My First Favorite Books

My first favorite book? That’s a tough one. I remember carting Go, Dog, Go! everywhere I went when I was very little, and was especially enamored with one of the final pages depicting the ‘big dog party’ atop a tree. I loved that picture...so much to take in, so much going on.

I also remember the first honest-to-goodness novel I ever finished back in the fifth grade, The Horse That Played Center Field by Hal Higdon. I don’t remember much about it, except I was sure proud of myself for reading a book (with no pictures!) cover-to-cover.

Other than that, I remember loving Beverly Cleary’s books, like The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Runaway Ralph, Socks and Otis Spofford.

The first book I actually fell in love with was Stephen King’s The Stand, which I read when I was 15. A friend gave it to me and said it was great, but it sat on my dresser for a month...until one weekend when I was grounded, with nothing else to do, I happened to pick it up, and didn’t put it down until I was done...some twelve hours later (this was an 800 page book). After that, I began to devour King’s novels. Some were good, some were bad, but The Stand remains my favorite (and the favorite of a lot of King fans), and it still the I’ve read the most often (at least five times).

P!nk's amazing Grammy performance

P!nk performing "Glitter in the Air" on the 2010 Grammy Awards.
I love her!!!! Amazing Performance!

Bob Out

Daly Thoughts 1/30/2010

Papermaking by Hand

Daily Thoughts 1/30/2010

We've been asked to think about ways to reduce costs. One of the things which comes up in libraries is the amount of paper that resides in them. We have books, labels, bookmarks, fliers. posters, and a million different paper items in most libraries.

A reduction in the amount of paper we use could affect our spending. We get all kinds of things in the mail, everything from paper catalogs, to boxes, and other things. We make it a point to cut our excess paper into scrap as well as reuse single sided sheets of paper for printouts. I sometimes think we should buy our paper in bulk.

In my experience, librarians love paper. It is an extension of their love of books. Recently, we donated some of our deaccessioned books for a library in Kenya. I think we could do this more often. It would cut our garbage costs. It costs money to recycle material. Also, many community organizations take older computer equipment and refurbish it.

It is considered more politically correct to do this. There has been a big push by many politicians to be more energy efficient and green. Recycling, cutting back paper use, cutting down energy use, and similar things are very popular. In Westchester county, the Ossining branch was recently reopened as a major showcase for green technology.

Also, there has been a major monetary incentive to make buildings more green in the area, Westchester County has upgraded their efficiency recently in government buildings. http://climatechange.westchestergov.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2556&Itemid=4642 Also, there has been a major grant for energy efficiency in the county. http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Westchester-Magazine/December-2009/Westchester-County-Receives-45M-Grant-Toward-Energy-Efficiency-Projects/

Even simple actions like putting in compact fluorescent bulbs, replacing old appliances like microwaves and refrigerators with energy star appliances could make a small difference. I even think there are incentives by the state to do this.

This is a nice summary of the process of greening libraries. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/39d3v236

There are some books which Publishers Weekly only reviews online. This is also true of Library Journal. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6716116.html?industryid=47159

Parental Craziness

Oh, the potential today! Do you want to know how crazy my parents were or how I've driven my own kids crazy?

Yikes!!! Well, let's see if I can do this without too much pain, angst, or autobiographical detail.

I was raised by two loving parents who did all the normal things: they loved me oodles and bunches and showed it by setting protective limits I didn't appreciate and holding me accountable when I screwed up. They tried to shield me from their divorce, made me cringe with post-divorce dating, remarriage, more divorce...Like I said, they were normal.

Basically it was such a normal childhood, I wished for my real parents to come claim me. When they didn't show, I looked around for a circus or local wolf pack to run off with. And I lost plenty of sleep waiting for my superpowers to kick in so I could join Professor Xavier's school.

Which probably explains why my imagination is so over-developed and my young adult stories (heck, even my novels) have a healthy dose of adventure, not too much meddling from parental units and involve unique, magical transportation to new places.

As for the craziest thing I've ever done as a parent:

I'm an author. I make stuff up all day long and I've even told my kids it's a respectable profession. Parenting doesn't get much crazier than that!

Real life's full of crazy parents and other people - make your escape with a good story!
Regan

Regan is the author of the young adult Hobbitville Saga: The Pixie Chicks, Hot Spots, The Shadow Stone, and Snow Covered Resolutions. All available now on Kindle, or at Echelon Press!

Afro dance at Friskis & Svettis

Aouch. My body hurts.

I know I can only blame myself for working out three days in a row, but sis and I have been wanting to try Friskis & Svettis’ Afro dance for quite a while, and since it’s a new thing, they only have it once a week. So we were like: why wait another week when we can go today?

Well well, even though my body aches all the way from my shoulders and down to my feet, Afro dancing was pretty fun. I didn’t get the adrenaline rush like when I’m running on the treadmill, but the hour just disappeared so I guess I still had a good time, haha. ^^ When I think about it, I think I’m going to try it again in the future actually.

Sandra's look of the day :)

Daily Thoughts 1/30/2010

Caricature of Ben Hecht by fellow Chicago Daily News reporter Gene Markey, 1923

Daily Thoughts 1/30/2010

Calamity Jack By Shannon and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathaniel Hale.

Calamity Jack is a sequel to the graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge. In this story, Rapunzel returns to Jack's hometown from out west. Jack is a fairtyale trickster character, a combination of Jack from Jack in the Beanstalk and the classic western tall tale character, Calamity Jane.

The story is full of constant action. There is lots of fighting, trickery, and sneakiness in this story. There are giant ants, giants, giant pigeons, and many other critters. The setting is a kind of fairytale dreamland in the Victorian era. There is the giants castle, but it really is not quite a floating castle, but a sumptiously outfitted airship.

