Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Cause we are living in a material world, and I am a materially-oriented folklore prof (for this week, at least)

Clever folks, these youngsters. From cooking Lebanese food to taking off underpants - sort of the alpha and the omega - we know how to do stuff with stuff. I am concerned that two of our Chinese students know all these breaking and entering techniques, which gets my xenophobic tendencies a-sizzlin': but I know the two of them and they're sweet, so they must want to break into your house to water your plants and feed your pets.

And I've wanted to know exactly how to play a comb since I first read Pippi Longstocking back in the day (as the kids are saying).

One technique I know how to do by informal or observed experience is how make cookies and other baked goods by watching my mother and grandmother when I was younger and learning from their examples and what they explained to me.


I have to say the single greatest invention I ever learned how to make was the paper airplane. While bland and underappreciated by some, this (was then) state-of-the-art piece of work was my single greatest pass time in class from the grades 1-6. I learned this noble skill from my childhood friends, Matt and Justin. I have reconstructed one of their original designs and have now made it more weightless, sleek and a great level more durable; not to mention it's improved airborn time, while being suspended in the air.
I'll bring one in to show you tomorrow. Alright, well that's my assignment.


Relating to material culture, something that I have learned how to "make" is my bed. I learned this from my mother. This is a technique that my mother taught me and my sister's how to do. I dont remember if she actually taught us how to make our beds or if we learned how to do it from watching her do it.


i am going to talk about the technology about how to find laser line in the dark, which i was learned from the Movie about steeling money from Bank saver.
We need one glass of red wine. If We look through the glass of red wine, we can find the laser line.
you can to dodge the security system of bank, then take the money.
good luck!


My story is about the Pin Pang Balls when we were playing we are the kids.
I remembered that we 6 fellows always played Pin Pang together. At that time, we only have few Pin Pang balls, and that was always flat, because of we played hard or kicked the ball by mistake.
One day we used all the balls we had at that time. And we did not want to go home. We were looking at all the flat Pin Pang balls. Suddenly , one fellow came out one idea.
He put the flat ball in his drinking glass, filling with boiling water. The ball returned to round. So we can play again.
That is what I learned at that time. Not from the book, only from him, my Pin Pang buddy.


Something I know how to make that I have learned through observation is a Lebanese food called a Flatia, which is a type of meat turn over. I have watched my Great Aunt as well as my Grand Parents and Parents make this food using certain techniques that I have come to master. The dough must be flattened into a circle followed by filling the dough with meat and finally pinching the sides together to make a triangle, then cooked in the oven. The method of making the Flatias has always been used in my family and has been learned by younger generations by observation and informal instruction.


Although I am not musical, this is one of the instruments that I was shown how to make as a child that I used to love to play. It doesn't even matter if the tune doesn't carry, the sound is fun! It is a comb kazoo.
It requires two items:
a comb, similar to ones that guys used to carry around in their back pocket--maybe some still do.
a piece of wax paper (of a size that can be folded in half over the comb)
Fold the piece of wax paper around the prongs of the comb, then place your mouth on the paper and blow/hum. The vibrations will make the kazoo sound. The teeth of the comb are fine and close spaced on one end and thicker and wider spaced on the other so you end up with a range of sounds.


For this week’s question, we are asked to tell something that we know how to make from past material instruction. Well for this question, I will explain how everyone used to learn how to make those mini volcanoes that everyone used to make in science class. It was very popular to make for science fairs when I was a little kid and eventually they were banned from the fairs because too many people used to make them.
First off, you would make the outer part of the volcano, which can be made by taking a piece of cardboard and making it into the shape of a volcano. Next you would make paper mache, which consists of taking strips of newspaper and dipping them into the paste (which is made usually with water, glue and flour) and sticking them around the cardboard until its fully covering the volcano. You wait until its try and then you paint the volcano into its volcano type color.
Finally, you simply put a cylinder shaped object and place it in the inside of the volcano for the eruption part of the volcano. Once this is done, you can plan the eruption process. This occurs when you mix vinegar and baking soda because it creates a “chemical reaction” and results in a fizzing sensation. You may want to add food coloring to make it more realistic.


