tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45763342053478825322024-03-06T00:58:00.867-05:00Beyond the CurtainValeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.comBlogger193125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-76803844450461922392012-09-23T08:09:00.000-04:002013-08-19T07:53:11.786-04:00Mysteries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cache.graphicslib.viator.com/graphicslib/3858/SITours/stonehenge-windsor-castle-and-bath-day-trip-from-london-in-london-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.graphicslib.viator.com/graphicslib/3858/SITours/stonehenge-windsor-castle-and-bath-day-trip-from-london-in-london-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.wordtravels.com/Cities/England/London/CityTours" target="_blank_">source</a>)</td></tr>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"The study of effects, because discontinuous, appear as occultism"</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Dutifully reading my McLuhan this morning, I came across his observation that "the study of effects, because discontinuous, appear as occultism."* How similarly does this statement echo my own thoughts a few years ago. On my Shakespeare course in England I visited <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge" target="_blank_">Stonehenge</a> with some classmates. Our guide, a self-described "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Druidism" target="_blank_">Neo-Druid</a>" with curly springy hair, shared its mystical history as a burial, ritualistic, and commercial hub positioned over intersecting <a href="http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/leylines.htm" target="_blank_">ley lines</a>. These lines imbue the sacred site with power that she proceeded to demonstrate with her L-shaped divining rods that, pulled by their invisible energy, crossed and recrossed as she passed over them.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As skeptics we were immediately prone to dismiss our Neo-Druid guide's assertions as self-fulfilling or occult gibberish, but I couldn't help but consider the veracity of what she was saying. Why wouldn't her experience with magnetic fields, etc. be valid? Mightn't the phenomenon of the rods be based on some natural principle as yet mysterious but perfectly inane? Are we erroneously labeling something as occult because we have not yet grasped the underlying cause, the connection of this process with that process?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But then, why should a natural phenomenon feel less threatening once it has been investigated, labeled, and replicated in some obscure scientific journal, even when quantum chromodynamics is as mysterious to me as chronomancy? Whether justified or not, I feel safe in Science but threatened by Mystery. I still tend towards close-mindedness in such matters—indeed, when our hostess at Kinnersely Castle started on about dowsing, shamins, mugwort, etc, I was reasonably alarmed. The occult is certainly a door I would not like to open, especially since I know it is real based off of an acquaintance's experience (and for that reason I will not go near a Ouija board). I wonder, then--is it the associated traditions that cast practices like dowsing as evil? the practitioners? the purpose?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*McLuhan and McLuhan, <i><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/18839288" target="_blank_">Laws of Media: The New Science</a></i> (1988), p. 51</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">P.S. <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2011/08/witchin-wells/" target="_blank_">divination can be <i>practical</i></a></span></div>
Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-54190254157291853542012-01-09T20:07:00.000-05:002012-01-09T20:07:01.226-05:00The CelebrationIt's a certain canine's 14th birthday today.<br />
<br />
As he's always been partial to pancakes, Kathryn cooked him a gluten-free one so that his ears wouldn't itch. We lit a candle, sang "Happy Birthday," and watched his 10-second celebration.<br />
<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Happy birthday, Mr. Reg!</div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-55551422855235527522012-01-04T20:08:00.001-05:002012-01-09T20:25:07.667-05:00Cold SnapIt's been unseasonably warm lately, but on Tuesday Winter's true nature finally showed up. Everyone's feeling the chill.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BhTn_i4JDO-vT1TbhEzc8JbCaAjg7Tor2EdC3Uq6-EMxWq6MyZ7UP2yvQyQtW_AW-9g2ZLJSWnLdsruLiI4cqYLXSYH1ZNvH3NUar6GMifJyIqPzB6D7-_ELjnqlo2yI24JbVGqDWSHT/s1600/IMG_0685retouched.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BhTn_i4JDO-vT1TbhEzc8JbCaAjg7Tor2EdC3Uq6-EMxWq6MyZ7UP2yvQyQtW_AW-9g2ZLJSWnLdsruLiI4cqYLXSYH1ZNvH3NUar6GMifJyIqPzB6D7-_ELjnqlo2yI24JbVGqDWSHT/s320/IMG_0685retouched.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROUbX5JQijpQEfVRNZRSReOdSZT_RHAtb_-i7Zc077_IBfzAQcOL_lZn_Iov586ES0MpHMGyWIqSIlnTuiLvNzCRelkhNb0U9glkg-rXKlGvSBhyphenhyphenJDejrIE7Csgdrl0F2x-PafYU3MRaI/s1600/IMG_0670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROUbX5JQijpQEfVRNZRSReOdSZT_RHAtb_-i7Zc077_IBfzAQcOL_lZn_Iov586ES0MpHMGyWIqSIlnTuiLvNzCRelkhNb0U9glkg-rXKlGvSBhyphenhyphenJDejrIE7Csgdrl0F2x-PafYU3MRaI/s320/IMG_0670.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_8sm8oQQwS3r3cUqIYH3EH-hV7g8MQz9Qa9OjfdHIMAoluBEMmUjlUe6ywfvEvtMDt4r3A1sAoTUeyFCqKR5HpUsve2nNp-AhHcNrCgZuo-e_RPG8T6HQRMjVUHb-hqLD8EZ2lQvg3SR/s1600/IMG_0671retouched.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_8sm8oQQwS3r3cUqIYH3EH-hV7g8MQz9Qa9OjfdHIMAoluBEMmUjlUe6ywfvEvtMDt4r3A1sAoTUeyFCqKR5HpUsve2nNp-AhHcNrCgZuo-e_RPG8T6HQRMjVUHb-hqLD8EZ2lQvg3SR/s320/IMG_0671retouched.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-68039212018776919212011-09-19T11:11:00.000-04:002011-09-19T11:11:28.361-04:00Marshall McLuhan on the "global village"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Watch as Marshall McLuhan discusses civilization's return to the tribe with the emergence of electric media:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/HeDnPP6ntic?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Although the video cuts off abruptly, McLuhan touches upon some of his key ideas in the segment.</div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-64279885771438232942011-09-14T07:00:00.002-04:002011-09-14T07:00:09.721-04:00The Clock<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://us.cdn3.123rf.com/168nwm/gvictoria/gvictoria0810/gvictoria081000145/3762677-vintage-old-fashioned-clock-isolated-on-white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://us.cdn3.123rf.com/168nwm/gvictoria/gvictoria0810/gvictoria081000145/3762677-vintage-old-fashioned-clock-isolated-on-white.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.123rf.com/photo_3762677_vintage-old-fashioned-clock-isolated-on-white.html">source</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i>As a piece of technology, the clock is a machine that produces uniform seconds, minutes, and hours on an assembly-line pattern. Processed in this uniform way, time is separated from the rhythms of human experience. The mechanical clock, in short, helps to create the image of a numerically quantified and mechanically powered universe ... Time measured not by the uniqueness of private experience but by abstract uniform units gradually pervades all sense life, much as does the technology of writing and printing. Not only work, but also eating and sleeping, came to accommodate themselves to the clock rather than to organic needs.</i><br />
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--Marshall McLuhan, <i><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/305387">Understanding Media</a></i>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-31053492883169426062011-08-24T07:00:00.000-04:002011-08-25T15:25:34.093-04:00So <i>that</i> was a new experience.<br />
<br />
Tuesdays and Fridays you'll find me at Panera, working diligently on my research from about 6:30/7 to 2; I'm in the back corner by the outlet, poring over <i>Understanding Media</i> and nursing my cup of hazelnut coffee. <i>That's</i> not the new experience--it's my routine. But this afternoon we had an <u>earthquake</u>, our first since 1897 (!). I just thought the guy sitting behind me was shifting and accidentally bumping my chair. When he kept bumping my chair, however, I finally turned around to see if I was in his way or something and felt discombobulated to see him placidly working out of range. Too much coffee, I guess--I could have sworn my chair was moving. No one else looked concerned.<br />