I liked the variety of creatures in the tale. There is the guard jabberwocky, and the guard bandersnatch. Also there are pixies, brownies, pig people, dwarves, the goose that laid the golden egg, and other creatures in an ornate victorian setting.

The story is drawn in full color with lots of ornate detail. It is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk where the giants are extorting protection money and goods from Jack's mother and the local city. There is a wonderfully done picture of the beanstalk with Jack chopping it down.

I think the story can be read by pretty much anybody. We have copies of Rapunzel's Revenge in both the childrens and the young adult section. I read it three times. It is quite captivating. Shannon Hale won the Newberry Honor award for her book Princess Academy.

Star Trek Mirror Universe, The Sorrows of Empire by David Mack

This is a novel of the Mirror Universe where there is no federation, but instead a dark empire run by humanity. Spock is Faustian, touched by a brief encounter with Captain Kirk from the other universe and seeing hope for a federation in his own universe, he sets out to change things.

This is Spock as a calculating villain. He murders the crew of the enterprise, assumes command of the enterprise, and systematically rises through the ranks to seize the empire. It is a very much the ends justifies the means type story. Brutal, cold, calculating, and intriguing.

Spock must not only face the Romulans and the Klingons, but also the empress of earth and the machinations of an evil empire. I like Spock as a villain. This book has a machiavellian quality to it. The way he attempts to reach good ends, a free society, are utterly wicked.

A different take on Star Trek. Quite refreshing.

Internet Savvy

Internet Savvy is a tough thing to evaluate. We have 4 beautiful children at our home ranging from 13 to 5 and I make my living in the technology field. I know what can happen to uncontrolled, unmonitored systems of interaction when they are exposed to the "general public". We have adopted a "full life" approach to securing our children while allowing them to benefit from the rich blessings of technology and internet communications/information.  We don't allow "private" internet access. All computers are in the kitchen in full view of everyone else. We have basic common sense controls, like a multiple router setup, but in general my kids have access to the full internet. We don't use filters, or highly automated monitoring tools. Instead, we teach our kids about making good choices and we stay connected to them so we know them. We trust them, and they trust us, but we verify with regular communications and check-ins around internet behaviors.
I treat the internet as a tool. It is a very powerful tool like a drill or a saw, but a tool nonetheless.  They have to learn to use it, and as they get more proficient, they can do more and more with it. 

The big question of the last few months swirled around facebook access for my 11 and 13 year olds who both have email accounts.  BTW, I have set a threshold of ~11/6th grade to allow an email account. Younger kids don't have personal email.  I explained to my daughters that they needed to be savvy before I would allow them to have facebook accounts. When asked what the definition of savvy was.. I replied "when you are savvy, both you and I will know it".. Not very scientific, I know but it worked well.  Both my girls set off on a quest to learn and eventually convinced me that they could handle themselves and they are now "live on Facebook".  My only real requirement here was and is that I must be friended, and be aware of their friends. Not so different from anything else in their life.. in my opinion.

How we decide to let our kids do anything is a test of their savvy. My children are firstborn of God and precious blessings. My wife and I are here to take care of them and guide them as they grow and develop, not just control them. My goal is to empower them to think and act on their own as soon as it is possible for them to do so safely.  As soon as they are savvy, they should be thinking, building, and communicating on their own using every tool that they can reasonably manage. I think that the best tool for internet safety is knowing your kids, staying connected to their lives intentionally through conversations, snow days, meals together, and yes... Once in a while I look over their shoulder when they are on the internet just to be sure.  As savvy as they are, they are still just kids. I wouldn't let them use a drill or saw on their own yet either..

Red Alert 2

RA2 was developed by, you guessed it, Westwood Studios and released by EA in 2008. Though this will be the last time that Westwood will create a RA title. The game has one expansion, Yuri’s Revenge. But like Red Alert I won’t be reviewing that, only the core game.

Red Alert 2 picks up the story of the Allied victory in RA, although this is open for discussion as not everyone agrees with this statement. but let leave that behind us. It’s the year of 1970, after the destruction of the USSR, the Allies appointed Alexander Romanov to rule and rebuild the country. The game starts with the USA being invaded by Soviet forces. The USA tries to retaliate by launching its nuclear missiles. And even that is impossible because Yuri, head of the Soviet Psychic Corp, manipulated the men working in silos and let them explode the missiles in their silos.

Now I have promised myself not to tell the entire story of the game because it would too long to write and the review would turn out massive. The story of the Allies start in New York where you have to liberate the city. You will be fighting throughout the USA destroying mind-controlling Psychic Beacons, rushing your way through Europe and eventually end your fighting journey in the Soviet capital Moscow.

The Soviet campaign is all about the destruction of the Allies and total world domination. Your first mission is destroying the Pentagon. Like in the Allied campaign you fight throughout the USA, but also in Mother Russia. The campaign ends at the Bering Strait. Though the Soviet campaign of ruling the world isn’t without treachery. The man who started it all simply named Yuri, murders de leader of the Soviet Union, Romanov. And to make matters worse, he then frames a general named Vladimir of conducting the murder. Vladimir is declared a traitor and you are ordered to capture him in Washington. After doing so successfully, you are ordered back to Moscow to be congratulated by Yuri himself. But before arriving there, you receive a video from Romanov before his death where he explains that Yuri has been brainwashing him and demands you to bring Yuri down.

So far the campaign of the two factions.
Everything in RA2 is unrecognizable when you compare it to RA. Where C&C and RA where almost similar, RA2 has been build up from scratch. The only things that are left from the first part are the Allies’ Chromosphere and the Soviet’s Red Curtain. Every unit has had it size increased. Sometimes infantry is bigger than a tank. Base Buildings are usually bigger than entire apartment blocks. The pace of battle has been increased dramatically. Where in RA you would have to wait maybe a minute for your units to reach the enemy, in RA2 the units rush to the enemy base in matter of seconds.

