Last Day of July

[Today's photo: storms knock down trees, and it's not only scary looking, it's really dangerous.]

Let's do a little roundup of my favorite late-July links as we ring in the new month.  I love new months.  Sure, rent is due, but this August my cousin is getting married on the first day of the month!  And as the last month of the Jewish year, yiiiikes the High Holy Days are right around the corner. 

State Dinner's Taste of Northern Michigan has a spectacular burger that we thankfully heard more about. I don't know when I'll go to Michigan...ever...but if I do, I need to make a sort of pilgrimage for that burger.

Love this map with descriptions of NoVa neighborhoods and the restaurants that live there, from DCLovesfood. 

You want hot curry?  Well, read about someone eating it over at I Flip For Food, and then check out this picture of someone MAKING it with a gas mask on, from the WSJ Photo Journal.  Love that photo.  Speaking of photos, check out the burgermobile on the Kansas City stretch of Scout NY's road trip.

Another NJ strip mall gem from eNJoyNJ!

I'm also happy to report that Google Analytics is back up and running, providing the following fodder--these are some keywords people used to find iEatDC via search engine:

*  i basically made love to that duck, to be honest witchu
*  pistachio and funion pizza
*  where can i get pickles in a barral [sic] in vineland
*  injera kosher for passover [STILL?!?!?!]
*  patrick o'connell plaid jacket
*AND no fewer than FORTY-EIGHT different searches leading to the blog related to the Pea Puree Debacle.  One person actually just typed "pea puree debacle."  Others were genuinely and earnestly seeking answers. "did alex on top chef really steal ed's pea puree?"  "did the other chefs on top chef know that alex stole the pea puree for hi winning dish?"

Hope you had a wonderful July but have an even better August!  And what in the world is the August shake of the month at BGR???

Girl Scout Camp

I loved Girl Scout Camp so much that I devoted a whole chapter to it in my upcoming novel, Back to Bailey's Chase. The readers get to go to camp with Sparky and Grey Bailey for a week.

Trying my best to remember the camp activities, I conjured up a week of adventures, hoping my readers would enjoy the camp experience as much as I did.

Of course, no magic was involved when I went to camp, but Sparky and Grey have those super powers that come into play when needed. And they are needed....when the camp bully targets Lulu Thompson. I hope my readers will laugh as they read Chapter Seven and find out how the girls turn the table on the mean girl, Ellie.

If you haven't read the first book about Sparky and Grey, The Secret of Bailey's Chase, you can read the prologue on my web site: www.marlisday.com In this book, which is available as an eBook or at www.quakeme.com or on www.amazon.com the girls slip into the scout camp when it's locked for the winter. They have a harrowing adventure there with a bully and a vicious dog. It only seemed fitting to take them back during their summer vacation to enjoy a real fun-filled week of camp. If you check out my blog at http://wwwmarlisday.blogspot.com you can see the cover of the sequel, Back to Bailey's Chase, which should be available soon.

Excuse me, I have a sudden craving for a s'more!

Saturday’s Eye-Candy: Mitch Hewer

When I first read that this British born actor is twenty-one years old I was like “no way! He looks totally more mature”, but then I started thinking about Taylor Lautner and…well never mind…

Anyway here is some brief info about the hottie: Mitch played the gay guy Maxxie in the series Skins (started in 2007) which only aired two seasons in the UK. However, it was clearly enough for all gay guys to fall madly in love with him since they assumed that he’s gay. But guess what? He is not! :D But he has a girlfriend - of course. ^^

Besides acting, he has appeared on the cover of Attitude twice (!) and according to me, he really should become a full time model because the guy is H-O-T. Maybe I should consider studying in the UK after all. :P

Eye-Candy of the week ;)

Let’s face it. There are tons of cute, hot, and criminally sexy celebrity guys (or some that have not become celebrities YET) out there and because of that, I have decided to make a special post every Saturday for just for these guys. Unfortunately, I will only use pictures and information that is publicly available (since I refuse to get sued :/), and it will of course be based on my own taste (since this is my blog, haha).

So from now on, I will feature some Eye-Candy every Saturday. Stay tuned. ;)

Daily Thoughts 7/31/2010 ( grants, libraries )

Central Stair Hall, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. (1900-1902) Detroit Publishing Postcards Series 5000.
Daily Thoughts 7/31/2010

I walked up to my local branch library and picked up a copy of Webster's New World Grant Writing Handbook by Sara Deming Wason.  It is a basic overview of the grant writing process.  I found this article from Oxfam kind of interesting.  http://www.mrss.com/oxfam-eoy-2008-fundraising.pdf   It shows a fairly common web application called a lightbox combined with a web video that is used as part of a fundraising campaign.




It is kind of interesting reading about the different types of foundations and trusts from community trusts to family foundations to corporate foundations.  It is mostly new to me.  I am reading it in the context of  getting new technology like MP3 players, Ipads, Nooks, digital cameras, and software into the library.




I have been going through all my old emails for the last couple of years where I came across examples of people, corporations, and foundations giving money to libraries in our county and compiling them into a single document.  It is mainly a mix of news articles and biographical profiles.

