Alternate Routes:
Throughout the summer, This Magazine is presenting a special blog chronicling the cross-Canada travels of Shayna and Dominique, a pair of wanderers who are setting out to discover what community is all about. Here, in their own words, is an introduction to the project:
We are thinkers, dreamers and poets, continuously questioning our place in this world. We both spend a lot of time watching and listening to the world around us. We love learning and have a deep passion for sharing what we learn with others through our respective arts — Shayna through written word, and Dominique through photography.
We are traveling across Canada exploring the topic of community. Bartering our skills and labour for accommodation, food and transportation costs, we will make our way from coast to coast, community by community.
Specifically, we will be visiting various type of intentional communities (any group of people that has come together with community as a central uniting purpose). Many of these communities are seeking alternatives to the environmental destruction and social decay perpetuated by mainstream society; some seek to provide a community environment of love and support to people of diverse mental and physical abilities; others just want a place to share ideas and resources with people of a similar perspective — religious, political or otherwise.
Along the way, we will record and share our experiences with This readers through this special blog.
Posted by Amy as Blogs and Bloggers, Daily Life, Community at 1:48 AM EDT
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Normal Room.
Normal Room shows you interior design and home furniture from all around the globe. Search our image database and explore the differences and similarities in architecture and home decoration between people in different countries.
Posted by Amy as Domestic, Daily Life at 1:10 AM EDT
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Valentine’s Day is coming up, and with it comes the potential for a lot of romantic gifts—or, for those couples where one person is romantic and one isn’t, a lot of disappointment.
Here’s an article that could save some heartache: Romantic Gift Giving For Pragmatic People.
Rafe Colburn has given the subject a lot of thought, and he is able to break down the issue in a solidly straightforward way:
For the longest time, I had no idea how to give a romantic gift, mainly because I didn’t understand what the word “romantic” means. I’m a guy who interfaces more with computers than with people, and who enjoys reading about economics and sports statistics. One day I was driving home from work and realized that the word “romantic” is an antonym of the word “practical” and suddenly a lot of things I had been missing became clear to me.
He gives three guidelines and one caution for romantic gift-giving, and they make good sense.
I remember reading somewhere about a woman whose husband always gave her things like a vacuum cleaner for gifts. Eventually she got smart and gave her husband a set of pots and some serving bowls. I don’t remember what she got the following year, but it wasn’t household stuff.
Via Rebecca’s Pocket.
Posted by Amy as Daily Life, Holidays, Relationships at 4:44 AM EST
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Most of us have had a bout with insomnia now and then. We’re in good company.
This extract from The Book of Lists
tells us about 10 Famous Insomniacs.
This list mentions actors, authors, and a U.S. President. Here are my favourite attempts at cures:
• Marlene Dietrich: “the only thing that lulled her to sleep was a sardine-and-onion sandwich on rye.”
• Groucho Marx: “When he couldn’t sleep, he would phone people up in the middle of the night and insult them.”
It hadn’t occured to me to do anything so colourful; I usually just get up and write, blog, or do housework.
Posted by Amy as Notable People, Daily Life at 9:25 AM EST
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Rick Schrager is sorry to see that the number of letters sent by mail is declining, so he’s started The Letter Project.
The premise is simple: if you want to receive a handwritten letter from him in the mail, let him know, and he’ll send you one. For free. You tell him as much information about yourself as you’d like for him to write you a personal letter, and that’s it.
If you don’t tell him much about yourself, he’ll freeform:
Unless you are very specific in your request, I get to create the contents on my own accord. This being the case, your letter may contain things as banal as descriptions of what I encounter on my ride to work, abstruse quotes from ancient texts, or, something as simple (and useful I might add) as my recipe for the world’s best cheese-steak sandwich. I might even be inclined to fabricate a tale or two, just to keep things interesting. The letter you receive should be as convivial for you as it is fun for me to write. After you read your letter you can choose to reply, or not, this is entirely up to you. This project is not part of any plan to put you in the loop for chain letters, marketing, or similar nonsense.
I’m fond of receiving snail mail letters myself, so I can understand the appeal of this project.
Posted by Amy as Unusual, Daily Life at 1:21 AM EST
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Here’s an interesting site: The Most Fabulous Wedding Dresses Ever Created.
From browsing this site, I learned the following:
In the 18th and 19th centuries brides wore many colors on their wedding day. It was not until the 20th century that white became the traditional color of wedding gowns.
There are many photos here of wedding dresses; the dresses date back as far as 1759.
Via Quiddity.
Posted by Amy as History, Daily Life at 1:51 AM EDT
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We’ve probably all had the experience of searching frantically for something that we were sure was on the table/in this pile of papers/by the pile of books. Of course, we usually are in a hurry when we look for it too.
My own question when we look unsuccessfully for lost objects is this: “Did we look thoroughly the first time we looked here?” More often than not, this will turn up the item, often (but not always) exactly where it was supposed to be.
There are some other good suggestions compiled by Dr. Solomon that will help in the search.
But for those times when all other guidelines don’t help, Dr. Solomon has put together Twelve Principles to help you find your lost object.
Via Rebecca’s Pocket.
Posted by Amy as Daily Life at 1:26 AM EDT
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Here’s something that comes up just at a time when I need it: One Bag: The Art and Science of Travelling Light.
Subtitled “all about packing, luggage, and travelling light,” this site has a wide range of information in the following categories:
· “what to take”
· “what to take it in”
· “how to pack it”
He also has a list of further resources.
Via Rebecca’s Pocket.
Posted by Amy as Daily Life at 4:27 AM EDT
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I’m guessing that the majority of us will need to wear glasses at some time in our lives. I’m also guessing that most of us don’t give glasses a second thought.
David A. Fleishman loves glasses, though, and he’s put together an extensive website about them: Antique Spectacles and Other Vision Aids.
It features the history of glasses, links to a number of online collections (glasses, other visual aids, cases), artwork, links to educational sites, and games (check out the rotating dots).
Via Boing Boing.
Posted by Amy as Science & Nature, Daily Life at 4:31 AM EDT
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Some diligent researchers at the University of Salford (a Greater Manchester University) are looking for the worst sound in the world, and they’d like our help in deciding what it is.
If you’re feeling up to it, you can go to The Hunt For the Worst Sound In The World, listen to their sounds, and rate them.
I didn’t work through all of the sounds, just the first few, but they weren’t so bad. There were sounds of a baby crying, nails on a blackboard, a chain saw.
Apparently I have a higher tolerance than some people, though—things that I would rate at a 1 (the lowest reaction on the scale) got an average score of 3.3.
I don’t know if they have the sounds that really bug me: things like people chewing with their mouths open or cracking gum. I’m not sure I could stand to listen to that long enough to rate it.
Via That Rabbit Girl.
Posted by Amy as Daily Life at 4:43 AM EST
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