| You Should Get An All Over Tattoo |
 Outrageous and funky Because you should never have to choose just one tattoo |
Friday, August 17, 2007
a quiz created just for me!
how did they know ? ? ?
WTF ? ? ?
| You Are an Orange Crayon |
 Your world is colored with offbeat, confident, and stimulating colors. You have a personality that's downright weird - and you wouldn't change it for anything. Loud and expressive, you voice your opinions fearlessly and strongly. And while you have a strong personality, you can be friends with almost anyone. Your color wheel opposite is blue. Your confidence is something blue people truly envy. |
Now that CLEARLY says I'm an orange crayon....why is the image of a green one? Has the space time continuum been interrupted? HELP!!!!
Poe propaganda
My friend Erica introduced me to the fun concept of the celebrity best friend. What this means is that she (and now I) KNOW that if we could meet and hang out with certain celebrities, we’d be the best of friends with them. For Erica, that person is Keira Knightley. I can see their similarities and have no reason to doubt the possibilities of a friendship between the two. As for me, I think Fergie (the singer, not the Duchess of York…although I would certainly not be averse to hanging out with her either) and I would get along pretty well as friends. I’ll take the whole concept and kick it up a notch (thanks Emeril!) by debuting my dead celebrity best friend. It’s entirely possible that I’ll have more than one if I REALLY think hard about it but for now….
There was a USA Today article in my Bloglines inbox yesterday that got me kinda fired up and it had to do with one of my fav poets/storytellers, Edgar Allan Poe. I’ve heard it all before…darkness, depression, suicide, drugs and alcohol…I still like the guy. Maybe if he’d had better friends he wouldn’t have had such a tough time or maybe it didn’t matter, whatever. I still like him.
Let’s see…middle child, their father ditched them within a year of his birth, his mother died the year after that and he made the orphan circuit. Unhappiness trailed after him like an obedient dog through tough years at the University of Virginia, a short military career and on into his marriage to his first cousin, Virginia. By all accounts, Edgar and Virginia’s marriage was an amicable one so naturally he was devastated when she began to experience complications from tuberculosis, the scourge of the age. Her struggle with illness and eventual death in 1847 exacerbated Poe’s addictions, mostly to alcohol and it comes as no surprise that he died within two years of Virginia. His death came a mere 40 years after his birth and has been attributed to all sorts of beastly things like alcohol, drugs, cholera, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, heart disease, brain congestion and other agents although the exact cause has never been determined (Wikipedia). Autopsies were so out-of-fashion at the time…I guess they were never in-fashion...whatever.
To make the story even better, beginning in 1949 and continuing to this day (or at least the most recent January 19th) a dark, mysterious figure leaves a bottle of cognac and three roses on Poe’s grave each year on January 19th (Poe’s birthday). At least, that has been the story up until yesterday (or that’s when I found out about this anyway). The USA Today article has the headline “Edgar Allan Poe fan takes credit for graveyard legend.” Sam Porpora led the charge to revive Poe’s resting place, then a decrepit crumbling cemetery, as a historical monument. Due to the popularity gained from the mysterious yearly deposit, Porpora succeeded. Beginning in 1977, a yearly vigil was held to watch for what had become known as the “Poe Toaster.” Now Porpora is claiming that he was a Poe Toaster and that he and a group of the site’s tour guides and caretakers cooked up the scheme in the 1960’s (by telling everyone it had been going on since 1949) in order to cement the site’s fame.
Now, I believe it is pretty $h!tty for this man to ruin everyone’s enjoyment of this mysterious tradition. I can think of another tradition which is thoroughly enjoyed by those who believe in its power...make that two traditions. Much of the world goes to great lengths to make sure this tradition stays in place as long as possible. I am comparing the Poe Taster to that because I believe it resides at that level of greatness. I personally think Porpora’s done it because he’s 92 years old and wants his fifteen minutes before his dirt nap commences. Well, I’m here to tell you now that I refuse to kowtow to his fame-hungry lies! Oh no, not me! The Poe Taster is alive and well in my imagination and looks nothing like Sam Porpora. He’s getting a pretty good bit of flack from Poe scholars and enthusiasts as well so I don’t feel that much like a freak ;)
If you haven’t read Poe here are some of my favorites: The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, and his poem, “The Bells” (is there any more fun word to say than tintinnabulation…except maybe onomatopoeia?). I will admit to the secret thought that the guy who plays Bernie from Weekend at Bernies could definitely star in a biopic of Poe....
