Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Early Women Newspaper Reporters

You may not know, but I am also a writer. Recently I have become fascinated with newspapers from the turn of the century (the Century before this one. :-)

So, I googled it:  Early Women Newspaper Reporters

This is a fantastic article called Sob Sisters: The Image of the Female Journalist in Popular Cultures. As you read the article you will learn that Sob Sisters refers to women reporters.  They were usually given the stories that would make you sob.

Read for yourself and enjoy!

http://ijpc.org/uploads/files/sobsessay.pdf


Friday, September 13, 2013

My Dog Prepares For Zombie Apocalypse

Ever since my dog was a small puppy Tubby has had this annoying habit of burying everything I woud give her.  Bones, doggie treats, toys, donuts, everything.  Lately she has been chewing on bones that I know I didn't give her, pig! (We live in a small Pacific Island where pigs are cooked in the earth.)

Tubby waiting for the zombies to arrive.
I know she is buring stuff because I have watched her methodically look for the best place. She has also returned with a clean body, dirty nose.

Why does my dog bury bones?
I googled it.


Why Dogs Hide Their Bones?

According to the Daily Puppy article by Mark Salzwedel, it is a genetic hold over from when times would be lean.  If you feed them too much or meals are not consistent your dog will begin to plan ahead for no food.  Some dogs never return to their burried stash because the lean times never come.

Salzwedel also stated that some dogs will take cloths as nesting materials.  Tubby just likes to yank everything off the cloths line and lay on them. 

So it got me thinking.  My dog must be preparing for the Zombie apocalypse.  .

Zombie?  I know what a zombie looks like, I have seen the movie Shaun of the Dead, but what is the definition?
I googled it

Zombie

A zombie (Haitian Creole: zonbi; North Mbundu: nzumbe) is an animated corpse raised by magical means, such as witchcraft.[1] The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli. Since the late 19th century, zombies have acquired notable popularity, especially in North American and European folklore.  Thank you Wikipedia!

Now if I can only get her to stop licking my leg!

Kateri





Thursday, September 12, 2013

Secrets Inside Her Majesty’s Purse


I was watching the movie The Queen and noticed she always had a purse hanging from her arm.  I started to think, what would the Queen of England actually have in her purse? What do I have in my purse?

We first need to note the size of her purse.  She has quite a few but they seem to be all the same design and size.  This limits the dimensions of the contents.

American Purse Vs Queen of England Purse


The Queen’s Purse: Prop And Royal Communication Device
I have a cellphone in my purse.  A cellphone would be perfect for  monarch to have in her purse.  Her grandchildren could text pictures of the new baby.  How much fun would that be for the Queen to show of her newest great-grandchild to everyone?  Can you see her sitting with the Prime Minister sharing pictures of children? That would be a great comedy sketch!

I have a driver's license with a terrible picture and fictitious weight in my pure.   
Try to fit this onto a driver's license:
Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor
Buckingham Palace
London SW1A 1AA


Would her name even fit?  I bet she would lie about her weight too, though she looks fantastic for a distinguished woman of her age.
If England suddenly demanded everyone over the age of 80 retake a driving test, I wouldn't want to be the driving tester.  "Will your Royal Highness please take a left at the next corner."  I hope he or she remembers the Tower of London is still available.
A couple credit cards are always at the ready in my purse.  I am not sure the Queen actually pays for anything, that is to say, doesn’t she have someone for that?  Then again, I am not sure she shops at Wal-Mart  or stops at the local pub for a pint.  I would really like to see the Queen stop at a McDonald' drive thru, pay with a credit card and having the clerk as for her ID. 

Maybe she carries cash.  That is something that is rarely in abundance in my purse.  Wait! How weird would it be to use money that has your picture on it?  Now that would be a great way to prove your identity, your face on a bill.  I am not sure anyone would want my face on anything.

Enough of my silliness, what does the Queen carry in her purse?
I Googled it.

According to The Queen’s Purse: Prop And Royal Communication Device:   
She uses it as a prop, as a way to keep her hands busy. Inside her bag are her glasses, a handkerchief, good luck charms from her grandchildren, sometimes her cell phone and money for church collections and any speeches that she will make. She also has a small compact and lipstick inside the bag.


