Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!, originally uploaded by pennylrichardsca.

I got a lot of thumbs-up and high-fives from the teachers and some of the moms at school this morning.

Molly Ringwald!

I may dig out an old pink prom dress and cut my hair asymmetrically just to celebrate her appearance in this fine ad:

Thunk!

I love that sound around 11am, when little boxes get delivered by the postal carrier to my doorstep.  Today’s little box held three copies of a new book I’ve got a chapter in.  Very nice-looking paperbacks, all shiny, good size and shape, nifty cover illustration (see at left)–yup, I’m in there, chapter 15.  Cool.

My segment is about disability history archives and museums online (adapted from an article I wrote a few years back for a special issue of Public Historian), but the other chapters are really diverse, with fun titles like “Collecting Eyewear on eBay,” “Tales from the Thrift,” and “I Want my MP3s.”   I’m really looking forward to checking some of them out.

Mmmmm, Diwali

It’s Diwali time, so I’ve got a ziplock of lovely Diwali sweets (laddoos) made by my friend’s husband (thanks Srini!).   They’re very sweet, crunchy, and taste of ground nuts and cardamom.  Mmmmmmmmmm….. In my ideal universe, all sweets would contain cardamom.   I can walk past the bowl of Halloween candy without a pang–“nope, nothing with cardamom”–knowing I have a stash of laddoos instead.

Azucar!

Today is the birthday of Cuban diva Celia Cruz (1925-2003).  In this vintage video, the bra looks ridiculously uncomfortable, but Celia is rocking that lamé dress….

Kids pick Obama

Nickelodeon’s “Kids Pick the President” event has predicted the winner in four of the last five presidential elections (and yes, Nickelodeon has been around that long).  And this year, with over two million votes cast, Obama won, 51-49.   Kids also picked Obama, 57-39, in the vote sponsored by Scholastic News–and the results of that one have only been different from the real election twice since the 1940s.

Happy Birthday to my mom….

Mom and two girls, Easter in the 1970s

That’s me, and my sister, in handmade pinafores, with our mother, some Easter in the early 1970s.

Smoke

The skies were clear and blue most of today, but by 1pm you could smell…and taste…and feel the smoke from the fires inland.  The wind has changed.  We go from cool ocean breezes to hot blasts full of wood ash, like that.  I’m keeping my inhaler handy.

Unofficial No on Prop 8 Ad

Bonus video this week–h/t to Ron Buckmire (first saw it on his blog).  I’ve added a No on Prop 8 button to my hat, and have two No on 8 signs in the yard.  Vote No on Prop 8.

Video: Ore Ska Band, “Hana no ska dance”

J-Ska, public transit, and candy–what more could you need?

[Video description:  Japanese all-girl ska band in video for Pocky candy.  The band members park their bikes, all wearing white shirts and black ties, and board a train, where they break out their instruments and start a party.  People of all ages are dancing and eating candy.  The video ends when the train comes to its next stop.]