LibWorm.com provides a librarian RSS filtering service. Over 1500 RSS librarian sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest headlines from journals and sites in the Humor interest group. http://www.libworm.com/rss/librarianqueries.php Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:51:25 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/03/10/online-database-the-word-on-the-street-digitized-broadsheet-collection-1650-1910-from-the-national-library-of-scotland/ With all of the newspaper digitization going on (with much more to come) we wanted to share this collection of “broadsides” that we learned about a few days ago. Its been online for several years. From the Home Page: In the centuries before there were newspapers and 24-hour news channels, the general public had to rely on street literature to find out what was going on. The most popular form of this for nearly 300 years was ‘broadsides’ – the tabloids of their day. Sometimes pinned up on walls in houses and ale-houses, these single sheets carried public notices, news, speeches and songs that could be read (or sung) aloud. The National Library of Scotland’s online collection of nearly 1,800 broadsides lets you see for yourself what ‘the word on the street’ was in Scotland between 1650 and 1910. Crime, politics, romance, emigration, humour, tragedy, royalty and superstitions – all these and more are here. Each broadside comes with a detailed commentary and most also have a full transcription of the text, plus a downloadable PDF facsimile {Impressive!]. You can search by keyword, browse by title or browse by subject See Also: Other Resources from the NLS Digital Library Source: National Library of Scotland (Source: ResourceShelf) Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:19:36 +0100 825326 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/XkxdX7b2ffQ/al-kennedy-writing-fiction-words Let's play. Let's play with words. Let's start with a man and a room and see where it takes us. But is that room a hotel room, a bedroom, an office ...And hello from my hotel room. I can't remember how many hotel rooms I have occupied since I last wrote to you, Best Beloveds, but they have been numerous and various and have served to confirm me in my belief that I should stick to the same chain if I can, because then I'll always be at home – in somewhere relatively cheap, neutral and suitable for typing. The beginnings and drafts of all my books have, frankly, spent more time in hotel rooms than even the most energetic Wag.For those of you who read the previous blog, my cunning plan to divide my time between the play and the novel (while doing a bit of standup and a show in Bath) came somewhat loose on its hinges when the play won, became indecently insistent and ended up monopolising all the parts of last week, so that I didn't spend either flailing about a stage, or hurtling across railway platforms. The play is now with its intended recipient and he has agreed to take care of it – it's probably already peeing on his carpet, chewing his shirt collars and bleating endearingly when he puts it back into its box. For which I, of course, apologise. Very high-maintenance, plays.And, as relative peace descends between meetings – I'm in London, which is where meetings happen, and muggings, obviously, which are just a kind of vigorous meeting … Anyway, I'm overdue for another chat with the novel. A new section is rattling about and needs to be expressed. But, before I start, I thought I'd look at the process of putting one word after another – the process that no one but the author really sees – the process that is difficult to examine properly, even in one-to-one sessions with students.So. This won't end up in my novel, but let us say that I have the feeling there's a man about the place and that the place is a room. ... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:52:02 +0100 825228 http://dbl.lishost.org/blog/2010/03/10/will-what-worked-for-groucho-work-for-libraries/ Reading this Seth Godin post I had to contemplate the situation librarians have found themselves in as the type of experience the users want has shifted to low fidelity, high convenience. As it exists today the library experience is best described as mostly high fidelity. Our profession is urged again and again to change its practices to meet the current market expectations for information search and retrieval. We’ve heard that convenience trumps quality every time, and that we need to follow suit and go low fidelity. Godin almost perfectly describes this exact predicament in which we librarians find ourselves: Perhaps the most plaintive complaint I hear from organizations goes something like this, “We worked really hard to get very good at xyz. We’re well regarded, we’re talented and now, all the market cares about is price. How can we get large groups of people to value our craft and buy from us again?” Apparently, the bulk of your market no longer wants to buy your top of the line furniture, lawn care services, accounting services, tailoring services, consulting… all they want is the cheapest. The masses don’t want a better PC laptop. They just want the one with the right specs at the right price. It’s not because people are selfish (though they are) or shortsighted (though they are). It’s because in this market, right now, they’re not listening. They’ve been seduced into believing that all options are the same, and they’re only seeing price. In terms of educating the masses to differentiate yourself, the market is broken. At one time we certainly were the kings of information delivery. When our user communities needed anything beyond a basic encyclopedia, a phone call or visit to the library was standard practice. ... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:41:44 +0100 825185 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/XD6WXsjPxEs/frederic-raphael-talkative-novels From Petronius to John Steinbeck and Evelyn Waugh, the novelist considers books that have mastered the art of dialogue, ensuring that 'they always speak to us, not least between the lines'Born in Chicago but educated in England, Frederic Raphael is probably best known as the author of Glittering Prizes, and its sequel Fame and Fortune, both of which he adapted into acclaimed TV and radio series starring Tom Conti as writer Adam Morris. This month, he publishes a third volume in this series, Final Demands, which finds Morris contending with middle age and its discontents and which he has also adapted for BBC Radio 4.Raphael is also a prolific author of some 20 other novels, as well as history books, biographies and film screenplays. Last year he completed a strikingly contemporary translation of Petronius's Satyrica, (published by Carcanet, priced £12.99). Buy Frederic Raphael books at the Guardian bookshop"Dialogue brings a novel to life. It is possible to compose fiction without it, just as Georges Perec was able to write an entire book without using the vowel "e", but one had better be a genius to affect such forms of composition. And once is quite enough. It may also be possible to contrive great blocks of prose, in which landscapes are described and psychological states analysed as never before. But a writer who cannot make characters talk, and have their conversations require us to listen to them, is locked into airless formality. "Dialogue tells us what people say and it hints at what they do not. It encourages readers to bring a book to life by enticing their participation in it. They then supply their own reading of how loudly or softly, truly or falsely, words are exchanged. When a writer allows his characters to talk among themselves, he grants them their freedom. If only because the subconscious can then chime in, his premeditated scheme never wholly dictates what someone will say. ... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:19:28 +0100 825231 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Socialism_Capitalizing_on_Anti- (Source: pligg - all) Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:17 +0100 825143 http://www.wislisjobs.com/public.htm#fonddulac Fond du Lac Public Library seeks an outgoing, creative Information Services Librarian to be part of an innovative library team. The successful candidate must demonstrate an ability to create lasting connections between the library and the public within a dynamic environment. Patience and a sense of humor are critical. (Source: Wislisjobs Public Library Jobs) Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:10:01 +0100 824780 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Career_Counselor_Being_a (Source: pligg - all) Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:00:26 +0100 824798 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/HnTYM1eZ1HA/solar-by-ian-mcewan Cape, £18.992000 He belonged to that Salman class of short, fat, ugly, clever men who were unaccountably attractive to women. But Michael Beard was anhedonic; his fifth marriage was disintegrating and he should have known how to behave as his philandering had ended the previous four. This time, though, it was his wife, Patrice, who was having an affair with Tarpin, a horny-handed Essex builder who knew nothing about cavity-wall insulation.Beard waited for Aldous to collect him. Gosh, how he hated the polar bear rug in the hall. Still, everyone would soon have one, he supposed, if the polar ice-cap continued to melt. Not that Beard was yet wholly committed to the climate- change agenda, but having won the Nobel prize for his Beard-Einstein Conflation on Photovoltaics, an idea he was very thankful he was never asked to fully explain, he had been happy to head the New Labour Climate Change Laboratory."I'm afraid it's not a Prius," Aldous said. "I'm not surprised, as they were only sold outside Japan in 2001," Beard replied. Aldous was one of his pony-tailed post-docs who was being forced into working on the New Labour cul-de sac of wind turbine energy. Beard nodded off. He was very familiar with the McEwan Conflation of cramming loads of dull facts about climate change into a book and calling it fiction."Tarpin hit me," said Patrice. "He hit me too," Beard replied as he went off to visit an endangered glacier in the Arctic for 30 pages. He returned to find Aldous in his flat. "I admit I'm having an affair with your wife," said Aldous, "but I've worked out that your Conflation can satisfy the world's energy needs." At which, Aldous slipped on the polar bear rug and died, a victim of climate change."I could make it look like Tarpin did it," McEwan thought. He had no real experience of writing comedy and the gags creaked as much as the plot. ... Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:05:13 +0100 824698 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/lansinglibraryteen/podcast/~3/jqYLBdUv-Bo/march-book-of-month.html From School Library Journal, 10-1-2008:According to tradition, when the Martin children turn 15, they inherit a suite in the family's small Manhattan hotel and a job: to take care of the rooms and their occupant. On Scarlett's 15th birthday, Amy Amberson sweeps into the suite that Scarlett has just inherited. The woman is demanding and brash, but she does have her charms (and large amounts of cash). In the beginning, Scarlett is overwhelmed, but then her role becomes that of Mrs. Amberson's assistant for her projects, which change on a whim. When Amy decides to help the theater troupe that Scarlett's brother is involved in put on Hamlet, the teen begins a romance with one of the actors. Then everything starts to go awry, and when things get tough, Amy abandons ship, and plucky Scarlett is left to step in and save what needs saving, something that she does with flair. Scarlett's brand of humor is particularly dry and well articulated. This novel blends sibling rivalry and the importance of family, friendship, and romance into a plot that is charming and well delivered.Emily Garrett Cassady, North Garland High School, Garland, TX (Source: Lansing Library Teen Dept. Podcast) Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:01:22 +0100 824635 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/LE7w5uPm_qU/sir-kenneth-dover-obituary Distinguished classical scholar and academic who broke new ground with his book Greek HomosexualitySir Kenneth Dover, who has died aged 89, was a towering figure in the study of ancient Greek language, literature and thought. Very few could approach the range and quality of his scholarship, especially his synthesis of philological, historical and cultural acumen. His name became known to a wider public partly for his groundbreaking 1978 book, Greek Homosexuality, and partly for the publication of his controversial autobiography, Marginal Comment, in 1994.Greek Homosexuality treated the topic with unprecedented openness and nuanced definition. The work drew together the evidence of literature (not least a prosecution speech in a sensational Athenian court case); visual art (Dover inspected hundreds of sexually explicit vase-paintings, often in the basements of museums); and history, mythology and philosophy. The result was a compelling picture of the complex web of sexual and social practices that constituted the phenomena now grouped together under the label of Greek homosexuality.The book proved a turning-point in the modern study of ancient sexual cultures, leading to the growth of this field in the 1980s (and not just among specialists – Michel Foucault was among those influenced by it). Later in life, Dover was sometimes impatient that the subject had become an academic industry and that Greek Homosexuality had become the best known of his works, partly occluding what he felt to be his own central achievement as a historian of the Greek language. But the book is deservedly admired for harnessing scholarly sophistication to a shrewd and broad-minded historical imagination. If parts of Dover's argument have been challenged in relation to the kind of weight given to different sorts of evidence, the book remains an indispensable resource.Dover was born in London and educated at St Paul's school and Balliol College, Oxford, where he read classics. ... Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:45:54 +0100 824701 http://outofthejungle.blogspot.com/2010/03/you-cant-believe-everything-you-hear.html The Chronicle of Higher Ed passes along a story from Above the Law, "The Backstory of the John Roberts Retirement Rumor." Datelined October 4, 2010, ATL explains that there were thousands of erroneous e-mails, blogposts and text messages flying around that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was on the verge of announcing his retirement for health reasons. Radar evidently broke the story, and was the first to retract. Radar's retraction makes it sound as though Roberts just reconsidered. ATL tells it differently; they were skeptical about the rumor and used contacts at the Supreme Court, checking at the Public Information Office, where the rumor apparently caused laughter. Roberts would apparently rather die in office than give President Obama the option of appointing his successor. ATL reports further, with some good, old fashioned investigative reporting: Here’s an account of what went down in Professor Peter Tague’s criminal law class this morning, from a 1L at Georgetown Law:"Today’s class was partially on the validity of informants not explaining their sources. [Professor Tague] started off class at around 9 am EST by telling us not to tell anyone, but that we might find it interesting that tomorrow, Roberts would be announcing his retirement for health concerns. He refused to tell anyone how he knew. Then, at around 9:30, he let everyone in on the joke." (snip)A second Georgetown Law student confirms that Professor Tague’s class was probably where the Roberts resignation rumor got started:"Our criminal justice professor started our 9 am lecture with the news that roberts will be resigning tomorrow for health reasons — that he could not handle the administrative burdens of the job. ... Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100 824666 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/vYakN1406sI/the-moment-of-psycho-david-thomson Even if you think you know Psycho by heart, you'll learn something from this perceptive study of Hitchcock's menacing – and witty – landmark filmThe finest criticism renovates familiar texts, setting off little jolts of recognition. Ever since I first saw Psycho as a terrified adolescent, I've been replaying it – inside my head for several decades, nowadays on a screen at the foot of my bed – but David Thomson has spotted things in it that my countless viewings overlooked. He notices, for instance, that the arrows of purgative water from the shower form an aureole around Janet Leigh's head, making her a martyr in a Catholic altarpiece. And his gaze lingers on the dissolve from the hotel room where Leigh's Marion Crane has her sexual rendezvous with Sam Loomis (John Gavin) to the real estate office where she works: superimposition rhymes the spent, deflated figure of Loomis with Hitchcock himself, who stands on the pavement wearing a ludicrous stetson. The aperçu is valuable because Thomson points out that the director's back is turned, a signal that he's indifferent to the fates of his trapped, doomed characters.Thomson's essay works like the commentary track on a DVD. He talks us through scenes we know by heart, but justifies the intrusion by examining peripheral, unexpectedly significant details. His eye is acute, and so is his ear. He doubts that any addled or pickled crone in the California backblocks would talk like Mrs Bates, whom we overhear calling herself "fruity" and haranguing her son, Norman (Anthony Perkins), about "young men with cheap, erotic minds". This – combined with the fact that the voice of the blade-wielding matriarch belonged to a man, one of Perkins's friends – suggests to Thomson that the whole imposture is a joke, a sinister and deadly exercise in irony.The film's double meanings work like second sight. ... Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:08:23 +0100 824117 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/Fhrup2zjY6U/dave-eggers-zeitoun-hurricane-katrina Author, publisher and literary trendsetter: Dave Eggers is all those, and he's fast becoming the conscience of liberal America too. Here he tells how he went from 'staggering genius' to the man who gives a voice to the downtrodden and dispossessedI'm a little nervous of meeting Dave Eggers. On the way to San Francisco, where he lives and runs his groovy and influential publishing empire, McSweeney's, I consider his reputation. When Eggers published his first book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, he mostly refused to do interviews except by email, and then his answers were spiky and oblique, and occasionally just a joke. He once railed against a journalist who he said had quoted him off the record with a fury that seems to me to have been just a touch disproportionate. Sure enough, before I leave London, I get an email from an assistant warning me that he will only talk about his new book, Zeitoun, and that it will drive him nuts if I ask him "what he had for dinner the night before last" (I reply that I have never asked anyone, ever, what they had for dinner the night before last and I certainly would not dream of flying half way round the world to pose such a question). As for his human rights work and many charitable projects, these things are so intimidating. Faced with such abundant goodness, I furtively examine my conscience and find it wanting.As it turns out, though, I am wrong. Entirely wrong. Granted, he is not big on self-revelation. But he is neither difficult nor mean. McSweeney's is in the Mission district of the city: it's like Camden only with wider roads and more second-hand bookshops. When I arrive, I'm led past the desks of half-a-dozen bright young things and into his office, which is small and gloomy and womb-like. Time to break the ice. You hate doing interviews, don't you? I ask, sitting down (there is no desk; he works on an old sofa). "No, not at all," he says. ... Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:08:07 +0100 824118 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Budget_Cutting_the (Source: pligg - all) Sat, 06 Mar 2010 08:00:15 +0100 824090 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/GhiFur-3RQc/ian-mcewan-solar The novelist explains to Nicholas Wroe why he's chosen to grapple with climate change in his new book, SolarJust inside the front door of Ian McEwan's London home, the one in the shadow of the BT Tower made famous in his novel Saturday, is the obligatory recycling box full of paper, plastic and glass. "Of course we recycle," he laughs. "Who doesn't? And I'm all in favour of cutting 10% off our carbon. And of domestic solar panels. Anything that slows our consumption is useful. But ultimately I don't really think the bottle bank is going to get us out of this. And being virtuous is not going to get us out of it either. Civilisation is going to need another energy source."McEwan's own view – having been persuaded by thinkers such as Stewart Brand, and despite his own long-held suspicions of the industry – is that nuclear energy is probably our best bet in the medium term. Michael Beard, Nobel prize-winning physicist, glutton and the protagonist of McEwan's latest novel, Solar, has an even more technologically complex solution. His work in the field of artificial photosynthesis as a way of harnessing the sun's power has made him rich and famous. Beard got his Nobel for "modifying Einstein's photovoltaics", and McEwan enthusiastically explains that the bleeding-edge science in the book is real, if some way from practical application. "If you go to America the amount of ingenuity being deployed, and the private capital – until this present recession – being invested in nanotechnology and solar energy is astonishing."For McEwan science is the road not taken, and he talks slightly enviously about his geneticist son's work and training. At the age of 16 he "agonised" at school over the arts or science route. "My maths was actually pretty mediocre, but I did love science and eventually even 'got' calculus, although I always felt if I so much as sneezed I would probably lose it again. ... Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:08:11 +0100 823792 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/oorfhJoFeB0/everything-is-illuminated-safran-foer Week one: John Mullan on the author as characterDescribe the construction of Everything Is Illuminated and you risk making the novel sound like an exercise in narrative ingenuity fit only for the seminar room. It is split into three strands. In one, Alex, a linguistically inept translator, describes his journey across Ukraine with an American called Jonathan Safran Foer to find the shtetl of Trachimbrod, where, half a century earlier, Jonathan's grandfather escaped a Nazi massacre. In the second, episodes in the lives of the Jews of Trachimbrod since the 18th century are imagined in a novel that Jonathan is writing. In the third, Alex writes letters to Jonathan, who has now returned to America, commenting on the portions of this novel that he has been receiving, and asking for advice about the writing of his own account.It is, literally speaking, the author-as-character who holds this all together. Though he never directly addresses the reader, he alone is there in every section. Yet he is the opposite of a godlike figure of narrative authority. "It is a mammoth honour for me to write for a writer," says Alex in his first letter, "especially when he is an American writer, like Ernest Hemingway or you." Crucial to the comic effect of these letters is the fact that we do not have Foer's letters to Alex, in which, we infer, he has gravely dispensed advice. In Alex's replies, you can hear the soi-disant wisdom of the tyro novelist. "I also attempted to be not obvious, or unduly subtle, as you demonstrated".So it may be a nerve to feature yourself as a character in your first novel, but the effect is disarmingly self-mocking. Just as well, for readers are by now well used to the device. Ever since some readers of Martin Amis's Money were irritated by the meetings between the magnificently grotesque narrator John Self and a writer called Martin Amis, there have been protests against its use by literary novelists. ... Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:06:48 +0100 823797 http://otherlibrarian.wordpress.com/2010/03/05/how-to-talk-about-your-blog-in-public/ A basic Google search will turn up all kinds of blogging and podcasting advice.   How to get bonus Google Traffic using SEO tips.    How to write great content.   How to monetize.   How not to become a viral ad for social media marketing douchebags.   What to Tweet and What Not to Tweet. What seems to be missing is what happens when you talk about your blog or podcast in actual public.    But, the way that Twitter and Foursquare seem to encourage ‘meet-ups’ and the popularity of large-scale unconferences such as Podcamp Toronto make it more necessary to remind bloggers that the people who read your blog are also the people who are going to try and meet with you in public.   They may never ever tell you that they read your blog or listen to your podcast, but that does not mean they do not have a dialogue in their head about what they like or do not like about your web presence. Enter case study #1 – I’m at a bar mingling with a whole group of people with common interests in social media.    I’m excited to meet so may new faces.    I join in to a conversation half-way through and a woman is talking about her blog or podcast.   She’s bragging about the huge response she gets from her readers claiming , somewhat disingenuously, that she does not know why they bother to follow her.    Then comes the punch line:   “Maybe they only read my blog because I’m a girl.” I couldn’t help it – it’s part of my east coast blood to knock anyone just a little off their high horse.   I mean no malice nor do I wish to give an air of arrogance, but I reply: “Actually, I am almost convinced that everyone reads my blog because I’m a boy.” What followed was a pre-rehearsed tirade of insults for my ’sarcasm’ that I wasn’t able to hear because the music in the bar was too loud. ... Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:20:19 +0100 824369 http://joblist.ala.org/modules/jobseeker/controller.cfm?rssjobid=14545 Information Services Librarian (Fond du Lac Public Library, Wisconsin) 2006 Wisconsin Library Association Library of the Year Fond du Lac Public Library seeks an outgoing, creative, Information Services Librarian to be part of an innovative library team. The successful candidate must demonstrate an ability to create lasting connections between the library and the public within a dynamic environment. Patience and a sense of humor are critical. ... Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:40:01 +0100 823584 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/_moUTni26A8/everything-is-illluminated-jonathan-safran-foer The critics praised its 'startling originality', but Everything Is Illuminated is nowhere near equal to the sum of its borrowed partsFew debuts have been so fulsomely praised as Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything Is Illuminated. My Penguin edition comes with page after page of orgasmic appreciation: a tidal wave of "impressive", "smart", "wildly exuberant", "wonderful", "extraordinarily brilliant", "extraordinarily moving", "achingly heartbreaking", "shocking", "linguistically brilliant", "rambunctious tour de force of inventive intelligent storytelling". This flood of adjectives reaches its spate in the reviewers' attempts to convey just how fresh and new the book is. It isn't just original, it's "of startling originality" (that from both Jay McInerey and Nicci Gerard writing separately in the Observer). It's "dazzlingly imaginative", "marvellously inventive", "intensely inventive". This hymn-sheet-singing is – as just about every broadsheet critic of the book would express it – "extraordinary". Time after time the same sentiments and words and adjectives crop up – and time after time, as far as I can see, they bear little relation to the poor book. The question of originality is the most striking. Safran Foer (who is clearly a well-read, intelligent and sensitive writer) must have wondered what the hell was going on. Here he is, diligently weaving a tapestry of other people's stories, styles, ideas and imagery. And there is the critical mass claiming never to have read anything like it. It's weird. Foer has taken from everyone from Lawrence Sterne to (oh mercy) Dave Eggers: there's Gabriel Garcia Marquez's magical realism; there's a plotline plundered from William Styron; there are repeated borrowings from the Tin Drum (right down to having a character hide under someone's skirts). ... Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:30:02 +0100 823576 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Flash_mobs_Library (Source: pligg - all) Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:00:18 +0100 823684 http://www.takomapark.info/library/books/archives/002161.html Carpe Diem Mimi If you're looking for a book about adventure and new outlook at life, Carpe Diem is the book for you. The account is told by perfectionist, Vassar Spore, named after the prestigious women's college with hopes that she would go there herself. Both Vassar and her parents plan everything in their lives and never have time to just “live in the moment”. But what they didn't factor into thier lives was Vassar's long lost Grandma popping into the picture and blackmailing her parents into sending Vassar away to South East Asia. There she is sent on the trek of her lifetime where nothing is planned and everything is unexpected. Will Vassar learn to live in the now or will she forever be planning for the future? What I liked most about this book was the life lessons learned by Vassar that you could apply to your own life. As Vassar grew as a person and went through new experiences, I found myself growing with her too. I was really impressed with how real every character seemed and I liked the mix of both humor and sadness that the author incorporated into the book. All of this put together made for a book I will remember always and would recommend to anyone ready for journeys and messages sure to keep you flipping the pages. (Source: Book Comments) Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100 824502 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/luaCaE4a7M8/alice-in-wonderland-review Tim Burton's gothic treatment of Alice is all-too conventionalIn Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the heroine notices that there are only three guests at the Mad Hatter's famous tea party (with herself the fourth) but the table has many more pristine, unnecessary place-settings. The Hatter explains, "It's always tea-time, and we've no time to wash the things between whiles.' 'Then you keep moving round, I suppose?' said Alice. 'Exactly so,' said the Hatter, 'as the things get used up.' 'But what happens when you come to the beginning again?' Alice ventured to ask. 'Suppose we change the subject,' the March Hare interrupted." Mischievously, maddeningly, Lewis Carroll withholds for ever the secret of what happens when the tea-party guests use up the dishes – the story's action exists in the eternal present of a riddle.Tim Burton has revealed 145 years later what happens when all the tea-things are soiled. His new movie imagines Alice returning as a 19-year-old to this strange land, to find that it is plunged in gloom. The tea party is still going, but all the dishes are wrecked, the cups have sprung leaks and the event itself is sited in some wasteland, like a depiction of the Somme. It is difficult to tell if this is an intentional answer to Carroll's original joke or just part of the inevitable goth darkness that Burton conjures up. Even Alice, played by Australian newcomer Mia Wasikowska, has dark shadows around her eyes.Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter, with weird gingery hair, enlarged, psychedelically coloured pupils, and an accent which lurches wildly from lispy BBC English to broad Shrek Scots. Wonderland, or rather, as it is known, "underland", is held under the awful tyranny of the Red Queen, well played by Helena Bonham Carter, as a hydrocephalic nightmare by Charles M Schulz. She has a tiny body and gigantic head, with a lollipop-heart shaped hairdo, a motif reproduced in a horrid little lipstick pout. ... Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:00:02 +0100 823395 http://joblist.ala.org/modules/jobseeker/controller.cfm?rssjobid=14524 Vice President for Information Services (Mount Mary College, Wisconsin) We are seeking an individual to contribute to the realization of our mission through the role of Vice President for Information Services. This is a full time position and the primary role is to uphold and promote the college’s vision for educating women in the context of Catholic higher education by providing leadership in the coordination of the library, information technology, and academic technology to enhance and support the learning environment. ... Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:30:03 +0100 823261 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Fanny_pack_The_ready_reference (Source: pligg - all) Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:00:18 +0100 823337 http://jamillan.com/librosybitios/blog/2010/03/en-nadar-dos-pajaros-de-flann-obrien.htm Confieso mi debilidad por Flann O'Brien, de cuya novela El tercer policía ya hablé en otro momento. Por suerte, una mención de esta obra en la serie Perdidos (Lost) la dio a conocer a un montón de lectores.Pues bien: Nórdica, su editora en español, ha reeditado otra de sus novelas: En Nadar-dos-pájaros, en traducción de José Manuel Álvarez Florez. Si el título de la obra ya es extraño (Nadar-dos-pájaros es la traducción del nombre de un pueblo, que por cierto no pinta nada en la trama), prueben a leer la novela, que tiene tres comienzos distintos y amenaza con cien desenlaces...O'Brien, irlandés como Joyce y Beckett, con quienes tiene indudables deudas, sin embargo posee algo a su favor: un gran sentido del humor. Sí: Joyce es muy divertido a veces, y Beckett en ocasiones despierta una carcajada, malgré soi, pero O'Brien rezuma por todos los poros de su escritura un regocijo y un sentido de la parodia descomunales. De todas formas, para recién llegados al autor, es mejor empezar por el mencionado El tercer policía o por la tronchante La boca pobre, también en Nórdica.Sobre En Nadar-dos-pájaros escribió premonitoriamente Guillermo Cabrera Infante su artículo "Flann O'Brien, un solo escritor y muchos nombres" en el número 3, "La casa de la ficción", 1977, de Espiral/Revista, esa aventura que lanzó Editorial Fundamentos y que dirigió Julián Ríos. Decía así:Esta novela, que no fue terminada hasta 1938 y de la que luego se excusaría su autor, extrañamente, por haberla cometido, fue publicada en 1939 en Londres y aunque durante una semana se vendió más en Dublín que Lo que el viento se llevó, no vino a ser realmente apreciada hasta su reimpresión, también en Londres, veintiún años más tarde. ... Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100 825031 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zcGn/~3/r2PzTo98wRY/youtube-non-profit-program.html Did you know about YouTube's non-profit channel? Organizations with 501c3 status (Friends and foundations!) can join.YouTube created the nonprofit program for organizations that want to connect with supporters, volunteers, and donors but don't have the funds to launch expensive outreach campaigns? (I think we fit that description:-) I've included the benefits they listed- take note that there is a "Donate" button!!!Program Benefits Premium branding capabilities and increased uploading capacityThe option to drive fundraising through a Google Checkout "Donate" buttonListing on the Nonprofit channels and the Nonprofit videos pagesAbility to add a Call-to-action overlay on your videos to drive campaignsPosting a video opportunity on the YouTube Video Volunteers platform to find a skilled YouTube user to create a video for your cause.Here's their video campaign tip sheet: Thinking of launching a video campaign here on YouTube? Here are some tips that will help to maximize your efforts. 1. Do your research. YouTube is more than a video-sharing site; it's many communities of active and engaged users. Look for current trends on the site (or ask us for tips) and find people who you think would engage with your campaign. If you launched your campaign today, can you see individual users who might contribute? If so, you'll know that what you're asking for isn't out in left field. 2. Be you, be different. Your campaign should reflect your organization's sensibility, so think of a concept that's in keeping with who you are. YouTube users appreciate authenticity. Emphasize how your campaign is unique to your organization and its goals. 3. Keep it simple. A simple campaign with a low barrier to entry is essential if you want to get a large number of submissions that resonate with your call-to-action. 4. Create a great call-out video. ... Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100 824028 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/ThzN/~3/i4AyoZrMpj8/im-not-exactly-what-youd-call-jane.html I’m not exactly what you’d call Jane Austen’s biggest fan; of the four that I have read, I haven’t really enjoyed her novels, North Anger Abbey being the obvious exception. I feel my aversion is justified. This aside, I just watched a movie called Being Jane and I actually really enjoyed it – she was, apparently, so much more complex, and interesting, and emotionally driven than I previously gave her credit for. Obviously highly observant of her society (her own life in itself embodied a lot of the themes in her writing) and ridiculously intelligent (for a women, HA! Jokes), I just think she could have presented her ideas in a different way. But hey, millions of people love her, so she must have done something right! (the fact that she is mainly loved by literature analysts and middle aged women takes nothing away from her...)Anyhuu.. My head is a bit all over the place; subsequently I’m reading lots and watching things I actually have to concentrate on. Anything to keep my brain from wandering. It seems to be working, for the most part, and as a result I have a new found insight into Jane Austen and I’m becoming an e.e. cummings geek again. I forgot how much I love some of his poems =) On the topic of e.e. cummings, I’ve written a ridiculously long letter to Brittany encorporating pretty much everything that has passed through my brain in the past three days - including, but not limited to, the weather, Tesco, Hong Kong, lesbian love fantasies, eating, insomnia, sex that is so good you actually forget your own name, uni work, hair dye, cutting, Sophie’s World, the library, organised sport..... I miss her.I miss lots of people right now. ... Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100 823361 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Davidrothmannet/~3/txDaVQx9gmo/ I love these solely based on my experience as a patron of a public library, trying (and failing) to enjoy the ebooks and audiobooks they offer. I’m sure the good folks at the Cleveland Public Library have seen this by now: Click for full-size _______________ Feed-only Footer: A few books I think are essential. What else should I add to this list? What are the books that no medlib geek should be without? (Source: davidrothman.net) Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:03:05 +0100 823269 http://www.lisnews.org/audiobook_drm_versus_patrons_cleveland_library BoingBoing Pointed the way to this funny because it's true comic: Audiobook DRM versus the patrons of the Cleveland Library. "This installment of the Brads webcomic shows the 22 steps a reader has to take in order to borrow a DRM-crippled audiobook from the public library. A compelling argument for libraries to boycott this stuff." (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:05:20 +0100 823784 http://lisnews.org/audiobook_drm_versus_patrons_cleveland_library BoingBoing Pointed the way to this funny because it's true comic: Audiobook DRM versus the patrons of the Cleveland Library. "This installment of the Brads webcomic shows the 22 steps a reader has to take in order to borrow a DRM-crippled audiobook from the public library. A compelling argument for libraries to boycott this stuff." (Source: LISNews.org) Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:05:20 +0100 823110 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Womens_History_Month_Celebrating (Source: pligg - all) Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:00:16 +0100 822962 http://ksulib.typepad.com/talking/2010/03/shortcuts-ask-dave.html Q: Dave, I’m at my wits end!  My students keep turning in papers citing online sources despite my admonishments to stay as far away from the Internet as possible.  I just don’t believe that a series of tubes is a trustworthy source.  Can you offer any assistance? A: I’m all for using credible sources and you are pure-hearted in your desire to instill this virtue in your students.  However.  Oh noes!  Teh internets r not jus 4 pr0n, lulz!  Also haz all teh 1337 stuffs and not jus stuffs wot r teh suxx0r – w00t!  ROFLMAO!  (For my remaining literate readers, I’d like to thank you for indulging me in some dusty internet humor)Here’s the thing: there’s online sources and then there’s sources found online.  I can see some of you are confused.An online source could potentially be anything.  The real crazies are easy to spot by even the least research-savvy undergrad (e.g. Timecube); it’s the stuff that seems credible but doesn’t offer sources, or misrepresents information (e.g. some of Wikipedia’s worst offenders) that is dangerous.But, there are a great many credible sources available online, including some that are print resource that are also published online.  That is to say, if you find a journal article online via a library database or a journal’s website, it will have the same words as the print copy of the article (in the journal on the shelf in the library or in your office).  Ergo, Soil Science Society of America Journal on the shelf at the call number S590 .S64 A13 = Soil Science Society of America Journal [online]. Additionally, we subscribe to a number of databases that cover resources you used to only be able to find in print like: market analyses (Mintel), encyclopedias (Credo Reference), and standards (ASABE Technical Library). ... Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100 823650 http://westwoodchildrensdept.blogspot.com/2010/03/case-of-case-of-mistaken-identity-by.html In this first book of the new “Brixton Brothers” series, Steve  Brixton dreams of becoming a famous detective…until he discovers that he already is one! When he is given a boring homework assignment requiring him to research the history of quilting, he heads to the library to find some books. It is there that his adventures begin, as he is surrounded by librarians who are actually CIA agents, and becomes immersed in a search to find a long-hidden quilt. Along the way, he tries to use the “detective work” tips he’s picked up from reading his favorite mystery novels, but the tips just don’t seem to work in his favor. When I picked up this book, I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. This book is a laugh-out-loud kind of story, and the references to the old-fashioned mystery novels that Steve loves to read are hysterical. The illustrations add so much to the humor of the story, and I am looking forward to the next book in this series! Detecting is hard work, but Steve Brixton has finally solved his first real case. Review by Ellen Parkinson (Source: book bits) Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100 823593 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ouseful/~3/t8ew5I0celE/ Go to any of the data.gov.uk SPARQL endpoints (that’s geeky techie scary speak for places where you can run geeky techie datastore query language queries and get back what looks to the eye like a whole jumble of confusing Radical Dance Faction lyrics [in joke;-0]) and you see a search box, of sorts… Like this one on the front of the finance datastore: So, pop pickers: View This Pollsurvey One thing that I think would make the SPARQL page easier to use would be to have a list of links that would launch one of the last 10 or queries that had run in a reasonable time, returned more than no results, displayed down the left hand side – so n00bs like me could at least have a chance at seeing what a successful query looked like. Appreciating that some folk might want to keep their query secret (more on this another day…;-), there should probably be a ‘tick this box to keep your query out of the demo queries listing’ option when folk submit a query. (A more adventurous solution, but one that I’m not suggesting at the moment, might allow folk who have run a query from the SPARQL page on the data.gov.uk site “share this query” to a database of (shared) queries. Or if you’ve logged in to the site, there may be an option of saving it as a private query.) That is all… PS if you have some interesting SPARQL queries, please feel free to share them below or e.g. via the link on here: Bookmarking and Sharing Open Data Queries. PPS from @iand “shouldnt that post link to the similar http://tw.rpi.edu/weblog/2009/10/23/probing-the-sparql-endpoint-of-datagovuk/“; and here’s one from @gothwin: /location /location /location – exploring Ordnance Survey Linked Data. ... Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:27:56 +0100 824203 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Reading_Professional (Source: pligg - all) Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:00:19 +0100 822661 http://kidslit.menashalibrary.org/2010/03/02/here-comes-the-garbage-barge/ Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Red Nose Studio This is the true story of what happened in 1987 when the town of Islip had 3,168 tons of garbage that they had no room for.  So it was placed on a barge to be taken to North Carolina.  Captain Duffy St. Pierre used his small tugboat to pull the barge down to North Carolina, but it wasn’t that simple.  North Carolina refused to take the garbage!  Captain Duffy was then sent to New Orleans.  Nope, they didn’t want it either.  Mexico?  No.  Belize?  No.  Texas?  No.  Florida? No.  The garbage was getting older, smellier and more horrid by the day.  Finally Brooklyn agreed to take the garbage and incinerate it.  It was 162 days after the barge first set out.  This book could have been a dry look at recycling, garbage and waste, but it definitely is not.  Instead Winter and Red Nose Studio have created a book filled with humor and character that tells the garbage story with more style than the facts could have offered.  Winter’s writing is ideal for reading aloud.  There are plenty of accents, lots of exclamations that fill the book with energy and fun.  Red Nose Studio’s art is three-dimensional, witty and filled with found objects.  His art is humorous, detailed and a delight to look at.  It is a testament to Winters’ writing that it is a great match to this art.  A perfect book for Earth Day or any eco-friendly event, this book will get children thinking about how many pounds of garbage they create and exactly what happens to it.  Even if it’s not headed for a garbage barge.  Appropriate for ages 5-8. Check out the video below of the making of the art for the book: Reviewed from copy received from Random House. (Source: Kids Lit) Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100 823520 http://hedgehoglibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/03/wee-reads-mid-session-update.html Checking back in as we've gotten through Week 4 of this first session of Wee Reads. Overall, I'd say it's going swimmingly--the kids keep coming, they're having a good time, and no one has melted down at the idea of separation.  