So right now I'm trying to make a video. But I can't. First I had to buy an $11 DV tape because that's the type of video recorder I got from the from the techie kids. I then recorded my video. It sucks, but whatever, I have it. on tape. But then my laptop doesn't have a FireWire port because of Apple apparently. So then I walked to the Odegard library and went to the effing media lab which also doesn't have FireWire ports. Seriously? The Media Lab? What the hell kind of "class 1 research university" are you running here, UW? So then I then I came here to MGH where the iSchool is housed. They do have FireWire ports. It's a miracle. So then I try to import my video using Movie Maker from the recorder but it won't let me save it (or something) on a network drive, and since it's a school computer I don't have access to the hard drive. Not that I would really know what to do if I got the video off the fucking tape anyway. I've decided that, at heart, I'm a transgressive Victorian Luddite. And all this for what is rapidly becoming the worst course I have ever taken in my life. I have already contemplated flunking it this quarter, so I could take it next quarter from Steve. Steve is wonderful. His class would be twice as informative and half as stressful. But I am stuck with the Turtle. The fucking Turtle. I went looking to see if Voodoo dolls were even real tonight. They're not. mostly. I still might buy a stuffed animal turtle to stick pins in anyway. It could be cathartic. So this is me venting. And if you happen to have possible solutions to my problem. Well, those would be most welcome.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Endless Love
On Thursday night I made my mom's breadsticks which are my absolute most favorite breadsticks in the world. I can seriously eat the whole pan. This is not authentic/rustic Italian bread-making. In fact, sadly, it's more Sandra Lee and less Giada De Laurentiis, but I'm convinced that nothing Sandra Lee makes is edible. Anyway, they are SO easy, and this is how you do it. You take a frozen loaf of bread (like Rhodes) and set it out and cover with a cloth to thaw and raise. This will take a few hours, so some planning ahead is required. Once it's thawed, roll it out on a pan like a cookie sheet--or stoneware if you're full-time fancy. Now here's the topping! It's 2 tbsp softened butter, 2 tbsp mayo, and 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese--this is one of the few times that using that Kraft crap is fine, but real cheese is good too. Then add Italian seasoning and garlic powder to taste. Mix it all up, and spoon it over the dough. Let it raise again for like 15 minutes or so. Then you bake it at 400 degrees for 10 minutes until golden brown. Take it out of the oven and cut it into sticks with a pizza cutter, and, voila!, you have the perfect accompaniment for pizza, pasta, soups, or anything really. So easy. The hard part is exercising self-control.
On the topic of endless love, I was thinking about my most favoritest songs that I could listen to over and over again forever. Now a lot of us will listen to new songs and music incessantly for day, weeks, or even months. But it turns out it was just a fling, and eventually it's that song on your iPod that you always scroll past and never actually listen to anymore. Currently, I'm having a fling with Who Killed Amanda Palmer? especially "Ampersand." These are not the songs, I'm going to talk about. I'm talking about the ones that inspire hopeless devotion. The songs whose play counts number in the hundreds (if your library hasn't been reset several times, like mine) and they're still fresh. The desert island songs. The ones that you have loved for years and cannot imagine that you'll ever stop loving. So there are a lot of songs that I love and still listen to regularly, but only a handful have really earned my endless love. Many of the songs are also regulars on my summer playlist which is appropriate as summer is only like a month or so away in Seattle. And while love may be blind (or deaf as the case may be), I will attempt to explain here why I love these songs so much anyway.
"Tear In Your Hand" by Tori Amos. Every time I hear the first five seconds of this song, joy washes over me, and I say, "Oh my god, I love this song." Every. Time. It is probably my most listened to song ever. "If you need me, me and Neil'll be / Hangin' out with the Dream King / Neil says hi by the way." I had Neil Gaiman write "Hi by the way" in my Sandman book. It makes me incredibly happy.
"Cooling" by Tori Amos. This may be the most beautiful song I've ever heard and possibly her best B-side. It is currently the most played song in my library. It's about a relationship cooling faster than she can. "So then I thought I'd make some plans / But fire thought she'd really rather be water instead." I saw Tori play it live last year and it was magical.
"All I Really Want" by Alanis Morissette. Jagged Little Pill was the first (real) CD I bought. And every time I drove home from Cedar City, "All I Really Want" was the first song I played once I got on the interstate. With the right mix of angst and bounce it's perfect for summer, road trips, and manic cleaning sessions.
"White Houses" by Vanessa Carlton. I had a fling with "A Thousand Miles" a thousand years ago, but "White Houses" is the real deal--the painful transition of adolescence, burgeoning sexuality, and that summer when everything changes.
"Mr. Brightside" by The Killers. It may be their most famous song, but it's still my favorite. What else can I say? Have you seen the music video?
