John William Godard-- Endymion 1893 Sleep. Break today.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Teen Slang...Anyone?
I'm needing teen slang for my latest book, but I can’t seem to find anything that’s “suitable.” I’m from the “groovy” generation, so you can imagine the depth of my problem.
Please help, if you can. I need acceptably clean words for:
Dork
Cool
Friend
Family
Awesome/Great - I did find that the teen slang word for this is “Sick.” Right? Although there seems to be some disagreement on this one. With most teens, awesome seems to be, well, still awesome! So, maybe I'm not so out of touch.
Want to find out your slang I.Q? Here's a fun test on, of all sites, Good Housekeeping! But, it's an easy way to find out if you’re “Groovy” or simply "Awesome."
Happy to hear some other suggestions, too, so my next book, "The Magician's Castle" can be simply "awesome!"
You can also check out the Urban Dictionary of Slang
Mary Cunningham
Mary Cunningham Books
Cynthia's Attic Blog
Quake Books
Daily Thoughts 2/27/2009
Portrait of Jonathan Swift, Author of Gulliver's Travels. Daily Thoughts 2/27/2009
Today has started slowly. I wrote my monthly report of the activities which I have done. I also checked on the movies for the Sunday film series. I did a bit of tidying up and updated my current events display. It is quiet here this morning.
I have been designing some rough drafts for flyers for the upcoming programs. I have sent a few of them over to the community relations person. Mostly, today has been a day to tidy things up a little bit. Cut extra scrap paper squares for the desk, make sure the reference room is in order, and keep my phone numbers and calendar updated.
I think I am ready to go to the Whiteplains Supreme Court Law Library on Monday.
One of my colleagues is leaving for the City College of New York. He is going to be a college librarian working in interlibrary loan. We had a nice discussion about the process of getting published. He is very interested in family literacy. One of his ideas is adapting different learning styles to family literacy.
We have a new librarian starting on Monday. She has worked with law material before. Hopefully, this will help us a bit with answering law questions.
On the train home, I finished reading the Caryatids. It was an excellent read. Tomorrow, I will work on writing a short review.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Fundraising For Libraries 25 Proven Ways To Get More Money For Your Library by James Swan
Fundraising For Libraries 25 Proven Ways To Get More Money For Your Library by James Swan
This book is about how to raise money for your library. There are numerous tips lists on extra things you can do in each chapter in this book. I found many of the tips useful. This book covers many other subjects than just grants.
The sections on capital campaigns, bond issues, and legislation were interesting. They talked about how to raise very large amounts of money. The book also covered LSTA (Library Systems and Technology Act) grants. We recently had a bond issued to improve the condition of the building.
For me, the most useful and immediate ideas that came out of reading this book were the idea of a renewal campaign contacting previous donors and creating a memorial giving brochure. These seemed like appropriate activities that our library might do.
There was a bit on direct mail campaigns for funds. I am not sure that this would be a great idea. I have mixed feelings about having lots of letters sent out to people requesting money. Some people might think this is junk mail.
We do many of the things listed in this book, but not as fundraisers. We have an art exhibition running in our library every month from the Westchester Arts Council. We do regular poetry (now it is called spoken word) open microphones. We have a Friends group that does regular booksales. The money from the booksales usually goes to pay for library programs.
There were a variety of events suggested, book fairs, book sales, garden fairs, fashion shows, poetry nights, flea markets, dinners, and auctions. They did not suggest a few things which are run in our area. The literary tea seems to be a favorite around here.
Opening a store in our library would be quite hard. However, providing premiums for donations like a giving tree, plaques, or personalized bricks might work. We currently have bookplates in many of our books with patrons names on them. Also, some of our rooms are named after people with small plaques.
The section on corporate giving reminded me to look up the major employers in our city and identify the foundations attached to them. We have a brochure with all the major employers in the county. Corporations often do matching gifts. The Gannett Foundation is a local foundation.
We are working on a family literacy grant. However, right now, I am more interested in things like individual donors.
I did not realize that the American Library Association had a Fundraising and Financial Development Section
http://www.ala.org/lama/committees/frfds/index.html
This book was quite comprehensive with lots of suggestions. It could have used some more illustrations. There is an index and a bibliography. The information on creating donation buttons on websites is a bit dated. It gave me a number of ideas worth looking at.
This book is about how to raise money for your library. There are numerous tips lists on extra things you can do in each chapter in this book. I found many of the tips useful. This book covers many other subjects than just grants.
The sections on capital campaigns, bond issues, and legislation were interesting. They talked about how to raise very large amounts of money. The book also covered LSTA (Library Systems and Technology Act) grants. We recently had a bond issued to improve the condition of the building.
For me, the most useful and immediate ideas that came out of reading this book were the idea of a renewal campaign contacting previous donors and creating a memorial giving brochure. These seemed like appropriate activities that our library might do.
There was a bit on direct mail campaigns for funds. I am not sure that this would be a great idea. I have mixed feelings about having lots of letters sent out to people requesting money. Some people might think this is junk mail.
We do many of the things listed in this book, but not as fundraisers. We have an art exhibition running in our library every month from the Westchester Arts Council. We do regular poetry (now it is called spoken word) open microphones. We have a Friends group that does regular booksales. The money from the booksales usually goes to pay for library programs.
There were a variety of events suggested, book fairs, book sales, garden fairs, fashion shows, poetry nights, flea markets, dinners, and auctions. They did not suggest a few things which are run in our area. The literary tea seems to be a favorite around here.
Opening a store in our library would be quite hard. However, providing premiums for donations like a giving tree, plaques, or personalized bricks might work. We currently have bookplates in many of our books with patrons names on them. Also, some of our rooms are named after people with small plaques.
The section on corporate giving reminded me to look up the major employers in our city and identify the foundations attached to them. We have a brochure with all the major employers in the county. Corporations often do matching gifts. The Gannett Foundation is a local foundation.
We are working on a family literacy grant. However, right now, I am more interested in things like individual donors.
I did not realize that the American Library Association had a Fundraising and Financial Development Section
http://www.ala.org/lama/committees/frfds/index.html
This book was quite comprehensive with lots of suggestions. It could have used some more illustrations. There is an index and a bibliography. The information on creating donation buttons on websites is a bit dated. It gave me a number of ideas worth looking at.
Daily Thoughts 2/26/09
Rembrandt (1606-1669) "Rembrandt Drawing at a Window" Etching Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Daily Thoughts 2/26/2009
This is a really interesting article. http://kotaku.com/5160610/librarians-investigated-for-playing-rock-band . I am rather surprised that the librarians in Nebraska got in trouble for this. I think the Benny Hill theme song might have done it more than the Rock Band video game. A lot of libraries have video games as part of their collections these days. Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Dance Dance Revolution are some of the most popular video games to use in teenage programs. It gets teenagers to come into the library. We want them to come in and read and use books. Music video games are a lot better than most violent videogames. We have a video game machine, a Nintendo Wii which we use in some of our teenage programming. It looks like the librarians are testing the machinery to see if it works.
Right now, I have a day off. I am reading the Caryatids by Bruce Sterling. The writing is very dense for science fiction. It is saying a lot more than most science fiction novels which I read. The story is in a near future setting in a world torn apart by global warming and pollution. Much of what is being described is very relevant to some of the things which are happening today.
Today has been a quiet peaceful day. I had a chance to walk up to my library and drop off a few books, as well as do my exercises in the morning. I spent some time relaxing, reading on the computer. I read some more of David Drake's Starliner on the Baen free library. I am on chapter 3 of Starliner now. So right now, I am reading an ebook and a regular book at the same time.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Snowbound Shed
I think I'm coming to understand the subtleties of the snow here in Sweden. Yesterday in the morning, it was only -1 deg C and by midday, we were up to plus 2! As a result there was a lot of melting snow and slush. Waking up this morning there had been a light snow 'shower' and the areas that were snow free yesterday, have a dusting of white again. The apples that we threw into the back garden for the deer and the birds sank into the snow but were visible, now they too are covered with a sprinkle of white. The birds still find them though, clever things that they are!
I did this drawing of the shed (which in Summer is going to be the playhouse) in the garden. It is a typical small Swedish garden shed. When I did this, the snow had melted quite a bit and the roof was nearly its normal dark colour. I have subsequently taken photographs of it covered in snow again, and will try and depict those at a later stage.
I did this drawing of the shed (which in Summer is going to be the playhouse) in the garden. It is a typical small Swedish garden shed. When I did this, the snow had melted quite a bit and the roof was nearly its normal dark colour. I have subsequently taken photographs of it covered in snow again, and will try and depict those at a later stage.
Have a Play Day!
You're never too old to have a Play Day or Play Date. It isn't something just for babies or toddlers.Dogs have play days, so why shouldn't you?
You're never too old to play. Scientists say play is a vital part of childhood. It unleashes the imagination. It encourages creativity. It lets a child work out their fears or worries.
The same is true for teens and adults. Let yourself have fun. Do something that lets your creativity loose. Draw. Color. Dress a doll. Play with miniatures. (Pictured is the witch's greenhouse I'm working on. More pix, see my blog.) Make a card. Do rubber stamping or make a scrapbook page. Try a new hobby.
Enjoy yourself! You'll feel better. You'll have a better, more balanced view of life. You'll smile. And we all can use more of those, can't we?
** I collect miniatures. And Sam, with her bff Lita, are hunting for a lost miniature painting in Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery. Many of the miniatures described are in my collection. I'll be sharing some of those photos soon.
Aloud! Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Edited by Miguel Algarin and Bob Holman
Aloud! Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Edited by Miguel Algarin and Bob Holman
Nuyorican is a hybrid word which combines New York and Puerto Rican. This anthology contains a wide a variety of different authorial voices from many different backgrounds Filipino, Chinese, Puerto Rican, Jewish, gay, straight, and other. The editors call it a multicultural anthology. A few of the poems are in Spanish and some are in a mix of Spanish and English. The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is a place in New York where they hold poetry slams. All of the poetry in this anthology was performed live on stage to an audience. It has a very different feel than most poetry anthologies.
A lot of the poetry draws from life on the street. There are many adult themes, AIDS, sex, drugs, rape, relationships, and music (jazz, hip hop, and rock and roll). The poetry is spoken word, meaning that it includes rap, hip hop, scat, and other nonconventional modern forms in the book. The writing is not tame. It does not necessarily follow traditional rhyme schemes.
Some of the poets in the anthology include Regie Cabico, Jennifer Blowdryer, Sapphire, Greg Masters and many others. There are biographical summaries of the writers at the end of the book. In the beginning of the book is a bit on the history of the poetry slam and the performance space, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
It was refreshing reading this book. If you want to read a book of poetry meant to be performed, this is a very good example. The book won the American Book Award in 1994.
