Westward, Ho!

2007-04-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

Legoland or Bust!

2007-03-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Meg Wagner (daughter of Mary Jane Anderson) and her husband Mike and boys Mike and Thomas came to San Diego to escape the Iowa winter and worship at the mecca of Legoland.

We had dinner together tonight at Don Chuy's Mexican restaurant.

The Wagner clan had spent the day seeing the San Diego Zoo, and the boys were pretty tired. Esp. Thomas, who had totally fallen asleep w/ his head on the table and wasn't really able to be photographed. He's the lump curled up over the table at the far right in the pic of Meg

Book Ranch from a seagull's POV

2007-02-03T15:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a Google Earth snapshot of the roof of my book ranch
32°59'39.58"N
117°15'45.40"W
if you want to "fly" there yourself.

Sugar aka Chessie the C&O mascot

2007-01-15T16:19:00.000-08:00

The C&O RR used to have a mascot, "Chessie," who was a striped cat who was able to 'sleep like a kitten' in C&O sleeping cars b/c the ride was so smooth. (She eventually acquired a mate, Peake, as in Chesa peake & Ohio....clever, eh?).

Here's my Sugar doing a good imitation:

Sugar-sweetest cat

2007-01-13T23:28:00.000-08:00

Here she is after catching a Christmas mouse.

Sugar thinks my pillow is not too hard, and not too soft, but just right!

We discovered a new toy to pounce on: the wrist strap on my camera! Almost as good as a feather!

New family member

2006-12-25T23:02:00.000-08:00

Ryder Nathan Lutzker was born on 13 December 2006, came home from the NICU on 20 December 2006, and helped host 20 family members for Christmas dinner on 25 December. (The Lutzkers are in-law relations through my father's late sister's husband....)

Book-gasm

2006-12-13T21:15:00.000-08:00

Great cartoon

Jenna from HKLK

2006-12-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

My former supervisor at HKLK, Jenna, is expecting her first child in February. Her baby shower was this afternoon.

Solo Journeys 2006

2006-11-29T00:35:00.000-08:00

Me, my work colleague Pat, from St Peter's Del Mar, Thomas from Good Sam UTC, Equilla also from Good Sam.

Whatcha doing?

2006-09-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

Sugar-cat was puzzled by what I was doing when holding my camera up to take the preceding self-portrait. She decided to investigate more closely.

Ponytail

2006-09-18T16:35:00.000-07:00

My hair has grown long enough now that I can pull it back.

When no one's looking....

2006-07-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

It seems Roxy and Sugar can co-exist peacefully when they don't realize anyone's looking....

ATLA 2006, Chicago

2006-06-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

A shot from the window of the hotel banquet room at the concluding banquet on Saturday evening. (Every once in a very great while I take a pic which is good enough to stand on its own, w/o any editing at all!)

The Holiday Inn Merchandise Mart, a totally modern 23-story building, is attached to the historic and huge Merchandise Mart proper via a skyway.

some of "Spirit" from Trinity UCC Chicago

2006-06-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

This is a pic of part of the vocal group "Spirit" from Trinity UCC, Chicago. They offered worshipful and spirited singing at the ATLA Conference Banquet. There were 12 singers altogether but I was seated too close to the stage to get them all in the photo, and it was not decent and in order to get up and move around to get better shots.

now and then

2006-06-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

Eric Goldstein is two years younger than I. We worked together at Historic Annapolis Foundation (HAF) during summers in high school, and were on the Annapolis High School newsletter staff together.

Here we are as tour guides for HAF in August 1987...Eric is the fellow on the left; the other folks are, L-R: me, Dawn Price, and Colin Meeder.

And here is Eric nowadays.

Monkeybusiness with a movie star and childhood hero

2006-05-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering whether I really am working in a public library, I'm attaching a photo to provide proof.

Yes, Curious George, hero of the books of my childhood, and star of the movie currently in theatres, visited MPOW and did a storytime today. After the story, he posed for pics w/ all of his adoring fans, (most of whom were measurably under 3 feet tall) and signed autographs. However, all of us on staff, most of whom remembered him from his print-only days, before his big-screen debut, wanted pics too.

We must have had 60 people, at least, for the program. The ripple effect of the busy-ness was that we actually had to kick people out of the library at 5:05, when closing time was 5:00.

In the bag

2006-05-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

Roxy *really* likes the SDCL book bag I was given as swag at Library Academy.

Back to the '40s in Round Bay, Severna Park, MD

2006-05-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

From top:
My grandfather sitting on front patio

My mom in one corner of living room

My grandmother sitting on front patio

My dad and mom on living room sofa--this one is reversed, I think.

My grandfather standing in front yard. Mom's "playhouse" is on left amidst shrubbery. The front patio is semi-hidden behind the shrubs in front of the house.

More family pics

2006-05-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

My mother and father on their wedding day, January 29, 1947, outside St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, College Park, MD.

Oh, say can you see....

2006-05-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

Roxy and Sugar watching the birds who duck in and out of the eaves....

Catbed scanner

2006-05-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Sugar (rear) and Roxy perched on the window seat, err, flatbed scanner, err, make that catbed scanner, surveying the birds and beasts in the parking lot

2006-04-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

My grandmother, Rachel Harriet Wynne Brown McAbee, (1896-1974ish) , with family dog Taffy (English cocker) lying behind her.

My parents and cousin c. 1948

2006-04-25T20:47:00.000-07:00

My mom holds my first-cousin Chuck (Charles Evans McAbee) while my dad looks on, c. 1948. Chuck must have scared her pretty badly since she waited another 20 years to have a child of her own!!! (Thanks to Chuck for sending me this photo and the one of our grandmother.)

Novice Book Wrangler

2006-03-28T23:00:00.000-08:00

Today was a milestone day: I received my official County of San Diego Employee Photo ID Badge, complete w/ neck lanyard. And a memo on permitted and forbidden uses of the badge, which I had to sign that I'd read.

My absolute favorite is "DO NOT ... use as an ice scraper..."

Only in a county w/ weather like San Diego's would it be feasible to use this clear hard plastic sheath and enclosed magnetized card as an ice scraper! When I lived in MN I had 3 different ice scrapers, and would vary my use based on kind of ice and location on the car. Up around Julian, where we do have a branch, they do get snow and ice. But still, it would only occur to a Californian to use an i.d. card as an ice scraper!

My second big achievement was receiving my own personalized, colourful laminated sign for claiming book carts. Now if I'm working on an elaborate project which I have stacked on a cart, but get called away to something else, I can slap my 8-1/2x11" "Gillian's Cart" sign on top of it and my coworkers won't mess w/ it.

I think I have arrived as a Novice Book Wrangler. I've been on the County payroll 11 days.

Git along, lil' Deweys, git along...

2006-03-20T23:02:00.000-08:00

I am now a Library Technician I for the San Diego County Library, Solana Beach Branch.

However, I think a much better job title would be Apprentice Book Wrangler. Yes, we wrangle more than books-- we also handle lots of CDs, DVDs, audio cassettes. But I think "Book Wrangler" has a nice tone to it. And it's sure descriptive of what we do.

The uninitiated would think that books are fairly placid things, just sitting around in piles or on shelves. Nope. Ours migrate all over the county, and have to be corralled, branded, culled, herded....On a typical day we receive a shipment of 6-12 boxes of books from other branches and ship almost as many out. Not to mention the piles of our own books that patrons return or check out. We're one of the busier branches in the system.

I am planning on spending at least my first week's salary on comfortable shoes. Being on your feet 8 hrs a day is hard work when you've been managing a desk for much of the past decade. That is one part of the librarian stereotype that is accurate--we all wear comfortable shoes, and for a reason!

Shrove Tuesday

2006-03-01T01:58:00.000-08:00

Wow. I done church.

St Paul's has a tradition of having a Zydeco Mass on Shrove Tuesday, followed by a banquet in the parish hall. I think the Zydeco Mass is as close to summing up the whole Gospel in one incredible dramaturgical extravaganza as is anything short of The Great Vigil.

Remember, St Paul's is on the edge of the gay district and makes a *big point* of reaching out to the GLBT community.

For several weeks Scott+ has been making announcements about the Zydeco Mass, and saying how it's really not to be missed, and rather incredible, and involves lots of dancing, and music, and feathers, and is a bit over the top. And unlike Nick+, Scott doesn't play things up for dramatic effect.

The Zydeco band started playing at 5:45 and the whole place was literally swinging for the prelude. We were encouraged not just to clap, not just to sway, but to literally dance in the aisles. Which people did. Including the bishop and his wife. (Swing-dancing while wearing a mitre and holding a crozier is a real art....) Folks did swing-dance, they did freestyle 1980s post-disco rhythmic shuffling , and everything in between. I sat w/ 2 friends of mine from Listening Hearts, one of whom was there stag b/c her husband had some other obligation so we'd agreed to be each other's date. :-)

Most of the congregation came wearing Mardi Gras beads, many of us had on feathered masks, there were lots and lots of sequins everywhere, there were folks in jester-style caps, there were folks in green/gold/purple sequin-covered top hats (one of which seems to be in the center of every pic I snapped), and there were feather boas. I didn't see anyone in drag (unless you count the altar party :-), but I wouldn't swear that there wasn't. Well, one of the lectors who is a guy (and the Cathedral's Artist in Residence) had on a red wig and a Minnie-Pearl style hat, but was otherwise in masculine attire. All the vergers had on multi-colored jester caps along w/ their purple cassocks. (*Matching* jester caps, you understand--we must be *decent and in order* about this--we ARE a Catholic parish. )

I would say the congregation was around 2/3 regulars, and 1/3 folks I didn't necessarily recognize. But that could be b/c they were in different attire. Though by the announcements Scott+ made, I'm thinking there are usually lots of visitors.

After 15 minutes the prelude segued into "When All the Saints Come Marching In," and suddenly there was a procession *sashaying* down the aisle. The bead-bedecked crucifer was keeping time w/ the cross like a drum major (it sounds really crass in writing but didn't look that out of place), and all the clergy were tossing beads into the congregation. Bishop Mathes was Presider and he had his crozier in one hand and was tossing beads w/ the other, and was wearing what was probably the only "odd" chasuble he had--looks like one made for Summer Camp, VBS, outdoor liturgies, etc.. The vergers' maces were covered in metallic ribbons. I have a shot of one of the clergy tossing beads....

The lections were focused on mercy and incarnation. OT was the Isa. text about children and adders and lions and lambs and etc. Psalm was a praise psalm--don't remember which one--but basically "Hallelujah--Yay God!" :-) NT was 1 John 4:1-11, and Gospel was a very very short snippet from Luke, 11:27-28.

Scott+ preached a most excellent sermon. Basically told the story of a turning point in his adult spirituality--a story I've heard b/4 but it gets right at my heart every time--when he was rector of the evangelical, staid, politically conservative, St Mary's, Lompoc, deeply hurting over his divorce from his first wife, and feeling pretty burnt out and distant from God. He went to Mt Calvary Monastery to seek out a spiritual director, and when he finally found a monk who wasn't too busy to take him on (he had to approach several!), the monk's instruction to him was to read Ps. 139:1-17 daily to finally get it into his head and heart that God isn't out there but as near to us as our breath. I hope he posts the sermon on the web, b/c I can't do the rest of it justice (about God being w/ us tonight in revelry and tomorrow in ashes, and embracing polarities).

