Daily Thoughts 5/31/2011 (libraries)

Lesser Ury: Im Café Bauer (aus: Berliner Malerei im 19. Jahrhundert. Siedller Verlag), 1898

Daily Thoughts 5/31/2011

Today has been a quiet day.  I checked the displays and updated the Twitter account.  I also worked a bit on ordering and read Kirkus Reviews and Booklist.

I put Idea Man by Paul Allen on hold.  Paul Allen is a co-founder of microsoft.  Also the book, The Lost Fleet Beyond the Frontier Dreadnaught by Jack Campbell came in for me to read.  It is part of a popular military space opera series.

Web Bits

BEA 2011

Drive User Engagement Via Social Media, Day of Dialog Panel Urges

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/890793-264/bea_2011__drive_user.html.csp


Karin Slaughter on Saving Libraries

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/47451-save-the-libraries-ala-2011.html

To Dash or Not to Dash?

This is an interesting article from Slate on the em dash. The author is very much against it, but I couldn’t disagree more – I think the em dash is awesome.*

To me, the em dash is the bad ass of punctuation. I use them mostly when I’m emailing or posting comments online. These are usually short one-sentence communications and I tend to throw in a dash when I want to give my writing a little edge. The em dash adds a little aggression in there. It chops up the thought and makes the individual pieces stand out. It gives what is otherwise a banal, boring observation some spunk and character.

I use em dashes to different extents in my writing though. My current WIP hardly has any, but then my narrator has a much sweeter tone. She just wouldn’t have a need to chop her sentences to pieces. But, the newer piece I’ve been working on has tons of them. That narrator is much more clipped and harsh, so em dashes seem to go with her.

Of course, any bit of punctuation can be rendered obnoxious if it’s used too often (or else misused). I know I’m a huge fan of parenthesis and ellipses in my blog posts, even though I hardly ever use parenthesis when I’m writing. (Ellipses though… I use those no matter what I’m writing. I think my brain just likes to trail off mid-thought...**)

What do you think? Do you like the em dash? What punctuation do you find yourself using or abusing in your writing? Do different punctuation marks have different personalities to you?

-- Lisa

* Jane Austen and Emily Dickinson were also lovers of the em dash and I think it gives their work a special personality and quality that a boring old comma wouldn't have.

** J.K. Rowling is a prolific ellipses-user as well. Especially in the later books where Harry sees visions or has increasingly scattered thoughts.

Bottled Lightning Superbatteries, Electric Cars, and the New Lithium Economy by Seth Fletcher

Bottled Lightning Superbatteries, Electric Cars, and the New Lithium Economy by Seth Fletcher

This is a history of batteries which make the electric car possible.  Seth Fletcher describes the invention of the battery from its beginnings to modern lithium-ion batteries.  It is about more than cars, because lithium batteries were first used in computers and cell phones before they were used in cars.

The book is very much a pro electric car book focused on the benefits of electric cars.  He enthusiastically describes the Chevrolet Volt, the Nissan Leaf, and the Tesla Roadster as the hope for our future.  His focus is not on hybrid electric cars, but on cars that are purely run by batteries.

I very much enjoyed reading about the lithium mines in Chile and Bolivia.  The largest lithium reserves are in Bolivia.  Seth Fletcher describes his visits to the mines.

There is an excellent reminder that ultimately lithium ion batteries are about more than cars.  Large power plants are starting to use giant lithium ion batteries as back up power storage.  This will grow with the increased use of wind and solar power.

This book is worth reading if you are interested in alternative energy or automobiles.  It is more of a story about batteries than just cars. 

June Birthdays

I deleted the blog I had previously pertaining to birthdays and I'm doing this one now because it's actually closer to June than when I originally did it, so I'm giving a big Happy Birthday shout out to the following people:

