Life on two wheels

Right from the back of the book In the City of Bikes, line after line of the book seemed improbable. As I kept reading about the motivation of the author, an urban planner to visit Amsterdam, I felt that this will make a good gift to a freshly minted urban planner.
The book is funny with anecdotes of situations of throngs of bicycle and people treated as swarm of various animals. While reading the book i recalled a white bike left at an accident site in memoriam of it. The book calls it ghost bike. The only ghost bikes are the ones I know from childhood stories where a person feels like he is carrying a double on the back seat which is heavy because of an invisible ghost. This story wouldnt happen in amsterdam as it is illegal to ride double there.
Tons of info on biking history in the book.

Friendship in adversity

In Frosty the Snowman, Karen freezes in the temperature thats good for Frosty.
She jumps on a train to North Pole with Frosty saying, " Mom wont mind as long as she is back in time for supper".

Yes Virginia There is a Santa Claus

Saw this Yes Virginia play on CBS. Its based on a true story of an 8yr old  Virginia

Brick Shakespeare

LEGO make Shakespeare even more interesting.

Relaxing yoga

This video with Sybille Gebhardt uses yoga block for two poses. one of them is holding your lower body on the block. Also kapalbathi in Vajrasana but putting your palms in front of you.

Those who draw speak

Anno's alphabet

Zagazoo
The enormous crocodile discussion

Exercise: Focus on a wheat stalk for getting the field right.

Divide space like Eric Carle
Start with a tissue paper
Collage like Carle
The Mixed-up Chameleon discussion
Opposite of red

Bye Bye JCPenney

We bought this clothes drying rack. it looks like an antenna. When in use it looks really cool. Like you have the department store in your house. And then my husband wondered if we could get this fixture from JCPenney. It would roll too. We had  heard a month ago Jc penney outlet chain going out of business at an Audubon event. And then it skipped out of mind as we were not looking for anything particular to buy. As a grad student it was our go to place and then with time its selection didnt suit my taste. 

I was surprised to find the elegant side of JCP in NJ. 

Stamps

I now have 3 stamps.

An Edna Ferber lying in an unused wallet.
A Snowflake stamp with a Direct TV ad addressed in beautiful pensmanship.
A Poinsettia stamp that brought with it a block party message.

Museum

Talkback wall Vs Back channels

Do you know 10 uses for a wire?

And only then you are an outdoorsman according to The Total Outdoorsman manual.

In this survival kit, I was surprised to find tea light candles and magic birthday candles.

Nail polish to make waterproof matches

Raft out of a poncho

Vinegar is it

TB 117

Win-win

Photo booth rentals for weddings or parties is such a great idea to make your event memorable and the memento personal to the guests.

Creativity

Think like a traveller

Mind mapping

30 circles challenge

Customer journey mapping

d.school

Struggle to recall where I read of it recently

There has to be a word for it.
I 'struggled to recall where I read of it recently' when I came across The Death of Archimedes by Antoni Slonimski.
I searched all the essays in my email. I recalled the recent poetry books I read. BJWard, Billy Collins? But I knew it was a female writer. I was going to look in the library reading history.
This blog is a Reading log

The power of adjective

1. Wax candle stays with you long after you read the following poem. The next time you read of a candle (flame), you are sure to think of this 'wax candle'.

Virgin and Child in Quentin Masys poem by Jaroslaw.

To get your creative juices flowing, look out for adjectives that can be added into any drab piece of reading to make it  unique and memorable.
Wax candle would strike redundant at first but now since we have the Flameless candle , its a point in time from where man has learnt to seperate the light and warmth from the flame.

2. I recall reading about Archimedes death recently in The Calculus diaries  that he was frought in geometry while the death not knocked on his door but really barged in. This poem To the Germans with the reference to adder nests in the marble of the house, through its plunge in image takes the mind along the process of dislocating the floor reflecting the disorbitation of the guy who could move the earth from a firm spot.