Life By Kristen

Friday Finds September 2018

As a museum professional, a fire in a museum is truly my worst nightmare ( and I’ve had it a few times). Seeing the images from the fire at Brazil’s National Museum have broken my heart and reading this story about the staff going in to try to save items both inspires & saddens me.

Rhode Island’s Ida Lewis remembered at Arlington Cemetery with street name– the first woman to have a street named after her in the national memorial. She saved dozens of mariners from her post at a lighthouse in the waters off of Newport, RI.

Have you ever wondered who decides the names for each year’s hurricane season?

The homebody economy. I definitely fall into this category, but don’t subscribe or purchase to most of these things.

The exciting and exhausting world of cruise ship entertainers I can’t imagine this type of schedule!

This is just ridiculous and incredibly wasteful- Burberry is only just now ending its practice of burning unsold stock and fabric.  I have never worn nor bought this brand and even if I had the money to, I certainly wouldn’t now!

Friday Finds August 2018

Cemeteries like Mount Auburn in Massachusetts and Swan Point in Rhode Island were originally designed to be public memorial parks. If you live near a historic cemetery, they likely do walking tours and programs about the history of the place, famous folks who are interned there, the iconography of tombstones, and so on. I promise it isn’t creepy or morbid!

Are you a book re-reader? As a general rule, I am not because there are so many titles I want to read, but I have over the years re-read or listened to a number of childhood favorites. Some hold up and make me appreciate them and what they brought to my life- apparently others feel the same way.

This isn’t a push for you to donate (I did send a few things their way via their Amazon Wish List), but just a reminder in this increasingly cynical world that kind people are still all around doing good things. I found out about the Linden Library in rural Iowa via the Twitter of one of my favorite authors, J. Courtney Sullivan. After she tweeted about the place and their need for funds and books, a huge fundraising campaign took off.

20 women inventors you should know.

I work in a fairly conservative town and organization so our dress code might be more business-like than apparently the rest of the world which is increasingly becoming more casually dressed.  For example, we only really wear jeans on Fridays or days when we’re doing physical work, we dress nicer on days when there are public programs or meetings, and so on.

Friday Finds July 2018

People who read live longer– scientifically proven!

Anne Frank’s family tried to immigrate to the US before they went into hiding.

World War I “Hello Girls” to receive Congressional Gold Medal honors. It still amazes me every time a story like this comes out how many forgotten people and stories of history are out there.

The global history of ketchup. Personal note: I only really like ketchup on the rare burger I eat. I prefer French fries with mayo.

Telling the stories and history of women on America’s Route 66.

Is there anything better than losing yourself in a good book? I say no! I’ll only disagree with the writer of the article on one point- while I don’t have as many days to spend entirely reading ( though I did that a few weekends ago and it was glorious), I read just as veraciously as I did when I was a kid.

Speaking of books, let’s all praise libraries and librarians. If I got a do-over on life, I think I’d become a librarian. Could still happen.

Friday Finds June 2018

Nostalgic growing up in the 90s memes. #9 made me laugh as I recently found tons of “mix CDs” I made during high school and college in my attic.

I loved cauliflower long before it became trendy and a crucial part of a gluten-free lifestyle. That said, cauliflower crust pizza just is not for me.

I haven’t seen Ocean’s 8 yet, but they made a whole fake exhibition at a Met replica just for the movie. Fun fact: I met Hamish Bowles a few years ago when he was doing research for his Balenciaga exhibitions.

How recliners became a part of the American living room. Ours is currently in Little Man’s room and is my favorite reading chair since it swivels and rocks too!

Two Anne Frank related items: researchers find and decipher 2 hidden pages in Anne Frank’s diary and you can “visit” the Anne Frank Museum and see what it was like when she was in hiding, thanks to virtual reality.

Another job I didn’t know existed: art forgery detective.

When does hungry become hangry?

We use paper towels for many things (Q uses them a lot more than me)– it’s essential for sopping up grease on bacon, using when cleaning, etc. Even the best chefs agree with me!

An illustrated history of the picnic table.

Friday Finds May 2018

In 1938 Los Angeles, a woman went to jail for wearing pants in a courtroom. Amazing the things we take for granted today that were considered taboo or radical not that long ago.

Why cashmere can cost $2000 or $30– interesting.

This is terrifying- what happens to plastic that’s thrown away and not recycled.

The curious history of mother/daughter matching fashion. My mom and I never did the 80s thing of wearing the same dress, but we frequently wear the same color schemes. We even bought the same exact pair of sneakers independently of each other!

The changing history and silhouette of high school prom dresses since the 1940s.

