"It seems kind of gangster cute."

I just had to surface from end-of-semester-craziness to share this:



You can read the story instead of listening to it here. And you can see outakes and visuals below:


Crochet On A Bear Statue from Jennifer Sharpe on Vimeo.

Doing artsy things outside and being mystified by the lack of response from joggers, etc? I know nothing about it.

NPR's Best Photo from the Royal Wedding

While millions of onlookers enjoyed the newlyweds' kiss at Buckingham Palace, a certain someone (left) seemed to be not pleased. (Caption via NPR.)

Library News from Egypt + a Sigh of Relief

Excerpt from a brief note from Ismail Serageldin, director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (found via bookshelvesofdoom):

"Events deteriorated as lawless bands of thugs, and maybe agents provocateurs, appeared and looting began. The young people organized themselves into groups that directed traffic, protected neighborhoods and guarded public buildings of value such as the Egyptian Museum and the Library of Alexandria. They are collaborating with the army. This makeshift arrangement is in place until full public order returns.

The library is safe thanks to Egypt’s youth, whether they be the staff of the Library or the representatives of the demonstrators, who are joining us in guarding the building from potential vandals and looters. I am there daily within the bounds of the curfew hours. However, the Library will be closed to the public for the next few days until the curfew is lifted and events unfold towards an end to the lawlessness and a move towards the resolution of the political issues that triggered the demonstrations."

I can't even imagine people thinking of looting a library.

And I don't know about you, but I've been watching the events in Egypt pretty closely because a dear friend of mine along with many other people I know were recently in Egypt on a band tour with the college down the street from mine. Their hotel was one block away from the main protest in Cairo. They changed hotels last week and were scheduled to leave on Saturday but their flight was canceled. After many delays and some involvement from one of our state's senators all the students are finally--thank God--on their way home.

Whew. Glad my J-term trip wasn't as eventful as theirs,

Breaking news about baked goods

I read a newspaper this morning just because I had the time to. And I learned something very, very important. You may be thinking that I'm referring to an article about the kerfuffle in Congress over tax cut legislation, but I am not.

The newspaper I read featured an article by Sylvia Rector--"Experts predict surprising trends for foodies"-- reprinted from the Detroit Free Press, and it contains important information about two important foods: cupcakes and pie.

According to Rector, pies are poised to overtake cupcakes in popularity in 2011:

Cupcakes will take a backseat as pies -- glorious pies! -- begin showing up in every size, form and format, from savory to sweet and from deep-dish to individual deep-fried ones.

While I love cupcakes with their sweet tastes and cute decorations, I am equally enamored of pie, and just as I can go to a cupcakery and find nothing but cupcakes, I would love to see a pie shop open in my hometown.

Especially if it looks like the Pie Hole from Pushing Daisies.

But I am flexible and will overlook architecture and interior design as long as there are pies.

...but I do miss that TV show.

Thinking about pie instead of studying French,

A macabre and strangely sweet news article.

Widow lives with corpses of husband, twin
From the article:

"I could see him, I could look at him, I could touch him. Now, some people have a terrible feeling, they say, 'Why do you want to look at a dead person? Oh my gracious,'" she said.


"Well, I felt differently about death."

The real Harry Potter(s)

While I did stop to think about the many Potter families who will have babies and never name them Harry thanks to the Harry Potter books, I never considered the difficulties of the real live Harry Potters already in existence. An article at UPI.com features a 76-year-old Harry Potter:

"Oh my lordy Hannah," Potter said. "You have no idea what it is like to have this name. Just 15 minutes ago, I got a phone call from some girls who were about 13 or 14, and who giggled a lot. And you cannot be rude to them, you know that? You cannot be rude.

"That J.K. Rowling owes me something. I'm not sure what, but she owes me."


(Via bookshelvesofdoom)

I asked...

...and Stephanie of Natural/Artificial answered! (My questions are near the bottom, but don't scroll right there--all of the questions and answers make great reading.) Her blog is one of my favorites. Stephanie also has a two book deal with Dutton (Penguin) and is polishing her first novel, Anna and the English French American Boy Masterpiece (LOVE that title) due out in 2011.

One of my questions was, "If you could FedEx yourself anywhere, where would you go?" She said Iceland, and gives many wonderful reasons why, among them being the rerouting of a road out of consideration for the elves. How awesome/funny/intriguing/mysterious is that? A lot, obviously, which is why you want another article (from the Seattle PI) about it. I'm still entertained by it.