Instead of the creed there was a Musical Response to the Sermon--another 5-10 minutes of swing dancing in the aisles. Then annoucements, then introduction of Bp. Mathes, for whom this was all a brand new experience :-). There was a mis-cue of the ushers, so they didn't get in position to take up the offering, which was to go to Episcopal Relief & Development for Katrina relief. So Scott improvised, since the baskets were up front but w/ no money in them, and told the band to hit it again and that we were to all dance our offering up to the baskets. So another 5-10 minutes of dancing in the aisles.

The Great Thanksgiving was "Rite 3" with lots of emphasis on mercy and love. Communion was at stations at the front, w/ the band doing a different arrangement of "When All the Saints." Then we said the postcommunion prayer and Bp Mathes gave the blessing. Then the altar party formed up and sashayed down the aisle to some more up-tempo tunes. The SSP brothers' sequined stoles showed off in the light quite nicely.

The catered dinner was a mediocre melange of cajun-inspired dishes--lots of rice, okra, corn, chicken, shrimp, sausage and spices in assorted combinations. (Though for only $15 a head it was actually quite generous.) And blackened salmon over a bean something. Bottled water or wine to drink. Dessert was bread pudding.

And then some of us left for home, while others left for more festive events elsewhere.

Apparently the Zydeco Mass was started at St Paul's by the recently retired Canon Liturgist, Lee+ Teed, who studied at CDSP under Louis Weil.

My description can in no way begin to convey what I believe was the deeply incarnational and sacramental nature of the service. I'm quite serious that I experienced it as second only to the Great Vigil for enacting dramatically the glorious mystery of God becoming fully human that humanity might become fully divine, and darkness be vanquished. Amen.

Really grainy, blurry pics taken w/ my Treo in the dim nave while everyone was moving around. They've ended up sort of like Impressionist paintings. :-)

P.S. I really needed to hear that Gospel tonight, and to experience it. Which I did. TBTG. Now I feel as ready for Lent as it's ever possible to be...

Divestment

2006-02-12T00:17:00.000-08:00

Ever since I prepared to leave Minnesota, in the spring of 2003, I've been divesting myself of stuff. When I decided to move to San Diego, I knew I wouldn't be able to afford as large an apartment with as much storage as I'd had in Rochester--that was a given. So I weeded out my possessions, in what then felt like a pretty aggressive manner.

Some things were obvious candidates for the Church Women's spring Rummage Sale, considering the move was from Minnesota to southern California....the second and third pairs of lug-soled, waterproof, Thinsulate-lined boots, the third down parka, the several pairs of really heavy gloves, the wool scarves and hats. I put the full-sized snow shovel and other winter safety gear, including 60 lbs of kitty litter from the trunk of the car, jugs of assorted ice-melting chemicals, and extra floor mats to put under slipping wheels, out by the trashcan, for neighbors to claim. (That last class of stuff I'd rue leaving behind as I slipped and slid through the snowy hills of South Dakota on my drive west.)

Over many years I'd accumulated a lot of wool sweaters--both my mom and I would buy for classic style and quality, and the things just never die. I decided the odds were slim that I'd need 31 (yes, I counted them) wool garments in San Diego. So 24 of them went to the Rummage Sale, along with the lined wool dress pants and all but 1 pair of silk long underwear. Did I mention it was cold, windy, and snowy in Minnesota? But I was always well-dressed....

Then there were the harder decisions, in an attempt to cut down the weight the movers would bill me for. The high-end washer and dryer set my parents had paid for and that I'd only used lightly in Virginia, I finally managed to sell to a friend. Several boxes of books and notebooks from college went into the dumpster. There was just stuff I knew I didn't need any more--an inordinate assemblage of cheap Tupperware knockoffs for storing the leftovers from the big meals I never cooked. More posters and prints than any small apartment would possibly have walls to hold. Small household items I knew it would be cheaper to replace in SoCal than pay to store and move.

All in all, I thought I'd done a pretty good job of weeding. I left Rochester emotionally and physically exhausted, but reasonably happy with the amount of stuff I'd managed to discard.

Then I moved into my 700 sq ft apartment in Del Mar, and it immediately became clear the divestment had just begun. I called Episcopal Community Services, and said farewell to both my guest room beds and an occasional table and some chairs. I hope the battered womens' shelter put them to good use. Then, for over a year, I just resigned myself to living with the extra boxes stacked neatly in the corner of the living room, under plastic on the balcony, and all along one side of the bed.

Now it's time for the final round. I just can't live feeling this cramped by *stuff.*

It's like peeling the layers off an onion. An overworked simile, but apt. Each time I think I've thrown away enough, I realize that no, there is still more pressing in on me, making me feel crowded, cramped and disordered. It is a very ascetical practice.

I have a strong sentimental streak--I do not accumulate "stuff" as a form of material wealth, but rather because it instantiates a storehouse of memories. Gradually I'm realizing that things which I thought had great meaning to me, that in fact *did* and *do* have meaning for me, are nevertheless not essential. I can live, I can still be who I am, without the talismans from earlier days. Throwing away something that reminds me of my mother is not the same as throwing away my memories of her, or my love for her.

Tonight I've gone through a rolling storage unit and tossed out a huge hoard of lovely notecards and stationery--a weakness of both my mother and me. I gained almost a whole drawer of storage for more essential things, like my hole-punch. Each set of notecards had a design which had meaning to me, but how often do I actually write letters or notes by hand any more? Over the next few days, I will tackle the boxes of files and papers in the bedroom closet.

I suspect the full-sized artificial Christmas tree I bought for my first Christmas as "an orphan" in Virginia will go, too, along with some of its decorations...there's no room for it here, and the space it takes in my storage closet could better be filled by other things. My rational self says the half-dozen or so Don Swann engravings of Annapolis scenes that I've had for 20 years need to go as well. I have enough framed art to fill a condo complex, and while the Swanns hold a lot of historical and sentimental meaning, they're the least striking or useful in terms of interior decor--they're in a box behind the sofa at present. If I do manage to discard them, then I know I will have become a serious ascetic--that would be as drastic a statement as throwing out hundreds of books

So much of my past is represented in these things I am discarding. And once gone, they can not be reclaimed. My future is so incredibly uncertain, and the present has been rocky for these last three years, so it is hard to let go of the past. What, then, will I have to hold on to?

Those who are closest to me, and wisest, urge me to look forward, not back, to divest and discard so I can grow. But like any ascetic discipline, it does not come easily. Hopefully by the time this Lent arrives, I will have finally achieved the necessary asceticism of "stuff," and be free to move on to new challenges.

Cats at desk

2006-02-08T22:33:00.000-08:00

Roxy (lying down) and Sugar sit at my home offfice desk. Soon they will have learned how to type....

Scarred Beneath the Skin

2006-02-03T22:39:00.000-08:00

Scarred Beneath the Skin

I really wish "W" read newspapers. I'd like him to read this article and look at its accompanying photo gallery

I HAVE A JOB !!!!

2006-02-01T01:17:00.000-08:00

As soon as the bureaucratic niceties are done, I will start work as a "Library Technician I" at Solana Beach Public Library.

The branch is just under 5 miles from my apartment. I'm very psyched.

The pay is such that I'll have to find another very part-time job to go along w/ it, but it will get me key library experience. And after 2 years or so I should get enough raises that I could ditch the second job.

10 Things meme

2006-01-27T22:34:00.000-08:00

Ten Things I Believe Without Evidence

In no particular order
I've omitted any statements about my faith, because to me I hold them with evidence, although perhaps not the type the California Evidence Code requires.
- - - -
1. That my cats understand almost everything I say.

2. That Heaven contains a really humonguous library, with no due dates or overdue fines or recall notices.

3. That when they die, a whole lot of conservative Christians and Neo-Con Republicans and so-called-"orthodox" Anglicans are in for a REALLY BIG surprise....

4. That the healthiest foods of all are rare marbled beef, pasta, tiramisu, and any ice cream sold in pint-sized cartons.

5. That chicken is evil and very unhealthy.

6. That speed limits are optional, at least for me.

7. That I will find and marry Mr. Right, while I'm still young enough to remember who he is the next day.

8. That I will some day be able to exercise my vocation (once I figure out what it is :-), *and* be financially self-sufficient. At the same time.

9. That Britain holds a special place in history and culture.

10. That the USA will somehow pull itself out of its present moral/political tailspin.

I tag anyone who actually reads this blog.....

Friday catblogging

2006-01-27T21:11:00.000-08:00

It's way easier to just link to my Yahoo photo album than to try to get the sequence and captions right here:
Friday Night Catfight

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Military -- With hugs goodbye, Marines off for Iraq

2006-01-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Military -- With hugs goodbye, Marines off for Iraq

I found this picture, w/ the juxtaposition of the baby and the 2 weapons, haunting.
Between now and March, 25,000 San Diego-based troops are deploying to Iraq, most for the 2nd, some for the 3rd, time.
Over 10% of US casaulties in Iraq have been San Diegoo-based Marines.

MakePovertyHistory

2006-01-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

MakePovertyHistory
Got one of these as a Christmas present from a friend---a bilingual ONE/Make Poverty History campaign wristband--in Welsh and English.

Men in Aprons

2005-11-24T23:10:00.000-08:00

All the Eggar and Lutzker men are excellent cooks. (As are the women).

Here are Mike Lutzker and his wife Kerry Eggar Lutzker collaborating on one of the side dishes for the Turkey Feed.

Turkey Day 2005

2005-11-24T22:51:00.000-08:00

I spent the evening w/ the Lutzker clan in Escondido.

Kerry Eggar Lutzker is my late aunt's husband's neice. Now that we're clear on how I'm related....(iow I'm not, by blood...)

Women of the Lutzker clan, relationships given relative to newest addition:
L to R: Margie Lutzker, great-grandmother; Barbara Lutzker, grandmother, Kerry Eggar Lutzker, aunt by marriage, Wendy Lutzker Kushner, new mom, and Samantha Madeleine Kushner, newest family member (age 6 weeks; weight 9 lbs 6 oz). And on the far right, Turkey, age, post-mortem; weight, 20 lbs).

I'm a practical-theology geek

2005-11-21T21:21:00.000-08:00

In case anyone hadn't figured this out by now, today would have been the proof.

I sat down on the sofa for a moment, and two cats simultaneously decided I looked like a pillow. Since it's unusual for the two of them to willingly get w/in 2 feet of each other w/o hackles going up, much less to curl up only inches away from each other, I decided I couldn't possibly *move* and disturb this pacific tableau.

But I was determined not to let their furry warmth lull me into sleep. I've been sleeping too much recently. So I began looking over the items w/in reach on the coffee table. After leafing through all the Christmas catalogs, it was time for a real book.