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It wasn't until I overheard one lady's conversation that my ears pricked. "...I mean it was shaking," she exclaimed. "I was just sitting in my car, eating chicken, and it was literally shaking...mmhmm...5.8 they're saying..."<br />
<br />
Whoa...Seriously?<br />
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So of course, <a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/marshall/files/2011/08/earthquake.jpg">that's</a> all any of us along the East Coast are talking about as we prepare for Hurricane Irene.<br />
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Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-10040857093966214682011-08-22T16:24:00.000-04:002011-08-22T16:24:43.555-04:00As I continue to research, I'm re-reading bits from one of my <u>favorite</u> books and re-discovered this passage in which Postman discusses Lewis Mumford's conception of the clock:<br />
<blockquote>"The clock," Mumford has concluded, "is a piece of power machinery whose 'product' is seconds and minutes." In manufacturing such a product, the clock has the effect of disassociating time from human events and thus nourishes the belief in an independent world of mathematically measurable sequences. Moment to moment, it turns out, is not God's conception, or nature's. It is man conversing with himself about and through a piece of machinery he created.</blockquote><blockquote>In Mumford's great book <i>Technics and Civilization</i>, he shows how, beginning in the fourteenth century, the clock made us into time-keepers, and then time-savers, and now time-servers. In the process, we have learned irreverence toward the sun and the seasons, for in a world made up of seconds and minutes, the authority of nature is superseded. Indeed, as Mumford points out, with the invention of the clock, Eternity ceased to serve as the measure and focus of human events. And thus, though few would have imagined the connection, the inexorable ticking of the clock may have had more to do with the weakening of God's supremacy than all the treatises produced by the philosophers of the Enlightenment; that is to say, the clock introduced a new form of conversation between man and God, in which God appears to have been the loser.</blockquote>excerpt from Postman, N. (1984). <i>Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business</i>. New York: Penguin Books. (p. 11-12).Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-86786031833703184092011-08-12T07:00:00.000-04:002011-08-12T07:00:06.185-04:00A Meditation on Labor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUMv8YfBaPXjo-1r3pOYvkBVNv8JomY157PmQMZhRuRdXwc2r6pK0q9GLYLH0jOj0KbGUk7D8HQ1blackBDS9FUEE_8svSayhbR_jJB1lT4sZ0oiTdsRPhGuRowTBTIQ-1B-a8rgRwzdA/s1600/twoPrinciplesOfLabor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUMv8YfBaPXjo-1r3pOYvkBVNv8JomY157PmQMZhRuRdXwc2r6pK0q9GLYLH0jOj0KbGUk7D8HQ1blackBDS9FUEE_8svSayhbR_jJB1lT4sZ0oiTdsRPhGuRowTBTIQ-1B-a8rgRwzdA/s1600/twoPrinciplesOfLabor.JPG" /></a>"The contribution that science can make to labor is to render it easier by the help of a tool or a process, and to assure the laborer of his perfect economic security while he is engaged upon it. Then it can be performed with leisure and enjoyment. But the modern laborer has not exactly received this benefit under the industrial regime. His labor is hard, its tempo is fierce, and his employment is insecure. The first principle of a good labor is that is must be effective, but the second principle is that it must be enjoyed. Labor is one of the largest items in the human career; it is a modest demand to ask that it may partake of happiness.<br />
<br />
"The regular act of applied science is to introduce into labor a labor-saving device or a machine. Whether this is a benefit depends on how far it is advisable to save the labor. The philosophy of applied science is generally quite sure that the saving of labor is a pure gain, and that the more of it the better. This is to assume that labor is an evil, that only the end of labor or the material product is good. On this assumption labor becomes mercenary and servile, and it is no wonder if many forms of modern labor are accepted without resentment though they are evidently brutalizing. The act of labor as one of the happy functions of human life has been in effect abandoned, and is practiced solely for its rewards."<br />
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~an excerpt from <i><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3168400" target="_blank_">I'll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition</a></i>, pp. xl-xli.Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-54334928378625230162011-08-08T07:00:00.001-04:002011-08-08T07:00:25.878-04:00Learning the FundamentalsA few days ago I came across this Huffington Post article entitled <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/turnstyle/why-are-young-educated-am_b_916263.html" target="_blank_" >"Why are Young, Educated Americans Going Back to the Farm?"</a> (found via <a href="http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/" target="_blank_" >ColdAntlerFarm</a>). My great-grandmother witnessed the beginning of the transition from farm to city, so it's interesting to witness some reversal only a few generations later. I especially resonated with Kelly Coffman's quote:<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><i>"When you have [a liberal arts] education, you get to a point where you realize wait, I need to have a more basic fundamental education about being human. Food, water, shelter...these things are important."</i></span></blockquote>Returning to the basics is a quest I began several years ago--in fact, it's <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2008/04/everytime-i-walk-by-my-hiking-backpack.html#wwoofJustification" target="_blank_" >one of the main reasons</a> I went Wwoofing, and it's why I enjoy making as many necessities as I can, starting as close to "from scratch" as I can. The kitchen is one area I've <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2010/01/snow-and-home.html" target="_blank_" >mentioned before</a>, what with my bread, granola, etc; clothing is another. In a way, even refurbishing secondhand furniture is my way of understanding the items I live with at their most basic level, for nothing has taught me more about the materials and construction of an upholstered chair than doing it myself (and one of these days, I'll actually finish it!*). I haven't bought shampoo or conditioner in years, opting instead to use a baking soda rinse to clean my hair and an apple-cider vinegar rinse to condition it. And on that note, I also make my own foundation, although that is not a necessity. I am even nearly finished gathering the supplies I need to make my own shoes (Andrew Wrigley has a great series on making semi-brogues <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/wigglesworthh#p/u" target="_blank_" >here</a>). <br />
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These little acts are nothing groundbreaking--well, my shoe-making aspirations raise some eyebrows--and they may not hold much significance to anyone but myself. I still use quite a few things I don't understand--like my computer, the Internet, electricity, my car, not to mention the "scratch" ingredients like baking soda, cotton fabric, zinc oxide. There are a few drawbacks to this sort of "fundamental education," too. Time is the major factor, and money can be another. Although I end up saving quite a bit, some of these projects require an initial investment in supplies, and that is an investment I may not be able to make at the time. That is why I am thankful for responsibly formulated products like <a href="http://www.desertessence.com/bath-body/tea-tree-oil-deodorant-lavender" target="_blank_" >Desert Essence's deodorant</a> or <a href="http://tjsdeliveryservice.com/products/283-trader-joes-next-to-godliness-cedarwood-sage-multi-purpose-cleaner-with-essential-oils.aspx" target="_blank_" >Trader Joe's multipurpose cleaner</a>. And these little acts don't arise out of any sort of activism--I consider them more thoughtful and cheap than "green." But they do mark my determination to understand more about the things I depend upon, more about the <i>processes </i>city-life tends to occlude in favor of the <i>products</i>.<br />
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*this is the major drawback to getting back to the basics: the time it takes to <i>complete</i> these projects<br />
