good manners bulletin

Everyone is agreed. You need good manners to get on in life. Emily Post is very much in agreement (see photo: she is smiling.) (But who is that woman in the hat behind her?) Never mind that. The point is, manners are important.

However, what I want to know is--good manners for you and good manners for me might be different. I mean. What if you were a pig? Would it be polite to be clean and tidy? Of course it wouldn't. It would be Atrocious Disgraceful Conduct.

How about splashing in your bath? Is that naughty? Not if you're an elephant. 

Going to bed? Is that good if you are an Owl? No, I tell you. It's Completely Unacceptable Behavior!

Manners and Etiquette are all about knowing when and where and how and being Appropriate. And here's your guide to navigating manners... while at the same time making you laugh. Which I think always helps, right? Children are defintely in agreement.

You can find the book here

OR listen to the silly trailer even:

Interview with children's writer/illustrator Shaun Tan

Author illustrator Shaun Tan recently won what amounts to the nobel prize for children's literature: the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. His book THE LOST THING was turned into a great animation (see below). He also worked as concept artist on animated films including "Wall-E". He was interviewed by SPIEGEL and answered the questions by... drawing pictures.

For instance when asked to introduce himself he drew this:

And when the interview said "At age 37, you have received the highest honor in your field. What's next?"... he answered:

Love him. Very cool. Read it here.

 

Slime Molds or beauty and the blob

they look like aliens
they are ancient
they live on land
they might be living in your next door forest, in fact
under your very nose, or shoe

they are...

(scary music here)

The slime molds.

Their real name is "Physarum polycephalum" which, as you know only too well, means "many-headed slime mold"

which, aside from anything else, provides us with a fabulous name to call someone you don't like.

via NYT

writer's block--shakespeare style

Anna Cohen's animated short film tells the story of William Shakespeare with writers' block, and how his two "friends" (Romeo and Juliet) assist him in overcoming it. The animation was made using two animation techniques: stop-motion and Flash animation.

Reminds me of a writer (whose name I forget) who just before bed would ask his characters to help him with something puzzling him about their story and tell them he expected them to work on the solution so he'd have it when he woke up. 

I know it sounds weird and everything. But it works. I once asked a character what her name was and immediately she told me "Semolina!" as if it was quite obvious. Which I suppose it was--to her. (She is the clever cat in Handbag Friends.)

antique scary cures/health treatments

oh dear. if you were ever tempted to want to live in the past... you just have to look at these scary cures 

have a headache? look what you'd have to take instead of Advil--and imagine if you happened to get a headache WHILE WALKING DOWN THE STREET?

Sparklet Nasal-- completely cures head colds, c. 1900-05

and I don't know what she's selling below but I don't want it (it's clearlypretending to be toothpaste but then why the scary hat? and face? and what about the name BOTOT?... what were they thinking?)

Botot Dentifrices: Liquid, Powder, Paste, Soap, c. 1925

The Next To Go Fight Tuberculosis, 1919

via NYT

 

fabulous english country house libraries

See the full gallery on Posterous

which one would you like?

(no. you can't have them all.) 

I know one thing: my english desk (i think it's a partner's pedestal) would fit right in and feel right at home in any one of these room--even standing in the middle of one. Especially standing in the middle of one. 

More fab libraries here.

 

Amazing science art: Meteorite Warhol?

The American Museum of Natural History is putting on an exhibition called Picturing Science. It's over 20 large format images taken with advanced technology. (Which kind of doesn't tell you much when you think about it--I mean I think I wrote this very sentence using advanced technology, didn't I?--i.e. a mac?) 

The other important thing to note before we get to the point is that the exhibition is the idea of Dr Siddall who is a leech specialist. Ew don't want his job. Unless it's just to be able to answer "What do you do?" with "I"m a Leech Specialist." And watch the conversation die. And everyone go off their food.

But take a look at this. It is the mineral composition of a meteorite. Or is it a Warhol?

Fascinating that down to the most minute tiniest invisible details, everything in this world around us is shining and beautiful. 

John Calvin said: "There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice."

More here

The story of The OREO

It claims to be the most powerful cookie in the world. 491 million sold so far...

Note: the evolution of the Oreo embossing: 1912, 1924 and today

Hmm. For a cookie that's all about comfort and milk and coziness... it's being a bit suspicious. For instance...

Who invented it? 

No one knows. Apparently a William Turnier. But Nabisco can't confirm he ever worked for the company.

What does the design mean?

It could be just an innocent symbol--this circle topped with a two-bar cross with the word "OREO" inside--merely "an early European symbol for quality" as Nabisco claim--or it it a Cross of Lorraine, as carried by the Knights Templar into the crusades? Or is that dot with four triangles poking out not a four-leaf clover at all but... the cross pattee--also associated with the Knights Templar, as well as the German military and today's Freemasons. Aha! It's DaVinci Code Cookie!

Meanwhile in England... we have Custard Creams and Rich Tea and Morning Coffee biscuits. But they are just quietly going about their business and not nearly as suspicious and besides no one seems to notice them: not the lovely ferns on the Custard Cream (unchanged since their debut in 1910) nor the Art Deco cup on the Morning Coffee biscuits.

Which means either they just have Proper British Reserve or possibly are just much more effective spy biscuits than those show off Oreos.

Either way all this talk of biscuits and cookies must mean one thing: time to put the kettle on for a nice cup of tea... 

via The Atlantic