Habit Helpers: Follow Your Questions, Day 5

Following my questions, Day 5....

What is lanolin? It's a wool wax or grease that helps to protect skin from the ravages of the environment. This question popped up while reading Cold Mountain, when it mentioned that one of the characters wore wool with the lanolin left in it to protect themselves from the rain. Turns out, lanolin does offer waterproofing of a type. Lanolin is found in a wide variety of cosmetic and dermatological products, including baby skin treatments and nipple treatments for breastfeeding mothers.

Who was Aaron Burr? So all I knew about Aaron Burr prior to this was that he was Jefferson's vice president during Jefferson's first term and that he shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. But here are some other fun things that I learned about him:

• He believed in equality of the sexes, and dictated that his daughter Theodosia would receive a really intense education in her youth.
• He sponsored legislation in the New York Assembly that eventually abolished slavery in the state.
• His daughter Theodosia died at the age of 29, in a shipwreck.
• Burr is rumored to have fathered two children of mixed racial heritage with a servant in his family's household, while married to his wife (also named Theodosia); it's impossible to verify with DNA testing because no known male Burr descendant has been located (and such a descendant may not exist).
• He is known to be the father of modern political campaigning (thanks a lot for that one!)
• All charges against Burr related to Hamilton's death were eventually dropped.

Last week, I related some tips and tricks for how I did my 10 ideas a day. This week, I didn't give much advice, but here are some things I learned to help me work this habit into my daily life:

• I did not find it useful to drop what I was doing any time I had a question and look it up. I tried this on the first day, and it was really disruptive because it seems like I really have a lot of questions when I am doing other stuff, like housework, and it threw off my flow.
• I did find it useful to write down all of my questions and take some time to really pursue them in the evenings, when I settled down, usually after dinner.
• Post it notes were really helpful. I didn't find electronic notes that useful.
• I found it useful to define a place that I could stick my notes and gather them later for my research.

So that's really all I got for tips and tricks, folks. I enjoyed this activity. I don't know that any of these are actually making me smarter (I doubt it), but they've been fun! ;-)

Habit Helpers: Follow Your Questions, Days 3 & 4

I missed yesterday! Whoops!

But I did have several questions from the day before that I followed, so here's a rundown of the past two days of random flights of fancy...

How did Jay Z respond to the 9/11 terror attacks? Jay Z is one of those artists that I think of when I think of New York City. I was listening to a playlist of his tracks, and wondered what his response was. I found this article that talked about how Jay Z, Eminem, and five other rappers responded:

“Bootleggers, bombers, Bin Laden,” he said on the cut. “I’m still cracking’/ I will not lose/ I simply refuse/ I drop the same date as the Twin Towers/ I show power/ Still I show compassion for others/ sent money and flowers.” 

But this wasn’t the only time Jay referred to the incident. On the title track off Blueprint 2, the MC noted that he was “the first in line donating proceeds off every ticket sold” when “the Twin Towers dropped.”

Who was William Ockham? I've giddily thrown around the concept of Ockham's razor, but I've never taken the time to look at who the man behind the concept is. Here's what the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy says to introduce him:

William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347) is, along with Thomas Aquinas and John Duns Scotus, among the most prominent figures in the history of philosophy during the High Middle Ages. He is probably best known today for his espousal of metaphysical nominalism; indeed, the methodological principle known as “Ockham's Razor” is named after him. But Ockham held important, often influential views not only in metaphysics but also in all other major areas of medieval philosophy—logic, physics or natural philosophy, theory of knowledge, ethics, and political philosophy—as well as in theology.

You can read more here.

What's the difference between a crow and a raven? According to BirdNote:

Is that big black bird a crow or a raven? How can you tell? Ravens (seen right here) often travel in pairs, while crows (left) are seen in larger groups. Also, study the tail as the bird flies overhead. A crow's tail is shaped like a fan, while the raven's tail appears wedge-shaped. Another clue is to listen closely to the birds' calls. Crows give a cawing sound, but ravens produce a lower croaking sound.

