H. H. Monro (known as Saki) wrote  “The Storyteller.”

The poet Horace wrote the Ars Poetica, which says (depending on your translation) that “poetry has two aims — to instruct and to give delight.”

You can read a little bit about the history of children’s literature at Random History.

American Children’s Literature and the Construction of Childhood is by Gail Schmunck Murray.

Louisa May Alcott wrote a lot of stuff for children, including:

• Little Women, followed by Good Wives (sometimes published as part of Little Women)
• Little Men, followed by Jo’s Boys
• Eight Cousins
• Rose in Bloom
• An Old-Fashioned Girl, parts one and two

“Lumberin’ Bunny” is by Tom Smith.

“It’s Windy, Your Majesty” is by KidsCastUK.

The American Library Association has an official Library Bill of Rights. They emphasize that parents should be involved in and will be held responsible for their children’s reading. They also say that librarians should withhold from the parents as much information about the child’s reading choices as possible:

“Parents are responsible not only for the choices their minor children make concerning the selection of materials and the use of library facilities and resources, but also for communicating with their children about those choices. Librarians should not breach a child’s confidentiality by giving out information readily available to the parent from the child directly. Libraries should take great care to limit the extenuating circumstances in which they will release such information. (ALA, “Questions and Answers on Privacy and Confidentiality.” — scroll down to the question, “Are privacy rights of minors the same as those of adults?”)

In case anyone is wondering if I know what I’m talking about regarding the ALA, I got my PhD in Library and Information Science.

James R. Kincaid wrote Child-Loving: The Erotic Child and Victorian Culture, as well as Erotic Innocence: The Culture of Child Molesting.

Anne Geddes takes photographs of babies dressed up or staged as if they were food or flowers, among other things. The purpose of the photographs is to make us think of the Geddes children as consumables, which we can buy a picture of and consume with our eyes over and over without having to deal with the complexities of babies in real life. It works a lot like porn.

“I Wrote a Song About Allergies” is by Kyle Dine.

Emma Cooper does the Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast.

I’m involved with two writers groups affiliated with the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

“Now, That’s Magic” is by KidsCastUK.

All the music (and the KidsCastUK bits) were provided by Mevio.com.

“Our Pet Rat” is an essay published anonymously in Chambers’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Arts in 1878. I found it in Google Books. The publisher, William Chambers, was the Lord Provost of Edinburgh who was included as a character in the film Greyfriars Bobby. (He paid for Bobby’s dog license so the dog would not be put down by the authorities after the dog’s master had died.)

Read about bee space at the University of Illinois Extension website.

McGee harassing Gibbs:

Notice that, at about 53 seconds in, Gibbs turns on McGee with his fur fluffed out like an angry cat.

“Ain’t It Strange” is by Bosco and Peck, and is available at Mevio.com.

A friend of mine went with me to The International Gem and Jewelry Show in Rosemont, IL. She and her husband also went to the Anime Central Convention, which was held in the same building that weekend. I would have gone to both, too, if it weren’t for the facts that (a) I still had to grade a lot of final papers for my classes, (b) I am a huge wuss and a whole day of fun would have been too much for me physically, and (c) I did not have enough money lying around loose to pay for both shows.

As it was, I got to take some pictures of some awesome costumes. Most people were very gracious when I asked if I could photograph them (getting asked is a compliment, I’m told). I, on the other hand, was very pleased that whenever I asked someone to pose, three or four other people immediately started photographing my models too. I took that as a signal that I have a good eye for costumes — even though I know zippo about anime.

I’ve tried looking these characters up, and all I found was an ad image for a site, not the series:

See them there? Right in the middle? Blue eye patches, blue eye patches!

The two girls (I think) in blue warned me that they were not from the same series, and I told them, “I don’t care. I don’t know anything about series. I just like your costumes.” They were not impressed with my answer, as you can tell from their facial expressions.

This guy is not from a series. Lots of people just dress up as animals.