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P.S. Agrarian and Neo-Agrarian thinkers articulate the reasons behind this return to the fundamentals beautifully. I recommend <i><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3168400" target="_blank_" >I'll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56540201" target="_blank_" >The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry</a>.</i>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-67392385710265515012011-08-06T21:00:00.081-04:002011-08-06T21:00:00.824-04:00This Week I...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2sNgDWlMiPVMl6-E4h3xduiIELFVp4GdTAhBEU9Nbg-QiDtDr5u3xm7G4GKzvDIsdvcqXL6YJNcd9BtfurIl7KcXVSsd4kn8RvLfCtMOv4stJJgxhRc9fxQKJZqiK7hBLVQGEyVDK_KQf/s1600/ThisWeekI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2sNgDWlMiPVMl6-E4h3xduiIELFVp4GdTAhBEU9Nbg-QiDtDr5u3xm7G4GKzvDIsdvcqXL6YJNcd9BtfurIl7KcXVSsd4kn8RvLfCtMOv4stJJgxhRc9fxQKJZqiK7hBLVQGEyVDK_KQf/s320/ThisWeekI.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>sewed a dress and a fitted shell using my bodice sloper</li>
<li>was treated to a farewell lunch at the <a href="http://www.carolinainn.com/crossroads-restaurant.php">Carolina Inn</a> by my dear coworkers at the SHC; I'm going to miss these folks and my work there very very much</li>
<li>started work on a Stagville exhibit at the SHC</li>
<li><a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2011/08/visit-to-stagville.html">visited Historic Stagville</a> in Durham</li>
<li>found <i><a href="http://www.makethislook.com/">Make This Look</a></i> via a comment on <a href="http://sewretro.blogspot.com/">Sew Retro</a>; figuring out how to replicate clothing I see in stores is one of my favorite parts about sewing, and many lovely styles are represented on this section of <i><a href="http://www.sewweekly.com/">Sew Weekly</a></i></li>
<li>popped up to Virginia to celebrate Dad's birthday</li>
</ul>And here are some lovely posts from around the Web:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>I love reading <a href="http://auxpetitsoiseaux.blogspot.com/">Claudia's</a> endearingly honest posts about her new vocation as mother; doesn't <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjon8BfHvQTAIVDn-LxUzL-VJcKz9Yb2qqXOxKnEPf0taYWeEms58HqGOTABXwZa9KgAuFiNrrOgETn-uLT1sS9JYM-6ZrZ3Dkt5lrqrPyl_ghgWS0Ntr4hW1y_HygHd-VPGop8dRTzMDQ/s1600/5984804138_00b3695fde_z.jpg">this</a> picture melt your heart?</li>
<li><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/turnstyle/why-are-young-educated-am_b_916263.html">"Why are Young, Educated Americans Going Back to the Farm?"</a> (found via <a href="http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/"><i>ColdAntlerFarm</i></a>)--more about this on Monday</li>
<li>Lauren from <a href="http://wearinghistoryblog.com/"><i>Wearing History</i></a> sewed <a href="http://wearinghistoryblog.com/2011/08/03/finished-project-1930s-dinner-dress/">a stunning 1930s evening gown</a></li>
<li>Sarai of <i>Colette Patterns</i> <a href="http://www.colettepatterns.com/blog/inspiration/inspiration-for-fall-patterns">hinted at the fall line</a>--oh my goodness, I can't wait! </li>
<li>Elodie Todd (sister of Mary Todd Lincoln) writes to her Confederate fiance <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/2011/08/04/4-august-1861-we-may-date-our-trouble-from-the-time-when-we-allowed-party-to-place-in-the-chair-a-president-entirely-disregarding-his-worth-ability-or-capacity-for-it/">here</a>.</li>
</ul>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-38759988886500342632011-08-05T07:00:00.006-04:002011-08-05T07:00:09.468-04:00A Visit to Stagville<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/shc/" target="_blank_">SHC</a> has been collaborating with <a href="http://www.stagville.org/" target="_blank_">Historic Stagville</a>, and the final project in my practicum is creating an exhibit on some of the enslaved families. On Monday my research brought me down the stairs to the <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/" target="_blank_">North Carolina Collection</a> in search of source citations, but on Thursday I decided to break from the books and visit the plantation itself.<br />
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The hour-long tour takes visitors to the Bennehan house, the enslaved quarters at Horton Grove, and the great barn, all of which are described briefly <a href="http://www.stagville.org/history/the-structures/" target="_blank_">here</a>. While the Bennehan home was interesting, Horton Grove impressed me with the tangible reminders of slavery. Along the chimney, you can see actual handprints of the enslaved builders who shaped and stacked the bricks. One brick even bears the faint footprint of a child who must have stepped or fallen upon it before it was quite dry. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmoliver/2081176814/" target="_blank_">Hart House</a>, too, retains connections to its enslaved past with the Hart family (one of the families I am researching, in fact). As sharecroppers and blacksmiths after emancipation, the Harts were able to buy the house eventually and resided there as late as the 1950s. There are some living in town today who can say they were born in [formerly] enslaved quarters.<br />
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If you'd like to peek into Historic Stagville virtually, head <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmoliver/sets/72157603356284357/" target="_blank_">here</a>.Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-71819801945720178562011-08-03T07:00:00.018-04:002012-04-10T20:28:09.726-04:00Wwoofing Adventures #6<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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6 o'clock buzzed in much too soon, but we had to shower, pack, check out, and get to <a href="http://www.westminster-abbey.org/" target="_blank_">Westminster Abbey</a> by 8. On our bus ride home the <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2011/07/wwoofing-adventures-5.html#bus" target="_blank_">night before</a>, Meagan had declared her resolve to attend Holy Communion--a resolve that met with cranky protestations on my part. Nevertheless, we boarded the very empty Docklands Light Railway early that morning, backpacks in tow, ready enough to commence our last half-day in London. LeeAnn departed mid-route for Westminster Cathedral's morning mass, while Meagan and I continued on. Perhaps it was my tiredness--afterall, an introvert who has been enjoying new experiences in a bustling city will get socially, emotionally, and physically tired--but the day was beginning to take on a surreal cast, my present activities dislimned by my anticipation of the coming night when the three of us would embark upon our first Wwoofing adventure. I'd never worked on a farm--rarely even in a garden, never concerned myself with organic practices nor the environment, never stayed with a host-family. Would this be the beginning of something new, the time I could point to later on and say "there the course of my life changed"?</div>
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Holy Communion was the best way to experience the Abbey, far better than the cattle-prodded shuffle of paid admission. The greeters did not even seem to mind the backpacks we stuffed dutifully beneath our seats. The service soon over, Meagan and I trekked to <a href="http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/" target="_blank_">Westminster Cathedral</a>, reunited with LeeAnn, and made our circuitous way to Victoria Station. In between settling the finer points of our evening's journey to Kent, I took the opportunity to nab a cup of coffee that provided little of the wanted effect.<br />
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The details in order, our departure time duly noted, we set out for <a href="http://www.portobellomarket.org/" target="_blank_">Portobello Market</a> for a few hours of browsing. The alarming cost to check our bags at the station dissuaded us from doing the sensible thing and from then on every few steps nagged me with regrets as I hoisted my bag to a less aching position. We finally found Portobello Market (are you sensing a theme with all these "finally found"s?) and, after bumping through crowds and stalls stocked with tea cups and antique watches and faded books, we discovered a stall selling scarves at a reasonable price. Each of us bought a beautiful pashmina and correctly predicted that "we'll be loving them all summer."<br />
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The train was a blessed respite from the bustle of London and of the past few days. It was our moment to sit for an hour or so in the relative quiet of the car while anticipating our next adventure. What would our host be like? Would we acclimate? Would we realize that this whole trip was terribly misguided and so dread our remaining weeks on other farms?<br />
