The People History
Find the history of cost of living, prices, events, popular social culture, inventions, technology by year, decade or type from the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's 70's, 80's, 90's and the new Millennium. Also included are over 2,000 videos related to the year or decade or other sections of the site.
Thanks for this Roddy (Internet Resources Newsletter)
While a Magician Works, the Mind Does the Tricks via 3quarksdaily by Azra Raza on 12 August
From The New York Times:
A decent backyard magic show is often an exercise in deliberate chaos. Cards whipped through the air. Glasses crashing to the ground. Gasps, hand-waving, loud abracadabras. Something's bound to catch fire, too, if the performer is ambitious enough — or needs cover. "Back in the early days, I always had a little smoke and fire, not only for misdirection but to emphasize that something magic had just happened," said The Great Raguzi, a magician based in Southern California who has performed professionally for more than 35 years, in venues around the world. "But as the magic and magician mature, you see that you don't need the bigger props."
More here.
Tortoise hates cats
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder on 23 July
This aggressive little tortoise is unstoppable in his determination to keep cats off his territory.
Homegrown Evolution blog on the ethics of raising chickens
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder on 29 July
On his blog, Erik Knutzen, co-author of the terrific self-sufficiency guidebook, The Urban Homestead, writes about the ethics of raising chickens in the backyard for eggs.
Eric pointed to "Why I Farm," a Mother Earth News essay by Bryan Welch, with this provocative quote:
I get a lot of laughs watching my animals figure out their lives and I get pretty sad when it's time to kill them. I have a lot more death in my life than I did before. And, ironically, that's part of the reason why I feel like I have a lot more life in my life. That's why I farm." Both Erik's blog post and Welch's essay are worth reading for anyone thinking about raising livestock at home. I'm almost finished with my backyard chicken coop, so this was especially interesting to me.
An Omnivore's Dilemma (Homegrown Evolution)
Rick Adams shot a video of a man clinging to the hood of a car driven by an intoxicated maniac, and writes about what happened to him as a result of filming the incident.
Arts & Letters Daily 19 Aug 2008
There was huge drop in semicolon use from the 18th through the 19th centuries, from 68.1 per 1000 words to 17.7. And that's just the start of the trouble... more
There was huge drop in semicolon use from the 18th through the 19th centuries, from 68.1 per 1000 words to 17.7. And that's just the start of the trouble... more
The government's top scientific advisers have warned that the quality of fingerprints from people aged over 75 may be too poor to be used to prove their identity.
Guardian 15 August
Arts & Letters Daily 21 August
The charm of old cookbooks is that while few would seriously cook from Fanny Farmer or Mrs. Beeton, each remains a time capsule of its era. Consider Vincent Price's... more
Hazel's comment:
Am I an anomaly? I do use very old cookery books including my grandmother's scrap book (for her marmalade recipe and Christmas cake if nothing else).
Michael Gorbachev in the New York Times via 3quarksdaily by Abbas Raza on 21 August
The acute phase of the crisis provoked by the Georgian forces' assault on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, is now behind us. But how can one erase from memory the horrifying scenes of the nighttime rocket attack on a peaceful town, the razing of entire city blocks, the deaths of people taking cover in basements, the destruction of ancient monuments and ancestral graves? Russia did not want this crisis. The Russian leadership is in a strong-enough position domestically; it did not need a little victorious war.
More here. [Thanks to Syed Tasnim Raza]
and as a complete contrast please go and read I, Pencil: my family tree as told to Leonard E Read (December 1958)
Hazel's comment:
with sincere apologies to whoever pointed me at this story in the first place – I would attribute if I hadn't been too lazy to pick up the information!
ADSET's Business Info has no corresponding "interest" blogs but you may find it of interest anyway!
