It's been pointed out to me that I have a lot of (useless) knowledge about a variety of things and subjects. It's also been pointed out to me that I'm a nerd.
If I hear or see something that I don't know about, I love to look it up and learn as much as I can. It seems to be a slightly rare thing to do. But it's so fun!
Since I love blogs that have regular posts with links or likes (check out this one, this one, or this one if you need examples), I thought I'd try my hand at creating a series of posts like that for my own blog. But a nerd version, of course.
I plan to share what I've been researching of late. Perhaps some readers will find the subjects as interesting as I do. Sometimes the items may be in depth, sometimes just a little something I recently learned, sometimes research on what I want to learn.
In this introductory post, I'm gonna start with some things I've already looked into earlier this year. In the future, it might be things that I was interested in that week, or month, or something I want to research and haven't had the time yet. These posts will be a good excuse to do so! Going forward, I hope it will be a regular addition to my blog.
Image found via google image search and linked to here. circa 2010.
That Building on 3rd and 3rd in Brooklyn.
Pretty much anyone who lives in Brooklyn has seen and wondered about this strange little building on the corner of 3rd Street and 3rd Ave in the Gowanus area. When I first moved to Brooklyn it was surrounded by an empty lot that backs up to the famed Gowanus Canal (another story for another day, perhaps). But now the building is cornered by a Whole Foods store that took more than 8 years in the making. Apparently it was built around 1872 to house the Coignet Stone Building showroom for the new (to the USA) and revolutionary building material reinforced concrete. The building was made using new techniques for molding reinforced concrete to showcase the material's versatility (now removed and bricked in the 1960s). After the Coignet Stone Company went bust (around 1876), the building was taken over by Edwin Litchfield from whom the land was leased. Litchfield owned a ton of land and buildings throughout Brooklyn, many of which are now local landmarks. It was sold in 1957 apparently to current owner Richard Kowalski, a Brooklyn native who later moved to Beach Haven NJ. He owned the building and surrounding land. In 2005, he sold the land to Whole Foods (for a reported $4,945,200) with the promise that they would restore the building that was to be granted Historic Landmark stasis in 2006. From 2005 until 2013, the Whole Foods development was under high controversy in Brooklyn and the building on 3rd and 3rd remained abandoned and in decline. Around 2013, the supermarket chain started and finished construction on the "Greenest Supermarket in the Nation" and scaffolded it's new project. Progress can apparently be seen on the building today and it seems that Kowalski plans to lease or sell the building upon completion of it's renovation.
Bc it's a Historic Landmark, this building will remain, but it's fate still seems to be quite up in the air.
Image found via google image and links to here. circa 2014
I'm just one of a long line of people interested in this place, all of whom have an opinion on it, it seems. I'm sure we will all keep out eyes on it and it's future. An interesting article about this building, with many more facts about it's history, can be found here.
The California Raisins
I was never that interested in these motown-esque singing raisins, although I do remember them from the tv commercials. But for some reason, my husband and I were discussing them the other day and I was compelled to look them up.
These anthropomorphic claymation raisins got their big break in 1986 when they first appeared on tv in commercial form. But they went on to put out four albums, a tv series, multiple specials and numerous merchandise endorsements, and a video game. They even won an Emmy. Who knew?
Image via The Telegraph.
Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry is an English actor and comedian who was born in 1957. I first became aware of him when I discovered Jeeves and Wooster on PBS. He's been in a slew of things before and since playing PG Wodehouse's all knowing man's man. Fry has sort of a reputation for being a smarty-pants, as he also hosts the BBC's wacky quizshow, QI. I'd currently enamored of this show and it was bc of that that I came to dig into the actors biography. From troubled teen to award winning actor, he's been in the news more recently for dismantling some of his social media on the grounds it can be a hostile environment. I found it interesting that he battles with severe depression and bipolar disorder, even attempting suicide as recently as 2012. But earlier this year he got married and tweeted about it, so hopefully his happiness is on the upswing! Some of the other roles I enjoy him in are as the older (wiser?) Holmes, Mycroft, a wry psychologist in Bones, and a heart breaking role in V for Vendetta. All worth a watch, if you haven't seen them before.
To accompany my Recently Researching posts, I've made a special Pinterest board with more images and links for the things I write about. I'll be adding new images each post, so keep a look out!
Have an idea for Recently Researching? Leave it in the comments!