I was playing with the movie function on my camera the other day, instead of working on my resume.
Anyone know how to embed youtube in blogger?
And how neat is this? Ann Arbor Library set up this thing where you can look at every record as an old-school catalog card, and even add notes to it.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Nobody writes them like they used to, so it may as well be me.
I've been workin' on my resume
All the live long day
I've been workin on my resume
'cause if I don't get out of this town I'm going to become even more bitter and hateful and disgust the only friend I've got here...uh, day.
Can't you hear the people shouting
Rise up so early in the morn
('cause I didn't go out last night because what's there to do, who's there to do it with & I've got no money)
***
It's no Anime Club theme sung (sorta) to the tune of "Animal Shapes" or "Din-ner for Legs and John-ny" ("Springtime for Hitler") but what do you think?
You know, all the miserable songwriters I listen to, you'd think I'd be better at this.
Where's Paul Westerberg when I need him?
All the live long day
I've been workin on my resume
'cause if I don't get out of this town I'm going to become even more bitter and hateful and disgust the only friend I've got here...uh, day.
Can't you hear the people shouting
Rise up so early in the morn
('cause I didn't go out last night because what's there to do, who's there to do it with & I've got no money)
***
It's no Anime Club theme sung (sorta) to the tune of "Animal Shapes" or "Din-ner for Legs and John-ny" ("Springtime for Hitler") but what do you think?
You know, all the miserable songwriters I listen to, you'd think I'd be better at this.
Where's Paul Westerberg when I need him?
Friday, August 25, 2006
Words Like Violence, a Friday Rant.
Holy hell, I hate AR. Hate hate hate. It's not just the forced reading. It's not just the assigning points to books. It's not just the way PUBLIC SCHOOLS have to pay for each and every test, and don't even buy the same tests district-wide.
Nor is it only the way everyone just expects public libraries to be on board and change their organization practices (you know, like alphabetical. By author.) or the fact that I see a definite difference in the way reading for pleasure is viewed by my jr high kids (who have AR) versus my high school crew (who have a 20 minute free reading period every day).
The parents who ask, over the summer, whether we have AR tests their kids can take, during the summer, are up there on my reasons for hating AR (especially when they get shirty about the fact that we don't*), but even they aren't my biggest beef with the system.
My Biggest Problem With AR
I'm revising our copy of the jr high AR list, because my brain isn't functioning well enough right now to do any of the things I need/want to do that require thoughts beyond "cut" or "paste" or "alt tab".
An aside: Funnily enough, most of the books on the list that are part of our YA collection are also the books on my report for weeding, which goes to show you how the AR people and the test-choosers really have their fingers on the pulse of our fair town. And now I'm stuck with decisions like, Do I keep a book that I'm assuming the jr high library owns but no one even looks at here, and take up precious precious shelf space, just because someone might need it to get their last 5 points to get to the next grade? All that shojo manga's gotta go somewhere, people, and I'm guessing neither Stephenie Meyer's or Christopher Paolini's third books are gonna be exactly thin.
So, back on (sort of) track, I'm going through this excel spreadsheet of all the books. A lot of them are in kids' fiction, but some are in YA.
Some of the titles on the list in our YA collection:
Which is whenever it's appropriate.
The jr high stops at 8th grade. Hard Love is not a book for an 8th grader, no matter how smart they are (or how many AR points they need, as is more frequently the case).
Is it any wonder that we're seeing more challenges coming from 5-8th grade parents when these books are offered with no regard for the maturity level of their content? It's like saying James Kochalka's work, all of it, is all-ages-appropriate based on the simplicity of his drawing style and the small number of words he uses.
And, yeah, I was there when Aiden Chambers was all, this is how they learn to be adults! Read up-level, kids! but I think there's a difference between challenging oneself and reading something before you're old enough to get all the meaning it wants to give you.
And this is true for books aimed at 20- and 30-somethings placed in YA collections as well, from the other end. Paul Moves Out is an amazing book, and one that many teenagers probably enjoy. I would have really liked it at 16. But I don't think I would have enjoyed it enough if I had read it before being that age, living similar experiences, etc, myself.
Plus, I have to respectfully disagree with a man who wrote what is most possibly the most boring piece of fiction I've ever read not directly for a class.
Did this make any sense, or should I just go back to staring at the spreadsheet and thinking about yarn?