Ronnie Wood, 63

• DOB: June 1, 1947, Hillingdon, Middlesex, England
• Birth name: Ronald David Wood
• Height: 5'9''
• Nickname: The New Kid, Woody, Ronnie
• Spouse:
• Jo Wood- Jan. 2, 1985- Jan. 25, 2011(divorced) 2 children
• Krissy Findlay- (1971-1978) (divorced) 1 child
• Trivia
• Guitarist with The Faces and The Rolling Stones
• Also plays lap and pedal steel guitar
• His music career started with a band in 1964 called the Birds
• In February 1976, Ronnie was considered an official member of The Rolling Stones. It wasn't until 1990 when Ronnie was made a full fledged member of The Stones, nearly 20 years after he joined the band
• In March 2004, doctors found traces of emphysema in his lungs and ordered him to quit his 30 a day smoking habit. Because during the band's 2003 Forty Licks tour, Ronnie had been downing a bottle and a half of vodka a day
• Added guitar, bass, saxophone, keyboards and back-up vocals to Ringo Starr's Stop and Smell the Roses
• As a guest on BBC's Top Gear in 2007, he completed the Celebrity Speed Lap in 1:49.4
• A very respected and accomplished artist whose art is displayed in galleries all over the world
• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0939976/bio
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Wood

John Cusack, 44

• DOB: June 28, 1966, Evanston, Illinois
• Birth name: John Paul Cusack
• Height: 6'3''
• Nickname: Johnny
• Trivia:
• Big fan of The Ramones, The Clash, Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello
• Die-hard Chicago Cubs fan
• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000131/bio
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cusack

Johnny Depp

• DOB: June 9, 1963, Owensboro, Kentucky
• Birth name: John Christopher Depp II
• Height: 5'10''
• Trademark:
• his highly defined cheekbones
• Frequently plays freakish, outlandish characters
• Frequently works with director Tim Burton
• Frequently bases his performance on rock stars
• Trivia:
• Arrested in London for getting into a fight with paparazzis in Jan. 1999
• Arrested for supposedly trashing a New York hotel room. The one who called the cops was none other than Who front man Roger Daltrey
• Has a tattoo on his arm that once said Winona Forever because of his relationship with actress Winona Ryder. but now says Wino Forever because of a love of wine
• Best friends with Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards
• Has a huge interest in Jack the Ripper
• Says the character of Capt. Jack Sparrow is strongly based on Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, from his voice and aspects of his appearance to his personality and mannerisms. Keith would appear in the 3rd Pirates movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, playing Jack's father, Capt. Teague
• Big fan of The Rolling Stones
• Big fan of the 1963 show Doctor Who
• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000136/bio
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_depp
• For some reason, my sister goes head over heels for him, every time she sees him on TV she loses all self control!

Anne Frank

• DOB: June 12, 1929
• DOD: early March 1945(15 years old)
• Birth name: Annelies Marie Frank
• Anne and her sister Margot and her family were discovered by the Germans and her and her sister Margot were taken to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where they both died of typhus
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank

Liam Neeson

• DOB:  June 7, 1952, Ballymena, Northern Ireland
• Birth name: William John Neeson
• Height: 6'4''
• Trivia
• Brother in law of actress Joely Richardson
• His role as a high Nazi party official in the 1992 movie Shining Through is what got him the role as Oskar Schindler in the 1993 movie Schindler's List
• 
  
• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000553/bio

Charlie Watts

• DOB: June 2, 1941, Bloomsbury, London, England
• Birth name: Charles Robert Watts
• Height: 5'8''
• Nickname: The Wembley Whammer
• Spouse: Shirley Shepard-Watts(October 14, 1964-present, 1 child)
• Trivia:
• Drummer for The Rolling Stones
• Has many jazz projects outside the Rolling Stones
• Considered to be the most quiet, most reticent and least wild member of the Stones
• Has one daughter, Seraphina, born in 1967
• In June 2004, was diagnosed with throat cancer. even after he quit smoking 15 years before. But in October 2004 it was announced that his cancer had gone into remission after aggressive chemo treatments.
• Lives in Dolton, Devon, United Kingdom
• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915115/bio

Birthday Weekday Evening @ NWBB

I hope you had a lovely Memorial Day weekend!  Even more so, I hope you extended it (like we did). 

Speaking of celebrating, we at Cap2Cap celebrated BOTH of our birthdays this spring (early and late) at New World.  We love N. Dubz.--it's not that there are never any misses, but I'd argue that the clear majority of dishes hit the mark and some are simply divine.  Plus all the local, seasonal, organic, etc stuff that I like AND servers who are knowledgeable and seemingly excited about aforementioned zazz.  I learned a bit about how they source their salmon!  [Also: we can walk there.  Let's be honest for a second about how big of a factor this is.]

