plsj tumblelog

Seaweed Suggests First Humans in America Took the Coastal Route

Tue, 13 May 2008 07:59:00 -0400

Seaweed Suggests First Humans in America Took the Coastal Route: The paradigm wars continue. Tom will probably have to spend the rest of his life trying to demonstrate that Ruth was/is right, and that the Clovis barrier isn’t.

“More than 140 million women in the world are condemned to...

Mon, 12 May 2008 12:17:00 -0400

“More than 140 million women in the world are condemned to feel nothing.”

Client: AMAM - Association of Women Against Genital Mutilation
Advertising Agency: Contrapunto BBDO, Barcelona, Spain

Interesting comments on the ad campaign at Feministing. And I am extremely wary of the kind of Western, White feminism that sees this as a clear issue - it is far more nuanced than it may first appear.

What is Grey Literature?

Mon, 12 May 2008 09:00:00 -0400

“‘Grey literature’ is used to describe publications not published commercially or indexed by major database vendors. Greylit may be ephemeral (of questionable relevance or quality), but it continues to have an impact in research, teaching and learning. It is occasionally the sole source for specific research questions. While this research may be published eventually, in many cases it is not. Finally, greylit is usually not subject to peer review, and must be scrutinized accordingly. Grey literature may be “fugitive”, hidden, invisible or in the deep web; on government sites, deep in journal archives, institutional repositories, theses databases, conference sites, association publications. Trends in communication are changing the notion of grey literature to include e-mails, faxes, blog postings, wikis, RSS feeds and podcasts.”

UBC Library

Fiddlehead quilt block

Mon, 12 May 2008 08:50:44 -0400

Fiddlehead quilt block

Supper. photo by topquark

Mon, 12 May 2008 08:44:00 -0400

Supper.

photo by topquark

Stalking the Wild Fiddlehead

Mon, 12 May 2008 08:36:00 -0400

“Depending on weather, the fronds begin to appear around late April and by early May they can often be found growing in abundance on moist, fertile grounds. The best places to hunt fiddleheads are along river and stream banks, in open woodlands and at the edges of swamps and marshes.

Fiddleheads are the uncurled, deep green fronds of the graceful ostrich fern. They are at their prime for eating while young, firm and tightly curled. As the fern stalk reaches about six to eight inches in height, the frond begins to uncurl into a soft, feathery fern, losing its table appeal.”

“Fiddleheads grow in clumps and should be picked in a thinning-out fashion, taking several fronds from each cluster rather than stripping the whole clump. This is how my grandmother taught me to pick and I have been harvesting from the same bountiful patches for years. Since new roots are produced annually from the base of the current year’s fronds, harvesting in this manner encourages new growth for the following season. It also leaves fronds to mature into ferns that will live out the season and fall back to the earth to become rich fertilizer.

Some foragers use a small knife for cutting the heads but I find they break off very easily by hand — a safer method, especially for kids, and said to be healthier for the plant. When collecting fronds as they first emerge from the ground, work your fingers to the base and break the head from the cluster. Once fiddleheads rise on their stalks, they are much easier to gather. Just break off the fronds and leave stalks standing.

The fronds are covered with a brownish, onion-skin like coating that must be removed before eating. This can be done by shucking with your hands. After the chafe is removed, wash the fiddleheads well under cold running water to remove dirt before cooking.”

FIDDLEHEADS TASTE LIKE SPRING

Joan Jett - Do You Wanna Touch? (Oh Yeah!)

Sun, 11 May 2008 09:29:00 -0400

Joan Jett - Do You Wanna Touch? (Oh Yeah!)

The Silent Scream of the Asparagus

Sun, 11 May 2008 09:12:50 -0400

The Silent Scream of the Asparagus :

“What is clear, however, is that Switzerland’s enshrining of “plant dignity” is a symptom of a cultural disease that has infected Western civilization, causing us to lose the ability to think critically and distinguish serious from frivolous ethical concerns. It also reflects the triumph of a radical anthropomorphism that views elements of the natural world as morally equivalent to people.”