They also have a recording of the sound here.


Yesterday came with a ton of questions surrounding the life of Emma Goldman, but you'll have to check out my Over the Cuckoos' Nest post here for those answers.

But here's a tidbit especially for y'all: Emma Goldman was featured in the hit television series Sons of Anarchy, in the very first season. Check out this tidbit:

John Teller: First time I read Emma Goldman wasn't in a book. I was sixteen, hiking near the Nevada border. The quote was painted on a wall in red. When I saw those words it was like someone ripped them from the inside of my head. 

Jackson 'Jax' Teller: Anarchism... stands for liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion; the liberation of the human body from the dominion of property; liberation from shackles and restraint of government. It stands for social order based on the free grouping of individuals. 

John Teller: The concept was pure, simple, true. It inspired me. Lit a rebellious fire, but ultimately I learned the lesson that Goldman, Proudhom and the others learned. That true freedom requires sacrifice and pain. Most human beings only think they want freedom. In truth they yearn for the bondage of social order, rigid laws, materialism. The only freedom man really wants, is the freedom to become comfortable.

That's from IMDB, so you can check out other bits of the show at the link.

So, on that note, remember, that the most important thing is to never stop questioning. Like Einstein said:

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Happy questioning, folks!

Habit Helpers: Follow Your Questions, Day 2

Day 2 found me with just one question: What the heck is a LeMat revolver?

I've got three books going right now: God Is Not Great, The Good Earth, and Cold Mountain. Don't ask me how that happened--I usually have a nonfiction and a fiction going at the same time, but Cold Mountain was hard for me to get into at first, so I started The Good Earth for Banned Book Week and wound up reading all three on a rotation....

Anyway, it's alright. The ideas are different enough that it's keeping me entertained. But reading about the Civil War naturally raised a few questions, the first of which regards Inman's sidearm.

The LeMat was a revolver used during the Civil War. It does not appear to have been widespread from what I've read. It was unique because it had nine chambers circling a larger chamber in the center, which could function as a short barrel shotgun. This feature led it to be nicknamed the "Grape Shot Revolver". The possessor of the weapon could select which function using a lever.

The creator, one Jean Alexander Le Mat from New Orleans, was a cousin of P.G.T. Beauregard. Le Mat and Beauregard formed a partnership in 1859, when Beauregard was still a major in the United States Army, to market the gun to the Army. However, Beauregard resigned his post to join the Confederacy at the start of the Civil War.

All told, the firearm was produced from 1859 to 1865, with approximately 2,900 being made. It fell out of service in large part because it could not compete with the introduction of the double-action system.

And another, since it just came to mind as I was typing this: Why was the Good Earth banned?

In China, the Good Earth was banned by Mao Zedong because of its brutal agrarian viewpoint. Far from portraying working the land in a romanticized fashion, Pearl S. Buck depicts the real struggles for people trying to eek a living out of a sometimes fickle earth.

And I had an idea to add to my list too! "Why You Should Read Banned Books from Around the World". I'm going to call this a win all around. :D

Habit Helpers: Follow Your Questions, Day 1

This week, I'm working on "follow your questions".

I'm not going to lie, I'm doing these in order according to the infographic, but this one is really easy. Our household runs on a policy of "GTS" :: Google That Shit. We love to follow our questions.

A great example of this is our recent obsession with Alexander Hamilton. I am absolutely in love with the musical's original cast recording, and I am constantly subjecting the family to it. My spousal unit and I have become so much more knowledgeable about Hamilton because we are constantly googling different facts and reading up on him. It's been fun.

So, I'm going to blog about it, but in all fairness, this one is a gimme.

Here are some of the questions that I followed yesterday:

• What was Jay Z's career progression?
• When was Alexander Hamilton married?
• When did Alexander Hamilton become Secretary of Treasury?
• What were the massacres at Sabre and Chatila refugee camps in 1982?
• What was Jasenovac?