Nuyorican is a hybrid word which combines New York and Puerto Rican. This anthology contains a wide a variety of different authorial voices from many different backgrounds Filipino, Chinese, Puerto Rican, Jewish, gay, straight, and other. The editors call it a multicultural anthology. A few of the poems are in Spanish and some are in a mix of Spanish and English. The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is a place in New York where they hold poetry slams. All of the poetry in this anthology was performed live on stage to an audience. It has a very different feel than most poetry anthologies.
A lot of the poetry draws from life on the street. There are many adult themes, AIDS, sex, drugs, rape, relationships, and music (jazz, hip hop, and rock and roll). The poetry is spoken word, meaning that it includes rap, hip hop, scat, and other nonconventional modern forms in the book. The writing is not tame. It does not necessarily follow traditional rhyme schemes.
Some of the poets in the anthology include Regie Cabico, Jennifer Blowdryer, Sapphire, Greg Masters and many others. There are biographical summaries of the writers at the end of the book. In the beginning of the book is a bit on the history of the poetry slam and the performance space, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
It was refreshing reading this book. If you want to read a book of poetry meant to be performed, this is a very good example. The book won the American Book Award in 1994.
Daily Thoughts 2/25/2009
Pietro Magni The Reading Girl, Statue
Daily Thoughts 2/25/2009
This afternoon, I spent some more time talking to our Westlaw representatives about our contract to purchase books and online material. They are going to come to visit to look at our current collection of material. I need to evaluate the law collection a bit more.
I am reading Fundraising For Libraries 25 Proven Ways To Get More Money For Your Library by James Swan. The book has started out fairly well.
The Perils of Team Projects
It was probably Socrates, or some equally impressive scholar and mentor, who came up with the grand plan of partnering students for a single project, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. There wasn't a school year that went by that didn't involve at least one of these ominous team efforts. If the word on the street is right, partner projects seem to torment students today as well.
Oh, it all starts out fine, especially if you like who's on your team, but then someone (usually the person with all the notes) gets sick, someone else's dog eats the diorama, or someone just 'forgets' their part. Knowing you'll share the final grade, do you cover the weak link on the team, or just cross your fingers and hope for a miracle? When it's over, do you prepare a power point and take your case to the teacher, clearly labeling everyone who dropped the ball?
Partner projects are supposed to teach us how to work with others, how to organize an effort and how to blend individual talent into a cohesive presentation. Nice theory, but how do you make it happen? How do you influence others to participate when they'd rather use group research time to catch up on their sleep?
Looking back, I have to wonder if partner projects weren't created just for the amusement of the administration. It might have started as a social experiment complete with hidden cameras: leave children alone with an assignment and watch the sparks fly – from a safe distance. Or maybe those pesky projects gave the super smart kids a chance to be popular. Everyone envied the group with the genius, especially if they could convince the genius to do all the work.
I suppose partner and team projects are really opportunities to learn how to learn and there's no doubt it takes lots of practice to learn how to play nice with others. I'm trying to recall a team project that went smoothly…and coming up empty. Unless marching band counts? That's where I learned to apply humor, compassion, and snack foods in equal measure to soothe the wounded and weary during long practices and competitions.
Are there any perilous team tales in your past - or present?
Regan
Download the first Pixie Chicks story at Quake today and find more adventure with Regan's Dream Works novella in the Missing anthology available now from Echelon Press.
To learn more about Regan visit her website or her blog.
Oh, it all starts out fine, especially if you like who's on your team, but then someone (usually the person with all the notes) gets sick, someone else's dog eats the diorama, or someone just 'forgets' their part. Knowing you'll share the final grade, do you cover the weak link on the team, or just cross your fingers and hope for a miracle? When it's over, do you prepare a power point and take your case to the teacher, clearly labeling everyone who dropped the ball?
Partner projects are supposed to teach us how to work with others, how to organize an effort and how to blend individual talent into a cohesive presentation. Nice theory, but how do you make it happen? How do you influence others to participate when they'd rather use group research time to catch up on their sleep?
Looking back, I have to wonder if partner projects weren't created just for the amusement of the administration. It might have started as a social experiment complete with hidden cameras: leave children alone with an assignment and watch the sparks fly – from a safe distance. Or maybe those pesky projects gave the super smart kids a chance to be popular. Everyone envied the group with the genius, especially if they could convince the genius to do all the work.
I suppose partner and team projects are really opportunities to learn how to learn and there's no doubt it takes lots of practice to learn how to play nice with others. I'm trying to recall a team project that went smoothly…and coming up empty. Unless marching band counts? That's where I learned to apply humor, compassion, and snack foods in equal measure to soothe the wounded and weary during long practices and competitions.
Are there any perilous team tales in your past - or present?
Regan
Download the first Pixie Chicks story at Quake today and find more adventure with Regan's Dream Works novella in the Missing anthology available now from Echelon Press.
To learn more about Regan visit her website or her blog.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Daily Thoughts 2/24/2009
Rembrandt, Alte Frau Lesen, 1655 Daily Thoughts 2/24/2009
I spent some time looking through the local papers for recent philanthropic activity. I made a pile of photocopies to give to the director. I am hoping that it will be useful. It is not that easy to know with these things. I read through a lot of local newspapers to find associations like the African American Men of Westchester County, some fraternities and sororities, the local rotary club, and various wealthy people who gave a significant enough amount of money to a nonprofit to appear in the local paper.
We are talking with Westlaw, a major legal publisher about some of our print and online subscriptions. I am making sure all of our old cd rom subscriptions are not active. We are being offered some discounts. You have to be excruciatingly careful when negotiating with Westlaw. The sales people at Westlaw are lawyers and the people who write the contracts are also lawyers. Their agreements tend to be very complex and well done.
I am looking at Every Nonprofit's Guide to Publishing Creating Newsletters, Magazines, & Websites People Will Read by Cheryl Woodard and Lucia Wang. I am rather disappointed with this book. I thought it was a do it yourself kind of book. How to design your own newsletters, websites, and magazines. It is not. It is how to choose other people to make your newsletter, or how to hire a person who will do it for you. There is only a small amount on how to do it yourself. I think I am going to try another book on how to do these things. It is not what I expected.
Now for a little technological euphoria before I even get a new smart phone.
The revolution will not be televised
It has already happened.
Turn off your television and wake up.
Pick up your telephone.
Listen carefully within the decade.
Your phone will change.
The revolution will not be televised
Information should be free.
Your cell phone will be as powerful as
The desktop you are reading.
Smart phones will become cheaply cloned
In China, In India, all over.
Anyone, anywhere who had a cell phone
Will hold their own computer.
The revolution has already happened
In every single place on earth.
One billion people are free of poverty
A pool for information revolution.
More knowledge will be created on phones.
Than in previous human history.
The revolution has already happened.
You hold it in your hand.
Monday, February 23, 2009
E-Books
E-Books. These electronic books have slowly begun to gain recognition, especially with the younger generation. I myself, have my books - Where Are You? and Mr. Mysterious - solely available in E-Book format.
E-Books come in all different genres – just like paperback books do – with the wide variety of stories to choose from so a person is free to pick one that suits their liking. They have the ability to take a person on an amazing ride through the depths of its electronic pages in the same fashion that a paperback book is capable of.
With the rising appearance of E-Books on the reading scene, I know one person in particular who hates reading paperback books - she has fallen in love with E-Books. While she does own paperback books and will occasionally read a paperback novel when she cannot find the book available in E-Book format, she would much rather curl up in bed with her E-Book reader instead of a paperback.
So why don't you come and check out the teen E-Book titles from Quake now!
Alyssa Montgomery
E-Books come in all different genres – just like paperback books do – with the wide variety of stories to choose from so a person is free to pick one that suits their liking. They have the ability to take a person on an amazing ride through the depths of its electronic pages in the same fashion that a paperback book is capable of.
With the rising appearance of E-Books on the reading scene, I know one person in particular who hates reading paperback books - she has fallen in love with E-Books. While she does own paperback books and will occasionally read a paperback novel when she cannot find the book available in E-Book format, she would much rather curl up in bed with her E-Book reader instead of a paperback.
So why don't you come and check out the teen E-Book titles from Quake now!
Alyssa Montgomery
Got Milk?
This year, as in every other year, the Oscars provided a chance for the film industry to slap itself and its subsidiaries on the back and proclaim a job well done. This job is taken up with the greatest gusto most years by the winner of Best Actor, and in 2009 Sean Penn didn't let us down. He thanked everyone - the Academy, the cast and crew of the film Milk, campaigners for equal rights and social justice, and even the American people for electing Barack Obama - a matter of rather tangential relevance. Glaringly obvious, however, was the omission of his gratitude towards Harvey Milk, the man whose courageous life and death were the basis of the film.
It might be easy to argue that there isn't much sense in thanking a dead person, if it weren't for the fact that other acceptance speeches are rife with nods towards deceased relatives, friends, mentors and "late-greats". Penelope Cruz, accepting the award this year for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, thanked her dear friend "who is no longer with us". And it appears that being alive does not guarantee you thanks from the highly-paid actor or actress that portrayed you in a successful film. Just ask Erin Brockovich, who Julia Roberts failed to acknowledge after winning Best Actress for portraying her in Erin Brockovich. That must have really hurt.
Surely, amidst all the tears and laughter and congratulations thrown around the auditorium, there was something forgotten, when the inspirational figures whose lives were the fodder for Hollywood films are ignored.
It might be easy to argue that there isn't much sense in thanking a dead person, if it weren't for the fact that other acceptance speeches are rife with nods towards deceased relatives, friends, mentors and "late-greats". Penelope Cruz, accepting the award this year for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, thanked her dear friend "who is no longer with us". And it appears that being alive does not guarantee you thanks from the highly-paid actor or actress that portrayed you in a successful film. Just ask Erin Brockovich, who Julia Roberts failed to acknowledge after winning Best Actress for portraying her in Erin Brockovich. That must have really hurt.
Surely, amidst all the tears and laughter and congratulations thrown around the auditorium, there was something forgotten, when the inspirational figures whose lives were the fodder for Hollywood films are ignored.
Motherwell's "Elegy to the Spanish Republic" at Phila Museum of Art
If you go to art museums, you surely know this is one of Robert Motherwell's over 200 versions of Elegy to the Spanish Republic. This one was painted in 1958-60 and is on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I saw this one again recently, and I have seen many similar versions in many other museums.
You can view some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.