There was a USA Today article in my Bloglines inbox yesterday that got me kinda fired up and it had to do with one of my fav poets/storytellers, Edgar Allan Poe. I’ve heard it all before…darkness, depression, suicide, drugs and alcohol…I still like the guy. Maybe if he’d had better friends he wouldn’t have had such a tough time or maybe it didn’t matter, whatever. I still like him.
Let’s see…middle child, their father ditched them within a year of his birth, his mother died the year after that and he made the orphan circuit. Unhappiness trailed after him like an obedient dog through tough years at the University of Virginia, a short military career and on into his marriage to his first cousin, Virginia. By all accounts, Edgar and Virginia’s marriage was an amicable one so naturally he was devastated when she began to experience complications from tuberculosis, the scourge of the age. Her struggle with illness and eventual death in 1847 exacerbated Poe’s addictions, mostly to alcohol and it comes as no surprise that he died within two years of Virginia. His death came a mere 40 years after his birth and has been attributed to all sorts of beastly things like alcohol, drugs, cholera, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, heart disease, brain congestion and other agents although the exact cause has never been determined (Wikipedia). Autopsies were so out-of-fashion at the time…I guess they were never in-fashion...whatever.
To make the story even better, beginning in 1949 and continuing to this day (or at least the most recent January 19th) a dark, mysterious figure leaves a bottle of cognac and three roses on Poe’s grave each year on January 19th (Poe’s birthday). At least, that has been the story up until yesterday (or that’s when I found out about this anyway). The USA Today article has the headline “Edgar Allan Poe fan takes credit for graveyard legend.” Sam Porpora led the charge to revive Poe’s resting place, then a decrepit crumbling cemetery, as a historical monument. Due to the popularity gained from the mysterious yearly deposit, Porpora succeeded. Beginning in 1977, a yearly vigil was held to watch for what had become known as the “Poe Toaster.” Now Porpora is claiming that he was a Poe Toaster and that he and a group of the site’s tour guides and caretakers cooked up the scheme in the 1960’s (by telling everyone it had been going on since 1949) in order to cement the site’s fame.
Now, I believe it is pretty $h!tty for this man to ruin everyone’s enjoyment of this mysterious tradition. I can think of another tradition which is thoroughly enjoyed by those who believe in its power...make that two traditions. Much of the world goes to great lengths to make sure this tradition stays in place as long as possible. I am comparing the Poe Taster to that because I believe it resides at that level of greatness. I personally think Porpora’s done it because he’s 92 years old and wants his fifteen minutes before his dirt nap commences. Well, I’m here to tell you now that I refuse to kowtow to his fame-hungry lies! Oh no, not me! The Poe Taster is alive and well in my imagination and looks nothing like Sam Porpora. He’s getting a pretty good bit of flack from Poe scholars and enthusiasts as well so I don’t feel that much like a freak ;)
If you haven’t read Poe here are some of my favorites: The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, and his poem, “The Bells” (is there any more fun word to say than tintinnabulation…except maybe onomatopoeia?). I will admit to the secret thought that the guy who plays Bernie from Weekend at Bernies could definitely star in a biopic of Poe....
Afternoon ya’ll!
htw
htw
Thursday, August 16, 2007
IQ queries
I found this table of modern IQ ranges for various occupations (HERE's the link if the thumbnail won't enlarge) through my SEED Daily Zeitgeist feed.....
