Fragment VI — museum smell

I enter the art museum intending to check out the thumbs of a certain Greek statue. But before I make it up to Athletes and Competition in the Ancient Mediterranean World, I stop on the marble staircase, just outside the glass doors to the gallery. There it is. That smell. Museum smell — the scent of ionized air, [...]

Fragment I

Parts. A thumb is part of a hand. A hand is part of an arm. An arm is part of a body, which is part of a woman, who is part of a family, species, planetary ecosystem, cosmos. 

Alternate Shakespeare

Could it have been a death-cheating Kit Marlowe who conjured the thumb-pricked witches of Macbeth?
History Play: The Lives and Afterlife of Christopher Marlowe by Rodney Bolt

rating: 4 of 5 stars
My local library shelves this book in the nonfiction section, perhaps because of its biographical nature. But do not be confused. This book is fiction, an [...]

Emergency Mbirathon June 22-29

I am passing along this request from Mbira.org’s Erica Azim:
 
“I am sending out this emergency request to mbira players all over the world, to hold an ‘Emergency Mbirathon’ this week, June 22-29, 2008. The situation in Zimbabwe is extremely dangerous, with many many people being beaten, raped, murdered, having their homes burned, etc. I am asking mbira [...]

Michigan Thumb Festival

I regret that I am unable to attend the 2008 Michigan Thumb Festival in Sandusky, June 26-29, but I thought I should put in a plug for it anywho.

Goodbye, Henry

I am sad to inform all those who might have known Henry the Australian cattle dog, whom I adopted from the Los Angeles SPCA in 1992, that he passed quietly today. His resume was an impressive one. A friend recently reminded me that he was a “most excellent ring bearer” at my wedding. He even claimed [...]

When you see a one-eyed cat …

“When you see a one-eyed cat, spit on your thumb, stamp it in the palm of your hand, and make a wish. The wish will come true,” says an American superstition.
From what I’ve read, the one-eyed cat used to be associated with witches because “the Evil One could create nothing perfect.” And saliva was believed to [...]

Mail art contributors as of May 26

Thumb! Mail Art Contributors for Jan.-Feb.
1. Roland Halbritter, Nudlingen, Germany
http://andreas-hofer.blogspot.com/
2. Dewi, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
http://eppur-si-mouve.blogspot.com/
3. Daniel de Culla, Burgos, Spain
4. Michel Della Vedova, Limoges, France
5. Paul Tiilila, Gallery ExG, Pälkäne, Finland
6. wackystuff, BC, Canada
http://stuffbywackystuff.blogspot.com/
7. Denise Hunley, Dallas, Texas, USA
8. Anne Braunschweig, Corrales, New Mexico, USA
9. Chris Johnson, Herndon, Virginia, USA
10. Eve Laeger, Bodfish, California, USA
11. Cait [...]

Olympic Whitewater Trials this weekend on MSNBC

If, like me, your kayaker’s thumb calluses are twitching, you may want to catch the US Olympic Whitewater Trials this weekend on MSNBC.
“We’ve just finished production work on the Olympic Whitewater Trials. Please tune into the broadcast airing this Sunday, May 11th on MSNBC at 12 noon eastern time,” says Olympic gold medalist Joe Jacobi [...]

Most Chocolate M&M’s in one minute

Thank you, Jamie Panas from Guinness World Records, for this tidbit:
Thumb Catapulting- Most Chocolate M&M’s in one minute
The most chocolate M&M’s a person can catapult into a receptacle in a minute using their thumb from a distance of 5 m is four achieved by Guillaume Perrin (France) at the studios of L’émission des records, Boulogne-Billancourt, [...]