Daily Thoughts 2/23/2009
Salomon De Bray (1597-1664)
Book and Picture Shop
Pen and ink, 1628
29 7/8 x 29 7/8 inches (76 x 76 cm)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Daily Thoughts 2/23/3009
I was on vacation this last week. I go back to work today. I am looking forward to it. I like what I am doing. Hopefully everything is going well. As I came back to work today, I realized that there were many more people coming into the library than usual. The economy may be down, but library usage seems to be going up considerably.
There was a stack magazines waiting for me on my desk; Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Searcher. I found two articles from my reading to be particularly interesting. The first was Is That A Computer In Your Pocket The Incredible Shrinking Computer by Robert Oppenheim, Searcher The Magazine For Database Professions, February 2009, P.12. This was about smartphones and how information professionals might use them. Apparently the Hoovers Database is available via smartphones. We just started a new subscription to Hoovers online. The second article I found particularly interesting was Step Into The Digital Future by Judith Rosen, Publishers Weekly, February 16, 2009 Pp. 17-19. This article was about the different new ereaders; Plastic Logic, Kindle, and the Stanza software for the Iphone.
In addition to stacks of magazines, I had a few books which I had put on hold waiting at the circulation desk, Regenesis by C.J. Cherryh and The Caryattids by Bruce Sterling. I returned all the books and videos I had checked out for my vacation.
When I got back I checked my phone as well. I will be going to The White Plains Supreme Court Law Library on Monday with two of my colleagues to take a tour of their library. They have a special office there called The Office of the Self Represented.
Everything seemed to be in order when I got back. Both of the Sunday Matinees for family films were shown and the workshop on using computers for business on Wednesday went well. I also had a chance to call and arrange for a poetry workshop on April 29m 2009 for National Poetry Month. As part of my focus on poetry, I checked out another book, Aloud! Voices From The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, edited by Miguel Algarin and Bob Holman. The book won the 1994 American Book Award. I started reading it on the train home. The book has a kind of smooth flavor to it; much more intense than beat peotry.
During my vacation, I tested out some of my old skills. For a while, I was doing human resources sourcing for a new defunct internet service provider during the dot com boom. I looked for philanthropists in our county, corporate donors who gave to libraries, and local library foundations. I searched the internet, newsgroups, blog search engines, and magazine and newspaper databases to find people. It was like peeling the rust from a door hinge.
Tomorrow, I am going to go through the city paper and one of the county papers to look for the same thing. The online city paper is only for two months and we have the complete run for a couple years in our periodicals department. I put another book on hold related to this kind of activity, Fundraising for Libraries: 25 Proven Ways to Get More Money For Your Library by James Swan.
Fangs in school
On my other blog (fangplace.blogspot.com), I discussed whether a boy should be expelled from school because of acne ... no, not that, heck, if acne was a reason to keep kids out of schools, they'd be empty.
What I meant to say, was if he got caught at school with a penknife.
Anyway, this touched on something from my upcoming book, Fang Face, where school authorities discuss banning a teenage girl from school just because of a little blood problem.
No, not anemia.
Her problem is that she likes blood. To drink. This isn't all of an uncommon feeling among her kind, seeing as she's in the process of being turned into a vampire.
But she isn't yet fully a vampire, and frankly, the law requires she attend school.
This was a fun thing to research. I called an administrator at the local high school, and asked her how a school might respond to something like this, and her answers surprised me.
I want to throw it out to y'all. How do you think a school should respond if it were asked to let a vampire attend classes with the other kids? And how might you respond if your child were in the same school?
The floor's open...
Norm
www.fangface.homestead.com
www.fangplace.blogspot.com
What I meant to say, was if he got caught at school with a penknife.
Anyway, this touched on something from my upcoming book, Fang Face, where school authorities discuss banning a teenage girl from school just because of a little blood problem.
No, not anemia.
Her problem is that she likes blood. To drink. This isn't all of an uncommon feeling among her kind, seeing as she's in the process of being turned into a vampire.
But she isn't yet fully a vampire, and frankly, the law requires she attend school.
This was a fun thing to research. I called an administrator at the local high school, and asked her how a school might respond to something like this, and her answers surprised me.
I want to throw it out to y'all. How do you think a school should respond if it were asked to let a vampire attend classes with the other kids? And how might you respond if your child were in the same school?
The floor's open...
Norm
www.fangface.homestead.com
www.fangplace.blogspot.com
Sunday, February 22, 2009
How To Disagree Without Being Disagreeable by Suzette Haden Elgin, Ph.D.
How To Disagree Without Being Disagreeable Getting Your Point Across With The Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense by Suzette Haden Elgin, Ph.D.
Suzette Haden Elgin, Ph.D. is a linguist. She is writing about how to diffuse potential conflicts and disagreements. The book mainly focuses on disagreements between close family and disagreements at the job. Her first point is that almost all physical violence is preceded by violent language. If we reduce violent language we will improve the general atmosphere which people live in.
I don't agree with some of her philosophy. I don't think people should avoid conflict at all costs. I think of conflict as a natural part of being human. I just think that aggression should be channeled into constructive acts like climbing mountains, sports, and racing cars.
However, her methodologies seem to be quite well done. They are easy to follow. She reminds us to actively listen. Most people don't pay enough attention. She also gives two simple methodologies to help eliminate the effects of bad language. Write it down or make I statements.
We use metaphors and ideas when we speak. Understanding presuppositions people make allows us to counter nasty statements in a non-hostile manner. We learn about common verbal attack patterns and how to counter them. There are several different ways suggested including being rational, addressing the subject not the insult, objecting to bad language, and bringing the argument to a common level.
The book seems to have a fairly strong feminist philosophy to it. There is quite a bit about how men and women talk to each other during verbal conflicts. She uses a lot of different examples in the book. Each chapter has a number of written out dialogues illustrating her points. She covers nine points in the book; staying detached, listening, choosing your metaphor, choosing your satir mode, controlling your presuppositions, avoiding and defusing verbal attack patterns, and reducing tension and building arpport.
The book is short, 170 pages, references and bibliography, and index. It is a fairly quick read. This book will have strong reactions for and against it.
Suzette Haden Elgin, Ph.D. is a linguist. She is writing about how to diffuse potential conflicts and disagreements. The book mainly focuses on disagreements between close family and disagreements at the job. Her first point is that almost all physical violence is preceded by violent language. If we reduce violent language we will improve the general atmosphere which people live in.
I don't agree with some of her philosophy. I don't think people should avoid conflict at all costs. I think of conflict as a natural part of being human. I just think that aggression should be channeled into constructive acts like climbing mountains, sports, and racing cars.
However, her methodologies seem to be quite well done. They are easy to follow. She reminds us to actively listen. Most people don't pay enough attention. She also gives two simple methodologies to help eliminate the effects of bad language. Write it down or make I statements.
We use metaphors and ideas when we speak. Understanding presuppositions people make allows us to counter nasty statements in a non-hostile manner. We learn about common verbal attack patterns and how to counter them. There are several different ways suggested including being rational, addressing the subject not the insult, objecting to bad language, and bringing the argument to a common level.
The book seems to have a fairly strong feminist philosophy to it. There is quite a bit about how men and women talk to each other during verbal conflicts. She uses a lot of different examples in the book. Each chapter has a number of written out dialogues illustrating her points. She covers nine points in the book; staying detached, listening, choosing your metaphor, choosing your satir mode, controlling your presuppositions, avoiding and defusing verbal attack patterns, and reducing tension and building arpport.
The book is short, 170 pages, references and bibliography, and index. It is a fairly quick read. This book will have strong reactions for and against it.
Daily Thoughts 2/22/2009
William Michael Harnett (1848-1892)
Still Life Writing Table
Oil on canvas, 1877
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
Daily Thoughts
Good morning, I am drinking my morning coffee right now. I am thinking about the post I made yesterday about magazines. I especially like The Indie Next List which is a list of bestsellers from Independent Bookstores. http://www.bookweb.org/indiebound/nextlist.html . I often think that librarians don't look outside their field enough for recommendations of books to buy or read.
Right now, I am reading The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski. I decided to put it down after the first 100 pages. While I liked some pieces of it; I found it to be very dark and often gratuitously violent. It also seemed to have a bit too much of the gamer audience in mind.
I am reading Starliner by David Drake. It is part of the Baen Free Library.
http://www.webscription.net/10.1125/Baen/0671721216/0671721216.htm . David Drake is one of my favorite authors of military science fiction. He is a reliably good author with plenty of entertaining writing.
What a Girl Wants got me
A while ago I posted that I felt like I was becoming more mature. Well, after a morning urge to see What a Girl Wants, where I found myself crying my heart out (like always when I watch this movie, and I've watched it more than 15 times) when Colin Firth says "What I've been trying to say is that I love you Daphne and I wouldn't change anything about you..." I realized that, maybe I'm still that same old Sandra. But, who cares? I love that movie...
On the Road
Sunday today, and my grandson is going to have his birthday party although his birthday is still 4 days away. He will be 7 on Thursday.
The plan was to have the party outside where they could play and have a fire to cook sausages for hotdogs. But this morning we awoke to more snow and where there was a little bit of thawing, the world is now black and white again. And the snowflakes are swirling down. So no snowball fights, no building of snowmen, just indoor games.
During last weekend we went down to Stockholm and visited, yes, wait for it
As a South African, Ikea is a whole new world to us. There are no stores quite like it. And quite frankly, it's a whole lot warmer in a building than it is outside.
We also took a drive through to Uppsala, the university town which was founded in 1477.(the University, that is). The Swedish Institute of Space Physics is also there as is the Astronomical Observatory. All very high tech! It was also the main pagan centre in Sweden. I took some photos on the way there and from the blurry images and my memory, came up with this drawing.
The plan was to have the party outside where they could play and have a fire to cook sausages for hotdogs. But this morning we awoke to more snow and where there was a little bit of thawing, the world is now black and white again. And the snowflakes are swirling down. So no snowball fights, no building of snowmen, just indoor games.
During last weekend we went down to Stockholm and visited, yes, wait for it
As a South African, Ikea is a whole new world to us. There are no stores quite like it. And quite frankly, it's a whole lot warmer in a building than it is outside.
We also took a drive through to Uppsala, the university town which was founded in 1477.(the University, that is). The Swedish Institute of Space Physics is also there as is the Astronomical Observatory. All very high tech! It was also the main pagan centre in Sweden. I took some photos on the way there and from the blurry images and my memory, came up with this drawing.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sportsmanship
I’m sitting in the stands at my son’s baseball practice right now. The coach just gave them the rules—not suggestions; not what he would like them to do, but what he demands they do—regarding sportsmanship. He just looked to the stands to tell us, the parents, the rules apply to us too. If we want to be present to watch our kid slam one over the fence, we have obey the rules of good behavior.