*And, hell, I don't even know if we could, or if it would count for the kid. Public libraries aren't part of the school district in most cases, including YOURS, you mook.
Nor is it only the way everyone just expects public libraries to be on board and change their organization practices (you know, like alphabetical. By author.) or the fact that I see a definite difference in the way reading for pleasure is viewed by my jr high kids (who have AR) versus my high school crew (who have a 20 minute free reading period every day).
The parents who ask, over the summer, whether we have AR tests their kids can take, during the summer, are up there on my reasons for hating AR (especially when they get shirty about the fact that we don't*), but even they aren't my biggest beef with the system.
My Biggest Problem With AR
I'm revising our copy of the jr high AR list, because my brain isn't functioning well enough right now to do any of the things I need/want to do that require thoughts beyond "cut" or "paste" or "alt tab".
An aside: Funnily enough, most of the books on the list that are part of our YA collection are also the books on my report for weeding, which goes to show you how the AR people and the test-choosers really have their fingers on the pulse of our fair town. And now I'm stuck with decisions like, Do I keep a book that I'm assuming the jr high library owns but no one even looks at here, and take up precious precious shelf space, just because someone might need it to get their last 5 points to get to the next grade? All that shojo manga's gotta go somewhere, people, and I'm guessing neither Stephenie Meyer's or Christopher Paolini's third books are gonna be exactly thin.
So, back on (sort of) track, I'm going through this excel spreadsheet of all the books. A lot of them are in kids' fiction, but some are in YA.
Some of the titles on the list in our YA collection:
- Perks of Being a Wallflower
- Hard Love
- Born Confused
- Of Mice and Men
Which is whenever it's appropriate.
The jr high stops at 8th grade. Hard Love is not a book for an 8th grader, no matter how smart they are (or how many AR points they need, as is more frequently the case).
Is it any wonder that we're seeing more challenges coming from 5-8th grade parents when these books are offered with no regard for the maturity level of their content? It's like saying James Kochalka's work, all of it, is all-ages-appropriate based on the simplicity of his drawing style and the small number of words he uses.
And, yeah, I was there when Aiden Chambers was all, this is how they learn to be adults! Read up-level, kids! but I think there's a difference between challenging oneself and reading something before you're old enough to get all the meaning it wants to give you.
And this is true for books aimed at 20- and 30-somethings placed in YA collections as well, from the other end. Paul Moves Out is an amazing book, and one that many teenagers probably enjoy. I would have really liked it at 16. But I don't think I would have enjoyed it enough if I had read it before being that age, living similar experiences, etc, myself.
Plus, I have to respectfully disagree with a man who wrote what is most possibly the most boring piece of fiction I've ever read not directly for a class.
Did this make any sense, or should I just go back to staring at the spreadsheet and thinking about yarn?
*And, hell, I don't even know if we could, or if it would count for the kid. Public libraries aren't part of the school district in most cases, including YOURS, you mook.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
I wanna ramone you.
Billboard August 26
- YouTube is working on a deal with labels to use the site for music videos.
- interesting...
- Probably has something to do with the consistent sucking of MySpace's video capabilities, no?
- My black little heart shrieks with glee everytime I hear that Jimmy Chamberlain is the only original Smashing Pumpkin working with Corgan now.
- hee--Marissa told me the other day that she was waiting to order the new Nelly Furtado, in the hopes that I would.
- We had a "No, you order it!" fight over the last Coldplay album, too.
- 'til stupid teenager page mentioned it, and it became a YA thing.
- I still say I got screwed in that one.
- (For the confused--we only have one cd section here. Marissa and I fight over things both of us hate, but we know we have to order for the library.)
- Although, "Promiscuous Girl" is kind of growing on me.
- I think I'd like it a lot better if it weren't a Nelly Furtado song, because I just hate her so much.
- But the beat is fun, and the lyrics are ridiculous, and I like that in a summer radio hit.
- Plus, c'mon:
- "Chivalry's dead but you're kind of cute"
- That's a great damn line.
- So, the Simpsons 7th season box came in at work yesterday.
- So many great episodes!
- 22 Short Films About Springfield! (Best. Episode. Ever.)
- Homerpalooza!
- The one where they take Cabin de Flanders!
- And the dud in not-Mystery Date looks like Milhouse!
- Interpol has left Matador and will be with Capitol.
- The headline for this bit of news is "Bring on the Major Leagues", which is kind of bitchy, if you ask me.
