Merry Retro Science Fiction Christmas

Behind on my Summer Reading

Most of you have probably finished all of the books on your summer reading list already. I'm close, but have three more that are staring at me from atop my stack of books with only about a week of reading left. One is The Bible, and then there are these:

This one will require some permanent construction changes to my bathroom, but will result in both the removal of the evil inside me and clear my skin.

Slogging through 450 pages of Texas rancher bios is going to be tough, but I think I'll be able to get through it. Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time on my new horizontal toilet (I'm saving Vol. 2 for next summer).

I'll be running short of time when I get around to The Bible, but luckily I found this version which edits the unimportant stuff and illustrates what's left with doodles. This is a version I can understand. I will not worship sock monkeys.

Fun With Nuns

Who was the life of the party at the 1910 Golden Jubilee celebration for the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of Lafayette, Indiana? I know the answer because I've read the book. You can guess by voting below.

Was it the Foundress, Mother Theresa?

Mother Paula?

Sister Clara?

Sister Alphonsa?

Or was it Sister M. Rose?

Found

I originally created this blog after I was inspired by the found.com website, which has now morphed into Found Magazine.

I enjoy going through a box of old books and seeing what I find inside the volumes. These were found yesterday in medical texts from the 1930s and 1940s:

From Shutter Island?

This Art Deco bookmark would make for a nice tramp stamp.

Other bookmarks:

What to Expect When You Are Expecting - The Great Depression Edition

We've all seen this book:

Women of the 1930s had a much different book to guide them through their pregnancies.

Published in 1937, this comprehensive guide offered 384 illustrations and 724 pages to help prepare nurses and expectant mothers for parenthood.

Women then could choose a delivery at a friendly, comforting hospital -

or even their own kitchens, where enameled pans waited on the floor for emergencies.

Whatever the choice of venue, the person handling the emerging baby had to be sure to wear insulated gloves able to buffer at least 500 volts of electricity.

As delivery time approached, it was essential to induce a quick labor with castor oil, quinine, and the insertion of an inflatable "Voorhies bag" into the cervix.

The delivery? That was not be be seen nor remembered. All you needed was your choice of dream juice:


When the mother woke up after the birth, it was time to start breast feeding. However, this feeding was only optimal if the breasts were absolutely perpendicular to the torso. This could accomplished with a roll of tape and an easy wrapping procedure.

If breast feeding was too difficult, the bottle-fed child had a variety of implements to take its nutrition safely and easily, including a lead nipple cover.

The post delivery period often involved many problems with excessive bleeding. Several pages of this manual are devoted to the analysis and care of this problem. Even if the fist method didn't work as an emergency tampon, you can see from the text at the top of the facing page that blood transfusions could be fun and interesting, especially if you received blood from someone with a personality type different than your own.

And we can all learn from our mistakes. Babies should not be put out to sun in pure wool, but in a blend of wool and cotton.

The First JISMA

I hesitate to dip my toe in the martial arts waters again, but I have to share this find from the San Marcos Goodwill store. It the first ever issue of the Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies in the Martial Arts (JISMA). They chose the acronym, not me.

The journal started in 1979 as an attempt to add to the scholarly studies of martial arts with contributions from yogis, Sartre-mopers, Art Bell listeners and chiropodists.

Although the journal promised semi-annual publication on its subscription card, it appeared to have trouble finding worthwhile contributions. This letter from the JISMA editor was inside the edition I found. Was the mysterious Mr. Kim able to save JISMA? Maybe some of my readers battling it out in my Lin Kong Jing post can help me out.

Go to the Movies

The older my friends get, the less they go to the movies. There's jobs, kids, Netflix and other excuses. You should go.

Chrisabelle, DVM

Thanks to my local thrift store, I will soon be performing surgery on alpacas in my Christ-centered clown persona.

Don't worry, I will strictly adhere to the Clown Code of Ethics by not consuming alcohol during the surgeries and by removing my makeup immediately after the procedures.