What was the only thing of interest w/in reach? Not a romance novel, not a mystery....but Diana Butler Bass' The Practicing Congregation: Imagining A New Old Church, (Alban, 2004) which I've been meaning to read since it first came out. So I read it, and read the endnotes too, to make sure it was perfectly clear that I'm a practical-theology geek. Just as I was finishing it, the cats finished their naps. Re-energized, they swatted and hissed at each other and tumbled off the sofa in a wrestling match. Which freed me to get up off the sofa and ..... geekily check my bookshelves for the books cited in the endnotes, several of which I do in fact own....

Random things that stood out to me as I was reading....

Her story of a dispute she had as Director of Faith Formation at Christ Church, Alexandria, Va. (A position I interviewed for in 1995, ironically--DBB began there ca. 1999, after at least 2 others had cycled through the job since my failed interview)....It was a tiff between an older woman who wanted to continue to use the parish hall for the Christmas Crafts Bazaar all the Sundays in Advent, just as "we always have-it's a tradition" and Butler Bass, who wanted to use the parish hall as a meeting place for an Advent adult ed series on quiet and prayer and spiritual disciplines. I was put in mind of a discussion a friend and I were having a few nights ago about why All Souls' Christmas Arts Fair and Home Tour drives me up a tree. I come out of the exact same school of thought Butler Bass does; the women of the Home Tour are clones of the woman Butler Bass had the show-down with.

I realized that Scott Richardson is implementing at the Cathedral the exact approach Butler Bass describes, and with good effect: in the 2 years he's been in place, attendance has mushroomed and the budget has grown from $800,000 to $1.2M. The three things I see him doing quite intentionally: (1) constantly inviting folks into intentional spiritual practices--he had led the Cathedral to adopt a 5-point Rule of Life that he mentions almost weekly; (2) focusing on narrative theology and the metaphors of pilgrimage and spiritual journey, both in how he describes the life of faith and how he invites people to enter into it; and (3) beginning to create an emphasis on discernment for lay folks (cf the Listening Hearts program that he's in the process of implementing there).

I don't know if Scott has read Butler Bass and the authors and practitioners she draws on. I suspect he has, or else he has at least absorbed them by osmosis, b/c he has spent a lot of time in the Santa Barbara CA area, where several of the "practicing" congregations she has studied are.

I also realized that I was first introduced to this approach to ministry and formation in my C.E. classes at PTS, where Rick Osmer and others had us read some of the earlier works by the same cohort of folks*. I see that Rick has just come out w/ a new book himself. I will be curious to see if he has continued to develop his own thoughts in this vein or if he has headed off in another direction. Once I have money again and can buy books.

The problem w/ reading a stimulating book is that you then want to go out and read more on the same topic. So now I need to move Butler Bass's earlier work Strength for the Journey, over to the Priority pile, review her sister-in-law's Practicing Our Faith, which I've dipped into previously, and put the anthololgy Practicing Theology on my Wish List. (The intermarried Butler and Bass families seem to be to practical theology what the Miller and Brueggemann clan is to Old Testament and preaching).

*: The cohort of folks who show up in Butler Bass's endnotes includes, among others:
Alasdair MacIntyre
Robert Wuthnow
Craig Dykstra
Wade Clark Roof
Stanley Hauerwas
Robert Bellah
Howard Gardner

Cat Napping

2005-11-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

If I sit or lie down on the sofa, it's like I trigger a magnetic force that attracts Roxy immediately from wherever she is. She starts out as a tightly curled doughnut on my thighs. Then we both begin to unwind, and the scene ends w/ me asleep and Roxy stretched across my whole torso. This time Sugar came and perched on the top of the sofa to add to the tableau. I wish I'd been able to snap the moments when Roxy reached out her paws and gently patted me on the chin. Such soft paw pads, such gentle pats.

Cats in Sinks - for all your cat and bathroom needs

2005-11-06T16:34:00.000-08:00

Pretty self-explanatory. And pretty darn cute.

Cat pics

2005-10-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

Sugar makes a case for being beautiful as well as sweet....

Sugar, being uncharacteristically brave and sitting boldly on the back of the sofa.

Here is Roxy, critiquing my evening beauty routine.

Cat tales

2005-10-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

I am beginning to get a more nuanced sense of my cats' personalities, now that we've been housemates for 3 months. You can see pics of Roxy and Sugar in earlier posts--early August and mid-September.

Roxy, a.k.a. Roxy-Doxy, is an odd blend of boldness and insecure neediness.

Roxy chose me at the shelter. I was looking at two other cats, but she kept sticking her paw through the cage and making it clear I needed to take her out and get to know her in the play room.

She is very curious and self-confident in many ways--always exploring any new sound or open cupboard door, never shirking in fear. When I took her to the Blessing o' the Critters at St Paul's Cathedral and had her on a harness and leash, she went exploring the pews in front and behind, let herself be petted by strangers, showed no fear of the Lab who came over to check her out nor the Llasa who yipped nearby. She settled reasonably comfortably in my arms as I carried her around (more for the comfort of the dog owners than for her protection--she can hold her own), crawled right into the Dean's lap and immediately snuggled under his arm for her blessing (she obviously has good taste in men and clergy!). (The Dean's ex tempore prayer over her commended her for her trusting and brave and affectionate nature--10 seconds and he had her sized up.) While I know that putting a cat on a leash is not as normal as putting a dog on a leash, I was still surprised at the number of comments I got from other cat owners about how exceptionally well Roxy was doing, and how brave and friendly she was. I noticed that she was the only cat who did not spend the whole time in her carrier. If she'd been frightened, or gotten aggressive, I would have put her back in it in a flash, but it wasn't necessary.

She is also very intelligent. Watching her around the apartment, I definitely sense that there are lots of IQ points in her brain, at least by cat standards. I wish I had the space and money to do cat agility trials w/ her--I think she'd excel. I had her maneuvering around some Dell computer boxes and a trashcan and a Robinson's May shopping bag the other night and we were having a lot of fun.

At home a different side of her comes out, though. She definitely wants to be an Only Cat and to be the center of attention in the household. She wants all my attention and affection, all the time. Where I am, she usually is. If I'm in the kitchen or dining room, she wants food. If I'm in the living room, she wants me to get her Cat Dancer and play w/ her. If I'm stretched out on the sofa reading, she quickly curls up on or against me, with the tenacity of velcro. (I wish I had a picture of this morning's pose--on her back, leaning head-first over the sofa-back such that her head (and lots of her weight) was supported by my shoulder--if I'd moved my shoulder there would have been a very undignified head-first Cat Avalanche. It made my neck hurt just to look at her pose!) If I'm in my bedroom/study, where she's not allowed, she'll often camp out right outside the door.

She doesn't want Sugar to get any attention at all. Constant pouncing on her makes sure that Sugar stays cowed under a bookcase for much of the day. Sugar is the total opposite of Roxy--no self-assurance at all. One attempted pounce and she scurries for shelter. She doesn't fight back nor try to turn it into play, which I think is what Roxy wants at least some of the time. If she comes out from under the bookcase and I'm petting her, Roxy is there in a heartbeat, and will pounce on her unless I intervene. Roxy eats out of Sugar's bowl--I have to supervise meals so that Sugar gets some unmolested feeding time when I first put the food bowls down, else she'd never get to eat.

My take on it is that for some reason Roxy is very insecure about getting enough love and care from her Person, which results in her bullying and monopolizing behavior. Just like a human bully, there must be some profound insecurity there underneath the outward swagger. She cannot brook any competition, and she just can not understand that my attention to Sugar doesn't mean any less for her. I don't know what in her past has led to this conviction, or how to counter it. When the Sugar-pouncing gets totally out of hand (such as a series of flying full-body tackles launched from all the way across the living room) I will put Roxy in a carrier for several hours of time-out, but the lesson doesn't seem to stick. I've decided that Roxy's versions of the house rules are: " Just give me all your attention, and sufficient obeisance, and provide me with constant entertainment, and we'll get along just fine." Sometimes she mellows out and lets Sugar alone, but I haven't figured out yet what the pattern is--what causes the truce flag to go up.

Roxy is a dilute tortoisehell. She is rather cobby in build. Her proportions are similar to a British Shorthair. I've always preferred tabbies' markings to calicoes and torties, visually, (in fact, I never would have chosen a regular tortie or calico--it was the dilute that made the difference for Roxy) but I've come to see Roxy's coloring as truly beautiful too. If I were to name her, her name would have something to do w/ marble, b/c her coloring is similar to marbled tile.

Sugar, a.k.a. Sweet Sugar-Lump , or Shug, is a totally different critter. While Roxy is clearly very intelligent, Sugar doesn't strike me as being too bright at all--but how much is native slowness vs. timidity and insecurity, I don't know. She didn't really come up to me at the shelter--it was just her boldly striped tail sticking out from under the place she was hiding that intrigued. But she was amenable to being lured out, and petted, and semed very friendly once you approached her.

Sugar has the sweetest face and expression, and is very gentle, and it's easy to see why the shelter dubbed her "Sugar." When she feels safe enough, she'll come up to me and rub against me and walk back and forth across my lap repeatedly, and eventually settle enough to curl up beside me and against me, though never directly on me. She has a neurotic fixation about face-marking things repeatedly and constantly. I think it's some self-calming behavior or something. She's very forceful in rubbing her muzzle up against anything and everything w/in reach--the corner of the wall, the sofa cushion, the lamp, the table leg, the edge of my icon of Rubylev's Trinity which sits in a stand on the end-table (I wonder whether the Trinity have every been face-marked before? ). If it has an edge, she'll rub against it. Over and over and over again. Clearly it's an effort to mark territory, but it obviously doesn't faze Roxy in the least, but still she does it.

She's more accepting of full-body petting and such than Roxy is--Roxy will only allow you to pet her below the neck when she's *very* relaxed, else you'll get a nip. (It used to be a full-out bite, but she's learned that's a no-no.) In contrast, Sugar likes short belly-rubs, and hand-strokes along her full length. She also never uses her teeth or claws on me. I can clip her nails and brush her moderately easily, b/c I just have to manage to keep her still, I don't have to fight her off--whereas Roxy puts up a full tooth-and-nail fight, and I always come away w/ some scratch and bite marks.

Sugar is very very timid. When Roxy approaches her, she runs and hides under the nearest bookcase. (How thoughtful of me to provide her with so many to choose from, and placed so conveniently all around the apartment..... ) I think lots of times Roxy just wants someone to romp and play with, but Sugar doesn't understand the concept of "play" at all. She just immediately cowers and hides. And that just brings out the bully in Roxy. I wish Sugar would either stand and fight, or play, with Roxy, rather than running away in fear. But she doesn't have the self-assurance to do either. Sometimes they'll exchange paw-bats, but it's alway just a brief delaying tactic while Sugar susses out which bookcase is nearest--she never really stands her ground. Given her timidity and her reptitive face-marking, I have been tempted to see if slipping a few grains of my Paxil into her food bowl would help. Her main base of operations is the area under my lawyers' bookcase. I call it "the Sugar-Cave." At first I thought she'd end up w/ muscle cramps from being under there 12+ hrs a day, having to be lying down flat all the time. But when I explored further, I saw that there is actually 1-2" more clearance than appears from outside, so she can actually raise her head up a bit and move around a bit. Sort of a cove ceiling effect, from her perspective.

