Reading Update
The Art of Expressive Collage: Techniques for Creating with Paper and Glue by Crystal Neubauer. Reread: I appreciated this book more the second time and bumped my rating from three to four stars.

“Still no birds. Woe.” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link

In which there is no linkity this week

April 6, 2018 Chris 7 Comments

I’m taking a mental health break from linkity this week. Perhaps there’s a week you missed? Now’s your chance to catch up! 🙂

“….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

And linkity saw sunshine and it was good

March 30, 2018 Chris 8 Comments

Bookity

Linkity from Smart Bitches.
Linkity from the Pen Addict.
An intro to British cozy mysteries.
“Poems for when life is just hard“.
Bill Murray reading poetry. (via Book Riot)
Getting started with elfpunk. (Hmm, seems like the Borderlands series should’ve been mentioned…)
“Harry Potter and the battle for gun control“.
“Keeping a journal has real benefits, so choosing the right notebook for you is important“. (via Notebook Stories)
Oh, English.

Think, Do, Make, Learn

“A note about Russian propaganda on Tumblr“.
“I watched all 629 episodes of The Simpsons in a month. Here’s what I learned.” (via maderr)
Primer on David Bowie’s film career. (via Largehearted Boy)
“How ‘bad medicine’ dismisses and misdiagnoses women’s symptoms“. (via jmcbks)
Surprise – another human organ has been discovered.
“Your half-assed attempts at exercise are still really good for you“.
I am curious about the “Not-to-Do” list…
10-minute cleaning checklist (for unexpected company).
NASA astronauts answer questions about space.
“Why we finally feel betrayed by Facebook“.

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Listen to the water on the rocky shore of Lake Superior.
Minneapolis on St Patrick’s Day.
Rainbow pathway.
Spoken word by Shane Koyczan: “How to be a Person” and “Instructions for a Bad Day“.
(US) Regional gothic.
Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Bongo and baby! Baby penguin!

Reading Update
Collage Lab: 52 Experiments, Investigations, and Exploratory Projects by Bee Shay. Pretty much what it says on the tin! I liked the examples of the various experiments – I’ll definitely refer back to this one when I want to do a photo transfer using gel medium, for example. What I didn’t like was the tacit art knowledge that seemed to be required throughout the book. Reread: OMG, why not put the instructions in the same place for every lab?!

I call this one “Drowsing Chaotic Cat with Ears of Annoyance”.

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity is just THRILLED to be under a winter storm warning

March 23, 2018 Chris 7 Comments

Learn a little bit more about me.

Bookity

Do, Make, Learn, Think

My money’s on Biden.
What Old Norse sounded like. (Blodeuedd, there’s a cowboy!)
Dick’s Sporting Goods takes a stand.
It’s not the fault of video games.
“We need to examine bias in how we talk about shooters and shooting victims“.
“18 thrilling stories you could only find on Tumblr“.
“What 100 calories of Easter candy looks like“.
Yesterday was World Poetry Day.
Check your smoke detectors…
Infant mortality by US state.
On STEM diversity.

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Knitting linkity from kmkat.

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

“‘Africa’ [by Toto] being played through a dead mall AP system“.

Wha…?

LOL

“The 11 seasons of Midwestern states“. SO TRUE.
“Doin’ Her Best Barbie“.
“The 1969 Easter Mass Incident“.
New Simon’s Cat!
Humor or simply truth: anxiety.
On being judgmental.

Teh Cute

Baby bat with the hiccups (video)! Polar bear and baby! Baby penguin! Dik-diks and baby!

Reading Update
Painting Your Way Out ofÂ Corner: The Art of Getting Unstuck by Barbara Diane Barry. Good book about using intuitive painting (whether or not you’ve ever painted before) to help you get past blocks in your life.

“Please bring back the birds, Mom. I miss them!” -Mayhem

(Soon. Very soon. I hope.)

Linkity linkity link

How many links would a linkity link if a linkity could link links?

March 16, 2018 Chris 5 Comments

Bookity

New releases: Tor.com (genre-benders)
Linkity from Inkophile.
Linkity from The Pen Addict.
Linkity from Smart Bitches.
Cover snark from Smart Bitches.
On Harry Potter and Parseltongue.
Rainbow Rowell on fanfiction.
“A Wrinkle in Time, Aunt Beast, and the radical power of self-care“.
Home library bookcases.
A threatened bookstore burning.

