I hope the new year has been treating you well. I’ve been keeping busy with book research and running my online bookstore. Last week, I took a morning off to make an appearance on the AntmanVs podcast. It was super fun. Details are at the link!
I’ve been powering through my research into the life and career of musical theater performer J! A considerable amount of the research is too tedious to share here, which is why I created Alternative Muses. Occasionally I come across something too fun to keep to myself or limit to AM, though, and J’s kindergarten scrapbook is one of those exceptions.
I’ve had this scrapbook since the beginning, but due to its delicate nature was too scared to catalog it…until yesterday!
I shared a few of the pieces over on Alternative Muses, but didn’t want you to miss out on this whimsical little bit of childhood history.
I have been busy working on my J biography research. I promise to do a more in-depth update here soon. Until then, you can see what I have been up to by going to Alternative Muses.
If you want to support my research, head over to my KO-FI page.
I cannot believe that it has been a month since my last post! We have been extremely busy at the family business AND most of what little spare time (ha!) that I have goes to book research.
I promise to post more frequently in June (not that that would be hard!). In the meantime, here is the most recent post from Alternative Muses, wherein I briefly catch you up on an unexpected turn-of-events in Biographyville.
I achieved a major milestone a couple of days ago! What is it? Thanks for asking. I finished cataloging the contents of J’s main scrapbook. Hallelujah! I’ve already added the relevant information to her Master Timeline. This means that I can move on to the next phase of research. Not sure what that is going to be, just yet. There are many, many options.
RESEARCH NOTES: WEEKS 23-24
Until next time!
Thanks to wonderful initial support on my Ko-fi, I purchased a six-month subscription to newspapers.com’s Publisher Extra. This gives me access to all the things. Although I won’t be diving headlong into the site for another couple of weeks (after I wind up the scrapbook project), I have been unable to completely resist its siren’s call. There is amazing content on there, y’all. See below.
RESEARCH NOTES: WEEK 22
Until next time!
Hi there! It’s been a hot second since the previous entry in this series. My silence wasn’t from lack of research; far from it, actually. It’s because, six weeks later, I am still cataloging J’s main scrapbook. The reason it is taking so long? Early in the process, I also decided to start working on her main timeline. It simply makes sense to do one alongside the other. Current me is quite pleased with past me. Great choice, me. However, I didn’t want to bore you with the same spiel week in, week out for months. Thus, the lack of [R]evolving Research content as of late. Going forward, I will do posts when I have enough new content. Let’s see how that goes.
RESEARCH NOTES: WEEKS 16-21
You may have noticed that there’s a Ko-fi button hanging out on the sidebar. If you have questions: Here’s an article explaining what that is all about. It’s truly a no-pressure situation. I will not mention it going forward, except on posts about my biography research.
Until next time!
I wrote this on Alternative Muses but it applies here as well.
Please give it a read if you have a few minutes to spare. Thank you!
I’ve spent most of the past week+ methodically recording the contents of J’s main scrapbook. I’m only about 25 percent finished. This is going to take awhile. Fortunately, it’s easy for me to get a rhythm going if I do it while watching T20 cricket. Whatever works, right? This might sound tedious to you, but I’m a weirdo who finds this kind of thing to be ridiculous amounts of fun. Every day that I work on this mini-project, I’m reminded of how lucky I am to be the caretaker of J’s legacy. Who knows how many impulsive decisions were made over the years to ensure that her scrapbooks and photos were not tossed in the trash? I’m well aware that this path was a fragile one. One false step could have resulted in an unknowable tragedy.
RESEARCH NOTES: WEEK 15
Until next time!
Sorry for posting this two days late. I had internet problems on Tuesday and was too busy to fit this bit of writing into Wednesday’s schedule. Let’s get started!
And I thought that endlessly staring at online copies of census records was hard.
It turns out that poring over century-old newspaper clippings (I’m talking physical copies) is even worse on the eyes. Who knew, haha? I finally forced myself to start cataloging the contents of J’s small but mighty scrapbook. It’s tedious only from the standpoint that it is going to take weeks (I’m on page 8) to finish. Other than the necessarily slow nature of the process, it is really damn exciting. I’ve already learned a great deal more about J and her early career in Memphis. This has also, of course, opened up many, many, and I do mean many, new avenues to explore. Dozens. All by page 8. Researching a biography is hard, y’all. That’s mostly a good thing, so I won’t complain.
RESEARCH NOTES: WEEK 14
Until next time!
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