Well, I'm back... again
I have been ever-so-gently reminded by at least two different persons that (1) I have failed to "write up" that sumptuous event-of-the-season, the Wedding of the Great Yam, and (2) contrary to appearances, there actually are people who try to read this blog occasionally, and they're mightily aggravated when lazy ol' me fails to throw them fresh meat... er, write new posts.
Really. I'm touched. You shouldn't have. That's so sweet.
Perhaps you will be more understanding of my recent distraction if I supply a chronology of the past month in the Life O' Felix. Batten down the hatches; it involves over 8000 miles of travel and visits to four different states, including the homes of seven different sets of relatives, three old college freinds, and three job interviews... and even so, I missed contacting one person I particularly wanted to see and one entire set of former co-workers. It's got beauty and beasts, pleasure and pain, a wonderful new sister-in-law (Hi, S.) and a horrible troll of a great-aunt. Not to mention an exploding power-steering pump, failing brakes, and an ailing cat spurting bloody urine. Some fun, eh?
Dec. 13 was the happy date of the Wedding of the Great Yam to his lovely bride S. in Austin, Texas, an event at which I was privileged to serve as groomsman. The wedding was held at night in a rural location north of Austin, lit by lanterns and candles, giving it a sort of mysterious pagan ambience. The bride and her bridesmaids approached the groom's party along a path of lights that wound down a small hillside opposite the wedding location, crossing a wooden bridge.
Fortunately, the sky didn't pour down rain on this festive and solemn occasion. However, it was cold, as the temperature began in the 40s (Fahrenheit) and proceeded to drop into the thirties after the ceremony. The bonfire was well attended, although my brother's threats to have a bonfire weenie-roast instead of a traditional reception dinner seem to have been vetoed by a Higher Power. There were those who wondered if the bride were going to start turning blue in her strapless gown; however, she reports feeling no pain all evening. There are of course traditional reasons for brides to be oblivious to trivial things like weather on wedding days, but in this case a judicious application of heat-pads seems to have aided matters. Nonetheless she was heard to murmur something about warmth when the happy twosome embraced after the vows.
While staying in Austin, I visited with a former college roommate whose love of ghost and mystery stories, nautical adventure, secret passages, and good food and liquor makes every visit an adventure, even if his version of ferroequinology differs from my own.
It turned out also that his next-door neighbor, a very attractive young woman, is studying the art of Swedish massage, and as part of her course of study, needs to do a certain number of practice massages. I allowed myself to be persuaded to volunteer. It's a rough job but someone's gotta do it. It is no doubt due to the relaxing influence of her gentle ministrations that I managed to refrain from actually attempting to track down and kill the blithering sadistic idiots who designed Austin's streets and highways.
Dec. 15-19 After the wedding, it was back to Michigan to work in the library for the final week of the semester.
Dec. 20: Back to Texas, this time north Dallas, for Christmas with the immediate family. Frantic last-minute shopping for gifts for forgotten distant relatives who decided at the last minute to come to the Christmas doin's. Swear eternal vengeance against the blithering yuppie idiots in their bling-bling BMW's and blundering chrome-armored SUV's that make driving in North Dallas so very .... interesting. Over next few days, spend too much time and too much money at model train stores, bookstores, etc. Buy more for myself than for others. (At least I know what I want....)
Dec. 22. In between pre-Christmas foolishness, have telephone interview with public library in southwestern Michigan. They don't sound impressed.
Dec. 24. Attend Christmas Eve services at local First Baptist Church. Sadly, rumor has it that this was the last year for the church's signature holiday blowout, the Living Christmas Tree. Somehow I fail to be saddened at the discontinuance of something which always looked to me as if savage headhunters had decorated the tree with trophies of unfortunate missionaries. Nor will I miss the spinning disco-balls used to create "swirling snow" effects.
Thankfully, however, this year's iteration of the Living Christmas Tree has already joined the Ghosts of Christmas Past, and the Christmas Eve candlelight service of prayer and traditional carols is modest, tasteful, and restrained, especially by comparison with the spectacle put on by the archrival crosstown megachurch . I don't think I could have restrained myself from laughing at the twelve-foot-long organdy "angels" swooping over the congregation on wires and metal tracks. "Duck! Incoming!!!"
