PhD Notebook: Minds For Sale with Jonathan Zittrain
Pittsburgh Paczki Day
Yesterday was Pączki Day, in Poland and in Pittsburgh!
Challenge 1: (coming from Piotr, in Poznan) eat one Pączki, and do not lick your lips. You might succeed, but you will be covered in sugar.
Challenge 2: Pronounce Pączki. If you want to take the easy route, it’s Paunch Key. But to really get the Polish “ą”, that will take a lot of work or a severe head cold.
Posted 2 weeks, 6 days ago at 3:34 pm. Add a comment
Pittsburgh Murals: Oaxacan Dinner on Gist Street
There’s lots of Pittsburgh murals, though technically never enough — the Sprout Fund maintains a (slightly outdated) map of them here. I’m going to scavenge the city for all I can find, starting with this one conveniently located directly across from James Simon’s Gist Street studio — home to Gist Street Reading.
It’s the Oaxacan Dinner Mural, painted by Jean Foss, completed around 2005. On her site, there’s lots more bright art to greet you. As for murals, more to come!
Posted 3 weeks ago at 11:31 pm. Add a comment
Pittsburgh Knits
Along with my Aunt Dee & Aunt Ree, I de-hibernated enough to journey up to Mars, PA for the 6th Annual Knit + Crochet Festival. It was packed, with a few men scattered into hundreds of women and girls. I loved the colors, and there were a few patterns + designs for inspiration. Plus Aunt Ree promises to introduce me to the world of hand-dying wool up in Ohio. When it is warmer, though…. Color, color, color!
Aunt Ree has the pattern for the diamond (entrelac) scarf, great for using up odds and ends of bright colored yarn. And Aunt Dee bought the pattern for the gray shawl-sweater, to make a Florida blue sweater for herself, and I’ll try my luck at it too. All the cables will keep my fingers on their toes.
Daniel Yuhas had some of his organic, mind-blowing creatures and designs on display. I love the unexpected shapes, the spiders and sea creatures. He was teaching some classes too, and his website is here, with more mathematical crafts.
Posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago at 1:42 pm. Add a comment
Postcard from Pittsburgh: Gist Street
On Friday night, we went to the monthly Gist Street reading, braving unplowed Uptown streets. This time we made it in before they locked the doors! And who was reading, but Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno, who I had heard on Fresh Air back in the autumn. It was brief + terrific. Followed up with homemade ice cream + Margot Livesey, both a pleasure.
Posted 1 month, 4 weeks ago at 5:01 pm. Add a comment
The Sally Wiggin Doll
I know it’s probably (definitely) illegal for me to be using the image of Sally Wiggin for purposes of my own, but she is my favorite newscaster in Pittsburgh. And this doll is a cartoon version of her, not an actual Sally Wiggin face, so WTAE, don’t sue me.
My Sally Wiggin doll, she’s a Pittsburgh sports fanatic — friends with all the Bobblehead Pirates of years past, and her favorite is Jack Wilson (pronounced, like the PNC Park announcer, as one word, i.e.,” JacKWILson”). She enjoys the New Yorker, she’s held the Stanley Cup, and she has the nicest legs in the city.
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago at 9:03 pm. Add a comment
Dolls Return to the Union Project!
For this past Saturday’s Union Project fundraiser event Unwrapped, the dolls + monsters were invited to participate. I didn’t go, I don’t know who bought what, but a bunch of them have moved onto better places. And the monster mirrors too! So I bid them adieu — and if you happen to be one of the new owners from Saturday night, send me a message + a photo, I’d like to see them in their new habitat!
Here is the table for sale that I set up before the event got going..
