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Discoveries Clear the Mists From the Original 'Swan Lake' - The New York Times (http://artsbeat.blogs.nyt... )

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"The discoveries provide clarity on a number of issues, Simon Morrison, a professor of music at Princeton University who attended the presentation, said in an email. “We now know who authored the scenario, the name of the ballerina for whom the lead role was intended, the specifics of the original costumes and designs,” he wrote. “These issues were hitherto the subject of learned speculation by fine scholars, but without the key source in hand.” An analysis of the records established that the libretto was written by Vladimir Begichev, a Bolshoi official who was long believed to have had a hand in it, according to Mr. Konaev. He also said that the materials proved that the lead was originally supposed to have been danced by Lydia Geiten, who took part in rehearsals but then withdrew — apparently because she objected to Tchaikovsky’s score. (He noted that the new materials corroborated her statement, decades later, that she had refused to dance in Tchaikovsky’s first ballet because she had found it “boring.”) And the materials shed light on the Bolshoi’s 1880 revision, with choreography by Joseph Hansen." - JustDuckie - [ 1 ] -

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Tourists urged to please stop fondling statue's breasts for photos: Shanghaiist (http://shanghaiist.com/20... http://shanghaiist.com/at... )

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"Officials at the Huaqing Hot Springs in Shaanxi province have urged visitors to please, please kindly refrain from taking pictures of themselves feeling up a statue of an ancient Chinese beauty after it stopped being funny a long time ago. Yang Guifei, one of the Four Beauties of ancient China, has apparently got more action this Golden Week than anytime since she was an imperial consort during the Tang Dynasty. Known for bathing in the hot springs during the winter, the tourist site built a topless statue of the beauty, which has now become one of their main attractions, with hordes of visitors lining up to snap a photo of themselves squeezing her stony breasts. Tencent reports that in desperation, staff have posted a sign in front of the statue saying "Take photos in a civilized manner." However, the messages seems to have largely been ignored by tourists in their insatiable lust for some hilarious boob-grabbing pics." - JustDuckie - -

>.> - JustDuckie - -

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Teens can read off St. Paul library fines - TwinCities.com (http://www.twincities.com... )

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"Teens can erase library fines during October just by reading at their local St. Paul library. The St. Paul Public Library's Read Down month is open to ages 12-18. Teens must sign in and out at their local branch and read books, magazines or other print materials. (Teens who can't read can listen to audiobooks). For every 15 minutes reading, the teen gets $1 removed from any fine. Credit can be applied to replacement library cards or any fees charged for overdue materials, with the exception of fees related to renting DVDs or rental books." - JustDuckie - -

What a great idea! - JustDuckie - -

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1907-1915: Russia Before the Revolution, in Color (http://mashable.com/2014/... http://admin.mashable.com... )

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"Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky (1863–1944) became photographically renowned in Russia for a color portrait of Leo Tolstoy. It was this fame that, in 1909, brought him to the attention of Tsar Nicholas II. Prokudin-Gorsky's subsequent meeting with the tsar and the tsar's family was to be the pivotal moment in his life: The tsar provided both the funding and the authority for Prokudin-Gorsky to carry out what he would later describe as his life's work. For most of the following decade, using a specially adapted railroad car as a darkroom, Prokudin-Gorsky traversed the length and breadth of the Russian Empire, recording what he saw in more than 10,000 full-color photographs." - JustDuckie - -

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Behind the Draped Mirror | Hazlitt (http://hazlitt.net/featur... http://hazlitt.net/sites/... )

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"The Victorians had a great love of such grand, ostentatious gestures, and had gradually evolved mourning itself into a display of wealth and status. As James Stevens Curl writes, “the expressions of social position and status [are] found in coffin-plates and -handles, in hearses, in mourning-cards, and in dress. They are found among the faded, discoloured mementoes of another age (a past that in many respects seems infinitely remote), and include black-edged mourning envelopes and stationery; immortelles or artificial flowers protected by glass domes; embossed patterns around verses of a lugubrious nature; and dried, colourless leaves from wreaths long collapsed to dust.” The draped mirror was only one gesture in a whole panoply of mourning practices. Particularly in an age defined by excessive mourning—in which one could never have too many black ostrich plumes, too many pages bearing wands in front of the casket, too many black silk scarves or coaches with horses—the simple act of draping a mirror threatens to fade into the background noise of a cacophony of grief." - JustDuckie - -

