The Takeaway

For the past few weeks, I thought I was managing my mornings okay even though WNYC started running a new show, The Takeaway at 6 on FM93.9. The show isn't totally horrible. It's just...not very good. But I was okay with it. NPR (or actually PRI in this case) is just experimenting with something "new" and "edgy" because that's what the "young folks" want. Like guitar in church or something.

Then this morning something happened at the station. At 8:00 they cut to The Takeaway instead of Morning Edition. I was suddenly in hell. "What the fuck???" I yelled at the radio, "You've got to be KIDDING me."

Someone realized the mistake. Dead air. Then Morning Edition. *Whew* All was right with world.

Do Not Mess With My Morning Routine. Mornings mean Morning Edition. Every weekday morning. Four hours straight.

Please get rid of that newfangled chatter-y crap.

Thank you.

Good Sound Quality

I saw my first Blu-Ray disc Monday at Circuit City. A-Ma-Zing! I couldn't stop staring.

I want one. But, not yet.

Why?

Because Star Wars isn't available.

Let me explain. Star Wars has been playing on Spike TV for the last month or so, but even though I'm a huge fan I don't bother to watch. What would be the point? For Star Wars to be Star Wars you need excellent picture quality and sound. Especially sound. Since I bought my Onkyo 5.1 home theater system, I can't watch sci-fi movies without it. When the THX logo comes on, my living room shakes. The lightsabers are wonderfully electronically whoosh-y. And, most importantly, the sonic detonator sounds awesome. When that guitar comes through my speakers it's the most beautiful sound. (And yes, I know that in space no one can hear you scream so that sound is impossible.)

I love watching Star Wars at home.

But none of the Saga is available on Blu-Ray and Lucas has no plans to release them in the format. When he does I'll be first in line.

Magic

Book Proposal. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

Something about not wanting to write.

Something about good medicine.

Something about research.



(It just might work.)

Book Proposal

I'm trying not to think about the book proposal. I turned it in on Monday and now I have to wait for the publisher to get back to me. If I get the contract I'm going to be working on this thing all summer so I'm giving myself a break. But I keep thinking I should do something on it. Maybe some research? Start the intro?

Then I remind myself that I will be OBSESSING over this thing all summer. I deserve some time to think about other things like the Ekumen and vampire love.

Romantic

I am a total romantic. I hadn't truly realized this until about two weeks ago. I can only remember two books I've read in one night: Umberto Eco's the Name of the Rose and Frank Herbert's Dune.
Two weeks ago, I finally picked up Stephanie Meyer's Twilight . It had been sitting on my self for a few months and look like an easy read. I finished it at 4 in the morning.

The next day I went out and bought the next two books in the series and devoured them as well.

This would not be a big deal except that I've been reading some part of them for every night since. I crawl into bed and turn to my favorite scenes: the near-death by van, the meadow, the car ride, the rescue, the Volturi, the ring, the death by beheading. Hmmm...I should probably explain that the books are about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire.

There is a huge online community dedicated to the Twilight books. The teaser trailer for the new movie has been viewed more the 2 million times. (I think I've seen it ten times myself)

Why? I don't really know. All I can think of is that books hit some deep seated desire in (mostly) women to be wanted by someone who loves you so much that they will deny themselves what they want most (in the case of Edward--Bella's blood).

I don't like thinking of myself this way. I don't really believe that there is such a thing as true love anyway. But I guess I love escaping into a world where it exists.

More Book Stuff

I received my proposal comments today and I have to get the revisions back by Monday(!). The editor mentioned in the email that they are nitpicky and he wasn't kidding. I have NO IDEA what I'm doing with this book thing.

Must...think...good...writing...thoughts...

Book News

I heard back from the publisher the day I wrote the blog. Murphy's Law.

The outside reviewer liked it. Now I have to add his recommendations to the proposal and send it back in. The executive board will vote on it sometime in May. If they say yes, we go into contract talks.

I can't believe this is happening. At least it will be good practice for the dissertation.

Right?

Waiting

On September 9, 2005 I noticed a Call for Articles for the Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery, and Electronic Reserve. Little did I know I would still be thinking about that Call for Articles two and a half years later.

I decided to write a short article on "On-the-Fly" interlibrary loan departments. My primary topic was: How do you get ILL done if you don't have time to do it? The article was published (Yay!) and I didn't think about it again.