I’m pretty happy about that.
This week two basketball games in two different states have shown all of us the polar opposite sides of sportsmanship. In Mississippi in a not-so-friendly rivalry, the score got one-sided. The losing team began intentionally fouling to stop the other team’s drives to the basket. After one foul, two players began fighting. The benches cleared and before long, the fight spread to the fans—parents and other students—in the stands. When it was over, 12 people had been arrested, another dozen or so treated for injuries.
I sometimes see things in shades of black or white rather than grey. This is one. The high school athletics officials in Mississippi should suspend both programs for a year. Not fair to the players who didn’t start it? Too severe for those guys—who may not get to college otherwise—hoping to win a coveted full-ride athletic scholarship? Too bad. Fights like this don’t just pop out of nowhere. They’re bred from a culture of slack discipline.
Now to the other game. Dekalb, Ill. High School went on the road to play Milwaukee Madison. They, too, are rivals. Three hours before the game, the Milwaukee team surrounded their teammate, Johntel Franklin, as he stood in his mother’s hospital room as she lay dying. Her cancer had returned full force and the family decided to take her off life support. Johntel’s coach offered to cancel the game, but he said no. He told his coach and his team to go win it for him and for his mother.
The game started an hour late. Just as the 2nd quarter started, Johntel walked into the gym. His coach called a time out and told him to come sit on the bench with his team. He asked the coach if he could dress out and play. Illinois state athletic rules say if a player in not on the roster at the beginning of the game, the team has to take a technical foul, giving the opposing team two free foul shots.
The Dekalb coach, knowing Johntel’s mother just died argued with the referees for a full ten minutes, saying he didn’t want the points and asking them to just let Johntel play. The referees refused. Dekalb had to take the free throws, so the coach asked for a volunteer. The team captain raised his hand. The coach whispered something to him and he trotted to the foul line.
He bouced the ball, spun it in his hand and did what his coach told him to do—he threw the ball about two feet and let it dribble away. The second shot barely left his hand. The playing field level again, the teams resumed play. Johntel scored ten points—for his mom—and Dekalb, the team that gave up two gimme points, lost what turned out to be a very close game.
Sometimes winning is not measured by points on the scoreboard. It is definitely not determined by who gets the last punch in at a basketball game. Sportsmanship is high class. You don’t need to look any further than Dekalb High School to see that.
I’m pretty happy about that.
This week two basketball games in two different states have shown all of us the polar opposite sides of sportsmanship. In Mississippi in a not-so-friendly rivalry, the score got one-sided. The losing team began intentionally fouling to stop the other team’s drives to the basket. After one foul, two players began fighting. The benches cleared and before long, the fight spread to the fans—parents and other students—in the stands. When it was over, 12 people had been arrested, another dozen or so treated for injuries.
I sometimes see things in shades of black or white rather than grey. This is one. The high school athletics officials in Mississippi should suspend both programs for a year. Not fair to the players who didn’t start it? Too severe for those guys—who may not get to college otherwise—hoping to win a coveted full-ride athletic scholarship? Too bad. Fights like this don’t just pop out of nowhere. They’re bred from a culture of slack discipline.
Now to the other game. Dekalb, Ill. High School went on the road to play Milwaukee Madison. They, too, are rivals. Three hours before the game, the Milwaukee team surrounded their teammate, Johntel Franklin, as he stood in his mother’s hospital room as she lay dying. Her cancer had returned full force and the family decided to take her off life support. Johntel’s coach offered to cancel the game, but he said no. He told his coach and his team to go win it for him and for his mother.
The game started an hour late. Just as the 2nd quarter started, Johntel walked into the gym. His coach called a time out and told him to come sit on the bench with his team. He asked the coach if he could dress out and play. Illinois state athletic rules say if a player in not on the roster at the beginning of the game, the team has to take a technical foul, giving the opposing team two free foul shots.
The Dekalb coach, knowing Johntel’s mother just died argued with the referees for a full ten minutes, saying he didn’t want the points and asking them to just let Johntel play. The referees refused. Dekalb had to take the free throws, so the coach asked for a volunteer. The team captain raised his hand. The coach whispered something to him and he trotted to the foul line.
He bouced the ball, spun it in his hand and did what his coach told him to do—he threw the ball about two feet and let it dribble away. The second shot barely left his hand. The playing field level again, the teams resumed play. Johntel scored ten points—for his mom—and Dekalb, the team that gave up two gimme points, lost what turned out to be a very close game.
Sometimes winning is not measured by points on the scoreboard. It is definitely not determined by who gets the last punch in at a basketball game. Sportsmanship is high class. You don’t need to look any further than Dekalb High School to see that.
"Black Fire I" by Barnett Newman at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
All right, this blog is called "Contemporary Art Revealed," and I have posted about Impressionist, post-Impressionist, and Modern paintings over the past 10 days. So here's something from 1961, Black Fire I by Barnett Newman. Newman was known for his vertical stripes he called "zips" and for his large vertical blocks of color (often black). This painting is usually on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where I saw it again a week ago.
You can view some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.
The wall label at PMA describes the painting as follows: "Black Fire I conveys a dark grandeur through simple means: the tensions between edge and field, opacity and transparency, order and spontaneity, black pigment and raw textured canvas." Wow. Sometimes a picture IS worth a thousand words.
Daily Thoughts 2/21/2009, Magazine Reading
This is a photograph of renowned Egyptian novelist,Naguib Mahfouz. I find his writing to be exceptionally beautiful. It is poignant and well worth reading.
I put The Claws That Catch by Travis S. Taylor and John Ringo on hold at my local library.
I took a short walk up to my local library. It takes me about fifteen minutes walking uphill to get there. My doctor has asked me to do some mildly aerobic exercise two to three times a week, so I kind of count this as such. This is in addition to the 25 minutes of floor exercises I do each night from Yoga RX. I picked up a copy of How To Disagree Without Being Disagreeable by Suzette Haden Elgin, Ph.D.. She is the author of The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense. Hopefully this will be of some use.
This article from Information Week which interviews Tim O'Reilly, may give you a better sense of the changes in the publishing world which are coming very quickly. Most libraries are not ready for this. Many are not even aware that it is happening. http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/02/tim_oreilly_unp.html
Magazine Reading
I am on a routing list at work for magazines. Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly, and Searcher are routed to me every single month. On occassion, I will also read The New York Review of Books because of the quality reviews it gives.
When I have time, I will read Wired Magazine online http://www.wired.com/ . I also read Locus Magazine online http://www.locusmag.com/ , Bookselling This Week http://www.bookweb.org/ , I like the reviews section of the online version of http://www.libraryjournal.com/ . Mostly, I read magazines that give reviews of books and other material. I actually prefer reading magazines online.
I think in some ways, blogs are replacing many magazines. I still like the feel of paper. I don't like tearing up or marking magazines that much. Although, occassionally, I will mark a review which I like a lot.
Vorpal Blade by John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor
Vorpal Blade by John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor
This is a military science fiction story. The United States navy with the help of he Adar an allied alien race convert a nuclear submarine into a warp drive spaceship. It is the classic subs in space theme from science fiction. Man the torpedos.
The first part of the book is about training and selecting the crew for the ship, The Vorpal Blade. It goes over the specifications of the ship as well as the combat suits which the space marines wear called Wyverns. There are also a few other tropes from science fiction thrown in, the teenage genius girl with the alien pet, and the brilliant linguist. If you like military hardware it is kind of interesting.
The second part of the book is space exploration. The crew learns how to use the warp drive, they make some observations about astronomy, and they refuel water and oxygen from a gas giant. There is some science in this book. Travis S. Taylor, one of the writers, has several degrees including a Ph.D. in Optical Science and Engineering and a masters in Physics. The first half of the book is not that combat oriented
In the final part of the book, the space marines fight the tentacle crabs, then they save the bipedal space hamsters from the evil demons. The space hamsters, or as the author says, space chinchillas, need a lot of help. It is up to the marines to fight various beasties like armored insects, laser firing dragonflies, and dragon beasties. Of course the marines save the day, but not without some casualties. John Ringo who has written a lot of military science fiction novels does excellent combat descriptions.
This is a fun book to read. It is not particularly realistic, the space marines don't use any rocket launchers, flamethrowers or other very heavy ordinance in fights; it would end the battles too quickly. Just bullets, combat suites, grenades, and knives. It is a sequel to the book, The Looking Glass, but only references the Dreen, there are no actual evil alien Dreen in this book. The book already has a sequel which I plan on reading called The Claws That Catch.
This is a military science fiction story. The United States navy with the help of he Adar an allied alien race convert a nuclear submarine into a warp drive spaceship. It is the classic subs in space theme from science fiction. Man the torpedos.
The first part of the book is about training and selecting the crew for the ship, The Vorpal Blade. It goes over the specifications of the ship as well as the combat suits which the space marines wear called Wyverns. There are also a few other tropes from science fiction thrown in, the teenage genius girl with the alien pet, and the brilliant linguist. If you like military hardware it is kind of interesting.
The second part of the book is space exploration. The crew learns how to use the warp drive, they make some observations about astronomy, and they refuel water and oxygen from a gas giant. There is some science in this book. Travis S. Taylor, one of the writers, has several degrees including a Ph.D. in Optical Science and Engineering and a masters in Physics. The first half of the book is not that combat oriented
In the final part of the book, the space marines fight the tentacle crabs, then they save the bipedal space hamsters from the evil demons. The space hamsters, or as the author says, space chinchillas, need a lot of help. It is up to the marines to fight various beasties like armored insects, laser firing dragonflies, and dragon beasties. Of course the marines save the day, but not without some casualties. John Ringo who has written a lot of military science fiction novels does excellent combat descriptions.
This is a fun book to read. It is not particularly realistic, the space marines don't use any rocket launchers, flamethrowers or other very heavy ordinance in fights; it would end the battles too quickly. Just bullets, combat suites, grenades, and knives. It is a sequel to the book, The Looking Glass, but only references the Dreen, there are no actual evil alien Dreen in this book. The book already has a sequel which I plan on reading called The Claws That Catch.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Mary Cassat at Philadelphia Museum of Art
On my visit a week ago to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I again saw one of my favorite Impressionist paintings owned by the Museum. It has been off display for a while, and now it is back. The painting is Mary Cassatt's portrait of her sister Lydia at the Paris Opera House in front of a mirror which reflects the interior of the Opera House. It was painted in 1879 and is titled Woman With A Pearl Necklace in a Loge. It is bright, lively, and when you see it in person it's like you are there enjoying the opera scene with her.
