"C" is for Clogs and "B" is for Blogs ~ Today's Alphabet Soup Moment

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a clog as a "thick piece 
of wood", and later as a "wooden soled overshoe" 
and a "shoe with a thick wooden sole".

Clogs are usually found in three main varieties: wooden 
upper, wooden soled and overshoes. Today, shoemakers have turned to polyurethane as a material for soles
 resulting in lighter, less slippery clogs.

Probably having its origins in Holland many centuries ago, 
clogs were often used for those doing heavy labor 
or have to walk near water.

There are endless variations found all over the world, clogs 
are like the kreplach

 or ravioli of footwear!

Every location has a different variation of this footwear, but one can see a similarity in most of them.

Clogs are also used in dance. When worn for dancing, an 
important feature is the sound of the loud,
percussive clog against the floor.

 This may be one of the fundamental roots of tap dancing, but 
with tap shoes the taps are free to click against each 
other and produce different sounds than clogs.

The international clog museum- Klompenmuseum- is the go-to place for everything you ever wanted to know about clogs.

http://www.klompenmuseum.nl/engels/general.html

THE CLOG MAKER

Young Jim he were a clogger,  Wi'a workshop, up some steps.
Ther'l be lots o'folk a warin, those fancy clogs'e meks.

'e cuts the soles from wooden blocks, wi a fancy shaped machine,
An clever folk'ave coed it, A clogger's guillotin

  An when e’s finished shapen' soles,  An tacked'is leather round,
'e's ready then fer buckle on, An pattin'toe-caps down.

A can see'im now a shapin' Some very pointed soles,
'e sez ther for a clog-dancer, 'who puts on special shows. 

An'then thers bread and butter clogs, which Jim meks by the score,
An'when ther blacked and polished up, Ther ready for the store.

But one thing's sure, ther is no doubt, For warin on yer feet.
Yo canna beat Jims wooden clogs, becoz ther med just reet.

 From Anna Karenina:

When Levin went into the kitchen to call his coachman he saw the whole family at dinner. The women were standing up waiting on them. The young, sturdy-looking son was telling something funny with his mouth full of pudding, and they were all laughing, the woman in the clogs, who was pouring cabbage-soup into a bowl, laughing most  merrily of all.
Very probably the good-looking face of the young woman in the clogs had a good deal to do with the impression of well-being this peasant household made upon Levin, but the impression was so strong that Levin could never get rid of it. And all the way from the old peasant’s to Sviazhsky’s he kept recalling this peasant farm as though there were something in this impression that demanded his special attention.

Planting Beautiful Words In My Garden

I do have a 'green thumb' for caretaking flowers.  I am also in love with certain words and phrases and have a collection that is going into the garden today.

 Five Victorian-era favorites are below:


 1. Tussy Mussy: A tussy mussy is a Victorian-style bouquet where a small group of flowers is placed in a metal vase specifically designed to be carried. The term can refer either just to the metal holder or to the entire bouquet. Sometimes people use it as a synonym for posy, but it differs because of the holder used. Traditionally, the holder is made of silver, although it can also be made from other metals. The famed Fenton Glass Company even made some out of hobnail glass.

                                                      

                                                                  

                                                                      

2. Out of Twig: Unrecognized or in disguise

3. Bacca-pipes: Whiskers curled in small, close ringlets.

4. Fawny-dropping: A ruse whereby the villain pretends to find a ring (which is actually worthless) and sells it as a possibly valuable article at a low price (Safe to say, don’t do this one!).

5. Hookem-snivey:  To feign mortal sickness, disease and infirmity of the body in the streets in order to excite compassion and obtain alms.

CSU Stanislaus Students, Alexandra Vicknair and Joseph McCarty, Awarded at Statewide Research Competition

CSU Stanislaus Students Awarded at Statewide Research Competition

 Written by Cara Hallam

 

CSU Stanislaus Students, Alexandra Vicknair and Joseph McCarty, Awarded at Statewide Research Competition

 

Two California State University, Stanislaus students were awarded at the 27th Annual California State University Student Research Competition, held earlier this month at Cal Poly Pomona.
For her presentation entitled “Mountains and Mindsets: The Ideologies Behind the Mineral King Controversy, 1965-1978,” graduate student Alexandra Vicknair became the first CSU Stanislaus history student to win first place in the Humanities and Letters category, graduate division.

