#INSTRUCTION()SET

[nonbinary-octopus]

honestly yeah, fiber arts is magic. you cast spell of warm gloves, spell of nice hat, spell of stuffed animal.

material component: yarn

wand: single hooked wand or double pointed wands, depending on caster's preference

mechanical component: specific motions repeated in a particular pattern

time component: a while

look seriously the first step in a knitting recipe is "cast on", and then it's a bunch of letters and numbers incomprehensible to anyone not versed in the arcane art. that's a spellbook. yes it's a book of knitting patterns but also. it's a spell book.

[scribefindegil]

Checked a bunch of houseplant books out of the library to see if they could help me with my poor long-suffering calathea and I *really* enjoy "The New Plant Parent" by Darryl Cheng. Does a better job than any other source I've encountered at explaining what plant-care instructions actually *mean*, and the focus on learning how plants behave in your specific environment instead of idealized best practices is really refreshing. If you're new to houseplants or have found other books frustrating, see if your library has a copy!

[justbeingnamaste]

I’ve never seen the FBI engaged in a crime scene cleanup…they always have ‘cleaning’ contractors.

Murder scenes can be cordoned for weeks or longer but an attempted assassination on a former President gets pressured washed after 2 days? Just as the FBI is seen washing away crime scene evidence where the shooter opened fire to assassinate President Trump

FBI = Following Biden's Instructions

[uwmspeccoll]

Typography Tuesday

Every spring semester when I teach INFOST 603: History of Books & Printing in person (I teach it online in the fall), I have my students (mostly from Information Studies) set type and print a collaborative broadside. I set a theme (this year, "Springtime Milwaukee"), have each student send me a very short phrase related to that theme, and then I arrange the lines as an exquisite corpse poem.

This year, we met at Adam Beadel's Team Nerd Press/Grove Gallery, where each student set their individual line in various fonts of wood type. These were locked up on a poster press in the poetic arrangement, and everyone got to ink up the form in a kaleidoscope of colors and pull their own prints. After reading about the invention of type and the beginning of letterpress, the only way to fully understand the nature of that technology is to do it yourself!

Thanks to Melissa, our Special Collections Library Assistant (and student in the class), for taking the pictures.

View other field trip posts from INFOST 603.

View more posts with wood type.

View our other Typography Tuesday posts.

– MAX, Head, Special Collections

[leclercskiesahead]

I love that Carlos has the face and body that is obviously model-worthy and has shown that he can pose and catwalk for a photoshoot or filming, however other times just stands there and stares

[fanfoolishness]

Just thought of how the Lighthouse seems to pull things that are needed and wanted into being…

Rook or Neve walk into the pantry to visit Lucanis and find him furiously blushing and shoving a book behind his back. “Spite must have… found it somewhere,” he sputters. “I don’t know how it got here!”

It’s the Antivan version of a Joy of Sex book, half straight titillation, half earnestly detailed instruction manual, and all of it, according to the Lighthouse, needed and wanted.

Lucanis is mortified. But I can see Neve or Rook just sitting down beside him with a matter-of-fact grin and asking if there’s any good chapters. 😂

[tj-crochets]

Blorbo pattern is below the read more! Based on this post by @thewiglesswonder

Sew the darts on the two Blorbo body pieces

Sew the two Blorbo body pieces to each other, right sides together (sew the curved edge, and leave the straight line at the bottom unsewn)

Sew the Blorbo body base to the bottom of the Blorbo body pieces (pin it well, with the front roughly in line with the dart on the front half of the body; this does not have to be precise, Blorbo can be a little irregularly shaped, it’s fine). Leave an opening for turning of a few inches left unsewn, turn the body right side out

Put two leg pieces right sides together and sew the side seams (leave the top, where it attaches to the body, and the bottom, where it will attach to the foot, unsewn). Repeat with the second leg.

Pin a foot piece to the bottom of a leg, with the front of the foot roughly lined up with the seam at the front of the foot. Sew around (this can be a little tricky, it might be easier to hand sew than to machine sew this part). Repeat with second leg and foot. Turn legs right side out through the opening at the top of the leg

Finishing:

Embroider the face, either before step 2 or after step 3

Stuff the body at any point after step 3, after embroidering the face

Sew the opening for turning in the body closed

Stuff the legs after step 5. Tuck the seam allowance at the top inside the leg; I ended up tucking about ½” of fabric in instead of ¼” to make the leg a bit shorter, but if you are using an extra fluffy fabric you might want it closer to the ¼”

Pin the legs in place on the front of Blorbo and ladder stitch around the base of the leg

You’re done!!! Enjoy your new blorbo, and if you post it on tumblr I’d love to be tagged @tj-crochets (that’s not a requirement for using the pattern, you do not have to do it, I just love seeing things people make from patterns I wrote)

[novahazard24]

Built a chimera from my old lego dragons

They weren't lying when they said that a person's 20s are for rediscovering old stuff. This is my first genuine lego creation in like 10 years (ignore the fact that I turned 20 less than a week ago, still counts)

[captainjonnitkessler]