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"The ritual act itself is something of an empty vessel: it holds whatever we put into it, means what we want it to mean. We no longer remember why we began to do it. And yet it is a practice that is often explicitly about remembering, about not forgetting, about bearing the burden of remembering so that the dead can let go of their memories, so they can forget the beauty of their lives and move on into that other realm. But even as we make a pact with the dead, promising to bear the burden of memory so that they can be free to forget, we know that it is a pact that we are always breaking, that we cannot hope to keep forever. Perhaps this standard is too high to set; perhaps we should not agree to perpetually remember, that this obligation on behalf of those departed is itself a kind of life sentence. If the draped mirror has two meanings—if we seek not just to honor the dead but also to protect ourselves from their wrath—this is because we know secretly we are incapable of honoring our promises, and that the departed, having been forgotten by us, are now forced to remember, and to return to haunt us." - JustDuckie - -

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Oh, Just a Miniature Mermaid’s Dollhouse | Messy Nessy Chic (http://www.messynessychic... http://static.messynessyc... http://static.messynessyc... )

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"At 9 inches high and just over 7 inches wide, the dollhouse rests on a seascape of pink Bermuda sand. Chair legs are made of sea urchin spines and tiny scallops, table tops are real mother-of-pearl. The artist is Peter Gabriel, who mainly creates miniature botanically correct flowers and plants out of paper but also makes decorated eggs and miniature shell art. It’s quite the niche, but one that makes me personally very happy it exists." - JustDuckie - [ 1 ] -

I love this, but I finally figured out what's bothering me: why are there steps? - JustDuckie - -

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Sihu road name sparks Web furor - Taipei Times (http://www.taipeitimes.co... http://www.taipeitimes.co... )

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"The Sihu Township Office announced on Sunday that although most online voters chose Golden Road No. 1 (黃金一路), it would be prudent to consult with a local deity before making a final decision. Township office personnel cast divination blocks — zhijiao (擲筊) or bwa bwei in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) — 16 times to get divine answers, and found that among the three proposed names — Golden Road No. 1, Country Circling Path (環鄉小徑) and Rice Scented Avenue (稻香大道) — the divine choice was Country Circling Path. However, the divine consultation and turnaround in name caused dissatisfaction among some online voters, which has led to the township office reconsidering its final decision. The Sihu Township Council members are soon to decide between Golden Road No. 1 and Country Circling Path, Sihu Township Major Ku Mu-hsien (古木賢) said." - JustDuckie - -

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Pizza Hunt: One man’s global search for the shells of the Pizza Huts of the past | Messy Nessy Chic (http://www.messynessychic... http://static.messynessyc... http://static.messynessyc... )

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“Pizza Hunt is a photographic record of my journey to find the iconic Pizza Hut restaurants that were erected in their thousands in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The book will feature a carefully curated selection of these original dine-in ‘huts’. Today, only a handful of these huts remain and they now have second lives as grocery stores, pawnshops, gospel churches, liquor stores and funeral homes, among other things. Since capturing my first hut I have travelled over 14,000kms between Australia, New Zealand and the USA in pursuit of them all.” - JustDuckie - -

This is like my obsession with former Taco Bell buildings before the early 90s redesign. I have a nice collection of buildings, but forgot to tag the street names. Unfortunately, a lot of them have been razed in the past 4 years. - faboomama - [ 2 ] -

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EPA develops new technology to make roads from old tires - Taipei Times (http://www.taipeitimes.co... )

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"The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said it has developed technology to manufacture an environmental pavement material using scrapped tires, which could provide better skid resistance and better traction than conventional asphalt, with the material to be widely adopted in Taipei. The EPA said it produces “rubber-asphalt” concrete by blending ground recycled tires with paving grade asphalt cement and other aggregate materials. A section of Expressway No. 61 in Taoyuan’s Dayuan District (大園), where heavy-duty vehicles commonly use, was paved with the material on a trial basis in June, the EPA said, adding that the road showed higher resistance to skidding, better road evenness and better drainage ability." - JustDuckie - -

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Sleepy Hollow Is Back, and It’s as Surprised as You Are! (http://io9.com/sleepy-hol... http://i.kinja-img.com/ga... http://i.kinja-img.com/ga... )

