Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes: March 23, 2013

Johann Georg Hainz's Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Johann Georg Hainz’s Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

During the Renaissance, cabinet of curiosities came into fashion as a collection of objects that would often defy classification. As a precursor to the modern museum, the cabinet referred to room(s), not actual furniture, of things that piqued the owners interest and would be collected and displayed in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes is my 21st century interpretation of that idea.
Dear Internet,
This week I was in Minneapolis for Library Technology Conference, which turned out to be a pretty awesome thing. I presented on, How I Stopped Worrying and Learned To Love Institutional Repositories and got to meet a lot of awesome people. Before I left, I wrote about my packing list, which turned out others were into the packing list idea like me.  The follow up is coming soon. TheHusband threw his back out when I came home, so we’ve been taking it easy around here though I have a lot of work to do over the weekend.

Writing

Last weeks Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes included nearly 20 entries from The Lisa Chronicles, mainly from 2008, that I was able to get online. The wonkiness of the site issues prevented me from putting up an intro, so consider this to be it.

Reading


halfsickofshadows

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Amazon | Local Library | GoodReads)
By Alan Bradley
While at LibTechConf, I observed something I had always suspected to be true – even the most techiest of people prefer print books.
In a conversation with a friend, we were rationalizing the difference of an ereader and a paperback while traveling, namely that for most of the flight (if the flight is relatively short), the ereader has to be turned off and stowed. It also has to be unpacked when going through security lines and there is always the danger of cracking the screen. None of this is a problematic with paperbacks. While I had my iPad and my laptop with me on this trip, both were too cumbersome to read in bed,  while using public transportation, and obviously while in an airport and on the plane. After passing through security on my way to my gate to get home, I slipped into a bookstore and picked up the fourth Flavia de Luce mystery, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows.
I loved the first three titles of the series and I’ve been waiting forever to get this book via the library in print and eBook form, but the wait was always too long. While I swore I would not buy a book this year, I was desperate. By the time my flight landed several hours later, I was more than half-way through the book. I inwardly chuckled as people on my flight struggled with their ereaders and laptops during the flight while I happily read my paperback. A proper review will be forthcoming.

Watching

  • Formula 1
    Lewis Hamilton has left McLaren for Mercedes – how will McLaren fare this season? Will I have to shred my tshirt in disgust? Will I get up at at 4AM to watch the Pan-Asian runs? How is it possible all the drivers are inhumanly beautiful?
  • Top Gear UK
    The seasons ended with a bang, almost literally, as the boys were sent to find the source of the river Nile, which had them driving all over Africa. The views, as to be expected, were breathtaking.
  • Banshee
  • Mr. Selfridge
    Staring Jeremy Piven playing the titular role loosely based on the life of American Harry Gordon Selfridge, who opened up the eponymous department store in London in 1909. Mr. Selfridge walks the viewer from the opening of the store to all the trials and tribulations of the Selfridge family, key store employees, and other people of the era. Much more palatable than The Paradise, BBC’s version of similar story, ITV seemed to waste no money making the store, the set, or the storyline luxurious. It’s coming to PBS in a few weeks.

Weekly watching:  Vikings, The Vampire Diaries, PortlandiaHouse of LiesElementarySpartacus, The Americans, Archer, and Project Runway

Links

What have you read/watched/listened to this week?
x0x0,
Lisa

One thought on “Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes: March 23, 2013”

Comments are closed.