The Stormlight Archive 🤝 Dragonlance 🤝 epic doorstopper fantasy books that are very enjoyable if you can get past the Mormonism that keeps seeping in

[d8tl55c]

oh boy !! ! ! ! !!! ! thANK y0u all for the kind words on my last art posts. you all get it and i was/still am so happy about it

as promised, here's some close-ups of the comic for image quality's sake, and other screenshots i rescued from the community whiteboard (and something else)

first up another sketch of mystery gender-ambiguous being. (please send me more name ideas for them if you got one- i like to hear em! (reminder it's the side character that appeared for <10 seconds in AvM Ep. 30))

a few fav scenes

emotional support cwab

they weren't meant for this purpose exactly, but i do have countless "fluffy sticks" loose in my notes and homework sheets from the school years.

papery critter.

even when i wasn't confident in fur or feathers, they helped me practice posing and create some satisfying gradients/flowing poses. (im a sucker for good tail poses) (oh yay! i found a good pic...)

and finally, little sneak peak for you for reading so far ;3

i realized that whiteboardfox is pretty great for my working needs. simple and to the point and all. feels nice with the mouse and the tablet.

so i started hashing out a big project idea just to see if it holds up and

[

several hours later ...

]

oh

oh man

it's a little bigger than i expected

<next>

[krotiation]

Evil thoughts won today

[flavorcraftrecipes]

Cottage Cheese Flatbread: Soft, Savory, and Gluten-Free 🍞 Ingredients: 1 cup cottage cheese (blended until smooth) 2 large eggs 1 cup almond flour (or oat flour for a different texture) 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional) 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 1 tbsp olive oil (for brushing) 1 tbsp fresh herbs (optional – parsley, basil, or chives) Instructions: Preheat Oven: Set to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Blend Wet Ingredients: In a bowl, mix or blend cottage cheese and eggs until smooth. Add Dry Ingredients: Stir in almond flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix until a sticky dough forms. Shape the Flatbread: Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, forming a thin, even layer. Bake: Place in the oven for 18-22 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Brush & Serve: Lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Serve warm with dips, toppings, or as a sandwich wrap!

GlutenFreeFlatbread #CottageCheeseMagic #HealthyBaking #EasyRecipes

[thebluestbluewords]

Dis-like-Dysentery

I have a lot of very specific headcanons about Auradon Prep, and one of them is the fact that Jay is both a Smart Guy, and also chronically incapable of turning in assignments on time. For. Reasons.

this might be about one of those reasons.

+

Carlos looks up from his plate as Jay wanders over. “Dude, where were you? We started eating without you.” 

“Talking to a teacher. I submitted an assignment wrong, or something.” 

Carlos nods. He’s got a fork dangling from one hand, and there’s a leaf stuck in his hair. Sunlit from behind, Jay’s pretty sure that he’s the prettiest boy on this side of the barrier. “Oh, man. Was it Demorra? She’s super strict about the rules, especially for the online stuff. I could’ve helped you figure it out bro, you don’t have to get through her bureaucratic shit on your own.” 

Jay sets his tray down on the opposite side of the table. “Nah. It was Williams.” 

Carlos frowns. “The international lit teacher? Really?” 

They’ve been reading through Jay’s lit assignments together. Auradon expects them to type up all of their homework, so he’s been getting by with the hacked dictation program on his laptop and locking himself in the bathroom to read his essays out loud into the program with the minimum of background noise. 

There’s a peer writing tutor who does proofreading two nights a week for free, but Jay’s not gonna take his shitty essays in to her when he’s pretty sure he’ll just get laughed right back out of the student study room for the giant default font Carlos set on his computer. 

It doesn’t exactly make reading his own assignments easier, but it doesn’t make it worse either, so they’re calling it functional for now. Auradon Prep is all about “helping students embrace their unique academic talents”, so Carlos and Evie are both being pulled for more advanced classes, which is great for them, and terrible for Jay’s essays because it’s seriously starting to cut into their free time. 

That, and the trouble they’ve been getting up to after hours. 

The assistant gym teacher still hasn’t figured out who to blame for French braiding all the climbing ropes together. 

“She couldn’t read my handwriting.” 

“Fuck.” 

That’s about the shape of it. Handwritten assignments are few and far between, but Jay can’t bullshit his way through all of them. “Haha, yeah.” 

Carlos thunks his head down onto the table. “Ugh. Fuck. I can make you a handwriting font on the computer, but that’ll make in-class assignments worse if you can’t keep it up.” 

“Yup.” 

He sits up. There’s a dent on his forehead from pressing it into the table. “Eat.” 

“Not hungry,” Jay says as cheerfully as he can manage. It’s not gonna fool Carlos, but he’s not gonna show weakness in front of the royal rabble. “Anyway, we’re not going to the honor board. She’s willing to settle it with some sorta evaluation. Have you heard of dyslexia before?” 

Carlos blinks. “Dyslexia? No. I mean. It’s gotta be dis from like, disinterested, disintegrating, some sort of anti? Or else it’s dys from like, dysentery. Some sort of illness, maybe. Lex has gotta be from lexicon, lexicography. Something to do with either anti-words or a words illness? Does she think you’re sick of words?” 