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Excitement, curiosity, and anxiety mingled in my thoughts as we pulled in to the station.</div>
</div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-38387883904605433882011-08-01T20:19:00.001-04:002011-08-01T20:21:22.551-04:00Goodness gracious it's August already.<br />
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As I gear up for my move, submit my IRB application, finish my practicum at the SHC, and play host to my lovely sister, expect posting to be slower/shorter than normal for the next few weeks.<br />
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On another note, others are still going strong in the blogging realm. Joanna of <a href="http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/" target="_blank_" >Cup of Jo</a> posted a thoughtful examination of how we talk to little girls. Read it <a href="http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2011/08/motherhood-mondays-how-to-talk-to.html" target="_blank_" >here</a>.Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-62990897632127068592011-07-30T21:00:00.096-04:002011-08-26T10:00:02.461-04:00This Week I...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Esqb1VXXC0/TjQNSUak0pI/AAAAAAAAAqM/ksUfzvY1_n8/s1600/ThisWeekI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Esqb1VXXC0/TjQNSUak0pI/AAAAAAAAAqM/ksUfzvY1_n8/s320/ThisWeekI.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><ul><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>finished</b></span></b></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> (as much as one can say "finished") fitting my bodice sloper; it's only taken me three years</span></b></span></b></li>
<li><b>transcribed</b> a <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/2011/07/28/28-july-1861-my-heart-exults-over-the-victory-at-manassas/" target="_blank_">letter</a> written by a UNC chemistry professor in 1861; although it contains all-too-familiar references to <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/2011/07/24/24-july-1861-we-fear-that-the-reported-death-of-col-fisher-of-the-sixth-regiment-of-north-carolina-state-troops-is-only-too-true/" target="_blank_">lost friends</a> and loneliness, Kimberly writes with a fair bit of humor as well, especially when discussing his limited fare and the garrulous Mrs. M--</li>
<li><a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2011/07/day-spent-drafting-sleeves-and-watching.html" target="_blank_"><b>drafted</b> </a>my first sleeve sloper using Donald McCunn's <i><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3630402" target="_blank_">How to Make Sewing Patterns</a></i> (1977); I broke into smiles when I beheld my finished pattern, and the amount of ease I added made for a <i>perfect </i>seam when sewn. It seriously brought joy to my heart! Unfortunately, it's not very comfortable when I move my arms, so it's back to the drafting board...</li>
<li><b>composed</b> a PSA for UNC's <a href="http://www.wxyc.org/" target="_blank_">WXYC radio</a> advertising the <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/" target="_blank_">Civil War Day by Day</a></li>
<li><b>finished</b> my first draft of <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/">CWDxD's</a> classroom resources page <i>(update: see the page <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/classroom-resources/">here</a>)</i></li>
<li><b>ate</b> lots of peaches and strawberries</li>
<li><b>boosted</b> my HTML vocabulary with new linking codes</li>
</ul>And here are some noteworthy posts from this week:<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://myperfumebottle.tumblr.com/" target="_blank_">Kathryn </a>made two beautifully simple <a href="http://myperfumebottle.tumblr.com/post/7933906638/ive-been-into-jewelry-for-a-long-time-but-i-took" target="_blank_">necklaces</a>, although I'm not sure how long her secret is safe...</li>
<li><a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/tag/edward-porter-alexander/" target="_blank_">Edward Porter Alexander</a> returns to the CWDxD blog with a <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/2011/07/27/27-july-1861/" target="_blank_">letter</a> describing what happens <i>after</i> a battle</li>
<li>also on the CWDxD blog, read the <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/2011/07/29/29-july-1861-2/">poignant letter</a> from the father of a Union soldier to a Confederate colonel: "<i>I wish to be allowed to come into Virginia to see my son if alive, or to search for his body if dead"</i> </li>
<li><a href="http://blog.caseybrowndesigns.com/" target="_blank_">Casey </a>posted a link to <a href="http://www.frolic-blog.com/frolic/2011/07/origami-lanterns-by-banquet.html" target="_blank_">these </a>lovely origami lanterns on <a href="http://www.frolic-blog.com/frolic/" target="_blank_">{frolic!}</a></li>
<li>It's been hot and fairly dry in NC this summer, but out west it's been <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2011/07/hot-and-dry/" target="_blank_">very dry</a></li>
<li><a href="http://deargolden.blogspot.com/2011/07/summer-cocktails.html">three summer cocktails</a> via <a href="http://deargolden.blogspot.com/">Dear Golden</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/fashion/what-your-beard-says-about-you-the-mirror.html">"What Your Beard Says About You"</a></li>
</ul>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-4530350564205519652011-07-29T07:00:00.136-04:002011-07-29T07:00:06.169-04:00Disembodied Information<i>It was not until the advent of the telegraph that messages could travel faster than a messenger. Before this, roads and the written word were closely interrelated. It is only since the telegraph that information has detached itself from such solid commodities as stone and papyrus</i>.<br />
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-Marshall McLuhan<br />
<i>Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man </i>(1964), p. 89<br />
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How does the disembodiment of information affect our perception of it?Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-64735654869436885682011-07-27T07:00:00.007-04:002011-08-03T12:28:42.534-04:00Wwoofing Adventures #5By that morning, our third day in England, I could feel myself adjusting to the time change and even to life as a tourist. We had much to do in this our last full day in London--tour the <a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/" target="_blank_">British Museum</a> and the <a href="http://www.bl.uk/" target="_blank_">British Library</a>, search out our midday meal of fish and chips, breeze through <a href="http://www.royalparks.gov.uk/The-Regents-Park.aspx?The-Regents-Park" target="_blank_">Regent's Park</a>, and arrive at the <a href="http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/" target="_blank_">Globe Theatre</a> in time for our much anticipated production of <span style="font-style: italic;">King Lear</span>*. LeeAnn was also itching to return to the theatre set exhibit at the V&A, having stumbled upon it only five minutes before it closed the previous day. <span style="font-style: italic;">She lives and breathes theatre.<span style="font-style: italic;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span>With all that, we also rather hoped to take a jaunt through an open-air market before the show.<br />
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Such are the unrelenting plans of the optimist.<br />
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Although the Museum proved surprisingly difficult to find, we selected the exhibits we wished to see with relative ease by confining ourselves to the 100 Objects tour on the <a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/floor_plans_and_galleries/ground_floor.aspx" target="_blank_">first</a> and <a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/floor_plans_and_galleries/upper_floor.aspx" target="_blank_">second </a>floors. As an English major, however, I made sure to visit the Brownings' wedding rings again, and we all paused before the Elgin Marbles with Keats's famous poem, "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles for the First Time."<br />