...and was more than a little miffed that librarians (or some category I could lump myself into) were not represented. We could have shown those college professors and medical occs a thing or two I'm sure! Maybe another reader will find a librarian-ish slot, but I couldn't. I have never taken an official IQ test and don't know anyone who has. Is it like elective surgery or are they required for some obscure occupation or other? I'm sure there's a substantial charge...? I've taken loads of free ones off the web and stay in a comfortable and constant 124-128 range. I'm sure the curve is more than adequate for such easily accessible tests, but according to this table I'm not doing too bad and I'll take it, chump change or no!
Ah, who am I kidding? I just love tests and quizzes for no apparent reason! In high school (rural area, so 7-12 for me) I used to take every prep test to come down the pike...P-SAT, P-ACT, XYZ, PNMSQT, XYZ, DAT, GHWERY, PHMWRTUG....ok, some of those are not tests but they could have been based on existing naming systems. It was $5 or $10 to take them and I ponied up every time. Everyone thought I was such a goody twoshoes, smartypants, what-have-you when really, it was worth $5 or $10 to basically skip class until after lunch. The tests didn't count for anything, the teachers were ecstatic that I wanted to take them, I didn't want to start off the day in this or that class...presto! Take a test!
Alright, so is that TOO weird or are we all still friends? If so, I'd love to tell you how I got out of long division in 3rd grade!
evenin' ya'll!
htw
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
a sci-fi author you can really sink your teeth into...
...ahem...so to speak. Meet Eldon Thompson.... yeah, I'd like to meet him too ;)
I clicked through several blogs to get here, but I was originally in pursuit of info about the movie/movies in the works based on Terry Brooks' Shannara series. These books have been on the summer reading list for the local high school for my entire seven year tenure here at EO Library and the teens love them year after year, even the girls. These are not novellas either, published in the early 80's and weighing in at almost 500 pages apiece, The Sword of Shannara and Elfstones of Shannara are both a hefty read.
I have not made it around to Eldon's books yet, but I like the titles (The Crimson Sword, The Obsidian Key and soon-to-be-published, The Divine Talisman) and the cover art. Click on over to A Dribble of Ink to check out the interview with Eldon on how he came to be an author and screenwriter...or to drool, you know, whichever....
evenin' ya'll!
htw
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
ancient languages
You are Linear B. Even those who can follow you think you're all Greek to them. Which, after all, is true - Linear B being the first known text for written Greek. To most people, you're incomprehensible. But what do you care? You're tough, hard, long-enduring and have greater nobility than most. Naturally, you don't admit to borrowing extensively from your brother Linear A.
This test tracked 4 variables. How the score compared to the other people's:
Higher than 32% on Ideogramatic
Higher than 46% on Syllablic
Higher than 47% on Logogramic
Higher than 34% on Alphabetic
The Which Ancient Language Are You Test on Ok Cupid
:)
htw
This test tracked 4 variables. How the score compared to the other people's:
Higher than 32% on Ideogramatic
Higher than 46% on Syllablic
Higher than 47% on Logogramic
Higher than 34% on Alphabetic
The Which Ancient Language Are You Test on Ok Cupid
:)
htw
Monday, August 13, 2007
if you haven't read this yet....
climb out from under your comfortable rock and read Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner BEFORE you see the movie. You'll also be doing yourself a great favor if you pickup Hosseini's second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns!
Friday, August 10, 2007
oh yeah...
as you may have deduced from my television commentary, I'm petsitting :)
Meet Petunia a.k.a. Tunie the Terrible, or so I hear...she's very sweet for me, but I do hide the tv remotes and cordless phones so they won't get buried in the back yard :)
This is Sigmund a.k.a. Siggy. He's an old feller (though not yeller) and is also very sweet. He tends to have a nervous stomach so I try to keep things nice and calm to avoid having to clean up the fallout :)
there are two cats roaming around, Maisy and Flush, but they are camera shy
htw
so Plato and a platypus walk into a bar....
okay, that's a book on accessing philosophical tenents through humor and this is even funnier. I, dear friends, am watching comedic genius! If you can find me anything funnier than Stephen Baldwin and Vanilla Ice learning bullriding, I'd like to see it. Ty Murray's Celebrity Bullriding Challenge has premiered tonight on CMT, not a station I'd normally watch but they had a funny video show called "Southern Fried (read: redneckiest) Home Videos" and it was like surfing YouTube for Darwin Award candidates. I saw that this show was coming on next and had to watch the train wreck. HiLaRiOuS! There is some serious chemistry going on between Stephen Baldwin and Rob Van Winkle :) This is seriously funny folks, check it out!
