Sesame Street's 40th birthday

Some songs have gotten stuck in my head over the years. Others, for example, the Letter "U" video, have been more like nightmares - downright scary.

The Ladybug's Picnic


Do De Rubber Duck

Offensive Halloween Costumes

Chinese Food Delivery Guy

"Fee Ling Yu"

Elderly Hip-hop choir

Green Halloween

Every year, it kills me to see the amount of packaging wasted on single-serving bags of candy passed out on Halloween. Tiny bars of chocolate, each wrapped in their own plastic covering, sold in a huge bag of 50, are cute - and safe, for practical, hygienic reasons - although the amount of wrapping used seems wasteful. Several ideas for a more conscious breed of candy-giving:

Give out things that come packaged in recyclable cardboard or paper rather than plastic. Whoppers (in the cardboard box), raisins, paper-wrapped candies and gums are a great start.

Avoid high-fructose corn syrup and other artificial products. Organic lollipops, natural licorice, fruit leather and fruit snacks are an alternative to heavily sweetened pseudo-foods.

Go for foil-wrapped chocolates that are low on wrapping. Earth chocolates are pretty cool.

Non-food items I used to get when I was a kid included pennies/spare change, small toys such as whistles and puzzles, and stickers. If you own your own business, this is a great opportunity for free, wide-ranging advertising: print your own candy wrappers and distribute.

Don't forget, candy wrappers can be recycled as craft material. Save bright plastic wrappers for art projects, such as this woven bracelet.

Rare Cloud Formations

Spotted on Wired: Weird, Rare Clouds and the Physics Behind Them.

Morning Glory


Lenticular


Noctilucent (Creepy!)

Aliens in a Crowded Establishment

I recently read John Gatto's Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling (2008). See a short, interesting guide here. The indoctrination of mass consumerism starts at a very young age in America. I always knew that high school was always about being popular and having the clothes/toys/things of the moment, but now I understand why.

The Scholar's Desk

Some interesting things that I've seen in professors' offices over the years:
-Dog testicles from a neutered pet, dipped in gold and framed on a plaque. (She was a veterinarian/evolutionary biologist)
-6-foot tall Greek sculpture
-Academic regalia (perfect for those days when you're out of normal clothes, or when they're being laundered)

My desk is my creative space, my Paracelsan alchemical laboratory, my place to think and tinker. I'd actually prefer to have the thing entirely clean and clutter-free, that is, without a single object in sight - but at times, when one gets writer's block or needs to take a break, it's better to have some kind of inspiration than to stare off into space (or at the very worst, a blank cubicle wall). Blank, empty spaces are supposed to be better for sparking one's imagination, but I have too much junk and distractions on my desk. Toys are good for breaks, too (think of slinkies, rubik's cubes, and puzzles that you turn over in your hands, such as the breakable sphere, Jacob's ladder, infinite edamame toy, etc).

Worst possible thing for "inspiration" breaks: picking up any kind of handheld electronic device such as an iphone, checking e-mail or FriendFace.

Here's what's in my workspace. Even if you are not Dan Brown, feel free to interpret the symbolism of each object.

Framed painting of Darwin

Color-changing LED eggs

Vase with no flowers, at the moment

Framed family/friend photos

Stuffed Chihuahua, an old friend

To add:

Sculpture #1: Glass sculpture of embryo inside a round-bottomed flask

Never:
Food, with the exception of coffee/water/tea