Then on September 26, 2007, I received a jaunty email from a publisher asking me if I was interested in writing more. "Of course," I wrote, "but not until after we complete the library move." You know when you say something because it's the right thing to say? This was one of those occasions. I figured that the guy would forget.

How wrong I was.

January 22, 2008: Hope the move went well! Still want to write the book?

"Sure," I write, "What do I need to do?"

The proposal itself took forever. I became obsessed with ILL thinking about it on the train, the plane, in church, at work, watching tv.

I really freaked myself out: If this is what it took to write the proposal, what would the book take?

I sent in the draft and received comments from the publisher. I corrected the proposal, sent it back and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Finally two weeks had passed and I sent an email. "Any more comments?" I asked. "No, we sent it around. It's out for review with an expert" (!!!!) What???? Out for review??? But, but, but....

This really might happen. I'm probably going to have to write a book. In one summer.

On interlibrary loan.

DVDs vs. VHS

In order to prepare for school, I'm trying to buy all the things I would like in my apartment while I still have an income. None of these things are necessary, just stuff that would be nice to have. They include:

1. Warm dress winter coat that fits well.
2. Black leather boots with 2' heels.
3. Food processor
4. Blender
5. Printer/Scanner/Copier

This stuff isn't particularly expensive but it will all add up.

Also, do I replace my VHS tapes with DVDs? I have them all sitting in my Amazon cart. Ready to go. But the cost seems TOTALLY unjustifiable. I already have them movies. This is more a collection thing than a "I'll watch these movies all the time" thing.

I guess I'll let them sit for a little while longer until I make up my mind. (I really shouldn't obsess about this stuff so much.)

T Magazine Time!

Awww Yeah! It's that time ladies and gentleman. What time? T Magazine time where we learn about ridiculously overpriced and funny looking fashion!

I was happy to see Emily Blunt on the cover. (Devil Wears Prada is MUCH better than you might think. Watch Streep when she discusses the women on the US Supreme Court. Classic. And telling.)

This issue was kind of a letdown. Most of the fashion wasn't awful and only mildly overpriced. Until you get to "Drama Queen." Grown women should never, EVER wear minis with thigh highs unless they're in the business. And spending $39,500 for a jacket is just silly. Especially one that looks like that.

Hair

The barber cut my hair short today. Really short.

He's supposed to use a 1.5 guard. But he used a 1. I was sitting in the chair thinking "Ask him if he has the right guard on. Ask him. Ask him now." But I didn't. Two strokes and it's over. Almost bald head. No choice but to keep going.

*sigh*

The 1 is 3.0mm (1/8 inch) while the 1.5 is 4.0mm (5/32 inch). This might seem like a minuscule difference in hair shaft height but it isn't. With a 1.5 I look like I have some hair but with a 1 I look like my hair is just growing in. It's subtle but important.

The main problem with the whole really short hair thing is that I have to CONSTANTLY think about my eyebrows. The shorter the hair the more prominent the eyebrows and I'm not much of a groomer. I wash my face. Put on moisturizer and that's about it. Short hair means that I have not only think about my eyebrows--I also have to pluck them. Everyday. One of the reasons I have short hair is so that I don't have to think about it.

This too much hair coming off my head thing happens every so often. The worst time was when some poor woman shaved my head. Totally bald.

Of course, no one really noticed. "Oh, Emily, you got your hair cut! Looks good!"

If you only knew of the tears that came earlier.

Libraries at Night

Tonight I walked home from the Prospect Park YMCA (which isn't all that close to Prospect Park.) It was nice out so I decided to take the scenic route by Grand Army Plaza, Mount Prospect Park, the Botanic Garden, the Museum, and the Library.

Walking up to the library, I noticed that there were people sitting around the brand new plaza. That wasn't much of a surprise--I figured a few homeless people found their way there every night. But then I saw that a couple of the people were sitting on benches with their computers open.

The library closed at 6 pm tonight (and it was 9 by the time I walked by) but people were still using the library's resources. Everyone can appreciate free wi-fi in a beautiful on a brisk almost spring evening.

Phoning Librarians

Every Wednesday, my former classmate Greg Schwartz, moderates Uncontrolled Vocabulary a podcast for librarians.

