who knew?

Granted, I wasn't paying much attention to the economy at 10, but I had no idea that the "alterna-grunge" fashion movement had anything at all to do with the recession, as this article indicates:

Economists say this teen spending slump could be the worst in 17 years, when teen frugality led to the demise of once-hot Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc. and ushered in an era of flannel shirts and torn jeans.

I guess it makes sense - my friends & I were doing most of our shopping at Salvation Army stores throughout high school, although we definitely weren't of the Abercrombie norm where I lived....

I am just picturing the early-90s fashion icons of Kurt & Courtney. Babydoll dresses weren't quite something you could buy secondhand, but I guess things like plastic hairclips (I totally rocked those) and torn tights weren't too difficult to obtain or upkeep.

I'm also definitely glad to see this closing sentence:

Block noted that buying second-hand is also appealing to a growing eco-friendly sentiment among teenagers.

I sure hope to see that trend continue!

xoxo

Currently Reading:
	TITLE: Dematerializing AUTHOR: Jane Hammerslough

let's go Bruins

Win that 7th game!!

etymology simply fascinates me.

Well...I was going to write something out, but I don't think I could say it any better than Wikipedia -- this is about the Friars Minor Capuchin, an order of the Catholic Church:

The order arose in 1520 when Matteo da Bascio, an "Observant" Franciscan friar native to the Italian region of Marche, became inspired by God with the idea that the manner of life led by the Franciscans of his day was not the one which St. Francis had envisaged. He sought to return to the primitive way of life in solitude and penance as practiced by the founder of his order.

His superiors tried to suppress these innovations, and Friar Matteo and his first companions were forced into hiding from Church authorities, who sought to arrest them for having abandoned their religious duties. They were given refuge by the Camaldolese monks, in gratitude for which they later adopted the hood or capuccio worn by that order--which was the mark of a hermit in that region of Italy--and the practice of wearing a beard. The popular name of their order originates from this feature of their religious habit, and after this the Capuchin monkey and the cappuccino coffee are also named by visual analogy.

Here are some fun visuals to cement the idea for you:


cappuccio


capuchin monkey


cappuccino

p.s. This is a capuchin monkey too, but it's mostly included for your entertainment.


p.p.s. Another word for cappuccio is chaperon, which is the headgear that protective escorts once used to sport...which also explains where that word comes from, too!

Currently Reading:
	TITLE: The Poisonwood Bible AUTHOR: Barbara Kingsolver
	TITLE: Bleak House AUTHOR: Charles Dickens

remember the daze?

I don't know yet what I think about this movie, but hey, yay class of 1999!

Very Dazed and Confused for a new generation, but we'll have to see if it can live up to that. So far, I'm thinking not. But I'll definitely give it a shot if it comes our way.

(Stumbled across this thanks to good old Daily Candy.)

the big one

Wow. This is the first time I can actually say that I read the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year, thanks to my book club. I probably never would have picked the book up myself, if it weren't for them. But I did absolutely love it - largely for its geeky references, though...and good writing, of course. :) I'll have to keep an eye out for future work from Mr. Diaz.

I'm lucky, too, because it was a close call - I didn't read either of the other 2 nominees, which were Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson Shakespeare’s Kitchen by Lore Segal.

Maybe I'll have to add those to my ever-growing list, though....

xo

la-la-la-library

On my way back in from work tonight, I stopped at the public library because I had only 70 pages left of (the long-overdue) The Brothers Karamazov, and I had every belief that I could finish those pages before the closing hour of 9 o'clock. ...And I would've gotten away with it, too, if not for those meddling, er, guys!

See, I had settled myself into one of those nice, comfy chairs they recently set up near the new books section, and I was flying through (the trial part of the book is quite engaging), and I was just thinking to myself, "My, how nice this is. I should come read in the library more often! I'd get so much reading done."

And of course, that's when Awful Dude comes and sits down a couple chairs away from me. First, his annoying antics were just mildly so; he took off his shoes and promptly curled up and started snoring. However, that caused a security guard to come over and wake him up, telling him that sleeping wasn't allowed in the library and that if Awful Dude persisted, Security Guard would have to call the police (oh, gosh - I know he means, like, using it as a place to sleep instead of falling asleep over your books, but how many times I've been guilty of the latter...whew). Of course, during all this, I got very little reading done - especially when AD started muttering threats to SG.

Things quieted down for a bit, though, and I was able to read again...until this guy sat down between us, and AD started going off on him. I nicknamed him "Awful Dude" because what spewed out of his mouth from that point on, towards this perfectly innocent and totally silent (and unprovoking) man were some of the worst, most slanderous insults, racial slurs, violent threats, and homophobic and xenophobic bullshit that ever I have heard from anyone. AD was just ranting at him - and I was just mere feet away, trying to pretend to be totally engrossed in my book so as not to incur AD's wrath. Believe me, I would've loved to have stood up to AD (or even just stood up and left), but I have to admit I was terrified. He definitely didn't seem in his right mind...and he was way bigger than me. Really, really scary. For the next several minutes I got no reading done whatsoever (although believe me, I stared a hole through my page, trying to avoid any notice by AD!).

Then, apropos of nothing, AD silenced and curled up in his chair again, to once again begin snoring. My fingers stopped clutching the book...for a few seconds, at least, until SG and his buddy came over again, this time to kick AD out of the library once and for all. Whoo boy, that did not go over well. I tried not to listen to what AD was yelling now about the guy next to me and the security guards....

Finally he was gone, and at that point I only had a short time left before the library closed, and too many pages to finish. Sigh. It had been my goal to finish the book at the library and then leave it there. Now, I'll have to finish it tonight & drop it in the book drop tomorrow. I know, no difference in terms of late fees, but still. It's the principle of the thing. I so had it. Damn AD.

But, in better news, I think I'll be able to finish The Brothers Karamazov and Sense and Sensibility tonight. Wohoo! It's been a while since I finished any books at all, so I'm quite pleased to get to check 2 off at once.

And, to that end, I leave you all for now.
Goodnight.
xoxo

saddest. thing. evar.

(Thanks, Sally!)

foggy

I'm in such a state. I am still up, waiting for a build to complete. I'm PMSing. I'm ripping out about 6 inches of knitting because I realize I've been working with 49 stitches instead of 51 the whole time. (How did I not notice that until now?!?)

Needless to say, I've been terribly weepy today, with all the frustration. Ugh.

I hope I can catch up on some much-needed rest & relaxation this weekend...and the same to all of you!

xo