The two factions in RA2 have their own tactics. Where the Soviet Union is good at rushing early on in the game and almost superior in landbattles, the Allies rely on defenses and advanced tech that comes available as a match progresses.

Resource gathering hasn’t changed a lot, there’s only one exception. The Allied harvester can instantaneous teleport back to the refinery, very useful when harvesting in hostile territories. You still have to gather gold and diamonds to get your credits.

The 2 factions are split into multiple countries, but that doesn’t account for the campaign. Every country fights under the flag of the 2 main factions, but operate with different sets of buildings and units. Every country usually has a special unit, with the exception of the USA’s paradrop and the Grand- Cannon from the French.

In the end I really enjoyed playing Red Alert 2. The style of the game really addresses me because it the game doesn’t take itself serious and can sometimes cause some hilarious moments. So if you want this game I suggest buying The First Decade, containing all Command & Conquer series.

Daily Thoughts 1/29/2010

There is nothing like a good book. Life Cartoons 1905.

Daily thoughts 1/29/2010

A very nice review of the Apple Ipad. It looks promising. I am not an early adopter. Maybe in a while the price will go down. http://blogs.semantico.com/discovery-blog/2010/01/what-apple%e2%80%99s-ipad-and-ibookstore-mean-for-publishers/

I walked up to my local library and picked up two paperbacks. I am attempting to read Ender In Exile by Orson Scott Card, but for some reason, I just cannot get into it. I know it will be a book that many other people will love to read. I have read the first thirty pages, but find myself wanting to read something else. It is on the Locus Paperback Bestseller list. It is well written, but I think I will probably read the other book instead. I will probably purchase the book for our library. The other book which I picked up is Star Trek Mirror Mirror Universe The Sorrows of Empire by David Mack. Hopefully, it will be entertaining.

The book is rather enjoyable. Over a period of many years, Spock seizes control of the evil empire. It is a story of intrigue, murder, and power in alternate Star Trek universe. Right now, in my reading Spock has become emperor. He is affected by his vision of an alternate Kirk. David Mack is the author. The book is different from most of the other Star Trek novels in that it is on a grand scale over a long period of time. Also, the members of the Starship Enterprise are all villains which is rather refreshing.

Ted Haggard has been cured from being gay

Ted Haggard has been cured from being gay. How convenient for him.

In case you don't know who Ted Haggard is let me refresh your memory...

He is the founder and former pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs and was leader of the
National Assoc of Evangelicals. In November 2006, he resigned from all of his leadership positions after he admitted soliciting prostitute Mike Jones for homosexual sex and methamphetamine. Initially Haggard denied even knowing Mike Jones, but as a media investigation proceeded he acknowledged that some allegations, such as his purchase of methamphetamine, were true. Although, he later said he never actually did drugs, he just bought them. He later added "sexual immorality" to his list of confessions.

After the scandal was publicized, he entered three weeks of intensive counseling, overseen by four ministers. In February 2007, one of those ministers, Tim Ralph, said that Haggard "is completely heterosexual. Ralph later said he meant that therapy "gave Ted the tools to help to embrace his heterosexual side."

Through all of this his wife, Gayle Haggard, has stuck by his side. Just this week they appeared on Oprah to talk about her book, "Why I Stayed". She told Oprah that at first she didn't believe any of the allegations that the press were making against her husband. This was despite the fact that he had admitted to her 25 years ago that he had an "encounter" with another male in a book store. This had happened after the birth of their first child and he immediately sought counseling and they had no issues until this latest incident. Is love that blind?

I had a friend who was married and got busted at a local park for soliciting sex from a police officer. After that he went into counseling and he and his wife tried to make it work. She even said she felt like she was in love with him all over again because she now knew what his "issues" were and they could work thru them together. His "issue" was that he was a gay man trying to live as a heterosexual. Ted Haggard has the same issue. I wonder how many gay men are married to women and trying to live as heterosexual because of religious or social stigmas? My friend later got divorced and is now living as a gay man with his partner. I watched Ted Haggard saying he was "cured" of his gayness and he was careful not to put himself in situations where this supposed gay disease will rear it's ugly head again. He even made hints that now his sex life with his wife is very healthy. I'm sure it is, thanks to viagra and nude men dancing in his head.

Bob Out

Forgetful me

Aargh, I’ve become so forgetful lately! I just saw (or jie jie told me the other day )that I have an expired 10-times swimming card for Centralbadet lying around…-.- Not even slightly OK, Sandra.

I just don’t get it. Me, who usually will make people shake their heads with my perfectionism for keeping everything organized with all of my lists, and my from time to time, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) that makes some think I’m crazy, hehe.

But maybe I can still use it…^^ I payed quite much for it, so why not just try flirting with the reception guy and see if I get in…? God, I’m horrible, but it’s not such a bad idea actually! Haha! Anyway, I’m off to the gym now. And I am going to make sure that I always will remember where I put my gym card so that one won’t expire without my knowledge as well.

Spotless

Yesterday I had progress talks with Faf (Fredrik - but we call him Faf) and he was almost “concerned” about my abcence from class…^^

No black = 0.00% absence

What can I say. I’m just extremely good at attending class. No secrets, I promise. ♥

Finch by Jeff Vandermeer

Finch by Jeff Vandermeer

Finch is the third book in a trilogy. The reader does not have to read the trilogy to understand the story. Each book stands alone. The books in the series are all avant garde in their writing style. Each book does make references to the other books in the series.