"Samson" by Regina Spektor. The first time I listened to Begin to Hope (thanks Val!), "Samson" was hands down my favorite song. It's so beautiful, and I love this alternate take on Samson. "Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth."
"Bouncing Off Clouds" by Tori Amos. I listened to this song constantly the summer of '07, and with its driving drums and 4/4 beat, it's one of her more rocking songs. It's a pretty simple song about a relationship that is no longer simple. "Make it easy, make this easy . . . paint it in mint ice cream."
"Space Dog" by Tori Amos. I still have no idea what this song is about, but part of my love is due to its surreal imagery. I also love the constant shifting from drums and electric guitars to melodic piano--but the real reason I love this song is when it goes andromeda combining all the elements after these lyrics: "Deck the halls, I'm young again, I'm you again / Racing turtles, the grapefruit is winning / Seems I keep getting this story twisted / So where's Neil when you need him? / Deck the halls, it's you again, it's you again." It gets me every time.
Of course there are many more songs that I love, and I left musical numbers out cause that's a whole different ballgame, but these all have a special place in my heart. "Quelqu'un m'a dit" by Carla Bruni almost made the list, but it's a pretty new song for me, and so I'm not sure if it's a fling or not. What are your all-time favorite songs?
Well, that was fun. This next week is not. Even though there are TEN weeks in a quarter, AND a finals week which apparently is just-for-fun in the iSchool, my professors decided EVERYTHING should be due in week nine this quarter. Week Nine! For fuck's sake, who gave these people PhDs? Well, after this week, it'll basically be over. or I'll be dead. Either way works for me at this point. Why am I even writing this blog? Well, I gotta go. My cousin's coming into town, and later tonight, Lillian and I are going to see Hey Marseilles. Homework can wait. I hope...
Oh, and if you still have questions send them to the ilp2. I still need to answer three more questions. By effing Thursday. FML.
On the topic of endless love, I was thinking about my most favoritest songs that I could listen to over and over again forever. Now a lot of us will listen to new songs and music incessantly for day, weeks, or even months. But it turns out it was just a fling, and eventually it's that song on your iPod that you always scroll past and never actually listen to anymore. Currently, I'm having a fling with Who Killed Amanda Palmer? especially "Ampersand." These are not the songs, I'm going to talk about. I'm talking about the ones that inspire hopeless devotion. The songs whose play counts number in the hundreds (if your library hasn't been reset several times, like mine) and they're still fresh. The desert island songs. The ones that you have loved for years and cannot imagine that you'll ever stop loving. So there are a lot of songs that I love and still listen to regularly, but only a handful have really earned my endless love. Many of the songs are also regulars on my summer playlist which is appropriate as summer is only like a month or so away in Seattle. And while love may be blind (or deaf as the case may be), I will attempt to explain here why I love these songs so much anyway.
"Tear In Your Hand" by Tori Amos. Every time I hear the first five seconds of this song, joy washes over me, and I say, "Oh my god, I love this song." Every. Time. It is probably my most listened to song ever. "If you need me, me and Neil'll be / Hangin' out with the Dream King / Neil says hi by the way." I had Neil Gaiman write "Hi by the way" in my Sandman book. It makes me incredibly happy.
"Cooling" by Tori Amos. This may be the most beautiful song I've ever heard and possibly her best B-side. It is currently the most played song in my library. It's about a relationship cooling faster than she can. "So then I thought I'd make some plans / But fire thought she'd really rather be water instead." I saw Tori play it live last year and it was magical.
"All I Really Want" by Alanis Morissette. Jagged Little Pill was the first (real) CD I bought. And every time I drove home from Cedar City, "All I Really Want" was the first song I played once I got on the interstate. With the right mix of angst and bounce it's perfect for summer, road trips, and manic cleaning sessions.
"White Houses" by Vanessa Carlton. I had a fling with "A Thousand Miles" a thousand years ago, but "White Houses" is the real deal--the painful transition of adolescence, burgeoning sexuality, and that summer when everything changes.
"Mr. Brightside" by The Killers. It may be their most famous song, but it's still my favorite. What else can I say? Have you seen the music video?
"Samson" by Regina Spektor. The first time I listened to Begin to Hope (thanks Val!), "Samson" was hands down my favorite song. It's so beautiful, and I love this alternate take on Samson. "Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth."
"Bouncing Off Clouds" by Tori Amos. I listened to this song constantly the summer of '07, and with its driving drums and 4/4 beat, it's one of her more rocking songs. It's a pretty simple song about a relationship that is no longer simple. "Make it easy, make this easy . . . paint it in mint ice cream."