Dec. 25. Off to the races on Christmas Day for the mad highway dash through Oklahoma (stopping off to visit a newly-acquired set of relatives, the grandparents of my brother's wife) and Arkansas up to Missouri to spend the next few days visiting the aunties and uncles and cousins and granddad and other relatives beyond my meagre powers of genealogical description. (S.'s grandmother is an antiques dealer. Mother is a great fan of cutesy antiques. They should get along famously....)
Notable moment: While visiting Great-Aunt H., she delivers herself of the considered opinion that "You could get married too, if you'd just look like a decent person."
Fortunately, Walgreens takes gift returns, and the gift originally intended for Great-Aunt H. paid for some much-needed office supplies. This is not the first time she's chosen to insult someone at Christmas. Note to self: spiteful old bat can rot in nursing home in future.
Dec. 28. On the way back to Texas, stop off in Springfield to look over the offerings of the various model railroad shops. Springfield, of course, is the center of the Universe for all things Frisco....
Several hours and many dollars later, leave Springfield behind. Make very late arrival in north Dallas. Sleep most of next day.
Dec. 30. Make pilgrimage to that Mecca of southwestern railroad history, the DeGolyer Library. Revel in access to complete microfilmed collection of all Sanborn maps in Library of Congress! Photocopy madly until closing! Speak briefly with head of library who informs me that although they'd like to hire a curator for their railroad materials, well, with budgets being what they are... yadda, yadda, yadda....
Dec. 31. Trek over to Fort Worth to visit with the illustrious Pablo, resulting in random outsputterings of verbiage as seen in prior posts. Watch taped episodes of Firefly. Conclude that the television executives who cancelled the series before completing a single season are pinheads. What else is new.
Jan. 1. During return from Fort Worth, parents' borrowed truck begins making horrible grinding noise as brake pads wear out. Conclude there's nothing I can do about it at 2 a.m. on New Year's Day. Sleep. Make unsuccessful efforts to contact other acquaintances and former co-workers in north Dallas later in the day. Go to see Return of the King with parents. Spend a substantial amount of time explaining background of movie. Am slightly flattered when mother says that Viggo Mortensen looks like me, but recognize that she's biased.
Jan. 2. Truck is in shop, leaving me without transportation, until late afternoon. Make more unsuccessful efforts to contact local acquaintances. Raid local bookstores. Rummage through storage compartment containing books and other property I haven't had access to for two years. Realize that a substantial portion of it is junk. Realize also that there is no way in h*ll that I'm going to be able to find anything specific in that jumble of boxes. (Think of the final scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark; then compress all the contents of the scene into one 10x10 storage compartment.)
Jan. 3. Parents' other car needs repair work, too, leading to entertaining shuffle between various people and their transportation needs as I try to get various bulky gifts and purchases mailed to myself before the post offices close at noon. Pablo and Carlos pick me up in afternoon to go see fancy foreign flick at Inwood Theater. (Actually, the sign says I WO D nowadays, but who's counting letters?) Have pleasant lamb-kebob dinner at nearby Turkish restaurant. Chat about wine, women and song. Like Walker Percy's compatriots in his famous essay on Bourbon, wonder "Where Are The Women?" Conclude that we're all doomed.
Jan. 4. Fly back to Michigan to return to salt mines... er, library.
Jan. 5. Telephone interview with Catholic college in Houston, Texas in morning. Will they take me seriously? Don't count on it. At lunchtime, race to credit union to deposit paycheck. Truck power steering pump fails in middle of sharp turn, spraying steering fluid liberally around engine compartment. Steering 1/2-ton, 4wd truck suddenly becomes heavy manual labor. Briefly consider building up muscles by not fixing power steering. After running over a couple of curbs and veering into the wrong lane twice, decide that this is not a good idea.
Realize that paycheck has disappeared. Not metaphorically, but literally. Find out later in afternoon that University payroll won't replace paycheck for at least a week.
Jan. 7. Pick up truck from repair shop just in time to head to airport for interview trip to university in Georgia. Repair shop, to their credit, has actually fixed the problem at reasonable price and more-or-less on time. Arrive in Georgia at 10:30 p.m. and ride mass-transit train to downtown hotel. Risk of being mugged is minimized by short distance from subway terminal to designated hotel, which turns out to be reasonably attractive and comfortable, but lacking internet service. This is inconvenient since I still need to finalize presentation for job interview. Night clerk is ignorant and flippant about lack of knowledge of internet. Go to sleep.
