Author: Katie L. Carroll (Page 136 of 142)

The Latest Magnetic Poetry: Sour Pickle Edition

February 22, 2009 / Katie L. Carroll

My friends like to share their own unique brand of problems by writing them on my refrigerator. You may remember the last time I shared their magnetic poetry. I have to say, I found their thoughts a bit disturbing.

I’m glad my friends consider my home (or at least my fridge) as safe place for expressing themselves. Here’s the latest entries:

This old dog said you like vacuum prostitutes. (Do I want to know what else you like? Probably not!)
Suck my obedient bosom fire. (That’s what she said!)
Sour pickle mouth takes head. (Ummm…no comment)
Always imagine pleasure and beauty fighting devil spurts. (My personal favorite because it really makes you think.)

Last post I discussed some very small (in the literal sense) things that might actually turn out to be very big (metaphorically). Next post I’ll take a look at something very big indeed!

Discovering (the) God (Particle) Could Open Up a Black Hole

February 11, 2009 / Katie L. Carroll

I love when I come across a little bit of information that totally blows my mind. My brother recently made my privy to the God particle (also known as the Higgs boson). This is a tough concept to wrap your head around, but here’s my not-so-scientific explanation of what the God particle is—or rather what it’s hypothesized to be.

First there was the atom, which was thought to be indivisible. Then it was discovered that the atom was actually made of subatomic particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. So much for that whole indivisible theory! So these subatomic particles must be indivisible. Wrong! While scientists think the electron cannot be divided (and therefore classify it as an elementary particle), protons and neutrons are actually made of other elementary particles.

Okay, so the God particle is supposedly the most fundamental of the all the elementary particles. Scientists think that finding this God particle will help to unravel all the mysteries of the universe. They hope to discover the source of matter, i.e. how things were created.

Scientists have built the Large Hadron Collider in order to try to observe the God particle. The only problem with this device is that there is a very minute chance that it could open up a black hole or cause the Earth to implode. I guess that’s the risk you take when you start smashing very volatile particles together.

The operations of this project actually started last year (and, no, the Earth wasn’t sucked into a black hole!), but a malfunction has since shut down further experiments. It’s scheduled to begin again in the fall of 2009.

In the meantime, I’ll try to get as much blogging in as I can because it would be a real bummer to be sucked into a black hole before I got all my super-important observations out to the public.

Viewer Discretion Advised

February 5, 2009 / Katie L. Carroll

I always chuckle when that “Viewer Discretion is Advised” warning airs at the beginning of a TV show. I can’t help but think Duh! Shouldn’t viewers always use discretion when watching a TV program? And can anyone really indiscriminately watch TV anyway?

Maybe if people used discretion (defined as “the power or right to decide or act according to one’s own judgement”) in all aspects of their lives, the world would be a better place. And if someone fails to use discretion, then maybe that right should be taken away from him and we should let someone else use discretion on his behalf.

Some of my favorite programs have these warnings (Family Guy and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), but some programs that should include this warning don’t. I’m not sure if this episode of How It’s Made had a viewer warning, but this clip definitely should. It was very unsettling. It made me laugh, which immediately made me feel bad, and then it kind of made me want to cry! You’ll just have to watch it to see what I mean.

On a Power Trip with my Snow Village

January 21, 2009 / Katie L. Carroll

While I was originally—as an eight-year-old—attracted to the bright colors and shiny finish of the Snow Village, I find—as an adult—there is another appeal to having it: control. I have all the power in my village. I decide where all the buildings go, where the people go…I’m in charge of everything. Bwahaha!!! (That’s evil laughter in case you couldn’t tell!)

This doesn’t really surprise me. As a kid, I used to play with the vintage Fisher Price Little People. Remember how the people had no hands or legs. We had a school, a castle, houses, a barn, cars, all kinds of things. (By the way, my mom still has all these toys, and looking over these pictures and prices, I think she could make a bundle selling them!) I always loved setting them up and figuring out all the backgrounds for all the people, and then once that was over, I would hardly play with them. The fun was in the back story, and it was all mine to control.