In this book Ambergris, also called the City of Saints and Madmen from an earlier title in the series has been taken over by the gray caps, a strange mushroom people. The city is rotting, covered with fungus, spores, and mushrooms. Even some of the people in the story have become infested with mushrooms and spores.

Detective Finch must find out why a gray cap and a human have been murdered in the same room together. This is during an ongoing civil war. The story tries to be a mystery, a spy story, and a dark urban fantasy all at the same time. It can be confusing at times, but the author manages to pull it all together successfully.

As you read, the novel becomes stranger, slightly more mind bending, and sinister with each page. It is a descent into an otherworldly place where loyalty and trust are not always clear. Characters are not who they seem to be, even the detective is someone else in the end.

What I've been up to

There is always something to do in Atlanta. However, most of the time I'm not doing it. I usually end up hanging with friends and eating at the same places. So as part of my 10 goals for 2010, I visited a new place last Saturday...The World of Coke. An entire museum dedicated to Coca-Cola.

The museum was filled with all kinds of Coke and Coke related memorabilia. They also had a 4-D theatre that was really cool. And a theatre where they ran old Coke commercials. At the end you got to taste 60 varieties Coke products from around the world.

Three of my nephews. They are great and  a lot of fun to hang with.

Yesterday, my friend Bunny and I went roaming in Atlanta. First we went to IKEA(love) and then headed to lunch. In keeping with my 10 for 2010 goals. I ate at a new restaurant..

 

The Real Chow Baby. This place rocked!

Start by going through their buffet style line, filling a bowl with your choice of noodles, rice, vegetables, sauces, spices, meats, and seafood. Then their cooks transform it into a delicious stir-fry. So great and super fresh ingrediants. Here is my creation..

Delicious!

After lunch we went to see "Avatar".

Here we are outside the theatre in our 3D glasses. Aren't we cute!(hehe)

I LOVED THIS MOVIE....LOVED IT! I've heard that it had great special effects but the story was lacking. I didn't think so! If you haven't seen it, check it out!

That's all for now. I'm supposed to be working. Shhhhhh, don't tell my boss!

Bob Out

Daily Thoughts 1/28/2010

Jove decadent - Ramon Casas, 1899

Daily Thoughts 1/28/2010

I had a chance to read Calamity Jack
by Shannon Hall and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hale. It is a fractured fairytale set in a steam age west. There is a lot of action. The main character, Calamity Jack, is a kind of a cross between Calamity Jane and Jack from Jack in the Beanstalk. This is the next book which follows the earlier graphic novel, Rapunzel's Revenge. I found the book quite amusing. I think most people who older than ten will like it. I am still pondering the book and will write a deeper review later. I have read it twice already.

Today, I did not do much other than relax.

site/place/context.

Parents

Parents - the people that raise you from birth. Parents can come in a multitude of different forms, and nobody's parents are alike. (Even when kids discuss how their parents are ruining their lives.) They're all different.

But let's take a look at a different aspect of parents. People always say that their parents are crazy - controlling who they go out with, when they go out with them, where they go, where they live... But what about a softer version of crazy that's really just a form of showing how outgoing they are. (Or it could be how the child thinks the parents are just embarrassing them. That's another option. I just think the parents are being fun.)

...

They go to a party and are the couple singing karaoke, horribly off-key but having fun. They go to your baseball game and cheer regardless of whether or not you hit the ball or whether or not you won the game.

But they love you. They might be crazy, but they love you.

Welcome to the world of craziness!!

Daily Thoughts 1/27/2010

Edward Blair Leighton, Old Times, 1877. From Wikimedia.

Daily Thoughts 1/27/2010

Just so you know, that I do take recommendations for purchasing from blogs. I took a lot at The View From Here Magazine
http://viewfromheremagazine.com/ and saw two titles that I think are worth getting, Sebastian Falks, A Week In December, and Alexander McCall Smith, Corduroy Mansions. I also liked the review for 400 Sensational Cookies by Linda J. Amendt on Library Drone. http://libdrone.info/2010/01/book-review-400-sensational-cookies-by-linda-j-amendt/

This morning, I read more of Finch by Jeff Vandermeer on the train. It gets much better as you read deeper into the novel.

I rather like this article from Library Journal online. It is about the best practices for improving circulation. I agree with all of them. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6712266.html

I have to do a presentation tonight for a Business Planning workshop on some of the resources we have. We have been ordering a lot of small business resource books lately. Books on incorporation, music law, startups, hiring your first employee, and other material. We also recently subscribed to two business databases; Hoovers which is excellent for company information and Reference USA which allows people to build lists of companies by SIC Code, zipcode, executives, and similar material. It is often used for marketing research. I think I am ready.

I think I did alright. I got a few questions at the end about the different resources which is a good sign. People were especially interested in the Westchester County Databook, and The Largest Employees in Westchester County as well as the Hoovers database.

Web Bits

The largest book in the world, The Kleincke Atlas is being displayed for the first time. I rather like the picture that goes with the article. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/26/klencke-atlas-british-library-exhibition

While reading through the internet, I found out that an early edition of Lao Tzu was unearthed in 1993 written on bamboo sticks. The idea fascinates me. It apparently is the earliest known edition. It was translated in 2000 at Columbia University. It looks like something that I want to read. http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-11816-3/lao-tzus-tao-te-ching

Hump Day Hunk(David Bromstad)

Happy Hump Day! Today's hunk is a wonderful decorator,Tv show host & Artist. The first seaon winner of HGTV's Design Star and current host of his own show, Color Splash....David Bromstad.

Call me, David

Bob Out

Crazy Me

My kids think I’m crazy. And, well, maybe they’re right. Of course, they had a hand in it.

A time ago, I was just a normal guy … listening to eight tracks, wearing terry cloth shorts, watching antenna television … yeah, quite awhile ago. But I was normal. A regular guy, just hanging and stuff.

