I'm always surprised

at the wide range of reading tastes of the people in Indianapolis. For those of you who don't know (and I can't imagine who THAT might be) I'm basically a buyer for the public library here in town. All day long, I spend tax dollars on very cool stuff. Well, mostly cool stuff. Mostly.

ANYWAY, there are some times, at least five or six an hour, when I have NO IDEA who or what I'm buying. There. I admit it. No clue. There are just too many wide ranging subjects.

So, today, I come across this book: Anna of all the Russias: A Life of Anna Akhmatova. Wonderful. Who the hell is she?! I know she's literary because I'm (helpfully) looking through a catalog of books on literary criticism. Signposts, people. That's how the work gets done here. I've never heard of this chick. Not to say that I need to have heard of EVERYONE, but....I did take a class in Russian literature as an undergrad.

So, I was gonna take a pass on the book. Nobody could possibly care. But, just because I'm a curious kitty, I decided to see if we had anything by this Anna person. I typed her name into our catalog and got 38 hits. 38. For a Russian woman poet that I've never even heard of, that's quite a bit. Some of them are in Russian (you have a kick ass library system here in Indianapolis, in case you didn't know!) but the English language versions have gone out quite a bit. WAY more than most poets.

The people of Indianapolis obviously know who she is. Who'd a thunk, huh? I googled her, of course, and found some of her stuff. I'm not crazy about her poetry, check it out here, but that's just me. Some people around here obviously disagree.

So yeah. I bought the book.

Not to mention any Names.....

But I think I've actually heard one of you say this. And now there is a book!

Happy Birthday, Wolfie

Its Mozart's birthday! 250 years old and people still know who the hell he is.

The Mozart Project

Studio Mozart

British Library's Online Gallery "Turning the Pages" Go here to see one of Mozart's musical diaries. (this is a cool site!)



My favorite Mozart to play is K. 313, Concerto for Flute and Piano in G.

Pun-tastic title of the day

Bad Pun Title of the day

I suppose it was only a matter of time......

Due to a crazy little thing called LARC (III)

posting in the near future will be, invisible, infrequent, or inane.* We'll get back to your regularly scheduled blog postings at a point after 2/24/06.


The management.




*If you already think the blog exhibits one (or all) of these characteristics.....congratulations! You won't be missing anything.

This is actually about right!

You are "Inclusio unius est exclusio

alterius"! You presume that the

legislature chooses words very carefully when

it drafts statutes. Because they could have

used a different word, but didn't, the word

not chosen was deliberately excluded. You

assume a lot based, not just on what's in

front of you, but on what isn't. You have

great faith in others' ability to know

exactly what they want. Probably too much.


Which Canon of Statutory Construction are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Every library needs this book!

I can't wait to see it!

The description:

Do you sometimes get the feeling that the woman in your life wears the trousers? Do you feel guilty when you go out with your friends? Are you reproached for leaving the toilet seat up? Did she buy you a global positioning system for your birthday so that she always knows where you are? If you answered, "Um…er, well, what do you think honey?" to any of the above questions, then you need help—and fast! From how to be worshiped in the bedroom to getting her to pick up after you, this book shows how to put the balls firmly back in your court


hilarious!

John Mellencamp

is sexy.


Just putting it out there.

No surprises

That West Wing is being canceled.

What is surprising, though, is that NBC just can't keep its hands off British comedies. Didn't they learn their lesson with the abysmal copy of Coupling that it tried a few seasons back? Now its bringing one of my favorite BBC America comedies, Teachers, to the screen.

I shudder. People, really, if you want to see these great shows, just watch them on BBC America. Where they're still funny. With good actors.

Tagged Too

Thanks Amanda!

I actually love this sort of stuff.

4 jobs you've had:

1) Whitey's Ice Cream. My first job, which came as a junior in high school. My parents very much DID NOT want me to work. But, I started in the summer, and then just kept going once school started again. All my friends worked there, and I did get accustomed to having money. And, even after eating every day for nigh on two years, I still love it.

2.) Hardees: Ick. I worked there the summer between junior and senior year in college. I was home for the summer. Didn't have anything else to do. It, at that time, was an all night Hardees, so I did a few cool 11-7 shifts. Only the drivethrough was open, though. You see some crazy post-bars people coming through the Hardees drive through.

3.)UIUC Law Library: I worked here June 1999-May 2000. Right before I came to Indy. This was probably the easiest job I've ever had.....with the nicest boss.

4.) Waldenbooks: I thought I would love working at Waldenbooks, but I HATED it. Hated. Mostly because the manager there wanted ME to be the manager (even though I was only supposed to be working part time) and pushed everything off on me. Opening the store, closing the store, bank runs.....she also thought part time was 35 hours a week. We had a definite difference of opinion there. I only lasted 3 months.


