English Major Armadillo, or, Memes I Wish Would Catch On

I started reading this tumblr recently...

http://fyeahenglishmajorarmadillo.tumblr.com

I am so very amused. Now, should the question arise, I can tell non-bibliophiles that I am an armadillo (not this kind of armadillo, mind you). If not a separate species, certainly we're a tribe unto ourselves, at least on the internet(s). Exhibit A: Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog.

Someone please make one for history majors. How about History Major Kangaroo? Or History Major Hippopotamus (which has a nice alliterative ring to it)? (If there already is one, please do send it my way! One can never have too many nerdy web-humor sites bookmarked.)

Edit: There is one! It's called History Major Heraldic Beast, which is much cleverer than either kangaroo or hippopotamus.

Cover-a-Week #11: "Kilkelly, Ireland" by Steven and Peter Jones

Since I seem to be posting holiday-themed covers, here's one for St. Patrick's Day:


http://youtu.be/GLesdkguTWk

It's a wonderful sliver of history wrapped in a beautiful melody. Enjoy -- I did!

Cover-a-Week #10: "Finite Simple Group (of Order Two)" by Klein Four

For Pi Day (slightly belated), I decided to cover a math-themed song, by the extremely nerdy a cappella group Klein Four...


http://youtu.be/d1TzNJhrM98

The shirt was one of the more useful nerdy gifts I've received. The armwarmers are my own handiwork; they have separate little sleeve-like protrusions for the thumbs. One trick for knitting armwarmers: if you don't want to decrease and increase the circumference (as the wrist is thinner than the elbow and the hand), knit vertical ribs, which naturally scrunch up.

The Economist: Piero della Francesca at the Frick

I saw this article about the Piero della Francesca exhibition at the Frick, and went to see it over the weekend:

http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21571857-introducing-early-renaissance-master-american-audiences-divine-splendour

The show is well worth seeing, though I admit to being somewhat biased because I'm a fan of the Frick. It's one of those small, very specifically curated museums that a visitor can see in its entirety in just a few hours. It's worth visiting more than once if you live in New York, though -- there are always a few special installations (often pieces on loan from other countries, such as the above) -- and it's the sort of place one visits to soak in the ambiance. It has this beautiful central courtyard vaguely reminiscent of the villas of Classical Rome (covered, though), and a few surprisingly well-known works, including some lesser-known works of rather famous artists.

Anyhow, the Piero della Francesca exhibit. If you're at all interested in Renaissance art history, and you're in the City, go see it.

Cover-a-Week #9: "The Three Ravens" (traditional)

"The Three Ravens" is an old English folk ballad first written down in the early 1600s, and later (more famously) collected among the Childe Ballads. It's a wonderful, grim little piece, and I thought I'd have a crack at it:


http://youtu.be/lFP9dDMpsmw

I'm rather fond of Renaissance-era music; I have Greensleeves and Scarborough Faire on my list of songs to learn.