Geek of the Week: Sunita Williams

Here we honor Muggle geeks who embody Ravenclaw spirit...
when they succeed, they soar, and when they fail, they fail spectacularly!

Sunita Williams (b. 1965)
"We’re up there, using the ISS to figure out how to go other places in the universe."

Sunita Williams is hardcore AND super smart.  Let's make a list of records, shall we:

* Record total cumulative spacewalk time by a female astronaut (50 hrs 40 mins).
* Record total number of spacewalks by a female astronaut (7)
* Longest single space flight by a female astronaut (195 days; 10 Dec 06 - 22 Jun 07)
* First marathon by an astronaut in orbit (Boston Marathon, on a treadmill, not kidding, OMB you guys; 16 Apr 2007)
* First space triathalon by an astronaut in orbit (whaaaaaat Sep 2012)
* Second woman in history to command the International Space Station

She's back on Earth now -- but she recorded a tour of the ISS before she left; check it out!

SCIENCE!

Read Suni's NASA blogs (her "last day on the ISS" post has a Harry Potter reference!).
Find out more about Sunita Williams on Wikipedia.

Quidditch Game 1 Update

Hello fellow Claws! Have you heard about the Fruitcake Frenzy that's going on? As of the other day, we are still a bit behind the other houses. Believe it or not, it ends Tuesday night at midnight POT. When it comes to requirements, this game only requires that the yarn is not monochromatic. As a friendly reminder, there are no yardage minimums. Let's take a look at some great submissions that already made their way on to the pitch.

FangAili knit the adorable tiny pear and tiny cupcake pictured below.

SarahTheEntwife handspun the tasty looking yarn pictured below.

ValkyrieLHWB also added her lovely handspun to the pitch.

Akasha111182, inspired by cranberry orange fruitcake, dyed the yarn pictured below.

Omeletsmom crocheted this adorable, colorful octopus.

So as you can see, there are a lot of fun ways to participate in this game. Don't forget about the charity bonus and don't forget to SOAR, RAVENCLAW!!!!

Classroom Showcase

Here are some of the things Ravenclaws have been up to this week:

Herbology
electronjam made this little kiwi in honor of the kiwi's shrill bird call. Look at how "screaming" cute it is!

Potions
knotnknit brewed up a quick Wit Sharpening potion with fantastic results. That deep blue is gorgeous!

COMC
Meilindis crafted this adorable bird rattle to give comfort to her newborn nephew.

Charms
These beautiful lavendar mittens will make it easier for Lavenderblueskies to grip a snow shovel while protecting her from harsh winter weather.

DADA
LadyRadagast, inspired by "They Can't Catch Us All," by The Weasel King, crafted this shawlette to wear to a wrock concert. 

Divination
Elekanahmen is preparing for her brother's wedding by knitting him a blanket. Check out this square that was using a pattern called "Cat's Cradle."

Muggle Studies
Jayannell fulfilled her promise to test knit a doll skirt for catdragon when she knit the steampunk inspired skirt pictured below.

Flying
Dawntreader7 quickly started her go-to project when she found out about a cousin's baby shower and finished it in less than 24 hours. 

What lovely projects these are! Soar Ravenclaw!

Common Room Recap January 25-27

This Weekend in Ravenclaw

• Many Raven-children have the climbing gene it seems.
• And then there were muppets, so many delightful muppets!
• Ohio Claw meet-up happened here.
• Raederle's new job sounds interesting!

 

Queen of Silly: how chatty can you be?

Hello hello hello! This week, we're taking a look into the place where angels fear to tread, where you can go eat lunch and then never see the light of day again...

THE COMMON ROOM!

You've seen the recaps. You know how far behind you might be. Or, alternately, you may be the chattiest voice in the place! I doff my cap to thee, if that's the case. (ha! that rhymed!) But, did you ever really wonder how things really stand?
Well, if you didn't, I don't want to hear about it. Because I have the answers for your burning questions right here!
First off, let's answer the question "on what days of the week do people post most frequently?"

LOOK AT THAT BELL CURVE. SO SEXY.

It looks like we have a clear winner: Wednesday! I guess people just need a little respite from reality in the middle of the week. (I know I do.)
Before term started, I think we can all agree that the post volume was Crazy with a capital C. I took the averages of the posts/day, and this is what I found:

The posts/day nearly halved after January 1st! I guess that little hobby that we do got in the way of chatter.

Tune in next week for more answers for your burning questions! As always, if there's something that you want sillified, please PM me. Silly out!