18 days, 18 days, 18 days…

Should I start counting the days until the day I freak out? Well I don’t think that will be necessary…since I am already freaking out! It’s only 18 days left of summer break and if that isn’t making a person depressed, I don’t know what planet that person is from. :o

It’s not that I don’t like school. It’s more about the stress, pressure, and the “I-don’t-have-a-life-besides-doing-homework” part that makes me panic. For seven weeks I have been free from all of that - and it’s not exactly a pleasure to give it up for what I just mentioned…

Ok. I am going to make a deal with myself. For the remaining 18 days that I have left, I am going to enjoy to the fullest.

Starting with a smoothie ;)

Daily Thoughts 7/30/2010 ( ebooks, reviews )

Artist: Reymerswaele, Marinus Claesz. van Title: Deutsch Hl. Hieronymous, 1541
Daily Thoughts 7/30/2010

Article-- Will the Book Survive?  by David "Skip" Prichard    http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-07-28/the-future-of-books-ceo-ingram-skip-prichard-feels-confident/?cid=topic:mainpromo1




"eBook Feasibility Study for Public Libraries," http://www.cosla.org/documents/COSLA2270_Report_Final1.pdf




Checked the displays this morning and started doing my orders for August.  I also put out flyers for a public service announcement by Dwayne Wade about library cards and did my first shelf talkers for the authors Danielle Steel and Stephen King.  I am going to be doing more as time passes.




I am reading more of Kraken by China Mieville.  There is a neat section on Simon a Star Trek obsessed mage which is darkly funny.  It is an appropriate comment on fandom.




The new copy of the Overstreet Comic Book Guide 40th Edition came in.  I will take a little time to see if there are any interesting ground level comics which I have not seen.  It has become a standard guide for pricing comics.  Some stores often sell the easier to get comics at half the price guide price and the harder to find titles at full price.




Overdrive sent me some marketing material which I can print up as well as some staff training material.  I think I might print up some of the 11" x 17" posters. 




The recent Kirkus Reviews has a graphic novel section with a few interesting titles in it; Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon, and Siege by Brian Michael Bendis, Illustrated by Joe Quesada really stood out.  Siege should be an excellent superhero comic both the writer and illustrator are top notch.  Also there is an autobiographical comic by Sergio Aragones called Mad's Greatest Artist, Sergio Aragones.




Roald Dahl has an authorized biography coming out called Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl by Daniel Surrack.




On the way home, I finished reading Kraken by China Mieville.  One of the way you know a novel is good is that the main character at the end of a novel is often very different than how the character is at the beginning of the novel.  At the beginning of the novel, Billy Harrow is a curator at a museum, by the end of the novel he is a warrior adept at saving the world and fighting magic.

Daily Thoughts 7/29/2010 ( readers advisory, book game )

Okumura Masanobu Itinerant Vendor of shikishi and tanzaku (paper and books) 1720–1730 Signed: Okumura Masanobu hitsu. Publisher’s seal: shu-no-hyōtan (in form of a calabash); seal of Masanobu’s own publishing house: Tōrishiochō.  Actually it is an actor playing an itinerant vendor for paper for poems (shikishi and tanzaku), books, and instructional material on waka poetry and koto playing as indicated on her crate. She is holding a calligraphic copybook (tehon) and a brush. One of the books at the top of her crate is named: Genji-monogatari. 




Daily Thoughts 7/29/2010

I put in some comments for my Readers Advisory 101 class on Enders Game by Orson Scott Card.   I also read the section on library marketing for readers advisory.  I may create some shelf talkers for the shelves.  These are cards which say if you like a specific author, then you might like these other authors.  Usually they are lists of three to five other authors.  Some libraries also sometimes maintain a cart for books that are always popular reads.  It is something to think about.   A lot of people use the Novelist database to create the shelf talkers.



I did not get as much as I wanted done today.  I am thinking about a couple of things to do.  We are planning on doing a library card registration drive.  We need to get more people through the front door.  As part of this, we will probably try to get more Friends of the Library to register.




There are also a few minor things that need doing like updating some bibliographies and creating some shelf talkers.  I also need to speak to someone from the Mount Vernon Public Library Foundation.




The book the Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross came in for me to read.  It is a mix of espionage, horror and weird tale.




I read some more of Kraken by China Mieville.  I am finding a subplot in the book to be quite entertaining about a labor union of wizards familiars and other magical constructs.  It is wonderfully quirky.




Guess the book by its cover game http://www.sporcle.com/games/bookcovers.php

Creative Surplus Creativity and Generosity In A Connected Age by Clay Shirky

Creative Surplus Creativity and Generosity In A Connected Age by Clay Shirky

The central idea of this book is that because of social media people are able to pool resources in their free time to create unique digital projects.  These projects can range from free encyclopedias like Wikipedia to lolcats which is a collection of funny pictures of cats.  Social media in this book expands beyond computers to include smartphones and cell phones.




