September 30, 2008

Warning: Political Ranting

ObDisclaimer: My rants! No one else's! Nyaah!

* 1st Presidential Debate: Rude much, McCain? I have to admit: for a long time I liked McCain, and not because he's one of my state senators. But ever since this whole race started, he just keeps dropping in my estimation. Watching the debate - just the rudeness he displayed to Obama - floored me. Shame! (But, hey, at least there was a debate, and the grandstanding from earlier in the week came to nothing.)

* Bailout Whining: If Pelosi's speech didn't actually change the bill (and, erm, it didn't), then why should what she said affect how folks were going to vote? Regardless of how I feel about the bailout bill itself (which I promise not to get into here), this whining and finger-pointing about "Those almost-votes didn't vote because of what she said, waah, waah" reminds me much too much of my 3-year-old son's schoolroom. Grow up, people!

* "Gotcha" journalism: If you don't want what you said quoted back to you and it shows you up badly, oh, I don't know, check your facts first. Or, gee, don't say it at all. (I laughed and laughed when McCain told Obama "That's not something you say out loud" and then Palin pretty much said exactly what Obama had the next day. Priceless.)

* The upcoming VP debate: Can. Not. Wait. I don't think it's going to change much race-wise, but boy, is it going to be entertaining (one way or the other).

September 26, 2008

Friday Fun

Today: T-shirts! All from the folks at Instant Attitudes.

  • Radical Militant Librarians Want!

  • Go Broke Buying Books Don't we all?

  • Decaf is the Mind-Killer For the other coffee-holics out there
I hear there's this thing called "fall" happening in other places. Right now, we've got 90° temps with mostly sunny skies. Yay!

September 25, 2008

This is a sexy librarian look?

Marni Fall Line
My first reaction: outright laughter.

You are looking at a preview of the fall line from designer Marni: "The Italian label offered its take on sexy librarians this season."

My second reaction: More laughing, with a bit of a wince.

Thanks to the.effing.librarian!

Three Beautiful Things

Thursday Edition!
  1. Having a song sung to me on the way to work in a little piping voice about a monster, a starfish, a shark, and lava dragons.
  2. Learning that the name of the spider we've seen in the bushes every day this week is, in fact, Darth Vader.
  3. Hearing from two friends that their babies arrived safe and sound and everyone is healthy, happy and tired. Congratulations, Kevin & Linda and Chris & Jen!

September 23, 2008

September 17, 2008

Dr. Dewey Decimal!


ScaryGoRound has a new Tshirt available for order: Dr. Dewey Decimal! Also be sure to check out Books Rule from the same great shop. (thanks, Jeff!)

I love it when fall arrives in the desert; sunny days in the low 90s, clear nights in the low 70s or high 60s. From now until March, this is the weather that makes living here worth the summer heat!

September 12, 2008

Shopping, Marketing, and Fantasies

Yes, it's another catchup posting!
  • Check it out! Shelf Check has a store now! The Twitter button especially made me laugh.
  • Coming out next month: The Shanachie Tour book and DVD! If you haven't had a chance to see the DOK guys speak in person (they're inspiring), this is the next best thing. Highly recommended!
  • Shelf Talk has a great post about Fantastic librarians, or librarian fantasies? "Could it be that librarians’ staid image is now bursting the seams of naturalistic fiction and spilling forth into the realms of imagination and empires of wonder?" Love the post, and now I have a few more books to read, too.

Currently a pleasant 86° and sunny.

Call for Papers: PCA/ACA

The Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association Annual Conference will be held April 8-11, 2009, at the New Orleans Marriott in New Orleans, Louisiana. Scholars from numerous disciplines will meet to share their Popular Culture research and interests. Prospective presenters should send a one-page abstract with full contact information by November 30 2008.

September 9, 2008

Fredricksen Library Bookcart Drill Team

Brilliant! Be sure to check out the Fredricksen Library Bookcart Drill Team as they do an awesome quick-change from Marian the Librarian to Queen! (I can't seem to embed this one properly or I'd have done so...go check it out!)

September 5, 2008

Friday Fun

Two funnies, and a not-so-funny:
Weather report: Jurassic Librarian isn't far off on his solar system chart; we hit 101°F today, supposed to hit 102° tomorrow. I hear there's this thing called "fall" happening in other parts of the country...

September 3, 2008

Food Meme: Nom nom nom!

Snagged from WarMaiden and HedgehogLibrarian... I've not done one of these "list memes" before but... it's food! The idea is, that this is a list of 100 foods that every omnivore should eat sometime in their life. The idea is to bold the ones you've eaten. Being not only omnivorous but foodiily-adventurous, or so I think, I thought I'd give it a whirl!