Common Room Recap January 21-24

This Week in Ravenclaw

• The things we wonder about can lead to some very strange conversations in the Common Room, educational...but strange.
• Guidlines for cold weather running.
• A shining example of how Ravenclaws look out for one another.
• Awwwwww bokibaby!

 

Geek of the Week: J.R.R. Tolkien

Here we honor Muggle geeks who embody Ravenclaw spirit...
when they succeed, they soar, and when they fail, they fail spectacularly!

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973)
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is the suitably fancy full name of the father of high fantasy literature. Ronald to his friends, he was well known as a linguistics nerd. Tolkien learned Latin, French, and German from his mother; studied Middle English, Old English, Finnish, Gothic, Greek, Italian, Old Norse, Spanish, Welsh, and Medieval Welsh at school; and invented Quenya, Sindarin, Adûnaic, and Naffarin for funsies.

He was employed at the OED, and as the youngest professor at the University of Leeds, before he wrote The Hobbit and the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings while on fellowship at Pembroke College.

Tolkien and the love of his life, Edith, had four kids: JFR, MHR, CJR, and PMAR.  He and Edith have the names Beren and Lúthien engraved on their headstones.

Find out more about J.R.R. Tolkien on Wikipedia.
Or read a biographical sketch at The Tolkien Society website.

p.s. They're taking the hobbits to Isengard.
p.p.s. One does not simply walk into Mordor.
p.p.p.s. Carefully, carefully, with the plates.
p.p.p.p.s. Fool of a Took!

Common Room Recap January 18-20

This Weekend in Ravenclaw

• Congrats to raederle on her new job!
• A cuttlefish update.
• The details on the first Quiddy event.
• A booklist for wee people of the female persuasion.

 

Queen of Silly: Quidditch Edition!

Hello! This week we're introducing a new feature on the blog: silly graphs! Since Game 1 of Quidditch is over and done, this week's graphs will focus on everything you never knew you wanted to know about Quiddy mascots.
First off, let's see what kind of things people are making.

Among the non-"other" categories, mammal takes a decisive lead. Mammals included everything from hedgehogs to hamsters, while the "other" ranged from Daleks to mini-socks to actual robes! Fun fact: 95% of the projects in the "other" category were charity hats made by Hufflepuffs.

note: this may not be an actual statistic. shhhh.

Yes, yes, that's all well and good, you say, but what colours were these magnificent projects? Well, gentle reader, I am here to tell you. 

A whopping 40% of Quidditch mascots were neither blue, yellow, green, nor red. So much for house pride! However, I am happy to report that Ravenclaw Blue took the lead in the non-"other" category. Win!

See you next week, dear readers! If you have a suggestion for a silly graph, or have something that you've always wanted to know, please PM me with your suggestions. Silly out!

Common Room Recap January 14-17

This Week in Ravenclaw

• Further raederle job update, and another.
• SFcorgi lures in case you need them.
• I didn't know either, but it sounds really interesting!
• The Headgirl weights the use of violence in two recent movies.
• While Drake was not the first to posit the honey crystal solution in the CR her explanation is the most complete...and amusing.
• Ohhhh ouch ouch ouch! Feel better soon TriGirlJ!
• Dru had sad news, candle lit!

 

Classwork Showcase: Mid-January

What's been going on this month?  A whole lotta crafting!  Here are some of the fabulous finished objects turned in for classes thus far...

Care of Magical Creatures

This pouch, knit in the dazzling silver of a toddler unicorn, was adapted by KnitByMoonlight89 from a free mitten pattern -- very resourceful!

Charms
This cheerful doily bowl is perfect for containing the effects of the Sunny Day Charm; well done, Kessanlin, and beautifully photographed.

Defense Against the Dark Arts
Greenheron is prepared to meet up with friends at a wrock concert with this Gryffindor themed hat.

Divination
While researching Cats Claw bark, Pyai acquired some herself and crafted this lovely candle holder. She charmed it to keep her bark hidden from potential thieves. Smart thinking!

Flying
Poor BrineyDeep had a sad sad story. BUT! Ravenclaws overcome, beautifully in this case :)

Herbology
PorcupineSnuggles dyed this beautiful, soothing yarn to calm a baby mandrake.

Muggle Studies
CarinCoralie had promised to knit this black sweater for her daughter, but found it difficult to knit with double-held black yarn in low light. She also found it hot to knit in warm weather. By the time she returned to it, her daughter was on to other colors; she decided to finish it for herself. Now that's determination!