"Space Dog" by Tori Amos. I still have no idea what this song is about, but part of my love is due to its surreal imagery. I also love the constant shifting from drums and electric guitars to melodic piano--but the real reason I love this song is when it goes andromeda combining all the elements after these lyrics: "Deck the halls, I'm young again, I'm you again / Racing turtles, the grapefruit is winning / Seems I keep getting this story twisted / So where's Neil when you need him? / Deck the halls, it's you again, it's you again." It gets me every time.
Of course there are many more songs that I love, and I left musical numbers out cause that's a whole different ballgame, but these all have a special place in my heart. "Quelqu'un m'a dit" by Carla Bruni almost made the list, but it's a pretty new song for me, and so I'm not sure if it's a fling or not. What are your all-time favorite songs?
Well, that was fun. This next week is not. Even though there are TEN weeks in a quarter, AND a finals week which apparently is just-for-fun in the iSchool, my professors decided EVERYTHING should be due in week nine this quarter. Week Nine! For fuck's sake, who gave these people PhDs? Well, after this week, it'll basically be over. or I'll be dead. Either way works for me at this point. Why am I even writing this blog? Well, I gotta go. My cousin's coming into town, and later tonight, Lillian and I are going to see Hey Marseilles. Homework can wait. I hope...
Oh, and if you still have questions send them to the ilp2. I still need to answer three more questions. By effing Thursday. FML.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Food for Thought
Well, it's week eight out of ten (add one more for finals), which means it's stress-making time. So I won't be around here very much. But here are a couple of things I wanted to share. They're both very interesting.
So I can't even remember what I was doing online, but I stumbled upon an old episode (2005) of This American Life entitled "Godless America." I love TAL, but sadly don't listen to it regularly like I used to. I usually find it interesting, thoughtful, and sometimes provocative. In the first half of this episode they examine the constitutional and historical cases for secular and religious governments. In the second half, Julia Sweeney, a former Catholic, reads the Bible and tells us what she found there. Just as a caveat, I think it's pretty funny, but Sweeney didn't decide to read the Bible in mockery--she went in all earnestness, but eventually lost her faith.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/290/Godless-America
In my 568 class last week, we watched a TED Talk by Jane McGonigal called "Gaming Can Make A Better World." It's interesting, and she may have some valid points, but I take issue with her central thesis. She talks mostly about World of Warcraft, which I have never played, but I have played enough video games to know that they function like crack--there are a lot of rewards and gratification. The real world doesn't work that way. Also, if you die in a game, you just start over. If you die in the real world, well... So obviously the stakes aren't as high. McGonigal talks about the "blissful productivity" exhibited by gamers. Blissful, sure, but I, along with every mother in America, am not sure about productive. Chris Hedges would probably say that people retreat into games because living in the real world is very difficult and can be highly depressing. The dice players in Greece, or wherever, were not solving hunger, they were ignoring it. Will gaming save the world? Probably not. Could it help solve some of our problems just a little bit? Maybe. Give it a gander, and you tell me.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html
Well, I believe all of you are done with school for the summer, or have completed yet another degree. Congrats! Think of me stuck in school while you start firing up your barbecue grills.
So I can't even remember what I was doing online, but I stumbled upon an old episode (2005) of This American Life entitled "Godless America." I love TAL, but sadly don't listen to it regularly like I used to. I usually find it interesting, thoughtful, and sometimes provocative. In the first half of this episode they examine the constitutional and historical cases for secular and religious governments. In the second half, Julia Sweeney, a former Catholic, reads the Bible and tells us what she found there. Just as a caveat, I think it's pretty funny, but Sweeney didn't decide to read the Bible in mockery--she went in all earnestness, but eventually lost her faith.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/290/Godless-America
In my 568 class last week, we watched a TED Talk by Jane McGonigal called "Gaming Can Make A Better World." It's interesting, and she may have some valid points, but I take issue with her central thesis. She talks mostly about World of Warcraft, which I have never played, but I have played enough video games to know that they function like crack--there are a lot of rewards and gratification. The real world doesn't work that way. Also, if you die in a game, you just start over. If you die in the real world, well... So obviously the stakes aren't as high. McGonigal talks about the "blissful productivity" exhibited by gamers. Blissful, sure, but I, along with every mother in America, am not sure about productive. Chris Hedges would probably say that people retreat into games because living in the real world is very difficult and can be highly depressing. The dice players in Greece, or wherever, were not solving hunger, they were ignoring it. Will gaming save the world? Probably not. Could it help solve some of our problems just a little bit? Maybe. Give it a gander, and you tell me.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html
Well, I believe all of you are done with school for the summer, or have completed yet another degree. Congrats! Think of me stuck in school while you start firing up your barbecue grills.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Ask a Librarian
Yesterday, I didn't eat a proper meal all day. In fact, all I really ate were Oreos. Awesome. And I haven't had lunch today, but tonight I plan on making mushroom risotto. I've been meaning to make it all weekend, but I just didn't have the energy. And I need to go to the grocery store sometime this week. Food: it's a good thing.
