The Librarian 3 on TNT

Yes, of course I watched it, and of course I have comments! I also have a new .sig line *grin*

Ahem. OK. Once again, bring your willing suspension of disbelief and your bowl of popcorn to enjoy Round 3 of TNT's Librarian movie series: "The Quest for the Judas Chalice", starring Noah Wyle as Flynn Carsen. Vampires! New Orleans! Action sequences! Memorable lines! (The first that popped up: "Maybe some women are ok with the wild and unpredictable lifestyle of dating a librarian, but I'm not!")

Yes, I thought it was cheezy fun. No, it didn't have anything to do with what we all think of as a "real" library, or librarian. But - let's face it - wouldn't we all love to work in Flynn's Library? (I know I would! I actually believe it to be an extended branch of the Middleton Public Library, to be honest.) Seeing it as the repository of history and artifacts through the ages (even if they are mythical artifacts) lends a bit of respectability to the name. I will admit I got the grins each time Flynn spouted details and in-depth history on anything and everything that crossed his path (wouldn't you hate to play against him in Trivial Pursuit?). And I think Judson (Bob Newhart, once again stealing all his scenes) is just wonderful.

To sum up: Tongue-in-cheek fun that requires you to leave your serious side out of the TV room. And to close: "I think it's only fair to warn you that I am, in fact, a librarian."

A Dewey thing

No, not Dewey the YA librarian from Unshelved, but Dewey the Library Cat! Seems Hollywood has taken a liking to Dewey's story by Vicki Myron, "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World," and is making a film about it starring Meryl Streep. Streep will play Myron, "who works at the library and observed the impact that a kitten had on the townsfolk once it became the library mascot after wandering in through the after-hours book return slot on a cold night."

Thanks to Kathy for the tip!

2% "Other"

Over on TCM's Movie Morlocks Blog, Moira Finnie has posted a fun graph ("The World of Work According to Classic Movies") and then headed into a great summary and review of librarians in classic movies titled "One of the Invisible Professions on Screen". (Librarians fall into the "2% Other" category on the chart.) More recent portrayals of librarians show up in the comments, too. It's worth a read not just for the summaries, but for the enjoyable way they're written. (thanks to Folderol.)

Currently 101° and no rain in sight.

Monday tidbits

Just some random bits to share:

* The new Indiana Jones movie has a hilarious scene in a library (well, I thought it was hilarious) involving a motorcycle and a reference question.

* From Playing for Keeps, by Jane Waterhouse: "Kitty Katz, everyone's idea of a librarian---each angular, beige part of her neatly tied with pearly ropes from which hung glasses, cardigan sweaters, even keys." (p.231) As Pat (who sent it to me) says, "I don't feel beige..."

* My Drupal site goes live (finally!) in the next 24 hours. *wibble*

Back to the nervous triple-checking, and closing my window; it's already 86° heading for 102°.

Random Video

Busy, busy, busy - here are some things to keep you occupied...

* Thumbs down: Erik the Librarian. Seen around the net, and in Library Journal...4 episodes posted so far. The summary says "Erik is a reclusive, introspective, yet very vocal librarian on a perpetual quest to make himself understood." LJ said "...it's a low point in the ongoing wars against the librarian stereotype. [...] Actually, he's obnoxious, manic, grating, and aggressive to the point of stalkerish." And, you know, I just can't top that. (I also couldn't watch anymore past about halfway through episode 3...blech.)

* Thumbs up: Library War. "The action comedy anime adapts Hiro Arikawa's popular novel about battles fought to preserve libraries when a new law threatens to clamp down on freedom of expression in 2019." I watched the video (no, I had no idea what they were saying) and just hope it gets released here with subtitles! Reminded me a lot of Yomiko Readman, aka The Paper, from Read or Die. (Watch it, if you haven't!)

* Two Thumbs Up! "Blood In The Stacks: Ravaged By A Vampire Librarian." (No, really, it's totally SFW.) Since even my stick people are sometimes unidentifiable, watching this vampbrarian (ha, ha) come to life was wild!

More on the third "Librarian" movie

Bummer! Now it looks like winter '08 instead of fall... ah well, should still be a big bunch o'cheesy fun!

• TNT planning third 'Librarian' movie
• Noah Wyle, Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin Return for Third INstallment of TNT's Successful Librarian Franchise
• TNT Checks Out 'Librarian' Again

The thermometer says it's 70° but I'm cold... yes, I'm a weather wimp, I admit it!

Monday's Random Musings

Summer is definitely over now - welcome, Fall! (Here's to the start of the best part of the year; the eight months that make summer totally worth it!)

* I'm not sure how I feel about Askville. I loves me some Amazon, but wonder why they felt they had to get into the answer market...

* More on The Hollywood Librarian: as we approach the national release of the movie (next week during Banned Books Week), pre-reviews and interviews are starting to pop up again. Yesterday, Frank Gray wrote "Film slams book on silly librarian stereotypes" for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. I'm sure more will come. No word yet as to whether my local library system will be showing the film, but I'm keeping my eyes open! via LISNews

* I'm taking a break from my electronic document management system wrestling and getting back to Drupal this week - whee!

Currently a beeee-yeautiful 79° and sunny.

A Couple of Things

What a week... Here's a couple of things that caught my eye recently:

* Yes, there's another Mummy movie in the works, with a new actress playing Evelyn Carnahan: "Maria Bello, from book club to badass librarian". Look for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor next summer!

* Check out the Wyoming Libraries Campaign. I think it's brilliant, myself - get 'em where they're looking, so to speak - but the mudflap bumper sticker is causing a lot of chat on the listservs! (I particularly like the billboard ads myself!)

* Can you escape the library? (I, rather pathetically, got stuck in a cardboard box the first time through, then in the basement. Sigh.) Found via Folderol

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Reviews of The Hollywood Librarian

Folks are starting to post about the premiere of The Hollywood Librarian at ALA last week; not having been able to go myself, I'm quite appreciative of these posts!

* The Hollywood Librarian: Nice Idea, Jumbled Execution, Dubious Marketing Plan over at the LJ Insider
* The Hollywood Librarian World Premiere at the PLA blog
* The Modern Librarian: A Role Worth Checking Out at the Washington Journal
* Hollywood Librarian: World Premier at Tinfoil+Raccoon

There are also starting to be a lot of photos of the event posted over at Flickr.

Updated to add Free Range Librarian's Constructive Suggestions, as well.

The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice

He's back... again! Noah Wyle is reprising his role once more as Flynn Carsen, The Librarian, in "The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice", aka "Librarian 3". (Nothing on TNT's site yet.) It's due to start filming in September of this year, in New Orleans. Gleaned from various sources and rumor-mills, it seems this time around Flynn is up against a group of baddies searching for an artifact that could resurrect Vlad Dracul (yep, it's a vampire story!). I'm sure the zany librarian fun will continue -

90° and, unsurprisingly, sunny.