Mary Cassatt was born in the Philadelphia area, and moved to Paris after art school at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in order to further her art career.
You can see some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.
That Suzie Orman is sneaky...
Just finished watching some Oprah shows with the family, and Suzie Orman (my favourite) was there to discuss money and economy. What I liked in particular with this show was that they brought up the issue with children and money. Whether or not, the parents should inform their children about what comes in, and what goes out each month. The answer was yes, because children really don't understand the value of money these days. We are used to get what we want, and when we can't - "life sucks".
The reason for bringing this up is because, Suzie boldly said that the word allowance should be banned from the dictionary. That, money has to be earned by work and I am so with her! However, when she then said that money should not be given as a reward for good grades - I WANTED TO STRANGLE HER! Mum was sitting next to me, for goodness sake! I normally like Suzie...but, hello! Those grades are the grades of a very hardworking student!
Daily Thoughts 2/20/2009
Everybody can simply lend or swap books or help filling this weather-proof outdoor bookcase any time - since November 2005 five such open library cupboards were installed in Hanover by Werkstatt-Treff Mecklenheide e.V.. The idea seems to origin from the artists Clegg & Guttmann, who realized their first "Open Public Library" in 1991 in Graz (AT). Taken by Norbert Luckhardt, Hannover, DE with a Cannon EOS 5D. This image is licensed under Creative Commons.
I have read Extraordinary Engines The Definitive Steampunk Anthology Edited by Nick Gevers. I do not like this anthology. I did not like most of the stories in this anthology. There were only three which I liked; Steampunch by James Lovegrove, Speed, Speed the Cable by Kage Baker, and Fixing Hanover by Jeff Vandermeer. There was one story which was interesting to read, but I had mixed feelings about it. The title was Machine Maid by Margo Lanagan. There were a total of twelve stories
I wish they had the selection of stories less literary in nature and focused on more popular stories. I did not find James Morrow's story, Lady Witherspoon's Solution to be steampunk, it was more Victorian fantasy. It was not a bad story, it just was not steampunk in my mind. I think a better anthology to read would be Steampunk Edited by Ann Vandermeer and Jeff Vandermeer, I enjoyed this anthology a lot more.
Dewey Readmore Books - One Special Cat
Must admit...I’m a dog person. But one special yellow cat stole my heart.Dewey Readmore Books was the resident cat at Spencer Public Library, Spencer Iowa after a heartless soul dropped him into the library book return one cold January night in 1988. Library director, Vicki Myron, a single mother also in a struggle to get back on her feet after a series of tragedies, found him the next morning, hoarse from crying and suffering from frostbite.
He stole the hearts of the staff when, despite his discomfort, nudged each one of them in a gesture of thanks. Their decision to adopt him was rewarded by 19 years of loyalty. A contest was held to pick a name, and Dewey (named after Melvil Dewey of Dewey Decimal System fame) Readmore Books was officially added to the staff.
Patrons and friends donated pop cans and money, from as far away as New York, to pay for Dewey's food. Don’t get me wrong. Dewey was no charity case. As an official library staff member, he had his own job description.
Now, Vicki Myron has put Dewey's story in print. To "readmore" about this special cat, click on Amazon.
Or visit: Spencer Public Library
Mary Cunningham
Quake
Cynthia's Attic Blog
Happy (but not the) Feet
Good morning! Right now I'm in a very good mood, besides that my toes are purple from freezing -.-. "But don't worry", I tell myself. As long as they are not dead! See, I'm in a good mood. :P This new found happiness must come from the fact that, I dragged myself out of bed too early this morning, to finish one of the two philosophy essays (first time in a lifetime I'm writing an essay before I start to panic =D) and soon is going to enjoy a lovely sushi lunch at East City with the adorable Gan family. Yes, that must be it. Ooh, and now Crazy in Love with Beyoncé and Jay-Z comes on MTV, that I haven't heard for ages...Is this my lucky day or what!!!??? :P
This is how it is done...How I work the Sandra-magic, you know...;P
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Slam Foreword by Tori Amos Edited by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Slam Foreword by Tori Amos Edited by Cecily Von Ziegesar
This book describes the concepts behind doing a poetry slam. It tells you that most poets perform from memory during poetry slams. Because of this many of the contributions in this book are short raps, poems by singers like Jewel or DMX, and contemporary material.
This book is written for young adults. However, the writing feels like it would be accessible to all ages. The book is clearly written to appear cool and happening. The publisher of the book has a web site, http://alloy.com It is designed as a cool site for teen girls. I didn't expect them to write a book on slam poetry.
There is an interesting mix of poetry by teenage girls; performance poets like Felice Bell, Beth Lisick, or Jerry Quickly; quality literary poets like Allen Ginsberg, Frank O'Hara, Shakespeare, Sylvia Plath and others.
The layout is slightly avant garde. It uses three colors, black, blue, and white. There are a variety of fonts and layouts for the poems. Most of the pages have black and white photographs in the backgrounds.
The back of the book has a mix of one paragraph biographical snapshots and lots of credits for the poems. The book is quite well thumbed by library patrons.
There are quite a few poems from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. I think I want to read more poems from this group.
Some people may not like this book because it is not very traditional. It mixes different skill levels of writing. It would be a very good book for early teens. They would find it cool.
Other people might not like the style of the poetry. Many poems are meant to be read aloud or don't follow traditional rhyme schemes. I liked it because I need to better understand this kind of poetry if I am going to do better in getting people to read poetry in the library setting.
This book describes the concepts behind doing a poetry slam. It tells you that most poets perform from memory during poetry slams. Because of this many of the contributions in this book are short raps, poems by singers like Jewel or DMX, and contemporary material.
This book is written for young adults. However, the writing feels like it would be accessible to all ages. The book is clearly written to appear cool and happening. The publisher of the book has a web site, http://alloy.com It is designed as a cool site for teen girls. I didn't expect them to write a book on slam poetry.
There is an interesting mix of poetry by teenage girls; performance poets like Felice Bell, Beth Lisick, or Jerry Quickly; quality literary poets like Allen Ginsberg, Frank O'Hara, Shakespeare, Sylvia Plath and others.
The layout is slightly avant garde. It uses three colors, black, blue, and white. There are a variety of fonts and layouts for the poems. Most of the pages have black and white photographs in the backgrounds.
The back of the book has a mix of one paragraph biographical snapshots and lots of credits for the poems. The book is quite well thumbed by library patrons.
There are quite a few poems from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. I think I want to read more poems from this group.
Some people may not like this book because it is not very traditional. It mixes different skill levels of writing. It would be a very good book for early teens. They would find it cool.
Other people might not like the style of the poetry. Many poems are meant to be read aloud or don't follow traditional rhyme schemes. I liked it because I need to better understand this kind of poetry if I am going to do better in getting people to read poetry in the library setting.
Sweet Charity
"Outrageous" repeats Clever Lawyer, her wedding-ring flashing in the sun as she flicked her chocolate locks out of her face. "Just outrageous. It was my word of the day."
"So what did they say?"
"They told me that, if that was my attitude, I shouldn't bother coming to the next meeting." Her face hints at the world of frustration she is feeling. At the moment, my friend Clever Lawyer is in a world of shit at her high-end law firm. And it all comes down to the question of charity. HighEnd LawFirm is having a charity gig, and has appointed a committee to allocate the funds to deserving recipients. There are so many of these out there that several long meetings have been neccessary in order to whittle down the list to something manageable. For the most part, the committee agreed on the merits of charities coming their way - until this one.
"It was a charity that organises wheelchair sports", says Clever Lawyer, "and I didn't have a problem until I read what $50 will buy."
Fifty dollars, it turns out, will buy one player, from one team, bottled water for an entire sporting season. This is where Clever Lawyer got her back up. In front of her were brochures from charities that feed the starving, house the homeless, provide basic medical supplies for women giving birth in villages without running water. Here were horrible diseases that needed a cure, here were political prisoners being tortured and disappeared. And here were a bunch of people who needed bottled water in order to play sport ?
In a fatigued aside, Clever Lawyer sarcastically mutters, "And it's not as though bottled water is one of the biggest rorts of our time, is it?" She has a point - we are lucky enough to live in a place where potable water comes out of the tap, with the added bonus that it is cheap and doesn't hamper the world with yet another disposable plastic bottle. Clever Lawyer asks the charity committee if it wouldn't perhaps be reasonable for sports players to refill drink bottles from the tap, rather than drinking $50 worth of charity-funded bottled water in a season.
Deadly silence descends. One committee member, high on her own self-righteousness, asks:
"So - because they're disabled, they don't deserve bottled water?"
Clever Lawyer, a handful of charity fliers in each hand, desperately tries to explain that she thinks they could find a charity with a more pressing need for the money. Maybe it's her use of the word "outrageous" - or maybe not, but she is shot down from every angle. Political correctness reigns supreme, and she leaves the meeting feeling demoralised, her head pounding from the lashings of political correctness which doesn't allow her to admit that feeding a famine victim, providing childhood vaccinations, housing a homeless person or saving an endangered species is more important than supporting sporting endeavours (complete with bottled water) for a group of wheelchair-bound Australians who, despite their disabilites, have homes to go to, food to eat, clean water to drink, and healthcare provided by the state.
Now, neither she, I, or anyone else I know would claim that disabled athletes don't deserve support. Their experiences of marginalisation from society are probably at least as painful as the conditions which rendered them disabled, and any scheme which assists them to participate in a team sport is laudable. But it's a question of priorities. Charity funds are finite, and the fact remains that they are urgently required for more pressing problems both here and overseas. All the politically-correct posturing in the world won't change the fact that spending $50 on bottled water for one player, in one team, during one season, is money that is, quite literally, being pissed away for no actual benefit.
And, in answer to Clever Lawyer's query - $50 constitutes about one-twentieth of the money required to dig a well in a developing country, supplying an entire village with clean water. Stack that up against 20 team-sports players drinking expensive water that they could get for free out of a tap, and the contrast is exactly what Clever Lawyer dubbed it: outrageous.
Are some charities more deserving than others?
Do you think it is in bad-taste to spend charity funds on bottled water for sport?
What is the best/worst use of charitable funds you know of?
"So what did they say?"
"They told me that, if that was my attitude, I shouldn't bother coming to the next meeting." Her face hints at the world of frustration she is feeling. At the moment, my friend Clever Lawyer is in a world of shit at her high-end law firm. And it all comes down to the question of charity. HighEnd LawFirm is having a charity gig, and has appointed a committee to allocate the funds to deserving recipients. There are so many of these out there that several long meetings have been neccessary in order to whittle down the list to something manageable. For the most part, the committee agreed on the merits of charities coming their way - until this one.
