An Introvert And Proud Of It

Jonathan Rauch has a great article in the archives of The Atlantic called "Caring For Your Introvert". Do you need lots of time alone? Are you bored at parties? It doesn't necessarily mean that you're shy—you could very well be an introvert. Rauch sums it up in one sentence: "Introverts are people who find other people tiring." He goes on to reassure extroverts, "This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: 'I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses.'" Exactly. There have been many articles written about the differences between introversion and extroversion before, but I haven't seen any that tell extroverts how to be sensitive to the needs of the introverts in their lives. Maybe it's because extroverts not only don't get it, they don't even know that there's anything to get. As Rauch says, "Extroverts have little or no grasp of introversion. They assume that company, especially their own, is always welcome. They cannot imagine why someone would need to be alone; indeed, they often take umbrage at the suggestion." Rauch goes on to give humourous (but oh-so-true) advice to the extroverts of the world. If you're an extrovert and you're reading this, please go read the article. Then please try to follow the advice. The introverts in your life will thank you. An indication of the need for introverts to be understood can be found in the facts that Rauch received more mail about this article than anything else he's ever written and that this article has drawn more people to The Atlantic's website than any other. In February 2006 The Atlantic did a follow-up interview with Jonathan Rauch ("Introverts of the World, Unite!") to talk about the unprecedented popularity of his first article. Via idiolect.

Cupcake Mania

Calling all cupcake fans! Here's a fun link: All Cupcakes, All The Time. This blog features photos of cupcakes, recipes, articles about cupcakes, and more. You can find such nifty cupcakes as Red Velvet Cupcakes With Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting, Oreo Cupcakes, Lemon Meringue Cupcakes, and, topically, World Cup Cupcakes. I'll put up my hand for the Red Velvet cupcakes!

What Music Does Tom Waits Listen To?

Musician Tom Waits has an almost cult-like following. His fans love following the evolution of his music from the earliest recording (1973's Closing Time) to the most recent (2004's Real Gone). Recently I stumbled across this great article from The Observer from March 2005. In it Waits discusses the 20 albums that he values the most. It's an eclectic choice, as you would expect from him. The artists cited range from Captain Beefheart to the Rolling Stones to Frank Sinatra. The Pogues, Leonard Cohen, and Dylan are also cited. He also makes special mention of "Nessun Dorma".

More On Cell Phone Etiquette

As an update to my blog post the other day where I blogged about cell phone etiquette, everyone's favourite waiter now adds many more tips. They're bluntly put, but then some cell phone users need a little bluntness. Via Waiter Rant.

Your Age By Chocolate Math

I can't figure out how this works, but it does. · pick the number of times a week that you would like to have chocolate (more than once but less than 10) · multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold) · add 5 · multiply it by 50 · if you have already had your birthday this year add 1756; if you haven't, add 1755 · now subtract the four digit year that you were born You should have a three digit number. The first digit of this was your original number (i.e., how many times you want to have chocolate each week). The next two numbers are your age. This is the only year (2006) it will ever work, so spread it around while it lasts. Via Judith Silverthorne.

100 Great Music Videos

I know, I know—if you want lists of music videos, you can always tune in to MuchMoreMusic. But now the folks at Pitchfork have compiled their list of 100 Awesome Music Videos, and there are a lot of videos here that you'll never get a sniff of on MMM. Some of the ones that you'd expect to be here certainly are, such as A-Ha's "Take On Me" or Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." There are some that, to me, are unaccountably missing, such as the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" (my all-time favourite video). It was entertaining to see David Lee Roth's "Just a Gigolo/Ain't Got Nobody" (they're right—he is a goofball). There are lots of others by bands I'd never heard of, such as Sigue Sigue Sputnik or 'Til Tuesday. This is definitely a fun browse. Via Yahoo! Picks.