We started with an okay, probably-not-worth-$10 appetizer: the duck prosciutto bruschette.  I easily peeled the fat off mine, since I didn't really understand why it was there.  I'd prefer just the crispy duck part!  The duck prosciutto itself was dark and salty and had a good bite, and the fig jam was fun, but I felt like it all could have been put together differently.  The bruschette situation wasn't best.  Let's be honest, I just want to crunch that duck all over a giant salad and dollop the fig jam on it.  J wished we had gotten the blackened green beans instead; they are famed.

Now on to DELICIOUS, totally on the mark: Thai Italian Love - Panang curry bolognese.  Look at that papardelle!  A little spicy, but the heat kept me on my toes.  It wasn't overwhelming, and it didn't last very long on my tongue.  I could move on and enjoy myself.  I want this again today right now.

J had a special, the South Indian Fish Fry, which was light (I know, for fried fish!) and tasty, with some friendly veggies and a bright sauce of mild yellow curry.  
 
New World Bistro Bar
300 Delaware Avenue
Albany, NY

We skipped dessert because I hustled my booty over to Cheesecake Machismo after work before carpooling home with the birthday gentleman.  I proceeded to take the menu I nabbed out of my pocket right in front of him once we got home...I'm smooth.

Cookies and Cream and Smoked 'Smore.I reallllly liked the 'smore situation, but J felt like one bite was enough.  He didn't dig the char flavor, he said "I don't want to feel like I'm eating a fire."  To me it was like eating a super toasted marshmallow, one that has been charred.  AND I LIKED IT.  Different strokes, etc.

They have no web site. I usually am against this, but meh Facebook, they are a dessert place, I'll let it slide this time.  Also, their name is basically amazing. 

Cheesecake Machismo
 293 Hamilton St
 Albany, NY

Where is the food???

Normally our fridge is stuffed with food but not this morning...and after last night alcohol is the least thing I want. My throat is all sore. :(

Creators of the Superheroes by Thomas Andrae

Creators of the Superheroes Interviews and Commentary about Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson, Jack Kirby, and Will Eisner by Thomas Andrae

This book gives a very close look at the personal stories behind the creation of the first superheroes; Batman, Superman, Captain America, the Fantastic Four, and others.  It is more than just about the art of the comics, it is about how the comic business was created.  The book fits in with other books printed by Hermes Press which has many reprints and biographical works on early comics.

The life stories in this book are often tragic.  Bill Finger one of the first writers of Batman got very little credit and died destitute.  The artists often got very little money from doing comics, most of it went to the publishers.   Most of the artists worked on a commission per page.  Unless you were Jack Kirby and had a solid business sense and a huge readership, or Will Eisner who ran his own company, there was very little money as a comic books artist.

There are many interesting details in the book.  I like the photographs and drawings of the women who inspired the creation of Lois Lane.  The book has over 400 illustrations in it.  It is also a coffee table size book.  Many of the images are photographs of the artists life, original comic book panels, and pictures from movies or films.  Jack Kirby, Jerry Siegel, and Joe Shuster were movie buffs.  Also Batman and Superman were made into films.

The majority of the text in this book is interviews. A lot of this is about the creative process in making comics.  It also has quite a bit about the artists personal lives.  Thrown in are interesting tidbits like the name Clark Kent is a combination of the movie actors, Clark Gable and Kent Taylor, and Batman's cape was designed after Leonardo's DaVinci's flying machine.

I especially liked the section on Will Eisner.  Will Eisner is considered the creator of the first graphic novel, A Contract With God.  He is also credited with making strong efforts to turn comics into an art form for adults.  He wrote comics as instruction manuals for the army.  This makes his approach different.

This is a fantastic book with beautiful illustrations, excellent interviews, and unique content.  If you are interested in the history of comics you should read this.

Police top

The party outfit for tonight will be my new police top from Turkey. You might think it's weird that I haven't used it yet since the Turkey trip was last September, but that's just typically me. I have loads of stuff I've bought but never had time to use...yet! :p

Going lighter

Last time I dyed my hair I said that the next time I was to color it, it would be a darker color. One that is more close to my natural hair color. Nonetheless, I didn't get the full approvement from my friends who all like the color I have now (caramel brownish), so once again I decided to go for the lighter color.

