Sanity falls into two groups: one of people who have strayed into chaos and whose lives lurch from crisi...moreShort and surprisingly helpful.
Favorite Quotes
Sanity falls into two groups: one of people who have strayed into chaos and whose lives lurch from crisis to crisis, and ones who are in a rut and operate from a limited set of outdated rigid responses. Some of us manage to belong to both groups at once. This book is about how to stay on the path between those two extremes, how to remain stable and yet flexible, coherent and yet able to embrace complexity.
When we become more sensitive towards ourselves and more knowledgeable about our own feelings, we are more able to attune to, and empathize with, the feelings of other people. In short, self-awareness improves our relationships.
We need to allow ourselves to be open to the impact of others if we are to impact upon them.
Often new behaviours feel false because they are unfamiliar, but an optimistic outlook is no more false than always assuming that nothing good will ever happen,
I worry...about what might happen to our minds if most of the stories we hear are about greed, war and atrocity. For this reason I recommend not watching too much television. Research exists that shows that people who watch television for more than four hours a day believe that they are far more likely to be involved in a violent incident in the forthcoming week than do those who watch television for less than two hours per day.
If we practice more optimism, disasters will still happen - but predicting disasters does not make them more tolerable or ward them off.
So how do we stay sane? We can develop our faculties of self-observation so that we can have the capacity to observe even our strongest emotions, rather than being defined by them, allowing ourselves to take in the bigger picture. Self-observation helps us to avoid too much self-justification and getting stuck in patterns of behaviour that no longer work for us. We can prioritize nurturing relationships and allow ourselves to be open. We can relate - not as who we think we should be, but who we actually are, thus giving ourselves the chance to connect and form bonds with others. We can seek out 'good stress' to keep our minds and bodies fit for purpose, and we can be watchful of the stories we hear and the belief systems we live our lives by. We can edit our story at any time, to right ourselves if we veer off course either into chaos or rigidity. (less)
Musee de Cluny will make you nostalgic for My Little Pony and the Galeries d'Anatomie Comparee et de Paleontologie has al...moreThe write-ups made me smile.
Musee de Cluny will make you nostalgic for My Little Pony and the Galeries d'Anatomie Comparee et de Paleontologie has all the ingredients to create your own Frankenstein.
Not nearly what I would expect from a book about walking the city.
No concept of how long it would take or what the streets would be like or how you w...moreNot nearly what I would expect from a book about walking the city.
No concept of how long it would take or what the streets would be like or how you would navigate your way around.
If I felt lost reading this, I can't imagine I'd be able to find my way around in real life.
Saving grace: It did give me the idea to visit Sacre Couer at night. Going on the bucket list. (less)
Eye candy in the same vein of Real Simple, Apartment Therapy, Ikea.
The perfect brainstorming book if you want to spruce things up a bit and add a lit...moreEye candy in the same vein of Real Simple, Apartment Therapy, Ikea.
The perfect brainstorming book if you want to spruce things up a bit and add a little charm to your abode. (less)
Bill Bryson answers questions you never thought to ask. He is a genius. And yet, I have yet to finish any of his books...It probably says more about m...moreBill Bryson answers questions you never thought to ask. He is a genius. And yet, I have yet to finish any of his books...It probably says more about me than it does about him. (Shut up.)
For having read 15% of this book (according to zee Kindle), here is what I learned:
Favorite Quotes
The Old English word for a slave was thrall, which is why when we are enslaved by an emotion we are enthralled.
The dining table was a plain board called by that name. It was hung on the wall when not in use, and was perched on the diners' knees when food was served. Over time, the word board came to signify not just the dining surface but the meal itself, whis is where the board comes from in room and board.
People in the distant past were not in fact all that small. Doors were small for the same reason windows were small: they were expensive.
For several decades, ice was America's second biggest crop...
In 1859, an American named John Landis Mason solved the challenge that the Frenchman Nicolas-Francois Appert had not quite mastered the better part of a century before. Mason patented the threaded glss jar with a metal screw-on lid. This provided a perfect seal and made it possible to preserve all kinds of foods that would previously spoil. (less)
Some useful tips? Check. A lot of things I already knew? Check. Makes use of checklists? Check. Author lives in a city with much more elaborate recycli...moreSome useful tips? Check. A lot of things I already knew? Check. Makes use of checklists? Check. Author lives in a city with much more elaborate recycling capabilities? Check.
Thoroughly discusses the use of "soaks" (soaked beans & seeds), which I'd never encountered before past the alfalfa...moreEasy read. Interesting topic.
Thoroughly discusses the use of "soaks" (soaked beans & seeds), which I'd never encountered before past the alfalfa sprouts variety.