Think, Learn, Do, Make

“On rethinking all the narratives about women we used to accept before we knew better“.
NASA’s looking for help finding STEVE. (Some more about STEVE.)
“Neil deGrasse Tyson releases full, commercial-free version of his interview with Stephen Hawking“. Tribute to Hawking.
Neil deGrasse Tyson proves the Earth is round…
Climate science heading to court.
“Don’t be surprised when the people fight back – they’ll be doing it a whole lot more“. (Ok, the quote is actually from the lyrics of “America, America” by Libby Roderick, but it seemed to fit the link.)
“Critical and empathic thinking are learned skills“.
Good to know if you happen to get an antibiotic-resistant infection.
Yet another very compelling reason to exercise – less likely to get dementia.
An update on what Boaty McBoatface has been up to.
Wikivoyage.
Why we spend too much money at Target and IKEA.
EPBOT on the passing of David Ogden Stiers.

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Reading Update

Erm…

*waiting for birds* -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity keeps drowsing off whilst typing, so that’s all for today, folks!

March 9, 2018 Chris 7 Comments

Bookity

New releases: Tor.com (scifi, fantasy)
Linkity from Smart Bitches.
“A condensed comic version of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time“.
Winnie-the-Pooh quotes.
Jane Austen quotes.
Quotes about libraries.
Leia and Han as Beatrice and Benedick.
10 cool librarian shirts.
Haiku I wrote.

Do, Make, Learn, Think

“The real history of Daylight Savings Time“. Plus “How to fend off Daylight Savings Time fatigue“.
The NASA Guide to Air-Filtering Houseplants (plus a link to what plants are toxic to cats and dogs).
What’s up in NASA land for March.
Thundersnow (we had it earlier this week, too).
Some bad news about Omega3s.
Trailer for the Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary.
A new penguin “supercolony” has been discovered.

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

To remember.
Solar system and planets embroidery.
Walker Sculpture Garden in the snow.
Merriam-Webster’s time traveler page – what words were first used in print the same year you were born? For me: found poem, gastroesophageal reflux, big hair, bunny slope, art deco, multitasking, panic attack, paperless, ripple effect, unisex, zit… and many more.
Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

“Athletes are turning to leeches…”

LOL

Teh Cute

Baby penguins!

Reading Update
Art Journal Your Archetypes: Mixed-Media Techniques for Finding Yourself by Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli. My favorite part of this book was the archetypes quiz. I think that mine were spot on, too: artist, student, detective, engineer, rebel, scribe, and hermit.
Collage with Color: Create Unique, Expressive Collages in Vibrant Color by Jane Davies. Very good explanation of creating your own painted papers with watercolor and acrylic, then using those papers in collage. I liked the instruction parts of the book, but not so much the finished products.

“Are you sure those snowflakes aren’t really birds?!” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity is especially fond of today’s cat photo

March 2, 2018 Chris 8 Comments

After I continued to randomly mark large chunks of my feed as read trying to use the Feedly app for Android, I tried a bunch of other feed readers and have settled on Newsfold. It’s not fancy, but it does what I want a feed reader to do. So! *fingers crossed*

Bookity

Do, Think, Learn, Make

The history of the price tag.
“This mutant crayfish clones itself, and it’s taking over Europe“. That’s the amusing tumblr thread about it – here’s my fact checking link to Science.
We had a very snowy weekend here in Minneapolis. Very snowy.
“Bee stings and cow kicks kill way more Americans than sharks“.
A look at how different Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was from the rest of the Star Trek franchise.
Some journaling prompts from Lifehacker.
Good for you, Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Drunk History on Mister Rogers.
“Is coffee good for you?“
“Beyond hope and despair: Teaching climate change“.

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Knitting linkity from kmkat.

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

This is an interesting way to remember to do something… Wouldn’t it be easier to just set a reminder on your phone?!
Six degrees of Wikipedia.
Chopstick gallery.
Humorous horror short about a pet cemetery.

Wha…?

LOL

The stages of a cat yawn.
Dogs getting stuck in snow (video).
Interaction. (Hover/long-press cursor for caption.)
xkcd on The Simpsons. (Hover/long-press cursor for caption.)
Bill Murray, you might be onto something there re: the Olympics!
“This hero made himself a boyfriend out of boxed wine cartons“.
“If HAL9000 was Amazon.com’s Alexa“. (Thanks, Cheryl!) (vide0)

Teh Cute

Kittens (video)! Baby penguins! Baby penguin! Baby otter! Baby cheetahs!

Reading Update
The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere by Pico Iyer. Thoughtful look at being still and meditating, with unexpected Leonard Cohen.

