Queer Women's Literature Quiz Part 1

1. Virginia Woolf wrote “Orlando” as a tribute to her lover. Who?

A. Vita Sackville-West

B. Angela Buckingham

C. Nicola Bloom

D. Nina Hamnett

2. Willa Cather was born in what state?

A. Nebraska

B. Ohio

C. Virginia

D. Vermont

3. Who wrote La Batarde?

A. Anis Nin

B. Margaret Lowe

C. Violet Leduc

D. Simone de Beauvoir

4. According to Anais Nin’s diary, both she and Henry Miller had

an affair with this woman…

A. Lily

B. June

C. Beatrice

D. Ana

5. What is the famous novel written about two French schoolgirls?

A. Natalie and Jeannie

B. Therese and Isabelle

C. Aimee and Lula

D. Claire and Elena

6. Who wrote “Surpassing the Love of Men?”

A. Nella Larson

B. Jane Rule

C. May Sarton

D. Lillian Faderman

Answers: 1. A 2. C 3. C 4. B 5. B 6. D

Queer Women's Literature Quiz Part 2

7. Who owned the Shakespeare and Company bookstore in

Paris?

A. Kay Boyle and Renee Vivian

B. Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier

C. Jean Rhys and Bessie Waterson

D. Shari Benestein and Djuna Barnes

8. Alice B. Toklas was Gertrude Stein’s distant cousin.

A. True

B. False

9. Colette wrote the following:

A. The Pure & Impure

B. Gigi and others

C. Kiss Life

D. My Days in Arles

10. Who wrote “Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit?”

A. Nancy Cunard

B. Janet Flanners

C. Jeanette Winterson

D. Rita Mae Brown

11. H.D. stands for:

A. Hermine Doyle

B. Helena Dickenson

C. Hilda Dolittle

D. Helen S. Dooby

12. The main character’s name in “The Well of

Loneliness” is:

A. John

B. Stephen

C. Jeanette

D. Phillipa

Answers: 7. B 8. B 9. A 10. C 11. C 12. B

Grammar Rocks!

Does anyone remember the SchoolHouse Rock?
For those of you that don't know, it was a series of educational cartoons and songs that taught grammar & history facts "in a fun way" to unsuspecting children growing up in the 1970's. Like Sesame Street and the Electric Company, Schoolhouse Rock apparently taught me something... (I know what a noun is)
I guess Schoolhouse Rock continued until the 1980's, and has even been revamped now (in the 90's, 200o's ) on computer software, but by then I was 'too cool' for school.
Still, the Schoolhouse Rock taught me a lot of fun filled facts.
My favorites lines/ cartoons:
"I find it quite interesting, a noun's a person, place or thing..."
"Conjunction, conjunction, what's your function??"
"Lolly, Lolly, Lolly get your adverbs here...."
"I'm just a bill, up on Capitol Hill...."
Check out this old cartoon link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TQByv_xkuc

Amusement Data

Anatomy of the Laughing Reflex

Amusement Statistics
Subject Name:	The Baron
Report Date:	3/12/2007
Company:	Silly Incorporated
Start Date:	11/2/2006
End Date:	2/28/2007
	Amusement Signs	Number of Incidences				Mean
		Nov. 06	Dec. 06	Jan.. 07	Feb. 07
	Giggles	10	23	16	44	23.3
	Smirks	2	33	4	16	13.8
	Whoops	7	14	15	8	11.0
	Sarcastic Sneers	5	5	4	5	4.8
	Knee Slaps	2	0	2	2	1.5
	Grins	14	5	4	3	6.5
	Chortles	3	5	4	3	3.8
	Cackles	44	56	3	5	27.0
	Convulsing howls	93	3	28	8	33.0
	Hee-Haws	0	4	4	5	3.3
	Guffaws	5	22	0	2	7.3
	Spitting titters	2	3	1	0	1.5
	Snorts	3	0	1	1	1.3
	Tee-hees	3	1	3	0	1.8
	Yah- Yahs	17	5	20	1	10.8
	Persistant Shrieks	3	4	22	3	8.0
	Yowls	4	3	0	2	2.3
	Twitters	0	3	4	1	2.0
	Snickers	4	2	12	2	5.0
	Heaving Chuckles	4	20	0	2	6.5
	Gasket Bursts	2	3	1	4	2.5

2nd Quarter Report
Tee-hees and sarcastic sneers can be merged during the 3rd quarter, to save time and breath. Cackles, giggles, and grins are inherent, remain critical to functioning, & are effective amusement indicators. Knee slaps and convulsing howls are potentially embarrassing amusement indicators, and should be tapered off during the next quarter. Spitting titters are ill advised for social success (see manual p. 123 A-Bx). Studies suggest that snorts, heaving chuckles and gasket bursts cause potential health risks. These indicators should be phased out. Finally, as reported last quarter, yahs-yahs act as engaging & effective conversational buffers.