Sugar is less active than Roxy, and of smaller, more elegant build. As to coloring, she's a brown and white mackeral tabby, and her head is small and delicate. It looks like she has some of the build of more Asian cats in her--lithe and light, w/ a small head. She needs to work on toning her belly , b/c she had a litter while at the shelter and is still rather saggy. If I were naming her, I'd choose some name that had to do w/ coffee or elaborate coffee drinks, b/c she has every shade of brown, with white trim...her face and head reminds me of a Starbucks Frappuccino Mocha Affogato (with whip). Heck, maybe "Affogato" would be a good name for her, b/c "gato" is Spanish for "cat." But who knows what it would be shortened to, and here in SoCal I'd have people wondering why I'd named my brown and white tabby "Avocado."

Roxy mews and meows. Sugar chirps. I'm still learning to speak "cat," so I don't always understand what they're trying to tell me. Roxy is very interested in food--hers, Sugar's, mine...she is a very persistent beggar in the kitchen and dining room. Sugar is pretty indifferent to food. She'll eat a very light breakfast and dinner, but doesn't get very excited about snacks, nor does she show the slightest interest in my food. Roxy is bold, Sugar timid. They are so different in temperament and appearance. But they are both beautiful, and loving, and much loved.

Free Range Librarian: Presentation: Blogs: Not Just Another Ugly Neologism

2005-10-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

Free Range Librarian: Presentation: Blogs: Not Just Another Ugly Neologism
Good overview of what Blogs are, what RSS is, and tools related to both. Aimed at librarians but useful to all.

Cat food

2005-10-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight I discovered some people-food that Roxy likes a lot: acorn squash!!!! I gave her a few raw bits as I was preparing it, since she is a very persuasive begger, and I was amazed when she ate about half the bits. Later when I was eating it after 45 mins. baking in the oven (with butter and brown sugar), she *really* liked it. Meowed for more than the little tidbits I was giving her.

I never would have guessed that acorn squash would have been a hit w/ the feline palate! Even given the butter and brown sugar additives...

Cat silliness

2005-10-16T00:54:00.000-07:00

Roxy and Sugar are still working out Territory Issues. Being prayed over and anointed last week at the St Francis' Day service doesn't seem to have calmed Roxy's desire to stalk and harass sweet and timid Sugar, alas.

Roxy has pretty much established dominance in the living room. The dining room and kitchen seem like somewhat neutral territory. Sugar is trying to stake a claim for the bathroom, which is also the Litter Box Room. There is a modesty half-wall between the vanity area and the toilet/shower area; it is about shoulder-height, and maybe 4" thick, and as long as the vanity is deep. Sugar has decided that the way to show that she's not to be messed with in the bathroom is by claiming the high ground.

So now, often when I go into the bathroom in the night or early morning, there is Sugar, perched up on top the wall, looking down at everything, including the toilet. The first time I stumbled in to the bathroom early in the morning, w/o turning on the lights, mostly still asleep, no glasses on, and perched on the throne, only to suddenly sense a tail swishing energetically above my head--that was quite a startling moment!

Tonight Shug supervised my evening ablutions quite closely from her wall-top perch. Roxy, meanwhile, watched from a few feet away, seeing how close she could get w/o getting pounced on. As I got ready to leave, I reached up and gave Sugar a friendly head-scritch. In return she reached out a paw and gently patted my newly-exfoliated-and- moisturized cheek. They are endearing critters.

Library programming in NOLA pre-Katrina

2005-09-04T22:44:00.000-07:00

Just found this:
http://librarydust.typepad.com/library_dust/2005/08/rising_again.html

Rising Again

The New Orleans Public Library's One Book, One New Orleans selection for this year was John M. Barry's Rising Tide, the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. During the days of the celebration, the library offered discussions of the book and related issues at its branches. Author Barry participated in a talk whose subject was Our Conflict with Nature: Levees vs. Outlets. Inspired by the book project, related events concerning the flood took place throughout the city's parishes.

In a Library Journal review, archivist Charles Hay drew the scope of Barry's book:

In the spring of 1927, America witnessed perhaps its greatest natural disaster: a flood that profoundly changed race relations, government, and society in the Mississippi River valley region. Barry presents here a fascinating social history of the effects of the massive flood. More than 30 feet of water stood over land inhabited by nearly one million people. Almost 300,000 African Americans were forced to live in refugee camps for months. Many people, both black and white, left the land and never returned. Using an impressive array of primary and secondary sources, Barry clearly traces and analyzed how the changes produced by the flood in the lower South came into conflict and ultimately destroyed the old planter aristocracy, accelerated black migration to the North, and foreshadowed federal government intervention in the region's social and economic life during the New Deal.

The events of the past few days are a grim if effective rejoinder to those who suggest the public library has lost relevance in the modern age or gone out of touch with its patrons. Now, with the waters of the ocean and the Mississippi vying to complete the destruction of New Orleans, we turn again to the unlearned lesson of Barry's book, and also, when our grief will have passed, to the reestablishment of civil society in those places along the river and the ocean that have suffered such terrible losses. One of the elements of that restoration will be the rebuilding of libraries. When that work begins, let it be as a memorial to those who passed in those furious hours. Perhaps, if we have learned enough, we will name a library after John M. Barry.

Michael McGrorty

Here is more about the book. This Amazon customer review was written in May, 2005, which really makes me want to cue the "Twilight Zone" soundtrack:

" I remember not thinking much of President Hoover, but in this book he comes across as one of our most unethical presidents, as well as a typical politician. I was completely disgusted with the treatment of African-Americans by not only the politicians, the National Guard, but the Red Cross. The National Red Cross owes a huge apology to the surviving families of so many African-Americans because of their unequal treatment in a disaster situation. And Hoover, made promises he never intended to keep...sound familiar?"

Sounds like an enterprising publisher could do a search-and-replace, simply putting "Bush" in place of "Hoover," and reissue the book as "Rising Tide: The Sequel".

Memo to San DiegoPublic Library programming people:

Please do not pick any books about fires or earthquakes (or terrorist attacks on Navy and USMC bases) for a " One Book, One City" program for next year, or ever, 'kay?

Marathon CatDancing

2005-08-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

A friend recommended this cat toy, and my life hasn't been the same since. The packaging says it's the NordicTrac for cats, and they're not kidding. It also says the lure is simply rolled cardboard. Yeah, like a joint is rolled hemp, IMO. My cat Roxy finds this thing irrestistable, and addictive. She can, literally, play for hours. I tire out long before she does--my wrists aren't in shape. :-) She whines at me to go get it on weekend days.

When not in use it lives in my bedroom, which is off-limits to kitties. One day she and Sugar burgled my bedroom door while I was at work. The only sign of the two of them having had access to The Forbidden Zone all day is that the CatDancer was sitting in the middle of the living room floor. Even though she'd presumably had access to it all day, she still played w/ it with me for an hour that night.

Even Sugar, who is Not Playful, will bat at it when I put it right in front of her.

They're now marketing one that actually does have catnip in the lure. That's redundant, and very possibly dangerous! Like giving a street drunk a bottle of grain to top off his binge on cheap red wine. Given how zany Roxy is about the plain version, I can't imagine adding catnip to the picture! Although it's two-ended, w/ the regular cardboard at the other end. Maybe I could have Roxy going on the cardboard end while enticing more sedate Sugar w/ the catnip end.

Balls don't amuse Roxy. The feather-lure-tippedlleopard-spotted felted bungee cord I got to hang over the doorknob so she can play w/ some prey-like toy during the day? She won't even sniff it. The fishing pole toy w/ a feather lure? Of only marginal interest. The CatDancer? Beyond riveting.

A comic book about a librariam Rex Libris - Interview with creator James Turner

2005-08-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

comicreaders.com - Rex Libris - Interview with creator James Turner

For Battle-Scarred, Airborne Backup

2005-08-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful service these volunteers provide! They sit w/ medevaced soldiers until their families can arrive, so they're not all alone at Walter Reed; they serve as liaisons for the families to help them w/ the logistics of having resettled across the country temporarily on short notice, etc.

For Battle-Scarred, Airborne Backup

Sleepy Sugar

2005-08-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

Sweet, serious Sugar at rest in one of her two cat beds....

Sleepier Roxy

2005-08-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

The photographer insisted on showing off my chest...

Roxy, Bible Scholar, taking a study break

Sleepy Roxy

2005-08-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

Roxy, library cat to be?

Roxy on sofa back

When the War Won't Stay at Bay

2005-08-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

When the War Won't Stay at Bay

One of many excellent articles of late about the war in Iraq. Where were all these folks (the media, I mean) in 2003?

Avant Game: the ministry of reshelving

2005-08-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

Avant Game: the ministry of reshelving

A project by secret vast leftwing conspiracy bibliophile operatives to reshelve bookstores' copies of George Orwell's _1984_ from "Fiction" to "Current Affairs" or other more apropos bit of shelf real estate.

Results/recon reports are posted here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/topic/69875/

Perhaps Handmaid's Tale could be given a similar treatment?

Jimmy Carter rocks, IMHO

2005-08-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Features -- Former president takes dive in submarine named for him

I wish I'd been old enough to vote for Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980. I was a fan even before the rest of the world was.

Phaeton sighting

2005-08-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

My green Mazda, cost approx $18K a year ago, on the left. VW Phaeton, cost somewhere in the $70K range, on the right.

Feel-good Librarian: What Books Do

2005-08-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

Feel-good Librarian: What Books Do

A librarian provides pastoral care.....

learning to think like a cat

2005-08-07T09:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent some time at B&N skimming books about cats and cat care. In one of them I read about how to use a fishing-pole toy the "right" way--how to have the toy mimic prey and trigger your cat's hunting instinct. Turns out I was doing it all wrong. This morning I used the approach the book described, and we had a much more interesting session of Stalk the Feather.

I think Roxy is actually very young, barely an adult. She wants to *play* with Sugar. Sugar is not interested. When Sugar is stretched out, Roxy will come up and gently bat at her paws. When Sugar was standing in my lap getting some loving, her fine striped tabby tail (which is quite beautiful) was draped over my shoulder and swaying w/ contentment. All of a sudden I felt Roxy's paws on my back, as she tried to play w/ Sugar's tail. These advances are usually tolerated for about 20 secs., after which they are met w/ a sound paw-swat at Roxy's face.

Rules of the House

2005-08-06T14:32:00.000-07:00

These are the rules of the house for Sugar and Roxy. Offenses punishable w/ sprays from water-bottle:

1. Use the litterbox, always. (So far, no problem w/ this at all--knock on wood.)

2. No scratching on furniture--only on scratching po st.

3. The bedroom is Off Limits. (That's why the door is always firmly closed.)

4. Do not get *on* the dining room table while I'm watching. (I am not so naive as to think you won't when I'm not around.)

5. Do not use teeth on people. Paw-bats (claws-in) and quick mouthing w/o biting down are marginally acceptable ways of expressing your opinion. Teeth and deliberate clawing are not.