Joseph McCarty, a graduate English student from CSU Stanislaus, took second place in the same division with his presentation “Assessing Early Start: Collecting Data Necessary for Good Decision Making.” McCarty was the first English student from CSU Stanislaus to win in the category.

The 27th Annual California State University Student Research Competition provided an opportunity for students from all 23 CSU campuses to present scholarly research and projects before a panel of judges. Each presentation and written summary was evaluated on clarity, purpose, methodology, interpretation of results, value of the research or creative activity, ability to articulate one’s work, organization of the material, and ability to handle questions.
 
Seven other CSU Stanislaus students participated in the competition, including Kristy Ortega (Biology), Sandi Lavito (Physics), Reema Shakir (Biology), Matthew Vander Schuur (Chemistry), Kirin Basuta (Social Work), Gianna Smith (Technology), and Jessica Kaven (Advanced Studies).

Reporter Cara  Hallam

Sexy Stars, Heavenly Bodies, and Crab Nebula

There are porn stars in the heavens all around us. 

Let's investigate a few and explore quick facts about them. 

Many stars are composed of gas, dust, and other materials "clump" together to form larger masses, which attract 

further matter, and eventually will become 

massive enough to become stars.

Many nebulae or stars form from the gravitational 

collapse of gas in the interstellar medium.

The size of these nebulae, known as HII regions, varies depending on the size of the original cloud of gas. 

New stars are formed in the nebulas. 

The formed stars are sometimes known as a 

young, loose cluster. 

Some nebulae are formed as the result of  supernova explosions, the death throes of massive, short-lived stars. The materials thrown off from the supernova explosion are ionized by the energy and the compact object that it can produce. 

One of the best examples of this is the Crab Nebula. The supernova event was recorded in the year 1054. The compact object that was created after the explosion lies in the center of the Crab Nebula and is a neutron star.

 

Girls Get Married

Marriage is very complex and even today we do not understand it. Girls the world over dream about their wedding day and sketch potential bridal dresses again and again.

 The pastel frothy dresses of Irish travelers are wonderfully over the top but that is what most brides wish for.

Bill Owens, American Photographer, Distiller, Genuine Next-Door-Man

I love everything Bill Owens does! Bill is unabashedly funny, whiplash smart, ironic without cruelty and talented to boot.

Moving forward as if propelled by a swirling energy, not a neurotic energy, but an elegant flow above the turbulence, he is the personification of American cool-ness.

Bill is very similar to the shimmer of a salmon's reflection in a rushing stream. Easy to see, hard to catch. It seems as if Owens has reinvented himself every decade, but it is more complex than that. It is a productive, lively re-invention. Bill lives in the moment and tosses the past willingly to the devil--with no regrets. All this is poured into his work.

His seminal Suburbia pinpointed 70s suburb life through a series of blunt black and white photographs. He sojourned into beer brewing before it got popular, and most recently, immersed into the world of distilling.

Catch him wearing one of his two hats-
http://www.distilling.com/ or http://www.billowens.com/

Uncovering Masks

The word anonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name " or "namelessness". Wikipedia and the artist Magritte have it correct. There are so many kinds of masks, and each can worn for a different purpose.

Festive masks are worn by children from all over the world.

Doctor and nurse don masks to keep nasty germs from us.

Masks for religion.

Beauty treatments.

Executioner hoods. 

Masks in art. 

War paint for courage.

 Actors.

      Thievery.

 Superheroes use masks. 

Puppet Mask

Artists often explore masks in their art--and have for thousands
of years. Man Ray did some of  his most elegant and provocative work using models and masks, often with a fetishistic accent.

by Man Ray

 

Hands hide our face. Sunglasses a mask. 

    What is your mask?
Are we hiding from each other, ourselves, the world?