Jay shrugs. “She said it’s why I’m bad at reading. Wants me to do an assessment so she can know what’s going on.” 

Carlos already has his phone out. He’s typing with one hand, the other one curled around his plate in a defensive hunch that’s almost casual. “Huh. How’s that going for her so far?” 

Jay snorts. “Fab. Nah, she didn’t do it yet. It’s a whole special test that she’s gotta send me down to the psych for.” 

“Can you reject it?” 

“If I wanna meet with the honor board and explain why I apparently have great handwriting, but only when they can’t see me do the assignments.” 

“Fuck.” 

“Yeah. At least she was cool about it.” 

Carlos groans. “Your handwriting sucks, dude. You’re not sick of writing, you’re just— your handwriting sucks.” 

“Yeah, and my fucking reading comprehension. I—“ Jay cuts himself off abruptly as the shadow of more people falls across their lunch table. “Hey, guys.” 

Mal sets her lunch tray down on Jay’s left side, leaving Ben the spot on his right. Evie’s not eating with them today. They have other friends in theory, but between Doug’s science club buddies and Carlos’s general disinterest in socializing with other humans, they didn’t bother picking a table large enough for anyone else.  

“Sorry,” Ben apologizes, even as he’s nudging his shoulder against Jay’s. It’s nice not being the only tall one sometimes. “I couldn’t help overhearing.” 

Jay leans back into the contact. “We were talking out loud, dude. It happens. You got any hot tips for the stupid assessment I’ve gotta do later?” 

“Have you tried being better?” Mal suggests. “I find that cheating works great. I could find you a spell to let one of us borrow your hands for a few hours, and so long as you can tell us what you want to write, we can control the muscles and get better handwriting than your usual chicken scratch special.” 

“Hey.”

“Would that work if you can’t see the paper?” Ben asks curiously. 

Mal frowns. “No. Not unless I modify the spell to possess your eyes too.” 

Jay represses a shudder. “Thanks, but no thanks, M. I like my eyes in one piece.” 

Carlos is scrolling rapidly on his phone, hanging half-over the table in an attempt to get closer to the three of them. “Dude, dyslexia is a brain thing that affects how you process visual input of words— aw, shit.” 

Bad. That’s the bad-news tone. Jay’s heart drops traitorously into his stomach, which suddenly isn’t feeling the tater tots on his lunch tray. “What?” 

Carlos shakes his head. “Nothing too bad. Just, I think Williams is right. You’ve said you’re shit at reading fast cause the words all look the same, right? Like, you can’t scan to identify them, you’ve gotta sound each one out.” 

Jay smashes a tater tot with the side of his fork. The destruction doesn’t make his gut feel any better. It’s not that he’s mad, it’s just— he doesn’t want to do this. Analyzing his brain sucks. He did the whole week of required therapy that the student disciplinary council required after the stuff with Mal’s mom, and he’s so fucking done with Auradon grown-ups pretending to understand why his head’s fucked up. “Yeah, so?” 

Carlos waves the phone at him. “So that’s what this is. You’ve got a brain disorder.” 

“We can fix it, right?” 

He wiggles a hand back and forth. “Ehh. Kinda. There’s techniques to make it easier, but it’s sorta like— your brain is wired for AC power input, and words are DC. It’s a misalignment. We can make an adaptor, but we can’t rip out your brain wiring.” 

“I could,” Mal offers. “I love doing illegal magic.”

[tvheadfalls]

my ass has not been drawing for weeks, have a doodle comp. feat lake and kat as per usual and some unnamed brain ghosts

[quixoticanarchy]

nothing like extreme hot weather to just deactivate my brain wholesale

[uwmspeccoll]

Typography Tuesday

PRINTING WITH WOOD TYPE!

Every semester, when we finally get to the invention of letterpress printing in Europe in my History of Books & Printing course, we all head over to a local print shop to set type and print a collaborative broadside. Last week we did just that and went over to Adam Beadel's Team Nerd Letterpress in the Walker's Point neighborhood of Milwaukee.

Usually, we compose in metal type, as that is what the students just learned about, but Adam recently received a huge influx of foundry type that wasn't set up yet, so we had to use wood type instead. Even though we wouldn't learn about the invention of production wood type for a few weeks, we were game because wood type is the best!

Each student was assigned to come up with a 3-5-word phrase based on the theme of "Transitions." They set their own phrase in wood type, I arranged the phrases into an exquisite corpse poem, we locked up the type on the bed of a poster press, and pulled a proof in blue ink (second to last image). Everyone was satisfied with the results, and with only a couple of adjustments, the students went on a tear, inking up the type in a rainbow of colors (last image), and pulling 15 more prints. Everyone went home exhausted and happy.

There are few things more thrilling than making your own letterpress prints. Thanks Adam!!!

View another letterpress post from a previous book history session.

View other posts on wood type.

View our other Typography Tuesday posts.

-- MAX, Head, Special Collections