Clay Shirky is arguing people are moving away from passive forms of entertainment like television to more interactive forms of entertainment like the internet.  He compares television to gin which is a bit far fetched but entertaining.  This change represents a shift in values which should create a more interactive future.



I found the book to be very positive and a bit evangelistic about the benefits of social media.  He dismisses the disruption caused by deprofessionalization when amateurs volunteer to do many jobs that were professional in nature.  Clay Shirky touches only briefly on the concept of digital sharecropping where writers and other creative professionals work for free or very little money on blogs and other digital projects.



The description of the benefits of social media is the best part of this book.  We learn how cell phone use makes government more transparent, how people created open source software, and how computers are making us more connected.  He points out that services like http://www.meetup.com/ extend social networks into the real world and allow people who had only met on computers to meet in person.



This book had a conversational tone that spoke directly to the reader.  It tried to connect with peoples every day experience of using the internet.  I found it to be easy to read.  It was also well researched with extensive notes and an index.



Clay Shirky also wrote Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations.  He is considered an internet guru and is a professor at New York University.

Top Chef DC Episode 7 Recap

[In today's photo, let's celebrate the fact that I did NOT have to take the bar exam today, and that my friends who did are done...or at least, almost done.]


The Quickfire:
Republican Aaron Schock from the 18th District of Illinois 'splains the Toothpick Rule to the cheftestants. He's young, but he's smart.  He graduated college in two years. Create a whole dish packed into that toothpick bite in 30 minutes. J wants Andrea's fried chicken and waffle on a stick.
Alex, Ed, and Kelly were at the bottom.  Kevin, Angelo, and Stephen were at the top, and Angelo (and his cucumber cup) took it.  It was "like fireworks" in Rep. Schock's mouth.  Padma's braid is way too long, and she's wearing baggy cargo capris...eek.

Elimination Challenge: The Power Lunch.  They are going to take over The Palm.  They draw knives for the protein.  I think Kelly is right that Amanda will be slammed for breaking down the Porterhouses into filets and NY strips.  I'm not shocked at all that Angelo isn't familiar with the power lunch.  Anyone else digging the amped up music as the time ticked down?

Exec VP of The Palm lets them know that the winning dish is going on the menu in DC and their smiling face will go on the wall with the other famous photos.  There was a pea puree debacle.  The diners were Mark Warner, Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough, John Podesta, and Bruce Bozzi (Exec VP).  Kelly O'Donnell, Luke Russert, Savannah Guthrie, and Art Smith (of the local Art & Soul and Obama Chicago favorite Table Fifty-Two).

Kelly and Amanda on the steaks, and Kelly's was a bit salty.  Andrea and Tiffany with swordfish; Andrea's is maybe too sweet and Tiffany's is great but overcooked.  Mark Warner's tie is zesty, and he thinks Tiffany's fish is, too!  Alex's salmon is well-received, and Stephen's is not in symphony like Alex's was.  It has a "heaviness to it."  Lobster from Angelo was chewy, and the foam was "strange."  Ed's lobster was better, but the peas were unnecessary.  Neither Kenny nor Kevin aced the lamb.

Alex, Tiffany, and Ed were on the top.  Chef Smith loved that pea puree, the one that everyone thinks Alex stole from Ed.  Alex's salmon and pea puree wins gold!  Awkward.

Kevin, Andrea, and Kelly were at the bottom.  Kevin's lamb was overcooked and tooo spicy.  Kelly was salty mcsalterson.  And Andrea cooked food that she's done before--if they wanted that food, they would have come to your restaurant (says the judges). Kelly cries--this is me not caring that you weren't sure about the lines between bland, zazzy, and totally overpowering.  Andrea goes home--bummer, she's a nice gal.  I think she never got over being slammed by Michelle Bernstein, her alleged Miami nemesis. 

"I guess that's what happens when you don't share.  She deserves to be on the bottom."  Amanda on Kelly, who apparently hoarded the salt (really? There wasn't enough salt in a friggin' steakhouse?).  Winner of Best Quote today.  Tom's been all about the semi-working lines leading to the elimination--this week it was "instead of a power lunch, we got a power nap!" or something like that.  

The most interesting thing about this week's episode was my daydream about eating the macaroni and cheese from Art & Soul.  Bubbbbbling over the side of the mini crock pot-like bowl.  WANT.  Eventually I'll stop going to the pool, knitting baby hats, and actually tell you about Pizzeria Orso, Jersey Shore Part II, Bibiana (swoon), etc. Small hats, as proof of my busy-ness [pattern for hat here and logos here.].

Top Chef Episodes 6, Better Late Than Never

[Today's photo was taken at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens]

Between the show, the beach, and the cable outage (from the storm), we are just today (Wednesday July 28) watching Ep6.  So I'll give you the abridged version, and later we'll move on to the new episode.

The Quickfire: Michelle Bernstein (with some saucy photos on her page) is guest judge for the Nasty Proteins innovation challenge.  Snake, wild boar, crocodile, emu eggs, duck testicles, etc.  Knives are drawn to see who picks ingredients first.  45 minutes to cook.  Amanda saws at the emu egg.  We laugh at Alex with the foie gras--is that exotic anymore?  And then, they switch proteins after 15 mins.  I'm unclear about whether they are using part of their original stuff or just switched stations completely.