But then I met and married a beautiful woman, and we decided to bring new humans into the world.

Before we could consider all of the ramifications, there were two, both girls.

Flash to fifteen later, and I’m having a patient conversation with one of them, complete with bulging eyeballs, veins standing out from my neck.

She’s warding me off by rolling her eyes like ‘Dad, you’re so stupid, and I’m just pretending to listen while I’m really humming that new song by Twobuckrapalot, and I’m not learning anything here and I’m telling you this by rolling my eyes at you.”

I could yell at her for what she’s thinking, but we’ve had circular arguments about my mind-reading ability in the past that have all ended in a draw, with her winning because it ended in a draw.

So I vented and spewed, and noticed she was just looking at me, a ‘my dad’s a crazy person’ look in her eyes.

WHAT! WHAT’S SHE TALKING ABOUT! I’M NOT CRAZY! I’M NORMAL !!! JUST A REGULAR GUY!!! ALL I WANT IS FOR THEM TO ACT AND SAY ONLY THE THINGS THAT I WANT THEM TO, BECAUSE I’M THE PARENT AND I KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR THEM. SO HOW’S THIS MAKE ME THE BAD GUY. HUH?! HUH? TELL ME! SO I’M OKAY. I’M NORMAL. THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH ME!!

(pant, pant)

Whew.

Um …


… well, okay maybe she has a point.

Norm

author of Fang Face (vampire young adult funness)

www.normcowie.com

I received a blogger award...woot, woot

"You like me, you really like me"!That phrase is cemented in pop culture but did you know(I didn't)...
That's not exactly what Sally Field said...the actual quote was "I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!" but I still like the mis-quote better so I just went with it. :)

I won an award and I didn't have to blow anyone this time...

ONE: Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

Thank you, Bob!  I would kiss you but I'm not a lesbian

TWO: Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
Check: see above

THREE: Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
http://ishouldbelaughing.blogspot.com/

FOUR: Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

Oh No. I'm not sure if there is 7 interesting things about me but I'll try :)'

1- I was born on Christmas day just 19 minutes after midnight
2- My mom didn't have insurance so she checked out of the hospital at 9am. She & My Dad couldn't afford to pay the bill so they set up a payment plan. They made the first payment b4 leaving the hospital. When my mom went back to make the second payment they told her that someone had paid the entire bill.. We still don't know who did it.
3- I LOVE music! Almost all kinds. My Ipod is filled with country, pop, rock, alternative, gospel and so on...
4- After graduation from high school I was enrolled in Bible College. Well, it was held in my church but it was tought by an accredited proffessor. It was supposed to be a four year degree but because It was only held once a week, I went four years and only got about half way through.
5- I had a couple of "gay" experiences in high school but soon afterwards felt weird about it and "convicted" of it due to my religious background. I was pushing 30 b4 I had another sexual encounter with a guy.
6- I am a foodie. I love The Food Network and just about any other type of cooking shows or shows involving food. The highlight of my recent trip to DC was seeing Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian. I've been to eat at Paula Deen(The Lady & Sons) & one of Bobby Flay's(Mesa Grill) resteraunts. I would give my left nut(well, not really) to meet Ina Garten. I LOVE HER!!!!!!
7- I am a radio station contest winner. Actually I have won a lot. Somewhere in the neighboorhood of 300 contest and all sorts of different prizes. You can check out part of the list here.

FIVE: Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers and post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

1- My friend, Bunny at Bunny-Go-Round. She is a dear friend and just loves gay men so  much that she married one...haha j/k...check her out!
2- http://www.bos-bowl.com/- He can cook! Look at the pics and recipes. Mmmmmmm
3-  Rad Homo- Great & Funny guy and he knows how to pick some hot men to feature on his page.
4- Michael Rivers:The Blog- freelance writer with a great blog
5-  http://explodingdoughnut.blogspot.com/- Great Artist and all around nice guy.
6- Spice of Life- An American in Europe. Great blog on good living
7- Be kind and unwind- Another American living in Switzerland with a great blog

I would have also picked one of these other blogs...my favs ...but they had already won the award but check them out anyway(if you aren't already) Bob... Mark...and Sean
 :)

Daily Thoughts 1/26/2010

"Our Three-Volume Novel at a Glance", a cartoon by Priestman Atkinson, from the Punch Almanack for 1885 (which would have been published in late 1884). This is a jocular look at some clichéd expressions which were overused in the popular literature of the time. It contains absurd literalistic interpretations of a number of conventional metaphors, accompanied by some outrageous visual puns. In the nineteenth century, popular novels often appeared in three-volume editions when first published, in order to allow three customers of commercial "circulating libraries" to be reading parts of the book simultaneously. I've abridged the second and third "volumes" of the cartoon in this scan. From Wikimedia.

Daily Thoughts 1/26/2010

This morning, I took some time to look at Microsoft Word 2007 Quicksteps on the train so I could familiarize myself with the new version of Word which we have on the public computers. Another day, I'll probably sit down and check the program some more.

I also read some more of The Medieval Craft of Memory. It makes me think how much we take certain things for granted. For example we have a specific numerical order to the alphabet which we are taught as children, we are also taught to associate each letter of the alphabet with a specific picture like a for apple.

We also use sequential numbers for street addresses. This makes it easier for people to find and remember where an address is. We create to do lists in sequential order to get things done. Many of these are techniques to make us remember. Right now, I am reading the section called The Art of Memory by Jacobus Publicius. This section unlike the others is not focused on religion. It has a more general approach.