night ya'll!
htw
night ya'll!
htw
community service
...not the kind you get for DUI's or reckless driving, but the kind you perform because it's the right thing to do. My library is forming a sort of mentoring/working partnership with a local nonprofit social aid organization called The Lovelady Center. From their website:
Yesterday was such a powerful experience. Many of the ladies I saw working around the facility were around my age, many had children, but they all had no money and no where to live and many had infants and toddlers. Anyone who thinks they are having a rough time of it should put in some time at a place like this. Donate some time to a homeless shelter, soup kitchen or halfway house.
This will be an ongoing partnership and Katie and I are planning to do booktalking programs and possibly a book group in the future if there is interest. The Center's library will have to have some new (or gently-used) furniture to replace the uncomfortable and ugly plastic chairs so we are looking around for some reasonably priced loveseats, endtables, chairs and lamps to take back over next week. The walls will be painted and we'll hang some nice looking art on the walls as we find it.
I am so excited about this project. I love the community I serve now, but this gets down to the nitty gritty of what it means to me to be a librarian. I want to offer an oasis of sorts to the ladies; somewhere to get help if they are pursuing educations and/or jobs, resources for becoming better mothers and citizens, community building and more! My soapbox begins to sway with my fervor I know, but until the new wears off this project I'll be fired up about it. I can hardly wait to get back next week and see what else we can do for these hardworking women.
Go out and volunteer somewhere!
htw
The Lovelady Center is a nine to twelve month intensive faith-based program that ministers to women and their children who arrive at the 100,000 plus square foot facility from:
The prison system
Judges who order women to the center as an alternative form of sentencing
Parole Board
Community
Corrections
The Department of Human Resources (DHR)
Self-check in by those who hear of the center
Domestic violence and abusive situations
The Center has a library but it was filled with ragged, moldy and out-of-date books. For instance, there were 3 sets of encyclopedias with the newest set having a copyright of 1972...We went in yesterday and cleaned all of the old books out (they went to the facility's thrift shop), dusted the shelves, and took 10 or 12 boxes of current and topically relevant books to refill the shelves. We get lots of donations here at the library, plus we routinely weed our shelves of duplicate copies and other materials that have not circulated well. There is nothing wrong with these materials, they simply no longer fill a need here at my library. Our Friends group will take our nonfiction, but do not want the fiction discards so we went through those as well to pull out nice, gently-used copies of titles we imagined the ladies at the Center might like to read. Since we only keep one calendar year of the periodicals we subscribe to, we will also be donating the parenting and women's health magazines as well as any others that may appeal to the residents.
Yesterday was such a powerful experience. Many of the ladies I saw working around the facility were around my age, many had children, but they all had no money and no where to live and many had infants and toddlers. Anyone who thinks they are having a rough time of it should put in some time at a place like this. Donate some time to a homeless shelter, soup kitchen or halfway house.
This will be an ongoing partnership and Katie and I are planning to do booktalking programs and possibly a book group in the future if there is interest. The Center's library will have to have some new (or gently-used) furniture to replace the uncomfortable and ugly plastic chairs so we are looking around for some reasonably priced loveseats, endtables, chairs and lamps to take back over next week. The walls will be painted and we'll hang some nice looking art on the walls as we find it.
I am so excited about this project. I love the community I serve now, but this gets down to the nitty gritty of what it means to me to be a librarian. I want to offer an oasis of sorts to the ladies; somewhere to get help if they are pursuing educations and/or jobs, resources for becoming better mothers and citizens, community building and more! My soapbox begins to sway with my fervor I know, but until the new wears off this project I'll be fired up about it. I can hardly wait to get back next week and see what else we can do for these hardworking women.
Go out and volunteer somewhere!
htw
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