Linky roundup, other stuff
First, links what I have enjoyed this week:
GOP Presidential Hopeful Reaches Out to Pagans
Yep, you read that right. Found this through fellow Eugenian Jason Pizl-Waters of The Wild Hunt blog. Gary Johnson sounds like the kind of Republican I would like to see more of in politics and popular media, which means he'll probably never get even a remote shot at candidacy. Still, it's important that someone like him keeps working and keeps speaking out.
Exit, Pursued By A Bear
From my knitting buddy Kalpana-- A Canadian artist's series of paintings wherein Shakespeare's most famous stage direction meets the most famous names in 20th-century literary/critical theory. I can't stop giggling at this, both at the paintings and the artist's bio/statement.
JSTOR Access for Smith Alumnae
Heard about this from littleowl. JSTOR access is not really an issue for me, considering where I work, but I think it's fantastic that Smith (and several other universities and colleges) has partnered with JSTOR to provide access for alumnae. Now if only they could manage permanent alumnae email accounts (not just forwarding addresses)...
Twisted Sister Arts
namaah_darling posted about this Etsy shop, which specializes in hand-painted, wire-wrapped evil eye pendants. These look nothing like the traditional Turkish evil eyes, they're more along a fantasy/dragon/steampunk aesthetic, which usually doesn't do it for me. But wow! The detail, the shaping, the framing, the colors, are just amazing. So if anyone feels like buying me things, feel free to shop here! Just kidding. Mostly.
In other news, after far too many stressed-out busy work weeks with very little exercise, I've finally started doing yoga again, which is helping my tense muscles. Also, I had waxed rhapsodic to one of my coworkers about Viniyoga a few weeks ago, and today she came to me to say that she'd gotten Gary Kraftsow's upper back/neck/shoulders dvd through ILL, as well as checked out Yoga for Wellness from the public library, and that it's already making a huge difference for some neck and shoulder issues she'd been having. Yay! Which reminds me, I should start doing some regular viniyoga sequences again, because, you know, mobility and alignment are good things.
I also restarted Couch to 5K training, in an effort to get moving more and to cross-train with non-dance movements. There's a 5K walk/jog/run on campus in early November; registration was free, and they're offering free group training sessions to faculty/staff/students. I registered as a walker, but my actual goal is to do a combo of walking and jogging (or wogging, as I've been saying on Facebook.) So I'm going to the group walk training sessions, basically just to get up and moving and away from my desk during my lunch break three times a week, and doing C25K on my own. The very first C25K session felt harder than I remembered, my body felt really creaky and balky, and I was more sore than I expected afterwards. But I did the second session yesterday, and even though I was sore going into it, the running parts felt easier, and I feel a lot less sore today. So maybe I'll make it through this time... I seem to remember around Week 4 there's a big jump in running duration, which is where I stopped last time, but hopefully I can keep it up. It's also motivation to get into, and out of, work fairly early on C25K days, because I don't really want to run outside after dark. I am appreciative of how much of a runner's town this is, though, and of the fact that I have two fairly lengthy soft-surface running trails within a 5-minute warmup walk of my house, so I can go a little easier on my joints and stay out of traffic.
GOP Presidential Hopeful Reaches Out to Pagans
Yep, you read that right. Found this through fellow Eugenian Jason Pizl-Waters of The Wild Hunt blog. Gary Johnson sounds like the kind of Republican I would like to see more of in politics and popular media, which means he'll probably never get even a remote shot at candidacy. Still, it's important that someone like him keeps working and keeps speaking out.
Exit, Pursued By A Bear
From my knitting buddy Kalpana-- A Canadian artist's series of paintings wherein Shakespeare's most famous stage direction meets the most famous names in 20th-century literary/critical theory. I can't stop giggling at this, both at the paintings and the artist's bio/statement.
JSTOR Access for Smith Alumnae
Heard about this from littleowl. JSTOR access is not really an issue for me, considering where I work, but I think it's fantastic that Smith (and several other universities and colleges) has partnered with JSTOR to provide access for alumnae. Now if only they could manage permanent alumnae email accounts (not just forwarding addresses)...
Twisted Sister Arts
namaah_darling posted about this Etsy shop, which specializes in hand-painted, wire-wrapped evil eye pendants. These look nothing like the traditional Turkish evil eyes, they're more along a fantasy/dragon/steampunk aesthetic, which usually doesn't do it for me. But wow! The detail, the shaping, the framing, the colors, are just amazing. So if anyone feels like buying me things, feel free to shop here! Just kidding. Mostly.
In other news, after far too many stressed-out busy work weeks with very little exercise, I've finally started doing yoga again, which is helping my tense muscles. Also, I had waxed rhapsodic to one of my coworkers about Viniyoga a few weeks ago, and today she came to me to say that she'd gotten Gary Kraftsow's upper back/neck/shoulders dvd through ILL, as well as checked out Yoga for Wellness from the public library, and that it's already making a huge difference for some neck and shoulder issues she'd been having. Yay! Which reminds me, I should start doing some regular viniyoga sequences again, because, you know, mobility and alignment are good things.
I also restarted Couch to 5K training, in an effort to get moving more and to cross-train with non-dance movements. There's a 5K walk/jog/run on campus in early November; registration was free, and they're offering free group training sessions to faculty/staff/students. I registered as a walker, but my actual goal is to do a combo of walking and jogging (or wogging, as I've been saying on Facebook.) So I'm going to the group walk training sessions, basically just to get up and moving and away from my desk during my lunch break three times a week, and doing C25K on my own. The very first C25K session felt harder than I remembered, my body felt really creaky and balky, and I was more sore than I expected afterwards. But I did the second session yesterday, and even though I was sore going into it, the running parts felt easier, and I feel a lot less sore today. So maybe I'll make it through this time... I seem to remember around Week 4 there's a big jump in running duration, which is where I stopped last time, but hopefully I can keep it up. It's also motivation to get into, and out of, work fairly early on C25K days, because I don't really want to run outside after dark. I am appreciative of how much of a runner's town this is, though, and of the fact that I have two fairly lengthy soft-surface running trails within a 5-minute warmup walk of my house, so I can go a little easier on my joints and stay out of traffic.