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As I wrote during my last visit, it was amazing to set eyes upon things--statues, tools, jewelry, pottery, &c--that have existed before the momentous events that we have defined as history, touched by the hands of those completely different from our own. So many of these things were created before the incarnation of Christ himself, <i>the Lord and Savior of the world</i>. Shadow of a magnitude indeed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwY6k2zdXBwAlXsX65taTAJwgOT9nCaY88eTKAYdBkzzQQz4ec50eJAxcpQUa5jiUDPCCIWmTLxgzsq072AVwSb5uYM0tOlqOzgb9ti0CtVCsuHa8K2HQOt6yQ_i_qLdWX1LYOUQLif8W/s1600/Wwoof+in+color+027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwY6k2zdXBwAlXsX65taTAJwgOT9nCaY88eTKAYdBkzzQQz4ec50eJAxcpQUa5jiUDPCCIWmTLxgzsq072AVwSb5uYM0tOlqOzgb9ti0CtVCsuHa8K2HQOt6yQ_i_qLdWX1LYOUQLif8W/s400/Wwoof+in+color+027.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">taking a breather at the British Museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>But time waits for no one, particularly the traveler, and we found a small restaurant serving the next item on our agenda. The three of us disappointed the waitress by ordering only one (albeit large) plate of fish and chips and mushy peas to split among us, relying on its full fat content to hold us through to a light supper before the play. After our grocery-store meals of bread and cheese and fruit, it felt good to sit down in an classy establishment and eat a hearty meal. We even ordered a dish of hazelnut ice cream (to split of course) in a moment of delighted spontaneity.<br />
<br />
Thus refreshed, we wandered further through London in search of the Library which we found only after a good deal more twists and turns past boiled-peanut vendors and souvenir tea shops. We ended up forgoing Regent's Park, in spite of my stubborn remonstrations, wisely concluding that it would be foolish to hurry across London in order to rest at the Park. Part of traveling is figuring out what you have time both to do <i>and savor</i>; capability is only half the equation. Nevertheless we did speed through the unimaginable riches of the British Library--Queen Elisabeth I's signature, Shakespeare's handwriting, Jane Austen's desk--in order to return to our favorite haunt at the V & A. In our rush I neglected, once again, to take my picture on the incredible <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waves/2192009958/" target="_blank_">book bench</a>. We breezed through the theatre exhibit buoyed by LeeAnn's pure delight before snatching bread and cheese from a convenience store by the station (not knowing what kind of gory interpretation of <i>King Lear</i> was in store for us, we wanted to keep our fare light). Then, situated just across the Thames from the Globe, we found a bench and pulled out my tiny <i>Complete Works of Shakespeare</i> to review the play.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pBt303ZDZ54UWakn04_XmTkfyI_WFgqJJl69R7y0XCb6D9kdb8k94q4mQb66kkPpJJ3fS9Ic_YD6gXSpxT326KG5xFRJCVXqX8v5dQC1KSdpuMgRQRv-KI5Pf4i9S-HtZ33OTcdSpUzw/s1600/Wwoof+in+color+031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pBt303ZDZ54UWakn04_XmTkfyI_WFgqJJl69R7y0XCb6D9kdb8k94q4mQb66kkPpJJ3fS9Ic_YD6gXSpxT326KG5xFRJCVXqX8v5dQC1KSdpuMgRQRv-KI5Pf4i9S-HtZ33OTcdSpUzw/s640/Wwoof+in+color+031.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>My only concern as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundling" target="_blank_">groundling</a> was my [lack of] height, and I feared being squashed behind some tall broad man for the two or three hours of the play only catching the occasional "Wherefore..." or "Bethink..." As it was I needn't have worried, for we wedged ourselves in right next to the stage--within spitting distance of the actors, as they say--sufficiently drawing us into the play so that we even forgot our tired feet. At one point, characters from the play processed up to the stage and passed right by us.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zV76-ufPc_jCzfliAc3LJLazC3noSP1ND9UoP1uyUWLwylrboMOGuWqi5knHTlSUNFODDafSHgl3IY2WUxmuT0OADeU_1DDU8-PQ4nH9W-mMpLu-nYmf_EdeBsJNZVgrpChpnVONjC_I/s1600/Wwoof+in+color+033.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zV76-ufPc_jCzfliAc3LJLazC3noSP1ND9UoP1uyUWLwylrboMOGuWqi5knHTlSUNFODDafSHgl3IY2WUxmuT0OADeU_1DDU8-PQ4nH9W-mMpLu-nYmf_EdeBsJNZVgrpChpnVONjC_I/s400/Wwoof+in+color+033.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=4576334205347882532&postID=6473565486943688568" name="bus"></a>Unfortunately, the Birds' Nest is a ways away from London proper, and by the time we left the Globe that evening the few Underground lines linking us and Deptford were closed, some right as we entered the station. One staff member took pity on us, however, and directed us to a bus stop serving the last bus to Deptford. I write "directed" kindly, for minutes of circuitous wandering failed to reveal what he had glibly waved us toward. Spurred on by terrible visions of taxi fares (which I admittedly supplemented with the idea of walking to Deptford in spite of the <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2008/09/wwoofing-adventures-2.html" target="_blank_">rather rough area</a> in which our hostel was situated), we at last found the bus stop where I discovered I had lost my Oyster card**. Now, I am the sort who obsessively checks for my keys before shutting my car door and checks for my library or credit card before getting in line; all through London I kept my Oyster card easily accessible, only reassured with the occasional pat to verify that it was still in its proper place; this, therefore, was especially frustrating. Frenzied rifling, desperate coin-counting, tears, the odd "damn it," &c, however, and I finally found it just as the bus pulled up. We arrived at the Nest an hour later.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">*Never actually been a fan of <i>King Lear</i>--in fact, for the longest time this play represented everything that repulsed me by Shakespeare; but such was the 2008 summer schedule at the Globe</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">**Underground and bus fare</span></div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-31657105050800097682011-07-25T07:00:00.002-04:002011-07-25T07:00:19.057-04:00a conversation<i>I originally wrote this as one of last week's bullet points, but it got too cumbersome for the format. Here's more about that little reminder...</i><br />
<br />
In all honesty, I have been angry for a long time (for reasons I may share eventually so that others may relate and learn), and it came to a head on Sunday when my simmering resentment erupted in a flurry of questions, accusations, declarations. I told God everything on my heart with unedited and alarming frankness. As others have said, the important thing is to keep talking with God, especially during those times you absolutely don't want to talk. So I talked. And I yelled. And I cried.<br />
<br />
And I did it all again on Monday. <i>Why, why would you do that?</i> I asked him. <i>Why?</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">Does God have to explain himself to man?</span></div><br />
Pause. <i>What?</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">Does God have to explain himself to man?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div></div><br />
A mess of concepts and hints of passages I'd read long ago impressed themselves upon me, reminding me of God's awesome, exalted nature.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">Who then is he that can stand before Me?</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><i>Who has given to Me that I should repay him?*</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't deserve an answer, and I don't even deserve to be satisfied. God is working out his will as he sees fit, for whatever reason. But it is also his prerogative to love me, for whatever reason. I heard from God in the sense that he pointed me to his unchanging truth in Scripture; he brought to mind whispers of passages I've read years ago, all the more humbling because I was in no mood to reflect or to receive. God does not have to give an account of himself to man, nor is he required to explain his actions. He is God, and what he does or allows I have to accept without necessarily <i>understanding it now</i> (and this, I believe, is what one calls "faith"). I am also his beloved, which for reasons unknown, is his prerogative (and this, I believe, is what one calls a "relationship").</div><blockquote><i>Who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?</i><i><br />
</i><i></i></blockquote><blockquote><i>What if God, although willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And he did so to make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom he also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. As he says also in Hosea,</i><i><br />