- And now I've got "Major Leagues" stuck in my head.
- Paul and Tommy are going to be on a soundtrack together.
- Also, Pete Yorn is doing one of Paul's songs for it, which is nice.
- The headline for that one is "'Open' Bar". The movie has the word open in it.
- Also kind of a not-nice thing to say.
- Man, who's bored at their job and writing those headlines? It's like they gave the job to me or something.
- mmmm, Jered Leto in eyeliner.
- You know, I really don't care what 30 Seconds to Mars sounds like.
- ...so pretty...
- Meatloaf has a new single.
- Fat Joe has a big ass I95 pendant.
- You're going to make me say it, aren't you?
- He's got--sigh--I95 bling.
- I hate you.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
I mean I like my Skechers, but I love my Prada backpack.
Pagan Kennedy’s characters are always in my head. When I wake up with a pair of scissors, or a scrap of tshirt, or a plastic dinosaur under me, I think about Lilly. Hank stands in as a nice shorthand for every indie rock boy I’ve known who was desperate for fame and ashamed of it at the same time. I know the girl who creates a nest in the library out of ridiculous theories because the seminar is way over her freshman head. She keeps me from doing the same.
I also think of her as the girl who never wore makeup until one day attending that seminar in bright red lipstick that she quickly smudged off, but I think I might be mixing Pagan’s story with a piece about makeup from Bust magazine. That’s the thing about reading a lot—characters get mixed up in your memory, become different people. It’s weird.
But that’s the thing about a writer like Pagan Kennedy: she knows her audience, and uses a shorthand that lets them know she knows. But then, I have to wonder: Can I really claim that smirkingly name-dropping The Yellow Wallpaper* is a sly wink, when all around me are those complaining that mentioning the brand of a new girl’s lipstick is shameful, pandering, lazy writing? Designed only to sell more of said lipstick?
***
I just started Confessions of a Memory Eater. I’ll let you know how it is.
*just in case you didn't take an intro to womens lit class
I also think of her as the girl who never wore makeup until one day attending that seminar in bright red lipstick that she quickly smudged off, but I think I might be mixing Pagan’s story with a piece about makeup from Bust magazine. That’s the thing about reading a lot—characters get mixed up in your memory, become different people. It’s weird.
But that’s the thing about a writer like Pagan Kennedy: she knows her audience, and uses a shorthand that lets them know she knows. But then, I have to wonder: Can I really claim that smirkingly name-dropping The Yellow Wallpaper* is a sly wink, when all around me are those complaining that mentioning the brand of a new girl’s lipstick is shameful, pandering, lazy writing? Designed only to sell more of said lipstick?
***
I just started Confessions of a Memory Eater. I’ll let you know how it is.
*just in case you didn't take an intro to womens lit class
Friday, August 18, 2006
More DOPA-ness.
from Save Your Space:
Petition's here, folks!
Once again, thank you for signing the SAVE YOUR SPACE petition and protecting your rights to access and express yourself on the Internet.
We are excited to announce that the National Coalition Against Censorship has agreed to co-sponsor the petition. Their coalition is supported by more than 30 organizations including the American Library Association and the American Civil Liberties Union. We will broadcast a press release on Monday, but we really need to have 10,000 signatures by this Sunday evening (August 20). Currently, we have less than 3,000.
Some organizations are interested in helping us, but they need to see that people really care about this issue. Otherwise they don't want to waste their time. We've been told the following statement by lobbying organizations and even senior executives of social networking sites.
"No one cares about what people under 18 think, because they can't vote and they're not adults."
We don't have an advertising, marketing or lobbying budget, so we need you to spread the news via WORD OF MOUTH.
In the next few days, we'll provide you with some great tools to help promote the petition including contests where people can win prizes, merchandise and even earn a spot on our SAVE YOUR SPACE Wall of Fame.
Petition's here, folks!
Thursday, August 17, 2006
If you think that this is cruel then you should see what my friends do.
Awhile ago, I got a message through MySpace from a guy who had taken a cursory glance at my profile and thought he liked what he saw. He sent me a message referencing bits of it, including my clothing blog (which boys never get, so really, you don't even have to try to understand. If you have a penis, I'll grant you a pass on that one.) and I don't remember what else. It wasn't particularly offensive, so I did what I usually do in these situations: I went to his profile and nosed around.
It's why it's there, after all.