Heeyo I've had rattlesnake cake!  Stephen's frog legs, Alex's ostrich, and and Andrea's wild boar lost.  Kelly's omelet, Tamesha's duck tongue, and Amanda's llama were on top.  Kelly won and has immunity.

Elimination Challenge: Cold War.  Each making a dish that's best served cold.  Groups A and B will serve the other group + judges, and then each group nominates the best dish from the other team.  Kelly dines with both groups because she has immunity.  They ride the USS Sequoia while doing menu planning.  Angelo is telling everyone what to do, Ed & Tiffany are still bff.  Andrea is fighting the everywoman's battle.  Angelo's gentlespeak sort of reminds me of Michael Jackson.

The first group basically complained about every dish they tried.  They liked Kevin's dish the best, despite the lack of acid (which Tom refuted).  Obviously they all want Kenny gone, even though they should have chosen Amanda.  Gameplay! 

Apparently Ed was The Other Man with Angelo and his former gf.  Not cool.

Tiffany was the second group's favorite, and Tamesha was the thumbs down.  

Aaaaand in the stew room they are telling about who they picked as the worst and why.  Yikesasaurus.  Awkward!

Kevin wins, even after doubting himself!  He's off to the Hilton Hawaiian Village as a prize.  Tamesha's long pepper usage was outta control, apparently.  Kenny had too much going on and it wasn't cohesive.  Tamesha is going home, and now she regrets being part of Angelo's minion.

Best Quote winner this week is Stephen for his comment: "I went from crocodile to frog.  Not really a big leap, no pun intended."  -Stephen

Obviously we caught up on Mad Men before watching TCDC6.  There was never really any question...

An apple a day...

I was just sitting and thinking about the saying that: “an apple a day keeps the doctor away“, and it hit me how that line can be changed in an infinite number of ways. I mean, what prevents me from telling someone that “a bowl of chocolate ice-cream a day keeps the doctor away” or “some cholesterol a day keeps the doctor away“. Ok, maybe no one would believe that, but seriously. If a person is deadly afraid of going to the doctor they might believe it!

Besides, if I hadn’t heard of the original apple thing first and someone told me the chocolate ice-cream one, I might have believed it out of my own will. But when I think about it, I am quite easy to fool when it comes to these things…Haha. ^^

Daily Thoughts 7/28/2010 ( Bayou, Advocacy, Kraken, Made Possible By )

Simon Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist

Daily Thoughts 7/28/2010

I am looking at an IMLS Institute of Museums and Library Services grant and trying to figure it out.  It is the first time I am looking at this material.  It makes reference to a document called 21st Century Skills, http://www.imls.gov/pdf/21stCenturySkills.pdf  I find it kind of interesting.  It is a bit different.  There is also reference to a course called Shaping Outcomes which is about Outcome Based Planning and Evaluation for librarians.  http://www.shapingoutcomes.org/ 




Link to information on save libraries widget.  I just added it to the sidebar in this blog. http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/cro/getinvolved/saveyourlibraries.cfm




Jeremy Love's comic Bayou, Issue #1 is now free on the web.  It is quite interesting.  https://comics.comixology.com/#/issue/2584/Bayou-1




I put Smart Startups How Entrepreneurs and Corporations Can Profit by Starting Online Communites by David Silver, Wiley, c2007 on interlibrary loan.  I am requesting it from another library system than my own.  This process can take several weeks. 




I also requested another book as a hold, Made Possibly By Succeeding With Corporate Sponsorship by Patricia Martin.




On the train home, I read some of Kraken by China Mieville.  It is an urban fantasy novel.  Somehow, it maintains more believability than most fantasy novels I have read.  It is in that eerie space where things are real but not quite real.  The place where horrible things happen for not quite explained reasons.  There is an almost fortean feel to the novel.

Like my sister

When sis and I were sitting in McDonald’s eating our McFlurries it struck me how incredible long her hair has become. I want that long hair too! Like my sister. ♥

I got some centimeters left to go though…

Animal Cliches in Stories & Movies

SUDDEN CAT! - These little critters just love to pop out of nowhere in horror movies, startling one of the characters (and giving the audience a cheap scare). This usually happens just before a psycho/alien/monster jumps out to kill the character.


THAT BELOVED DYING DOG - As Gordon Korman once wrote, “check any book in the library with a dog and an award sticker on the cover, trust me, that dog’s going down.” (Examples: Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, Marley & Me, Sounder)

THE IMPOSSIBLY SMART HORSE - A staple of westerns since the genre was created, these creatures have uncanny intelligence at least equal to the bad guys, and have some sort of sixth sense to always be where their owner needs them to be in a time of crisis. Bonus cliché: the closer the horse is to his master, the more likely he is to die.

MISUNDERSTOOD WOLF - Replacing the old cliché that all wolves are inherently evil, wolves in modern stories are now noble, maligned creatures, unfairly persecuted and hunted down by angry farmers.