</i><i></i></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"I will call those who were not my people, 'My people,'</i></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><i>And her who was not beloved, "Beloved.'"</i> **</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">*see <b>Job chapters 38-41</b> in full (one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible). This part is ridiculously hard to convey, and impossible to convey accurately and without sounding like a mystical epiphany. Out of a nebulous impression I have attempted to pluck discrete bits, define them with words, and string them into the sequence required of narrative. To put it in McLuhanesque terms, I have struggled to convey an oral, all-at-once impression in the sequential medium of print. Anyone who's had that flash of intuition and then have attempted to jot it down but utterly failed to capture it may relate.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">**</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Romans 9:20-25</b></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-81152061285039288562011-07-22T21:00:00.001-04:002011-07-22T21:00:04.065-04:00This Week I...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PuWQ2UwpHC8/TiWQ7n_2lLI/AAAAAAAAAo4/CXahmTvOfbU/s1600/ThisWeekI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PuWQ2UwpHC8/TiWQ7n_2lLI/AAAAAAAAAo4/CXahmTvOfbU/s320/ThisWeekI.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li><b>decided </b>on Sunday afternoon that I wanted to sew a fitted summer dress and set about drafting a bodice; of course, I got hung up on fitting. For some reason, my fitting nemesis is the upper bust area, and the same wrinkle shows up in every bodice pattern I try, one that radiates from the outer shoulder in toward the bust. No amount of fiddling seems to mitigate it--believe me, I've tried pinching out length through the chest, adjusting the shoulder slope, pinching out width through the center, pinching out width through the shoulder, pinching out the dart and rotating it to the bust dart...The closest wrinkle pattern in the books appears under the heading, "Full Bust Adjustment," which I know is not my particular problem! Is this wrinkle inevitable? Should I quit fussing and just sew the damn dress?</li>
<li><b>finished</b> a <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/battles/">new page</a> on the <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/">Civil War Day by Day blog</a> about the First Battle of Bull Run (fought exactly 150 years ago) and started drafting a page directed toward teachers (which I am really excited about doing as this meshes closely with my hoped-for career)</li>
<li><b>confirmed</b> my research adviser for the Fall (and my last semester at UNC <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">hope.ful.ly.</span>)</li>
<li><b>listened </b>to my <a href="http://www.pandora.com/">Pandora</a> station based on one of my favorite bands, <a href="http://www.hemmusic.com/index.jsp">Hem</a></li>
<li><b>started</b> running regularly; I was never a great runner, but I used to enjoy running 3-4 miles a few times a week. Now I'm <b>s l o w l y</b> building up stamina by running for bits of my usual 2 mile walks</li>
<li><b>got</b> a timely reminder--more about this on Monday... </li>
</ul>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-83198376605054116822011-07-20T07:00:00.004-04:002011-07-20T07:00:13.887-04:00Wwoofing Adventures...resumed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2E6qN5RFGkEI8XhW7ViYbrAfwbr8quvq3aZQX8llZJAEH3ijlSPvHmP2PdSvfwG73z4vuNZAITeTl2VvLYR16DkvJIGFLhmGAVJGGzxc_qAyS9SclOrsosUr-lG1O8_HmLTNzDKWQ_C8i/s1600/Wwoof+in+color+128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2E6qN5RFGkEI8XhW7ViYbrAfwbr8quvq3aZQX8llZJAEH3ijlSPvHmP2PdSvfwG73z4vuNZAITeTl2VvLYR16DkvJIGFLhmGAVJGGzxc_qAyS9SclOrsosUr-lG1O8_HmLTNzDKWQ_C8i/s320/Wwoof+in+color+128.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>y mom and sister's return from England has reminded me of my own most recent trip in the summer of 2008. I originally started this blog to document the adventures of my two college roommates and me as we <a href="http://www.wwoof.org/index.asp">Wwoofed </a>our way through the UK. Internet access was too sparse during our trip, and since then other events and nonevents have crowded out my original intention. I did, however, make a <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/search/label/Wwoof">start </a>at blogging it, and that is the narrative I would like to resume over the next few months. In deference to the blogger's predilection for alliterative posts, I have scheduled my Wwoofing accounts for Wednesdays, tentatively.<br />
<br />
Catch up on my Wwoofing adventures with my <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2008/04/everytime-i-walk-by-my-hiking-backpack.html">introduction</a>, narrative <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2008/09/wwoofing-adventures-1.html">#1</a>, <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2008/09/wwoofing-adventures-2.html">#2</a>, <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2008/10/wwoofing-adventures-3.html">#3</a>, and <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2008/12/wwoofing-adventures-4.html">#4</a>, and look for the next installment in a week!Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-83314096720890768422011-07-16T21:00:00.006-04:002011-07-17T08:48:53.205-04:00This Week I...<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d0bl4UIq5i4/Th3Tyzu291I/AAAAAAAAAoo/S1qxmV14NHc/s1600/ThisWeekI.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628887979116656466" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d0bl4UIq5i4/Th3Tyzu291I/AAAAAAAAAoo/S1qxmV14NHc/s320/ThisWeekI.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 179px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div><ul><li>focused upon staying hydrated--I pour my 64 oz of water into a big pitcher and drink it down through the day</li>
<li>baked baguettes and <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2011/05/s-o-i-bake-my-own-bread-which-means-ive.html">my new favorite Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal loaves</a></li>
<li>noted <a href="http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/">Gertie's </a>new <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/class/Sew-Retro-Perfect-Fit-Bombshell-Dress/29">online sewing class</a> with <i>great </i>interest; while the bustier bodice is not something I see myself wearing (I prefer loose-fitting tops), the light couture techniques she teaches look immensely valuable and that these techniques are taught in one place, convenient.</li>
<li>nourished my ever-growing hair with a gross but effective <a href="http://youtu.be/pXpi0RacueE">avocado mask</a> (note: link opens a video) and finally trimmed my ends. Also, I noticed another grey hair!</li>
<li>perused the minutes of the <a href="http://beyondthecurtains.blogspot.com/2011/07/philanthropic-society.html">Philanthropic Society</a> available through University Archives; topics under debate in the 1860s include "Who influences society more, man or woman?" "Will the North and South ever be reconciled over the issue of slavery?" "What has the greater influence over man, wine or women?" and "Is it ever moral for the Confederate army to fight on the offensive?"</li>
<li>am listening to Alison Krauss and Union Station's <a href="http://www.target.com/Paper-Airplane-Deluxe-Only-Target/dp/B004QZL0O0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=alison%20krauss&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-1&qid=1310570367&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=Paper%20Airplane%20Deluxe%20Only%20Target&node=1038576|1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0">Paper Airplane</a>--my favorite song is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004V7FW9W/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk5">"My Love Follows You Where You Go"</a></li>
<li>nabbed a 20% off coupon for filling out the Colette Patterns <a href="http://www.colettepatterns.com/blog/colette-patterns-news/take-our-survey-for-20-off">survey</a> (now closed), and I have my eye set on the <a href="http://www.colettepatterns.com/shop/macaron">Macaron</a></li>
<li>continued weeding in preparation for my move</li>
<li>continued my interminable thesis research; I finally set a schedule for finishing it, which is helping me to keep moving and not get bogged down on certain parts</li>