Jan. 8. Up early to finish preparing presentation. Interview all day. Will spare you the details. Finish day by looking over Underground Atlanta, especially the impressive O-scale display layout representing various historically significant Atlanta buildings. No Tara plantation or Burning of Atlanta special effects, though. Return to Michigan on redeye flight.
Jan. 9. Returning to work at the library, find out that colleague who was supposed to cover my virtual-reference shift on the 8th failed to do so. Work most of the day at the reference desk, making up for missed hours of coverage.
Jan. 10 Do nothing all day. Nothing, blessed nothing. Note mysterious reddish spatter in closet. Did I drop something?
Jan. 11. Wake up to sight of cat peeing bloody urine in closet. Cat proceeds to do this repeatedly, every fifteen minutes, in every room of the apartment, with anxious look on face. Locate "emergency" weekend animal clinic. Several hours and many dollars later, begin dosing cat with antibiotics in hope that this is mere bladder infection. Vet also recommends eye ointment for watery right eye. (Cat's previous problem with left eye was surgically corrected this summer, so obviously he had to develop another problem or two.)
Jan. 12. Cat seems to be better; at least he's not spurting bloody pee every fifteen minutes. Begin morning by entering into negotiations with Cat over whether or not he will sit still for eye ointment. Negotiations take a hostile turn very quickly. Fortunately he's less hostile about taking his oral medicine. That may have something to do with the fact that I'm mixing it with canned catfood. (Silly cat!)
And so back to work again.
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
O Happy Day!
Your Humble Scribe has been gifted! A Vacuum Wine Saver, from Pablo!
Fortunately, Pablo is familiar with my unpleasant personality and, after briefly snatching it back and trying to stuff it into a paper bag, has apparently forgiven my immediate response that "Huh. Wine savers are for wimps who can't finish the whole bottle." Because he's a generous and forgiving person, he'll still let me watch Firefly. Right?... Right?....
Your Humble Scribe has been gifted! A Vacuum Wine Saver, from Pablo!
Fortunately, Pablo is familiar with my unpleasant personality and, after briefly snatching it back and trying to stuff it into a paper bag, has apparently forgiven my immediate response that "Huh. Wine savers are for wimps who can't finish the whole bottle." Because he's a generous and forgiving person, he'll still let me watch Firefly. Right?... Right?....
A correction:
Pablo wishes to inform the world that he inadvertently misquoted Niezsche. It's "must" be overcome, not "should."
Gone to the kitchen for another beer. Note to self: remember to make CD burn of Pablo's CD of songs by Marvin the Paranoid Android. It's legal, since the CD jacket says "these files are intended for academic use only".
Pablo wishes to inform the world that he inadvertently misquoted Niezsche. It's "must" be overcome, not "should."
Gone to the kitchen for another beer. Note to self: remember to make CD burn of Pablo's CD of songs by Marvin the Paranoid Android. It's legal, since the CD jacket says "these files are intended for academic use only".
LIVE! From the House of Pablo!
Your Truly returned from Missouri late last night, and will be spending New Year's Eve with the illustrious Pablo. With any luck, Pablo will remember where he stashed the videotaped episodes of Firefly.
Pablo Speaks:
"Man, however, is something that should be overcome." No wait, that was Thus Spake Zarathustra.
Perhaps this is why Pablo remains The Blogless. He has nothing original to say, apparently. I think I need another beer. Fortunately, the return credit from Great-Aunt H.'s gift just about covers it.
Your Truly returned from Missouri late last night, and will be spending New Year's Eve with the illustrious Pablo. With any luck, Pablo will remember where he stashed the videotaped episodes of Firefly.
Pablo Speaks:
"Man, however, is something that should be overcome." No wait, that was Thus Spake Zarathustra.
Perhaps this is why Pablo remains The Blogless. He has nothing original to say, apparently. I think I need another beer. Fortunately, the return credit from Great-Aunt H.'s gift just about covers it.
Monday, December 22, 2003
The X(mas) Files
... in which our two favorite government investigators discover a disturbing pattern of ritualistic serial home invasions.
(Again, thanks to Louise.)
... in which our two favorite government investigators discover a disturbing pattern of ritualistic serial home invasions.
(Again, thanks to Louise.)