Travel Bug

I've got the travel bug. Want to go SOMEWHERE. Here's where I've already been in the US. It seems the MidWest is calling for me. Add Georgia.


create your own personalized map of the USA

Two of My Great Grandparents

My parents are getting ready to move. Thus, they've been 'cleaning out the rafters,' so to speak.
My mother literally found these photos in the rafters of the attic. She had forgotten about them.

May I present from my ancestral past, one set of my maternal great-grandparents:
Mary Margaret Lowe 1885 --1953 Born: Rathkeale, Ireland
Henry Raymond Downing 1879-- 1930 Born: St. John's, Newfoundland

Indeed the portraits are in bad condition (they were desperately taped together by my grandmother at one point).
But, they are over a 100 years years old!
These photos were taken in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. I would guess the date would be shortly after the time my great-grandparents were married (1902).
How strange it is, that with scanners, and photoshop, and other marvels of the digital world, we can preserve the past. I'm hoping to have my artistic friend clean the portraits up.

The Pearls Upon My Shelf

Djuna Barnes 1937
Virginia Woolf 1929
I collect books. See my library thing:
http://www.librarything.com/profile/talltyler
I do not always buy books I am going to read. I collect books because they are objects that captivate me. Here is some of my criteria for my "pearls on the shelf."
a. age of book (20's, 30's, 40's preferred)
b. rarity of find
c. queer woman writer- a plus
d. classic literature
e. the art/ design of the cover
f. condition of book
g. hardcover

(it's also a plus if I discovered
the book in a cozy, over-flowing
used book store in a shit-kicking
town in Maine, on a brilliantly
sunny October day, with a live-in
but rather unfriendly cat & a bizarre,
verbose, proprietor smoking cigars)
A. M. Lindbergh 1955
Colette 1955

Gertrude Stein 1933

The Average Male Brain Part 2

The Composition of the Average
Male Brain Part 2

A. Drooling
B. Size Anxiety
C. Beer Choices
D. Instinctual Barbecuing Methods
E. Auditory Nagging Resistance Loop
F. Football Stats
G. T & A Automatic Visual Field Indicator
H. Gadget Fondness
I. Excessive Hair Growth

My Own Private Idaho

If I lived in my own private Idaho, this is what it would look like:
1. potatoes wouldn't be the staple, tofu would
2. no SUVs, just scooters & bikes & small hybrid cars
3. open land & lots of hiking
4. 75% of the state budget would go to education
5. artists would get 'cost of living' stipends from the state
6. universal health care
7. high literacy a HIGH priority, yep
8. meditation & yoga emphasized in all school & workplaces
9. equal marriage for same & opposite sex couples


Well.......I guess there's another word for my Private Idaho---- --SWEDEN

Check out the B 52's singing Private Idaho:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFyBH-z6c1w

The Yodeling Queens

The DeZurik Sisters, a.k.a. "The Cackle Sisters," were a popular singing duo in the 1930's and 40's. They appeared on such radio shows as the Grand Olde Opry, the MidWestern Hayride, and the Checkerboard Time. Their debut was on The National Barn Dance Radio show in 1936.

Mary Jane (b. 1917-1981) and Carolyn DeZurik (b. 1918) were farm girls raised near Royalton, Minnesota. They were two sisters from a large, talented, musical family. Their father played fiddle, their brother accordian and guitar, and several other sisters were also adept singers and yodelers.

I first heard of "The Cackle Sisters" on an NPR program in 2005 that covered their lives and music. To hear the story, and hear a sampling of their songs, click on this link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4775844

The "Cackle Sisters" were unique amongst other yodelers and singers of the time. First, they were the first women to achieve stardom on both the National Barn Dance and Grand Olde Opry shows. Second, their yodeling talents were far ranging. Not only did the sisters incorporate the bleating, cackling, and warbling sound imitations of farm animals, (this is where they earned their nickname-- as they could 'cackle' like hens) but they imitated musical instruments like trumpets, the mandolin, and the Hawaiian guitar. The DeZurik sisters also mastered many yodeling 'tricks,' such as the 'Swiss triple tongue yodel,' 'the cackle trill,' and the 'Hawaiian yodel.'
The 'Cackle Sisters' are not like anything you've ever heard in the world.
Below is one of their very funny songs. I chose it because it's two women singing about the lost love of another woman (I know--not really), but the song also features some classic 'warbling/ chirping sounds.' Enjoy!
The Dezurik Sisters - I Left Her Standing There.mp3

Cat Head Theatre

"Hark! Meow!" sayth Hamletpuss, "What news Rosencatzz and Gildenkitty?"
Watch the Cat Head Theatre. Very funny. My cats seemed to enjoy the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbK1eCt97ag

Harper expanding her literary
horizons "Hmm... To Be or Not
to Be..."