SHARKS - No matter the story or film, when a shark appears, the animal has an insatiable taste for human blood and will eat far more people than it can physically stomach.

BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP - If the animal is fuzzy, it is a loveable hero. If it isn’t, it’s a horrifying monster, bent on killing people, especially if it is a reptile or insect.

SPIDERS - In stories and movies, all spiders are aggressive and deadly. Even tarantulas, who in real life sleep for days at a time, are lightning quick and attack without provocation. Then again, who wants to read a story or see a movie about a friendly spider? (Exception: Charlotte’s Web).

AMOROUS CANINE - Telling a story and want a cheap laugh? Have a tiny dog hump a character’s leg.

CHOICE OF PETS - Heroes own dogs. Villains (especially evil geniuses) own cats.

MONKEYS - Almost always depicted as endearingly cute, especially when they ape (no pun intended) human activity. Hey, this things fling their poo when angry! Then again, if we actually did that to voice our displeasure over something, most arguments would end before they began.

MONKEYS, PART 2 - Actually, the image of a poo flinging monkey is a cliché, too.

YOU GONNA EAT THAT? - Whenever a character is lost (on an island, in the desert, in the mountains, etc), he or she will inevitably be forced to eating an animal most of us would call an exterminator to get rid of.

SUPER-VILLAIN FISH TANK - If a super villain owns a fish tank, it is filled with piranhas. If he owns a pond, it is also filled with piranhas, only this time he feeds them a henchman who failed or betrayed him.

CATS - Unless the story is about them, most cat characters are generally evil…and always hungry.

BEARS - Bears love to show up at campsites, especially if the campers are city folks not used to the great outdoors. Hilarity ensues.

INCREDIBLE JOURNEYS - No matter the animal or breed, when abandoned, they will set off on a trek to find their masters, and somehow always succeed. And, of course, even though the master left without any regard for their pets, cry tears of joy whenever old Rex appears over the horizon. The heart-wrenching exception to this cliché is Richard Adams’ The Plague Dogs.

GENETICALLY ENHANCED SUPER BEAST - Scientists love to inject a normally docile animal with some weird concoction which turns it into a killing machine. What science stems to gain from such an experiment is not really understood.

D.M. Anderson
http://dmanderson.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/frandavea

Banned from shopping ;(

Soon I am heading down to town for a small shopping round with my sister. But although I call it a “shopping round”, I have promised myself not to buy anything (except if I use a gift voucher). Actually I have banned myself entirely from shopping until I have paid off the majority of my enormous shopping debt to mami and Vicki. I don’t know how I am going to survive, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. ^^

A kiss from me to my readers xD

Daily Thoughts 7/27/2010 ( Broadband, sribd, social networking )

Europa-Briefmarke, Kinderbücher,Ausgabepreis: 55 Cent

Daily Thoughts 7/27/2010 

This is a link to the presentations from the Library Workers Skillshare. I did not get to go to it because I was working that night http://sites.google.com/site/libraryworkersskillshare/   Some of it is quite interesting.  I created a Google Profile for example.  http://www.google.com/profiles .  It is very basic.  I am still shy of putting up images of my face on the web.  Maybe it is a personal thing.




On the train to work, I finished reading Design and Launch an Online Social Networking Business In A Week.  It provides an outline of what you would need to do to start a social media business.  I would say it is a very bare bones outline and there is still a lot missing from the book.  It is a starting point for someone interested in making a social media business.  I found it to be a little bit too simple.




Publishers Weekly has an excellent article on Scribd and HTML 5 http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20100726/43942-betting-the-house-on-html5.html




I put together a display of books on New Media this morning with a banner and some flyers for our Digital Media Catalog.  Hopefully people will take the books.  The display that seems to be going most quickly is books on cooking and drinks.




I have been reading up on the National Broadband Plan.  They are going to have a number of grants that go with this plan aimed at libraries.  Their specific purpose is to introduce digital technology into libraries.  This means there may be a chance to get devices like the Ipad, Kindle, MP3 players, digital cameras, as well as training for digital technology.

Life Drawing

A big thank you to all who gave me advice on my last painting.  I rather like it now - just need to take a decent photo.

For something completely different, during the school holidays, which coincided with the FIFA World Cup, we had our annual Winter Life Drawing.  Although there are other venues that arrange life drawing, they always seem to be on the 'wrong' day or on the other side of the mountain.  So I commit myself to going to these Winter ones every year.

Here are a few of the sketches I did.  I struggled a bit - just couldn't seem to get into my stride, so I guess I need to practice, practice, practice!

Khadija was superb.  I used some watercolour on this and quite liked the effect.











Alan has the most amazing physique which was a struggle to draw at first.  So different to the soft curves of the female form.








Alan again, this time using far more watercolour.  Not quite what I wanted.










And Khadija in a longer pose.

Lizzie who had some amazing tattoos!