Roadblogging
I'm blogging this afternoon from a relative's (slow, balky, cranky, arrgghh!) computer in north Dallas, overlooking an (unfrozen!) swimming pool where (green! leafy!) trees blow gently back and forth in a 61-degree F breeze.
Since Enetation has decided not to accept comments from said slow/balky/cranky computer, I'm going to take care of a few comment responses here, lest people think that I'm ignoring them.
Trebor, I didn't receive your comment until I was already here in Texas with a bought-&-paid-for return ticket to Michigan. However, if you want to get together for a beer or two, let me know by cell phone. (Number will be forwarded in private e'mail.)
Carlos and Pablo, give me a call whenever convenient. I'll be in Dallas until the 25th, then back in Dallas again from about the 28th to the 3rd. Carlos mentioned wanting to see "Barbarian Invasions", which according to the Dallas Observer's webpage is playing at the Inwood Theater.
Fiend, as you probably know, the minor contretemps over the writing honor that King received recently is just the latest skirmish in the running battle between the academic exclusivists (who, I think, enjoy feeling a snarky sense of superiority over writing and allegedly reading books beyond the comprehension of the mere hoipolloi) and those who write books that actual people really do read. I've always felt that King sort of exists on a borderline between those two clans, perhaps slightly skewed toward the populist side but not wholly engulfed in it. His books, for all their popular appeal, do on occasion have a cultural, psychological, and emotional edge to them that pure shlock writers like Tom Clancy, Danielle Steel, et al, lack. (Even if his relatively infrequent sex scenes don't quite meet your exacting standards.)
As for Ken-&-Barbie Aragorn-&-Arwen, well, what do you expect in terms of related interests? I noticed that although Mattel made at least a token effort to make the Aragorn figure vaguely resemble Viggo M. from a distance, Barbie remains her usual cartoonish, smirking, decidedly un-elvish self, impossible to mistake for the ethereal Liv T.
I may post a few more Christmas-related links here over the next hour, before taking a telephone-interview call from a public library in far southwestern Michigan. Wish me luck.
I'm blogging this afternoon from a relative's (slow, balky, cranky, arrgghh!) computer in north Dallas, overlooking an (unfrozen!) swimming pool where (green! leafy!) trees blow gently back and forth in a 61-degree F breeze.
Since Enetation has decided not to accept comments from said slow/balky/cranky computer, I'm going to take care of a few comment responses here, lest people think that I'm ignoring them.
Trebor, I didn't receive your comment until I was already here in Texas with a bought-&-paid-for return ticket to Michigan. However, if you want to get together for a beer or two, let me know by cell phone. (Number will be forwarded in private e'mail.)
Carlos and Pablo, give me a call whenever convenient. I'll be in Dallas until the 25th, then back in Dallas again from about the 28th to the 3rd. Carlos mentioned wanting to see "Barbarian Invasions", which according to the Dallas Observer's webpage is playing at the Inwood Theater.
Fiend, as you probably know, the minor contretemps over the writing honor that King received recently is just the latest skirmish in the running battle between the academic exclusivists (who, I think, enjoy feeling a snarky sense of superiority over writing and allegedly reading books beyond the comprehension of the mere hoipolloi) and those who write books that actual people really do read. I've always felt that King sort of exists on a borderline between those two clans, perhaps slightly skewed toward the populist side but not wholly engulfed in it. His books, for all their popular appeal, do on occasion have a cultural, psychological, and emotional edge to them that pure shlock writers like Tom Clancy, Danielle Steel, et al, lack. (Even if his relatively infrequent sex scenes don't quite meet your exacting standards.
As for Ken-&-Barbie Aragorn-&-Arwen, well, what do you expect in terms of related interests? I noticed that although Mattel made at least a token effort to make the Aragorn figure vaguely resemble Viggo M. from a distance, Barbie remains her usual cartoonish, smirking, decidedly un-elvish self, impossible to mistake for the ethereal Liv T.
I may post a few more Christmas-related links here over the next hour, before taking a telephone-interview call from a public library in far southwestern Michigan. Wish me luck.
Sunday, December 07, 2003
Travel plans
It looks like Yours-Truly will spend most of the next month bouncing between Michigan and Texas like some kind of demented ping-pong ball. I'm off to Texas for the happy occasion of The Wedding Of The Great Yam next week. Then I'm back in Michigan for the final week of the semester. Then back to Texas for the family Christmas festivities, which will probably include a highway trip up to Missouri and back to visit various elderly relatives (who after all, will want to meet the Bride of Yam). Then back to Michigan. With any luck, I may be able to meet up with Pablo and Carlos and other friends of yore sometime in this frenzy.
