New Year's post of last year's books

Books, long articles/essays and comics I read during 2018. Here's to another good year of words!

1. Whiteout compendium - Greg Rucka & Steve Lieber. The first half had more appeal than the second.

2. No Time to Spare - Ursula K. LeGuin. A lovely little book of essays with some great one-liners.

3. We Should All Be Feminists - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Required reading for humans of all stripes.

4. Unexplained - Renee Regent. College kids researching unexplained phenomena. Meh.

5. Zoogeomorphology - David Butler. Studies on how animals change the shape of the earth. Woo-hoo!

6. From Here To Eternity - Caitlin Doughty. Not quite anthropological, not quite tourism. A cool look at death.

7. Other Minds - Peter Godfrey-Smith. A look at the evolutionary development of consciousness. Plus, cephalopods!

8 The Tick #2, 3 - Cullen Bunn & Jimmy Z. more oddly translated french.

9. God Complex Dogma #3 - Paul Jenkins & Henry Prasetya. Pretty sure now I don’t like the protagonist.

10. Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil #3, 4 - Jeff Lemire & David Rubin.

Lower Lake County

In 1876, Stephan Nicolai, a stonemason, built the Lower Lake County stone jail. The stone was quarried locally and reinforced with iron. It may be the smallest jail in the United States - only one room. It is currently registered as California Historical Landmark #429. 

The cooler part of this building's story comes from the workers Nicolai hired to help with the building. Theodore and John Copsey lived in the quicksilver mining town of Lower Lake. Once the jail was done and they got paid, they went into town to celebrate at the saloons. They got drunk and rowdy, were arrested and became the first to be interred in the jail they helped build. As they sobered up, they remembered that they had not finished the roof properly. They literally raised the roof and became the first to break out of the jail. Not a bad record.

References

http://www.donaldlaird.com/landmarks/counties/400-499/429.html

https://noehill.com/lake/cal0429.asp

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/51108

Folks I Admire, post #1

From 1962 (or 1966, depending on the source) to 1980 the only black female licensed architect in California was Norma Sklarek. She was born in New York, educated at Barnard College and Columbia. In 1954 she took the entire seven-part architecture exam in 4 days and passed on the first try. She worked for the Dept. of Public Works, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, moved to LA to work at Gruen & Assoc. She worked there for 20 years, becoming their first female and first black director. In 1985 she was elected a fellow of the AIA and she co-founded the first all-female architect firm - Siegel, Sklarek & Diamond. She retired in 1992 and was appointed to the California Architects Board where, among other things, she was a juror for the CA Architect Exam.

Today there are only about 400 black women architects.  This is such a tiny fraction of the industry, it is sad. Detroit's Tiffany Brown wants to change this through recruitment and mentoring. Check out her Urban Arts Collective, and Hip-Hop Architecture camps! Having grown up just outside of Detroit with a dad who taught Urban Planning, I heartily support Brown's approach to recruiting change-makers and architectural designers from the people who live there.

Resources

Biography.com editors (2014) "Norma Sklarek Biography

https://www.biography.com/people/norma-sklarek-7326

Morton, Patricia "Pioneering Women of American Architecture"

https://pioneeringwomen.bwaf.org/norma-merrick-sklarek/

NCARB (2018) "The Distinguished Career of Norma Sklarek
https://www.ncarb.org/blog/the-distinguished-career-of-norma-sklarek

Sisson, Patrick (2017) "400 Forward wants to train the next generation of black women architects" Curbed. https://www.curbed.com/2017/10/26/16551576/architecture-diversity-400-forward-tiffany-brown

Quick Book Repair

I am not a professional book conservator. This is just a quick look at a simple repair for minor rips to paperback books that have been loved to pieces. The book above is one example. It has been read so much the back cover came off, with a few pages still clinging to it.

Do not use masking tape, Scotch tape, duct tape, painter's tape, electrical tape or washi tape. These all have chemicals that will off-gas and make the paper even more fragile than it already is. If you want to pass this beloved favorite to future generations, use the tape shown below.

Now, I found this box buried in the back of desk drawer that I inherited along with my current job. I have no idea how old it is. However, I do know where to get it. Here or here are two good places. I bet if you look hard enough you can find others.

The tricky part about this tape comes from how thin it is. Threading it through the separator is annoying, but will help in the long run. Trust me.

Hard to see - since I was using a white table - but there is a piece of archival tape cut to size and placed half on the back of the book.

I realigned the cover and pressed the tape down firmly. I also run my fingernail or a bone folder over the tape to be certain it holds.

I added a second piece to the inside seam.