In junior high and late elementary there was a big "note folding" phase. Everyone was writing notes to their friends and it was always a challenge to see who knew how to fold that papers in the best complicated shapes. Folding the notes was like making a fancy envelope out of the note itself and making it no larger than a square-ish shape that would fit in the palm of your hand.


When I was a child and just learning how to tie my shoes, my mom taught me the technique that a lot of people still use today; the bunny ears. I would watch her step by step, try it after her, if I couldn't do it, she would show me again until I got it. So because of this, I will always know how to tie a bow or even just make a not.


I have the ability to "do" or "make" many interesting things. The short list includes Ritz dip, peanut butter crunchy fudge ice cream and taking my boxers off without removing my pants. As for the dip - I cannot reveal the ingredients, but I assure you it is quite tasty. The ice cream on the other hand is a recipe I am willing to reveal. First you must take 4 scoops of vanilla ice cream and put it in a blender. Then take 5 tablespoons of peanut butter, I prefer Skippy.Blend the two together until thoroughly mixed. Then take the chocolate stuff that gets hard when you put it on ice cream and pour about 1/8 of a cup in while blending.(blender must be on while pouring it in for optimal results). Put the mixture in a bowl just big enough to accommodate the concoction and place in the freezer to be eaten the next day. You have to wait, but it is so worth it in the end.
As for the boxer thing - I learned it from my idol - the one and only, Mr. Bean. If you decide to try it at home I suggest you start with shorts and work your way up to pants. Otherwise you may seriously injure the bits and pieces.


Since, I came to the Canada, I keep learning lots of cooking stuff. I did not know how to cook when I was living with my parents, but, after I studied alone in Canada, I have to learn how to live well myself. Therefore, I learned everything, not just cooking, such as laundry, driving, cleaning the room and so on. Most of time, they are just some little tiny stuff, but they still can bother you. In fact, whenever you start getting into them, you will find out how easily they will be. That is my experiences.


I know how to make a hemp necklace. I learned it from my brother. He used to sit in his room and work on them for hours. I always wondered what he was doing so one time I gave it a try and eventually got the hang of it. It’s pretty tricky when your trying to add the beads in, but I got it!


An object I know how to ‘make’ based on informal experience would be “cats cradle”. This where you use string around your hands to make different type puzzles that someone else has to solve while moving the string onto their own hands. Of course this is a very loose definition of how its done, but it’s very hard how to describe without observing or experiencing it. I was shown by one of my sister’s friends while out on a camping trip with the school. We were the only two awake on the bus trip out to the campsite so she decided to teach me something that would keep us both distracted for the remainder of the trek. I have been taught a number of ways to do this, or make different shapes using the same “cats cradle’ technique. I even taught a little girl that I once baby-sat how to do this so her and her sister had something to show to her class for show and tell that started with a ‘c’.


I learned the way to folding laundries by observing from my mom doing. I actually don’t remember when and how I learned.
I also learned the way to do something more quickly as possible. For example, when I was working as a part-time job, I have to do job as quickly as possible. My senior sometimes told me the way to do faster, but most of them I learned by myself by observing the way seniors doing. It was important to work at my part-time job.
I learned how to cook or how to cut for cooking. It is both from my mom and my friends and also from TV.
I also learned how to play the piano through my piano teacher by observing. They taught me how to play the piano not only observing but also saying how to make sounds better.
One more thing that I can think of is the way to wrapping some present with paper for gift. I always observe carefully the cashier is wrapping for the gift. And then I do the same way by myself when I wrap something for my friend or something like that.
There are many things that I learned from observing.


My friends and I would always make friendship bracelets. I don’t know who taught us but we just picked it up as we went along. One friend would teach the other. We would create new ways to knot the strings and new combinations of colours and weaves. To make a bracelet all that is needed is a couple pieces of string and a set of hands. All you have to do is braid, knot, and weave the different colours of string together. When completed give to a friend or keep it for yourself.