So I just got into Josh Ritter today, thanks to my friend Rae. On a whim I bought "Girl In the War" from The Animal Years and his newest album, So Runs the World Away. Rae asked me if I knew where that phrase was from, and I have to admit I looked it up. I am rusty on my Hamlet, and, well, Shakespeare in general. Anyway, he's an alternative, folk singer/songwriter. He's been compared to Bob Dylan, which I think is apt, even though my knowledge of Dylan is next to nothing--a crime, I know. I've been listening to Ritter all day. He's coming to Seattle next month, and I'm buying tickets. Lillian and I are also going to see Hey Marseilles in a couple of weeks at the Tractor. I'm excited. I also need to update my playlist...
So grad school's a drag. I really hate 560 which is a required class that's all about instruction. We're the only library program that has a required instruction core, and man do I wish it was an elective. It's all about effective teaching strategies which 1) seem pretty intuitive, and 2) I couldn't care less about. Not that our professor really employs these techniques anyway. As a librarian, I will probably have to teach classes of some sort and lead committees, but I really hate the class. and the projects. This is exacerbated by receiving one of the worst grades I have ever received in my academic career. Laziness and apathy--it's a potent combination.
My other two classes are better. 568, Info Literacy, is like 560, only it's actually informative and interesting, even if the final project is practically the same. 521 is fascinating, and our professor is fab, but he's also a very hard grader. And I just submitted one of the worst papers I have ever written, so I can't wait to get that back. Now I didn't try all that hard as an undergraduate, but grad school took whatever will I had left and smothered it.
Anyway, I'm here to encourage you to ask a question at ipl2--you'll be helping me with a class assignment. So if you have a question, burning or otherwise, ask it here:
http://www.ipl.org/div/askus/
Anything from the incubation time of chlamydia to the meaning of the universe, which we all know is 42. (There's your freebie; okay, so it's all free.) Actually, if you ask an "unanswerable" question, the people who field the queries will reject it. No opinions either. So Kristen, you can't ask us which horse you should bet on. But really anything from a simple ready reference question to a more involved research query. Ask away! I may even be the one to personally answer you.
Finally, here's some library/grad school humor for you. I stole the first one from a friend's FB, so I don't know where it's from. The other is from PHD Comics.
So I just got into Josh Ritter today, thanks to my friend Rae. On a whim I bought "Girl In the War" from The Animal Years and his newest album, So Runs the World Away. Rae asked me if I knew where that phrase was from, and I have to admit I looked it up. I am rusty on my Hamlet, and, well, Shakespeare in general. Anyway, he's an alternative, folk singer/songwriter. He's been compared to Bob Dylan, which I think is apt, even though my knowledge of Dylan is next to nothing--a crime, I know. I've been listening to Ritter all day. He's coming to Seattle next month, and I'm buying tickets. Lillian and I are also going to see Hey Marseilles in a couple of weeks at the Tractor. I'm excited. I also need to update my playlist...
So grad school's a drag. I really hate 560 which is a required class that's all about instruction. We're the only library program that has a required instruction core, and man do I wish it was an elective. It's all about effective teaching strategies which 1) seem pretty intuitive, and 2) I couldn't care less about. Not that our professor really employs these techniques anyway. As a librarian, I will probably have to teach classes of some sort and lead committees, but I really hate the class. and the projects. This is exacerbated by receiving one of the worst grades I have ever received in my academic career. Laziness and apathy--it's a potent combination.
My other two classes are better. 568, Info Literacy, is like 560, only it's actually informative and interesting, even if the final project is practically the same. 521 is fascinating, and our professor is fab, but he's also a very hard grader. And I just submitted one of the worst papers I have ever written, so I can't wait to get that back. Now I didn't try all that hard as an undergraduate, but grad school took whatever will I had left and smothered it.
Anyway, I'm here to encourage you to ask a question at ipl2--you'll be helping me with a class assignment. So if you have a question, burning or otherwise, ask it here:
http://www.ipl.org/div/askus/
Anything from the incubation time of chlamydia to the meaning of the universe, which we all know is 42. (There's your freebie; okay, so it's all free.) Actually, if you ask an "unanswerable" question, the people who field the queries will reject it. No opinions either. So Kristen, you can't ask us which horse you should bet on. But really anything from a simple ready reference question to a more involved research query. Ask away! I may even be the one to personally answer you.
Finally, here's some library/grad school humor for you. I stole the first one from a friend's FB, so I don't know where it's from. The other is from PHD Comics.
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