Author Archives: Betsy
Nella Last’s War
Nella Last’s War, edited by Richard Broad and Suzie Fleming. Subtitle: The Second World War Diaries of Housewife, 49. Mass Observation was a British project begun in 1937 to “create an anthropology of ourselves.” Part of the project involved a few hundred volunteers who kept diaries about their everyday lives and thoughts. One of these … Continue reading
And all the rest: February
Stuff I read or watched but didn’t write about (February 2012). Books A Useful Dog, by Donald McCaig. Movies/TV Space: 1999, season 2 (eps 9-48). Swing Kids. Sarah Connor Chronicles, season 2. QB VII. The American President (1995).
The Dollhouse Murders
The Dollhouse Murders, by Thomas P. Mauriello. Subtitle: A Forensic Expert Investigates 6 Little Crimes. Thomas Mauriello is an expert crime scene investigator and also teaches the subject. In 1992, he saw the “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death” dioramas, a series of 18 dollhouse miniatures of crime scenes. They were created in the 1940′s by … Continue reading
Piled Higher and Deeper # 4
Piled Higher and Deeper. Chapter 4: Academic Stimulus Package, by Jorge Cham. This is the fourth compilation of the online comic strip, Piled Higher and Deeper (“a grad student comic strip”). PHD is one of the best online time sinks. If you’ve ever been in academia or in grad school, particularly if you’ve ever been … Continue reading
The Boy in the Dress
The Boy in the Dress, by David Walliams. Dennis is a 12-year-old boy whose life has been very boring and lonely since his mother left a couple of years ago. He is bullied by his brother and his father has a “no hugging” rule in the house. The two bright spots in Dennis’ life are … Continue reading
2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently updated its Plant Hardiness Zone Map. What’s a plant hardiness zone? It’s a zone based on the “average annual extreme minimum temperature during a 30-year period in the past” and helps gardeners determine whether a plant has a chance to thrive in that zone. The 2012 map is more … Continue reading
Marcelino Pan Y Vino
Marcelino Pan y Vino, by Jose Maria Sanchez-Silva. Marcelino is an orphan who was abandoned as a baby at the doorstep of a small Franciscan monastery. He grows up to be a mischievious little boy who has the run of the monastery. He only place he’s not allowed to visit is the attic. Of course, … Continue reading
Getting the most out of a professional conference
“Getting the most out of an in-person professional conference,” by Kathryn Greenhill, posted on Librarians Matter. “I just really miss that exciting feeling of stepping out of a conference session, where I didn’t really understand what the abstract in the programme meant, with my mind buzzing with trying to quickly assimilate the new knowledge and … Continue reading
Dante’s Equation
Dante’s Equation, by Jane Jensen. [Short note this time as I try to catch up on the book write-ups.] This book combines Torah code, cutting-edge physics, Auschwitz, alternate universes, and good and evil to make a neat, far-raging, and exciting adventure. You wouldn’t think such a mix would work so well, but it does. WorldCat … Continue reading
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Betsy Vera
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