Pictured: The moment award-winning garden is destroyed after hundreds respond to Facebook water fight

Sun, 11 May 2008 09:06:23 -0400

Pictured: The moment award-winning garden is destroyed after hundreds respond to Facebook water fight:

“This is what happens in a rapidly congested Britain when recreational facilities and playing fields are continually sold off and no replacement, or totally inadequate, provision of convenient 12-18 age-group recreation areas, parkland and/or all-weather sports pitches are ever made by neglectful politicians.”

Cabdriver Thanked for Returning a Stradivarius

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:45:46 -0400

Cabdriver Thanked for Returning a Stradivarius: Lovely story.

Best of Craigslist: Mom, I know you're there

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:31:37 -0400

Best of Craigslist: Mom, I know you're there: Yikes.

Summertime whites

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:17:05 -0400

Summertime whites:

“Thereby, I make a plea at this time that may be summer: gentlemen, keep your shirts on. The balmy twenty degrees may compel you to bare your lily white pigeon-chests in a courtship ritual, but your country needs you to avoid a tan.”

LOL. Damn my transluscent English skin too.

Abondance Montréal

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:02:00 -0400

Abondance Montréal: Montréal zero-energy condos. Good location, affordable. Car-sharing, organic veg delivery and gym memberships included.

Young Anabaptist Radicals: Biblical Commands For the Privileged

Thu, 08 May 2008 08:59:00 -0400

Young Anabaptist Radicals: Biblical Commands For the Privileged: Don’t dismiss them because they’re Christian. Anabaptists are strong pacifists and supporters of social justice, and when you remove “God” from all these guidelines they still present solid social and political ethics. (Thx Kevin!)

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Thu, 08 May 2008 08:54:00 -0400

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Food waste on 'staggering' scale

Thu, 08 May 2008 08:50:00 -0400

Food waste on 'staggering' scale:

“[T]he average UK household needlessly throws away 18% of all food purchased. Families with children throw away 27% … “What shocked me the most was the cost of our food waste at a time of rising food bills, and generally a tighter pull on our purse strings,” Ms Goodwin said. “It highlights that this is an economic and social issue, as well as about how much we understand the value of our food.”

The Garbage Project found that people consistently waste more food during periods of shortage than during other times - primarily due to people buying items they do not usually buy, and then lacking knowledge of how to properly store or prepare it. Also, food shortages are exacerbated by hoarding.

Canadian consumers rank second-last in green survey

Thu, 08 May 2008 08:10:00 -0400

Canadian consumers rank second-last in green survey: Both depressing and embarrassing. See JK, it’s all about housing and transportation choices.

Ottawa high school student's flu glue wins national prize

Thu, 08 May 2008 08:05:00 -0400

Ottawa high school student's flu glue wins national prize: Go Maria!

Saturday Night! Wow indeed.

Wed, 07 May 2008 08:39:09 -0400

Saturday Night!

Wow indeed.

WNBA offers advice to rookies

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:33:00 -0400

WNBA offers advice to rookies:

As part of the rookies’ orientation into life as professional athletes, the WNBA for the first time offered them hour-long courses on makeup and fashion tips … “The problem is if only 8 percent of the coverage is on women, and the vast majority of the time we’re talking about who they’re married to, what clothing they’re wearing, what kind of parents they are, there’s not much room left to say, ‘What a great athlete,’ ” Snyder said …

Renee Brown, the WNBA’s vice president of player personnel, said the league aims to show its players as “mothers, daughters, sisters, nieces and entrepreneurs” and their “womanhood” is important to promote the league. “You’re a woman first,” Brown said. “You just happen to play sports. They enjoy dressing up and trying on outfits, where back in the day, everyone just wore sweats. “Call it what you want. We’re just celebrating their womanhood.”

Jessica at Feministing sez: “So long as “womanhood” means adhering to traditional gender norms. When “womanhood” means being a kick-ass athlete, I guess it’s not worth celebrating.”

Yup. Sad.