I think those are a sufficiently minimal set of standards. We'll see what Sugar and Roxy think as time goes on. :-)

Day 4 with cats

2005-08-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

The cats are obviously having some sort of
territory/dominance negotiation thing.  Not a
physically violent one, but some sort of pecking order
being contended for in signs I don't understand.  At
first I thought Sugar was clearly Alpha cat, b/c of
the way she aggressively face-marks everything and was
always coming up to me first for pets and nuzzles,
while Roxy hung back. 

But in the past 24 hrs something has changed.  Shug's
become much more reticent and Roxy much more forward.
Last night Sugar spent a lot of time in the bathtub.

Meanwhile Roxy curled up on my lap as I sat on the
sofa, then when I stretched out longwise on my side on
the sofa she curled up on my top side and slept there,
eventually moving to nestled between my feet and the
pillow.  We both slept on the sofa til I woke up at
about 1 am  and retired to my bedroom.

This morning Sugar wasn't around and I finally found
her--holed up in the litter box.  Not relieving
herself--just hanging out in there.  I called her out
and gave her some stroking, which she accepted. 

When she's not in the bathroom she's hiding under the
lawyers' bookcase, where Roxy can't get at her.
Obviously something Went Down yesterday while I was at
work.  Roxy, I think, just wants to romp and
play--playful bats, no hissing or back-arching.  Sugar
does not.

Roxy seems to like the open-metal-ball-w/ little mouse
and bell inside--I put that toy down and she batted it
around.  The pink plastic ball is less appealing.  The
little felt mouse has disappeared, only to emerge from
under/in something when I move out of the apt, I
suspect.  They both like chasing the suspended
feather, or the fluffy-mouse-on-a-string.

Dogs are much easier to figure out.

July 4th

2005-08-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Today I've been fairly productive, considering. Have vacuumed and scrubbed the kitchen floor, done some other tidying, and some laundry, and actually *cooked.* Well, marinading and bbq'ing may not qualify as full-bore cooking, but it worked, and is the traditional holiday weekend thing to do. I raided my cupboard and put together the basics of a satay-style sauce, and then let a bunch of skinless boneless chicken parts marinade in it for several hours. Then fired up the Weber portable grill on the balcony and made the smoke billow. There was *just* enough propane in the little tank to finish the job. Ate the chicken over white rice, with a side of peaches. Next time I need to let the chicken marinade longer, but it was still pretty decent. Better than mac & cheese or Healthy Choice Green Box D'Jour, which are my normal default dinner options.

Library views

2005-08-03T23:44:00.000-07:00

The Geisel Library at UCSD (named after Theodore Geisel, aka Dr Seuss--what other major research campus can say its library is named after Dr Seuss?) is a rather distinctive building, architecturally.

It is the inspiration for the UCSD logo

I'd always thought the odd graphic design was supposed to evoke the image of the stepped decks of a large ship coming into port--since one of UCSD's specialities is marine biology.

But, no. It's an abstraction from the library's facade, which looks like this:

Here is a snippet from an interview with the University Librarian:

Schottlaender: I love the story that Audrey Geisel tells of how she and Ted came up to campus for a walk and first saw the main library. Now remember, in those days this building was much more isolated than it is now; it literally rose up out of the ground. As Audrey recalls, Ted said, “Wow! If I were an architect, that’s the library that I would build.” And so when Ted passed away, Audrey decided that this would be Ted’s library.

There is an old saying in the academic world about the library being at the heart of the institution, and I think that’s always true. Here at UCSD, it is wonderful to work at an institution where that is geographically true—Geisel Library actually is located at the center of campus—and metaphorically true as well, because the abstraction of the library building serves as the campus logo. I don’t know of any other university where that is the case.

and, a closer view, from the entrance area:

From the fifth floor, the study area near the BX3880 section (that would be the books about Episcopal church history, for those of you who don't have your LOC numbers memmorized....) the view is thus....looking northwards. Not a bad view for a campus library!

more fun

2005-08-03T23:04:00.000-07:00

Sugar says, "If I stay under this director's chair, I can swat at the Writhing Feather Monster, but it can't get at me."

fun & games

2005-08-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm Roxy! I've decided the dining room chairs are almost as comfie a place to stretch out as is the back of the sofa.

the third day....

2005-08-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

Sofa-back detente

Telegraph | News | Thriving women-only village is attacked by jealous locals

2005-08-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

Telegraph | News | Thriving women-only village is attacked by jealous locals

Read this story about an all-women village in Kenya, started by women who fled their abusive husbands. And male reactions to it.

Here is a Washington Post article on the same village.

Kitties on second night at home

2005-08-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

Roxy really likes the back of the sofa.

Sugar loves to have her chin scratched.

Giving Hitler Hell

2005-08-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

Giving Hitler Hell

An amazing story.

The PoMo Reference Librarian

2005-08-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

This week in my Reference class we had another article review to do. We had to choose a recent article of at least 10 pages from a professional journal focusing on reference work (aside: I didn't know, until taking this class, that there are multiple journals on this very thing) and provide a 2-paragraph summary and critique. Here's mine. I'm rather fond of my last few sentences.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Stover, Mark. (2004) “The Reference Librarian as Non-Expert: A Postmodern Approach to Expertise.” The Reference Librarian, 87/88, 273-300.

Stover discusses the shift from the “modern” approach to knowledge and expertise, in which the professional in any field is deemed to stand in a superior relationship to the client by virtue of the expert knowledge he has attained, to the “postmodern” view, in which experts work collaboratively and co-equally with clients to help them discover and construct the knowledge they need. He draws an analogy between how this shift has affected the practice of psychotherapy to how it can inform the practice of reference librarianship. In each case the post-modern practitioner eschews the diagnosis/prescription/treatment model for one which involves dialogue and mutual discovery, in which the client is seen as a competent co-agent. Stover argues that postmodern reference librarians should abandon any sense of superiority to the patron, or any assumption that their expertise gives them a privileged position which entitles them to define the patron’s information need and determine which information should be dispensed to satisfy it. Instead the postmodern reference librarian will be a reflective practitioner who will focus on process and interpersonal skills as much as information content, and will forego the posture of a detached expert while sharing their expertise in a relational and collaborative manner.

I found parts of the article interesting—the discussion of the difference between the modern and postmodern views of knowledge and expertise in general was helpful. Having been trained to be a reflective practitioner in my previous profession (adult religious education), and being trained to always be aware of the dynamics of power and privilege and perceived “expertise” in all interpersonal relationships, the advice Stover gives was nothing new to me. Having not worked as a reference librarian (yet), I do not know how common the “modern” approach is versus the “postmodern.” This article could be useful for a supervisor of reference librarians who needed to design an inservice day on customer service/patron satisfaction. It could provide the background for a good dialogue on how reference librarians perceive their roles. My most serious quibble with the article is Stover’s advice that reference librarians avoid jargon and “professional” terminology which is meaningless to the patron and merely serves to reinforce the librarian’s superior position. I totally agree with this recommendation. I simply note it falls rather flat in a 20-page article which contains 140 citations to scholarly journals and uses such vocabulary as “univocal metadiscourses,” “metaknower” and “therapeutic modalities.” While Stover may well function as a postmodern practitioner when he is behind the reference desk, he clearly follows the conventions of modern expertise when functioning as a scholar.
- - - - - - - -

How postmodern of me--to critique the article for having a mismatch between content and form/process...... :-)

We'll see if the professor (a PhD in English Lit who then got his MLIS and works as a subject specialist at Yale University's libraries) appreciates the point ....

rain!

2005-08-01T22:47:00.000-07:00

I was sitting here working on my sjsu homework, when the skies opened. I
could hear the water pelting on my roof and balcony and the sidewalk. While
rain was forecast, it hadn't looked or felt like it was forthcoming, so I
was very surprised. It seemed to be coming from the north, which seemed a
bit unusual. I went out to the dining room to see just how it was coming
down, and to make sure the balcony sliding door and kitchen window were
shut, b/c it sounded like it was blowing sideways pretty fiercely.

Very odd--the parking lot lights were not dimmed by this torrential downpour.

Looked out over the balcony, which was being drenched, and realized the
water was coming *up*, not down. **Beyond** odd!

Looked more closely, and saw that the source of the downpour, err, up-pour,
was a broken in-ground-sprinkler head. A strong plume of water was
erupting from just across the sidewalk from my apt. The plume was arc'd
such that it was aimed right at my roofline. After the water scrubbed my
roof and half my balcony it tumbled down to the apt below me, where it was
rapidly forming a lake inside the walled patio. Robert, my downstairs
neighbor, quickly appeared on my doorstep, the pager number for maintenance
emergencies in hand. Evidently we both put in pages simultaneously, b/c
the water was shut off w/in a few minutes. (Sam, our maintenance guy, is
muy fabuloso.)

So, no rain. Alas.

2005-08-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

Kitties' first night home!

Roxy (the tortie) and Sugar (the tabby)

Tufts E-News -- From The CIA To The Circulation Desk

2005-06-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

Tufts E-News -- From The CIA To The Circulation Desk

Lots of folks enter librarianship as a second career. As did this person. Who can rig a toilet w/ explosives as handily as she can install an OPAC.

Quakes and shakes

2005-06-12T23:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, there was a 5.2 earthquake a few hours' drive from here today. Yes, I definitely felt it. I was sitting at my 'puter reading the news online when the floor began to vibrate. It went on for several seconds, and seemed serious enough that I got up and moved from my desk, which is adjacent to a tall bookcase which is not secured to the wall, to the center of the room next to my bed. In a quake you're supposed to crouch down snug up against the edge of some solid large object, which should hopefully provide some deflection for things falling from above or alongside. So I stood next to my bed ready to drop to my knees if things got really Interesting. They didn't.

Random scenes from my work life

2005-06-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

Assorted scenes from my life at my present job. Those of you who are familiar w/ my previous employment tales will note an improvement in morale....

We have one client who has been supposed to come in for an interview w/ Marc on at least 4 previous occasions, and has stood him up every single time. Her fifth appt was this morning. Yesterday Marc asked me if I thought she'd show. I said, "No." He offered to bet me $1 that she would. I said okay. This morning she called and cancelled. I'm $1 richer. Wonder if Marc will put it on my W-2 as a bonus? :-)

Marc is a fiend about his coffee. If you could put coffee in an IV drip bag, Marc would be a prime customer. Except he also likes it for the taste, not just the caffeine, and he buys premium roasts fresh-ground in small batches for our office machine. On two different occasions, when he's been trapped at his desk on a long con-call early in the a.m. and unable to get his first cup of the workday, I've brought a mug in to him. He's reacted poorly both times--thinks a female secretary getting her male boss coffee is a relic of sexist days and that it makes him look like he's sexist to accept it. He doesn't get that, for me, it was just a way to be thoughtful, as I know how desperate I can feel when cut off from my caffeine source. Has nothing to do w/ him being male, or me being female.

Has a little to do w/ his being the boss, but only b/c I figure part of my job is to make his day go as smoothly as possible, w/in reason, and pouring a second mug of coffee while I'm pouring mine isn't exactly burdensome. Unlike when I used to work in the church, and was on the same level as the clergy (but was never treated like it) here I am support staff, not management. Since it's my job to support Marc, I support him, and if that means the occasional cup of coffee, I'm not going to start feeling oppressed. I never would have made Nick+ or Jim coffee, b/c that would have been enacting a subservient role, when in theory I was their equal. But here, that is the role I have. Me secretary, you lawyer. Me paid $15 hr, you paid $275 hr (minus considerable overhead). I don't think who gets who coffee is going to change this fundamental hierarchy.