Then to be sure it holds tight, I added two more pieces to the outer cover. One overlaps the first piece, holding it on to the spine better. The last one overlaps that and reinforces the front cover. The front had not fallen off, but on a well-loved volume like this, it can't hurt to prepare for the worst.

There are some cool tutorials of more complex repairs on youtube. You may also be able to find someone near you who can fix trickier wear & tear. Happy reading! 

Library Fun Fact #5

This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of the removal of the Berkeley Tree sitters. For 21 months, the longest urban tree-sit, a group of concerned citizens literally took to the trees. A grove of coast live oak, pine, and other trees were slated for demolition to make room for an expansion of the University of California, Berkeley athletic stadium. I remember driving underneath them, past the police cars and the shouting. I remember the road getting narrower as first one fence, and then a second was erected around the grove. In this case, fences did not make good neighbors.

According to Berkeley City law, it is unlawful to remove coast live oaks. The University, however, is state-owned land and a judicial exception was made. Most of the tree-sitters either tied themselves to the trunk of the tree they were in or lived on a 6'x6' platform nailed to branches. Food and other necessities were provided by the ground help and transported by buckets. This, to me, is no way to live in a tree. 

Charlie Greenwood would agree. A retired Silicon Valley engineer,  Greenwood revolutionized treehouse building with his invention of the GL bolt. A 6" long, nearly 2" thick bolt sticks out of the tree like a new limb and is strong enough to hold 9,000 pounds. This allows for treehouses to be built in the space between two or more trees, dividing the weight more evenly. He has even gone so far as to write up building code specifications for treehouses. 

Spend your next vacation reliving your childhood dream of escaping into the trees:  http://treehouses.com/joomla/index.php/treesort/accommodations 

References

Dalton, Melissa (2016) "The Architects of the Treehouse Movement" 1859 Oregon's Magazine  https://1859oregonmagazine.com/think-oregon/art-culture/architects-avant-garde-tree-house-movement/

Jolin, Amy (2008?) All About Treehouses https://www.mondopub.com/Pages/articles/Days_9-12_All_About_Treehouses_p14-23.pdf

Nelson, Pete (2004) Treehouses of the World New York: Abrams.

Peacemaker Treehouses (2008) So You Want to Install a Garnier Limb?  https://peacemakertreehouses.wordpress.com/tag/greenwood/

treehouseengineering.com - Greenwood's website, complete with proposed treehouse building code.

Wikipedia links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Berkeley_oak_grove_controversy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_attachment_bolt

Library Fun Fact #4

The heat of summer can lead one to think about popsicles and iced desserts. I know I do. I have even gone so far as to have a popsicle "machine" in my freezer year round. The Zoku Quick Pop maker has a casing that must contain some sort of coolant in it. It is probably hazardous to one's health, but it sure does make great popsicles!! I can take oranges from the tree in my yard, squeeze the juice out of them and have popsicles in less than 20 minutes. Cold coffee pops can be made with just the 2 oz. left in the bottom of the pot. Or I can make "adult" popsicles with liquor in them. The whole set up is super fun for experiments.
My grandmother used to refer to the refrigerator as the "icebox," from, I am guessing, when the pre-electric design involved putting a large block of ice inside an upright ice chest to keep things cold. The opening of the Disney movie, Frozen, shows strapping Scandinavians singing and harvesting ice to sell. Which always makes me wonder which country makes the most money selling ice?

It came as a total surprise to me that by 1000 b.c.e., the leader of the Mediterranean ice trade was Persia - modern day Iran. How did these desert dwellers dish out dessert? Using a fun architectural structure known as a yakhchal, or ice pit.

An extremely rough sketch that helped me visualize this amazing structural type.

They varied in size, but most were domed structures up to 60ft in diameter. There would be an air vent at the top. Inside a square subterranean pit would be dug and lined with sarooj. Sarooj is a traditional mortar made from clay, sand, ash, limes, egg whites and goat hair. This particular combination of ingredients conducts no heat, keeping the desert fire from the dessert ice. Often large walls were built around the east, south & north sides of the yakhchal to block out ambient heat from the sun. On the north side, thin channels would be lined with the sarooj. In the winter months when desert nights are freezing, the channels would be filled with water. When ice formed, it would be chopped up and placed inside the yakhchal as seed ice.
If the location of the yakhchal was lucky, there would be a qanat running underneath it. Not only is qanat a great Scrabble word, it is an underground irrigation trench. From this mini man-made river, columns would be opened up to the inside of the yakhchal. The cold air from the flow of water would be pushed up through the column, continuing to cool the interior year-round.

I found some cool online recipes for Persian Iced Delights that have likely been in use since 400 b.c.e. Frozen noodles anyone? I also found articles like this one with recipes and the knowledge that ice cream came to America from Europe, who got it from Persia in the 8th Century! Make your own and be a part of history.

