Hi all, and thanks for finishing this week at The Cipher. Let's go Tigers.
-Lauren |
Was That The Greatest WNBA Finals Game Ever?
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Two Things We Liked On The Internet Today:
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As I write this, access is still limited to the barrier islands off the coast of Sarasota, Florida. There remains a lot that is still unmeasured, unquantified, and undocumented about the wrath of Hurricane Milton. The damage reports will unfold slowly and painfully, long after those unaffected find something else to fixate on.
So far, 17 people have died in the state, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported, including six people in St. Lucie County after tornadoes spawned by Milton touched down in a retiree mobile home park. President Biden will visit some of the area's affected, as he did after Hurricane Helene.
Yet, I want to acknowledge that it's Friday. And this is Manatee Friday. So, yes, we must also answer another important question: Are the manatees OK?
Here is what I can tell you. I have not seen any reports of injured manatees. In fact, Save the Manatee Club noted in its statement on Milton that manatees, as Florida natives, are "well adapted to the extreme weather in our state." But the mighty manatee still faces risks in storms, including stranding, displacement, habitat destruction, and mother and calves being separated. (SMC has an entire video on this, if you are a visual learner.)
While we wait on word about the manatees, let's enjoy this video of a friendly manatee saying hello to a boat in Lido Key, just off the Sarasota coast.
-Diana Moskovitz |
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Artist's Corner: "Papier-Mache Fraidy Cat" (Thompsons, 2024) |
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I made this papier-mache cat with my daughter, who is three years old. We tore sheets out of a magazine and crumpled them into balls to make the head and body. The legs are rolled up tubes of magazine paper, bent into leg-like shapes. The ears are made of masking tape. The whole body, once formed, was wrapped in two layers of masking tape, so that it would hold its shape while the papier-mache was applied. We then cut strips of magazine paper and dredged them in a solution of flour and water, and wrapped the cat in a couple of layers of this wet stuff. We gave it a day and a night to fully dry. The eyes, nose, ears, and fur were colored with matte acrylic paint. Applying the black fur paint caused some of the papier-mache strips to peel slightly, so we used glue to stick them back down, and then did a round of touch-up paint. Finally, we used shellac to seal the whole thing, which is why it is shiny.
The cat looked ever so slightly cooler when it was matte—the black paint is like TURBO BLACK, downright spooky—but this way it is at least somewhat protected from moisture, which is important because I now love this cat as if it were a living pet. You should try this sometime! It both kicks ass as a time-filler and is very fun and rewarding as a project.
-Chris Thompson |
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