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"“I, Witness” felt like a re-pilot offered by a show that knows it screwed up. It made you mad and is very, very carefully trying to get back in your good graces by bringing you a drink just the way you like it (because it’s not sure what else you like anymore and it is not going to mess this one up) and hoping you don’t notice it’s standing on top of some wreckage. Sometimes that approach works, because whatever it’s offering is what you wanted anyway!" - JustDuckie - -

"Welcome to Colonial Times. I have been WAITING for this moment; I have been cracking Williamsburg jokes (until they actually used Williamsburg for filming, ugh, sad), I have been talking up that reenactment society, I have been on top of this dream. These moments are Tom Mison at his best high dudgeon, Abbie at her gently snarky-est, and it’s a way to engage the past and bemoan the modern day without actually wading into the political intricacies of Revolutionary America which have not been acknowledged with any sort of skill since the first season. So yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Colonial Times! Make it the FBI’s favorite lunch place so they have to constantly meet other law enforcement there! Make Jenny get a job as a curator there! Make them all live there." - JustDuckie - -

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Cyclists embark on box turtle tour - Taipei Times (http://www.taipeitimes.co... http://www.taipeitimes.co... )

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"A group of animal rights advocates are to embark today on a 10-day nationwide bicycle tour to promote public awareness of the yellow-margined box turtle, whose numbers have rapidly declined because of poaching." - JustDuckie - -

"Wu Sheng-hai (吳聲海), a biology professor at the university, said that the yellow-margined box turtle is generally found in low-altitude forests in subtropical regions and is the box turtle native to Taiwan. However, its population has decreased to one-fifth of its number a decade ago because of poaching. Growing demand from China for the turtle, which is used in traditional medicine, has given rise to rampant poaching and smuggling, Wu said. To date, authorities have seized more than 10,000 yellow-margined box turtles from smugglers, Wu said, adding that the number of confiscated yellow pond turtles, another protected species, has exceeded 5,800." - JustDuckie - -

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U.S. figure skater Adam Rippon comes out as gay | OlympicTalk (http://olympics.nbcsports... https://nbcolympictalk.fi... )

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"U.S. silver medalist Adam Rippon said he is gay in this month’s issue of U.S. Figure Skating’s official magazine and that he considered coming out before the Sochi Olympics. “Being gay is not something that defines me,” Rippon, 25, said in Skating magazine. “What defines me is what my mom always taught me: to treat everyone with respect, to always be a hard worker and to be kind.”" - JustDuckie - [ 1 ] -

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The Curious Case Of The Book Blurb (And Why It Exists) : NPR (http://www.npr.org/2015/0... http://media.npr.org/asse... )

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"Whatever the old adage might warn, there is a bit of merit to judging a book by its cover — if only in one respect. Consider the blurb, one of the most pervasive, longest-running — and, at times, controversial — tools in the publishing industry. For such a curious word, the term "blurb" has amassed a number of meanings in the decades since it worked its way into our vocabulary, but lately it has referred to just one thing: a bylined endorsement from a fellow writer — or celebrity — that sings the praises of a book's author right on the cover of their book. They're claims couched in quote marks, homes for words you might never hear otherwise — like compelling, or luminous, or unputdownable. Heck, at least three books have reportedly inspired celebrated memoirist Frank McCourt to say "you'll claw yourself with pleasure."" - JustDuckie - -

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Nunchuk-wielding shampoo thief charged in bus-based sword attack - seattlepi.com (http://www.seattlepi.com/... http://ww3.hdnux.com/phot... )

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"A Seattle woman fresh from jail after a nunchuk attack is now accused of chasing a stranger off a King County Metro bus – with a sword. Facing her third assault-related charge of the year, Sharnika Joy Armstead is accused of dashing after a man who jostled her aboard a downtown bus. Armstead, a recently homeless West Seattle resident, is accused of waving a sheathed short sword at the object of her ire. Armstead, 26, had been released from King County Jail six weeks before the Sept. 14 incident. She served a 74-day stint after bashing a two men with nunchuks during a shampoo theft from a North Seattle supermarket." - JustDuckie - -

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A Tradition for New Mothers in China, Now $27,000 a Month - The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/20... http://static01.nyt.com/i... )

