bookofjoe

Nothing Was the Same — by Kay Redfield Jamison

A memoir of her marriage to Richard Wyatt, which focuses on the final years of his life until he died from metastatic cancer in 2002.

A sad book, yes, but also peculiarly uplifting, in that it points the way to a path out from pain and grief.

It's a beautiful meditation on mortality and loss whose 15-page-long penultimate chapter, entitled "Mourning and Melancholia," is particularly valuable, discussing in detail and from personal experience the difference between grief and depression, from the perspective of an individual whose experience with both and poetic fluidity of language enables her to differentiate between the potentially catastrophic outcome of one and the less life-threatening other.

That chapter should be made available on a stand-alone basis, even offered gratis through the grace of some foundation.

Look inside the book here.

Excerpt from the book here.

A 1999 interview on "The Charlie Rose Show" here.

Harajuku Lovers Attica Boot

$119.99.

Radiation levels of 1,200 cellphones and smartphones

"A new online tool that allows consumers to determine the radio-frequency radiation levels of their cellphones drew so much traffic when it went live on Wednesday that the Environmental Working Group, a Washington advocacy group that set up the site, had to scramble to keep it from crashing," wrote John Lorinc in a Septemer 10, 2009 New York Times story.

What is it?

Answer here this time tomorrow.

The agony of Tostitos

Watching recent commercials (exemplars above and below) for the tasty chips, I'm more and more thinking something must be wrong with me, since I've never agonized over which junk food to buy as long as I've been buying junk food, which is a long, long time.

I mean, c'mon — Doritos, Tostitos, Kettle Chips, it's not anesthesiology.

Get one of each — that always works for me.

Piet Indoor Stove

Designed by Fredrik Hyltén-Cavallius, Piet is a chimney-free indoor stove with a brass reflector; it burns ethanol instead of wood.

No smoke or soot, no chimney, and portable enough to be placed wherever convenient.

A layer of rockwool fire insulation between the reflector and outer shell

keeps the outside of the ceramic body cool to the touch and safe near walls or furniture.

"The stove takes its name from Danish architect and mathematician Piet Hein who made the super ellipse popular in the sixties."

[via MoCo Loco and Milena]

Helpful Hints from joeeze: Freezer lighting hack

When I bought my refrigerator it wasn't until they'd delivered it and left that I realized there was no light in the freezer compartment.

Not enough of a pain to go through exchanging refrigerators but for the past 15 or so years a minor annoyance, requiring me to turn on a kitchen light to see what's in there.

Until two days ago when the penny dropped.

Remember those auto-on lights (top) I raved about in a July post?

They're advertised as being suitable for dark stairways, closets, cupboards and bathrooms, and I've placed about a dozen in various places around my house.

But suddenly out of nowhere I had a thought: hey, who says I can't put one of those in the freezer compartment, such that the motion of opening the door turns on the light?

So I did just that and darned if it doesn't work beautifully.

Better 15 years late than never.

The light costs $14 (batteries included).

Today is Free Museum Day

"The very good people at Smithsonian magazine have enlisted the participation of museums across the United States to open their doors at no charge for one day."

1. Here is where you can find the hundreds of museums taking part, and see if any are in your area

2. Download and print out an admission card here , then present the card at any participating museum to receive free general admission for you and a guest.

Sorry about the short notice, but better late than never.

[via Addie and Art Jewelry Magazine Editors' Blog]