  1. Venison
  2. Nettle tea
  3. Huevos rancheros
  4. Steak tartare
  5. Crocodile
  6. Black pudding
  7. Cheese fondue
  8. Carp
  9. Borscht
  10. Baba ghanoush
  11. Calamari
  12. Pho
  13. PB&J sandwich
  14. Aloo gobi
  15. Hot dog from a street cart (No, but I have had shawarma from one, would that count?)
  16. Epoisses (Assuming it's the cheese, no. If it's something else, well, then, no.)
  17. Black truffle
  18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
  19. Steamed pork buns
  20. Pistachio ice cream
  21. Heirloom tomatoes (I just don't do raw tomatoes. Blech.)
  22. Fresh wild berries
  23. Foie gras
  24. Rice and beans
  25. Brawn, or head cheese
  26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
  27. Dulce de leche (OMG, this is fabulous stuff)
  28. Oysters (tried 'em once, skip 'em now)
  29. Baklava
  30. Bagna cauda (on the want-to list)
  31. Wasabi peas
  32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
  33. Salted lassi
  34. Sauerkraut
  35. Root beer float
  36. Cognac with a fat cigar (Cognac, yes.)
  37. Clotted cream tea
  38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O -Shots
  39. Gumbo
  40. Oxtail
  41. Curried goat
  42. Whole insects (I ate a bite of a grasshopper once, though. It was all I could bring myself to eat.)
  43. Phaal (I don't have the guts, ha ha)
  44. Goat’s milk
  45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (thanks, Chris!)
  46. Fugu
  47. Chicken tikka masala
  48. Eel (I love eel!)
  49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (Still don't see what the fuss is about.)
  50. Sea urchin
  51. Prickly pear
  52. Umeboshi (one bite, once. VERY salty.)
  53. Abalone (in Chile, many times. Very tasty!)
  54. Paneer
  55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
  56. Spaetzle
  57. Dirty gin martini (I don't like gin)
  58. Beer above 8% ABV (it would seem yes - Chimay)
  59. Poutine (another on the want-to-try list)
  60. Carob chips
  61. S’mores
  62. Sweetbreads
  63. Kaolin (wait, what, the clay? No.)
  64. Currywurst
  65. Durian
  66. Frogs’ legs
  67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
  68. Haggis
  69. Fried plantain
  70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
  71. Gazpacho
  72. Caviar and blini
  73. Louche absinthe
  74. Gjetost, or brunost
  75. Roadkill
  76. Baijiu
  77. Hostess Fruit Pie
  78. Snail
  79. Lapsang souchong
  80. Bellini
  81. Tom yum
  82. Eggs Benedict
  83. Pocky
  84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (find me one and I'll do it!)
  85. Kobe beef
  86. Hare
  87. Goulash
  88. Flowers
  89. Horse
  90. Criollo chocolate
  91. Spam (I did live in Hawaii, where you're not allowed to say you don't like Spam)
  92. Soft shell crab
  93. Rose harissa (lordy, do I want to try this one; I love North African food)
  94. Catfish
  95. Mole poblano
  96. Bagel and lox
  97. Lobster Thermidor
  98. Polenta
  99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
  100. Snake
So... not too bad, eh? Some of these I had to look up, and for some things like the venison, snake and (hey, it's not on the list!) javelina I have to thank some friends of my folks who retired out in the middle of the desert. Oh, and pigeon pate. That's thanks to them, too.

Now I'm hungry!

Rex Libris, Stereotypes, and All That Jazz

Hi, all - I'm back! I've been saving up a few things but rather than stuffing them all into one big posting I'm going to dribble them out over the next couple of days, get back into the regular-post thing :-D

Check out "When Stereotypes No Longer Apply," an ACRL blog posting by Melissa Mallon. Good stuff, and good comments, too. Yes! We need to move towards a time when it doesn't matter what the librarian looks like, but what the librarian does. (Bet it doesn't happen anytime soon, though.)

I simply cannot stop singing this catchy tune: Hi-Fi Sci-Fi Library! Michael Porter (Libraryman) and David Lee King have done an amazing job. Check out the lyrics, too, if you miss a few during the video!

Just in case you haven't read about it (or heard it) yet, the group My Morning Jacket's recent album release "Evil Urges" has a song called "Librarian" on it. I think I've already commented on the lyrics.

Rex Libris #11Rex Libris #12 After a small delay, Rex Libris issues #11, "R'lyeh Rising", and #12, "Space Balls... of Evil!" are now available. Go forth and get!