Here's my answers:

Jay Z's Career Progression: Appeared on several of Jaz-O's works in the 80s and 90s, then was involved in battles with LL Cool J and as a "hype man" for Big Daddy Kane (Kane points out, though, that Jay Z wasn't really a hype man in the classic sense of the term). His first album in 1996 was Reasonable Doubt, which reached 23 on Billboard's 200, and was well received critically. He helped created Roc-a-Fella Records in 1995. I think the rest is kinda history, but if you are interested like I was, check out the Wiki. 

Alexander Hamilton: Married on December 14, 1780, and became Secretary of the Treasury on September 11, 1789 (he left the position in 1795).

Saber and Chatila: First off, Hitchens spelled it with the "CH" but my googling revealed that Chatila is usually rendered as "Shatila". It was the massacre of between 762 and 3,500 refugees, mostly Palestinian and Lebanese Shiites, by a militia that was close to the predominantly Christian Kateeb party. It lasted for almost two days, from September 16 1982 to September 18 1982. While not carried out by Israeli Defense Forces, they supposedly blocked exits to prevent residents from fleeing and also fired flares when the aggressors requested illumination. It's pretty terrible, but if you're interested in learning more, you can check out the Wiki.

Jasenovac: a Croatian concentration camp not associated with the Nazis. 77,000 to 99,000 people were murdered during its 3 and a half years in operation. The camp was a last stop for many Serbs--56% of the victims were of Serbian ethnicity. Check out the Wiki.

Habit Helpers: Not Quite 10 Ideas, 10-22

I did not do as well yesterday--only eight ideas. We're getting ready for our youngest son's birthday party, so I didn't even have time to sit and read for long, so no falling back on that to generate some ideas.

But, I figure eight is better than flaking on the whole project, so here's my ideas:

1. If I put store brand product in name brand packing, will Dude notice?
2. Guest prep checklist
3. What would have happened if we hadn't won the Revolution?
4. Picture labels for toy boxes in playroom
5. Feminist Friday post: orgasms are a feminist issue
6. Poetry afternoon/evening: spend like 30 or so reading poetry and quieting down
7. God forgets who he is, wanders world gone to shit, has to be reminded
8. things I was taught--grass is green because it is restful, but who's to say we don't find green restful because it's the color of grass? :: "The eyes were adjusted to nature, not the other way about." (God is Not Great, p. 3)

So there you have it. A few of these I think would be fun to explore as short stories--we shall see!

Anything new for you?

Habit Helpers: 10 Ideas, 10-21

Another day, another 10 ideas.

Here's what I came up with:

1. "The World's Caught Up To Back To The Future: What Now?"
2. Colorblock planner pages so I can see the balance and where my time is scheduled
3. Alphabetize Women of Doubt list to make it easier to see who is done, add new people, etc
4. Story Idea: The Girl in the Mirror
5. Feminist Friday: breast cancer myths are damaging
6. post idea to explore: knowing someone is an atheist really doesn't tell you much about them and what they believe (Dear Christian post? inspired by Living the Secular Life p 205)
7. Shared American culture can't be built around religion (especially relevant, it seems, during election season) (LTSL p 215)
8. politics column--maybe done by political science friend? weekly? monthly?
9. science parenting opportunities facebook page--need to generate name ideas
10. zombies on a plane--might be cool allegory for plane etiquette, which seems like a hot topic right now......

Let's see yours. :-)

Habit Helpers: 10 Ideas, 10-20

Day 2 was slightly easier than Day 1, admittedly. I definitely found the chapter on dealing with death in Living the Secular Life very inspiring.

Here's what I came up with:

1. Keep pad and pen by bed.
2. What if none of this actually exists? >> Might make a fun short story.
3. Nilofur as a name for novel character (suggested by Urs)
4. What are secular approaches to death? (besides those in the book)
5. Brick in the Wall: my spouse's deployment
6. relationship between religion and death might be interesting to explore--if you start out with the assertion that "there is something after death", you necessarily have to explain how that works (LTSL, p. 180)
7. Atheist Mama topic: building secular holiday traditions
8. "why do atheists care about weddings, namings, coming of age, funerals?"--maybe these aren't really religious rites but human ones (explored in a Nest post)
9. "What would be the cost of not having an enemy?" --Cold Mountain // learning how to engage online (post idea)
10. timer for boys screentime (maybe hourglass??)