I am mainly interested in her arm armor, which she made. My friends told me later that there was a girl with homemade, lightweight armor all over her body, in curlicues reminiscent of (but less chilly than) Princess Leia’s outfit in Jabba the Hutt’s den.

Eeeee! The guy was walking around with the box slightly open, and just his eyes peering out. I wish I knew who this was supposed to be.

Gas mask! And, perhaps, Waldo.

Unicorn!

“Strange Town” is by Ivan Chew, used under a Creative Commons Noncommercial Sampling Plus license.

The short story, “Operation Earthworm,” was written by Joe Archibald and published in Fantastic Universe in September 1955. I found it at Project Gutenberg.

1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse: Remake, Restyle, Recycle, Renew (1000 Series) is by Garth Johnson.

Robot makers:

• Mike Rivamonte
• Scott Sauer
• “Chrome-delicious Robot Art & Ray Guns” article on robot makers, with links to their websites, from Dark Roasted Blend

The Expectant Knitter: 30 Designs for Baby and Your Growing Family is by Maria Connolly.

Natural Nursery Knits: 20 Hand-knit Designs for the New Baby is by Erika Knight.

“Chiron Beta Prime” is by Jonathan Coulton and is available on Music Alley at Mevio.com.

“Garden of Roses” is by Spring Heeled Jacks Original Swinging Jass Band.

Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote “Pied Beauty.”

“Grow a Garden” is by Kesang Marstrand.

Thomas Carew wrote “The Spring.” Evidently I pronounced his name wrong: it should be said “Carey.”

“Flowers” is by Gold Box Kingdom (featuring AMY B).

Garden Gnome Liberation provides the free template “Letter to Gnome Captor.”

“Bees and Flowers/Joe Smallwood’s Reel” is by Duane Andrews.

Charles Dudley Warner wrote “My Summer in a Garden.” Please note that times were different then. However, the difficulties that beset the gardener are pretty much the same now.

“Flower” is by Supraluxe.

Edgar Wilson Nye wrote “The Garden Hose.”

“Farmyard Rock n Roll” is by The Jackass-Penguin Show. You may recognize it from my Episode 6.

Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote The Secret Garden.

“Among the Green Leaves” is by Kesang Marstrand.

All the music on this podcast was provided by Mevio.com.

The theory of knowledge-making, or epistemology, that I described is drawn from actor-network-theory but can also be found in other theories of knowledge-making, such as those of John Dewey or Brenda Dervin.

SCBWI is the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

These are my new glasses:

The Dapper Rat site offers some ideas for fun toys for pet rats.

The music in this podcast is provided by Mevio.com.

“A Mutual Misunderstanding” is by Peter, Bjorn and John.

“Nobody Really Understands” is by Dan Coyle.

“Better” is by Jonathan Coulton.

All the music in this podcast is provided by Mevio.com.

“Dear Mother” is by Jordan Doucette.

“Things I Used to Know” is by James Casto.

However, I can tell you that it had a roll brim (which is what happens when you knit stockinette and don’t put a border on) and went up straight for a while, then had a series of repeating motifs less than 10 stitches wide by more than 5 rows high (including at least one stitch in MC, as a spacer), and then decreased once above each motif in each round until less than 10 stitches are left. Those few stitches are worked in I-cord until long enough to tie once in a knot and look devastatingly cute. So, now you can figure out your own pattern.

Here’s a picture, to help you out:

The scriptural passage I read is Mosiah 13:33-14:5 in The Book of Mormon.

All the music I used for “Side A” and “Side B” is from the independent artists at Mevio.com.