I get that same sense of power from setting up my Snow Village. When all else in the world is out of whack, I have my quiet, peaceful, twinkling village. It’s as beautiful and perfect as I want it to be. So, here’s some pictures and commentary on this year’s Village.

I decided that this year the Tudor-style log cabin is my home. I imagine it’s next to a big snow mountain, but within walking distance to the center of town. (That is the Town Hall behind it.)

That’s me in the wagon…the little blond girl holding the present. In previous years I have lived in the lighthouse (it’s kind of small living quarters, though).

That’s my nine-year-old nephew and his dog, Cashew. (My nephew gave me that piece.) He’s in front of the Center for the Arts because he has my sense of creativity.

The clown always goes near the Hospital…in case there’s any sick kids stuck there for the holidays. Notice the Library and Church in the background. Also, that’s my dad (sorry I cut him off a bit) leading his horse, Beau.

My brother decided he wanted to be the kid in the party hat (he thought the kid was a wizard). It’s more likely that my brother is actually the kid throwing the snowball! The lady with the balloons reminded me of my grandmother (and she is the one who started this whole Village, so I guess she should be in it!)

I decided that my husband is the delivery man this year. We met at Harrison’s Hardware when we were in high school and the Gift Shop reminds me of that. (He wanted to be the fireman, but my brother-in-law is a fireman in real life, so he got that designation this year…maybe next year the hubby can be the fireman.) I love how the proportions of the people are way off compared to the buildings, doors, and vehicles.

This picture came out kind of psychedelic, which I thought was cool…and below is what this part of the Village (there’s more than just this table!) looks like in the dark.

All those who stop by the house while my Village is still up are welcome and encouraged to find themselves in it.

Finding Winter Warmth in a Village Display

January 15, 2009 / Katie L. Carroll

More snow fell this morning. Worse than that, we’re experiencing an extreme cold snap here in New England. My outdoor thermometer is reading 7.7 degrees right now (yes, that’s Fahrenheit!). Winter is getting a bit old…and there’s still over two months left of it.

A spot of winter brightness comes from a little collection of mine. My grandmother started a collection for each of my sisters and me on our eighth birthday. My two older sisters both collected Madame Alexander dolls. My younger sister ended up with a porcelain animal collection (I think made by Lennox).

When my turn came about, my grandmother took me to a store called Happy House in the mall. It was just the two of us, which made me feel very special (when you grow up in a family of seven getting one-on-one attention from an adult is a nice treat). And she was letting me pick out my collection all by myself.

Something caught my eye when I first walked into the store. It was a winter village with buildings that were bright colors and shiny. They were so pretty, and they lit up! I didn’t want to be hasty, so I made sure to walk all around the store to see what else they had to offer. My eyes kept wandering back to that village, though, and that’s what I picked.

Years later, my grandmother told me she tried her hardest to get me to pick almost anything else in the store. There were pewter figurines, Precious Moments figurines, and a bunch of other small collectibles to choose from. Apparently, my grandmother thought it would be better for me to pick something smaller than a village, seeing as there was seven of us living in a tiny two-bedroom house.

But I was eight and didn’t care about practical matters like space, and besides my collection was starting with just one building. I may have been small myself (and I was even small for my age…I always said if my siblings and I had been a litter of dogs, I would’ve been the runt that got drowned), but I certainly wasn’t thinking small. I now have over twenty buildings and countless accessories in my Snow Village. It’s still growing too, although not as rapidly as when my grandmother used to add to it twice a year (once on my birthday and again on Christmas).

I currently have it displayed in two different rooms on a total of three different surfaces. I’m a bit more discriminate when I add a large piece to it these days because I don’t want to have to buy a second house just to accommodate the village. There’s just something about the yellow lights radiating from all the windows and all the smiling people bustling around town that projects a warmth…even though it’s the Snow Village.

Stay tuned for pictures!