Loosely organized based on how long each takes to grow from seed to harvest.
Also covers lettuces, herbs, cherry tomatoes, carrots. potatoes, radishes, zucchini, green beans, cucumbers, snap peas, turnips, and beets. (less)
Nothing groundbreaking here for me. Most of the places mentioned I've either heard about or been to.
Mentions the elusive Moonville Tunnel with the sa...moreNothing groundbreaking here for me. Most of the places mentioned I've either heard about or been to.
Mentions the elusive Moonville Tunnel with the same directions that had me and my fellow campers lost for a good bit of time back in the summer of 2012. Hmmph. (less)
Preparing for the great canning experiment of 2013.
The tone is informative, accessible, friendly and down-to-earth. I'm still terrified, but ever-so-...morePreparing for the great canning experiment of 2013.
The tone is informative, accessible, friendly and down-to-earth. I'm still terrified, but ever-so-slightly less so.
Anyone who reads this and then says, "I can't" is an idiot.
Favorite Quotes
If a face expresses some emotion - laughter or anger or sadness...moreHoly crap.
Anyone who reads this and then says, "I can't" is an idiot.
Favorite Quotes
If a face expresses some emotion - laughter or anger or sadness - to an extreme, there is only one possible reading of the photo or painting. But if you present someone in a very neutral, straight-forward way, then there is no simple reading of who this person is. You have to look at other clues.
Some of my work measures over ten feet tall. When a viewer confronts such a large image, it is hard to see the head as a whole. You experience the portrait almost like a landscape that you are traveling over.
I think problem-solving is highly overrated. Problem creation is much more interesting. (less)
Unsuccessfully trying to talk myself out of buying this one.
In 4-page entries or less, with simple ingredient lists and endearing anecdotes, you can...moreUnsuccessfully trying to talk myself out of buying this one.
In 4-page entries or less, with simple ingredient lists and endearing anecdotes, you can learn how to make everything from peanut butter to ketchup to marinated artichokes to salted caramels to pickles to cheese to crackers.
If you have a good idea that you think will help others, whether it's selling reusable water bottles to raise money for clean water in Africa or Trick...moreIf you have a good idea that you think will help others, whether it's selling reusable water bottles to raise money for clean water in Africa or Trick-or-Treating for coins to donate to natural disaster victims, this manual will help you plan it, organize it and execute it.
Includes tons of anecdotes and realistic instructions to help inspire and convince you that you truly can do something huge and meaningful if you put your mind to it.
On a personal level, I have a lot of big-picture, world-changing ideas, but as soon as it comes to convincing one other person of my vision I throw my hands up and proclaim it impossible, partly out of fear, partly out of laziness. I am my own worst enemy. Am hoping that by reading this I'll have to courage to actually DO SOMETHING. Time will tell.
Favorite Quote
Protect me from knowing what I don't need to know. Protect me from even knowing that there are things to know that I don't know. Protect me from knowing that I decided not to know about the things that I decided not to know about. Amen. - Douglas Adams
Transform mundane tasks into games...See if your school can collect enough cans for a food shelter so that they can be lined up to circle the entire main floor of your building. When the circle closes, throw a CANdy party.
Engage in the silly...[have] friends wear creative outfits assembled by their friends for the day, in exchange for a donation of clothes to a homeless shelter.(less)
Utilitarian. What I really wanted was to be wooed. I was not wooed.
I probably will put Mohican State Park next on my list of places to camp, but not...moreUtilitarian. What I really wanted was to be wooed. I was not wooed.
I probably will put Mohican State Park next on my list of places to camp, but not because of this book.(less)
I love books, but this is one of those times where I think the format fails. The maps are REALLY tiny and the book is organized alphabetically by the...moreI love books, but this is one of those times where I think the format fails. The maps are REALLY tiny and the book is organized alphabetically by the name of the trail and not regionally. There's no great sense of how everything connects.
Having said that, I would definitely use this in conjunction with other sources, such as an actual printed map, websites and photos. It's obvious that there is a wealth of knowledge here, it's just hard to digest.
One exciting tidbit: The Ohio to Erie Trail, which connects Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland is going to be 335 miles long once complete. Now THAT would be one long ride. (less)
Took me the longest time to realize the reason all of the pictures looked so much alike was because she shoots everything on her black-speckled counte...moreTook me the longest time to realize the reason all of the pictures looked so much alike was because she shoots everything on her black-speckled countertop. Duh.
Some stories might as well be written with invisible ink, for how little they affected me, while others jumped off the page and ran out the door, clin...moreSome stories might as well be written with invisible ink, for how little they affected me, while others jumped off the page and ran out the door, clinging to my coattails.
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