But Marc still doesn't like the message he thinks my getting him coffee sends. So, this morning, while I was stuck on the phone, he brought *me* a mug of coffee. He set it down at my desk saying, "Payback is hell!" Ironic that I am being treated more as an equal colleague by my Jewish lawyer boss for whom I literally am a secretary, than I was by the Presbyterian pastor boss to whom I was supposedly an equal. Of course, my previous Jewish lawyer boss did treat me like a total serf, so one can not generalize.

The "payback" reference from Marc is b/c he's going to turn 50 in October and the other 2 attys in the office are planning to make a big deal out of it. He's trying to discourage them by saying he'll get back at them somehow. So every time they make some snark about his age, he says, "payback will be hell!"

Tonight was the bi-annual Family Law Bar dinner. The dinner apparently consists of cocktail hour, followed by the usual rubber chicken dish, followed by "the show"--which is a series of skits and roasts and such. The opening act is always a song performed by the 3 lawyers who do most of the Special Master work in the Family Law bar, 1 of whom is Marc and another of whom is our suitemate Bob. They have been working on this year's song for a while, but really kicked into high gear this week. It's titled "Special Master Man," and is a spoof of some other song which my late-night brain is forgetting.

On Tuesday Marc commissioned me to phone around to local menswear outlets to find cheap black trenchcoats as part of their costumes. I haven't asked him which category to enter this under in our billing software.... They're also wearing fedoras. The usual '30s gangster-style machine guns--the ones w/ the canister-shaped magazines--are being replaced by adding machines and abacuses, however. For the past 3 days Marc and Bob have been going around the suite singing the song to themselves, to us, to anyone unlucky enough to be around, as they tried to memorize the words. Marc serenaded me with it in an elevator on Monday--I was a captive audience. Neither of them can carry a tune in a bucket, so it's been an aurally painful week around the office.... Last night they rehearsed w/ the band (also composed of lawyers) and the rehearsal went so well, b/c the band is apparently actually pretty decent and can cover a multitude of sins on the part of the vocalists, that in the office today they were like little kids who've just gotten gold stars on their tests.

I won't know how it really went tonight, the performance that mattered, until copies of the video are available in about a month, as the dinner is closed to all butpracticing Family Law Bar attys. Not even spouses can attend. Certainly not paralegals/legal secretaries! Even if we did a) write the song (Bob's paralegal came up w/ the parody lyrics) and b) buy the costumes, and c) keep their schedules clear so they could attend the rehearsals.

Good Things

2005-06-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Very good things from the past 10 days or so.....

Hearing Nora Gallagher speak at St. Paul's Cathedral, and beginning to re-read her two volumes of spiritual autobiography, Things Seen and Unseen and Practicing Resurrection.

Fresh locally grown cantaloupe for breakfast. A day which begins with a big segment of juicy ripe cantaloupe is off to a very good start indeed.

Happy Start of Summer

2005-05-30T23:21:00.000-07:00

Late this afternoon I felt like treating myself. Partly b/c my birthday is coming up, partly for assorted other reasons. So I headed to the ocean. Yes, the ocean--that thing 1.5 miles from my apt that I go months w/o visiting. Bad me.

After a bit of circling some blocks I found a parking space, locked my purse in SeaFoam's trunk, slipped my keys, smartphone and a credit card into the pocket of my jeans jacket, and headed to the sand. I walked from 20th St up to Dog Beach, as is my custom.

It was overcast, but the ocean was warm enough (or rather, un-frigid enough) for me to walk in the edges of it and smile and grin as the waves crested at my knees, some swirling up onto my thighs and getting my skort wet. I realized it had been months since I'd smiled like that. As I entered the dogs-off-leash section of the beach (they have 1 more day of freedom b/4 leashes become mandatory for the summer season) a little Parson Jack Russell terrier tore by me to retrieve his rubber ball, running so fast I couldn't conceive how his paws even managed to touch the sand. But the paw prints in the sand revealed that somehow they had.

I turned inland a bit at the river mouth at North Beach/Dog Beach and found a big flat boulder to perch on. I watched as, across the river (which is maybe 10' wide there), 2 German shepherds alternately frolicked w/ and harassed a golden retriever mix who periodically had to go belly-up in submission to signify she was no longer amused. A *very young* chocolate lab galloped along the edge of the river on stubby puppy legs, his owner keeping him clear of the bigger dogs as they roughhoused.

After having soaked up enough sun to dry off my legs and clothing, I began to head back down the beach. A foofy white toy poodle pranced impatiently while her owner and the owner's boyfriend leaned up against a retaining wall and kanoodled. I perched on another boulder for some more people-and-dog watching. A handsome man my age threw a big stick into the surf for his lab to retrieve while his pregnant wife watched. A woman coaxed both her big black lab and her little-but-fur-laden miniature schnauzer to calm down a bit so she could sit down and rest. I don't envy her getting the schnauzer clean after a day at the beach. Meanwhile the white toy poodle was still being ignored by her owner, who found her swarthy boy-toy much more interesting.

When the sun went back behind a large bank of clouds I resumed walking. The rest of the beach was occupied by beautiful people on towels, playing volleyball, stoking up their barbecues, riding boogieboards and surfboards in the low surf, and so on. Not nearly as interesting as the dog-beach section, IMHO. Though there were some men who were definitely not dogs and were nice to look at. Unfortunately they all seemed to have buxom blondes on their arms.

I eventually arrived at Jake's of Del Mar, a very nice beachfront restaurant. I rinsed off my feet at the nearby public nozzle and put my dressy white Italian leather flipflops, err, 'thong sandals,' back on. On a whim I weaved my way through the BMWs, Mercs and Jags parked nose-to-tail in their valet-only parking lot, went inside and asked how long a wait it would be for a table. To my amazement they were able to seat me right away in the bistro section. I decided I would splurge on a really really nice dinner. (For the past six months my definition of "nice dinner" has been if I go to a Mexican restaurant where I can eat my burrito seated at a table rather than taking it to go.)

After devouring most of the loaf of scrumptious sourdough bread, I started the serious eating w/ a seafood cocktail...miniature shrimp and chunks of lobster topped with a layer of avocado and some sort of green leafy things that looked like clover, covered in a citrus glaze. I sneaked occasional smiles at a guy seated at the bar, but I think he was wearing a wedding ring, or at least that's my rationalization for why he didn't smile back. For my entree I had a half-order of beef tournedos in bearnaise sauce, with grilled veggies and potatoes, all washed down w/ a glass of nice cabernet. Since I don't "speak" wine I'll paste the winery's description of it here for your amusement.

Hess Select Cabernet
Napa provided about 23 percent of the overall blend and the North Coast helped fill out the 2002 Cabernet. About 10 percent of the fruit is from Paso Robles for its rich dark fruit flavors and textures and the 15 percent of Syrah from Monterey brought structure to the mid-palate and a hint of pepper. The 2002 Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon brings up-front ripe raspberry, black cherry, and currant to the nose with toffee, brown sugar, cedar, and toast added from oak aging. The palate continues with ripe red fruit, chocolate covered cherries, and vanilla. Soft, integrated tannins deliver a rich mid palate and a nicely rounded finish.

There wasn't room left for dessert. After adding $53 to my credit card balance, I walked the few blocks back to my car. I arrived home as dusk turned to dark. It was a very fine end to the weekend, a bit of celebration I desperately needed.

Love & Thirst

2005-05-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

Friday night I went to hear singer-songwriter/fiddler/guitarist Joyce Andersen in concert, playing lots of tunes from her new album "Love & Thirst." She and her husband and sometime musical collaborator Harvey Reid are among my favorite musicians at the moment. Lots of Joyce's lyrics were going 'round in my head on Sunday, the Feast of Pentecost. Even though she doesn't bill herself as a Christian artist, she definitely is, whether she knows it or admits it or not. Lots of her lyrics put the Gospel to song, even if they never mention Jeezus by name.

Jeeezus in the Psalms

2005-05-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a paper for my library school coursework. I'm examining which Episcopal seminaries use information technology to deliver distance education to students or alums, and how they support those offerings via their libraries.

I've been looking over the website of Trinity Seminary, Ambridge, pretty closely b/c it turns out they're the only Episcopal seminary w/ a significant online learning program. THey're also the most conservative of our seminaries--ardently evangelical, bordering on fundamentalist. (Yes, "fundamentalist Anglican" should be an oxymoron, but unfortunately it isn't anymore. Richard Hooker is spinning in his grave.) I've been trying to figure out what library resources one needs if one is a residential student there, and if the distance students have access to the same. So I was browsing some of their course syllabi to see if library work is actually required. (Conclusion: their library must be just for impressing donors and accreditation agencies, b/c I've yet to find an assignment which actually requires the students to use it.)

As a test case, I was looking at the course in Psalms & Wisdom Literature, since, thanks to Prof. Seow's course at PTS, I'm fairly familiar w/ the topic and what a good course should look like.

At first I was impressed b/c the bibliography had a lot of overlap w/ the texts we used at PTS.

But then I just about snorted Diet Coke out of my nose when I read this assignment:

For the first paper, students should select their favorite psalm (or one of them).
The paper on this psalm will have several sections. The first section should
explain the original meaning of the text so as to identify a pastoral problem in the
psalm. The second section should discuss how Jesus Christ is the solution to the
pastoral problem in the psalm. The third section should consider how the readers
of the psalm might handle the pastoral problem (i.e., repent or change) to the
glory of God in view of the work of Jesus Christ. This paper should not exceed
five pages. It is due on March 1.

I think Roland Murphy, Pat Miller, and Walt Brueggeman would die if they knew their books were on the same syllabus as this assignment....

Books for Jeeezus

2005-04-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't think a library's collection policy could make me gag. Then I readthe policy of Trinity Seminary, Ambridge, Pa. [the really right-wing neo-evangelical Episcopal seminary]:
http://www.library.tesm.edu/about

Unitarian Jihad

2005-04-25T23:27:00.000-07:00

Did you read the article about Unitarian Jihad?

Once you've done that, you can get your own Unitarian Jihad name.

I'm "Sister Hand Grenade of Looking at All Sides of the Question."

Random assortment

2005-04-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Signs that I'm adjusting to California.....

I bought a box of vegan soy product patties, fried one up for dinner, and actually liked it. Boca Burger.

I now consider any day when I do not go any faster than 80 mph on the freeway on my way in to work "a slow traffic day." (I come in against the rush hour, so am accustomed to very clear sailing down the 805...)

We had a 4.0 quake the other morning and I slept through it all except for the last few seconds. When I did wake up I realized what it was, looked around to make sure nothing in my bedroom was in danger of falling over, and then simply rolled over and went back to sleep. There was a 5.0 up near LA today; if any tremblors got down this far I didn't notice them.

Now back to my SJSU assignment for the weekend.....