I think this is a book which is very interesting, but is not likely to be reviewed in the popular journals. One of my colleagues has asked to read it after I am done. It is the kind of book which is very hard to review. The content is quite philosophical in nature. I am not sure I could give full justice to some of the content. Much of the content is on how to memorize large portions of the bible. There are some very striking images on how to memorize the parts of the gospels. There are supposed to be three steps in memory, first the memorization of poetry, then memorization for oratory, then memorization for the law and religion.

Most of the content was translated from latin. It is very hard to find similar material. It also opens people to a very different view of the world. This material was written for practical use by teachers, priests, academics, and intellectuals during the middle ages. This makes the book a very specialized subject. Some of it still has relevance for our time.

I picked out some graphic novels for the graphic novels club this afternoon. I also chose some books on Thailand to go out to the book mobile. This morning, I had a chance to read through the latest New York Times Book Reviews as well as Publishers Weekly.

I planned on doing the graphic novels club for teenagers and adults. I had one of those unexpected things happen. A lot of the ten to fourteen year olds ran in to look at the graphic novels. I made some adjustments in my selections of graphic novels. The tweens. They mainly came in for soda. They took out a number of them, including a few dvds. X-men was the favorite comic. One of the dvds was Max Fleischer's Popeye. Also, Baby Mouse was popular as well as some of the shojo-- ladies manga. There were a number of girls who wanted more girl superheros. I'll have to look for more comics with lady superheros.

I started reading Jeff Vandermeer, Finch. This feels like a very experimental novel. Jeff Vandermeer has been building a fairly strong author website. His blog announces the promotion of his wife, Ann Vandermeer to Editor in Chief of Weird Tales. http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2010/01/25/breaking-news-weird-tales-announcement/ . I find this rather interesting. It reminds me a bit of the marriage of C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner who both wrote fantasy novels.

The novel Finch is published by Underland Press, http://www.underlandpress.com . This is a relatively new press. It has a brand new set of authors, many of which I am first seeing. I found the opening dialog to be quite different in style than many books I have read. I think the book has quite a bit of experimental content in it. I think some people may like it. It is a mix of urban fantasy, weird tale, and detective story with a bit of psychedelia thrown in to make it stranger.

Daily Thoughts 1/25/2010

Stadtbibliothek Essen, German Public Library Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Germany Photo Taken March 2004 by Baikonur. It has a nice modern feel to it.

Daily Thoughts 1/25/2010

Today has been a nice quiet day. I put in an order for supplies. I also made sure the displays were in order. We are showing a movie this afternoon for the graphic novels club. We have a blanket license to show films from a number of studios which we pay for each year for our library.

I also requested days for different conferences I plant to attend. Hopefully, it will turn out right.

We are having our second graphic novel club meeting. I am going to try and pick out different graphic novels from each age level. We keep Baby Mouse and some of the more innocuous Superman and Batman comics in the childrens room. There are also some fairytale graphic novels like a version of Sundiata Lion King of Mali by Will Eisner.

We also separate the young adult graphic novels and manga from the graphic novels and manga in the adult section. For example we have Inu-Yasha, Spiderman, X-men, Naruto, Maus which is a high shool assignment, Barefoot Gen and a number of teen titles in the young adult section.

There are some more adult titles like Alan Moore's Watchmen, Black Jack by Osamu Tezuka, American Splendor by Harvey Pekar, or Fun Home by Alison Bechdel which we keep in the adult section. We try and separate graphic novels by age categories. This makes it both easier to manage and more appropriate. Throwing all graphic novels in the young adult section is not a good idea.

Not all of the graphic novels end up in the graphic novels section. Robert Crumb did a book called R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, and Country which is in the music section, he also illustrated a biography of Kafka. Larry Gonick's The Cartoon Guide to Physics is in the physics section.

And the Actor goes to...

The SAG awards were held last night. I was out roaming around Atlanta and didn't get to watch it BUT being the good gay boi that I am, I recorded it on my DVR! It was a great awards show and I was soooo excited that Sandra Bullock won.  I REALLY hope she wins the Oscar. If she doesn't win I hope Meryl Streep does. She was brilliant as Julia Child in "Julie & Julia".  Here's a list of the winners ....

Movies:

Cast: "Inglourious Basterds."

Actor in a leading role: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart."

Actress in a leading role: Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side."

Supporting actor: Christoph Waltz, "Inglorious Basterds"

Supporting actress: Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

Television:

Drama series cast: "Mad Men."

Actor in a drama series: Michael C. Hall, "Dexter."

Actress in a drama series: Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife."

Comedy series cast: "Glee."

Actor in a comedy series: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock."

Actress in a comedy series: Tina Fey, "30 Rock."

Actor in a movie or miniseries: Kevin Bacon, "Taking Chance."

Actress in a movie or miniseries: Drew Barrymore, "Grey Gardens."

&

Life Achievement: Betty White

I LOVE Betty White! She looked wonderful last night! 88 years young and still going strong. You Go Betty!

There were a lot of great(and not so great) fashions last night but I just had to show you guys Christina Applegate.
Check her out...

Fabulous!

 Bob Out

Daily Thoughts 1/24/2010

Ashurbanipal was the last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. He built the first sytematically collected library called The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal. The contents were over 20,000 cuneiform tablets in the 7th century bc. From Wikipedia.

Daily Thoughts 1/24/2010

Barron's books has created a new test preparation division. If you are a public library, this is very good news. We order a lot of test preparation books for jobs and schools. This will make our ordering process a little easier. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6716063.html

Sunflowers

We are sweltering here at the moment and Dana Marie's sunflower post seemed so appropriate for our climate.

But, she lives in the USA where, I believe, it is rather COLD!  Maybe the sunflowers were a promise of things to come?

Anyway, I finished them on time for a change and got them up and posted.  All the time whilst painting them, I thought of that marvellous Sunflower/Pug lady, Nancy Medina whose favourite flower is the sunflower and who also loves dogs (especially Pugs).  Her sunflowers are a must-see if you haven't already.