Since I'm interested in railroads, and since for the first time in two years I live within reasonable local driving distance of an Amtrak depot, I thought I'd try Amtrak for this year's Christmas travel. Sadly, it was not to be. When I told the ticket agent that I was interested in travelling from Michigan to Texas, his first suggestion was that I go by air instead. After being assured that, yes, I really was interested in finding out about train travel between those two points, he checked for availability of coach seats. The result: a fare price higher than an airline ticket, with the only available fare under $400 being on a train that arrives back at my departure point at 11:38 p.m. the evening before I have to be back at work.
Oh, by the way, he mentioned, we probably won't have any place for you to park a vehicle at the depot, thanks to an ongoing construction project. Apparently I would have to hail a taxi or have a friend come and pick me up at midnight, or whenever the train managed to arrive.
The schedule presented also depended on making a key connection at Chicago between the Texas Eagle and the Michigan train, with a three-hour layover. The Eagle, Amtrak train #21/22, has been reported to frequently run several hours late, thanks largely to hostile or indifferent treatment by Union Pacific dispatchers and crews:
"AMTRAK TRAIN DELAYS ON THE UNION PACIFIC RIGHT OF WAY - September 16, 2002. Friends of Amtrak has learned of some rather alarming statistics regarding delays of Amtrak trains on Union Pacific tracks.
In August 2002, UP-attributable delay to Trains 21 and 22 totalled 20,381 minutes, or an approximate average of 339.7 minutes per train; that's an astounding 5.5 hours of UP-attributable delay for each and every Train 21 and 22."
From Friends of Amtrak, Archived News 2002
I figured that my chances of making that connection at Chicago were about as good as my chances of getting a taxi or a ride from the depot to my apartment at midnight. It would still be fun to try Amtrak one of these days, but only when I can afford a more relaxed schedule. Or they adopt a less relaxed one, and find some way to make Union Pacific honor it.
It looks like Yours-Truly will spend most of the next month bouncing between Michigan and Texas like some kind of demented ping-pong ball. I'm off to Texas for the happy occasion of The Wedding Of The Great Yam next week. Then I'm back in Michigan for the final week of the semester. Then back to Texas for the family Christmas festivities, which will probably include a highway trip up to Missouri and back to visit various elderly relatives (who after all, will want to meet the Bride of Yam). Then back to Michigan. With any luck, I may be able to meet up with Pablo and Carlos and other friends of yore sometime in this frenzy.
Since I'm interested in railroads, and since for the first time in two years I live within reasonable local driving distance of an Amtrak depot, I thought I'd try Amtrak for this year's Christmas travel. Sadly, it was not to be. When I told the ticket agent that I was interested in travelling from Michigan to Texas, his first suggestion was that I go by air instead. After being assured that, yes, I really was interested in finding out about train travel between those two points, he checked for availability of coach seats. The result: a fare price higher than an airline ticket, with the only available fare under $400 being on a train that arrives back at my departure point at 11:38 p.m. the evening before I have to be back at work.
Oh, by the way, he mentioned, we probably won't have any place for you to park a vehicle at the depot, thanks to an ongoing construction project. Apparently I would have to hail a taxi or have a friend come and pick me up at midnight, or whenever the train managed to arrive.
The schedule presented also depended on making a key connection at Chicago between the Texas Eagle and the Michigan train, with a three-hour layover. The Eagle, Amtrak train #21/22, has been reported to frequently run several hours late, thanks largely to hostile or indifferent treatment by Union Pacific dispatchers and crews:
"AMTRAK TRAIN DELAYS ON THE UNION PACIFIC RIGHT OF WAY - September 16, 2002. Friends of Amtrak has learned of some rather alarming statistics regarding delays of Amtrak trains on Union Pacific tracks.
In August 2002, UP-attributable delay to Trains 21 and 22 totalled 20,381 minutes, or an approximate average of 339.7 minutes per train; that's an astounding 5.5 hours of UP-attributable delay for each and every Train 21 and 22."
From Friends of Amtrak, Archived News 2002
I figured that my chances of making that connection at Chicago were about as good as my chances of getting a taxi or a ride from the depot to my apartment at midnight. It would still be fun to try Amtrak one of these days, but only when I can afford a more relaxed schedule. Or they adopt a less relaxed one, and find some way to make Union Pacific honor it.
