links for 2007-05-07
May 7th, 2007-
Curriculum materials for pre-school through kindergarten. Designed for homeschoolers, but of value to traditional teachers as well.
links for 2007-05-06
May 6th, 2007-
Cool gear.
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cool kitchen gear
links for 2007-04-17
April 17th, 2007-
Looking for alternatives to throw-away products.
links for 2007-02-23
February 23rd, 2007-
Library bill of rights — what are “must haves” in a Web 2.0 environment
links for 2007-01-08
January 8th, 2007-
Flickr Set Manager allows you to automatically create new sets on Flickr based on various criteria such as interestingness, date posted and tags, or even from a random set of photographs
links for 2007-01-04
January 4th, 2007-
although it’s billed as a “word meter” it can be any kind of meter. Makes a nice widget to add to a blog.
links for 2007-01-02
January 2nd, 2007-
A collection of cool online applications that create new images from your own photos. Some of the toys are exclusive to Flickr, taking advantage of the published API
embodiment
January 1st, 2007Yesterday I joined the Embodiment community at LiveJournal. The collective goal is to write something each and every day in a paper journal. I started one of these a couple of years ago (mid-2004 if I remember correctly); but I’m not good at it because I had never developed the “diary” habit when I was younger. Surprisingly, I did actually complete a journal and move into a second one. (I like using the medium-sized Watson-Guptill sketchbooks that I pick up at any bookstore such as Barnes & Noble or Borders.) But, I rarely write in my journal unless I’m sitting in the airplane! That little drop-down “desk” is kind of nice; much more so than writing in my lap and I don’t really have a desk in the house.
I noticed that the LiveJournal group has a corresponding photo/image group at Flickr, so I joined the group in anticipation that I might want to share a page or two with the community. While I was there, I browsed lots of photos, including the Moleskinerie group, which I also joined.
I am partial to the Watson-Guptill sketchbooks — medium format of 5.5×8.5 inches. They’re inexpensive, hardbound, and the pages hold up well to glue and paints. If I’m doing a lot of gluing, I’ll remove a page or two to keep it from getting too thick for the hard covers.
But … with that said, I broke down and purchase a Moleskine last month. It’s the “large sketchbook” size which makes it just the size of the Watson-Guptil book that I had been using in the past. I don’t like lines; for some reason they are off-putting when I make an attempt to “do art” in my journal. My writing isn’t necessarily *straight* as a result, but I don’t mind at all.
I’m going to use the Moleskine journal specifically for embodiment, but I will return to my prior journal (which is only half-filled) throughout the year. Picking which book to use is going to be a lot easier than coming up with something to say each and every day of the year.
About my journaling
I never even considered numbering my pages … until several people started asking others whether or not they number. Now I wonder *why* they number the pages. I always write the date — sometimes the time of day (and time zone since I travel) and location.
While I’m working in a journal, I’ll often thumb back and read earlier entries. It’s rarer that I’ll pick up a completed journal and reread entries in it. I never *change* an entry once it’s written, but I have sometime written a comment in the margin!
Jaime is an avid and prolific journaler. I’ve never kept up a journal or a diary, though I did start/try a couple of time. Several years ago (mid-2004?) I decided that I really did want to journal and to stick with it. I had just discovered "art journals" along with altered books, so I decided to tackle journaling with a multi-media approach rather than feeling pressured to *write* something every day. My new goal is to make this a daily activity rather than whenever I happen to think about it.
After much hype, I broke down and bought a Pilot G2 ball-point pen. (In black.) It writes nicely and doesn’t seem (so far) to have the gloppy build-up that some pens do. But, I’m not giving up my fiber pigment pens for anything.
Since I’m feeling insecure about the content of my journal entries, when I started this adventure 2.5 years ago, I decided that my journals wouldn’t be just boring black words. So, I write in many colors. Some days I just grab the purple pen because that’s how I’m feeling. Other days just scream for green ink.
Once upon a time I thought I might try drawing, but unless I take some lessons, I’m not going to get over my hesitation to try. So, I either use a rubber stamp or print an outline off on the computer and then use the pigment pens like coloring crayons! It adds some visual interest and color for sure.
Saturday 8 — no title or theme
December 9th, 2006The questions come from Saturday 8, a weekly set of journaling prompts. She says, “the saturday-8 is posted each saturday by lola, who writes about a variety of subjects about life and things that affect us.”
1. i had a holiday dinner last night, and the ambience was decidedly un-romantic. in your locality, what’s the most romantic restaurant to take someone on a date?
Since I don’t "date" as such, I don’t look for a particularly romantic spot. Hubby and I eat out so often that we’ve tried most of the places around here. A special night out might be a trip to a nice steak place such as Outback or to Red Lobster. But even then we don’t get dressed up as one might do for a "date".
2. when was the last time you switched jobs?
Well, the last time I switched employers was when I went to work for IBM in 1984. But I did switch jobs in 1992 when I moved from the field sales force into the Systems Center.
3. when was the last time you had a stomach bug?
Unfortunately just a couple of weeks ago. I’m pretty sure I had food poisoning since it was pretty abrupt intestinal distress with no fever or other signs that I was ill.
4. what was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in high school?
Probably the time I cursed out loud at a football game. My dad had caught up with me a half-time and told me that I should drive him home. I didn’t want to leave the game in the first place and he was drunk, so I was really mad. I flounced back to my seat & as I sat down, I firmly said "Damn" and then broke into tears. I was so embarrassed to say such a thing; my friends and I were active in a weekly prayer group and foul language just wasn’t acceptable.
5. what place in your country would you like to visit most?
Places. Alaska and Hawaii, the two most exotic states. Actually, I’d love to get a motor home and travel around all over the US. I want to see the various regions of the country and stay there long enough to get to know something about the sights, the history, the people, the culture, the arts … on and on.
6. do you have a pen-colour preference, and what is it? if you don’t, what colour do you NOT like to write in?
While I don’t have a preference, I did buy a set of 10 colored pens to use writing in my paper journal. I’d love to be able to paint, sketch, draw, or otherwise put artful entries into my journal, but I decided that at least using different colored inks would keep the book more interesting that just writing with a ball-point pen. I use most of the pens, though the pink and yellow are used the least. I don’t like the tone of the pink, and the yellow just isn’t dark enough to see on the page.
7. when was the last time you got sloshed, hammered, piss-drunk, etc., and what was your weapon of choice to get you there?
Ugh! The last time was probably 10 years ago. I overdid on wine—can’t remember if it was pink or white—and got into trouble before I realized it. I barfed up my dinner and wound up sleeping in the bathtub so I wouldn’t barf in the bed. Not a nice memory at all!
8. what do you plan on doing for the rest of the day?
I want to put some things together for the holidays. I bought some styrofoam to use to make an Advent wreath. Once I get that made, I need to set my home altar, bringing out my Advent and Yule items. Then I want to work on the Journal Jars and brag book "pages". I bought inexpensive photo albums that I can slip 4×6 photos into. Quick prints from Walmart should make it easy for me to make a couple of books for the family.
