Fun With Glue

[traceroo]

Today... now this is very exciting, so brace yourselves... today, I made something prettier by gluing pretty paper to it! Exciting, I know. Ian gave me a paperback notebook a month or so ago, random swag from some corporation, I think. I like notebooks -- I have far more than I'll ever use, but still, they make me happy. Today I finally got around

Comments

Re: Flash!

[candyce]

Well... I realize that not everyone is as huge of a nerd as I am (although I think the world would be a better place if they were ;-), but in addition to flash cards for rote memorization use, I have another tool you can use if you're interested in actually deepening your understanding of history: the DBQ!!! This is the dreaded Document-Based Question, where you are provided with some random historical documents and must write an essay using those for references in response to an open question. We had to do these for the AP test but I don't think actual college classes usually have to. They can be hard for people to get the hang of at first, but I personally find them much more interesting and useful than memorizing who fought what war when. Here's a website that talks about them and gives a lot of links for practice if it's something you're interested in trying (or if you get really bored of chores). I like them because not only do they give you a better understanding of history, but also a much better understanding of how later events and even the present-day are influenced by such small nuances in history. It helps people realize that everything is connected somehow and nothing happens in a vacuum. Yay, education!

As for journals, I personally think spiral-bound is easier to use in general. Especially for cook-books; I'll never understand why publishers think I can hold open their damn book while I'm chopping and stirring. Craft books too. But for hiking in particular, I don't know that it really matters. You know what would be super handy for a hiking journal? A way to attach a pen and pencil so they aren't floating around in your pack marking on everything and refusing to be found no matter how much you dig until you take everything out. That's annoying.

Re: Flash!

[traceroo]

The easiest thing here is just to buy one of those notebooks that has an elastic attached for a pen. Barnes & Noble has a really nice selection of fancy writing journals. That's easiest and will have the best selection.

If you really want something homemade, however, then maybe a spiral notebook is the way to go. Use a pen with a clip on it, and just attach that into the spiral. When all is said and done, you can glue pretty paper on the cover with Modge Podge. If you put another coat over the top as shellac, that might help preserve it from getting dirty or wet or otherwise mussed while hiking.

Thank you for the link to the DBQ. I'll look into it!

Trace