For the second time ever, I called in. It always makes me a little nervous; the library I work at is much different from others. If you listen, you'll notice that I have absolutely NOTHING to say about the Swift/Computers in Libraries thing.

I get the Computers in Libraries glossy promo but there is no way my boss would pay for me to go. We're still trying to get our copiers networked. And I don't think I have a cable for our scanner. I didn't even know what Swift was.

But, if you're a librarian, you should listen to Uncontrolled Vocabulary. It's a great way to find out what's going on in the library world.

The Speech

Did you hear it? Incredible. A presidential candidate speaking about race.

"The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country – a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen – is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."

Just take 37 minutes and listen. Really listen.

Nueva Jersey

I said yes to Rutgers!

Sent in the admission acceptance and everything. Hopefully the Obi-Wan stamp will get it there a little faster.

Spitzer

What are we to make of powerful men who can't keep it in their pants? Or at least can't keep it in their pants in a discrete manner.

I don't know. I think Bing's assessment is fairly apt--powerful men tend to be assholes.

What I think is more interesting are the ten million stories regarding the legalization of prostitution and additional ten million stories on the "Stand by Your Man" phenomenon.

I don't really think about prostitution much. My problem with the discussion is that it assumes that all types of prostitution are the same. The woman on the street working for her pimp is really nothing like Ms. Dupre These are two completely different levels of body selling. Maybe the best remedy for prostitution is decriminalization rather than legalization. This would protect the women on the street but let the high-class call girls continue their (apparently highly prized) services.

The Stand by Your Man thing has got to stop! Please, political wives, just let him stand there and look stupid. He deserves whatever comes his way because of it.

Figuring stuff out.

I've thought about getting my Ph.D. since I was in grade school. First, it was going to be in Mathematics, then Psychology. The life of a professor really appealed to me. The teaching, the office, the idea of tenure.
I majored in Religion in college and immediately embarked on my academic career.

It was the biggest mistake I ever made. After two years of grad school, I was burned out. I was in tears when I heard my last papers had to be in two weeks early in order to graduate on time. I wrote the papers (they were incredibly crappy) and graduated. I had applied to and gotten into the Ph.D. program, but turned it down. I was 24 and had been in school since I entered pre-kindergarten at 4. Enough was enough. I needed to work.

But then, I couldn't find a job. All that education and nothing. I temped for awhile and finally got a job at a law firm as a legal assistant's assistant. The work wasn't bad and it paid well but I didn't want to do it for the rest of my life. So, I went to library school.

I really like being a librarian. I get to help people find stuff and the work isn't overly stressful.

But, I've decided to go back to school. Again. I think it's a good career moves.

But I'm not always sure this is the best idea. I'm excited about my topic but maybe I should just make some money. What if I do all this school and, once again, have trouble finding a decent job? Do I really want to spend the next four years or so living on a students salary? It was one thing when I was 22 and library school was only one year--at 32 it's a whole different story. I'll be uprooting my entire life for what? More education? Will having this education truly raise my earning potential? I wish I could see that this will be worth it because at the moment, I'm just not sure...

(I promise not to have too many diary entries on this thing. I'm just not thinking about much else at the moment.)

Change might be coming....

I love this picture.

The brown kid looking with admiration at the brown guy running for president. President. Of the United States of America.

Incredible.

I like this picture too. But for completely different reasons.

Healthcare

Just watched 60 minutes. They featured a segment on the health care crisis in America. A group called the Remote Area Medical goes around the country providing medical care to the un- and under- insured.

Remote Area Medical was originally created to go to remote areas in the developing world and war zones. Not the United States.

Like the woman at the end of the segment, I wonder why the richest country in the world can not take care of it's own citizens. It makes no sense. It's ridiculous and embarrassing.

No matter who gets elected, I hope they will work for universal coverage.

Ridiculous Fashion

It's that time of year again. Fashion Week is over so the New York Times publishes its cash cow, TMagazine.

And what craziness we have this year. Under "The Goods:The Must Haves" you'll find a $36,000 purse. That's THIRTY-SIX THOUSAND dollars. For a purse. I couldn't even bring myself to buy a $400 handbag at the Coach Outlet.

The Times also features some poor model wearing these "shoes". No, they don't have a heel. Do you think women need a heel on 5.5 inch platform shoes? What's wrong with you? Fashion is pain.