Posts

HISTORY150 - Kumihimo: Japanese Braiding

Image
A few blogs ago, I wrote about (the history of) knitting, an artform that Pat is really good at.  Another artform that Pat excels at is kumihimo, Japanese braiding.  Here is another subject, as close as I’ve been to seeing Pat practice it, that I know very little about.  So, this blog will document “The History of Kumihimo.” The History of Kumihimo       After an introduction, I will talk about kumihimo’s early roots, kumihimo’s evolution through Japanese history, the specialized looms required, how kumihimo today has turned into a popular craft activity (including some examples from Pat’s recent work), and finally, the future of kumihimo. As usual, I will list my principal sources at the end.   Introduction Kumihimo is the traditional Japanese art of braiding threads into structurally complex cords.   Spanning over 1,400 years of innovation, its development reflects the shif...
1 comment
Read more

HISTORY149 - Daylight Savings Time

Image
President Trump’s recent attempts to eliminate daylight savings time have resulted in Congressional action to implement his goal, although final resolution of this issue is far from determined.  After taking a quick look at the proposal, I discovered that there is a long, turbulent history on this topic - little known to me, and others I suspect.   So, this blog will cover the history of daylight savings time. After a short introduction, I will discuss how ancient civilizations addressed the subject; early efforts to provide daylight savings time (DST); formal actions to adopt DST in the two world wars and the 1973 energy crisis; the turmoil between these historical periods; the special cases of Arizona, Hawaii, and U.S. territories; and finally, current efforts to change DST. As usual, I will list my principal sources at the end.   Introduction Daylight saving time (DST) is the practice of advancing clocks to make better use of the longer daylight availa...
Post a Comment
Read more