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"Wearing gray pajamas and furry purple slippers, Li Rui relaxed on a couch in a plush suite where she had spent the last month since giving birth to her son — without ever going outside. For more than $900 a day, a personal nanny had taught her breast-feeding techniques. A chef had prepared six meals a day intended to restore her physical constitution. And a moxibustion practitioner had wafted smoking sticks of mugwort over her body, part of the Chinese therapy sessions to help prevent disease. Such opulent sequestration is becoming the gold standard in postpartum recovery, inspired by a Chinese confinement custom known as “sitting the month,” when new mothers must stay indoors to restore their energy." - JustDuckie - -

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There's a lot of weird superstitions around childbirth. IIRC, in Ghana, it used to be that women spent 30 days laying down in a room and they only ate a mash made of beans. Nothing else. In some SE Asian country, that 30 days is also laying down in a room, but they only eat some kind of soup. No one gets water, but the food is supposed to make milk come in faster & creamier. - faboomama - [ 3 ] -

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Wisconsin refutes hoax that lawn ornaments counted in state deer tally | Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/ar... http://s1.reutersmedia.ne... )

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"Wisconsin wildlife officials have taken to social media to refute a hoax letter that suggested they had mistakenly added deer lawn ornaments to the last two annual statewide deer tallies. The state's Department of Natural Resources said on Facebook that several residents recently received a letter telling them to remove concrete deer ornaments from their yards by Nov. 1 so they are not counted again this year. "This letter is a fake. It was not crafted, nor distributed by (the Department of Natural Resources)," the post on Tuesday said. " - JustDuckie - -

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British, U.S. police tweet about Facebook outage - UPI.com (http://www.upi.com/Odd_Ne... )

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"Police departments on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean tweeted out requests for residents to refrain from using emergency numbers to report Facebook outages. The Houston Police Department tweeted this week after a pair of recent Facebook outages that police are unable to help with problems stemming from the social network being down. "Folks please do not call the police because #facebookdown we are as upset as you are but we cannot fix facebook. #sorry #wetried #techpolice," the tweet read. Meanwhile, England's Kingston Police tweeted a similar request to residents. "Yes we can confirm Facebook is down, please don't call us! What a great opportunity to spend some time with your family... #FacebookDown" the department tweeted during Monday's outage." - JustDuckie - -

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‘China’s Mona Lisa’ Draws Long Lines and Heightened Fervor for Culture - The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/20... http://static01.nyt.com/i... )

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"But at the center of it all was an atypical sight: a phalanx of more than 1,000 people, flanked by palace workers whose job was to keep the ranks in line. Unlike most visitors, this small army had come with only one goal: to see “Along the River During the Qingming Festival,” an early 12th-century painted scroll considered so iconic that it is often called “China’s Mona Lisa.” Since an exhibition celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Palace Museum opened in early September, people have been waiting for up to 10 hours to see this 17-foot-long masterpiece attributed to the painter Zhang Zeduan, an intricate ink-on-silk tableau of life in the Northern Song dynasty capital of Kaifeng. The best-known painting in the museum’s vast collection, it has been shown in public only a few times, in Beijing most recently in 2005 for the museum’s 80th anniversary." - JustDuckie - -

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These Wrecked Toy Cars Found in Cereal Boxes Send a Sobering Drunk-Driving Message | Adweek (http://www.adweek.com/adf... http://www.adweek.com/fil... http://www.adweek.com/fil... )

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"It's always so much fun to get a little toy inside your cereal box! Until that toy is a mangled vehicle reminding you of the dangers of drunk driving. Canadian agency Rethink pulled off a clever stunt for advocacy group Arrive Alive on Ontario college campuses. It handed out free samples of Arrowhead Mills cereal to students with an unpleasant surprise inside—little wrecked cars, seemingly from accident scenes." - JustDuckie - -

"The stunt was timed to breakfast because of one key piece of data: In fact, it can take up to 12 hours after your last drink to reach zero blood alcohol level. In other words, just because you slept, doesn't mean you're sober. It's a pretty simple message that doesn't take a decoder ring to figure out. There's also something nice about targeting college students with a child's toy—with the implicit suggestion that they're still kids in many ways, and probably not as responsible as they think." - JustDuckie - -