Holiday Music, Side A

“All That We Want,” by Adrienne Pierce

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” by Daniel Link, with Chelle Murrey

“Blue Christmas,” by Wiser Time

“Charity’s Wish/We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” by the Limeybirds

“Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home),” by Oppenheimer

“Christmas All Over Again,” by Darlene Love

“Christmas Angel,” by Jim Goodrich

“The Christmas Cheese Polka,” from A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol

“Christmas in the Country,” by Codie Prevost

“Christmas Won’t Be Christmas,” by Hilda Lamas

“Christmas! Of Course!” by Bill deRome

“December Girl,” by Darrell Smith

“Feels Like Christmas,” by Rusty Bladen

“Give Me a Second Chance for Christmas,” by the Candy Butchers

“Grown Up Christmas List,” by Ayla Brown

“Hanukkah Girl,” by Eric Metronome

“A Harry Potter Christmas,” by Joel Kopischke

“Here Comes Santa Claus,” by Wizenried, a.k.a. Hollywood Drunks

Holiday Music, Side B

“Hey, Santa!” by Mr. Vegas Man

“I’d Rather Be Naughty,” from A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol

“Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” by Serena Matthews

“Joy is Within Reach,” by Adrienne Pierce

“Let It Snow,” by Wizenried, a.k.a. Hollywood Drunks

“Let’s All Pretend It’s Christmas,” by Dogs Must Be Carried

“Mr. Christmas,” by Kristine W.

“Our Winter Wonderland,” by Sunshine Collective

“Peace on Earth,” by James Casto

“Pink Christmas,” by the Moneyshot Cosmonauts, offered by The FuMP

“Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer,” by J.E.L.L.i.

“Santa Will Find You,” by Mindy Smith

“Santa’s Hung Up His Sack,” by cLuMsY

“Skyline Christmas,” by The Free Press

“Up on the Housetop,” by Smallfish

“Walk a Thousand Miles,” by Matthew Ebel

“Winter Wonderland,” by Wizenried, a.k.a. Hollywood Drunks

“12 Days of Christmas,” by cLuMsY

The music in this podcast was provided by Mevio.com.

“Die Alone” is by Ingrid Michaelson.

“A Girl Alone” is by Hungry Lucy.

“Coming Home Soon” is by the Adam Woodall Band.

Judith Martin/Miss Manners wrote Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior.

Jenny Davidson wrote Hypocrisy and the Politics of Politeness: Manners and Morals from Locke to Austen.

Music for this podcast was provided by Mevio.com.

“Farmyard Rock n Roll” is from The Jackass-Penguin Show.

Adam Balbo performed “Tammy’s a Nice Girl.”

The Unnormals created “Polite.”

“I Want to Be Good” is by Susan Govali.

“This Time I Want the Truth” is from Jeff DeHerdt.

I went on a trip with Southwest Airlines. They pulled me off my flight just before takeoff for fear of the H1N1 flu (or “swine flu”) and said I could only get back on a flight home if I was tested at a hospital first. This embarrassed me, cost me a lot of money, and didn’t actually accomplish anything, as the test was only 70% accurate. The doctor did say that, in her opinion, I had a cold and a sinus infection.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has information about what to do if you think you have the H1N1 flu.

George Orwell wrote 1984, a book about a totalitarian government that uses strategies like doublethink to avoid stating the facts.

Charlie Rose aired an episode about H1N1 and what we know about it so far. Unfortunately, the video itself isn’t available yet. Here is a Q&A session with one of the participants in the Charlie Rose panel. Notice that, in spite of the “national emergency” status given by President Obama (whom I voted for), the actual data we have on H1N1 show it to be slightly different but not necessarily more dangerous than other types of flus.

I sang the intro to the fashion segment to the tune of “Moon River,” written by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini for Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I like this movie. Except the Mickey Rooney bits.

I’ve been following the fashion shows in New York, London, Milan, and Paris for the past few years, via podcasts by MODTV and Style.com. Some of the designer collections I mentioned in this podcast are:

• Anna Sui, New York, Fall 2009
• Erdem, London, Fall 2009
• Christopher Kane, London, Fall 2009
• Peter Pilotto, London, Fall 2009
• Gucci, Milan, Fall 2009
• Giorgio Armani, Milan, Fall 2009

I also talked about Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting magazines.

All the music was provided by Mevio.com.

“Winter Wind” was composed and performed by Jon Schmidt.

Seamonkey adapted “Swine Flu” from “Footloose” (popularized by Kenny Loggins).