7 Quick Takes Friday — 6/24/11

Hello! As promised, here are this week's quick takes…

— 1 —

I saw this post at The Happiness Project, and one part in particular caught my interest:

I started asking my friends, “Do you have an area of weird, crazy knowledge? Where you know far more than most people, without making a special effort to study? A limitless curiosity about a particular subject?” A surprising number of people answer “Yes.” How about you? Do you have an area where you have an intense desire to learn? And that subject could be anything -- baseball statistics, song lyrics, anything.

Yes, I definitely have one. I certainly don’t know as much as some people, but I think I know more than the average person about old Hollywood movies, actors, and actresses. It’s a topic that fascinates me to an extent so I naturally just found myself soaking up stuff about it. I’m not sure if this is the best use of my brain capacity, but oh well. I’m just grateful for the Internet; my family has no idea how to relate to my fandoms. Haha. I actually have a blog and a Tumblr about classic film. So, what’s one topic you know more about than the average person?

— 2 —

Despite the fact that I don’t know how to sew, rarely wear dresses, and have a size that keeps changing, I’ve been thinking lately how much fun it would be to make some retro-inspired dresses. I really love the style from the 50s and 60s, and I wish people still dressed like that. I might have to do a separate post on this… In the meantime, here are some things that are inspiring me. The trick, I think, is to take the best from that era and use fabric and cuts that still look contemporary enough to wear today. 

 — 3 —

I received an email this week from an author seeking to promote his new Catholic fiction book. I’m not sure that this is a book that I personally would be interested in, but I said I would mention it on my blog for those interested in this genre. I haven’t read the book, obviously, but I admire the author’s initiative. Here is a brief synopsis of the story: “Guided by a mysterious old friend, forlorn Catholic professor Fred Sankt unlocks the hidden truths of the past two thousand years, and struggles to achieve a heavenly reprieve from the deep and dark troubles that mercilessly haunt him.” You can learn more by visiting the author’s site, GoodReads, Amazon, or CatholicFiction.net. From these sources I gauged that it is faithful to Catholic teaching (I wouldn’t support it otherwise), though I admit that the premise does sound a little strange to me. If you’ve read it, let me know what you think!

— 4 —

I thought this was a really great article at The Modern Mrs. Darcy about “How to Graciously Accept a Compliment”. This is not something I am very good at but the post gives some very practical tips for responses.

 — 5 —

I have heard some debate about whether soy is healthy or not. This article (found via Mama Pea) does a great job at putting things in perspective and providing the research to back it up. I generally still try to eat soy in moderation, though, and avoid soy isolates when I can.

— 6 —

I’ve had this Cuisinart ice cream maker for about a year and have only used it twice (oops!). The thing is, I can’t really get it to work! Both times I have used it nothing has happened. The mixture is still just as liquid-y when it comes out as it is when it goes in. I think the base is not freezing completely or something. Does anyone have one of these and can offer some tips? I think it’s a fairly common model (I did some research before I got this one). It does annoy me that it doesn’t work but I can’t complain too much considering it was free (I got it through a CSN stores blogger promotion). :)

— 7 — Yesterday was my feastday—that of St. Etheldreda (aka, St. Audrey). I was actually named after my great aunt but I guess St. Etheldreda is my patron (one of them; I suppose my confirmation saint is also my patron. I’m not sure how that all works). I never really connected much to Etheldreda’s story (it’s kind of an odd one) but I’m sure she was a very holy woman. And…I have no idea why I’m writing this. I guess just for those of you who always wondered if there was a St. Audrey. {P.S. Congratulations if this paragraph made any sense!}

***“7 Quick Takes Friday” is hosted by Conversion Diary***

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“Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.”  ~ Sophia Loren