</ul><div>And I have enjoyed these posts from around the Web:</div></div><div><ul><li>Have you seen this project, <a href="http://www.herfiveyeardiary.com/" style="font-style: italic;">Her Five Year Diary: a day-by-day transcription of one woman's life from 1961 through 1965</a>? It's new to me, but I am going to start from the beginning and catch up. You can find out more about it <a href="http://www.herfiveyeardiary.com/index.php/whatisthis/">here</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/">Gertie </a>continues the discussion of <a href="http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2011/07/muslin-backlash_14.html">sewing muslins</a> (started on BurdaStyle <a href="http://www.burdastyle.com/blog/toile-anyone">here</a>) and, as usual, inspires a variety of opinions. I, for one, almost always sew muslins (mock-ups) since I tend to draft my own patterns, and they do allow me to practice new techniques with little fear. I don't, however, usually use actual muslin but instead get cheap cuts of fabric from thrift stores (ugly prints or those with polyester in them, out of which I wouldn't make actual clothes)</li>
<li>I found a wonderful sewing blog, <a href="http://frabjous-fashion.blogspot.com/">Frabjous Couture</a> (who posted the original muslins <a href="http://www.burdastyle.com/blog/toile-anyone">post </a>on <a href="http://www.burdastyle.com/">BurdaStyle</a>)</li>
<li>I loved Kathryn's <a href="http://myperfumebottle.tumblr.com/post/7513478728/its-been-one-of-those-days-that-seems-to-be-going">simile</a>, "like when a comedian's last joke falls to crickets." And look at this <a href="http://myperfumebottle.tumblr.com/post/7434944300/cow-appreciation-day-2011-year-2-we-love-us">bovine invasion</a>! </li>
</ul></div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-75811529039676985012011-07-15T07:00:00.033-04:002011-07-15T08:07:02.648-04:00Philanthropic Society<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="87" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVBjMR3GJO8/Th99AWFYZUI/AAAAAAAAAo0/MKSjmGiOVUY/s320/philanthropicSociety.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/2011/05/17/17-may-1861/">source</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">At the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/shc/">SHC </a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">on Monday I spent a couple of hours looking through the minutes of UNC's Philanthropic Society for 1861-62, in attempt to find some material from </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/uars/">University Archives</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> to post on the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/">blog</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">. I did find some candidates--for instance, one entry recorded a report the society submitted to its governing board detailing the poor condition of its hall. In particular, the society members were incensed over the lack of lighting which caused them to stumble about, was "injurious to those who keep their eyes open," and prohibited them from seeing if members were attentive or asleep during the meetings, even those who "sat very near." Their complaint was related in such a dry but ruffled-feathers way I found it humorous. The report, however, was grounded as they recounted their dwindling number of members due to the war (this was written in August, I think, of 1861). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><i>In memoriam</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> entries appeared with greater frequency the further I read as more of the society's members were killed in battle. As with the letters and other documents I've been reading, these entries show the human cost* of the war, the loss of individuals with great intellects, characters, and futures.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> </span></div><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">It was quite interesting to read some of the society's debate topics, too, which covered a range of issues such as man and woman, the war, and certain leaders (Napoleon came up a couple of times). Each meeting the secretary would dutifully record the query and the members chosen to represent each side in three weeks' time. One query, which apparently resulted in "lively discussion," was "Which exerts the greater influence over man, wine or women?" Another asked whether it was ever moral for the Confederate army to fight on the offensive (the answer was no). Another asked whether the North and South would ever be reconciled over the issue of slavery (which, again, was "no," I believe). I really wish the secretary had recorded bits of the arguments.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> <br />
</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Of particular interest to me were the many entries devoted to the upkeep of the library and archives. The society often bemoaned the poor state of the library, as patrons left books scattered over the tables and there was no budget allotted to get more books or to repair the bindings of the ones they had. There were also a good many "delinquent" patrons to deal with and fines to levy. Even as the library's resources change, some things, apparently, have remained timeless.</span></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 17px;"></span></span></div></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">The blog's first <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/2011/05/17/17-may-1861/">entry </a>about the Philanthropic Society introduces it in greater detail.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;"><i>*don't really like the financial overtones of the metaphor when talking about human lives, but you get the idea</i></span></div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-27509649462199256512011-07-13T07:00:00.002-04:002011-07-14T18:52:19.101-04:00<div style="text-align: left;">I've mentioned the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/library.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/">Civil War Day by Day blog</a> before, but as it's such a notable resource, I thought I'd introduce it in earnest. Here is an introduction from the creators at the Southern Historical Collection of Wilson Library (UNC):<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: medium; font-style: italic;">One hundred and fifty years ago today, America was at war. For four years, southerners and northerners fought, died, survived, mourned, and rejoiced when loved ones returned. And they wrote.</span></blockquote></div><div><blockquote style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><div style="color: black;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Civil War Day by Day</span></span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">, a new project from the Louis Round Wilson Special Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will present samples of the Civil War’s documentary remains. Every day for the next four years, the library will publish online a document that is 150 years old to the day.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: black;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The chronicle begins at the war’s outbreak, the first military engagement at Fort Sumter, S.C., on April 12, 1861. It will continue through April 26, 2015, 150th anniversary of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s surrender to Gen. William T. Sherman at Bennett Place.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="color: black;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The four years of war will be recounted through pamphlets, books, photographs, sheet music, letters, diaries, telegrams, order books, and much more, as these items are found in the Library’s stacks and reading rooms. Readers will be invited to walk with those who lived the war, and are encouraged to share their own reflections about these documents and their significance a century and a half after the war.</span></span></span></div></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">As I've recently come on board to help out a bit, I can attest to the great letters and other documents that will be featured over the next four years, documents that reveal the <i>human story</i> behind the battles. </span></div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-45551747538643503642011-07-10T21:17:00.013-04:002011-07-14T19:53:26.974-04:00...hyas tyee wake clatawah copa Wash...<div style="text-align: left;">As I continue my practicum at the Southern Historical Collection, I've been working on the <i><a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/">Civil War Day by Day blog</a></i>, scanning and editing featured documents, transcribing them, and adding descriptive and citation information. Handling the actual letters exchanged between soldiers and their families lends reality, tangibility, and even personality to history as they write about their fears, triumphs, and day-to-day activities.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Some of the letters are quite intimate, in particular those written by Edward Porter Alexander to his wife, Bettie (see a series of his letters <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/tag/edward-porter-alexander/">here</a>). </span>In between the sweet nothings ("my dear darling little wifey") and greetings to family and neighbors, however, he sometimes tucks in bits of coded messages describing the number, movements, and strategies of the Confederate forces. Here's a passage he wrote on <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/2011/07/10/10-july-1861/">10 July 1861</a> in an "unknown tongue" (which my supervisor has identified as Chinook jargon):</div><div><br />