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Family smashes toilet after snake refuses to vacate premises - KCTV5 (http://www.kctv5.com/stor... http://kctv.images.worldn... )

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"Garcia picked up the phone and sought help from friends. They rushed to help out, but the snake wasn't willing to be coaxed out. He actually slithered back into the pipes. Finally they decided to lift the toilet up and carry it outside. They smashed the plumbing with a hammer and retrieved the snake." - JustDuckie - -

"Garcia moved into her residence a week ago. Neighbors told KCTV5 that the people who lived in the residence previously had owned snakes. " - JustDuckie - -

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An Epic Dinner at the Library | Messy Nessy Chic (http://www.messynessychic... http://static.messynessyc... )

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"Make a toast to Tolstoy, order the chicken Kiev in honour Chekhov, let Stravinksy serenade you with every spoonful of caviar and Pushkin play host in his palatial library of gastronomic pleasures. For anyone who has a way with words or a weakness for a truly great story, it’s likely that the library is one of your favourite places in the world. So what if you could dine in a library with its very own restaurant, inside a Baroque Moscow mansion?" - JustDuckie - -

"The old pharmacy and the library have been meticulously preserved as they were by the modern-day occupants, inviting guests to reserve their tables in the pharmacy hall surrounded by antique medicine bottles and scales, or in the Library, sitting amongst explorer’s globes, telescopes and rare copies of anything from Shakespeare, Dickens, Voltaire and Dante to Pushkin himself, Tolstoy and Russia’s greatest storytellers. The menu is a thoughtful take on dishes from Pushkin’s own times, both Russian and French, inspired by historic recipes and adapted to modern times." - JustDuckie - -

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Emailed US Figure Skating to find out where my magazine subscription was. They responded in less than five minutes and said the October issue is on its way. My sparkles are coming!!! :D

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Take a Peek Inside this Fantastic French Miniature Museum | Messy Nessy Chic (http://www.messynessychic... http://static.messynessyc... http://static.messynessyc... )

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"Founded by Dan Ohlmann (pictured above playing giant), a renowned miniature artist himself, the Musée Miniature & Cinema is split into two parts: one part miniature museum, with hundreds of incredible scaled scenes by renowned artists from around the world, and another part cinematic museum of special effects, which often links back to the miniature world– because of course the film industry has a long history of using miniature film sets before computer-generated effects became the norm." - JustDuckie - -

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Flea market find: 8-foot python nestled in clothes | Miami Herald (http://www.miamiherald.co... http://www.miamiherald.co... )

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"A customer rummaging through a stack of jeans, T-shirts and shorts got more than she bargained for when she came across the Burmese python Sunday morning at a Homestead flea market. She didn’t know what to make of it at first. “It’s a good thing she didn’t grab it,” said Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue Lt. Scott Mullen, explaining that pythons have more than 100 sharp teeth and a mean bite — but they are not venomous." - JustDuckie - -

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Joking aside | Manfeels Park (http://www.manfeels-park.... http://www.manfeels-park.... )

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How Libraries Have Embraced Their Role in the Public Safety Net - Pacific Standard (http://www.psmag.com/poli... http://a4.files.psmag.com... )

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"The assumption among such commenters is that libraries should do their best to prevent homeless patrons from visiting, but libraries are public spaces that are legally open to everyone. The American Library Association even has a policy statement urging libraries to "recognize their role in enabling poor people to participate fully in a democratic society," and to train staff on reducing barriers that keep poor and homeless people from using the facility. The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, meanwhile, opposes rules designed to keep people out of public spaces—including libraries—based on their housing status. For example, some libraries have rules against carrying large bags onto the premises. But that's just a cheap way of barring the homeless from visiting, as homeless folks must carry all of their belongings around because they don't have anywhere to store them and keep them safe from theft." - JustDuckie - -

"Especially in cities where other public services for homeless people are failing, library staff members must work to balance the desires of their homeless patrons and those who are uncomfortable with the signs of homelessness. Some big cities have figured out fixes, as American Libraries reported in November: hiring in-house social workers, or allowing non-profits serving the homeless to operate out of their conference rooms. The San Francisco Public Library even has a mobile shower parked outside. These are policies that embrace libraries' role in the public safety net. Perhaps it's time housed patrons took note." - JustDuckie - -

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