And you know what? I just wasn't all that impressed with what I saw. Here are some examples (examples may be more recent than the original message, but I'll explain that later):
General Interests: "Music, guitars, cars, guns, monster trucks, bullfights, welding, long walks on the beach at sunset." Like that sad stab at irony in the last item?
The first band he lists is Buckethead. This is not an alphabetical list. Also, and I know it's a disease so many of us struggle with, but can I just say the 20+ band listings where you're determined to prove you haven't locked yourself in some musical genre ghetto have GOT TO GO? Really, 20+ band listings in general. If you're that into music, $10 says I've figured out your favorite bands based on the shirt you're wearing in your picture anyway. The only thing worse is the dreaded "anything but country".
Also, and maybe this is just me, but in my experience, men who list Tori Amos amongst their favorites are not sensitive so much as trying to appear to be sensitive. You know I've no time for that.
Right now, the song on his profile sounds like the music Guy Pierce is lipsyncing to on top of Priscilla in the giant shoe.
I can't tell if this is pretentious, meant to convey a Deep, Poetical Soul, or...um, I had a third thing. Both, maybe?
"independant and foreign films that defy convential Hollywood formulas but aren't so avant garde that they are impossible to watch and understand" God, I hate this crap. Didn't I spend enough time as an undergrad dealing with boys who thought that hating Hollywood across the board made them smarter than their professors? All your heroes worked within Hollywood, bitches. If independent film is so awesome, how come your beloved Kevin Smith keeps making bigger budgeted, crappier movies? If Kubrick's such an independent genius, why are all his movies based on other people's stories, hunh?
Plus, let's all remember that, when I was planning on making movies, I was all about the ones that were "so avant garde that they are impossible to watch and understand".
His book list is just boring. I don't want to get into a whole discussion about by-the-numbers interests, what-you-like vs what-you're-like and all that, but c'mon: "The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio, God's Equation, The Mystery of the Aleph, Chance, Foucoult's Pendulum all by Amir Aczel, Hemingway, Nietzsche, Vonnegut, Sylvia Plath, Poe, Shakespeare, some mind candy but not much, anything that doesn't suck." I mean, those books just aren't fun. I respect a Plath reader much more if they admit to sneaking Family Circus everyday.
Which is why, when I'm about to leave the library, I check and see what my pretention-to-trash ratio is. If the name Robin Wood is on anything that isn't some Buffy dvds, I head over to the VC Andrews section. If I've wiped out their section of 20-something-indie-rocker-autobiographical graphic novels, I remind myself to scan the new picure books. It's about balance, people.
Because if you're not balanced, and you send a cute girl a message on MySpace, this may be what happens to you:
And then, suddenly, I think I remember who this is from. I think he did that "you should check out my profile for something that's vaguely related to yours" bit before. Either that, or it's a common way to get my attention, maybe.
My response: "So you're saying it's not a girl's own business who she talks to? Ass."
Yeah, we could probably blame Tiff's presence, a belly full of pad thai, and 90 minutes of Strangers With Candy for that one.
And then he responds to that. Which, to me, is a pretty ballsy and arrogant move. And not in a good way.
And I have to say, this is the big thing. This bit about him not saying it. Explicitly, no, he didn't. But when you send another message demanding an explanation as to why you got no response, underlying that message is the assumption that it is your call whether or not someone responds, not the actual person doing the responding.
So, in conclusion, don't be a jerk. And lighten the hell up. No one impresses people with senses of humor by not showing theirs.
***
So, why am I picking on this poor guy? Because this is what gets me about the online-meeting-people (for whatever) racket. I don't have a problem with being messaged; I have a problem with the implicit assumption that I am welcome to their message and will respond. I put up a fun, sassy picture of myself, and suddenly I'm expected to just take men asking for everything from "friendship" to a one night stand to a serious relationship without calling their bluff.
And I do so enjoy a good bluff-calling.
It's why it's there, after all.
And you know what? I just wasn't all that impressed with what I saw. Here are some examples (examples may be more recent than the original message, but I'll explain that later):
General Interests: "Music, guitars, cars, guns, monster trucks, bullfights, welding, long walks on the beach at sunset." Like that sad stab at irony in the last item?
The first band he lists is Buckethead. This is not an alphabetical list. Also, and I know it's a disease so many of us struggle with, but can I just say the 20+ band listings where you're determined to prove you haven't locked yourself in some musical genre ghetto have GOT TO GO? Really, 20+ band listings in general. If you're that into music, $10 says I've figured out your favorite bands based on the shirt you're wearing in your picture anyway. The only thing worse is the dreaded "anything but country".