References

Hosseini, Bahareh, and Ali Namazian.(2012) "An overview of Iranian ice repositories, an example of traditional indigenous architecture" METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, 29(2)  http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A318999369/AONE?u=msu_main&sid=AONE&xid=3cf7630f. Accessed 23 Aug. 2018.

Library Fun Fact #3

Stanley Hart White sketch

In 1938 E.B. White (author of Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, One Man's Meat, and co-author of my favorite, The Elements of Style) wrote in a letter, "I guess everyone has crazy brothers and sisters. I know I have. Stan, by the way, has taken out a patent on an invention of his called Botanical Bricks." Stanley Hart White taught landscape architecture at the University of Illinois. His bricks were described in the patent application as, "a method for producing an architectonic structure of any buildable size shape or height, whose visible or exposed surfaces may present a permanently growing cover of vegetation.”

From the creative commons

This idea of a green wall or vertical garden was intended for use in civic areas and world's fair type situations. Beginning in the late 1990s, it was brought back into fashion by the French botanist, Patrick Blanc. Blanc's work on tropical rainforests brought a new perspective to an older idea. By employing a wider variety of plants, integrating more bromeliads and tillandsias (who can capture their moisture from the air), plants that grow in caves, and other botanical treasures, Blanc designs vertical gardens that can survive in the concrete canyons of modern cities.

A photo I took of a vertical garden in Baltimore, MD.

References

Blanc, Patrick (2008) The Vertical Garden. NewYork: Norton & Co.

Hindle, Robert (2012) "A vertical garden: origins of the Vegetation-Bearing Architectonic Structure and System (1938)" The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign papers. 

Hindle, Robert (2013) "Stanley Hart White and the question of ‘What is Modern?’" in Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, 33:3, 170-177.

Word of the day: ZALAMBDODONT

Za`lamb´do`dont

a.	1.	(Zool.) Of or pertaining to a tribe (Zalambdodonta) of Insectivora in which the molar teeth have but one V-shaped ridge.
n.	1.	One of the Zalambdodonta. The tenrec, solenodon, and golden moles are examples.

Tenrecs are the bomb. Why did I never learn about these as a kid? Punk rock hair, detachable spines, earthworm eating balls of adorableness - what's not to love? Seriously.

I came across a fact about tenrecs having 32 nipples (I can't find a source that corroborates this, though) and the next thing I know I'm reading scientific papers about their ultrasonic communication methods.  Turns out that the Lowland tenrec has 7-16 specialized spines on their lower back, with an underlying musculature that allows them to rub the spines together. It has been hypothesized that this is how they communicate about good foraging spots or the location of predators, but no one really knows. I love the fact that there are so many things we as humans still don't know about the world around us. 

References: 

Animal Diversity Web, Lowland Tenrec. Accessed 7/23/2018.  http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hemicentetes_semispinosus/

Cal Photos, Hemicentetes semispinosus; Lowland Streaked Tenrec. Accessed 7/23/2018

https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0024+3291+2008+0063

Endo, H., Koyabu, D., Kimura, J., Rakotondraparany, F., Matsui, A., Yonezawa, T., ... & Hasegawa, M. (2010). A quill vibrating mechanism for a sounding apparatus in the streaked tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus). Zoological science, 27(5), 427-432.

Webster's 1913 dictionary. Accessed 7/23/2018

http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/zalambdodont

Library Fun Fact #2

In 1774, the Scottish physician, James Lind, then an officer in the British navy, conducted the first systematic study that proved that vitamin C cures scurvy. The navy then made barrels of lemon juice a mandatory item on all ships. By 1880, they placed 1.6 billion barrels on board. 

All of these lemons had to come from somewhere. Citrus is native to southeast Asia. It traveled trade routes, being cultivated in the Mediterranean climate. Lemons, which are a cultivar cross (citron x sour orange) were mostly grown on the island of Sicily in the late 1700's. Far enough from mainland Italy, Sicily was not directly affected by Italy's war with Napolean. Instead, they fell into political turmoil of their own, being mostly run by families in a feudal-type arrangement. 

Lemon growers often fell victim to neighboring families, who would sneak into their orchards at night and strip the trees. Growers built walls around their trees. They increased the height of the walls. They added rocks or glass shards on top of the walls. They had guard dogs. Even if they got this far, shipments to the warehouses were often robbed. Guards were hired. 

Then the family guards began to extort the farmers to provide lemon crop protection. If you didn't pay, your crop would disappear and you would be left with nothing. And *that* is where the Sicilian mafia began. Really.

When life gives you lemons, create your own mafia.