A hilarious Twilight spoof xD

I just looked at the new trailer for Vampires Suck, which main goal is to make fun of the Twilight saga. And gosh, it’s so hilarious. :D

When leaving the premier of Eclipse a couple of weeks ago, me and my friends had plans of making a similar spoof just for fun, but with parts from other vampire movies and series too. Guess we weren’t quick enough. ^^

Daily Thoughts 7/26/2010 ( Cognitive Surplus, Queens Library, libraries )

Benjamin Franklin., 1767, Oil On Canvas, In the White House

Daily Thoughts 7/26/2010

It is clear that advocacy is becoming a central fact with libraries in the United States these days.  If you are not willing to speak up for your library you may not have one in your community.  Also, if you work in a library and do not speak up for your library, you might even get laid off.  Being quiet is not really an option. It may make some people uncomfortable, but it is necessary.



To Close Budget Gap, Queens Library To Lay Off 46
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/886041-264/to_close_budget_gap_queens.html.csp




With Library Campaign Materials Libraries Must Navigate Between Education and Advocacy
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/886037-264/with_campaign_materials_libraries_must.html.csp




I checked out a book called Design And Launch An Online Social Networking Business In A Week by Entrepreneur Press and Julien Sharp.  It provides an outline of the process of creating a social network from scratch.


I am looking at the Fostering Digitally Inclusive Communities Grant offered by the National Broadband Plan.  To even begin applying to the grant we would have to put some social media into effect in order to get it.  The grant mentions blogs, email, and other digital tools as being part of communicating with the public.  I have already been looking at MP3 players and ebooks because of our recent promotion of Overdrive Digital Media Catalog at our library.  It should be very interesting.




This morning, I went through and updated most of the displays as well as set up meetings to understand the invoicing process for electronic data interchange.  I also emailed Poets House about their Poetry In The Branches Program and talked to BWI about electronic data interchange.  Posters for the Library Express database also came in as promotional material.




On the train home, I finished reading Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky.  I like the descriptions of how people donating time to social media adds to real life connections through groups like Wikimedia and Meetup.  He does an excellent job of describing the intrinsic value of giving time to social platforms that can reach into the real world.  A very real example of this for me is my going to places with the New York Librarians Meetup group.

Candy

I remember being five. Six. Seven. And eight and nine and ten. And candy was such a treat to have. Usually it had to have chocolate because fruity candies and me? Yeah. It was not love at first sight.

I so looked forward to eating my twix. Because those were love at first sight.

And even though the years have gone by and my love for candy has dwindled, I still look forward to eating a few types of candy - twix being one of them. Because even as an adult, I still love biting into the crunchy goodness.

~~Alyssa
http://www.beaconstreetbooks.com

The new it-thing: vampire bite marks

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry since I love all the vampire mania that is going on right now, and I am pretty sure you do too. Nowadays we can barely live without our Twilight, Vampire Diaries, and True Blood cravings, however, the line is about to get crossed for me soon…If it hasn’t already. Read CNN’s report about the new trend of bite marks among teens here.

I wonder if I would be ok with it though if it was to be a really hot (and real) vampire that wanted to put its fangs into my neck? Hmm…I think that we can draw the conclusion that the fact that I am even considering that makes the issue very serious. Creepy. :s

Totally fine by me...or not?

Revised Kirstenbosch

Thank you, thank you to all for your input on my painting of the kids at Kirstenbosch.  I really appreciated your input and took Celeste's advice about the orange wash as well as comments on the background.

So, far fewer bushes in the back and an orange glaze, this is the best pic I could get, so please excuse any glare.

Finally some rain

After almost 4 weeks of eternal sunshine the rain has hit Uppsala. - About time according to me. Because no matter how much I love when it’s warm and sunny outside, there has to be some kind of balance. Especially when the ACs in this country isn’t equipped for a temperature around 30 °C every day and therefore sucks. :/

A picture of me when it was still sunny outside

Daily Thoughts 7/25/2010 ( Turning The Page Online Course, Cognitive Surplus, Reanimation Library )

A photochrom postcard published by the Detroit Photographic Company of the Library of Congress in the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University.


Daily Thoughts 7/25/2010


This morning, I finished The Turning The Page online course for library advocacy. It was a challenge at some points mainly in navigating the class to make sure that I saw all the options. This would be a good free course to take if you want to clarify your message about why you should support the library and give funds to the library. I have a printout that acknowledges my taking the course. http://www.sustaininglibrariesonline.org/pla/index.asp




I read some more of Clay Shirky's Cognitive Surplus.  The author is describing how many people who are using the web are intrinsically motivated.  They are doing things because they enjoy them not necessarily for rewards.  They are also doing intrinsically motivated projects that scale communally like Wikipedia and other things.  This can range from the silly to the extremely relevant.  There is no reward for posting videos on Youtube or making a Facebook page.  People do it for social reasons.  I certainly am not being paid to write this blog.  Yet, I am learning how to use social media, improving my writing skills, and creating a sense of both open communication and self mastery. The ideas in this book reflect many of the actions which I am taking personally.  They are relevant to how people use the web and changes in communication and interaction caused by social media.




