Tam Lin

There's a completely spectacular site about Tam Lin. It's got links to versions of the ballad, text about and related to Tam Lin (including scholarly work, fiction, related web sites, and fan fiction>, sheet music and discography....and on and on. Check out if you like Tam Lin or just want to see how extensive an interest in one cool thing can make a site.

One side effect of poking around the site is that I think I'll be getting back to playing the recorder. The net and the internet had supplanted recorder playing in my life. Little did I realize that the net is full of sheet music!

In particular, there's a jig called Tam Lin--nothing to do with the ballad, apparently, but the Tam Lin site has a link to it anyway. A small mystery--the comments describe the jig as going from D minor to A minor, but it sounds to me as though it goes to C major. (It's the same notes either way, afaik it's a question of whether you think it sounds cheerful or not. That's a big afaik, and I bet music theorists think about it some other way.)

Tam Lin

There's a completely spectacular site about Tam Lin. It's got links to versions of the ballad, text about and related to Tam Lin (including scholarly work, fiction, related web sites, and fan fiction>, sheet music and discography....and on and on. Check out if you like Tam Lin or just want to see how extensive an interest in one cool thing can make a site.

One side effect of poking around the site is that I think I'll be getting back to playing the recorder. The net and the internet had supplanted recorder playing in my life. Little did I realize that the net is full of sheet music!

In particular, there's a jig called Tam Lin--nothing to do with the ballad, apparently, but the Tam Lin site has a link to it anyway. A small mystery--the comments describe the jig as going from D minor to A minor, but it sounds to me as though it goes to C major. (It's the same notes either way, afaik it's a question of whether you think it sounds cheerful or not. That's a big afaik, and I bet music theorists think about it some other way.)

Inventing past lives for the cats

Gillian is excellent at hypnosis/seduction. You can think "well, I'll just pet her for a moment" and ten minutes later, you're still petting her. She also seems to put more work into finding new ways of being cute than the average cat. In a past life, she was a courtesan.

Perse is a hedonist, even by cat standards. She seems to get more out of being petted or brushed than most--you get the upright vibrating ecstacy tail when you brush her. I think she's had a number of past lives as felines, and enjoyed all of them.

Ra is a cranky cat. suecochran describes him as melancholy. I suspect he doesn't like that "small enough to be picked up" thing and I believe he used to be the mayor of a small town. I've started calling him "Your Excellency" and reassuring him that he'll have his own town again some day. However, I wonder if I'll regret my offer to let him have the thumbs next time.

Inventing past lives for the cats

Gillian is excellent at hypnosis/seduction. You can think "well, I'll just pet her for a moment" and ten minutes later, you're still petting her. She also seems to put more work into finding new ways of being cute than the average cat. In a past life, she was a courtesan.

Perse is a hedonist, even by cat standards. She seems to get more out of being petted or brushed than most--you get the upright vibrating ecstacy tail when you brush her. I think she's had a number of past lives as felines, and enjoyed all of them.

Ra is a cranky cat. suecochran describes him as melancholy. I suspect he doesn't like that "small enough to be picked up" thing and I believe he used to be the mayor of a small town. I've started calling him "Your Excellency" and reassuring him that he'll have his own town again some day. However, I wonder if I'll regret my offer to let him have the thumbs next time.

The maps I'd like to see

Here's quite a pretty purple county-by-county map of the 2004 vote, but what I'd like is 2000 and 2004 purple maps with the same format so that I can compare them. Anyone know of such?

The maps I'd like to see

Here's quite a pretty purple county-by-county map of the 2004 vote, but what I'd like is 2000 and 2004 purple maps with the same format so that I can compare them. Anyone know of such?

Crack babies are a media myth

The kids are growing up to be normal, but the stigma is costly.

Link found at geekpress.

Crack babies are a media myth

The kids are growing up to be normal, but the stigma is costly.

Link found at geekpress.