I lost one kid because he and dad weren't quite ready for a separation storytime, but they are attending a family storytime elsewhere. The other parents are right out the door, celebrating the idea of running across to the adult fiction section for a book by themselves.For those playing the home edition (and yes, I'll have a Google Doc of Reading Recommendations when this is all over)Week 2:We started off with Diary of a Fly by Doreen Cronin. The "Diary" series are wonderful because there is a TON of biology and fun facts dangled before you without really beating you over the head with pedantics of "this is a fly, it has wings."Once you start with the Diary of a Fly, one must then have Fly Guy! Tedd Arnold's books are delightfully gross and small children this very unusual pet.We did more ribbon dancing and then into our chapter book, continuing with Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Sciezska. So far, they'd knocked down a knight. Week 3:I had to squeeze a bit more in this week because my "back up" book was due. I always try to keep at least one back up book in the room in case something goes wrong, falls though, isn't working, or turns into a 30 second read. We started with Melanie Watt and Chester. This went okay...Chester is a bit more of a one-on-one I think...there is so much going between the characters and in the artwork. Perhaps it we'd had a bit more time to slow it down and talk it through...Next was a classic Berenstain Bears. There are a lot of these in our easy readers: Inside Outside Upside Down and The Bear's Vacation. I'm not a big fan of how Papa Bear is portrayed in a lot of the books, so I opted for The Spooky Old Tree. ... Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:25:00 +0100 822665 http://lib.wmrc.uiuc.edu/enb/2010/03/01/keeping-government-green/ Read the full story in Governing. As the economic crisis deepens for states and localities, many governments are being forced to delay investment in new green IT products and initiatives. Thanks to the upfront costs associated with new technologies, energy efficiency has become a lower-priority issue for public-sector agencies over the past year. The number of IT professionals who identify energy efficiency as a “very important consideration when purchasing new equipment” dropped from 34 percent in 2008 to 26 percent in 2009, according to a survey conducted last fall by technology and IT services vendor CDW-G. And in a November survey of state technology officers by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), “budget and cost control” rose to the top of the priority list for 2010. Green IT, which had ranked No. 7 on the list the previous year, has now fallen out of the top 10. While environmentalism may have ebbed as an IT priority, there’s still quite the green tint to state and local technology operations right now. The focus is on finding efficiencies to save money, but many of those cost-saving initiatives also happen to be eco-friendly, says Paul Christman, director of state and local government sales for Quest software. “Right now, public-sector CIOs joke that it’s not green because it’s environmentally friendly,” he says. “It’s green because it saves you money. If you can save money by decreasing your power costs and heating and cooling costs, great. All those things are good, and they can also be tagged as ‘green.’” (Source: Environmental News Bits) Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:27:32 +0100 822629 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/teleread/KHnj/~3/EVTdh4gi1Y0/ This is part 4 of a 5 part interview with  84 year old Ohio author Jack Matthews. See also: Part 1 ,Part 2 , Part 3. Also: Jack Matthews (an introduction),  Jack Matthews: The Art and Sport of Book Collecting and On Choosing the Right Name for a story character by Jack Matthews. I just finished HANGER STOUT, AWAKE  (which you published in 1967, to some acclaim). This simple naive voice plus the subject matter (cars, girls, and an unusual contest) makes me wonder if the ideal reader should be an 8th grade boy. Did you write this with the intention of attracting a younger audience? In a way, an 8th grader could respond to it. Years ago I bought the plates from Harcourt and paid to have 3000 copies printed, which I sold out easily. Most of them sold to colleges and high schools, and I remember doing a phone interview with students at a high school in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In another sense, however, I think someone like Hanger (i.e., any young person) would be far less privileged in understanding the novel. The distance of age is required to understand much of his innocence and brave integrity (cf. McLuhan’s "I don’t know who discovered the ocean, but I know it wasn’t a fish.’) It’s all a matter of perspective. I regard Hanger as more character-driven than plot-driven. But as I read, I had no idea what details were important or what was going to happen next! You finished Hanger at an interesting place — with many things left unresolved. Were you tempted to ratchet up the melodrama or continue the novel past where it ends? Good. I toyed with the idea of doing a sequel, but decided against it. In my privately printed edition, published a decade or so after the novel came out, I wrote that I didn’t know what Hanger was then doing or how he was getting along, but I figured he’d be all right. In short, he is a survivor, to use the fashionable term. ... Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:55:54 +0100 822456 http://lisnews.org/lisnews_librarian_joke_contest_all_month Make Us Laugh! Anyone who submits a joke will be entered to win some cool prizes. From www.funkandweber.com and www.StitchingForLiteracy.com ...a set of four Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy cross stitch bookmark patterns, including two designed from the old chicken-and-frog library joke. You know, a chicken walks into a library and says, "book, Book, BOOK!" (you gotta say it like a chicken), so the librarian gives her a book. The chicken takes the book outside and down to a pond where a frog sits on a lily pad and croaks, "read-it, read-it" (that's right, say it like a frog). Book Marks from www.InMyBook.com Web Hosting from www.LISHost.org You'll want to submit your joke(s) HERE starting today, and on through the month of March. Follow along on the tracker page (http://lisnews.org/joketracker) or RSS feed (http://lisnews.org/jokes/rss) (Source: LISNews.org) Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:23:30 +0100 822434 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NetbibWeblog/~3/O8Qinkr9gc4/ Heute startet der LISNews Librarian Joke Contest. Informationen dazu gibt es auf der Seite, vielleicht gibt es ja auch deutsche Bibliothekswitze? Falls jemand einen kennt, bitte im Kommentarfeld eintragen, danke! Mir fällt nur dieser ein: Bücher zum Thema Klaustrophobie haben wir in dem kleinen Raum unter der Treppe… Naja… (Source: netbib weblog) Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:57:12 +0100 822427 http://kidslit.menashalibrary.org/2010/03/01/finally/ Finally by Wendy Mass Mass returns to Willow Falls, the setting of 11 Birthdays.  This time it is Rory’s turn to have a birthday and she is finally turning twelve.  Her entire life her parents have told her that she could do things when she turned twelve.  She can have a pet, shave her legs, go to a girl/boy party, have a cell phone, get her ears pierced, and much more. But hours before her birthday, she finds herself stuck in a drainpipe and rescued by a little old lady who has surprising strength.  That women tells her, “You won’t get what you want, Rory Swenson, until you see what you need.”  Rory though is sure that her list of promises from her parents are exactly what she both wants and needs.  As Rory works her way through the list, her efforts meet with disaster.  It is especially bad when they start filming a movie at her school and all of her disasters could force her to give up her new job as an extra.  It just may take a gold allergy, an evil murderous bunny, and loss of skin on both legs for Rory to see what she needs. Written with a strong voice in the first person, Rory’s take on life is wry, funny and always upbeat.  She is a great character whose disasters make for laugh-out-loud moments that are perfect for the tween age group.  Her personal wants may not match those of readers, but they will easily see themselves in her.  She is utterly understandable, completely accident prone, and simply delightful to spend time with. This book reads quickly as readers move from one of her wishes to the next with Rory, each resulting in if not surprising, then very funny events.  Rory’s family members are just as vividly written.  Her parents are busy but involved and caring if a little overprotective.  Her toddler brother offers just the right amount of distraction and silliness too. ... Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100 823522 http://www.traffick.com/2010/03/making-marketing-matter-reply-to-mitch.asp Taking Mitch up on a challenge like joining the dialogue as to how we can make marketing meaningful (and not scummy) carries only one danger with it: you can overshoot, egged on by the spirit of the exercise, and say something you really don't mean.Back before Howie Mandel had a serious(?) career, he appeared on one of those late night comedy shows that was so late that you had to use "late" like five times in the title. This was back in the days when Howie inexplicably put a latex glove on his head and did that thing with his hand when he did standup. Anyway, Howie would appear in a sketch where everyone was sitting around after a couple of drinks, usually near an open window, describing their most edgy or daring escapades. Howie would open his mouth and overshoot the level of the group so far, with the filthiest, most perverted comment imaginable. Even the most depraved members of the group would slowly edge their way out of the room.Then again, probably no danger of that here. If you've really built your career around Cluetrains, Whuffie, Permission, Life After the 30-Second Spot, and the like, as I have, you've probably reached the point of no return.Anyway, to throw some fuel on the fire:I still believe in an abstract distinction I introduced in Winning Results with Google AdWords (2nd ed.), and that is that there is something called "reasonable targeting," to be contrasted with "surplus interruption." Empirical evidence appears to suggest, as Godin has boldly argued for years, that people simply avoid messages if they get too many of them that aren't personal, anticipated, and relevant. But evidence aside, you have to believe it in your heart.I want to live in a world - not exactly like, but similar to - Google AdWords, where relevance is rewarded and spammery is punished through a sort of "user experience tax". I also want to live in a world where we can freely experiment with a variety of forms of advertising. ... Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100 822809 http://lisnews.org/dress_other_reasons “Dress for Other Reasons” R. Lee Hadden LeeHadden@aol.com Many people have made tons of money by writing "dress for success" books. Here is my "dress for other reasons" for librarians, which you can take or leave as you wish. I have often mounted on my soapbox and spouted off about dressing “as a librarian” on discussion lists. Some fashions are to make it easier and safer for the librarian to do their job. Other styles of clothing are worn as fashion statements. Or to define class or position or authority. As you can see from the following post, I am no expert on fashion, or men’s and women's clothing, but I have watched librarians at work for a number of years and have drawn some conclusions about their work attire. Men have more choice in clothing styles than women do, since men's clothing is more closely tied to profession rather than class. Among working men, you can line up a number of them and easily identify the lumberjack, the banker, the cowboy, the sailor, the librarian, the construction worker, the school teacher, the steel maker, the watch repairman, etc. fairly well by their outfits, fashions and tools. Men fit more comfortably in a variety of guild uniforms than women do. The men are interchangeable, but the uniforms are not. Women's clothing styles reflect more economic and regional attributes, although this is also slowly changing. Clothing styles for women in the south, northeast, Midwest and west are all slightly different, and often can be easily told apart. However, in academia, women do have several different fashion traditions to call upon. General rules: women who have to reach up high to get books, stoop low or bend over book return chutes frequently should consider pants instead of dresses for modesty's sake. Shorts should not be worn by public service staff except for relaxed Fridays or costume days or special work days. ... Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:36:20 +0100 822270 http://bibliotequices.blogspot.com/2010/02/feeling-pela-leitura-gotta-keep-readin.html Vídeo "Gotta Keep Readin'" pela escola Ocoee Middle School - Orange County, Florida, EUA, Gravado em Dezembro de 2009 por 1600 alunosGotta Keep ReadingCause this book’s gonna be a good bookCause this book’s gonna be a good bookCause this book’s gonna be a good goodbook to readEste vídeo é uma reinterpretação do evento "Flash Mob" que marcou o lançamento da nova temporada do Oprah Winfrey Show com uma versão especial do super-mega êxito "I Gotta Feelin’" (no original com a actuação dos próprios Black Eyed Peas)Sobre a valia a pena reler esta descrição:O evento não foi feito de forma totalmente amadora, envolveu os alunos mas também profissionais (a letra alternativa foi criada por Nicole Nasrallah e Jamie Perez), e a própria universidade (ver créditos do filme). Este evento foi uma estratégia de preparação para o FCAT  «The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is part of Florida's overall plan to increase student achievement by implementing higher standards. The FCAT, administered to students in Grades 3-11, consists of criterion-referenced tests (CRT) in mathematics, reading, science, and writing, which measure student progress toward meeting the Sunshine State Standards (SSS) benchmarks»Pick up that bookAnd turn the pageYou’ll never knowJust what you’ll findInformationOr FantasyDrama and ArtAll make you smart!I know that you’ll have a ballIf you turn off the TV and just read them allJust think, with a book you’ll be so entertainedE tudo isto numa escola de referência, pois é "Ocoee Middle School is the state technology demonstration school for Florida". E tenho um certo gosto pelo conceito de "escolas de referência"... pelas suas capacidades e condições de trabalho e não pela sua antiguidade! Para quem já me conhece... ... Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 822859 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/g3NFQXjJT_A/walking-the-dog-book-review A man's strolls with his pooch prompt all manner of engaging reflections in this innovative bookThe award-winning illustrator David Hughes has always said that he has a strong aversion to roughing out his work. Not for him the practice run; he would rather raise his game and draw in "the moment". In his extraordinary new book, Hughes appears to take this ethos one step further. On the outside, Walking the Dog looks like the kind of hardback a certain kind of man leaves on his coffee table so everyone can see how eclectic he is: expensive, colourful, mildly quirky. Open it up, however, and anarchy reigns. It's a sketchbook on speed: spidery pencil lines; furious crossings out; sprawling handwriting. Even the ISBN number on the first page has been drawn in his inimitable hand. The first time I read it, I'd had a couple of drinks. The second time, I was stone-cold sober. Drunk, I found it sad. Sober, I found it funny. And both times, I found it utterly perturbing, as if it were a diary I'd plucked illicitly from someone's underwear drawer.There's no story. I'm not sure, even, that it's worth trying to read the whole thing at a single sitting. Better to treat it as a series of episodes, one at a time. But there is a theme, and I suppose that it's death. Hughes, who is in his 50s, is told by his doctor that he's drinking too much, and that he must take more exercise. So he gets a dog, a wire-haired fox terrier called Dexter. Their walks together form the spine of the book, and comprise its best comedy: the circular conversations with other dog walkers – usually westie owners – who are unsure of Dexter's breed ("What sort is it? Is it an airedale? Is it a schnauzer?"); the carrying of Dexter's turds in a knotted plastic bag. ... Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:07:44 +0100 821974 http://lisnews.org/social_order_libraries “Balan whispered to the Wart, “Colonel Cully is not quite right in his wits. It is his liver, we believe, but the kestrel says it is the constant strain of living up to her ladyship’s standard. He says that her ladyship once spoke to him from her full social station once, cavalry to infantry, you know, and that he just closed his eyes and got the vertigo. He has never been the same since.” T. H. White. The Once & Future King. One of the questions that comes up frequently, especially among librarians applying for their first or second job, is the question of social status. While we may not understand it, we all recognize it, especially when it is applied to us. Mostly it is seen when a librarian attempts to change the type of job he or she does in a library. "It doesn't surprise me that there are problems of going from one aspect of librarianship to another. It violates class rules in libraries, and upsets the social order. Actually, there is an unnamed but very strongly identified pecking order in the class of librarians. Why are people getting so upset over this problem? Passions are heated because the stakes are so small. Actually, social settings are set up rather like a water fountain, with a number of different library jobs floating at the top, but fewer identified ones at the bottom." While few people can agree about who all should be at the top, everyone agrees about who should be stuck in the bilge on the bottom. Like the definition of a lady, which few people can define but whom everyone knows who isn't one, librarians are set into a social hierarchy of class and station. So here is my definition of the library pecking order based on my own limited library experiences. Individuals may disagree somewhat, but those who disagree the most probably are either set at the top of the list, or haven't had to look for a new job recently. Within this hierarchy, there is some slack. ... Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:11:57 +0100 821986 http://www.librarystuff.net/2010/02/27/spring-reading/ FT – “The demise of the venerable codex, or bound book, has been predicted at least since 1899, when HG Wells in The Sleeper Awakes envisaged the entire corpus of human literature reduced to a mini-library of “peculiar double cylinders” that would be viewable on a screen. More informed commentators have been arguing since the computer became domesticised in the 1980s that it would herald the end of print but, each time, the predicted end of days has rolled around with no sign of an apocalypse. As the joke goes, books are still cheap, robust and portable, and the battery life is great.” (Source: Library Stuff) Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:00:39 +0100 822016 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Paralibrarian_Being_a (Source: pligg - all) Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:00:21 +0100 821935 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/w4pQLpV-P2I/michael-chabon-father-manhood-amateurs It was love at first sight for Michael Chabon and his father-in-law. So what would become of their relationship once his marriage started to crumble?I didn't play golf, and he had never smoked marijuana. I was a nail chewer, inclined to brood, and dubious of the motives of other people. He was big and placid, uniformly kind to strangers and friends, and never went anywhere without whistling a little song. I minored in philosophy. He fell asleep watching television.My father-in-law was not a big man, but his voice boomed, and his hands were meaty, and in repose there was something august about his heavy features: pale blue eyes that, in the absence of hopefulness, might have looked severe; heavy jowls that, in the absence of mirth, might have seemed imperious and disapproving. Mirth and hopefulness, however, were never absent from his face. He didn't seem to be happy out of some secret knowledge of the essential goodness of the world; they were simple qualities, his good humour and his optimism, unexamined, ­automatic, stubborn. I never failed to take comfort in his presence.When I look back, it seems to have been a case of love at first sight. I met my future father-in-law, his wife and their beach house all on the same day. His wife had been coming to the same stretch of beach since early in her girlhood and, for her and her daughter, whom I was shortly to marry, it was more heavily and richly layered with memories, associations and stories than any place my own family had lived since we had left Europe 70 years before.God, it was a seductive thing to a deracinated, assimilated, uncertain, wandering young Jew whose own parents had not been married for years and no longer lived anywhere near the house in which he had more or less grown up. It wasn't a matter of class or style, though they had both. I fell in love with their rootedness. ... Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:33:05 +0100 821872 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/bT9GAz5lCLo/peter-carey-interview 'If I could edit my past, I'd get rid of all the commas'Peter Carey was born in 1943 in Victoria, Australia, where his parents ran a car dealership. He worked in advertising and wrote fiction in his spare time. Four of his novels were rejected before his short story collection, The Fat Man In History, was published in 1974 and made him an overnight success. He went on to write two Booker prize-winning novels, Oscar And Lucinda in 1988 and True History Of The Kelly Gang in 2000. His new book is called Parrot And Olivier In America. Married for the third time, Carey has two sons and lives in New York.When were you happiest?Now.What is your greatest fear?That I will be compelled to drive across the Severn bridge.Which living person do you most admire, and why?My sister, for her meringues.What was your most embarrassing moment?Being beautifully praised by [the New York critic] Daphne Merkin, only to realise she thought I was Ian McEwan.Property aside, what's the most ­expensive thing you've bought?A gorgeous Jørgen Kastholm Grasshopper lounge chair – stainless steel, canvas and beaten-up black leather.What is your most treasured possession?An oil painting by my friend James Doolin, who died in 2002. He taught me as much as any writer I have ever read. From his place on my wall, he teaches me still.What would your super power be?Something sexual.Who would play you in the film of your life?Liam Neeson.What is your most unappealing habit?Having an answer for everything.What is your favourite word?Silky.Is it better to give or to receive?I can only admit to the latter.What is your guiltiest pleasure?Viscous, ice-cold Poire William.What do you owe your parents?Humour, energy, will, limitless fear.What or who is the greatest love of your life?She knows.What does love feel like?A salty sea.What is the worst job you've done?Correcting my own spelling.If you could edit your past, what would you change?I'd get rid of all the commas. ... Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:32:53 +0100 821873 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/0HCChZcMLn0/beyond-hoax-alan-sokal Nicholas Lezard on the wit and wisdom of transgressionYou must remember this: in 1996 the journal Social Text published an essay by Alan Sokal called "Transgressing the boundaries: towards a transformative hermeneutics of quantum gravity". Massively annotated, and citing the work of dozens of eminent postmodern thinkers, its purpose was ostensibly to show how "postmodern science provides a powerful refutation of the authoritarianism and elitism inherent in traditional science", and to expose the theories of traditional mathematics as capitalist, patriarchal, militaristic, and so on. But its actual purpose was to show you could write a load of rubbish and fool the editors of Social Text into accepting it, if it was plausibly presented and used the modish vocabulary of social theorists."My article," Sokal explained in an Afterword (which was rejected by ST "on the grounds that it did not meet their intellectual standards"), "is a mélange of truths, half-truths, quarter-truths, falsehoods, non sequiturs, and syntactically correct sentences that have no meaning whatsoever." He knows whereof he speaks, too, as he is a professor of both mathematics and physics.Fourteen years on, and the hoax and its implications have not gone away. So, far from being the corpse of a horse with whip-streaks all over it, Beyond the Hoax, a collection of – massively annotated – essays dealing with the aftershock of the hoax, it is still relevant today. It wouldn't, of course, have been if the sociologists (I use the term loosely) hadn't played along by crying foul, or, more reasonably, "category error"; on the whole they didn't see the joke, or, if they saw it, didn't like it. But it is an important joke, and its implications go well beyond what you might expect of a spat between scientists and social theorists, neither of whom, as far as the common reader is concerned, produce anything comprehensible. ... Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:12:13 +0100 821875 http://marklindner.info/blog/2010/02/26/i-am-getting-married-this-year/ N.B. This post is long overdue. I have written it into other posts for several months now but then never finished them. This is for the possibly two of you who have not seen my wonderful news on facebook, friendfeed, Twitter or heard it in person or via email. As of a mid-October 2009 evening I am engaged to the utterly amazing and beautiful Sara Thompson. I asked her to marry me on her birthday. [I had to do something! The complete hardcover Harry Potter boxed set I ordered for her from amazon UK hadn't arrived yet. OK, while true that was a joke.] The legal proceedings will happen at the courthouse on 27 May 2010, the Full Flower Moon. The ceremony and celebration will take place on 29 May at the Izaak Walton Cabin at Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve in Champaign County. It is a lovely cabin overlooking the Sangamon River. It will be small (perhaps 35-40 friends and family) and it will be fairly nontraditional. At 7 PM on that Saturday we will repair to the mezzanine of Crane Alley for drinks and more food. If you are anywhere near Urbana-Champaign on the evening of 29 May this year please feel free to join us at Crane Alley. To say that we are excited is, well, not saying much. And for those who also want a nontraditional wedding, one that among other things does not simply take the customs and rites of marriage for granted [There will be no chattel giving or taking here, thank you very much!], we wish you well. The multi-billion $$ marriage industry works hard to prevent you from doing as you wish. But just remember, the only required aspect is whatever, usually minimal, requirements your state imposes on you. Everything else, and I do mean everything, is up to you. So make it meaningful for you! We are. (Source: Off the Mark) Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:40:56 +0100 823316 http://plablog.org/2010/02/books-the-top-5-of-the-top-5-program-added-to-pla-virtual-conference.html Floundering at the desk when someone asks you for a book or author you haven’t read? Would you like a ‘go-to’ list for books/authors you may not be familiar with? During this PLA 2010 program, a panel of Readers’ Advisory experts will showcase five top genres (Women’s Fiction, Humor, Horror, SF/Fantasy, and Mystery) and what every librarian should be familiar with about the genre, including the top five authors, books, up-and-comers, and trends. This program will be held during the upcoming PLA National Conference, in Portland, Oregon and also will be featured as part of the PLA Virtual Conference. The PLA Virtual Conference is a great way to participate in and enjoy conference, even if you can’t be there in person. The Virtual Conference will consist of live programming on Thursday, March 25 and Friday, March 26 and will include five hour-long, live programs on each day. Programs are chosen from among the highest rated in PLA’s session preference survey. Each day also will include a lunchtime author interview and a closing session ‘happy hour’ event for attendees to get together and discuss the day’s programming. Get more information here. (Source: PLA Blog) Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:54:46 +0100 822208 http://lisnews.org/announcing_lisnews_librarian_joke_contest As the LISNews Librarian Essay Contest winds down it seems like a good time to formally announce the LISNews Librian Joke Contest! We won't judge each joke, but anyone who submits a joke will be entered to win some cool prizes. From www.funkandweber.com and www.StitchingForLiteracy.com ...a set of four Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy cross stitch bookmark patterns, including two designed from the old chicken-and-frog library joke. You know, a chicken walks into a library and says, "book, Book, BOOK!" (you gotta say it like a chicken), so the librarian gives her a book. The chicken takes the book outside and down to a pond where a frog sits on a lily pad and croaks, "read-it, read-it" (that's right, say it like a frog). Book Marks from www.InMyBook.com Web Hosting from www.LISHost.org You'll want to submit your joke(s) HERE starting on MONDAY. Follow along on the tracker page (http://lisnews.org/joketracker) or RSS feed (http://lisnews.org/jokes/rss) (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:12:18 +0100 821760 http://www.lisnews.org/announcing_lisnews_librarian_joke_contest As the LISNews Librarian Essay Contest winds down it seems like a good time to formally announce the LISNews Librian Joke Contest! We won't judge each joke, but anyone who submits a joke will be entered to win some cool prizes. From www.funkandweber.com and www.StitchingForLiteracy.com ...a set of four Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy cross stitch bookmark patterns, including two designed from the old chicken-and-frog library joke. You know, a chicken walks into a library and says, "book, Book, BOOK!" (you gotta say it like a chicken), so the librarian gives her a book. The chicken takes the book outside and down to a pond where a frog sits on a lily pad and croaks, "read-it, read-it" (that's right, say it like a frog). Book Marks from www.InMyBook.com Web Hosting from www.LISHost.org You'll want to submit your joke(s) HERE starting on MONDAY. Follow along on the tracker page (http://lisnews.org/joketracker) or RSS feed (http://lisnews.org/jokes/rss) (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:12:18 +0100 821688 http://wiredforbooks.org/mp3/JackMatthews1984.mp3 (See also: Jack Matthews Interview  Part One. (Parts 2 and 3 will appear in the next week). My introduction to short story writer Jack Matthews could not be more accidental. Between 2007 and 2008, I had been downloading and listening to a series of author interviews conducted by Don Swaim during the 1970s and 80s. Don Swaim did a series of 3 minute interviews with CBS Radio Services called Book Beat, presumably when authors showed up in NYC for a book tour.  Swaim shot the breeze with authors for an hour, talking about random things, and later found enough material for the three minute segment that actually aired.  But he saved the audio from the full interviews, digitalized them and put them online. The Wired for Books  interviews themselves are unpredictable, unrehearsed, meandering, sometimes dull and sometimes overly focused on topical irrelevancies (See Note below). Unlike the erudite interviews of  the KCRW Bookworm podcast, (which Michael Silverblatt conducts like a graduate student eager to show off his profound understanding of an  author’s oeuvre),  the exigencies of a radio schedule gave Swaim little time to do real preparation.  Over the decades  Swaim interviewed a number of literary greats (both recognized and unrecognized). At the same time, he interviewed a lot of popular authors, biographers, historians  and celebrities who had no business writing books. Sometime in 2008, I was listening to a random mp3 while doing housework.  It was a fascinating interview with a man who collected rare books and had recently published a book about book collecting. Midway through the interview, I realized I had already heard the same interview while driving from San Antonio to Houston. I remember making  a mental note to look the author up, but never did. His name was Jack Matthews, and the interview was done  in 1984. (Listen to the mp3). ... Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:49:44 +0100 821800 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Signs_Making_patrons_read (Source: pligg - all) Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:00:28 +0100 821615 http://outofthejungle.blogspot.com/2010/02/riaa-news-roundup.html Joel Tenenbaum filed a final brief on Feb. 18, 2010 in Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The link is to his attorneys' thoughtfully posted PDF of the brief. In sum, the lawyers are arguing for relief from the statutory damages of $150,000, stating that the company's lost profit is about 35 cents. Apparently, it's also substantially similar to the amicus brief filed in the same case and linked above by the attorneys, on May 18, 2009 by the Free Software Foundation. On January 4, 2010, Tenenbaum's lawyers also filed this motion arguing that the $675,000 awarded in damages by the jury was violative of Tenenbaum's constitutional due process rights. The motion asks for a new trial or remittitur. (Remittitur means reducing the damages)For all the RIAA matters, an excellent source of full text materials online is the Electronic Freedom Foundation (eff.org). For any of these if you use their excellent and very simple search function to look for the defendant's name (Joel Tenenbaum for instance, or Jammie Thomas) you can pull up a history of the case and lots of full text motions and briefs from what they call their DeepLinks Blog. So, what about Jammie Thomas-Rasset, that other high-profile downloader sued by the RIAA and slapped with huge damages? She allegedly downloaded and shared 24 songs. A federal jury returned a verdict for the RIAA in 2006 for $222,000, or $9,250/song. The judge, however, Michael Davis, found that he had given a mistaken instruction to the jury, telling them that making the songs available to others constituted copyright infringement regardless of whether the friend actually downloaded and listened to the song. So a second trial had to be held, with correct instructions given to a new jury. But that jury returned a verdict against Thomas-Rasset for $1.92 million, or $80,000/song. ... Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 821833 http://www.librarian.net/stax/3172/possibly-the-best-library-hoax/ “Jean Nepomucene Auguste Pichauld, Comte de Fortsas, was a man with a singular passion. He collected books of which only one copy was known to exist…. [W]hen he died on September 1, 1839 he possessed only fifty-two books, but each of them was absolutely unique. His heir, not sharing the old man’s passion for book collecting, arranged for an auction to sell off the library” Compelling no? The auction really happened, the rest of it is made up, the creation of a local antiquarian, having a bit of a practical joke. Read more at blacksundae, or see the auction catalog, itself a rarity, on Google Books. (Source: librarian.net) Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:49:59 +0100 822520 http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/madreads/index.php/2010/02/25/sexy-charm/ He: Liz? She: Hmm? He: Will you snuggle with me? She: If you stop farting. He: Nevermind. Now, if you don’t see the humor is that little exchange, then Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed? a collection of comic strips by Liz Prince may not be for you. The comics focus on Liz and Kevin, a co-habitating young couple who are saying and doing the sorts of things that only the young and in love will say and do. And it does have a goofy sort of charm, even if an occasional comic may be a little risque for some readers. That’s not to say there aren’t problems with the book. The art comes off as pretty crude, and seems practically unfinished with parts that appear to be rough drafts rather than completed art. That picture of the cover art is as good as it gets. That may or may not explain why the book was printed on such tiny pages. And at 71 pages, it’s not really a book that’s likely to be lingered over (although there were some comics I kept flipping back to). Like I said, it has goofy charm. So, even though Valentine’s Day has already passed, this may give you a few ideas about keeping the fun in your relationship (or let you know what you could be missing).  Rest assured, there’s more snuggling than sex, more kissing than crudity, more badinage than bare-naked and more fun than anything. It probably won’t change your world (or save a bad relationship) but it just might give you a smile or two. And for you foodies out there, may I suggest starting out with the corn on the cob kiss? What’s that? Sorry, you’ll have to read the book. (Source: MADreads) Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:21:12 +0100 821570 http://wanderingeyre.com/2010/02/25/when-politics-and-nerds-collide/ My friend, who works in Washington, DC, and I were having a nice little chat today and he asked me how things were at Lockheed. Mr. Rochester, for those of you that do not know, is an actual Rocket Scientist on the Constellation Program which has been canceled by the new NASA budget. That budget is now going to Congress where they have to argue and dither over what will happen next. The bad part is even the NASA admins will not say what NASA is going to do or where they are going to do it. It is irritating for us little guys who have to stay in a holding pattern, life-wise, while the PTBs decide what the heck they are doing. Nice that we all have a plan, right? So back to the conversation. When you have conversations with nerds about politics, this is what you get: [14:20] Friend: How are things at Lockheed? [14:21] Me: not great, everything up in the air. no news. congress has knickers in a wad over NASA budget. interesting politics. would be better if it was less weiny wagging and more actual decisions however [14:23] Friend: They get a -5 modifier to intelligence with dealing with knickers. No joke. You should see the roll for that. [14:24] Me: Well add that roll with a few +7 asshats and whoa are they up to their ears in trouble [14:36]Friend: That’s a pretty high asshat modifier. [14:37] Me: well perhaps only +3 then –Jane, wearing her +5 Browncoat t-shirt (Source: A Wandering Eyre) Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:42:20 +0100 821548 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Legacy_Leaving_a (Source: pligg - all) Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:00:15 +0100 821286 http://kidslit.menashalibrary.org/2010/02/25/the-big-fat-cow-that-goes-kapow/ The Big Fat Cow that Goes Kapow by Andy Griffiths, illustrated by Terry Denton This beginning reader features ten very short stories that are silly, raucous and great fun.  The book starts with a story where it is raining big fat cows, then tells the stories of Noel the Mole, Klaus the Mouse, and Willy the Worm.  The fun continues with human protagonists who ride bikes with spikes and wear lots of hats all at once.  All of the stories are told with only a few words, allowing the illustrations to carry a lot of the humor.  An ideal read for children who are reluctant to start reading, thanks to the humor that will keep the pages turning. Griffiths has a great feel for comedy, offering surprising twists and turns in only a few words.  His writing has a similar feel to Dr. Seuss’ Ten Apples Up on Top in its brevity and rhyming.  Denton’s illustrations have a great frenzied feel.  They are filled with motion and wild characters.  I for one cannot resist a book where cows explode and udders go flying across the page.  Must be a Wisconsin thing.  This is sure to find an eager audience among beginning readers who are looking for modern humor and silliness.  Appropriate for ages 4-6. Reviewed from library copy. Also reviewed by Becky at Young Readers. (Source: Kids Lit) Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 821451 http://kidslit.menashalibrary.org/2010/02/25/the-boys/ The Boys by Jeff Newman I only opened this book to get a feel for the sort of book it was.  I was immediately captivated by the art, the wordless story.  I set it down with misty eyes and a wide smile.  What a book!  My problem is that I want you to discover it and I don’t want to mess any of its wonder of wordlessness up for you.  I’ve tried to put words to it, but it seems to minimize the story, as if pinning it down removes the life from it.  So I will briefly tell you the premise and proceed to gush about it in more general terms.  A young boy moves to a new town.  He heads to the park with his bat, ball and glove.  He watches from behind a tree but is too shy to approach the playing children on the baseball diamond.  So he plunks himself down on a bench near some older gentlemen.  The story continues from there.  It is fresh, winning, and sweetly surprising.  There is a universal quality to it, a subtle humor, and a lovely simplicity. Newman has created a book that is an instant classic.  His use of a vintage style works well with the subject, giving the book a timeless feel.  The only words in the book are the days of the week as time passes, otherwise all of the story is told in the illustrations.  Newman tells this story in the slump of shoulders, bowed head, glaring eyes, and a determined set of a jaw.  There is never any doubt what the young boy is feeling because it is shown so clearly and yet with subtle skill. Get this book, read it, read it again (because you must) and then decide what lucky person you will hand it to next.  It is a book to read with someone on your lap, to savor and to simply enjoy.  Let me know what you think. Reviewed from copy received from publisher. Also reviewed by Fuse #8. (Source: Kids Lit) Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 821450 https://www.civicmediacenter.org/news/dana-lyons-dale-crider-and-lars-din-live-concert-saturday-february-27th-8pm   The Civic Media Center presents environmentalist, singer/songwriter, and agitator Dana Lyons live in concert, Saturday, February 27th, doors at 8pm. Gainesville's homegrown radical troubadour Lars Din will get things started with a set of his gorgeous and powerful songs of love, heartbreak, joy and feisty revolutionary spirit. Dale Crider, Florida’s Environmental Troubadour, biologist and songwriter whose lyrics inspire many to care for Florida’s ecosystems and wildlife, will open up for Dana and get our hearts and minds set on the “clean and green” path that he travels, Florida-style, parallel to Dana’s wild Western trail. International singer/songwriter Dana Lyons is best known for his dynamic performances and outrageous hit songs “Cows With Guns,” “RV” and “Ride The Lawn.” Bringing together a mix of comedy, ballads and love songs, Dana’s sharp wit and beautiful voice have him performing at concert halls, festivals, conventions, fundraisers and universities across the U.S. and around the world. Dana is touring in support of his latest album, “Three Legged Coyote.” Produced by fellow environmentally-minded folk musician Casey Neill, “Three Legged Coyote” is a blend of ballads and comedy, stretching musically from a western desert sound to a full-on New Orleans jazz jam to close the album. The songs on “Three Legged Coyote” were inspired by Dana’s global touring in the last few years. The first two songs on the CD, “Crazy Cowboy” and “Big Rolling Country,” are set in the desert Outback of Australia. Two of the album’s songs were written in and about the struggle to stop several giant hydroelectric dams in the wilderness of Patagonia (Chile, South America). The title track is a poignant love song sung from one friend to another about survival in the face of extremely difficult circumstances. ... Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:30:53 +0100 822377 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/iRcS/~3/5hxWbot7Gq0/london-word-festival-uk.html "London Word Festival is a pioneering, annual celebration of words, text and language; daring in its approach to cross-artform programming, commissioning new work and exploring non-traditional spaces. Established in 2007 and based in London's vibrant East End, the Festival has featured a wide range of artists from the fields of music, literature, comedy, theatre and live art. 7 March to 1 April 2010" RSS Feed (Source: Peter Scott's Library Blog) Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:33:31 +0100 821087 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Robot_You_are_not_a (Source: pligg - all) Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:00:23 +0100 820994 http://centeredlibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/02/joke-book-of-1600-year-old-jokes.html Jokes from the turn of the fourth century compiled by that irrepressible byzantine pair, Hierocles and Philagrius.From the jokes:A student dunce orders a lamp from the silversmith. "How big a lamp do you want me to make?" asks the man. "Big enough for eight people to see by," responds the dunceSomeone said to a senator, "I'd really like to see you when you are free for a moment." The senator responds, "And I'd like to see you when you're blind and crippled!"A young husband asks his wife, "Honey, what shall we do? Have lunch or have sex?" She replied, "By the way, we don't have a thing to eat!"Delightfully funny, even if they are 1600 years old! (Source: The Centered Librarian) Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 822130 http://www.acmebook.com/828 Bud Parisi 1926-2010 Angelo "Bud" Parisi began his bookbinding career in 1946 at the Harvard Bindery where he worked as a "hand finisher" decorating the covers of library books with gold leaf, hand-set brass type, gas flame, and artisan skill.  Bud was soon annoying his boss by encouraging the use of Linotype cast lead type and a Kensol stamping machine to letter a cover in a single "hit" rather than one line at a time by hand.  Bud's ambition led him to invest in some old machinery so he could work nights and weekends at home, stamping diaries with personal names and logos for a large bindery.  As his business grew Bud asked his boss at Harvard if he could switch to part-time work.  His boss agreed initially, but on the first day that Bud was scheduled to be off; he called and fired him.  This was 1958.  Bud had two children, Carole age seven and Paul age 5.  As they were driving to a doctor's appointment Bud told his wife Anne that he had been fired.  She told him to drive faster---she had gone into labor.  Their third child John was born that day, October 31.  Bud had no business training or experience.  He had only $1000 in cash borrowed from his mother. He had little prospect of success. But Bud was confident and determined.  He had recently purchased a two-family house so that the rent could pay his mortgage.  He had no reliable income, so he worked nights cleaning bathrooms at Filene’s to put food on the table.  With no letter of introduction, Bud went to visit the librarians at the Boston Athenaeum and Simmons College to ask for work. ... Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:09:03 +0100 821162 http://www.librarystuff.net/2010/02/23/unsealed-letters-offer-glimpse-of-salinger/ NYT – “The letters, a total of 11, were written between 1951 and 1993, from one buddy, or “Buddyroo,” to another. In sharp and familiar prose, laced with humor and biting wit, the writer gives an intimate peek into his life and thoughts at precise moments in time. Read so many years later, they are filled with surprises.” More here (Source: Library Stuff) Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:00:02 +0100 820936 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/D07Dhj9KGl4/patrick-o-connor-obituary A wide-ranging critic and author, he had an exceptional ear for vocal performancePatrick O'Connor, who has died aged 60 of a heart attack, was a critic, author, collector and broadcaster of unusually wide-ranging expertise. While his interests lay principally in vocal music, opera and musical theatre, they also extended to cinema, ballet, painting and the graphic arts, literature and gastronomy.His passionate interest in singers and performers began very early in childhood. His sister Patricia remembers him aged eight, travelling alone on a bus all the way across London to visit the elderly music-hall performer Ida Barr: "Patrick was a baby, and then at once he was a man; he was never a child."From an early age he frequented the Baldur bookshop on Richmond Hill, Surrey, where he would spend his pocket money on postcards of his favourite performers. With his unfailing charm, he developed a long friendship with the gruff owner of the shop, Eric Barton, who later declared himself shocked to find Patrick writing reviews for the Times Literary Supplement: "He never went to school, you know – he spent all his time in my shop buying photographs of old actresses."Patrick was born in London to Armand and Peggy O'Connor; his father, widely known as Paddy, was a publisher of medical magazines, including Medical Digest and Dental Technician. Patrick's early years were spent at Paddington Green, conveniently close to a cinema where he and Patricia would regularly attend the children's Saturday matinees, afterwards dressing up and re-enacting everything they had seen. They also went to the Old Metropolitan music hall, Edgware Road, where Patrick saw the great comedian Max Miller. There his passion for both cinema and the music hall began: his writing about the theatre and its performers culminated in a long essay on the subject that he contributed to the catalogue of the exhibition of paintings by Walter Sickert at the Royal Academy in 1992. ... Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:02:31 +0100 820877 http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/madreads/index.php/2010/02/23/you-had-me-at-nude-mice/ In one of the most anticipated and followed book contests of the year, United Kingdom based Bookseller magazine has announced its longlist for its 2009 Diagram Prize.  Yet another list of books for the harried reader to consider, you ask?  The beauty of the Diagram Prize is that the reader has to go no further than the cover: merit is awarded entirely on the oddity of title.  Hence, books such as The Theory of Lengthwise Rolling, Versailles: The View From Sweden or The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification can finally get their due recognition. The prize, the result of an especially boring afternoon at the Frankfurt Book Fair, was first claimed in 1978 by Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice. Since then, Bookseller has allowed the public to vote on the worthiest of titles.  Not surprisingly, winners have skewed towards the somewhat suggestive–If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs took a whopping 30% of the vote in 2007.  However, voters have given due to classics like Bombproof Your Horse and (my personal favorite) How to Avoid Huge Ships. This year’s longlist includes a well-known bestseller, but the inclusion of such titles as The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin reminds that such humor is relative–and that there truly is a book for every reader.  The Diagram’s award of a bottle of middling claret goes not to the author of the book, but to the original submittor.  Alas, most titles are too specific to be included in LINKCat, but it is never too early to begin thinking of next year.  Suggestions, anyone? (Source: MADreads) Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:23:45 +0100 820810 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TravelinLibrarian/~3/4s7hcyAey7c/ Jon Stewart on Glenn Beck @ CPAC on educating himself at the library. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Rage Within the Machine – Progressivism www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis via Raw Replay (Source: Travelin' Librarian) Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:05:51 +0100 821184 http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/md/journal/2010/01/100203haitiroutenplaner_zipf.mp3 Ausgabe 1 / 2010 ist online. Themen sind unter anderem: Haiti: Der schnellste Weg zum Einsatzort - Geoinformatiker Alexander Zipf im Interview mit Campus-Report über den Notfall-Routenplaner (mp3) Humor hilft heilen - Studentenwerk und Dr. Eckart von Hirschhausen sammeln für Clown-”Visiten” in der Heidelberger Kinderklinik (pdf) Gesunder und erholsamer Schlaf ist wichtig - Neue Studie am Zentralinstitut [...] (Source: Newsblog) Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:32:34 +0100 822020 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Stapler_Loading_the (Source: pligg - all) Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:00:27 +0100 820657 http://joblist.ala.org/modules/jobseeker/controller.cfm?rssjobid=14469 Social Sciences Librarian (Amherst College, Massachusetts) Amherst College Library seeks a Social Sciences Librarian to serve as the Library’s primary subject specialist for social sciences and law, acting as liaison, research instructor, and selector in those disciplines. This Librarian will provide instruction in research and the use of library resources in a variety of settings, with a special emphasis on social sciences, legal studies, government information, and data. S/he will demonstrate a dedication to promoting research and to undergraduate teaching and a willingness to hone skills as a library instructor.. ... Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:45:01 +0100 820564 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/c2jqg2KD_zo/61-hours-child-digested-read Bantam, £18.99Five minutes to three. Exactly 61 hours and 386 pages before it happened. The lawyer dialled a secret number. A thousand miles south in Mexico, the Brazilian comedy villain put down the phone and stood up to his full height of 4ft 7in. In elevator heels. Two ­henchmen smirked. "No one calls me a comedy villain," Plato yelled, sawing off their legs. "Now call Russia."Jack Reacher was going nowhere. Coming from nowhere. Travelling the highway of maverick existential violence. The coach skidded on ice ­before coming to a halt in a ditch. ­Outside it was -40C. Cold. Real cold. The kind of cold that was colder than cold. It was exactly 56 hours and 331 pages before it happened.The police took them 12 miles into Bolton. A small town in the Dakota ­wilderness. "I'm not the guy you're waiting for," Reacher said to a young cop named Peterson. "How do you know we're waiting for anyone?" ­Peterson asked. "It's my job," Reacher replied. The thermometer hit -70C. A shout from outside. "Two biker dudes have got Chief Holland pinned down." Reacher strode out. "I wouldn't," he warned. The bikers didn't listen. ­Mistake. Big mistake. Their necks snapped before they could blink. "Who are you?" Holland asked. "I'm the Son of a Reacher Man," Reacher said. Oh yes he was. It was exactly 47 hours and 267 pages before it happened.Plato strapped on his stilts. No one would call him a comedy villain now. "Have the lawyer and the witness whacked," he shouted. "And make sure we double-cross the Russians?" It was exactly 39 hours and 225 pages before it happened.The temperature fell to -217C. No one in Bolton moved. Except Reacher. "I can help," he said. "The town's scared." "The town's changed since the prison was built and the bikers moved into a mysterious building on the edge of town," Holland and Peterson said. ... Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:00:01 +0100 820554 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/kkJF/~3/K2FMAgbBULo/een-beetje-kledinghumor.html Da's dan ook weer mooi van Twitter. Je roept dat je behoefte hebt aan een beetje humor en je krijgt een beetje humor. Kledinghumor, dat dan weer wel. Ik deel met u: Regretsy (het doorklikken tot pagina 90 meer dan waard!) en Think Geek Shirts. Met dank aan @pixxje en @zeelandnet. @ (Source: Digitaal Inlichtingenwerk Zeeuwse Bibliotheek) Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:23:00 +0100 820452 http://lisnews.org/librarian_joke_contest_coming_next_month Hopefully you've been following allong with the Essay Contest this month. Next month we'll try something a bit different: A librarian joke contest! We'll take joke submissions during the entire month of March, and annouce the winners on April Fools Day. Stay tuned for the details. Prizes will include something from http://StitchingForLiteracy.com and something from http://inmybook.com and more! (Source: LISNews.org) Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:55:29 +0100 820416 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/-sJqm2Cz8m4/china-mieville-shortlist-nebula-awards The City and the City nominated for Science Ficction and Fantasy Writers of America's prestigious gongChina Miéville's surreal venture into crime fiction The City and the City has been shortlisted for major American science fiction and fantasy awards the Nebulas.Miéville's novel, in which a murder case in the decaying European city of Besźel turns out to have connections to another city, existing in the same physical space, was nominated for the best novel prize by the 1,500-plus author members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The British author, winner of prizes including the Arthur C Clarke and the British Fantasy award, is up against American fantasy writer Jeff VanderMeer's Finch, set in a city ruled by sentient fungal beings known as "gray caps", and Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl, in which the hero Anderson Lake meets an engineered being grown to satisfy the whims of a Kyoto businessman.VanderMeer said it "was a complete shock" to learn of his shortlisting for the Nebulas, which together with the Hugos are seen as the most prestigious of the American science fiction awards. "My first response was something along the lines of 'this is a joke, right?' followed by 'are you sure they got the votes right?'" the author said. "I don't lobby for or even mildly suggest people nominate me for awards, don't belong to SFWA, and had no idea I was even in the running."The shortlist is completed with Laura Anne Gilman's Flesh and Fire, the first in a trilogy about a world where magic derives from wine-making, Christopher Barzak's The Love We Share Without Knowing, about the linked lives of strangers in modern Japan, and Cherie Priest's Boneshaker, where a Russian drilling machine has released a gas turning all those who breathe it into the living dead."I am flabbergasted that this has actually happened. ... Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:32:26 +0100 820392 http://kidslit.menashalibrary.org/2010/02/22/will-grayson-will-grayson/ Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan Released April 2010. Will Grayson is gay, depressed and only has one friend, Maura.  She’s more a friend of convenience with their snarkiness holding their friendship together.  Will heads out to Chicago to meet a boy he’s fallen for online, only to find out that Maura has been pretending to be that boy online.  This puts him on a path to meet another boy.  The other Will Grayson is straight.  He has lived most of his life in the large shadow of his gay best friend, Tiny.  Now he has started to like a girl, Jane, that goes to school with them.  Meanwhile Tiny is working on his very fabulous and very gay musical that is all about his life and prominently features Will as a main character.  Though both boys are different, there are similarities.  They both want to avoid feeling things too deeply, but their lives change after meeting one another. These two great authors have created an incredible novel that is the best work of their of their careers.  Each author writes alternating chapters in the voice of their Will Grayson.  Green writes the straight Will Grayson with his trademark intelligence and humor.  Levithan writes the gay Will Grayson with equal humor that has a snap and darkness to it.  The two combined really make for a novel that readers will never want to end.  Add to this the genius that is the character of Tiny, a huge boy with an even bigger heart who lives life to the fullest.  He forms the hub of the novel, the voice of the musical, and the applause for both Will Graysons in all their differences and similarities.  I love finding books that are savvy, smart, silly, funny, intelligent, irreverent, and honest.  This is one of those books. ... Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 821453 http://noggs.typepad.com/the_reading_experience/2010/02/it-is-not-really-surprising-that-crime-fiction-would-be-a-genre-appealing-to-otherwise-serious-novelists-attempting-to-work-w.html It is not really surprising that crime fiction would be a genre appealing to otherwise "serious" novelists attempting to work with the conventions of a popular form adapted to the purposes of their own ostensibly non-genre work. Crime fiction portrays a world perpetually in extremis, and in the detective novel variant it emphasizes a process of discovery and revelation that in some ways models the very structure of narrative itself. (Although perhaps the detective is more like the literary critic, looking for the clues that will provide meaning, filling in the gaps and making the speculative leaps that will add up to a coherent interpretation of things.) It acts as a kind of palimpsest over which the literary writer might inscribe his/her own variations on "criminal" behavior and its sources in unruly human impulses. Within the last year, both Denis Johnson and Thomas Pynchon, each certifiably qualified to be regarded as serious novelists, have published novels that imitate or burlesque crime fiction, Johnson's Nobody Move and Pynchon's Inherent Vice. Although Johnson's book seems the most thoroughly to be an "imitation" of the genre, if not an outright attempt to produce a plausible crime novel, the inanity of the title suggests we might want to take it instead as burlesque, while Inherent Vice might ultimately be regarded as an affectionate homage to the detective novel, even though it is marked by Pynchon's signature brand of wacky humor and seems to be having fun with the detective novel's propensity to spiral off into episodic pieces that don't always coherently join back up with the narrative whole. Ultimately Pynchon's idiosyncratic appropriation of the "novel of detection" is much more satisfying than Johnson's straight-faced mimicry of the "noir" crime story. ... Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 820540 http://lisnews.org/stitching_literacy I've spent a good part of the last day at the first annual Bookmark Collector's Virtual Convention BMCVC, where one of the presenters was Jen Funk Weber, who has created a program called Needle and ThREAD, Stitching for Literacy. shown here -a two-sided bookmark based on the old chicken/frog joke- From her website: "In an effort to promote both literacy and needlework, Funk & Weber Designs is designing bookmarks. A minimum of 10% of profits from sales of Needle and Thread: Stitching for Literacy bookmark patterns will be donated to libraries, schools, and/or literacy programs." Sounds like a wonderful program to be shared in libraries. Check out her Bookmark Challenge Kit. (Source: LISNews.org) Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:17:51 +0100 820055 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/kkJF/~3/ldYgmqxnbb0/je-iphone-bedienen-met-een-worst.html Om dit verhaal op Elsevier moest ik hard lachen. Koreanen die vanwege de kou hun handschoenen niet uit willen doen zouden hun iPhone daarom massaal bedienen met Maekseubong worstjes van CJ Corporation.  