Is my brain shrinking?
CNN reports that a group of medical researchers in Dallas, Texas, have found a link between "light" alcohol consumption and brain shrinkage.
Thats bul. Ime as smart as i ever wuz. im not geting eny dumer. So ther.
[Edit, 3/28/07, salvaging comments:]
Carlos Zamora @ 9:24PM | 2003-12-07| permalink
But heavy alcohol usage makes you smarter?
email | website
Carlos Zamora @ 9:18PM | 2003-12-07| permalink
Oops, shoulda read the article before posting a smart alec comment.
email | website
CNN reports that a group of medical researchers in Dallas, Texas, have found a link between "light" alcohol consumption and brain shrinkage.
Thats bul. Ime as smart as i ever wuz. im not geting eny dumer. So ther.
[Edit, 3/28/07, salvaging comments:]
Carlos Zamora @ 9:24PM | 2003-12-07| permalink
But heavy alcohol usage makes you smarter?
email | website
Carlos Zamora @ 9:18PM | 2003-12-07| permalink
Oops, shoulda read the article before posting a smart alec comment.
email | website
More on "action figures"
Has the Tolkien Estate exercised tasteful restraint in licensing Lord-of-the-Rings merchandise? You be the judge.
Has the Tolkien Estate exercised tasteful restraint in licensing Lord-of-the-Rings merchandise? You be the judge.
Poe, E. Near a Raven
I came across this clever puzzle-poem while looking up background information about the author's recording of Deems Taylor's long-lost musical interpretation of Jurgen. Kudos to anyone who can solve it before reading the solution.
I came across this clever puzzle-poem while looking up background information about the author's recording of Deems Taylor's long-lost musical interpretation of Jurgen. Kudos to anyone who can solve it before reading the solution.
Thursday, December 04, 2003
Take this cup...?
Since two or three of my presumed teeming hordes of devoted readers have expressed interest in The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson's cinematic depiction of the Crucifixion and related events, this story may be of some interest to them. Apparently Gibson recently withdrew the film from a planned showing to Vatican officials, saying that he had second thoughts about some scenes and wanted to re-edit it.
I hope he doesn't lose confidence or distributors. The movie industry produces too few films that display any personal conviction or intellectual courage on the part of the filmmaker, and good or bad, this film sounds like an exception to that rule. I wouldn't mind if he relaxed his self-imposed rules far enough to include a translation of the Aramaic and Latin dialogue, though.
P.S. I don't know what popup ads may be displayed on others' screens, but I found it moderately amusing that when I went to the official English-language home page for The Passion of the Christ and selected the link marked "story", the sponsor's popup that appeared was from "Clean Films", a purveyor of edited, "family-friendly" videorecordings, and featured an image of a DVD of Braveheart, one of Gibson's best-known films, apparently dropping through the air toward a trash can. I guess that's irony for ya.
Since two or three of my presumed teeming hordes of devoted readers have expressed interest in The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson's cinematic depiction of the Crucifixion and related events, this story may be of some interest to them. Apparently Gibson recently withdrew the film from a planned showing to Vatican officials, saying that he had second thoughts about some scenes and wanted to re-edit it.
I hope he doesn't lose confidence or distributors. The movie industry produces too few films that display any personal conviction or intellectual courage on the part of the filmmaker, and good or bad, this film sounds like an exception to that rule. I wouldn't mind if he relaxed his self-imposed rules far enough to include a translation of the Aramaic and Latin dialogue, though.
P.S. I don't know what popup ads may be displayed on others' screens, but I found it moderately amusing that when I went to the official English-language home page for The Passion of the Christ and selected the link marked "story", the sponsor's popup that appeared was from "Clean Films", a purveyor of edited, "family-friendly" videorecordings, and featured an image of a DVD of Braveheart, one of Gibson's best-known films, apparently dropping through the air toward a trash can. I guess that's irony for ya.
More Tales From The Reference Desk
A couple of days ago, a student asked for help in finding sources for a position paper she was writing. "I'm in favor of censorship," she announced. "But when I search the databases, everything I find is against it."
The librarian on duty proceeded to describe and demonstrate several online sources (Opposing Viewpoints, Issues and Controversies, CQ Researcher) that make a point of including both pro- and con- essays on various topics of public concern, which predictably include censorship. The student seemed appreciative, and left murmuring "God bless you."
