Good Morning, Good Afternoon

Sarah Palin in a Salvation Army Apron...

Good Morning

I was reading more of The Sound on the Page. The last chapter I was reading was on personality in writing. Dave Barry one of my favorite writers was mentioned. My father sends me a subscription to the http://www.funnytimes.com/ (The Funny Times) every year, a liberal cartoon newspaper with editorial columnists. Dave Barry is one of the columnists. He is quoted in the book describing his basic modus operandi. Dave Barry takes every day ordinary annoying activities like standing in line for a drivers license and makes them funny. I have been told to put more of my personality into my writing. Somehow, my personality is supposed to make this blog shine.

The next chapter is about emulating other peoples style. I have a real hard time doing this. There is an egalitarian streak in me that pushes out the idea of adulating people, especially writers. I can't adulate people who hide in a corner of a room slamming words into a computer. Just kidding. Once again, there is a wonderful quote:

Gertrude Stein: "One writes for oneself and for strangers."

Good Afternoon

I ordered some more annual reports for our collection. A few book related ones were Barnes and Noble, The McGraw Hill Companies, and Readers Digest. The McGraw Hill company building is in Manhattan. McGraw Hill hosts events for libraries and publishers. I went there during Book Expo America for one of their events in their auditorium.

There is a new blog out, Librarians Against Palin. I am not fond of Palin. I find her stance on book banning problematic at best. http://librariansagainstpalin.wordpress.com/

I spent some time reading The Chief which is the local civil service paper for Manhattan. It lists all the current job openings in Manhattan for civil service jobs plus many important union issues. It is one of the main ways that I order test books for jobs. They have long lists by title of what stays open and what is opening and closing.

We also keep clipboards of the listings of county jobs. Some of them are on white paper, and some of them are on a hideous pink collared paper.

If you are ever in Manhattan and want a civil service job, The Chief is the place to look.

Palin and the Library Books

Palin and the Library Books

Library Journal finally reveals what the book may have been that Palin objected to, Pastor, I am Gay. You couldn't think of a more provocative title than this one. It is kind like setting a match to a firecracker.

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6594759.html

On many levels this is quite upsetting to me. There are a lot of potential issues. Separation of church and state, gay rights, censorship, and intellectual freedom are just the tip of the iceberg. There are also questions of freedom of government information. I would like to know what really happened. Palin has a record of tight secrecy.

I think this is a story which will grow and grow and grow because it was not dealt with immediately. The story has spread to various gay groups which makes it truly strange. This is not a story you could have made up in a novel. At first it seemed like a minor issue, but now it has become something else.

The more the issue grows the more it becomes a liability to my profession. Initially, the American Library Association tried to stay out of the political discussion. I am not sure it will be possible to do this for much longer. I also think it may effect public libraries funding stream on a national level because it is effecting the election.

Watching this election and listening to it is the equivalent of stepping into another universe. I have seen some of the worst aspects of American character come out. Sometimes I wish I had a reset button so I could hit it and the candidates could say something completely different than what they are saying right now.

What makes this really interesting is that September 23-28 is banned books week and libraries, publishers, and book people are going to be celebrating banned or censored books. Knowing the way librarians act, this could lead to some very interesting protests or confrontations. I think the full details will come out around then.

Some Light Thoughts, Palin and ALA (American Library Association)

Some Light Thoughts

Yay, there is a link from the Space Vulture book site to my review.
http://www.spacevulture.com/reviews.html

Life cannot be too serious.

Palin and ALA

The American Library Association made a statement that they were not allowed to politically discuss Sarah Palin's librarian issue.

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6593850.html

Interesting. I wonder who threatened them about their 501c3 status. Apparently, they may lose their status as a nonprofit organization if they discuss political issues. Now, I really know where my bread is buttered.

Good Morning, Poetry, Good Afternoon, Good Evening

The Tyger Poem, William Blake

Good Morning

Sometimes the most surprising things crop up during presidential elections. I thought this article on whether or not Sarah Palil asked to censor books and fired the Wasilla, Alaska city librarian was kind of interesting. This election is turning out to be full of things which are unexpected. Sometimes, I wish it would just go away. Censorship is always a tough issue.
http://www.adn.com/politics/story/515512.html

Last night on the train, I finished reading Groundswell, Winning In A World Transformed by Social Technologies. I will be writing a review of it in a while.

I just started reading Impact, How To Get Noticed, Motivate Millions, And Make A Difference In a Noisy World by Ken McArthur. The book reads like a business guru type book. It reminds me a little bit of Napoleon Hill, however, there is a big difference. Each chapter includes goal setting exercises, self motivation exercises, and direct actions which you can take to make it more likely you will achieve your goals. This is what separates this book so far from most of the other business guru books I have read.

On a side note that has nothing to do with reading, I found an entertaining game beta. It is called Good Old Games. They are selling all the old classics upgraded so they will run on modern pcs.
They should be sending out keys on September 8, 2008. I signed up yesterday.
http://www.gog.com/en/intro


Poetry

Tides

On rip tides forgotten
We swim in the wide green ocean
Forgetting about the shore

Commenting

click, click, clickety, click

One Site, One Comment, One Click

Count the hours going by

We are looking about getting a new microphone for our poetry readings. I think I am going to read the William Blake 1757–1827 poem, The Tiger.


The Tiger

TIGER, tiger, burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?


In what distant deeps or skies

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare seize the fire?


And what shoulder and what art

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand and what dread feet?


What the hammer? what the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? What dread grasp

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?


When the stars threw down their spears,

And water'd heaven with their tears,

Did He smile His work to see?

Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Good Afternoon

There is a real sense of quiet on this blog without Entrecard. I realize that most of my vaunted traffic was ephemeral much like dandelion seeds blowing in the wind. But, there is also a sense of peace. Now, I can start building my traffic up focusing on people who are interested in books.

Speaking of blog traffic, Darren Rowse of Problogger has a book, Problogger, Secrets For Blogging Your Way To A Six Figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett. It is a relatively short book 220 pages. I have it sitting here next to me.

I also have a little more time to get things done, I wrote two rough drafts for film flyers.

Good Evening

On the train home tonight, I read Problogger Secrets For Blogging Your Way to a Six Figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett. It is one of the books which I ordered for the library. On page 179 of the book, they list their twitter addresses http://twitter.com/chrisgarrett and http://twitter.com/problogger.com I may comment on the book tomorrow. It was a book that was short and fairly easy to read. It is only 229 pages long.

I am trying out a new advertising card exchange, SPOTT, it looks a lot simpler than Entrecard.