My cat, the Prizefighter

I have a cat.

He's kind of a funny creature. For a cat, he's extraordinarily well-behaved (mostly). He comes when called (usually), growls when there's a stranger at the door (seriously!), sleeps outside my bedroom door (probably would sleep IN my bed if I let him), and gives lots of lovey greetings when I come home from work.

Sounds like an average cat, right?

Except, I suspect Bear (my cat) was an Irish Prizefighter in a past life.


You see, he loves to box. Many times I have come home to see my husband playing bloody knuckles with him, and you can't wave anything -- umbrellas or walking sticks or curtain tassels -- around without expecting a fight. He'll box with my purse if I hang it from the chair, he'll attack the plastic bags from the grocery if they so much as look at him funny.

Yet, for all his wild athletics, he maintains the quiet dignity of a gentleman from the 1900s (including an awesome mustache!). Who, me? I'm stretching before taking on the side of the couch! It insulted you, dear lady, behind your back!

My husband's cat, on the other hand, was a certain, fearless Civil War general (Stonewall Jackson) and a Sous-chef in his previous lives. (He has to inspect everything we put on our plates.)

It's never dull around here, to say the least.

~*~

Heather S. Ingemar has loved to play with words since she was little, and it wasn’t long until she started writing her own stories. Termed “a little odd” by her peers, she took great delight in exploring tales with a gothic flair, and to this day, Edgar Allan Poe continues to be her literary hero. To learn more, please visit: http://ingemarwrites.wordpress.com/ or follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/heatheringemar

Take the bus

Out of laziness to wait for the bus, I decided that I instead would take the bike to the gym. Good Lord, that was the most horrifying biking experience I’ve had in ages!

People think that Halloween is scary, but I know something that is so much more scary than that. - Biking in Sweden when it’s a lot of snow outside. I must have been so blessed today since I didn’t get injured. So please people, why put yourself in danger like that? Take the bus.

What if they would have had Hello Kitty buses in Uppsala...Then I would always take the bus, haha. ♥

Daily Thoughts 1/23/2010

Portrait of a man with a Book. // York Art Gallery Parmigianino, 16th Century, from Wikimedia

Daily Thoughts 1/23/2010


So far my favorite section in The Medieval Craft of Memory is by Thomas Bradwardine, On Acquiring A Trained Memory. He describes some very interesting ideas. Place is viewed as a kind of wax tablet where people can store memories. Bradwardine suggests that it is easy to use small quiet rectangular spaces to store memories; a small garden and a study are two examples. He also suggests that memories be stored in sequence, using three, five, or seven objects at a time. There is a differentiation between images and words.

The text of The Medieval Craft of Memory consists of a variety of different articles by various medieval scholars. Many of them are just becoming available in english. Most were originally in latin.

New York Comic Con offers free professional passes for librarians and educators on Friday October 8, 2010. http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/en/Tickets/For-Professionals/

Today has been a nice quiet day to relax.

An interview with Junior

By Katarzyna Eluski

When I sat down with Junior at his favorite café in downtown Wayne, Pa., he was sipping warm banana milk (shaken, not stirred) and signing a stack of self-portraits.

“It’s hard to keep up with all of my fan mail,” the popular children’s book character said, “especially cause I haven’t learned how to read yet.”

Junior’s claim to fame came after Katie Pasek, his “guardian,” began writing about the orangutan’s antics.

“He thinks he’s a real orangutan, and not just a stuffed animal as he appears,” said Katie, who was joining us at the table — presumably to pay for Junior’s meal.

None of Junior’s fans seem to mind, though.

When Katie finished her first story, titled “Junior’s New Home,” she read the book to her mother’s second grade students at Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School in Levittown, Pa. Then she introduced them to Junior.

“He has no problem starting a conversation,” she said, “and after a minute the kids didn’t notice that he wasn’t the one doing the talking.”

“They asked me what I like to swing on and what my favorite foods are,” Junior recalled. “They also kept asking me math questions and were trying to tell me two plus two is four.”

Junior maintains the answer is really 22.

Since that initial reading in fall 2002, Katie has written three more stories about the orangutan, and Junior has met more than two dozen classrooms of children from first through sixth grade in both Emerson and nearby Clara Barton Elementary School.

The precocious primate has become something of a legend at Emerson, and children who have met or heard about Junior eagerly await his next visit.

Over the past few years Junior has had to field the occasional question about why his mouth doesn’t move when he talks — “He’s not a puppet or a ventriloquist’s dummy,” Katie explained — but he handles those inquiries with his trademark style.

“I just tell them it’s too much effort,” Junior said.

Katie declined to comment on the next tale in the continuing saga that is Junior’s daily life, but she said a book is in progress.

Junior, however, offered a hint for curious fans: “I get a chance to visit the zoo!”

Before we parted Junior passed me one of the signed photographs.

“You should frame it,” he said, “because someday I’m going to be famous!”

No doubt he will.

For more information about Junior, visit www.katiepasek.com.

Atlanta is the gayest city in America

I just found out I live in the Gayest city in America. Well, according to The Advocate. Here's what they said...

1. Atlanta

Georgia isn’t the most gay-friendly state, but Atlanta is undoubtedly our gayest city—with 29 gay bars here, there’s a reason it’s dubbed Hotlanta. Atlanta’s several queer events include one of the nation’s largest Prides in October (returning to Piedmont Park this year), and MondoHomo, a May event celebrating art, drag, burlesque, film, and BBQ. The gay epicenter is Midtown, anchored by Outwrite Books, a giant gay bookstore bucking the national trend—by staying in business! Atlanta guys are hunky, the ladies are gracious, the gay sports leagues are seriously well organized, and its housewives (and their gay BFFs, complete with handbags and heels) are now camp icons. And who doesn’t love the sweet lilt of a Georgia accent on a knockout guy or gal?
 