“IÂ SAID I DON’T WANT MY PICTURE TAKEN!!!” -Chaos

“Oh s**t!!!” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity is trying to ignore the gently falling (again) snow

February 23, 2018 Chris 8 Comments

My usual mobile feed reader, gReader Pro, went wonky on me last weekend and wouldn’t connect to Feedly anymore. I switched to the Feedly Reader, which is ok, except… I keep making some motion that marks chunks of my feed as read and I can’t figure out how to turn that off. ARGH.

Bookity

Think, Make, Do, Learn

Congrats to the Team USA women’s hockey team!
“23 State Attorneys General sue the FCC to preserve Net Neutrality“. Very glad Minnesota’s AG was one of the 23.
Goodbye, Mars Phoenix Lander.
Thoughtful comic. (via maderr)
A brief history of the Walkman.
“Because unregulated capitalism values profit over human life and suffering“.
“How gender, language affect public discourse in the tRUMP era“.
“It’s time for the myth of the fanboy to fade“.
How cats defend their territory.
A bit about Swedish death cleaning.
“5 steps to strong bones“.
You can keep track of the Tesla Roadster on its journey.
“Learn computer concepts with IKEA-style diagrams“.

Cookity

Gluten Free

Quinoa stuffed cabbage rolls. (I must’ve missed the memo that it was cabbage recipe week on the internet.)
Air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites.
Healthy protein pancakes.

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Black kitty boys, whatcha gonna do…
xkcd on self-driving cars. (Hover cursor/long-press for caption.)

Teh Cute

“Zoos get into a brutal cute animal battle“. Tapir and baby!

Reading Update
Ask Me: 100 Essential Poems of William Stafford by William Stafford (Kim Stafford, ed). I had to jot down many phrases and entire poems in my notebook whilst reading this, and I’ve already made an art journal page for some of them…
Incredible Good Fortune: New Poems by Ursula K Le Guin. This was really mixed for me – I desperately wanted to love all of the poems, but only a few resonated with me.
Humans Wanted, edited by Vivian Caethe. Probably 2.5 stars. As with most collections, there were good stories and not-so-good stories. However, I don’t feel as if the book managed to capture the essence or magic of the “humans are so weird, but in a good way” post on tumblr. So if that’s what you’re hoping for….. 🙁

Stand-off/Stare-off on the exercise bike! O, teh dramaz!!!

Covers, Linkity linkity link, Reviewettes

Linkity specializes in dawdling

February 16, 2018 Chris 6 Comments

Bookity

Think, Do, Learn, Make

Some thoughts and points about dragons’ eyes.
On sexual harassment, denial, and backlash. (via maderr)
“A year on the sun through our satellite’s eyes“.
Spurious claims and the burden of proof.
A bit about adblockers. (I use uBlock Origin and Disconnect.)
How likely is it that Musk’s Tesla will crash back into Earth?
“The risks of driving while drowsy have been vastly underestimated“.
The Obamas’ official portraits are done.
“We need another Winter Olympics ‘Miracle’…“

Cookity

Gluten Free

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute!

Kittens! Penguins and Valentines! Penguins and spy cam! Bottle of unicorns!

Reading Update
Swan: Poems and Prose Poems by Mary Oliver. This one had a couple of things I quite liked, but overall it didn’t resonate that much with me.
Journal Sparks: Fire Up Your Creativity with Spontaneous Art, Wild Writing, and Inventive Thinking by Emily K Neuburger. Very good collection of creative journaling ideas for those times when you need some inspiration. It also includes a section on making your own simple journals, plus has some stickers and artsy paper to use in your own creative journal.
Dare to Sketch: A Guide to Drawing on the Go by Felix Scheinberger. Ok overview of drawing basics with particular tips for urban sketchers. Definitely feels like a variation of other things I’ve read before.
Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores: True Tales and Lost Moments from Book Buyers, Booksellers, and Book Lovers by Bob Eckstein. A lovely little book highlighting 75 bookstores from around the world, with a watercolor painting and anecdote for each. This is one I’m perfectly fine with reading from the library and not owning.

“FeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMe!” -Chaos

Stumbling Over Chaos

Category Archives: Linkity linkity link

Linkity is all in on 60F weather this weekend!

In which linkity is hurtful to Minnesota

In which there is no linkity this week

And linkity saw sunshine and it was good

Linkity is just THRILLED to be under a winter storm warning

How many links would a linkity link if a linkity could link links?

Linkity keeps drowsing off whilst typing, so that’s all for today, folks!

Linkity is especially fond of today’s cat photo

Linkity is trying to ignore the gently falling (again) snow

Linkity specializes in dawdling

Art journaling, reading, knitting, and cat parenting. It's a wild life.