References

Dimico, Arcangelo, Alessia Isopi & Ola Olsson. (2017) Origins of the Sicilian Mafia: The Market for Lemons. Journal of Economic History, v.77(4).

Stone, Daniel. (2017) The Citrus Family Tree. National Geographic magazine, accessed online https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/02/explore-food-citrus-genetics/

Library Fun Fact #1

Lately, at my job, I've been doing a segment at office meetings called the Library Fun Fact. Mostly, they are architectural (because of where I work). This is the first I've remembered to blog about. Enjoy!

Today's Library Fun Fact involves the Columbian Ground Squirrel, Urocitellus columbianus. These one pound rodents are found in alpine and sub-alpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains. They live in large colonies of 60+ individuals, eating flowers, seeds, fruits, and bulbs. They are often food for brown bears, coyotes, badgers, martens, pumas, and hawks. Due to the extremes in temperature of their home base, they often hibernate 70% of the calendar year.
The San Luis Valley of Colorado was first settled in the 1800's (before it was Colorado, back when it was still Mexico, and sandwiched between Louisiana and California). Architects and builders in the group wanted to make adobe walls with the optimum thickness to keep the people cool in the summer and warm in the winter. They measured the depth of the hibernaculum of the abundant ground squirrel colonies. The average depth of the rodent homes was then used as the optimum width of the walls of peoples homes.
How cool is that?

References: Animal Diversity Web, accessed 6/19/18. http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Spermophilus_columbianus/

Beynus, Janine (2008) A Good Place to Settle, in Biophilic Design, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons.

Winter Retreat

One sketch and a bunch of photos from my recent work retreat. About 35 folks headed up to the Granlibakken resort near the west side of Lake Tahoe. The weather was amenable - not too cold, yet still, there was snow.  I hiked trails, read books and was social at breakfast. The drive was long. I listened to The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick.  I had a good time, but am glad to be home.

More photos below.

You already know what to do.

I cut odd phrases out of magazines. I have boxes of them on my desk, more stuffed inside my laptop case beneath the keyboard. I use them both for collage and for writing prompts. Have time to write but nothing springs to mind? Grab a clipping and begin to write. 

You already know what to do.

Take your right hand, move it widdershins until the humming stops. Close your eyes, count down from ten in Swahili. Or Polish maybe. After the violent flash, it will be safe to open your eyes again. Don’t breath too deeply. The peppery smoke will make you cough. Carefully, step towards the staircase. If the light at the top is yellow, knock on the newel post in Morse code. You know the pattern. It has been drilled into your head for just such an occasion. A blue light would have been better. Green would’ve been worse. That has only happened once. You hope it never happens again. You and everyone else involved.

The yellow light makes your complexion unpleasant. Minor imperfections double in size, reflecting your face back to you. Those really are pimples, aren’t they? Shit. Time to lay off the peanut butter again. What will you eat for lunch now? It is not like you make any money doing this. To have to skip meals on top of all this mess will push you to your very limit. It won’t be the first time.

Halfway up the flight of stairs, the light blinks off. The darkness is thick enough to feel. You wrap it around your shoulders like a cloak and keep going. You’ve gotten this far and it seems ridiculous to give up due to lack of light. Reach into the pocket of the cloak for the key to the door at the top of the stairs. Eat one of the licorice whips you find there instead. Eat a second. Hope the door is unlocked this time. Show no surprise when there is no door at all. Step onto the landing. Turn thrice clockwise.

Raise the window around the corner on the left. The tabby cat who enters will be annoyed that you forgot to bring dried shrimp for it to eat. Do not offer it a licorice whip. You will only make it angry. Do not pet it. It is your superior here. Pets are for underlings. Follow the cat through the forest edge to the clearing where the mushrooms congress. The cat will vanish when you blink. Dance when the daisies approach to ask you. Eat nothing they offer. You don’t know where it has been.

Your next guide will come from the west, holding an unlit candle. Offer him the last licorice whip. It will be longer than the others. Hold tight to the end, otherwise, the balloon will rise without you. Don’t speak no matter how many questions the clouds ask.

They will only laugh at your answers.

No one wants that.

It starts slowly, felt, more than heard. As the vibrations increase the paralysis will set in. You will not be able to walk further. Inhale deeply and hold that breath before your diaphragm ceases to flex. Your left arm freezes up to the shoulder, the water rising threateningly. Do not panic.

You already know what to do.

The two faces of spring.

It may not be spring where you are. February in NorthAmerica usually isn't thought of as spring. Here in the Bay Area, we have had many lovely days of 70' degree weather, which will probably lead to drought later on. Meanwhile, the jonquils are popping up in my yard, gifts from a former self. If you are like me and deal with depression, planting flower bulbs in the fall can help when the darkness descends to spite the weather.