Are You a "Dumb American?"

No, You Are a Smart American, Dummy

You know a lot about US history, and you're opinions are probably well informed. Congratulations on bucking stereotypes. Now go show some foreigners how smart Americans can be.

Are You a Dumb American?

I Want My MTV-- So 80's

I want my MTV!!
In the early 80's I was in my late teens and early 20's. I was a consumer of Pop culture, as any person of that age.
I remember MTV in it's infancy.
Below are links to some very cool songs that typify the 80's era. Enjoy! (Check out Aimee Mann all punked out with the rat's tail hairdo) ((Also, the Safety Dance video is downright weird!))
Blue Monday by New Order 1983


Voices Carry Til Tuesday 1985



Safety Dance Men Without Hats 1982


Small Town Boy Bronski Beat -Jimmy Somerville 1984

Mother will never understand
Why you had to leave
But the answers you seek
Will never be found at home
The love that you need
Will never be found at home
bronski beat 1984
'a tale about being queer'

The Composition of the Average Male Brain

The Composition of the Average Male Brain

A. Reasons For War

B. Sex

C. Higher Cortical Functions

D. Balding Anxiety

E. Deep-Seated Refusal to ask for Directions

F. Shoveling Snow

G. Visceral Functions

H. The Male Hearing, Understanding Mismatch Pattern Loop

T.G.I.N.C.

Yes, I grew up in Boston, but (T.G.I.N.C.) thank goddess I'm not Catholic. Still, I've got a haunting, persistent Nun fixation. Scary!

Sally the Camel

Yesterday I visited my two nephews and niece. At 6:45 a.m. I was awakened by the following little ditty. My two nephews (age 6 & 4) sung the song at the top of their lungs. Of course I succeeded in waking up. The song was ringing in my head all day. I drew some cartoons to accompany the song.

Sally the Camel has
five humps (repeat 3x)
Ride Sally Ride!

Sally the Camel has
four humps (repeat 3x)

Ride Sally Ride!

Sally the Camel has
three humps (3x)
Ride Sally Ride!
Sally the Camel has
two humps (repeat 3x)

Ride Sally Ride!

Sally the Camel has
one hump (repeat 3x)
Ride Sally Camel has
zero humps (repeat 3x)

Ride Sally Ride!

The Movies Age Gauge

In honor of the Oscars, take a walk down memory lane. How old are you in comparison to these actresses/ actors? How old were you when 'such and such' movie was released? I found the 'Movie Age Gauge' quizlet on the Daily Meme, along with other fun ways to waste time. http://thedailymeme.com/

You are 43 years old and about:

44 years 5 months younger than Zsa Zsa Gabor, age 88
33 years 1 month younger than Clint Eastwood, age 76
30 years 5 months younger than Kim Novak, age 74
27 years 5 months younger than Burt Reynolds, age 71
23 years 5 months younger than Nick Nolte, age 67
22 years 2 months younger than Ann-Margret, age 65
16 years 4 months younger than Billy Crystal, age 59
13 years 8 months younger than Whoopi Goldberg, age 57
10 years 11 months younger than Robin Williams, age 54
7 years 0 months younger than Tom Hanks, age 50
4 years 7 months younger than Jamie Lee Curtis, age 48
2 years 3 months younger than Eddie Murphy, age 45
7 years 1 month older than Jennifer Lopez, age 36
15 years 8 months older than Jennifer Love Hewitt, age 28
24 years 9 months older than Haley Joel Osment, age 18

and when these movies were released in the U.S. your age was:

The Sound of Music: 1
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner: 4
Midnight Cowboy: 5
The Godfather: 8
American Graffiti: 10
Jaws: 11
Star Wars: 13
Animal House: 14
Star Trek: The Motion Picture: 16
ET: 18
The Terminator: 21
Top Gun: 22
Planes, Trains & Automobiles: 24
Steel Magnolias: 26
Home Alone: 27
Wayne's World: 28
Jurassic Park: 29
Forrest Gump: 31
Fargo: 32
Saving Private Ryan: 35
Toy Story 2: 36