My mum thinks it is risky that I decided to get it dyed now, especially since I am going out tonight, but what the heck? Sometimes you have to live life a bit dangerously and it's not like a it has ever turned out disastrous whenever she has colored my hair so no, I ain't that scared. The result will come up later. ;)

My Favourite Angelina Jolie Pictures

Has you all know Thomb Raiders Movie ? right,Angelina Jolie is an Actress on the movie.she's look sexy and so wonderful.but,for me,i love to see Angelina in natural beauty as a women,not as Lara Croft.and here i have Angelina Jolie Pictures in natural beauty.she's like an angel.

Angelina Jolie Pictures in natural beauty photo

Click on the image to increase image size.other teen celebrity picture,check bellow.

Alicia Keys Best Quality Pictures

Here I have Alicia Keys (born January 25, 1981) pictures in best moment and good pose.who's Alicia Keys ? she's an American recording artist, musician and actres.



Click on the Alicia Keys image to increase image size.other teen celebrity picture,check bellow.

Best Jessica Alba Pictures

While Jessica Alba did not getting maried,she was a beautiful and sexy female celebrity with chinese face look.but,after Jessica getting married,she's not looking good anymore.eventhough for this years she's got pregnant for her second babies.let she Jessica Alba while she's in pretty look.

Best Jessica Alba Pictures before Married

Click on the image to increase image size.other teen celebrity picture,check bellow.

Daily Thoughts 5/29/2011 (the quantum thief)

A Chimp Seated at a Typewriter c1906

Daily Thoughts 5/29/2011

Last night I finished reading Bottled lightning.  I learned that a lot of the success of the electric car is determined by lithium mining.  The largest lithium mine in the world is in Bolivia. China and Chile also have very large lithium reserves.

Today I have been reading The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajniemi which is science fiction. It has a very odd feel to it.  People trade memories and on Mars, time is a unit of currency.   I am not sure what to think of it yet.

Swede Dreams

Found a new awesome mix :D

Staying in

I don’t think I’ve ever had a day as lazy as this one. The only thing I’ve done is sleeping and surfing. Oh, and eating. That and going to pee were my only two reasons for leaving bed. The plan for tonight was actually to go to a rooftop party but considering how dead me and my friends already are from all the previous parties, we reconsidered since we didn’t want to end up getting sick for graduation day.

But it’s kind of nice to just be home too. Some episodes of Gossip Girl can never go wrong. ;)

IB08’s STUDENTSKIVA

Last night was the day I’ve been longing for ever since exams started (not gradudation day because that I have been waiting for ever since I started the IB) and daaamn what a night it was. Everything was awesome and I just realized how much I’m actually going to miss each and everyone…

Thinking about last night, I think I have to join the army

Ebba was a gorgeous Greek goddess

Sexxi chixx

IB08's hottest couple: Louise & Jon

Favorite teachers: Faf & Ric

Anna's outfit was awesome...she looked like she was imported directly from Tokyo

Me & Lisa

Lisa, Jasmin & my (former) maths teacher P7

Hollywood buffeet

Getting on stage to get my nominations which turned out to be...

HAHAHA! xD

Love you girls!!! :)

From my morning walk home...

Gotta change platform soon

I’m just going to start off by saying that this blog platform sucks. I haven’t been able to enter my account since Wednesday, which means that I haven’t been able to blog anything since Wednesday. But maybe you didn’t miss that much anyways, I mean, I’ve only been partying and tanning anyhow, hehe…

Well well, I’m going to upload the pictures from last night’s super awesome skiva - our own IB08’s of course and then a bigger post will come up. Stay tuned! :D

Alessandra Ambrosio In Summer Costum

Summer time is getting closer and miss to see a lot of girls in their tiny bikinis, short shorts and hot little outfits.and supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio started to wear something like that a little early. Awesome.



Alessandra Ambrosio is walking down the street on a hot sunny day looking beautiful as ever and flashing us with her sweet supermodel.Click on the image to increase image size.other teen celebrity picture,check bellow.