The Chinese survivors of the Titanic. I definitely never heard about this!

Friday Finds April 2018

Betty Reid Soskin is 96 years old and works at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II National Park that memorializes the experiences of women workers during World War 2. In this article, she speaks about how Rosie the Riveter didn’t speak to all women’s experiences in WW2. LOVE this quote: “What gets remembered is determined by who is in the room doing the remembering.”

How Girl Scout cookies are made.

Women in Hollywood’s past who were leaders– many names I’ve never heard before.

Saving the history of cosmetics, beauty products, and fragrances at the Smithsonian.

The afterlife of movie wardrobes after production is done.

Funny movie quotes from the past 40 years that have become part of our everyday conversations/language.

What a compassionate, open-minded judge: teens who graffitied a historic building with racist symbols and words were ordered to read a book related to racism, Holocaust, etc.

Friday Finds March 2017

Dolly Parton’s charity that provides free books to kids gave out is 100 millionth free book! Amazing.

Another phenomenal female- a 101 year old female runner in India.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the NY Times is writing obituaries for women who were overlooked. This particular link takes you to Ruth Wakefield, who invented the chocolate chip cookie recipe we all love so much. Here’s the link for the whole series, Overlooked.

Did you know a woman invented the paper bag? Me either.

How certain foods became associated with certain meal times in America. Related: I hate cereal.

The odd and weird platypus.

Geek alert- plastics and museums. I spend a lot of time thinking about how 20th century materials break down in the museum collection I manage (especially plastics, polyester, and vinyl!) so this is interesting to me.

Friday Finds February 2018

Library borrowing records of millions of New Yorkers are made public, including Alexander Hamilton, Roald Dahl, and more. Very cool!

I’ve been watching a lot of the Olympics this month. I’m not sure what it is about the Games that makes me spend a couple of hours on a Saturday watching luge or downhill skiing when I wouldn’t do that on any other random Saturday. In any case, a few Olympic-related articles: how to manage stress like an Olympic athlete  and and Olympic figure skater who was also the first female sportswriter at the NY Times.

Do you watch The Good Place on NBC? It’s one of my favorite shows and the only current sitcom and network TV show we watch. We binged-watched it over the summer after its first season was done, as I kept reading/hearing recs from friends, podcasts, etc. about it. The second season was just as good as the first. This article is not just about the show’s concept ( which is dealing with the idea of afterlife in a funny way), but how it talks about this big, weighty issue in a comedic way. Personally, my version of heaven has all my loved ones who have gone before me, and lots of bread and cheese.

In 3rd grade, when we were assigned to do biographical sketches of a historic person, I chose Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in the United States. Here’s a bit more of her story– happy to see more people will know about her and her achievements now that a media with a wider audience has done this piece on her.

This article on Mr. Rogers is from years ago, but on the occasion of the show’s 50th anniversary, it’s been reprinted. Still so true today that he is a hero to kids, especially Mr. Rogers’ phrase to children who are scared in times of crisis “look for the helpers.” Also, the StoryCorps podcast had a wonderful episode with the actor who played Officer Clemons that made my week. You can find more on that episode here.

Friday Finds January 2018

I will always be a paper planner gal as I completely believe there is a hand writing to brain connection. This article totally is behind paper planners, and I love their approach to finding the perfect one.

While I don’t think I suffer from Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder (SAD), there are definitely blah days that happen in the winter time more than other times of year. There are some great tips in this article about how to manage SAD. I’m really intrigued by the dawn stimulator light for the days when I don’t see the sunlight until I’m well into my work commute.

Two really interesting resources highlighting some lesser known women in our cultural history: Female pioneers in architecture and American women cartoonists and illustrators.

I might work in museums, but I still don’t understand historical reenactors.

Something I’m working on for myself- why we need ‘white space’ in our daily routines.

Friday Finds December 2017

As a long time lover of purple, I’m very excited for Pantone’s 2018 color of the year- ultraviolet!

I don’t think you can make a great grilled cheese without it, but what the heck is really in American cheese?

In praise of Anne of Green Gables  (and girls who ask too many questions, of which I am proudly in that category). I recently listened to the book on my commute and was reminded all over again why I love it.

I love all things related to the Muppets, including Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas, which turns 40 this year!

My mother’s side has lots of Dutch farmers and many of the older generation still wore wooden clogs to do work on their farms, so this article about 19th century Dutch farmers ruining their feet from clogs was intriguing!

Our family gave up giving gifts to each other about 3 years ago and it was the best decision we ever made. I enjoyed reading this author’s perspective on no-gift Christmas too and this one on the joy of a simple Christmas.

Dressing fashionably while protesting.