Scientists Examining Dinosaur Body

Here's a fascinating article: "Mummified Brachylophosaurus Holds Secrets Millions of Years Old". Technology has advanced so much that scientists are now able to examine this dinosaur, even the parts of it that are still buried under sandstone, to discover about life on earth 77 million years ago. I'm very much looking forward to hearing about the results of this research. Via Hassenpfeffer.

Test Your Knowledge of Medieval Hats

I know that most of us don't spend our time wondering what kind of hat a peasant would have worn in the Middle Ages. But if you'd like to know, check out Medieval Hats. Take the short quiz and see if you can identify what a monk, noblewoman, and others would have worn.

For Cell Phone Users

The Cell Phone Etiquette Guide. Enough said. Via El Dorado County Library's What's Hot On The Internet This Week.

National Aboriginal Day

Today is National Aboriginal Day in Canada. You can see a list of national events here. If you'll be staying at your computer today, you can read about the history of Canada's First Nations here, browse through the extensive resources at the Aboriginal Canada Portal, or check out the Aboriginal Mapping Network. Also, here's a nice link that's Saskatchewan specific: Aboriginal Faces of Saskatchewan. If you'll be listening to the radio, the always great CBC Radio has a special hosted by Andrea Menard . You can find the Saskatchewan schedule listed briefly here.

The Twin Peaks Quiz

I loved Twin Peaks. I also had fun with this quiz that I found at Bibi's box.

Which Twin Peaks character are you?

You're Special Agent Dale Cooper. You're often too brilliant for people to really follow, but your infectious enthusiasm makes up for the fact that you're frequently incomprehensible. You are smart, intuitive, clear-headed, compassionate, and cute as hell -- about your only flaw is your insane coffee consumption. Take this quiz! Quizilla Join Make A Quiz More Quizzes Grab Code

Some New Analysis of the Kitty Genovese Case

The Kitty Genovese murder has long been cited as a classic example of the "bystander effect"--a behaviour where people witnessing a crisis are less likely to help others and more likely to remain bystanders if others are nearby. Now, though, more than 40 years after Kitty Genovese's death, one author is rethinking the bystander effect in connection with her murder. He argues that the commonly accepted version of events contains many inaccuracies and the bystander effect was not, in fact, a major issue in the case. It's a thought-provoking read. Via Follow Me Here.

The King William's College Quiz

If you would like to match wits with the students of King William's College, take a glance at one of the year-end quizzes (which the Guardian calls "the toughest quiz on the planet"). Here are some of the questions (with the answers in parentheses): · "how did we learn about solitary feline ambulation?" (the Just So Stories of Rudyard Kipling) · who lost "both legs, but returned heroically and was downed at Béthune?" (Douglas Bader) · "where, in Europe, is the Zahringen?" (Berne) I've never heard of Bethune, Douglas Bader, or the Zahringen, and that's the way it was with most of the questions. After a while I just felt inadequate, so I stopped. Via Plep.

Choosing A Soccer Team to Support

Even I have become aware that the World Cup of soccer is taking place now. I haven't actually started to watch it, but I might yet. I'm someone who likes to be able to cheer for a team, but I don't know anything at all about soccer (except that David Beckham is a big name). So I was interested to find a website called Who Should I Cheer For? Created by the World Development Movement, the site ranks each participating country by a variety of criteria. These include life expectancy, income inequality, military spending, health spending, carbon emissions, and more. I tend to cheer for the underdog, but if I can rouse myself to be more socially conscious during the World Cup, this is a site I'll be revisiting. Via Plep.

The Inexplicable Popularity of Reality T.V.

Dave Pollard has a post on the sad reality of reality T.V.

I agree with Dave--I can't understand why these shows are so popular.

Via How To Save The World.

Which Action Hero Would You Be?

Here's a quiz to take: Which Action Hero Would You Be? Improbably, I find I'm most like Indiana Jones.