Also, and maybe this is just me, but in my experience, men who list Tori Amos amongst their favorites are not sensitive so much as trying to appear to be sensitive. You know I've no time for that.
Right now, the song on his profile sounds like the music Guy Pierce is lipsyncing to on top of Priscilla in the giant shoe.
I can't tell if this is pretentious, meant to convey a Deep, Poetical Soul, or...um, I had a third thing. Both, maybe?
"independant and foreign films that defy convential Hollywood formulas but aren't so avant garde that they are impossible to watch and understand" God, I hate this crap. Didn't I spend enough time as an undergrad dealing with boys who thought that hating Hollywood across the board made them smarter than their professors? All your heroes worked within Hollywood, bitches. If independent film is so awesome, how come your beloved Kevin Smith keeps making bigger budgeted, crappier movies? If Kubrick's such an independent genius, why are all his movies based on other people's stories, hunh?
Plus, let's all remember that, when I was planning on making movies, I was all about the ones that were "so avant garde that they are impossible to watch and understand".
His book list is just boring. I don't want to get into a whole discussion about by-the-numbers interests, what-you-like vs what-you're-like and all that, but c'mon: "The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio, God's Equation, The Mystery of the Aleph, Chance, Foucoult's Pendulum all by Amir Aczel, Hemingway, Nietzsche, Vonnegut, Sylvia Plath, Poe, Shakespeare, some mind candy but not much, anything that doesn't suck." I mean, those books just aren't fun. I respect a Plath reader much more if they admit to sneaking Family Circus everyday.
Which is why, when I'm about to leave the library, I check and see what my pretention-to-trash ratio is. If the name Robin Wood is on anything that isn't some Buffy dvds, I head over to the VC Andrews section. If I've wiped out their section of 20-something-indie-rocker-autobiographical graphic novels, I remind myself to scan the new picure books. It's about balance, people.
Because if you're not balanced, and you send a cute girl a message on MySpace, this may be what happens to you:
Hi,(emphasis mine; ellipses are his)
My name is (name deleted for purposes of turning this into a universal rant). I emailed you a while back and never received a response so I am emailing again out of curiousity. I was wondering what I did wrong. I didn't ask for naked pics, I wrote an email relevant to your profile, I commented on your wardrobe blogs (I even used the word "banal" which I had to look up to ensure I was using it in the proper context) etc etc etc.
I have real books listed in my profile...not Stephen King or romance novel....Sylvia Plath for Christ's sake...
anyway...this is mostly tongue in cheek but I am curious about the lack of response. You can tell me I am an old, ugly bastard and I would understand.
PS...You have a pic of you wearing a viking helmet....check out my pics and my headgear for fireworks safety.
And then, suddenly, I think I remember who this is from. I think he did that "you should check out my profile for something that's vaguely related to yours" bit before. Either that, or it's a common way to get my attention, maybe.
My response: "So you're saying it's not a girl's own business who she talks to? Ass."
Yeah, we could probably blame Tiff's presence, a belly full of pad thai, and 90 minutes of Strangers With Candy for that one.
And then he responds to that. Which, to me, is a pretty ballsy and arrogant move. And not in a good way.
I have read my post to you 11 times looking for where I said "it's not a girl's own business who she talks to" with no success.Clearly, "ass" is a homonym: sounds the same, looks the same, means different things. Context, baby. Context.
...To you, I am an ass (It didn't go unnoticed that one of your General Interests was "Making an ass out of myself).
And I have to say, this is the big thing. This bit about him not saying it. Explicitly, no, he didn't. But when you send another message demanding an explanation as to why you got no response, underlying that message is the assumption that it is your call whether or not someone responds, not the actual person doing the responding.
So, in conclusion, don't be a jerk. And lighten the hell up. No one impresses people with senses of humor by not showing theirs.
***
So, why am I picking on this poor guy? Because this is what gets me about the online-meeting-people (for whatever) racket. I don't have a problem with being messaged; I have a problem with the implicit assumption that I am welcome to their message and will respond. I put up a fun, sassy picture of myself, and suddenly I'm expected to just take men asking for everything from "friendship" to a one night stand to a serious relationship without calling their bluff.
And I do so enjoy a good bluff-calling.
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