Een iPhone reageert namelijk alleen op een vinger, niet op een stylus. Het bedrijf heeft de worstomzet daardoor flink zien stijgen. Het verhaal is viraal verspreid over het web, maar komt oorspronkelijk uit een Koreaanse krant. Ik kwam maar twee verschillende foto's tegen, het zou dus ook een hoax kunnen zijn. Maar wat doet het er toe? Het ziet er toch gewoon erg grappig uit? @ (Source: Digitaal Inlichtingenwerk Zeeuwse Bibliotheek) Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:06:00 +0100 819975 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Comedian_Being_an_amatuer (Source: pligg - all) Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:00:22 +0100 819879 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/7HGEglNkuF8/reality-hunger-david-shields-review Blake Morrison stands up for the continuing relevance of the novelMost readers will know the feeling. You've been through an experience so consuming that you've no room in your head for made-up stories – or the recent choices at your book club have been dire. Either way, novels seem pointless. Why devote precious time to contrived plots and imagined scenarios? Why waste energy on invented characters? Only the real excites you: life writing, memoir, confessional poetry, witness statements from the front line.There's a name for this condition: fiction fatigue. Readers who've experienced it will also know that it usually passes: time heals, the world opens up again and your faith in the novel is restored. David Shields hasn't been cured. He doesn't want to be cured. He thinks of "reality hunger" not as a sickness but as the defining spirit of our age, with its yearning for the music of what happens. His book is a spirited polemic on behalf of non-fiction – a manifesto in 618 soundbites.The book comes laden with praise. Jonathan Lethem, Geoff Dyer, Fred­erick Barthelme, Rick Moody and Jonathan Raban are among the 20-plus authors whose endorsements dominate the cover and end-pages (though intriguingly JM Coetzee's name, prominent on the proof copy, has disappeared). Some of the acclaim comes from writers whose work Shields cites to support his argument. Still, they're right to call Reality Hunger an important book. The fiction vs non-fiction debate has become intense in recent years, and Shields cranks it up a notch.Every artistic movement is a bid to get closer to reality, he argues, and it's in lyric essays, prose poems and collage novels (as well as performance art, stand-up comedy, documentary film, hip-hop, rap and graffiti) that such impetus is to be found today. Key components include randomness, spontaneity, emotional urgency, literalism, rawness and self-reflexivity. A loosely defined genre, then: in fact, a genre committed to genre-busting. ... Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:10:13 +0100 819783 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/z7MmLG9Vge4/lionel-jeffries-obituary Prolific actor and director who made the much-loved film The Railway ChildrenAs an actor Lionel Jeffries, who has died aged 83, was a master of comic unease. This was perhaps fuelled by the personal unease he felt in a sex-and-violence era which overtook the gentler sensibilities he sometimes brought to his acting. But he was able to bring these sensibilities fully to bear in his scriptwriting and film directing, particularly in his much-loved adaptation of the classic children's novel The Railway Children. With the latter, he left an indelible mark on the British film industry and generations of teary-eyed viewers.The son of two devoted workers for the Salvation Army, Jeffries disliked personal publicity and was a zealot when preparing a role (he ran two miles every morning before appearing in the musical Hello Dolly! after an absence from the London stage of 26 years). He deplored permissivism, and was not frightened of being quoted to that effect; he was a member of the British Catholic Stage Guild, and served as its vice-president for some time. In a profession sometimes characterised by the loucheness of its morals, he had only one wife, the former actor Eileen Walsh, with whom he had one son and two daughters.With his hard-boiled egg of a head, barking voice, interrogator's nose, demented moustache and apprehensive eyes, he was the British film industry's archetypal officious policeman or half-unhinged bungling crook. For Hollywood, which he called "Shepherd's Bush wrapped in cellophane", and the domestic industry he adapted the act in more than 100 films to roles such as the Roundhead colonel in the British civil-war epic The Scarlet Blade (1963), the perfidious Inspector Fred "Nosey" Parker in The Wrong Arm of the Law (1962), and as Stanley Farquhar, the spy who was as inefficient as the dog in The Spy With a Cold Nose (1966).Such broad comedy roles obscured his more thoughtful and intelligent side. ... Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:39:24 +0100 819660 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Timing_Perfecting_your (Source: pligg - all) Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:00:26 +0100 819555 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LawLibrarianBlog/~3/XSDe25hRdNI/friday-fun-stephen-colbert-on-citizens-united-v-federal-election-commission.html Better than Obama's State of the Union commentary on the SCOTUS ruling. [JH] The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c The Word - Prece-Don't www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy (Source: Law Librarian Blog) Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 819592 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/politelibrarian/~3/RCDsu8KfRU0/comedian-being-amatuer.html Instruction librarians should use well-rehearsed library jokes, one-liners, and puns in an attempt to lighten the tone of their library lectures.  Just remember that you are only funny in relation to the dryness of your lesson, and your students still think you're a dweeb even if they do laugh at your recycled jokes. Ask the readers: What comedic gems do you use re-use in your library lectures? (Source: A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette) Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 819585 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TravelinLibrarian/~3/XuFQ4q-6fA4/ Because homicidal maniacs wouldn’t lie. Would they? See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor. (Source: Travelin' Librarian) Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:57:14 +0100 819418 http://www.lisnews.org/selfpublishers_tale_disadvantages_amazon039s_advantage_program Dennis Danziger writes: "I am the world's worst Jewish businessman. I don't understand why I'm so bad with money. It can't be genetic. My brother is a professor of economics. My cousin Leilah, a college dropout, created a company that trades on the NY Stock Exchange. And I am very good at three-point shots. Not only am I inept at everything money-oriented, but I am unorganized and have no patience for details. So self-publishing my novel, A Short History of a Tall Jew, a dark, romantic comedy set in Los Angeles, was something most of my friends and family warned me against. I could have hired an on-line self-publishing company to do the work. They're fast and inexpensive, but I got all snobby and didn't want a name on my book's spine that would instantly identify my work as a vanity production. So I farmed out the cover art, the page lay-out and the web design to a place where skilled craftsman earn a fraction of what they're actually worth - Cleveland - my wife's hometown. And before my website was up, I astonishingly received an order from the Amazon Advantage Program. More from The Huffington Post. (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:42:41 +0100 819629 http://lisnews.org/selfpublishers_tale_disadvantages_amazon039s_advantage_program Dennis Danziger writes: "I am the world's worst Jewish businessman. I don't understand why I'm so bad with money. It can't be genetic. My brother is a professor of economics. My cousin Leilah, a college dropout, created a company that trades on the NY Stock Exchange. And I am very good at three-point shots. Not only am I inept at everything money-oriented, but I am unorganized and have no patience for details. So self-publishing my novel, A Short History of a Tall Jew, a dark, romantic comedy set in Los Angeles, was something most of my friends and family warned me against. I could have hired an on-line self-publishing company to do the work. They're fast and inexpensive, but I got all snobby and didn't want a name on my book's spine that would instantly identify my work as a vanity production. So I farmed out the cover art, the page lay-out and the web design to a place where skilled craftsman earn a fraction of what they're actually worth - Cleveland - my wife's hometown. And before my website was up, I astonishingly received an order from the Amazon Advantage Program. More from The Huffington Post. (Source: LISNews.org) Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:42:41 +0100 819336 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Kids_Supporting_your_coworkers (Source: pligg - all) Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:17 +0100 819259 http://kidslit.menashalibrary.org/2010/02/18/race-you-to-bed/ Race You to Bed by Bob Shea Shea returns with another silly, zany picture book.  Readers race to bed with a white, fluffy bunny as he runs uphill, drops downhill, makes lots of noise, and escapes a wide variety of traps and troubles.  Young readers will be laughing aloud at the manic rhymes, fast pace, and pure silliness of this book.  Perfect for children who don’t want to go to bed and would much rather be running around.  The ending is charming and provides the perfect button to the book.  Shea excels here at writing verse that is strong, fast and funny.  It is also beautifully short which adds to the fast pace and will keep young listeners very happy.  Make sure that you keep control of the pace as you read, because the illustrations offer a lot of the humor and are worth slowing down for.  The illustrations are done in Shea’s trademark simplicity that has a great graphic quality to it. Perfection for bedtime or pajama story times, this book is pure fun.  Race you to see who can read it next!  Appropriate for ages 2-5. Reviewed from library copy. (Source: Kids Lit) Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 819384 http://kidslit.menashalibrary.org/2010/02/18/milo-armadillo/ Milo Armadillo by Jan Fearnley Tallulah wants a pink fluffy rabbit for her birthday.  But it wasn’t easy to find a pink fluffy rabbit.  They could find other pink stuffed animals, but not a rabbit.  They could find rabbits, but not a pink one.  Then her grandmother had a great idea!  She would knit Tallulah one.  She started with pink fluffy yarn, when she ran out she added other colors, and in the end she had created something very different from a pink fluffy rabbit.  She had created Milo Armadillo.  Tallulah was disappointed, but got to know Milo.  When she got together with her friends, they all had pink fluffy rabbits along and Tallulah longed out loud for one too.  Milo heard her and tried to be more bunny-like but it didn’t work, so he left.  Will Tallulah realize the value of Milo before it’s too late and he’s gone forever? Fearnley has created a book that is a delight to read.  Her illustrations and text work seamlessly together, both working to tell the complete story.  She tells a real story without being too wordy.  The pacing is nicely done with just enough humor to keep it moving in a sprightly way.  The pages where Grandma creates Milo are very funny and will have anyone who knits or has failed at knitting laughing aloud.  Fearnley’s illustrations are a brilliant combination of mixed media featuring cut paper, paint and fabrics that really support the story and offer a vibrant and creative look. A book about individuality, creativity and favorite toys, this is a book that will speak to a lot of children.  Appropriate for ages 4-6. Reviewed from library copy. Also reviewed by Planet Esme and Young Readers. (Source: Kids Lit) Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 819383 http://hedgehoglibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/02/banking-drama.html It's been an evening of customer service experiences.  I've had issues with my current bank, which have made me yell, use a lot of vulgar language, and at one point I ended up in the branch manager's office after sending her a pointed email about how poorly I'd been treated by her staff. Things have, unfortunately, not gotten much better. Current bank1) The website is often out of date.2) One can only reach the bank by phoning during business hours. There is an email account but then one gets to receive a return phone call while I'm at work. My coworkers are sick of listening to me talk to my bank. 3) Very little can be handled online.4) They shut off everyone's card due to a data breach but didn't bother to tell any of the card holders for 16 hours--and didn't put any notification on their website or voicemail about this. (Guess who surprised a bunch of story time parents the next morning with the news that their bank cards wouldn't work?) Over 24 hours later some people STILL hadn't been notified. 5) Don't allow for pin changes on location--you have to get an entirely new debit card to change the pin. I found this out 24 hours before I left for New York--while planning to take only the new debit card.  6) Didn't have a drive through ATM--in Wisconsin--until about six months ago.  You had to park illegally in an all-reserved-spots-parking and get out of the car. In January. In Wisconsin.7) No walk in ATM at the bank, despite being on Main Street where we have a lot of foot traffic during the summer.8) No ATM at all at the remote branch, which is closer to Chez Hedgehog.9) Remember I went to Egypt? (yah I know I owe you pictures) I called them in advance and was assured by the receptionist (I don't know her name but I recognize the voice at this point) that she would mark my account so they wouldn't shut the card off on me while M and I were abroad. ... Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:12:00 +0100 819263 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/infoesfera/~3/uHTb4tpGOCA/recomendaciones-para-fomentar-la.html Respetar los tiempos de descanso del niño, y estimularlo a seguir el texto con los ojos, son algunas de las sugerencias formuladas por expertos en la nueva publicación del CRA.La capacidad lectora es en gran medida una herencia familiar que pasa de padres a hijos a través de la cotidianidad del hogar. Cuando el padre o la madre leen cuentos en voz alta, le añaden una calidez adicional, al tiempo que con la entonación adecuada, le devuelven la riqueza sonora al texto. Los niños aprenden así las inflexiones del idioma y se ejercitan en el manejo de sus propias emociones.Es atendiendo a esto que “Leamos juntos”, la última publicación del Centro de Recursos para el Aprendizaje (CRA), de la unidad de currículum y evaluación del MINEDUC, entrega un excelente material de apoyo orientado a guiar a los padres y apoderados para ser parte activa de la formación lectora de sus hijos. Se trata de artículos y orientaciones para incorporar a la familia en el fomento a la lectura, así como actividades que sirven de punto de partida para lograrlo.Constanza Mekis, coordinadora de las bibliotecas escolares CRA, enfatiza que sin poner en duda la importancia de la escuela en la adquisición de conocimientos y en la formación del individuo, la familia es el primer educador y el lugar donde se desarrollan sus principales valores y afectos. “Si desde la primera infancia los niños y niñas ven que sus padres, abuelos o hermanos están en contacto con la lectura (dice), ya sea de libros, diarios, revistas, o incluso en formatos digitales, su iniciación como lectores se producirá de manera natural y espontánea pues, además, estará asociada a una vinculación afectiva”. Si, en cambio, el entorno familiar es menos proclive a la lectura, la sola motivación de la escuela, probablemente no producirá un efecto tan inmediato: “entonces la escuela y la biblioteca escolar tendrán que esforzarse por encantar también a la familia para llevarla al placer de leer”. ... Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:04:00 +0100 819277 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jkbaumga/2010/02/17/new-york-times-profits/ 1) Cut costs … 3) Profit!* Cost saving measures by The New York Times Company seem to have, well, paid off. The company reported a profit in 2009—a big change from ending 2008 with almost $60 million in debt. Advertising revenue is supposedly increasing. Hopefully, that means good things for the news industry … or that at least one group is doing something that might keep them viably producing news. I particularly like that news because I subscribe to The Boston Globe, which the Times Company owns. Some of you might remember some chatter last year about the Times Company wanting to sell the Globe. *I could not resist making that joke, which is all too appropriate for this post. (Source: J's Scratchpad) Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:06:03 +0100 819204