You scored as Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones is an archaeologist/adventurer with an unquenchable love for danger and excitement. He travels the globe in search of historical relics. He loves travel, excitement, and a good archaeological discovery. He hates Nazis and snakes, perhaps to the same degree. He always brings along his trusty whip and fedora. He's tough, cool, and dedicated. He relies on both brains and brawn to get him out of trouble and into it. Indiana Jones 67% Maximus 63% The Amazing Spider-Man 58% Neo, the "One" 58% The Terminator 54% Batman, the Dark Knight 46% Captain Jack Sparrow 38% William Wallace 38% Lara Croft 29% James Bond, Agent 007 25% El Zorro 21% Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

I don't think this is a very accurate indication of my character or abilities, but I suppose there are worse characters to be compared to! Via Books, Inq.

For Moleskine Fans

I had never heard about moleskines until I read about them on poet Brenda Schmidt's blog. Now that I've had my eyes opened, I seem to see references to them everywhere. Here's the most recent one in which a brief original blog post has, to date, 118 responses. Here's another site for fans of moleskines to visit: moleskinerie, "a blog dedicated to the proposition that not all notebooks are created equal." I may even experiment with a moleskine, although I'm pretty much a fan of cheap coil bound notebooks (for my purse) and looseleaf (at home). Via 43 Folders.

The Museum of Hoaxes

The Museum of Hoaxes is an intriguing site to browse through. There is a blog that features a running commentary on current hoaxes reported in the news (such as the inspirational blurbs that were printed on U.S. million dollar bills—only there are no million dollar bills in U.S. currency). In addition to the blog, there are the following categories: · famous hoaxes throughout history · top 100 April Fool's Day hoaxes · top 10 worst April Fool's Day hoaxes · history of April Fool's Day · hoax website gallery · hoax photo gallery · birth hoaxes · top 10 college pranks · tall-tale creature gallery · hoax photo tests · gullibility tests

Unfortunately, I had a very poor score on the gullibility test (2 out of 10). I guess I need to beware of fast-talking sales people.

Via Yahoo! Picks.

Great Site for Medieval Cooking

Gode Cookery is a great site that features medieval food. The site says, "Medieval cooking was not, as has been so easily assumed, a dubious practice that produced inedible dishes filled with strange spices and dangerous ingredients. Medieval cooks used many of the same type of foodstuffs that are in use today, in addition to forms of food preparation familiar to any of us." We can find all sorts of information here about medieval cooking, especially recipes (all recipes are presented in the original language and then in modern English). Here are a few of the recipes listed: · a late 15th century recipe called capons in dorre (toasted bread in almond milk) · a 14th century recipe called crispels ("round pastries basted in honey") · a 14th century recipe for fried spinach · a 15th century recipe called Hattes ("small meat-filled pastries that resemble medieval hats") There are also illusion foods (foods meant to resemble something else, either in the way it looked or the way it tasted). An example of an illusion food would be stuffed omelettes made into flowers or the above-mentioned hattes. There is also a glossary of medieval cooking terms, lots of great links, and much more. This is definitely a site I'll be revisiting. Via Incoming Signals.

Missing Calvin and Hobbes?

I definitely miss the wonderful duo of Calvin and Hobbes. I think I have all the collections, but sometimes it's nice just to see one or two comics. Now I've discovered that there's a searchable database of the comics available online. Here's how it works: type in a word in the search box, and the results will show you all the strips with that word in it. I tried "cookie" and "doom" and "dinosaur." I'm saving "transmogrifier" for another day. Via Exploding Aardvark.

Swooning Over Pandas

Oh, this is too wonderful: pandafix. How can someone not love pandas? The people at pandafix seem to know that we need regular infusions of panda cuteness, so they have a blog with photos of pandas living their lives. Check out especially this photo of a baby panda nonchalantly lying on his back. Via kottke.org.

onepotmeal

I love the bears at onepotmeal. The posts are always entertaining, whether they're about wholesome menaces, the adventures of the resident dog, gremlins, omens, or milk going bad. Often there are some terrific links, such as the one in this post on pardons. Note too that the bear in the upper left corner has taken to supporting his favourite sports team.