"It was a charity that organises wheelchair sports", says Clever Lawyer, "and I didn't have a problem until I read what $50 will buy."
Fifty dollars, it turns out, will buy one player, from one team, bottled water for an entire sporting season. This is where Clever Lawyer got her back up. In front of her were brochures from charities that feed the starving, house the homeless, provide basic medical supplies for women giving birth in villages without running water. Here were horrible diseases that needed a cure, here were political prisoners being tortured and disappeared. And here were a bunch of people who needed bottled water in order to play sport ?
In a fatigued aside, Clever Lawyer sarcastically mutters, "And it's not as though bottled water is one of the biggest rorts of our time, is it?" She has a point - we are lucky enough to live in a place where potable water comes out of the tap, with the added bonus that it is cheap and doesn't hamper the world with yet another disposable plastic bottle. Clever Lawyer asks the charity committee if it wouldn't perhaps be reasonable for sports players to refill drink bottles from the tap, rather than drinking $50 worth of charity-funded bottled water in a season.
Deadly silence descends. One committee member, high on her own self-righteousness, asks:
"So - because they're disabled, they don't deserve bottled water?"
Clever Lawyer, a handful of charity fliers in each hand, desperately tries to explain that she thinks they could find a charity with a more pressing need for the money. Maybe it's her use of the word "outrageous" - or maybe not, but she is shot down from every angle. Political correctness reigns supreme, and she leaves the meeting feeling demoralised, her head pounding from the lashings of political correctness which doesn't allow her to admit that feeding a famine victim, providing childhood vaccinations, housing a homeless person or saving an endangered species is more important than supporting sporting endeavours (complete with bottled water) for a group of wheelchair-bound Australians who, despite their disabilites, have homes to go to, food to eat, clean water to drink, and healthcare provided by the state.
Now, neither she, I, or anyone else I know would claim that disabled athletes don't deserve support. Their experiences of marginalisation from society are probably at least as painful as the conditions which rendered them disabled, and any scheme which assists them to participate in a team sport is laudable. But it's a question of priorities. Charity funds are finite, and the fact remains that they are urgently required for more pressing problems both here and overseas. All the politically-correct posturing in the world won't change the fact that spending $50 on bottled water for one player, in one team, during one season, is money that is, quite literally, being pissed away for no actual benefit.
And, in answer to Clever Lawyer's query - $50 constitutes about one-twentieth of the money required to dig a well in a developing country, supplying an entire village with clean water. Stack that up against 20 team-sports players drinking expensive water that they could get for free out of a tap, and the contrast is exactly what Clever Lawyer dubbed it: outrageous.
Are some charities more deserving than others?
Do you think it is in bad-taste to spend charity funds on bottled water for sport?
What is the best/worst use of charitable funds you know of?
Matisse "The Moorish Screen"
Henri Matisse painted The Moorish Screen in 1921. It shows his daughter Marguerite and his then-favorite model Henriette Darricarre in an interior of incredibly rich carpets and wall coverings and the titular Moorish screen. Although I have seen this on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, it is now on display in the Museum's Perelman Building as part of the exhibit "Henri Matisse and Modern Art on the French Riviera."
You can view some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.
Effective Fundraising For Nonprofits Real World Strategies That Work, 2nd Edition, by Ilona Bray, J.D.
Effective Fundraising For Nonprofits Real World Strategies That Work, 2nd Edition, by Ilona Bray, J.D.
This is a practical hands on book on how to raise money money for nonprofits. There is no theory. Every section is focused on ways to increase funding; donation letters, bequests, selling merchandise, producing brochures and websites, approaching individual donors, and many other subjects are covered.
The books opens with a statement that you should clarify the reason you are asking for money. This includes having a clear mission and goals. Some of the reasons I can think of which people might give money to our library are; we have a nice job information center collection, a law collection, provide free access to computers for the public, provide community space for events, are a historical Carnegie building, have many displays and have a small space to display local art.
There are several chapters on how to write donor solicitation letters and followup with donors once they have given money. The book suggests that you leave telephone solicitation alone because of problems with telemarketing and email solicitation alone because of spam. There are also descriptions of annual renewal letters and holiday appeal letters. There is a reminder that letter writing campaigns are for donations of $250 or less.
For more money in the $500 or more range, nonprofits should turn to personal appeals. This is done through prospect research. I find this kind of interesting. This is currently being done by our library foundation. In our area, the Westchester County Business Journal writes about many local philanthropists. There are a variety of sources for prospect research. One of the free ones which the book lists is the Forbes magazines People Tracker database for high net worth individuals.
The persoanl appeals section segues into the process of generating bequests or donations from last wills and testaments. People over the age of 45 write wills and many of them include donations. Bequests tend to specify exactly how donated money will be spent. Individual donations to nonprofits account for 75% of fundraising money.
I liked some of the points made in the section on special events. Nonprofits won't make money from selling food. For the most part, they will break even. Selling food is often a goodwill gesture and it generates good public relations. I think of our library booksales with books and baked goods as a goodwill gesture. They do generate enough cash to help us with some library programming. The only other events I have participated in for libraries are street fairs. Mainly this is to increase the membership of the Friends of the Library and hand out materials about the library.
I might try to go to one of our future fundraising events to get a better sense of what is happening. Some of the events I have seen advertised in local libraries are literary teas, honorary luncheons, photography exhibitions, art exhibits, and crafts fairs.
Some nonprofits run social enterprises. These are businesses. I have been to the New York Public Library book and gift shop as well as the Brooklyn Public Library coffee shop. This is a lot of work to do. We really don't sell merchandise.
The next section in this book is on grant writing. My colleague works on writing grants. It is a tremendous amount of work. There is a lot of research involved. There are a number of tips on grant writing in this book: the more reproducible your project is, the more likely it is to get funding, make your grant easy to read, send it in early, and be prepared to have people visit your site.
With grants comes support materials like brochures and newsletters. My colleague and I recently designed a services brochure for our library. I think this will improve our outreach considerably. We do not currently have a lirbary newsletter. I am hoping that the library will start a new blog soon so I can work on it. What I am doing now is partially preparation for this.
Our library already has a fairly complex website which is in the process of being upgraded. While wandering through the internet, I noticed several of the local libraries had a paypal donation button on their site. Along with this I am hoping that they rewrite the Friends of the Library section and include a section on the Library Foundation.
The last section in this book is on contacting and talking to the media. It is important to list all fundraising events as well as programs with media. We have been sending out a lot more press releases to the media lately. This is because we recently redesigned our calendar of events and are doing more programming. There is a reminder that news is about new and "content is king".
This book is a comprehensive overview of the fundraising process for nonprofits. It helped me grasps some of the concepts a little better. I can recommend it without hesitation. The book itself is very clearly written. It includes an index and a set of worksheets to help clarify your decisions at the end of the book. There are sample documents, black and white photographs, and tips throughout the book.
This is a practical hands on book on how to raise money money for nonprofits. There is no theory. Every section is focused on ways to increase funding; donation letters, bequests, selling merchandise, producing brochures and websites, approaching individual donors, and many other subjects are covered.
The books opens with a statement that you should clarify the reason you are asking for money. This includes having a clear mission and goals. Some of the reasons I can think of which people might give money to our library are; we have a nice job information center collection, a law collection, provide free access to computers for the public, provide community space for events, are a historical Carnegie building, have many displays and have a small space to display local art.
There are several chapters on how to write donor solicitation letters and followup with donors once they have given money. The book suggests that you leave telephone solicitation alone because of problems with telemarketing and email solicitation alone because of spam. There are also descriptions of annual renewal letters and holiday appeal letters. There is a reminder that letter writing campaigns are for donations of $250 or less.
For more money in the $500 or more range, nonprofits should turn to personal appeals. This is done through prospect research. I find this kind of interesting. This is currently being done by our library foundation. In our area, the Westchester County Business Journal writes about many local philanthropists. There are a variety of sources for prospect research. One of the free ones which the book lists is the Forbes magazines People Tracker database for high net worth individuals.
The persoanl appeals section segues into the process of generating bequests or donations from last wills and testaments. People over the age of 45 write wills and many of them include donations. Bequests tend to specify exactly how donated money will be spent. Individual donations to nonprofits account for 75% of fundraising money.
I liked some of the points made in the section on special events. Nonprofits won't make money from selling food. For the most part, they will break even. Selling food is often a goodwill gesture and it generates good public relations. I think of our library booksales with books and baked goods as a goodwill gesture. They do generate enough cash to help us with some library programming. The only other events I have participated in for libraries are street fairs. Mainly this is to increase the membership of the Friends of the Library and hand out materials about the library.
I might try to go to one of our future fundraising events to get a better sense of what is happening. Some of the events I have seen advertised in local libraries are literary teas, honorary luncheons, photography exhibitions, art exhibits, and crafts fairs.
Some nonprofits run social enterprises. These are businesses. I have been to the New York Public Library book and gift shop as well as the Brooklyn Public Library coffee shop. This is a lot of work to do. We really don't sell merchandise.
The next section in this book is on grant writing. My colleague works on writing grants. It is a tremendous amount of work. There is a lot of research involved. There are a number of tips on grant writing in this book: the more reproducible your project is, the more likely it is to get funding, make your grant easy to read, send it in early, and be prepared to have people visit your site.
With grants comes support materials like brochures and newsletters. My colleague and I recently designed a services brochure for our library. I think this will improve our outreach considerably. We do not currently have a lirbary newsletter. I am hoping that the library will start a new blog soon so I can work on it. What I am doing now is partially preparation for this.
Our library already has a fairly complex website which is in the process of being upgraded. While wandering through the internet, I noticed several of the local libraries had a paypal donation button on their site. Along with this I am hoping that they rewrite the Friends of the Library section and include a section on the Library Foundation.
The last section in this book is on contacting and talking to the media. It is important to list all fundraising events as well as programs with media. We have been sending out a lot more press releases to the media lately. This is because we recently redesigned our calendar of events and are doing more programming. There is a reminder that news is about new and "content is king".
This book is a comprehensive overview of the fundraising process for nonprofits. It helped me grasps some of the concepts a little better. I can recommend it without hesitation. The book itself is very clearly written. It includes an index and a set of worksheets to help clarify your decisions at the end of the book. There are sample documents, black and white photographs, and tips throughout the book.
