The first image is from a mathematics book. It’s a page in the back of the book which reveals answers to the arithmetic problems from the front of the book. The second image is of a page, one of several from the back of another book, advertising volumes in different price ranges. This one being 75 cents. What I want to know is, why were Nelly’s days so dark?

A few lovely old books.

Need help getting out of a design rut? Trying to think of some copy for that new design of yours? Well, you’ve come to the right place. This little crib sheet works wonders when it comes to re-routing your thinking. This used to be on my wall in my old studio. When we moved, I packed it up along with all manner of other odds and ends (that will gradually make their appearance) and haven’t seen it since. I’m not sure where it came from, but here it is.

Unbeknown to my mother, I had a pet baby squirrel for awhile when I was 11. I rescued it from our cat, who was an excellent hunter, but very poor at delivering the final coup de grâce. The squirrel would sleep in the pockets of whatever coat or sweater was hanging in my closet, and I fed it oranges and lettuce that I pilfered from the kitchen. It was only when he became a little aggressive that I realized it was time to repatriate him to the outdoors. Right now we have a family of squirrels living in a tree in our backyard, so as far as evening entertainment goes, we’ve pretty much given up watching movies or listening to music. There are three babies, one very attentive parent, and a lot of activity in and out of a tiny 2″ doorway. I don’t have a good zoom lens, so until then these guys will have to suffice. The clear plastic bobble-head squirrel, a gift from a friend, is available online at squirrelsandmore. And the lovely porcelain nuts are from the talented K. Grandey who is temporarily on leave from making ceramic nuts so that she can care for a new baby. And while we are on the subject, one of my absolute favorite story books as a kid, The Meanest Squirrel I Ever Met, written by Gene Zion, of Harry the Dirty Dog fame, is reassuringly still available in used editions on Amazon. This post is for Sue, my friend and fellow squirrel fan.

In their search to figure out who the hell we are and what we want out of life, neuroscientists Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam trawled through 15,000 Harlequin Romance novels. The resulting list of top ten professions, for the heroes who get star billing, certainly says a lot about us. Prince? Really? Their new book is called A Billion Wicked Thoughts. They write about this and other topics in their blog. Thanks Sue, best librarian in the world, for the original link to Galleycat!