The Reanimation Library one of the odder library websites I have seen. http://www.reanimationlibrary.org/pages/about.htm

Last night

After my sweet sister had taken mum and me out for dinner at the new restaurant Wok & Sushi, we went home continuing the family night with popcorn and wine. In my family we can really talk about everything, and I love that, but it sure has some “consequences” as well. Like the fact that we spent a total of three hours around the kitchen table talking in the middle of the night (!) Hehe ^^

My dish: prawns with cashews and rice (the menu said it was supposed to be very hot, but don’t believe that crap. It was more mild than sweet chili sauce! :o)

Planning for the future

Most of the afternoon I have spent on google trying to plan for my future. It started off as pretty fun, but let me just tell you: looking for universities in Shanghai should really be known as a part time job. The jungle of schools is a absolutely crazy and I am so lucky that my computer hasn’t crashed yet. :o

So far I have found a couple of schools that will possibly suit me, but as I said, there are soooo many and you will get absolutely insane if you are trying to go through every single one of them. Anyways, I better get ready. Vicki is buying me and mum dinner at one of the new restaurants in Gränby Centrum (a mall close to where I live). ;)

But, feel free to drop a comment if you guys have any suggestions of good universities in Shanghai that offers economics studies :)

Daily Thoughts 7/24/2010

Library Park, Bath, ME; from a 1917 postcard. This shows the Roberts Fountain, with the Patten Free Library at right

Daily Thoughts 7/24/2010

September is National Library Card month. http://www.ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/calendarofevents/otherinitiatives/card/librarycard.cfm

Long Overdue A Fresh Look at Public and Leadership Attitudes about LIBRARIES in the 21st Century http://www.publicagenda.org/files/pdf/Long_Overdue.pdf

I took a little bit of time to look at the Booklife Now blogroll http://www.booklifenow.com . It had a site which I find very useful and entertaining if you are in the publishing world, Shelf Awareness. I read it every day in my email. http://www.shelf-awareness.com I added it to my own blogroll.

I walked up to the library this morning and I spent some time looking at Consumer Reports, both the buying guide for 2010 and the September 2009 issues on Digital Cameras. Then I went to Amazon and cross referenced the highest rated digital cameras. From what I see, the Samsung SL102 is getting the best ratings. The Samsung TL110 is also getting excellent ratings. It looks like they are selling out of the TL110 in the stores and not discounting it which is a good sign that something has good quality. The TL110 has digital video, so it would be possible to do both videos and pictures which would be very nice.

I have been reading more of Digital Photography for Dummies, 6th Edition. I think I will be prepared to buy a digital camera pretty soon. I just have to look around. J and R Computer World in Manhattan has an excellent reputation. I sometimes go there. I also might just buy it from Amazon and spend a little extra money to get a better warranty.

Of course, I have a little bit of trepidation because I am not sure what will happen in six months if the library I am working at manages to either not raise additional funds or manages to lose its central library status causing a considerable loss of funds. This means it makes me wonder if I should not be holding onto my cash as much as possible.

Anyways, I started reading Cognitive Surplus Creativity And Generosity In a Connected Age by Clay Shirky. Cognitive surplus is that eight hours of free time where we either are not working or sleeping. It used to be that this was filled with television, a passive medium. Now, people are starting to use it for more interactive media in interesting ways. Clay Shirky talks about shared activities on a large scale like Wikipedia, Facebook, and other online social activities. People are no longer passive in the media landscape. Everyone in effect becomes a producer of content who wants to. I am not a huge fan of television, I find the internet and social media to be personally entertaining and rewarding even if I am not paid to use it.

Belgian chocolate cake

After a long and exhausting week (yeah, right) everyone needs a treat, and in my case that was a piece of Belgian chocolate cake. Yum-yum is all I had to say.

Give me chocolate in any form, and I am content ;)

I want some of that hottie Ian Somerhalder

If I wouldn’t have started watching The Vampire Diaries, I never would have known who Ian Somerhalder (playing the vampire Damon Salvatore) was. I would completely have missed out on all of those drooling moments when he makes that slant smile of his, or when we just get a close-up where we are allowed to drown into his deep blue eyes…I know that it’s most likely the charming, dangerous, but still soft character that makes me writing this post, but let’s face it. He is a true hottie in reality too. ;)

Before I thought guys with dark hair and light eyes looked too dangerous. Like they would be a part of the Russian mafia - and something you therefore should stay away from. But now, I think it’s just so damn sexy! Ian Somerhalder opened up a completely new door for me, haha! :P

A former model, a true romantic, and a passion to save animals. Do I need to say more than “aaaaaahhhh…he’s perfect”? - No, didn’t think so either. ^^

Daily Thoughts 7/23/2010

The Artist's Wife (Périe, 1849–1887), 1883, Albert Bartholomé (1848–1928)

Daily Thoughts 7/23/2010

Link to Ebooks In Libraries on Facebook. You have to be logged into Facebook to view this. http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=14473239090