Some Historical Musical Instruments

Here's a nifty page: Medieval and Renaissance Instruments. There's a list of instruments which, when you click on the name, will take you to a photo of someone playing it. When you click on the instrument in the photo, you can hear what the instrument sounded like. There are some instruments here that I've heard of before, such as the lute, bagpipe, or recorder. But there are many more that I've never heard of, such as the kortholt, the rebec, the serpent, the schalmei, and the wonderfully named zink. Browsing through here can help you to imagine the music that Chaucer and Shakespeare listened to.

Gods Across the World

Here's an entertaining link: Godchecker.com: Your Guide to the Gods. The site features cheekily written material on gods from all civilisations. There are the standard Greek, Roman, and Norse gods, but there are also lists of Finnish, Caribbean, and Slavic gods—and many more. There's also a section on Christian saints and martyrs. If you like, you can visit the Godchecker store at CafePress and order a shirt with a slogan (e.g. "The Gods Told Me To Do It"), buttons (e.g. "I Heart Chaos"), mugs, or any one of a number of other items. Via A Pretty Good Weblog.

Learning About Lemurs

If you're feeling in the mood for admiring exotic animals, you might like to check out two sites devoted to lemurs: The Wild Ones: Lemurs or Lemurs.com: World Lemur Headquarters. The pages contain pretty much everything you'd like to know about lemurs. For example, we learn that they are only to be found in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. More worryingly, we also learn that they are very endangered. According to The Wild Ones: "Out of the fifty different kinds of lemurs, ten of those types are critically endangered, seven are endangered, and nineteen are considered vulnerable." Lemurs.com also offers the opportunity to buy lemur-themed gifts.

Stories About Influential People

The Peoples Archive is a site filled with stories about the movers and shakers of our time. The categories include science, film, masters, literature, and medicine. The "masters" collection appears to be a bit of a catch-all. Even though there are only two entries, one is for a sculptor and the other is for a watch-maker. This is not a site where you will find the latest big noise from Hollywood or the music industry. Although there is the film category, there are only seven entries, and none of those are the actors. Instead, the category highlights filmmakers and cinematographers. The stories themselves are told by the subjects. You can listen to them via audio files or you can read the transcripts. This is a good way to learn about people who have achieved a great deal in their professions but who don't generally make the headlines. Via Internet Resources Newsletter.

Barbecue Safety

It's barbecue time here in Canada, and that also means that it's a good time for us to review our knowledge of safe outdoor cooking. There's a good USDA fact sheet on this that provides all the information necessary to prevent food poisoning or other potential problems associated with barbecuing. There are tips for the safest way to defrost meat, work with marinades, reheat, and much more. Via El Dorado County Library: What's Hot On The Internet This Week.

Site About Blues Music

If you're a fan of blues music, check out The Blue Highway. There are essays about blues musicians (such as Willie Dixon or Robert Johnson), links to radio stations that play the blues, a map of the Mississippi Delta, lots of links to current blues musicians, and much more. Now I think I'll go put on a Bessie Smith disc . . . . Via El Dorado County Library: What's Hot On the Internet This Week.

A Foray Into Old Scots

In a blog post called Daving the Lily, blogger Roddy Lumsden has explained how numerous personal names have a different meaning in Old Scots. For example, "Blair" means "to bleat like a sheep." "Kyle" is a bowling pin, and "Ken" means "a whole season's worth of cheese." This is definitely an entertaining read. Via Vitamin Q.

Unusual Plant Names

This year for the first time I bought a beautiful plant for my garden with the off-putting name of "dead nettle." Today I came across Follyage, a blog posting that lists many other unusual plant names. Some of them I don't consider too unusual, probably because I'm used to them. Bachelor's buttons and silverlace dusty miller fall into that category. On the other hand, I am a little startled by names such as showy tidytips, Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, or hooker's onion. Now I just need to start looking up the plants to see what they look like. Via Vitamin Q.