Comments | traceroo: Fun With Glue

traceroo

Fun With Glue

Aug 26, 2009 20:07

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 ( Read more... )

year of the bonfire, school

Comments 15

khudgins August 27 2009, 03:11:29 UTC

I finally broke down and got the ebook reader thingy I've been wanting. There's so many really old books that are out of copyright that I want to read, and I hate reading in front of a computer.

I found a great book called "Stories from Georgia" by joel Chandler Harris - of Uncle Remus fame - which is a dramatic writing of important people and events through the history of my home state. It's really fun reading about people whose names I already know through the places that were named after them - and it's sad that it took me this long to learn about people whose actions were so important that people honored them with naming something after them.

If you've never heard of her, do a little digging about a woman named Nancy Hart. She was a famous Revolutionary War heroine that you'd probably enjoy knowing some about her story.

Dead Writers traceroo August 27 2009, 14:58:56 UTC

It's funny you should mention Joel Chandler Harris -- he was mentioned in one of the questions on my History exam yesterday. I had to laugh, really. One of the questions on the study guide was to characterize the change in American Literature round the end of the 1800s. Okay. Got that. Got to the test, and the multiple choice answers really, really dug into the minutia of several authors of the time - including Harris - and I really had no idea what the answer was. I had to laugh. Here I am an English major, and I've already taken the American Literature class which corresponds to this time period, and the question on the History exam dug in deeper than I any idea how to answer! Guess that's one of the subjects I should re-examine when I go to retake the test!

Glad you're enjoying Harris -- in the same spirit, you might enjoy Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Anne Burns which I just read recently. It's a nostalgic look into turn-of-the-century country life around Commerce, GA. Skip the sequel, though, it was a stinker ( ... )

Re: Dead Writers khudgins August 27 2009, 17:05:20 UTC

I've read Cold Sassy Tree, it's not bad, although tedious. If you consider it more a collection of short stories than a novel, it's closer to the mark, I think.

I haven't read the sequel, although I've heard the same review from several others.

Two years ago, I had the privilege of attending the Atlanta Opera's debut of the operatic production of Cold Sassy Tree. Did my heart proud to hear opera performed in my native language (Southern!).

Re: Dead Writers traceroo August 27 2009, 19:29:51 UTC

Tedious? Interesting. To each his own, indeed! I like strong characterization best in my reading, and CST has that in spades. That probably helped me deny the tedium of what is a slow-moving story in that there is much "story" to it at all, I must admit!

The sequel is more (or rather, less) of the same, only even less (or more?) of it. If you found the first book tedious, then I double my recommendation to avoid the sequel!

The stage show must've been something pretty cool, though. I hope sometime I get a chance to see that.

Trace

Paper makes things pretty! artiphant August 27 2009, 04:28:59 UTC

I *love* making construction paper cut out covers for otherwise plain notebooks! It's so much fun! *super excited!!* (more than perhaps is normal...)

Re: Paper makes things pretty! traceroo August 27 2009, 15:06:21 UTC

How do you do it? I used one of those foam paint brushes which are totally useless for paint, but I found to be quite useful with Modge Podge. Covered it lickity-split, and it seemed to dry really quickly, too.

Trace

Re: Paper makes things pretty! artiphant August 27 2009, 15:45:22 UTC

Oh, I just use a glue stick.

I'm reading about Mod Podge now.I had never heard of it before.

Re: Paper makes things pretty! traceroo August 27 2009, 15:50:56 UTC

It's just a fancied up Elmer's Glue, really. Very easy to use. Good either for sticking things to one another, or as a shellac over the top of paper.

T.

candyce August 27 2009, 13:40:55 UTC

You'll have to help me with the gluey stuff. I have lots of notebooks but they're never EXACTLY RIGHT for the project I want to do. Lane and I want to start a hiking journal to chronicle our adventures in Colorado every year, and it just seems unfit to talk about awesome scenery and waterfalls and pushing your ass up a mountain in a plain notebook.

For history tests (and foreign languages too), I highly recommend flash cards. In my US History AP class in high school, a class which prided itself on kicking everyone's butt until they could effectively pass their ridiculous AP test to get college credit, our teacher required flash cards, and they really do help. For rote memorization type stuff, it's really effective. They don't teach you to connect events or think for yourself, but boy will you memorize every term, president, and event. They were even color-coded, because color-coding makes everything better. I would be happy to help you out. I minored in history and wish I would've had the guts to major in it.

Flash! traceroo August 27 2009, 15:08:59 UTC

Rats, I'm really sad to admit that your suggestion about History flash cards is a really great idea. Grrr. I really don't want to do this! It's annoying, and I want a real education, not just rote memorization, but... but... shucks. That's a smart plan to get the A!

When you're hiking, is it easy to open a journal which opens like a book? Or is a spiral-bound journal that can fold over on itself more convenient for writing and holding at the same time?

Trace

Re: Flash! candyce August 27 2009, 16:06:32 UTC

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 ( ... )

Re: Flash! traceroo August 27 2009, 16:12:34 UTC

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

Thread 5

fadesdog August 27 2009, 14:04:42 UTC

Blueberry muffins from scratch sounds wonderful :) (anything with starches sounds wonderful...) Try a few different recipes, and settle with the best one--Better Homes and Gardens maybe? They do homespun real well (though since's intensely midwestern, they don't do *spice* very well. Fettucini alfredo without any garlic? WTF?)

Best,
Spotty Logic/[fades]

Recipes traceroo August 27 2009, 15:12:46 UTC

Hey Spotty!

BB muffin recipe #1 was from the Ritz-Carlton. It turned out well, but like I said, not too sweet. This one I tried this past week was just the standard Betty Crocker recipe, and it's good. One thing I like is that they use the same basic muffin recipe and have about four versions for other fruits. I think I'll try apple-cinnamon next!

You're so totally correct about the lack of spices! One of my favorite cookbooks is Betty Crocker, and just about every recipe I've tried has my penciled notes in the margins calling for more spices! I like it, though. It teaches me the basics and then lets me spice it up as I approve.

Funny you mention fettucini alfredo -- I just made that for dinner last night! I make my own sauce: butter, real cream, and Parmesan cheese melted in the pan over medium heat, add black pepper. Gotta serve it as soon as it's all melted, or it starts to separate pretty quickly. Mad dairy, guaranteed to kill you, but let you die happy!

Thanks for stopping by,
T$