How to open a locked door, I learned it when I been to Canada.
There are always some problems of my lock when I am in Canada. Sometimes, I might lock the key in the room, or the door locked itself or by someone. Or some of my friends do the same things. But when I was in Toronto, one of my friends taught me how to unlock the door. He used a firm card, such as the membership card, student card, library card, don’t use the telephone card even we have a lot of used phone card because they are too soft. Put the card in between the door and the wall which is the small line that can just fit the card. Then push the card, the door would unlock. It works on many doors in Canada. And I saw some of my friends really unlock by this way. And I tried a few times, but it broke all my cards that used to break in…


An example that came to mind when I read this question was how I learned how to make home made Christmas tree ornaments. I caught on from watching my mom make crafts every year and my creativity took over from there. It was kind of a tradition when my siblings and I were younger to make a tree ornament every year. We would take 2 pine cones and paint them white so they would look like two snowballs. We would then glue them together to make the body. We also cut out different shapes with felt ( nose, eyes, scarf ) and got a little messy with the glue to finally reach the finished product. The hardest part was trying to tie a knot with the string to hang the ornament on the tree. When I was younger I had help from my parents but finally this year I figured it out. (just kidding) Even now I still get craft ideas from my mom and make my own. It has become a pretty fun past time.
One thing I learned how to make through observation is the perfectly roasted marshmallow over a campfire. I learned this while as a kid at camp over the summer. We would go sometimes and sleep in tents rather than in cabins as we usually did. On these nights we would have the luxury if you will of having a nice campfire and of course with a campfire must come marshmallows. So, in watching other people I learned what caused marshmallows to go up in flames, while others hardly looked cooked at all. It was in holding the stick just far enough away from the flames that the marshmallow was exposed to the heat and yet not close enough to be set ablaze. It made for the perfect golden-like delicious marshmallow and yummy it was!!!


I could not think of something I learned to make though informal training, but I did think of something I learned to do through informal observation. I learned by watching my dad and my grandfather how to fish, the best place to look for worms and how to clean what I catch.
My dad took me fishing as soon as I was old enough not to fall in. I learned how to cast and how to tie and bait the hook. But I learned from watching him where to look for fish, were the sweet spots are and the tricks to reeling them in once you set the hook.
Grampie showed me how to fish the brooks and streams and how to ice fish. He showed me the right kind of cat food to use to catch trout through the ice, the right way to cut a hole, and I think most important were the lessons on how to get out if I fell in. I learned a lot on those trips, he showed me how to identify animal tracks, what grows where, all kinds of things found in nature. I learned a lot just by listening to him while we walked.
I learned when I got older how to fly fish from my dad. That is my favourite style of fishing. I had to learn a lot on my own, because fly fishing is all about finding a rhythm and it isn’t always something you can teach. Again, he and my grandfather taught me how to tie a fly, (I am really not patient enough to do it all the time) and how to read the river and where the good pools are.
Over the years I have modified my techniques and discovered my own baits and tricks for catching the big one. I have yet to land anything on my fly rod, but three years ago I caught a 19inch trout on my casting rod, my dad still talks about it.


One thing I remember learning to make was homemade play dough. My mom and I used to always make it whenever I couldn’t find anything to play with. It was just made using just basic kitchen items; flour, water, food coloring, etc. Homemade play dough was the only thing that came to my mind when I heard this question.


After reading this weeks question a couple of times. I remember a so called “technique” that was done a numerous amount of times by mostly females but sometimes males would take part too. This technique is known as the “bunny rabbit”. It is done with any pair of 5 slim finger gloves; you take the middle finger of one and turn it inside out, next making sure that you leave one glove on the hand when doing this the middle finger that was just folded in is connected to the glove that is on the opposite hand. Next, the rest of the fingers are folded through the rest of the hand and then turned inside out. Finally, the “ears” are pulled through, the ears are the second and third finger.
TADA!! You have made a bunny rabbit. I don’t see many young males or females doing this anymore as I think that this technique has become “out of style now”

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