Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes for May 24, 2014

Johann Georg Hainz's Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia CommonsJohann 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,
TheHusband whisked me away to Chicago earlier part of the week to see Elbow, we were then home for a few days, and now we’re up at  Throbbing Cabin to open it up for the summer.  My media empire is currently a titch light at the moment.
P.S. You can now follow me on Pinterest on what I’m readingwatching, and listening.

Listening

Reading

Currently reading
Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham
(Amazon | Worldcat | GoodReads)

Watching

  • The Americans
    I’m really loving how this series just seems to gain strength after strength, and who knew it was the kid this entire time? Where the series is going next is going to be key — either the showrunners will make it the best thing ever or it will just destroyed in their attempt to gain ratings.
  • Survivor: Cagayan
    The show has ended another season. Hurrah.

Weekly watching:  Fargo, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Louie, Penny DreadfulMad MenGame of ThronesSilicon ValleyVeep, Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey, Doctor Blake MysteriesElementary

Links

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

This day in Lisa-Universe in:

On the Occasion of Jane Austen’s 238th Birthday

janeaustenbankofengland
Jane Austen will be featured on the £10 note beginning in 2016

Dear Internet,
Today is the occasion of Jane Austen’s 238th birthday. I’m slightly embarrassed my post, which was set to publish at 10AM this morning, was published before it was finished. I am even more embarrassed because I was sure that I had set it to post later this afternoon, thus giving me time to get in cleaned up and ready before it was loved by world. Oops.
This year also marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice, and regardless of how you feel about Ms. Austen, you’ll be hard pressed to find any author whose work has remained continually in print since its first publication and for as long.
Basildon Park (Netherfield in Pride and Prejudice 2005), England, 2008.
As many of my long time readers know, I am a huge fan of Ms. Austen’s. At one point, I had an Etsy store of my crafts that were wholly devoted to Jane. Every time I am in England, I always attempt to visit a Jane place. In 2008,  I visited Basildon Park, home to Netherfield in P+P2005 as well as took in the sites of Bath. In 2012, I visited her grave at Winchester Cathedral. I’ve always fancied doing an Austen tour of England, but something I come up with on my own time and terms as the idea of Austenland is abhorrent. (Yes, I’ve read the book but not seen the movie. The book was awful, not because of the idea or content but it read like a child’s version of how they interpreted adults should be acting rather than an adult writing, even in a loving mocking form, on a particular fandom. It was very bizarre.)
To celebrate Jane’s birthday, I’ve spent the day watching (and tweeting) some of my favorite Jane Austen and Austen inspired shows. Here is my current schedule:
Jane Austen via Wikipedia
Jane Austen. by her sister Cassendra.  Via Wikipedia

I also have Death Comes to Pemberley lined up on my reading list this holiday break, though reviews have not been favorable. I am, however, BEYOND excited for BBC’s adapataion of the book, which is being shown on December 26th in the UK and coming to the US, via PBS, some unknown date later.
[iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/PhmgTlVXbxw?rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]
Other things that happened this year in regards to our dear friend Jane:

Excessively divertedly yours,
x0x0,
Lisa

Lisa reads Pride and Prejudice: Chapter 1

Dear Internet,
I’m currently fleshing out details for a new project which will be a oft-talked about (well in my head, at least) podcast, which hopefully will be kicking off in January. I received, from TheHusband, a new mic with some peripherals for the holidays and I’ve been testing out controls this afternoon.
As a test, below is me reading the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice.

Enjoy.
x0x0,
Lisa

[Excessively Diverting] Excessively Diverting is open!

[This entry originated from my crafts blog, Excessively Diverting. ]
My store opened this evening, a day earlier than planned, and I’ve been spending the evening uploading stock to the store. No one ever tells you this stuff takes FOREVER, but it does. I don’t think I’ve moved from my chair in hours.1
I will have more writerly-type content in the next day or two on what I’ve been doing. But in the interim: Check the store often as I will be uploading new stock for days to come! Convo me if you’re interested in a different author/book/ quote pin or ornament. To promote my shop, I’m offering FREE SHIPPING until December 16. Also, if you use the promo code JASNA in the “message to seller” area, I’ll take 20% off your entire order.
You can also find Excessively Diverting on Facebook and Twitter.
Now I slumber.
x0x0x
1. Erm, I sat down at 8am and it’s oh, now? Midnight.

[Excessively Diverting] First it begins with an idea…then all hell breaks loose

Oh, what a mess.
Oh, what a mess.

[This entry originated from my crafts blog, Excessively Diverting. My Etsy shop of the same name opens up this weekend. ]
A couple of weeks ago, I got this brilliant idea of repurposing used books, specifically books that were in the open domain1, into a variety of different ways. After discussing this with several friends of mine who are huge crafters/Etsy sellers and doing research across the intarwebs/Etsy, I realized my idea is awesome and that I had definitely hit upon a niche market. The response from my friends, from conversations and showing them prototypes, was overwhelming – not only were they enthusiastic about the idea, but they were also future consumers. The timing was also perfect since it is the beginning of the holiday season and as such, was a perfect time to test out the idea.
Isn't it interesting that an independent woman is often referred to as being obstinate?
Isn’t it interesting that an independent woman is often referred to as being obstinate?

The one thing no one told me, however, is that having a great idea is awesome but pushing it out to fruition is a lot of damned hard work. Not only did I end up creating various batches of the first product to nail down the process (an example is shown to your right), but I also have to do my own business plans, marketing and support.
For the last week I’ve been working during the day on the marketing and promotion aspect and at night, on the actual crafting. The other interesting thing is that each of my friends that I spoke to about their own Etsy shop, all do their selling and promotion differently. So tips I’ve learned from one, I’ve reiterated to another and so forth while streamlining it all in my own head. While our apartment is currently a mess as we’re in the midst of packing for our move, I’m also in the process of streamlining everything and getting the Etsy shop up this weekend.
The purpose of this blog, then, is to document my process, talk about crafting in the 21st century, use it as a forum to announce new products and services, and last but not least, keep the customers engaged with the me about the shop. More details coming soon. Welcome to Excessively Diverting.
1. Books in the open domain are books that were published before 1923 and/or have lost their U.S. copyright. See Project Gutenberg for more details.

Collection: 11/02/2010

A weekly collection of my writings from around the web as defined here.
Format:
name of blog : direct link to article
AMPed – Your Virtual Front Door: Part IV – Using Social Media for Outreach and PR
Jane Austen Tumblelog (tumblr) – Chapters 4 – 6 quotes, Pride and Prejudice
Reviews – Books:
Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris (AmazonGoodReads, LibraryThing)