Only afterward did the librarian in question realize that he was still wearing the Banned Books Week button, emblazoned with the Statue of Liberty and sporting the anti-censorship slogan "Free People Read Freely", which he'd worn earlier to a regional library meeting. Does this constitute displaying bias at the reference desk?
A couple of days ago, a student asked for help in finding sources for a position paper she was writing. "I'm in favor of censorship," she announced. "But when I search the databases, everything I find is against it."
The librarian on duty proceeded to describe and demonstrate several online sources (Opposing Viewpoints, Issues and Controversies, CQ Researcher) that make a point of including both pro- and con- essays on various topics of public concern, which predictably include censorship. The student seemed appreciative, and left murmuring "God bless you."
Only afterward did the librarian in question realize that he was still wearing the Banned Books Week button, emblazoned with the Statue of Liberty and sporting the anti-censorship slogan "Free People Read Freely", which he'd worn earlier to a regional library meeting. Does this constitute displaying bias at the reference desk?
To laugh, or to cry?
Heard at the reference desk from a student, evidently looking to fulfill a late-semester reading requirement for an undergraduate philosophy survey course:
"Aristotle is too complex." (Glances at class handout.) "Do you have anything by Kant?"
Fortunately the librarian on duty managed to explain the workings of author searching on the library's catalog, while making the seemingly casual comment that, if her professor hadn't specifically suggested certain books, a reference source like the Encyclopedia of Philosophy (located over there, miss, in the reference shelves at call number XYZ.... ) might help identify which of the various philosophers' works were best-known and most widely read and discussed. He felt moderately proud of having handled the situation tactfully. It's not as if he recommended Cliff's Notes to a lit major... is it?
Heard at the reference desk from a student, evidently looking to fulfill a late-semester reading requirement for an undergraduate philosophy survey course:
"Aristotle is too complex." (Glances at class handout.) "Do you have anything by Kant?"
Fortunately the librarian on duty managed to explain the workings of author searching on the library's catalog, while making the seemingly casual comment that, if her professor hadn't specifically suggested certain books, a reference source like the Encyclopedia of Philosophy (located over there, miss, in the reference shelves at call number XYZ.... ) might help identify which of the various philosophers' works were best-known and most widely read and discussed. He felt moderately proud of having handled the situation tactfully. It's not as if he recommended Cliff's Notes to a lit major... is it?
Saturday, November 29, 2003
OCLC and Library Hotel settle suit
In case you're one of the few in Library(Blog)Land who hasn't heard, OCLC and the Library Hotel in New York have settled OCLC's lawsuit over the Hotel's use of the Dewey Decimal System name. Since Louise at the Librarian's Rant covered this story several days ago, I'll simply second her insightful comments.
In case you're one of the few in Library(Blog)Land who hasn't heard, OCLC and the Library Hotel in New York have settled OCLC's lawsuit over the Hotel's use of the Dewey Decimal System name. Since Louise at the Librarian's Rant covered this story several days ago, I'll simply second her insightful comments.
What's in a name?
While browsing through the online finding aids for recently acquired materials at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan, I came across the following description:
Citizens for Traditional Values.
Citizens for Traditional Values records, 1984-2000 (bulk 1986-1992)
6 linear ft.
Organization originally established in 1986 as the Michigan Committee for Freedom to encourage and support the candidacies of conservative Christians for public office. MCFF worked closely with the Freedom Council in support of the presidential candidacy of Pat Robertson in 1988. MCFF changed its name to Citizens for Traditional Values in 1991.
I can't help but wonder about the impetus for the name change. Did they overtly decide that "traditional values" were more important than "freedom"?
While browsing through the online finding aids for recently acquired materials at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan, I came across the following description:
Citizens for Traditional Values.
Citizens for Traditional Values records, 1984-2000 (bulk 1986-1992)
6 linear ft.
Organization originally established in 1986 as the Michigan Committee for Freedom to encourage and support the candidacies of conservative Christians for public office. MCFF worked closely with the Freedom Council in support of the presidential candidacy of Pat Robertson in 1988. MCFF changed its name to Citizens for Traditional Values in 1991.
I can't help but wonder about the impetus for the name change. Did they overtly decide that "traditional values" were more important than "freedom"?
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