Today has been a quiet steady day. I went and made sure the displays were in order and printed a few more flyers for the adult summer reading program. I also made a few suggestions about ebooks. I finished reading the OCLC report on fundraising. It was quite interesting. It gave me a few ideas. I also am continuting to take the free American Library Association class on advocacy. This also is turning out to be useful. I placed an order for Winning Grants: A How-To-Do-It Manual For Librarians With Multimedia Tutorials And Grant Development Tools
By Pamela H. MacKellar and Stephanie K. Gerding. The authors run the Library Grants Blog http://librarygrants.blogspot.com/2010/07/winning-grants-is-published.html

Link to national library symbol of the United States http://www.ala.org/ala/professionalresources/libfactsheets/large-librarysymbol.jpg

I took a little break from reading and watched Black Sky Winning The X Prize which is a dvd produced by the Discovery Channel. It is about Spaceship One which is the first commercial spaceship to reach the edge of space made by Scaled Composites. I find it to be an inspirational story that I enjoyed watching. It is about pushing past limits.

Instant noodles - a savior from above

After a busy day for all of us in my little family, we had no energy nor any motivation to cook a real dinner…So this is what we did to solve the problem. Instant noodles - the perfect dinner solution. ♥

Daily Thoughts 7/22/2010

Niels Hemmingsen, Author Unknown, 1500s

Daily Thoughts 7/22/2010

I am taking the online Advocacy class from the Public Library Association. It is very generic and designed to fit with most people. It feels like a good way to clarify my thoughts more than anything else so far.

I put in my orders this morning. I also have taken some time to look at devices which are compatible with the Overdrive Digital Media Catalog which our library is a member of. There are quite a few nice ebooks, audiobooks, and a selection of MP3 music. I found out that the three main ebooks which are used with this system are the Nook, the Kobo Reader, and the Sony Reader. The Overdrive blog has a little bit on the Kobo reader http://blogs.overdrive.com/library/post/2010/07/09/Kobo-eReader-review-A-simple-eBook-reader.aspx . I also learned that Overdrive sells Sansa MP3 players in batches of 10 which is kind of interesting.

This is an article about Library 2.0 and Readers Advisory. It is part of my class reading. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6495211.html?q=neal+wyatt+redefining+ra+annotations Reflecting on the article, I use Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/ to track the books I am reading which I want to fully review. I am not sure that I want to use the full style of annotation which goes with readers advisory work.

I also changed the books in two displays. I put in books from storage on civil rights, and also did a small display of comics lit books. One of my favorite comics lit books is Remembrance of Things Past Combray by Marcel Proust, drawn by Stephane Heuet.

I also am checking out two books, Blonde Bombshell a Comedy of Intergalactic Proportions by Tom Holt and Clay Shirky, Cognitive Surplus Creativity and Generosity In a Connected Age.

OCLC report on fundraising and libraries. http://www.oclc.org/reports/funding/fullreport.pdf

http://csea860.org/laid-mt-vernon-workers-reinstated This is the unions side of the story about the reinstatement of the workers at the Mount Vernon Public Library

The Candy Thief

Candy made me a thief.

Seriously.

I must have been seven or eight. I was in a Ben Franklin Five and Dime ... Why, I don't know, I didn't have any money.

And then my eyes spied it.

A York Peppermint Pattie.

Dark chocolately goodness melted around a gooey peppermint center.

Nirvana!

But my pockets were empty.

Well, not empty. I had my lucky rock ... not worth money... not that I would have bartered it anyway. I had my pet pillbug (tied to a string) and probably some other small trinkets I picked up off the ground, but valued like rare jewels.

The York Peppermint Pattie whispered my name.

"Norm. Noorrrmmmmm.... Eat me!"

"But, Pattie," I replied. "I don't have any money."

"No one's looking. Just take me!"

"I couldn't do that. That's stealing!"

"But I'm yours. I belong to you. You would just be taking what is yours."

The sugary voice was just so compelling. So I did it. With Pattie keeping watch for me, I reached out, put my trembling sugar-anticipatory hands on her sweet roundness.

And in a flash, she was in my pocket.

With nerves atrembly, I stole out of the store with my beloved, hopped on my bike, and pedaled furiously away to find a secluded spot to rendezvous with my secret dark lover.

I found a woody area, devoid of people, and settled onto a leafy spot behind a big tree. Pattie came from my pocket, her allure almost too tempting. But anticipation is part of the joy of this relationship, so with nervous restraint, I gently unfolded her tinfoily wrapper, and allowed myself the first swaying of desire at the flash of her tasty skin.

My mouth watered as I ...

... gobbled down the sweet confection.

Nope, I just couldn't savor this over time. Like the owl in the Tootsie Roll Pop commercial, I just can't let saliva do the work. My love of candy is a frenzied, drool-and-chomp-it-down affair - not a take your time and let it melt in your mouth insanity.

Anyway, it's good to get this dark secret out in the open.

I feel better.

And, now that I'm older, I usually have enough money for candy.

That's a good thing.

(No,Norm, don't do it)

Shut up, cavities!

Norm

www.normcowie.com

(where you can read The Guy'd Book for free! And three short stories! And excerpts of my other three books! Do you hear me! Free stuff!)