What are sisters for? x)
Taking a looong walk in this country and at this time of year, was pretty impressive by meHere we go again. From personal blog assistent, in charge of my layout, she now became my personal hairdresser. - And I, hers. It didn't get that much shorter though, because I really don't feel like looking like a poodle again (like in the beginning of school, last fall). Overall, she did a nice job. Thanks, jiejie! Anyhow, I think I did a pretty good job as well, in return. No complains...yet. Haha, but we'll see if they roll in later. Hopefully not though, because I reeaaaaalllly did a GREAT job! And, especially for being my first time to cut someone's hair. - If we delete the time when I took a pair of scissors as a little girl, and cut my hair like Cruella de Ville. Haha, I still remember mum's face when she was washing my hair that evening and noticed that there was a lot falling off -.-...
Ouff, now I'm going to see if I finally get some physics done -.-...I probably bore this little blog with all my physics crap all the time, but that will probably just strengthen the fact that I suck at it!!! Ok, enough now. Later little blog!
Challenged
Pam's terrific post on Huck Finn got me thinking. I'll bet there are many other challenged books that would surprise people. It's not just small towns from a decade ago doing the banning, either, as in the movie Footloose (Does anyone still know that movie?) - I get several challenges each year on materials for teens in the library. While I do respond in a nice way to patrons who complain, I have not yet removed an item, and am lucky to have support in that decision from my director. But - lots of school and public library folks lose their jobs over this kind of thing - even today!
The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom publishes a list each year of the most challenged books from the year before, and the reasons the books are challenged. Here's the most recent one - how many have you read?
The 10 most challenged books of 2007 (ranked in order) reflect a range of themes, and are:
1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
2. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence
3. Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language
4. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman Reasons: Religious Viewpoint
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain Reasons: Racism
6. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,
7. TTYL, by Lauren Myracle Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou Reasons: Sexually Explicit
9. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit
10. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
3. Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language
4. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman Reasons: Religious Viewpoint
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain Reasons: Racism
6. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,
7. TTYL, by Lauren Myracle Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou Reasons: Sexually Explicit
9. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit
10. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
There's Huck Finn at #5! This is the first year in a while that Harry Potter has not made the list, and I think Golden Compass took its place with the popularity of the movie. I'd be surprised if Twilight did not make the list for 2008. I've found that tell folks a book is challenged only makes people want to read it more!
-Amy Alessio
Editor, Missing: A Mysterious Gathering of Tales (Echelon Press, 2008)
Daily Thoughts 2/19/2009
Der Arme Poet, Carl Spitzweg
Daily Thoughts 2/19/2009
The registration is open for Book Expo America for May 28-31. http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/Registration/Attendee-Registration/ They don't list their prices up front. I went in and checked for librarians it is $90 for three days. Last time I went, I got a discount from Westchester Library Association, it was $75 with the discount. I am very much looking forward to going to the conference.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Photoshop is forgiven =)
The first part of my mini-blog-makeover is on. Thanks to my super sweet sister, that worked her designer magic with the help of photoshop. Yes, the program that crashed the computer a while ago -.-. But that is all forgiven now when I have a gorgeous heading to brag about! xD
Oh, almost 10 o'clock...I'm off to bed! And I'm serious. I really don't understand how I still can be so tired when I've had sleep in every morning from Friday. Was school really over using the energy I had? Anyhow, ticktack ticktack...sweet dreams!
Oh, almost 10 o'clock...I'm off to bed! And I'm serious. I really don't understand how I still can be so tired when I've had sleep in every morning from Friday. Was school really over using the energy I had? Anyhow, ticktack ticktack...sweet dreams!
Matisse "Still Life on a Table" at Perelman Bldg of Phila Museum of Art
The second of the two Henri Matisse still life paintings I referred to yesterday is Still Life on a Table painted in 1925, the year after the painting featured yesterday. This painting, not usually on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is currently on view at the Perelman Building of the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of the exhibit "Henri Matisse and Modern Art on the French Riviera." You can see many similarities between this painting and the one featured yesterday.
You can view some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.
There's No Elevator to the Top by Umesh Ramakrishnan
There's No Elevator to the Top A Leading Headhunter Shares the Advancement Strategies of the World's Most Successful Executives by Umesh Ramakrishnan Vice Chairman of CTPartners
This book is about the process of becoming a successful CEO. The book is international in scope. It gets stories and anecdotes from CEOs from all over the world; Steve Reinemunde of Pepsico, Lucas Chow of MediaCorp Group, Nadia Zaal of Al Barari, Javier Gutierrez of Ecopetrol, and many other international CEOs.
The book takes the view that we live in an international world. It is necessary for a CEO to travel and live in the countries which they operate in. Mr. Ramakrishnan calls the search for talent, worldsourcing.
Unlike most books on CEOs, there are very nice sections on family, interests, and health. It is suggested that regular sleep, exercise, and strong family support are necessary to run a company. It is very easy to burnout in the position as chief. People should have at least two outside interests. This can be as simple as reading and golf.
There are a lot of tips on networking and advancing ones career. The point of networking in this book is not to advance ones career but to get more done on the job. People who network to be more effective on their current job are more likely to have their contacts help them. It is not good to be too comfortable in a job. It is as important to make lateral moves inside a company as it is to move upward. Manage up, down, and sideways or you will never move up inside a company.
There are also ideas on how to succeed as CEO. You are not #1, the company is. When you reach the top, you cannot rest, your job is to improve the place you work for.
On a personal level, this book made me realize that there are always sacrifices in time, family, and committments when you move up in position in any job. More responsibility brings more stress and requires you to pay closer attention to your health and family. At the same time, this book gave me some ideas on how to better manage my own career. I found the book both useful and entertaining.
Umesh Ramakrishnan is the Vice Chairman of CT Partners, a global executive recruitment firm that recruits CEOs, directors, and senior management positions. This book has a website at http://noelevatortothetop.com/
This book is about the process of becoming a successful CEO. The book is international in scope. It gets stories and anecdotes from CEOs from all over the world; Steve Reinemunde of Pepsico, Lucas Chow of MediaCorp Group, Nadia Zaal of Al Barari, Javier Gutierrez of Ecopetrol, and many other international CEOs.
The book takes the view that we live in an international world. It is necessary for a CEO to travel and live in the countries which they operate in. Mr. Ramakrishnan calls the search for talent, worldsourcing.
Unlike most books on CEOs, there are very nice sections on family, interests, and health. It is suggested that regular sleep, exercise, and strong family support are necessary to run a company. It is very easy to burnout in the position as chief. People should have at least two outside interests. This can be as simple as reading and golf.
There are a lot of tips on networking and advancing ones career. The point of networking in this book is not to advance ones career but to get more done on the job. People who network to be more effective on their current job are more likely to have their contacts help them. It is not good to be too comfortable in a job. It is as important to make lateral moves inside a company as it is to move upward. Manage up, down, and sideways or you will never move up inside a company.
There are also ideas on how to succeed as CEO. You are not #1, the company is. When you reach the top, you cannot rest, your job is to improve the place you work for.
On a personal level, this book made me realize that there are always sacrifices in time, family, and committments when you move up in position in any job. More responsibility brings more stress and requires you to pay closer attention to your health and family. At the same time, this book gave me some ideas on how to better manage my own career. I found the book both useful and entertaining.
Umesh Ramakrishnan is the Vice Chairman of CT Partners, a global executive recruitment firm that recruits CEOs, directors, and senior management positions. This book has a website at http://noelevatortothetop.com/
Daily Thoughts 2/18/2009
Cartoonist Basil Wolverton at his drawing board, about 1950. Basil Wolverton has a unique style. I finished reading There's No Elevator to the Top this morning. I have started reading Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits Real-World Strategies That Work, 2nd Edition by Ilona Bray, J.D. It is a very long complex text. I think it will help me understand some more things about how nonprofits work.
I placed another book on hold, Every Nonprofits Guide to Publishing by Cheryl Woodard. Hopefully, this will be quite interesting. I am very very interested in the publishing world.
Web Bits
This company looks very interesting. It is a new type of presentation format for books on the web. http://www.scribd.com/about
Why why why?
Wouldn't life be so much easier if a pistachbulle (pistachio bun) and Milo provided you with all the vitamins, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids and all the other needed nutritions your body needs? I just don't understand why they made it so complicated...
February 18: Still Newsworthy, Huck Finn Turns 125
by Pam Ripling
Raise your hand if you’ve read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain [pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens](1835-1910). If so, did you read it on your own, or was it assigned reading? What did you think about it at the time you read it? Has your opinion changed now that (if) you are older?
I ask these questions because while on the surface, this “classic” appears to be about a boy’s adventures on a river raft with an escaped slave, there are some very deep concepts between the pages of Twain’s sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. And while the escapades are wildly different than those of today’s youth, the protagonist’s underlying goals are the same: freedom and adventure.
Can you imagine being kidnapped by your own drunken father, whose intention is to steal money from you? No wonder Huck fakes his own death, steals a canoe and shoves off down the Mississippi River, content to go where the water takes him. When he comes across Jim, a runaway slave, they become natural traveling companions, each seeking a personal freedom as they traverse the river together.
The book was and still is considered nothing if not controversial. Many libraries banned the book, citing young Huck as sacrilegious, immoral, and his stories inappropriate for children. While some consider the story to be a satirical, powerful attack on racism, others claim its intent was inherently racist. Twain’s liberal use of the “n” word still shocks readers who may not realize the moniker was common language in the 1840’s, and the work would likely be deemed unrealistic without its use.
It might surprise you to learn that as recent as 1998, an Arizona high school parent sued a school district for mandating the reading of Huck Finn, asserting that the book exacerbated existing racial tensions between students.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published in 1884, in England, and in 1885 in the U.S. One-hundred twenty-five years later, the debate, and the book’s reputation as a “classic”, still stirs controversy. One might well wonder if Twain really intended to evoke emotion with a strong statement about the human condition, or if he was just writing an adventure story about a boy, his friend and their travels down the Mississip. What do you think?
Pam Ripling is the author of middle-grade mystery, LOCKER SHOCK! Buy it at Quake, Fictionwise or Amazon today! E-book version now available for your Kindle! Visit Pam at http://www.beaconstreetbooks.com/.
Raise your hand if you’ve read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain [pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens](1835-1910). If so, did you read it on your own, or was it assigned reading? What did you think about it at the time you read it? Has your opinion changed now that (if) you are older?
I ask these questions because while on the surface, this “classic” appears to be about a boy’s adventures on a river raft with an escaped slave, there are some very deep concepts between the pages of Twain’s sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. And while the escapades are wildly different than those of today’s youth, the protagonist’s underlying goals are the same: freedom and adventure.
Can you imagine being kidnapped by your own drunken father, whose intention is to steal money from you? No wonder Huck fakes his own death, steals a canoe and shoves off down the Mississippi River, content to go where the water takes him. When he comes across Jim, a runaway slave, they become natural traveling companions, each seeking a personal freedom as they traverse the river together.