</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628104941811156226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbMcdEnrKDhSBAO3AVEKVjvsm_CqoH-uJQz_UgsGe35u8uWdJlMgNG3Gvly4nb2vSIXE-MS_5_3oTfFq3FBOk66ePa2J_Z0uftAruZXU9HjhVgIvrKfk-Tza99YsC4nVBT0p8FnQ0LuWB/s400/EdwardPorterAlexanderChinookMessage.JPG" style="display: block; height: 214px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/2011/07/10/10-july-1861/">source</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"</span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #363636; font-family: Arial, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">N kah hyas tyee wake clatawah copa Wash. Wake sibkum skukum to clatawah. Yaka midlait yagwa, pe mimeloose conoway spose mesatehy bostons chaco. Wake uk quarter okukum to clatawah coper Washington."</em></div></div><div><br />
</div><div>I've translated* the Chinook into the following: <em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #363636; font-family: Arial, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[?] t</em><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #363636; font-family: Arial, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">hat chief no go to Wash[ington]. No part strong to go. He/They remain here and kill all if [?] Yankees come. No one quarter this to go to Washington.</em></div><div><br />
</div><div>Regardless of the particulars, Alexander is writing about a <i>hyas tyee</i> (chief, usually translated into English as "king") and his or his troops' movements toward Washington. Intriguing, no? Keep checking the blog for more interesting Civil War era documents!</div><div><br />
</div><div><i>--edit--keep an eye on the <a href="http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/index.php/2011/07/10/10-july-1861/#comments">comments</a>--someone with much more knowledge of Chinook jargon has submitted his own translation!</i></div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">*"translated" is a kind but extremely inaccurate description of the process I used to decode the passage; without knowing Chinook syntax, grammar, or tense, I simply attempted to match Chinook and English words through various reliable and unreliable resources.</span></div><div></div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-43230867679662136902011-07-06T07:00:00.002-04:002011-07-12T15:05:29.014-04:00A War Bride's Guide to the U.S.A.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpxMyMMbaMvFXtK56l7cHKK821jcNC-IuGro7pCZgXlXOKCmp0ychb76exAU2H1P1M8lm7AkbuRqtZJdMbWcUXT3cVhwq8qM3A2mBL2WKbDD_5OMes3-T5cDDYyZ51_wGE6UVspx4UXHX/s1600/WarBridesGuideToUSA.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpxMyMMbaMvFXtK56l7cHKK821jcNC-IuGro7pCZgXlXOKCmp0ychb76exAU2H1P1M8lm7AkbuRqtZJdMbWcUXT3cVhwq8qM3A2mBL2WKbDD_5OMes3-T5cDDYyZ51_wGE6UVspx4UXHX/s320/WarBridesGuideToUSA.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625884573997294498" /></a><div><i>A War Bride's Guide to the U.S.A. </i>is an enlightening collaboration between Britain's <i>Good Housekeeping</i> magazine and the U.S. Office of War Information that sketches out differences between the British and Americans. With the era's characteristically bright but unbudging assertion, it advises British war brides in sundry practical matters including manners, humor, homemaking, traveling, making friends, and citizenry. It is particularly interesting to read the guide as an American, for it offers an opportunity for Americans to eavesdrop on a conversation between Brits and observe American culture flattened and generalized as an exhibit.</div><div><br /></div><div>For instance, did you know that kidding is a particularly American form of humor? "There are some kinds of spoken humour that you must learn to take calmly," Good Housekeeping warns British war brides; "Exaggeration, of course, you know about, and learning the American language includes recognizing what is true and what is too absurd to believe. Kidding is perhaps harder to get used to, but you have to learn" (p. 13). The good folks proceed to delineate two varieties of kidding, including mimicking, a "subtle form of flattery," and insults, which can be used to express both affection and anger (p. 13). </div><div><br /></div><div>Another enlightening section provides book recommendations that illustrate the gamut of American scenes including the Midwest (Lewis's <i>Main Street, </i>Cather's <i>My Antonia, </i>Ferber's<i> Cimarron</i>), the Northeast (Hawthorne's <i>The Scarlet Letter, </i>Carroll's <i>As the Earth Turns, </i>Smith's <i>A Tree in the Yard</i>), the South (Mitchell's <i>Gone with the Wind, </i>Rawling's <i>The Yearling</i>, Miller's <i>Lamb in His Bosom</i>), and the West coast (Steinbeck's <i>Of Mice and Men</i>).</div><div><br /></div><div>The guide is supplemented with a handy glossary of British and American terms and extracts from <i>Good Housekeeping</i> featuring poems, stories, and editorials about war brides published throughout the war years. Copies of the guide are readily <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/184340382X/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new">available online</a>, but you can see the <a href="http://uswarbrides.com/AmWarBrides/glossary.html">glossary</a> at <a href="http://uswarbrides.com/">American War Bride Experience</a>, which, from the looks of it, is a rich site featuring reminisces, newspaper articles, photographs, and additional resources. </div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4576334205347882532.post-38585239115783382102011-06-27T07:00:00.004-04:002011-06-27T14:41:04.363-04:00thrifting feature<div style="text-align: left;">It's no secret that I love thrift stores--almost as much as I love carbohydrates. Most of my wardrobe is thrifted, most of my furniture is thrifted, most of my dishes, shoes, sewing supplies, and artwork is thrifted. Of course, the price of said items is the great draw, but what keeps me going back time after time is the hunt. You never know what you'll find, but you'll find it there. Additionally, everything I buy secondhand is one which I won't end up buying retail, which means that by shopping secondhand I've greatly limited my support of iffy manufacturing practices.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Needless to say, I go thrifting regularly (and fully support the use of the noun, "thrift" as a verb, by the way) and thought I'd document my finds here--afterall, part of the thrill of discovery is in sharing it!</div><div><br /></div><div>I got to visit my favorite thrift stores earlier this month as I was up in Virginia for my mom's birthday. If you're ever in the Norfolk area, I recommend <a href="http://www.thriftstoreusa.biz/">Thrift Store USA</a> and <a href="http://www.thriftstorecity.com/">Thrift Store City</a>. Kris and I usually devote half a day to perusing both those stores thoroughly. I picked up two things at the latter store:</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOixhxG5SXYr1JPkQrOCe00TshFzJR_l2CHage-u9iwMxTn94Yd04qxYc2KqrUegpqMSv8Llp0qywyh2e5jrD-YT3M5Qt83BpmbwPGQXfMFfYEXQuimEs8YeyHbdT7QUzoNcWic3eGUpp/s400/088.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619221930149031746" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>a pair of black leather flats: $2.98</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(which, thankfully, finally replace my squeaky, synthetic, Millie-nibbled black flats)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>and a seafoam colored silk shirt, which I am converting to a tank: $0.99</i></div>Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219151953729018730noreply@blogger.com0