She does carry a cellphone but does she pull it out and show off the baby?

.

Kateri (American Colonist)

The Secret of Finding Public Domain Pictures.

I love to look at pictures from the 1800s, especially if I need to describe scenes in a short story.  Every picture has so much life!  But how did I find them?

Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children.
Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California
You need to begin by understanding Public Domain, well if you can ever understand Public Domain (PD). 

There is on piece of the PD law that will garner us the best images.   Here is a tip where to find them:
Wikipedia: Works of the United States Government and various other governments are excluded from copyright law and may therefore be considered to be in the public domain in their respective countries. In the United States, when copyrighted material is enacted into the law, it enters the public domain.

Wait!  The 9/11 report is in the public domain? 
Yes. 
Images from NASA are in the public domain?
 Yes. 
Best of all, the Library of Congress has a whole online division dedicated called Digital Collections!  Yes!  A whole division!

There are images from the Civil War, Great Depression, Historic Newspapers, and the list goes on all waiting for you.

This famous picture is just one of the thousands you can download, use for personal or commercial use, even a mashup!


Where to start with Government Images?

Here are two sites, the only two sites, that I use to find public domain government images:

U.S. Government Photos and Images is the perfect way to begin your search.

Of course the Library of Congress : Digital Collections is also fantastic.


Remember to always bookmark what you like!
Kateri

How to write a blog post. (Who Wants To Blog Now?)

During my free time at work and this evening I goggled how to write a blog post.  I have a couple great ideas for my companion blog but I just don't know how to get started.

Here are a couple blogs I read on my way to  writing a great blog post:

The-Foolproof-Formula-for-Writing-a-Solid-Blog-Post-Template
I really liked how this post was laid out.  I even like the fill-in-the-bank template Corey gave me to use.  I know this will definitely get my brain flowing and fingers tapping.  Bookmarked this one!

How-to-write-a-good-blog-Post Fast
I am not the sharpest tool in the shed and after reading my comment and checking out the post you might agree.  I didn't quite get the bread analogy.  Maybe I read it too fast, or honestly, skimmed it too fast, but this one didn't do it for me. I got more out of the comments than the post.

 How-to-write-a-blog-post
I liked this post.  I like his example too.  I think I can do this!  I just need to not be so literary and more human.  I do think passion is important, but you need to be able to describe that passion, make it visible to the reader to be good at it.  Just my two cents.

Our-secret-blog-post-formula

Picture from Our Secret Blog Formula
This was a blog I wish I had read first.  It summarized the others nicely.  The best part of this blog is the 9. Go Back and Create Tweetables. 
Direct from the website:
"You will want to use ClickToTweet.com, hashtags, and a dash of creativity. You can also use www.bitly.com to keep everything 140 characters or less. Bitly allows us to track the number of clicks the link gets on Twitter."
I am definitely doing to try this idea!  Bookmarked this one!

A-New-and-Improved-Blog-Article-Writing-Template-Free-Download
I like when I can use a template to get me started.  Remember, I am a newbie at this blogging. Newbies like anything that will help them get started fast! The free download has the same steps, but the second page has the blank steps for you to fill in yourself.  Cool.

headline-hacks-report
Blah blah blah with a report to download.  I don't like these type of blogs.  Basically propaganda for themselves.

 10-sure-fire-headline-formulas-that-work
Now this is exactly what the above blog should have been.  If I was going to repost my title, I would use "Who Wants To Blog Now?"  Definitely bookmarked this one!

The Number One blog for me was:
How to Write The Perfect Blog Post
I am a visual learner, not much for reading.  I think that is why I like blogs so much!  This is the best template I have seen so far.  I was going to post the image but it is wayyyy too large for this blog.  Trust me, it's good!

Keep in  mind this is not an exhaustive list.  I like that Google lets us know how many helpful articles we will find at the top of the lists. For this search I started on Page 1 of about 57,700,000 results.  Holy Cow!  So if I missed yours, please add it in the comments and what you can add to my blog writing experience.  
 

Kateri