing Library books (1966) at ARC last week. I don't know where these were sold but they remind me a lot of the Golden Book Encyclopedia  volumes sold in Safeway supermarkets when I was a kid.  They were "prepared  under the guidance of Miss Lucille Rivers, one of America's eminent sewing experts."   The name of the illustrator is not given in the books. Another interesting point is that the illustrations on the covers are not done by the same illustrator as the one inside the book. The inside the book illustrator has a lighter touch.

Friday, September 09, 2016

Anno Dracula




What if "The Prince of Darkness" won at the end of Bram Stoker's Dracula? What if he goes on to marry Queen Victoria and becomes prince consort? What if a segment of the citizens of London choose to become vampires? What if Kim Newman sprinkles his book with characters from other vampire books, movies and TV shows? You get a fun, and because Newman is a great storyteller, creepy ride. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Thursday, September 08, 2016

Humans of New York



“I was taking a law school admissions test in a big classroom at Harvard. My friend and I were some of the only women in the room. I was feeling nervous. I was a senior in college. I wasn’t sure how well I’d do. And while we’re waiting for the exam to start, a group of men began to yell things like: ‘You don’t need to be here.’ And ‘There’s plenty else you can do.’ It turned into a real ‘pile on.’ One of them even said: ‘If you take my spot, I’ll get drafted, and I’ll go to Vietnam, and I'll die.’ And they weren’t kidding around. It was intense. It got very personal. But I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t afford to get distracted because I didn’t want to mess up the test. So I just kept looking down, hoping that the proctor would walk in the room. I know that I can be perceived as aloof or cold or unemotional. But I had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions. And that’s a hard path to walk. Because you need to protect yourself, you need to keep steady, but at the same time you don’t want to seem ‘walled off.’ And sometimes I think I come across more in the ‘walled off’ arena. And if I create that perception, then I take responsibility. I don’t view myself as cold or unemotional. And neither do my friends. And neither does my family. But if that sometimes is the perception I create, then I can’t blame people for thinking that.”

(Humans of New York website.)

Tuesday, September 06, 2016

Phyllis Schlafly (1924 - 2016)

"Feminism is doomed to failure because it is based on an attempt to repeal and restructure human nature."
-Phyllis Schlafy

She is now standing in front of God and confused by the fact that she (God) is not pleased with her.

New York Times obit here.


Monday, September 05, 2016

Happy Labor Day

"The trade union movement represents the organized economic power of the workers... It is in reality the most potent and the most direct social insurance the workers can establish."
-Samuel Gompers (American labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history.)


We seemed to have forgotten what Labor Day is all about. Some think it it's a celebration for people who work with their hands. It is not. It is a celebration of the men and women who fought for their fellow workers. Who demanded and won for all workers basic rights such as the forty hour work week, safe work conditions and the right to negotiate pay. So when you are grilling your hamburgers and hot dog today, stop a moment to lift up your tongs in salute to those brave men and women.

Saturday, September 03, 2016

No Time To Post


I've been binge watching Fringe  before Netflix stops showing it on September eleventh.  I will be watching episodes from the final season today.