Living among the Rich, or, Bad Gillian goes to Starbucks

2005-04-01T23:04:00.000-08:00

Living here in Del Mar is teaching me something about myself which I was already beginning to realize when I was amongst the rich M.Ds and computer geeks in MN: I am very uncomfortable around, and angered by, conspicuous consumption. Particularly conspicuous consumers who are *clueless* about how ridiculous their consumption appears to those of more moderate means. And who raise their children to be equally clueless

Tonight after dinner I was sitting in my local Starbucks sipping a cappuccino and doing my reading for tomorrow's SJSU classes. In giggled 3 girls who were, I would guess, somewhere between 10 and 13 years old, max., having just left the nearby movie theatre. Closer to 10 than 13. One of them was decked out in a hot pink stretch tube top, a hot pink miniskirt, and pink slide shoes w/ 2" heels. She obviously wanted everyone to notice her shoes by the way she walked in the *noisiest* way possible up to the counter to order, back to their table to wait, and up and back again to pick up her (you guessed it!) *pink* Berries & Creme Frappuccino. Her outfit was something a 20something girl should be wearing. A 20something headed to a nightclub or frat party. Her two tablemates, dressed slightly less provocatively but still in a way in which no 11 y.o. should be, got medium (venti) hot chocolates. I know exactly what they ordered b/c they were very loud. And that was *before* the sugar and caffeine hit their bloodstreams!

After I'd tuned out their giggling so I could plow through a few more pages about DDC, LCC, OCLC, MARC, MARC21, AACR2 and Z.39, my bibliographic meditation was suddenly interrupted. Pink Flamingo Girl began shrieking (in the falsetto tones that only a preteen female can reach), " ***OHMIGOD*** You Just Spilled Hot Chocolate All Over My HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLAR COACH SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!! AND My Brand New [Name of Skirt Brand I Didn't Recognize]" (Repeat, with minor variations, at equal decibels, several times, alternating with the following) "My Mother is going to KILL ME." "I am going to Hurt You." "My COACH SHOES!!!!"

There was then a 5-minute drama of Pink Flamingo Girl prancing around barefoot while trying to mop up the chocolate w/ napkins. (A dance I know well, having performed it just a few days ago at my own workstation, when I managed to spill a mug of steaming cafe au lait all over my feet and dictaphone and desk and ...... However, the outfit I had on at the time, one of my more expensive ones, cost maybe $100 total, including my $40 black shoes! :-) The sacred pink leather Coach shoes were placed on top the table (quel hygenic, no?) while she mopped up her legs and skirt and such.

Then in came one of the mothers of these girls--I think of the one who'd spilled the hot chocolate, ostensibly by accident. Then ensued a scene in which the two other girls tried to convince the mother (whom they called by her first name) (or maybe she was a nanny, not uncommon here), to let them walk around the shopping center for 10 minutes looking for a guy named Turtle, b/c girl 2 had to tell him something. Mother/Nanny wisely refused, and then the pouting really reached incredibly operatic heights. They were acting like preschoolers. "It's an EMERGENCY. I HAVE to talk to him." I really admired Mother/Nanny for saying, "No, it's not" and "Too bad." More killer pouty looks and whines. Meanwhile Pink Flamingo Girl is telling girl 2 "YOU ARE *GOING* to buy me NEW shoes. I WEAR a size 4-1/2."

Their behavior, except for the disrespect shown to the Mother/Nanny figure, was not particularly exceptional for preteen girls, who can be incredibly shallow, vicious, etc. However, what on earth is a 12-yo girl doing wearing $150 hot pink leather Coach slides w/ 2" heels to go to the movies and Starbucks?!? And I'm sure the rest of her outfit cost another $150. And it all made her look like a streetwalker!

WHAT PLANET DO THEIR PARENTS LIVE ON?!?!?!?

2005-03-27T15:46:00.000-08:00

Sarah Odderstol presents Mike Russell w/ a bike basket full of emergency supplies as he heads off for his sabbatical, the first leg of which will be done by bike.

If you get the shakes

2005-03-18T23:19:00.000-08:00

This week's cover story in the San Diego Reader is about the prevalence of unreinforced masonry buildings in San Diego and the danger they pose in the event of a major earthquake.

There is also a sidebar about what is the safest location or position to take in a building if a quake hits. Turns out the old conventional wisdom--head for the doorway--is wrong. It's based on old adobe construction, where the wood frame doorway was the thing most likely to survive when an all-adobe structure collapsed. But nowadays, w/ modern construction techniques, the doorway is actually one of the least safe places to be.

Surprisingly, not much research has been done on this topic. Right now the consensus is gravitating (no pun intended) to three positions. One is to drop, and cover (your head, etc.) and hold a fetal-like position. A second theory is to crouch right up next to some large piece of furniture, b/c if the ceiling collapses, the object will create a small pocket of safety around itself. The third is to drop to your knees and scrunch your body into as small a space as possible. Being on your knees gives you more stability than curling into a ball, and you can possibly elbow-crawl away from danger.

I, like one of the people quoted in the article, was still assuming doorways were the right place to head. I remember a college roomie who grew up out here had been taught the same. I'm glad I ran across this article to learn the newer thinking. Hopefully it's knowledge I'll never have to apply....

2005-03-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

Arse of a primate

2005-03-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

Flamingo flock. Are they Chapinheads, or VTS grads?

2005-03-13T20:52:00.000-08:00

18 month old alligator

2005-03-13T20:51:00.000-08:00

I will not share table fellowship with you. I will sit here with my back turned, ignoring you. Because I'm right. And I'm bigger than you are.

2005-03-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

tale of 2 zebras

Where the wild things are...

2005-03-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

Went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park today, b/c I had family in town--my cousin Celeste (jr.) and her husband Les.
I'll put some photos up.

More random library-related thoughts

2005-02-26T17:01:00.000-08:00

More factoids from today's lecture
A large corporation or organization loses a document every 12 seconds.
3% of documents are incorrectly filed and thereby "lost" at any given time.
7.5% of documents are permanently lost due to misfiling, misplacing, etc.

The avg executive spends 3.5 hrs a week searching for misplaced documents. No mention was made of how much time their secretaries spend searching for the same documents, nor of how many calories are expended in 1) executive yelling at secretary; 2) secretary madly searching for document; 3) secretary finding document on exective's desk, or in executive's recycling bin. :-)

- - - - -

As the small group I was in was discussing one of our assigned readings, we went off on a tangent about the new roles emerging for libraries, some quite unplanned. One of them, especially in cities in colder climes than San Diego, is as de facto daytime shelters for the homeless. This got my sleep deprived brain wondering about why libraries have ended up in this role, and my thoughts went on from there.

Libraries have evolved into daytime homeless shelters, in my mind, b/c

1) They're open during the daytime, when most homeless shelters close, and are free to enter, unlike most museums;

2) They are the only sort of open public building where it is acceptable to come in and simply browse/chill. Other public buildings which are open expect clients/the public to come in, accomplish a task or transaction, and then leave. Thus it's less possible to loiter in them, enjoying the heat and shelter. In contrast, while one can come into the library to simply execute a transaction and leave quickly, the norm and expectation is more that you will in fact loiter--browse the stacks, sit in a comfortable chair and read, sit at a table and take notes. Even churches, which used to be open for prayer and meditation, are increasingly locked up due to vandalism and violence. Libraries, OTOH, are staffed and have theft-prevention devices in place (for the items in the collection, at least, if not the personal items of other patrons). Thus libraries are the only indoor space where loitering is tolerated, and in some senses even encouraged, if one at least gives the impression one is reading something, or thinking hard about something.

3) In the past 40 years libraries have put more energy into being welcoming to folks of all economic classes and races, etc., which means they have to pay at least superficial attention to allowing the poor and grungy into their spaces, so long as they're not disruptive or dangerous.

- - - - -

This line of thought then got me thinking about what other spaces exist which have the same characteristics: free admission, allow/encourage loitering. My mind immediately turned to the way that bookstores have recently? turned into social hubs. The Borders near my office is absolutely buzzing w/ activity on any weeknight. Folks are sitting studying in the cafe' while sipping a latte, or browsing through the stacks. It and Barnes and Noble are apparently known as spots for romantic "scoping" and pickups among those young adults who prefer to browse books rather than sip martinis.

While I remember the libraries at the universities I've attended serving similar functions, I don't think I've ever noticed folks flocking to the public library for the same purposes. How does Borders differ culturally and functionally from a library? Why is Borders a hopping social spot, while the library isn't? You might think, since library resources are free, while to actually carry a book out of Borders costs money, that it would be the other way round....

Some obvious differences...you can eat and drink in Borders; Borders is open later in the evenings; Borders has more music and video resources to browse; the ratio of popular to academic/dry tomes is surely higher at Borders; Borders doesn't have to overcome the stereotype of a librarian saying, "Shush!" (Though libraries don't seem nearly so quiet these days...) Borders is located near shops and restaurants and other attractions, not in a residential neighborhood. Any other thoughts to add to these?

LIBR 200

2005-02-26T16:29:00.000-08:00

Today was the first of 4 in-person class meetings for LIBR 200, "Information and Society."

There was some overlap in class membership w/ the 202 class I started last month--I'd say 1/3 to 1/2 of the folks are the same. 200 and 202 are two of the three core courses required to be taken early in the program, so that makes sense. The demographics of those who are only in this class are similar to the others....we all have BAs in various liberal arts fields, most have been working in education or non-profit or service-sector jobs and are looking for a change. In fact, "history," "English," "Fine Arts" and "Liberal Studies" account for the undergrad majors of 5/6 of the class. Add in a few psych, soc, and communications folks, and that's us. Even the few who are working as IT professionals seem to have started out w/ a liberal arts degree.

Our professor is a Chinese fellow who did his BA in China and then his MA and PhD over here. He is very thoughtful--brought hot tea and oatmeal raisin cookies for the class. No wonder he gets such good student evals. :-) His accent is fairly strong, but manageable if you pay close attention.

Before becoming a professor, he worked in Silicon Valley for RICOH, a maker of photocopiers, scanners and faxes. When everyone was forecasting the advent of the paperless office, this made RICOH more than a little nervous, so he did various research studies into how people actually use paper documents, and how that is or isn't changing w/ technology. He presented the highlights of this research in today's lecture.

Some interesting factoids.....the use of paper and paper products in the USA is expanding at a geometric rate. Within that increase, there is an increase in the use of paper for printing, copying, etc., and a decrease in the use of paper products for shipping, i.e. cardboard, etc.. The paper involved in producing and signing off on testing for a 747 airliner weighs almost as much as the airplane itself. A US Navy Cruiser carries 26 tons of manuals documenting its weapons systems.

While the amount of paper being consumed is increasing, the nature of the uses it's being put to are changing as technology changes. The amount of paper used by photocopiers is decreasing while that used by printers is increasing. The number of envelopes used is decreasing. The number of Post-It notes and highlighters used is increasing. These are manifestations of the change from the document life cycle of
"write-->print one copy-->photocopy multiple sets-->mail to recipients via postal mail"
to that of
"write-->transmit in electronic format to all recipients-->individual recipients print out copies for their use."

