fabrisse

[Poll #2015833]

This poll brought to you by my sprained ankle, which had been feeling better until three young children managed to kick it on their way onto the metro this evening. The car wasn't crowded. They could easily have walked around the pole and missed me. I'd have settled for a simple oops.

ETA: And I managed to misspell "too" in the original question. This is not my day.

I am semi-seriously considering "live" blogging World War I. It would mean a great deal of research for me, and, yes, I would probably concentrate on the Belgian and French fronts of the war since I know them best, but I really feel that it's forgotten in the US. Also, Michael Gove's remarks back in January really got under my skin.

[Poll #1969614]

undauntra asked what my point was in creating the last book list and pointed out that it was heavily weighted toward English language/western European culture (English language was intentional; western European was not.) and weighted against non-fiction.

Which got me thinking, what non-fiction works should we be covering? And I think there should be a separate list for works of world literature not written originally in English.

Originally, it was just a whim based on the Mark Twain list. I wanted to show a bit about how the language we speak grew and introduce a few ideas, including references to popular culture which have stuck in the language (e.g., Sherlock Holmes). So, we'll now have at least two open slots on the original list. I was thinking of adding one of the Geste's of Robin Hood to emphasize the language evolution. I tend to like them better than Chaucer. Suggestions are welcome for the other slot.

This means that "Any Slave narrative" off my original list, starts the non-fiction list. undauntra suggested Godel, Escher, Bach by the other Hofstadter (Douglas rather than Richard who wrote Anti-Intellectualism in American Life), too. I love Arthur Koestler's The Act of Creation, but I think The Sleepwalkers might be better for a list aimed at teenagers. I am also tempted to include his pamphlet against the death penalty. It is credited with winning the referendum opposing the death penalty in Britain. I welcome any and all suggestions on the topics of science, mathematics, history, or philosophy in the comments.

The other new list will start with Verne's Around the World in 80 Days which was the clear winner in the poll, much to my surprise. I'm also incorporating another undauntra suggestion: a good translation of Journey to the West. This should be culturally broad and possibly historically broad as well. If you have specific suggestions for translations, please include that.

[Poll #1960697]

[Poll #1944124]

I don't remember where I picked up this bit of wisdom, but apparently during World War II British women were most likely to buy black market lipstick, French women wanted moisturizer and would use their ration cards to make homemade ones, and American women wanted stockings, or, failing that, leg paint.

Now I'm firmly in the moisturizing camp. The hardest thing about getting ready for surgery was not being able to put on moisturizer (I started using one nightly at 12 when the acne scrub the dermatologist prescribed gave me skin like the Sahara). I asked my sister for it right after my first ice chips when I got to the room.

Being able to paint my mouth crimson has never felt as important, although I do wear lipstick fairly regularly.

As for stockings or leg paint... I just don't know. In the winter, some good thick -- and colorful -- tights are part of my wardrobe, but I don't feel terrible letting my pale legs show in the summertime.


[Poll #1932591]