Potions
Digitaldiina used a self-stirring cauldron to create this beautiful shawl. Look at the colours! Gorgeous.

Let's keep the incredible classwork coming, everyone!  We'll see you again next Thursday with more beautiful projects.

Geek of the Week: Rita Levi-Montalcini

Here we honor Muggle geeks who embody Ravenclaw spirit...
when they succeed, they soar, and when they fail, they fail spectacularly!

Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909 - 2012)

"Above all, don’t fear difficult moments. The best comes from them."

Imagine you're a Jewish Italian female born in 1909, just after Europe's worst earthquake; you witness two World Wars, both Italian-hosted Olympic Games, myriad changes in national government, and frequently shifting societal attitudes, before you die in 2012 at the age of 103.  Still with me?

Now imagine your barrier-breaking research work advances the study of neural growth disorders (cancer, Alzheimer's, etc.) through the discovery, isolation, and manipulation of nerve growth factor; your collaboration with colleague Stanley Cohen wins the 1986 Nobel prize for physiology and medicine.

This has been but a glancing glimpse at the life of Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini -- may she rest in peace.

Please read more about Rita Levi-Montalcini...
from the Guardian.
from the New York Times.
on Wikipedia.

Quidditch Challenge 1: Completed!

The Hogsmeade mascot challenge is on the books and Ravenclaw is on the map!  Let's see some of the fantastic projects from the pitch...

The Hogsmeade Hamsterbeans have a strong showing,
care of knotnknit, RavenclawPrefect, Treep, TriGirlJ, and senkatnovo:

Anisa, jessdhill, rondaletts, kokopelli99, and KristyRecycles wanted to scare the Hogsmeade opponents silly; these monsters love Quidditch!:

The owls have it -- and could field their own team, thanks to boyswillbeboys, katzenwolle, hopesclan, Eiseldora, MariaCrafts, LadyRadagast, Drake, digitaldiina, omeletsmom, Secrettrail, lavenderblueskies, DJackson, bknips, kaypendragon, and AriadneWebb:

There's no denying the creativity behind FangAili's Burninators, gojenn's Slithy Toves, rebuky's Hippogriffs, and electronjam's Hirsutes ...

...and seakame took flight with her Quidditch tableau for the Hogsmeade Flying Chickens!

And now for a slice of Quidditch pie: we didn't place first in this challenge, but we totally tied with Slytherin and had 42% participation within the house!

SOAR RAVENCLAW!


NEXT UP: Game 1
Fruitcake Frenzy: January 19-29
Make something inspired by fruitcake in some manner. Only ONE rule: no single-colored, solid dyed objects.  Answers to the inevitable questions can be found in the Tower Quidditch thread.

REMEMBER to use the tag ClawQ14Frenzy in your turn-in post; projects for charity (tag CharityQ14) get a FIVE POINT BONUS.  Bonus!

Common Room Recap January 11-13

This Weekend in Ravenclaw

• Keeping our fingers crossed for you!
• Well at least it doesn't stink of elderberries too!
• The Headmistress Challenge is up!
• The EldestCake performing!

 

Classwork Showcase

 

We are full swing into the first month of the new term. Can you believe it? Let's take a moment to admire some of the eye catching work that has been submitted thus far.

CoMC: 

This Lambchop Hoodie is trikel's adorable contribution to the study of adult unicorns.

Charms:

It certainly is easier to prevent burns when a hot pot has a handle cozy -- great idea, knotnknit!  

DADA:

Victrix, inspired by Snape's potion riddle that helped to guard the Philosopher's Stone, crafted this innocent looking beaker for her friend who has just completed her toxicology PhD.

Divination:

Kaypendragon had a little help from her lab partner, Dr. Holmes, when she crafted this adorable baby hat.

 

Flying:

You all have heard of the Hogsmead Hallucinations, yes? Well pictured below is the mascot and below that are the Quidditch robes Cyprienne came up with to go with the mascot. Simply smashing.

Herbology:

FatesLady redyed this formerly screaming yarn into a pretty purple. 

Muggle Studies:

KountingSheep fulfilled her broken OWL promise when she completed her wedding shawl pictured below.

   

Potions:

KristyRecycles used a self-stirring cauldron to make coasters that will help a Slytherin friend hold on to their drinks.  

What a lovely bunch of crafts. Be sure to meet us here next week for another round of the Classwork Showcase!