The book was and still is considered nothing if not controversial. Many libraries banned the book, citing young Huck as sacrilegious, immoral, and his stories inappropriate for children. While some consider the story to be a satirical, powerful attack on racism, others claim its intent was inherently racist. Twain’s liberal use of the “n” word still shocks readers who may not realize the moniker was common language in the 1840’s, and the work would likely be deemed unrealistic without its use.
It might surprise you to learn that as recent as 1998, an Arizona high school parent sued a school district for mandating the reading of Huck Finn, asserting that the book exacerbated existing racial tensions between students.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published in 1884, in England, and in 1885 in the U.S. One-hundred twenty-five years later, the debate, and the book’s reputation as a “classic”, still stirs controversy. One might well wonder if Twain really intended to evoke emotion with a strong statement about the human condition, or if he was just writing an adventure story about a boy, his friend and their travels down the Mississip. What do you think?
Pam Ripling is the author of middle-grade mystery, LOCKER SHOCK! Buy it at Quake, Fictionwise or Amazon today! E-book version now available for your Kindle! Visit Pam at http://www.beaconstreetbooks.com/.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Matisse "Still Life" at Perelman Bldg Phila Museum of Art
Two Henri Matisse still life paintings that are not usually on display are now on display at the Perelman Building of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This one was painted in 1924 and is titled Still Life. You can see Matisse really loved his textiles.
You can see some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.
Monster A Novel by A. Lee Martinez
Monster A Novel by A. Lee Martinez
Monster, the main character in the novel, is a cryptobiological hunter. He is one of the few humans who can see and interact with magic. Most people in the book block it out; when they see a yeti for example, they think big bear or monkey, then they remember seeing a big bear or monkey.
Monster gets entangled with a human, Judy, after she calls in animal control to deal with yetis in her freezer. As the novel progresses, we learn Judy is the key to saving the universe.
Thus ensues a metaphysical, humorous, sometimes ridiculous story about saving the universe. There are numerous encounters with odd critters; trolls, a pegasus, gnomes, a firebreathing cat, a sphinx, a walrus dog, and other things.
Monster's personal life is a bit messy. His girlfriend is a demon who leaves around devil dolls. She is wicked, but not as wicked as I would have liked. Judy, the other central character, also is not going anywhere with her life.
My favorite character was the villainness. I found her much more sympathetic than the main characters. She is polite, ladylike, keeps a garden, has lots of cats, and is almost unstoppable.
This is a light romp. It is set in the modern day. I have read most of the authors works. He writes humorous fantasy. I can recommend Gil's All Fright Diner which is his best book so far. I have been following the author closely. He has a website at http://www.aleemartinez.com
I got this book from the New York Comic Con on February 6. The book is due out in May of 2009. The copy I am reading is an Advanced Reading Copy.
Monster, the main character in the novel, is a cryptobiological hunter. He is one of the few humans who can see and interact with magic. Most people in the book block it out; when they see a yeti for example, they think big bear or monkey, then they remember seeing a big bear or monkey.
Monster gets entangled with a human, Judy, after she calls in animal control to deal with yetis in her freezer. As the novel progresses, we learn Judy is the key to saving the universe.
Thus ensues a metaphysical, humorous, sometimes ridiculous story about saving the universe. There are numerous encounters with odd critters; trolls, a pegasus, gnomes, a firebreathing cat, a sphinx, a walrus dog, and other things.
Monster's personal life is a bit messy. His girlfriend is a demon who leaves around devil dolls. She is wicked, but not as wicked as I would have liked. Judy, the other central character, also is not going anywhere with her life.
My favorite character was the villainness. I found her much more sympathetic than the main characters. She is polite, ladylike, keeps a garden, has lots of cats, and is almost unstoppable.
This is a light romp. It is set in the modern day. I have read most of the authors works. He writes humorous fantasy. I can recommend Gil's All Fright Diner which is his best book so far. I have been following the author closely. He has a website at http://www.aleemartinez.com
I got this book from the New York Comic Con on February 6. The book is due out in May of 2009. The copy I am reading is an Advanced Reading Copy.
Important life lessons!
Good day, little blog! Right now I feel like sharing two life lessons that should not be taken for granted. Do you hear me? Do not take them for granted! This is Sandra speaking!
Life lesson no. 1: Never let a pimple persuade you. You may have heard that you really shouldn't squeeze a pimple, no matter how squeezable it may look. Because if you do, your skin can become scarred for life etc...(The things I never listen to when I am it). However, I'm telling you from experience, do not squeeze a pimple: "one squeezed, two new in the morning!" - See, karma is always with us...even in pimple issues -.-
Life lesson no. 2: Never go into business with a friend. (Especially not with a blonde, long-legged girl called Sabina, who the other day crossed over to the dark side by ignoring our contract -.-). And if anyone wants to know if I've got Facebook? - I'm not afraid of fighting alone for ditching it. While all you others get your identities and pictures owned by some "jj" community.
Daily Thoughts for 2/17/2009
Engraving of Noah Webster, from the frontispiece of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, Revised and Enlarged
Daily Thoughts for 2/17/2009
I am going to start including the date in my daily thoughts post. This will make it more distinguishable from previous posts.
Yesterday, I went out and bought a copy of I Can Make You Thin by Paul McKenna. I had been listening to the tape for several weeks and decided it would be better to have my own copy than the library copy.
I listen to the CD for about half an hour every night. It is working. I have lost nine pounds since I read the book and started listening to the cd. The cd is also very relaxing to listen to.
I also put Regenesis by C.J. Cherryh on hold after seeing it at the bookstore. It is part of the Cyteen series.
I am on vacation this week. I am not planning on going anywhere, just relaxing. I took a walk to my local library near my house. The library was packed with people. All the tables were full. There was a two hour wait on the signup list for the computers. This makes sense to me. Libraries are a free source of entertainment and education in a very tight economy.
I picked up some material to read, Extraordinary Engines The Definitive Steampunk Anthology, Edited by Nick Gevers. It is c2008, published by Solaris Books which is a new publisher. Vorpal Blade by John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor. John Ringo was on the New York Times Bestseller list for his science fiction. This book is a military science fiction novel published by Baen Books, it is a paperback, the paperback came out in October of 2008 so it is fairly new. Finally, I picked up a copy of Slam with a foreword by Tori Amos, edited by Cecily Von Ziegesar. It is a young adult title about poetry slams. I think it might help me better understand the concept of spoken word.
In addition to books, I got a copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on dvd. It is a three day loan. I rarely go to the theatres these days because it is so expensive and it takes so much time. I prefer to sit and watch my movies at home.
Web Bits
If you are on Twitter I really like the New York Times Books http://www.twitter.com/nytimesbooks It has excellent coverage of evrything book related.
I am definitely going to the Open Access and Libraries 2009 Conference
http://www.unabashedlibrarian.com/open-access-2009
Closet Classics Complainer
“A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”
This quote really spoke to me. I’ve read Bronte, Dickens, Austen, Shakespeare and Poe and all the literary giants responsible for what we call “The Classics.” The stories were great, very ingenious and wonderfully fraught with high emotions and deep meaning.
Yet, to be honest, the writing bored me to tears. Yes, I know that this is something a writer should never admit to. I know that it’s important to support the best in literature and ensure that each generation, upon each generation, continue to value these masterful works. But honestly? I skimmed some of the more ‘descriptive’ passages to get to the story itself.
Think about it. It’s few and far between that you hear readers say that one of the classics is their favorite book. Ask them, and right now they’d say, “Twilight, hands down.” Or maybe, “Harry Potter still rocks!” A few years ago, it might have been, “The Lovely Bones” or “The Secret Life of Bees” or maybe “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”
Yet when they talk about the classics, they talk about it in terms of authors, “My favorite Jane Austen is Emma.” Or maybe, “I absolutely adore Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.” The underlying message to me says they respect and admire these authors, but of the lot to choose from, those were the best of the bunch—not necessarily a completely favorite book.
Now before someone comes in and says this is completely false because they know so-and-so who is a genuine classic fan, or they profess to be one themselves, let me just be clear right off the bat that I know these folks do exist and I say, more power to them!
I, however, fall more into that category about everyone wanting to say they’ve read the classics, but would rather not read them. I want the action and the romance, the supernatural and paranormal, the horror and the comedy, and I want it in modern language that doesn’t leave me feeling like I spent six hours translating after two hours of reading.
What about you? Are you a Closet Classics Complainer? Or do you count one of the classics as your absolute all-time favorite novel ever?
Warmly,
Jenny:)
J.R. Turner is the author of the Extreme Hauntings series. The first book, DFF: Dead Friends Forever is available at Amazon.com, Kindle, Fictionwise, and Echelon Press.com
This quote really spoke to me. I’ve read Bronte, Dickens, Austen, Shakespeare and Poe and all the literary giants responsible for what we call “The Classics.” The stories were great, very ingenious and wonderfully fraught with high emotions and deep meaning.
Yet, to be honest, the writing bored me to tears. Yes, I know that this is something a writer should never admit to. I know that it’s important to support the best in literature and ensure that each generation, upon each generation, continue to value these masterful works. But honestly? I skimmed some of the more ‘descriptive’ passages to get to the story itself.
Think about it. It’s few and far between that you hear readers say that one of the classics is their favorite book. Ask them, and right now they’d say, “Twilight, hands down.” Or maybe, “Harry Potter still rocks!” A few years ago, it might have been, “The Lovely Bones” or “The Secret Life of Bees” or maybe “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”
Yet when they talk about the classics, they talk about it in terms of authors, “My favorite Jane Austen is Emma.” Or maybe, “I absolutely adore Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.” The underlying message to me says they respect and admire these authors, but of the lot to choose from, those were the best of the bunch—not necessarily a completely favorite book.
Now before someone comes in and says this is completely false because they know so-and-so who is a genuine classic fan, or they profess to be one themselves, let me just be clear right off the bat that I know these folks do exist and I say, more power to them!
I, however, fall more into that category about everyone wanting to say they’ve read the classics, but would rather not read them. I want the action and the romance, the supernatural and paranormal, the horror and the comedy, and I want it in modern language that doesn’t leave me feeling like I spent six hours translating after two hours of reading.
What about you? Are you a Closet Classics Complainer? Or do you count one of the classics as your absolute all-time favorite novel ever?
Warmly,
Jenny:)
J.R. Turner is the author of the Extreme Hauntings series. The first book, DFF: Dead Friends Forever is available at Amazon.com, Kindle, Fictionwise, and Echelon Press.com
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