I have to have an idea of what my final paper topic will be by tomorrow. So, lots of brainstorming tonight. I'll post a few more thoughts along those lines here later.

Library School

2005-02-11T18:50:00.000-08:00

As some folks know, I've enrolled in the MLIS (Master of Library and Information Science) program at San Jose State. One can complete the SJSU program without ever needing to find one's way to San Jose. Satellite locations include Fullerton (southeast LA) and San Diego. My plan is to take 1-2 courses per term, which will have me completing the degree in roughly 3 years. I will be focusing on academic librarianship and special librarianship, with the hope of being employable in either a law library or a university library. Meanwhile I will continue working FT as a paralegal.

When I was wrestling w/ the vocational demons in 2002-3, the best fit overall for A Career Outside the Church seemed to be as a librarian, but one can't get professional-level work in the field w/o an ML(I)S, and that takes at least 1-1/2 yrs to get even going full-time. (It's a 42-credit hour degree.) So it wasn't an option, given I needed a job in a matter of months, not years. The paralegal approach seemed the best fit given the time constraints. And I figured if it put food on the table, it could also buy me time to investigate other more demanding options, such as getting an MLIS. So, now I'm following up on that.

Today was my first actual day of classes. I'm taking 2 courses this spring: 202,"Information Retrieval," and 200, "Information and Society." Each is taught primarily via the Web, with only 2 full days of face-to-face instruction for each course, at a public library in Scripps Ranch, about 12 miles from here. Today and tomorrow are the in-person days for 202. The in-person part of 200 will be the last Sat. and Sun. in February.

A few retired librarian friends from other parts of my life have asked me to blog about my experiences, so they can hear what the SJSU program is like. Those of you who don't really care about such details can quit reading now. :-)

For 202, "Information Retrieval," my professor is Judy Tessier, who is a retired FT faculty member at SJSU who now simply teaches a few courses a year. There are about 25 students in my section. There are eight sections of 202 this semester, however; it is one of the "core" courses everyone must take. The MLIS program at SJSU is the biggest program at the school and one of the biggest MLIS programs anywhere; I think there are about 1350 students enrolled total. Because it is so conducive to distance-learning, the program attracts students from much further away than just San Diego. One fellow in my class started the program and got about half-way through while he lived in San Diego but has now moved to Edinburgh, Scotland. He flew in from Scotland for the weekend to do this one course, b/c all the other courses he has left he can do totally via the web. Another fellow in another section is from Cornell/Ithaca, NY.

The class members all seem like very interesting folks w/ somewhat similar backgrounds to mine: a bunch of liberal-arts types, mainly. I took notes as folks introduced themselves, and will reproduce the annotated class list here. Their genders are fairly obvious from their names; the ones whose names are "neuter" all happen to be women.

Debra, IT manager for NCR, Escondido CA, wants to go into information side rather than tech side of IT

Sean, Barnes and Noble employee, native of London, UK having relo'd to Mission Valley,San Diego, wants to work in public libraries

Yvonne, currently employed in a library (?), wants to be academic librarian, Vietnamese of Chinese ethnicity, lives in LA

Susan, lives in SD, wants to be a special or public librarian

Cheryl, librarian and technologist at UCSD, wants to specialize in special or art libraries

Adrianne, works for City of LA housing dept. Wants to learn more about IT and information design. Only African American in group.

Alison. Stay at home mom of 3 kids under 5.

David, museum cataloger and webmaster for a private collection of Jewish ritual objects, LA area. Focusing in archives.

Liz. USNA grad, USNR officer PT and church secretary PT. Lives in SD.

Kristin. Lives in Hillcrest, SD, wants to be an academic librarian.

John, Chula Vista (south of SD, near Mexican border), public HS English teacher.

Rori. SysAdmin at UCLA, which she does via remote, lives in Oceanside. Interested in digital archiving.

Matthew. Physical therapist who lives in Hillcrest, SD and does lots of volunteer work in local archives; wants to be archivist. If Episcopalian, he should join Integrity and worship at the Cathedral, if you take my meaning.

Cherie. Torrance, CA, works at auto parts company.

Michael. Murrieta. Works as cataloger, wants to move into special libraries focused on financial industry.

Michael. LA area. Public school substitute teacher, surfer dude.

Amanda. Full time mom. Wants to focus in academic or special librarianship.

Tom. Works for SoCalEdison.

Adrianne. SysAdmin at UCLA Med Ctr. Between LA and SD.

Nazreen. Law librarian. LA area. Of Middle-Eastern background.

Jim. San Diego. Retired software programmer and manager. Wants to move into academic or public libraries.

Salena. Northern SD County. Teaches anthro at a small college. Wants to be academic librarian.

William. Edinburgh, Scotland. Rare-book librarian.

Oh, and me. :-)

That's more than enough for this entry.

Things on Freeways

2005-01-24T21:22:00.000-08:00

This morning as I was driving down The 805 South to work, at my usual pace of 80-90 mph (just going w/ traffic), I had to dodge 5 large pink cylinders--packages of packing-peanuts. They had come flying off a pickup truck, the driver of which did not notice he was losing his load til the last of the 5 came off, several miles after the first went flying.

A friend from the Bay Area tells me that the fines for driving w/ an uncovered load are pretty steep in CA. They must not get much enforcement down here, though, as I see uncovered, or so-poorly-covered-as-to-be-a-joke, loads all the time. The worst offenders are the landscaping companies' trucks, w/ rakes and hoes everywhich way and limbs and branches and bark chips flying off.

Septic spill

2004-12-17T13:21:00.000-08:00

I'm still keeping track of the odd things which get spilled onto the freeway and reported in the traffic reports. This morning, a septic-tank disposal service truck overturned and spilled its contents all over The 8 East near Alpine. I guess you could say the sh*t hit the macadam.

Back East

2004-12-12T21:26:00.000-08:00

I took some time off the week before Thanksgiving to visit my elderly ailing father in Maryland and some friends in Charlottesville, Va.

I knew I wasn't in California anymore when I got onto I-97, which is the main N-S artery from the Baltimore beltway (ring road) down to Annapolis. I remember when it was built, sometime in the late '80s. It was so big and spiffy and we loved how it just sped traffic on its way. So, I figured it wouldn't take me any time to get from my hotel which was just off I-97 down to Annapolis for a lunch date w/ a friend.

WRONG. The freeway was only 2 lanes in each direction, and the prevailing speed *in the fast lane* was 65 mph. Not b/c there was too much traffic--rather just b/c that seems to be the speed people go. What's with calling that "a freeway"?!?

The freeway which runs just yards from my apt here in Del Mar, "The 5," is 5-7 lanes wide in *each direction* and I routinely hit speeds of 85-90 mph in the fast lane outside of rush hour. *That's* a freeway!

BTW, Dad is doing pretty well, considering. Having 3000 miles between us is evidently good for both of us!

Advent

2004-11-28T19:54:00.000-08:00

It's the First Sunday of Advent. Happy New Year!

That also means it's time to make an Advent wreath. This is the first year in the better part of a decade in which I've attended an Advent wreath-making workshop where I haven't been the one in charge of it. This means, gulp, that this morning, instead of running around checking on supplies, accepting donations, etc., I had no choice but to actually try to make a wreath. I am not gifted at anything crafty. Every Advent wreath I've ever crafted has looked like the horticultural/liturgical equivalent of Charlie Brown's kite. For me it's definitely a penitential, ascetical exercise.

Advent wreaths in San Diego are different than those in Va. or Md. or Mn., because the local evergreens are different. This morning we had what I'm told was running cedar, and some sort of pine, but it didn't look like the pine I'm used to. It was soft and floppy, not smooth and stiff. There was absolutely no boxwood and no holly. So not only did I have to make a wreath, but what previous wreath-making experience I had was useless, b/c of the different materials.

But I persevered. And thereby demonstrated conclusively that it is just as possible to make a demented-looking Advent wreath out of SoCal evergreens as it is out of those found further north. Our curate, a woman just a few years older than me, came by my table to chat and admire our wreaths. She looked at mine, thought for a long moment, and then said, "It's so... so abundant."

I laughed. "That's a good way of putting it." [Do they have classes at Episcopal seminaries in how to come up w/ good pseudo-compliments? Something Princeton Sem should add to its curriculum, IMO.] " Yes, I think my wreath is supposed to be symbolic of the chaos of the old creation awaiting the advent of the New Creation."

The most remarkable aspect of my wreath isn't actually the tortured greenery stuck through with florists' pins. It's the candles.

By the time I got to the supplies table, they were running very low on candles. I got the last set of blue ones. These candles are surely older than I am. I'm not kidding. They were still in their original packaging, which was a color scheme best described as "retro," except it was the real deal. The price tags said, "Pic-n-Sav $0.29" 29 cents for a pair of 12" taper candles. So you know they're ancient! And they're not just plain tapers. Oh, no. They're twisted tapers.

I had the distinct feeling I'd seen these candles somewhere before, deep in my past. Finally, much later in the afternoon, I realized where. The cover illustration on my (and my mother's) childhood copy of Nancy Drew and the Sign of the Twisted Candles. Copyright 1933. Here. Those candles are what's on my Advent wreath. Except that these candles came in 2 packages, one of which had been set in the sun at some point. So I have 2 blue candles on my Advent wreath, and 2 teal candles. Please feel free to invent deep theological and liturgical meanings for the use of teal and post them as "Comments" on this entry.

I did actually light the first candle on my wreath as I ate dinner tonight. But I'm thinking I may have to pitch the poor thing, as the greenery is already a fire hazard, and replace it w/ one of the contemporary interpretations of the tradition I saw at Restoration Hardware or somewhere similar. A "candlescape"--one of those dishes or mirrors w/ 4 purple or blue pillar candles set on it, and glass marbles scattered artfully around. Maybe I'll add bits of greenery, or little cacti or succulents or something.

A new job

2004-11-28T19:48:00.000-08:00

For anyone who's following my life here, I am employed again. As paralegal, legal secretary, receptionist, and gal Friday for Marc Peter Kaplan, CPA, Attorney at Law. As of 8 November. He doesn't have a website, yet, so I can't link to anything, but building him a website is among my assigned tasks for sometime during 2005. Thus far it seems like a promising gig. He focuses his practice on mediating and arbitrating family law cases. No litigation. Whoo-hoo!

2004-11-02T17:24:00.000-08:00

My life at present. From my favorite comic strip, Rhymes with Orange, which you can check out at http://rhymeswithorange.com

Big rig spills chicken parts over I-805

2004-10-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Metro -- Big rig spills chicken parts over I-805

The latest in my running tally of odd things deposited on San Diego freeways.

Beaches

2004-10-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Went to the beach to watch the sun set this evening. Sunsets out here are very different from anywhere else I've lived. The sunbecomes a huge red-orange ball that sets so fast that it almost seems to be plunging into the sea. It appears to set much faster than it did when I lived other places. Watching it disappear at the edge of the ocean you can understand how folks used to think the earth was flat and you could easily sail off the edge.

One big difference since the last time I spent any significant amount of time at the beach--which was 10+ years ago--is the proliferation of cell phones. Now everyone at the beach has their cell with them and folks chatting away is a common occurence. So much for going to the beach to get away from everything!