I have ran across some really cool quotes about ideas and having them. A few of my favorites so far....

"The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas." --Linus Pauling

"Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." --Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Ideas shape the course of history." --John Maynard Keyes

So what did you come up with? Any tips or tricks?

Habit Helpers: 10 Ideas a Day, 10-19

So, did you come up with ten ideas?

A few notes before I share mine.

First, this was obscenely difficult. I honestly did not think it would be as difficult as it turned out to be. "10 ideas, oh yea, that'll be a blast!" NO. It was fun, though, just more difficult than I'd anticipated.

For the purposes of this activity, I'm counting pretty much anything as an idea. I may refine that as I continue on. So even if it was a project around the house or something, I included it in my list. Some of them, therefore, are super boring, but I don't care; an idea is an idea.

Here were my ten for yesterday:

1. weekly menu board for pantry door
2. character for novel, nickname Fury
3. blog post: revisiting prayer, from Living the Secular life p. 138
4. make a list of what makes life meaningful, quote from Living the Secular Life, p. 147
5. would be cool to find kid-friendly biography of Alexander Hamilton so Aidan could compare to musical
6. create fancy faux frame for Tardis cafe poster for bathroom wall
7. research "ideas" and how to have them
8. research motivation and science-based principles for motivating yourself (maybe for blog post)
9. steinbeck idea quote for wall art in office
10. find quotes to illustrate each weekly habit as I go

If you can't tell, around #7 is about the time that I started to go FUDGE THIS IS NOT AS EASY AS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.

When I got hung up, I found it useful to read and jot down ideas from there. Overall, it was fun and rewarding. I am three ideas in for today so far. Wish me luck!

Here's some resources I found useful:

How (And Why) To Generate 10 Ideas Every Day

7 Surprising Benefits of Writing Down 10 Ideas Every Day Like James Altucher

So...let's have it. What were your ideas?

New Blog Series: Tales in How I've Neglected This Particular Blog

I've been blogging for almost a year and a half now, and I really enjoy it. It's come with some great lessons on what makes writing a personal blog worth it.

One of those things is really thinking about why you want to blog about the subject you've chosen. I've shared before that one of the reasons I wanted to launch this project was that most of the homemaking blogs I follow are run by religious people. I still love their blogs, but...I wanted to find my people. And there are often differences in my fundamental outlook and theirs.

I also don't believe in perfection. It's right up there next to God for me. Seeing so many blogs that seemed so perky and happy and wonderful all the time...it's not me. I'm happy, but I also swear. I'm sweet, but I can be abrasive when I feel it necessary. So I wanted to build a place for people like me, who want to be free to let their geek and freak flags fly, who want a place to swap stories without feeling like they have to be perfect parents or partners or blog readers or anything, really.

Another lesson that I have learned so far while blogging is that doing a series or columns can be helpful, so I'm working on two: one series, one column.

The series is based off of the infographic 24 Daily Habits That Will Make You Smarter. I'm going to blog daily, Monday through Friday, one habit a week, for the next 24 weeks. The daily blogging is about accountability for me, but also about creating a forum where we can trade tales about what's useful, what's not, what's fun, what ain't, and what we've got going on. I think that would be incredibly fun. This week's habit is "Come up with 10 ideas every day." I hope you'll join me.

The other column I'd like to launch is the Dirty DIYer. We'll see how that goes. I've got a project in the works now, but I doubt I'll be able to manage the one a week necessary for this idea to be a weekly column. However, it could probably work well monthly or biweekly. We'll play it by ear and see how it goes.

ANY WAY, I've got some other ideas floating around (I'm sure you'll see some of them if you check back in for our Daily Habits Series), so see you all very, very soon.