And I still can't find a man. DAMN IT, What's wrong with me?!?! DON"T ANSWER THAT!
:)
 
Bob Out

At the gym

I never thought I would say this, but I had so much fun at the gym today! M showed me how to use a lot of different machines; in a way, you could almost say that she was my own mini-version of a personal trainer. So kind of her. ♥

Although we couldn’t stay very long (50 min) since we had a class afterwards, it was enough for me to give my stomach, chicken arms and legs a workout. I mean, now the cross trainer and I are like best buddies. (Meaning that I now know why Oprah uses that one every morning, haha).

Oh, and since I was such a good girl going to the gym, I just had to give myself a reward…hihi.

I usually don't eat dinners like these, but to be honest: I would be able to live on a diet with mango chicken skewers, Greek bread and vegetables, haha...

Friday's sin.

Daily Thoughts 1/22/2010

Library of Wat Tung Sri Muang, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand library; picture taken by User:Markalexander100, Gnu Free Documentation License (GFDL) I found the image interesting. It was on Wikipedia. I think the license is correct.

Daily Thoughts 1/22/2010

I have been planning what conferences I intend to go to during the next six months or so. I have a list of things which I hope to attend.

FASTforward Enterprise Search Strategy Summit: Reflecting User Thinking - Controlling Business Outcomes, March 11, 2010, New York (By Invitation) -- This is by Microsoft

Web 2.0, Social Networking and Libraries Conference 2010 http://unabashedlibrarian.com/ul-conferences/2010-conferenceTuesday, March 16, 2010. This conference is presented by ILIAC which is an international association of librarians. There usually are a number of Russian librarians attending.

Westchester Library Association Conference, May 7, 2010, The conference for Westchester County, New York Libraries, http://www.westchesterlibraryassociation.org/

New York Is Book Country, Sunday, May 16, 2010 This is a book festival done in New York. They are restarting this year. http://www.newyorkisbookcountry.com/events/home.jsp

Book Expo America May 25-27, 2010 Jacob Javits Center, This is the largest publishing and bookseller trade fair in the United States. http://bookexpoamerica.com/

Book Blogger Convention, May 28, 2010 http://bookbloggerconvention.com/ This should be an interesting convention of book blogs. Many are going to be at Book Expo America as well.

Web Bits

I was looking around the web and found the site for the Westchester Journal News books section. It lists a lot of events with local authors. http://books.lohudblogs.com/

I read James Mankelow's book, Manage Stress. I am not sure that I want to recommend it. It is the kind of book that is a long series of self revelatory exercises. You will get exactly what you put into it out of it. There are dozens of self reflective checklists, questionnaires, charts, and other tools.

If you like to question yourself and what you think, you might like the book. It is perfectly in line with his website, Mindtools. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/jnm.htm This site is basically a skill building site focused on mental tools; speed reading, filing, goal setting, memorization, time management, mind mapping, brainstorming, leadership skills and other career oriented mental tasks.

Terminator Salvation, Cold War by Greg Cox

Right now, I am reading Terminator Salvation, Cold War by Greg Cox. He writes series books having written for Alien, C.S.I., DC Comics, Ironman, Star Trek, Superman, Underworld, and now Terminator. I remember the first book which I remember him editing was Tomorrow Sucks, an anthology of vampire science fiction. It was pretty silly. The book is no longer in print. It was printed in 1994.

He certainly seems to have gotten formula writing down pat. I didn't even know there was an International Association of Media Tie In Writers until I looked at his website. The author list is kind of interesting http://www.iamtw.org/about.html, This makes him a working writer. This is his list of publications. Basically entertaining, a bit silly, and fun. http://www.gregcox-author.com/bibliography.html

This book occurs just before the movie, Terminator Salvation. This is the third movie in Terminator series. It is part that setting. There are a whole new series of books in that setting done by Titan Books. They appear decent starting line up of writers; Alan Dean Foster, Timothy Zahn, and Greg Cox all have a solid track record writing science fiction.

There is a certain appeal to series books. They are predictable and the good guys always win. The bad guys never disappear of course. That is the strength of these kinds of books.

Terminator Salvation, Cold War, is the story of the beginning of Skynet. The artificial intelligence, Skynet launches nuclear missiles in the beginning of the story. Then the machines start attempting to kill all of humanity. I rather like that in the beginning people are not sure who started nuclear war.

The nuclear launch is during 2003, so it is definitely an alternate history setting. The story jumps between 2003 and 2018. This adds to the setting of not being quite the same as our time.

John Connor is not that prominent in this story. The heros of the story are Molly Kookesh an Alaskan survivor, and a Russian submariner named Lusenko. The machines are the ultimate enemy so we can look at most people as heros.

What surprised me is that at the end of the book, there is a brief bibliography of nonfiction works that the author used to write the book. It includes Tom Clancy with John Gresham Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside A Nuclear Submarine. Tom Clancy wrote a whole series of nonfiction books on the military.

The writing is solid, smoothly written and easy to read. It shows a practical workman like craft which makes for a good story. I like to occassionally read series.

Cindy McCain supports gay marriage

Cindy McCain, the wife of Arizona senator & 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, has posed for an ad endorsing pro-gay marriage forces in California. NOH8 is a gay rights group challenging Proposition 8 passed by California voters in 2008 banning same sex marriage.

John McCain's office issued a statement saying he respects the views of members of his family but remains opposed to gay marriage. It says McCain believes "marriage is only defined as between one man and one woman." Who cares, John! We are going to get the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn gay marriage bans throughout the nation. I believe!