4 movies you could watch over and over

1.) Grease 2
2.) Star Wars
3.) Step Lively (a very early and very dumb Frank Sinatra movie.)
4.) Hollywood Shuffle. (Whatever happened to Robert Townsend anyway?!)


4 Places you've lived

1.) Freeport, Illinois: Just for three years. It was enough.
2.) East Moline, Illinois: the Motherland
3.) Terre Haute, Indiana
4.) Urbana, Illinois (Seeing the whole Illinois theme.....)

4 TV shows you like to watch

1.) 24 (The best show on TV.)
2.) Monarch of the Glen
3.) Great Hotels (on the Travel Channel)
4.) Criminal Minds

4 Places you've been on vacation

1.) Jackson, Mississippi (its hot there.)
2.) Charleston, South Carolina (LOVED it)
3.) Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (HATED it)
4.) Baltimore, Maryland (Good stuff, there.)

4 Websites you visit daily

1.) ChicagoTribune.com
2.) Pogo.com (to play a little Turbo 21!)
3.) Travelocity.com (where am I gonna go next.....)
4.) All the blogs on my blog roll.....

4 of my favorite foods

1.) Cheese and Onion Enchiladas from El Sol de Tala
2.) Soft Shell Beef Tacos from Adolph's Mexican food (in the motherland)
3.) Everything I've had at the Grand Lux Cafe in Chicago
4.) Spanikopita from Santorini's.

4 Places I'd rather Be

1.) Athens, Greece
2.) San Juan, Puerto Rico
3.) Cabo San Lucas
4.) Charleston, South Carolina

4 albums I can't live without

You know, I rarely listen to albums anymore. But, if I have to pick four that I like....

1.) Smoke Gets in your eyes: The Best of Dinah Washington. Disc 2, Song 5 is one of my favorite songs in life.
2.) Ella Fitzgerald: The Best of the Songbooks This was my introduction to Ella Fitzgerald, so it will always hold a special place.
3.) Grown and Sexy -- Babyface. Easily my favorite album of the year. Easily.
4.) Green Chimneys: The Music of Thelonious Monk -- Andy Summers Another Great, yet unexpected, album.

Hmmm, I would tag people, but I think everyone I would tag, has already been served.

Back on the Pipe

The General Hospital pipe, that is. I know I shouldn't. I really don't have time.

I don't.


Really.

Its just that....... well, so many of the characters that I loved in the mid-late 80s are coming back....

I know, I know. That is NO excuse.

Damn TiVO for making everything so easy......

Hey, history junkies

this is pretty cool.

The motherland

has a snow advisory tonight and are expecting 4-8 inches of snow. Guess I shouldn't call my dad up and tell him about our 60 degree weather today.....

Today's Horoscope Says....

One of my friends is cheating on me!

Overview: Questions of loyalty are very important to you. After all, you know that your dedication to this friendship is beyond question, but suddenly you're not so sure of theirs. Is it possible you're a little paranoid?

I'm so hurt. Which one of you is it?!

Another Legend Lost

Two of my favorite Wilson Pickett songs are In the Midnight Hour (naturally) and Land of a 1000 dances.

He'll definitely be missed.

Its that time again

I saw my first Girl Scout cookies solicitor today at work. I distinctly remember selling the damn cookies myself, going door to door around our neighborhood. I always sold a lot, too, because I have a big family which helped to offset the fact that I lived in a neighborhood with a bunch of girl scouts.

BUT, I don't know that I ever gave the form to my parents to take to work! (My dad assures me that I did, but I don't remember doing it. That means it didn't happen! Just like that one time when I drank too much tequila......)

But, I digress. I managed to go all through the day without ordering any cookies. Tomorrow, I may not be so lucky!

Really, you don't have anything else to do?

This is the biggest problem facing the country these days?

Second biggest problem?

Third biggest problem????

Oh yeah

And I lost my cell phone. Or, at least, I thought I had lost it. It has since turned up and I am VERY relieved.

How to Manuals

Since last year, I have been getting patron requests for this book. Technically, it doesn't fall into my area, so I don't have to deal with it. I order (mainly) fiction, and this is supposed to be a work of non-fiction.

The pictures are certainly non-fiction.

The library has resisted buying it, though. I got another patron request for it yesterday and passed it on the appropriate collection development librarian.

But, out of mere curiosity, I had to buy a copy of the book.

The great fun we had with it at work was worth the price. Watching one person's face turn extremely red while flipping through it was MORE than worth the price. And, if you read the entire book, you "graduate" with a diploma at the end.

This book is what my mother would have called "a hot mess."

Wow

has it really been a week? I kept popping in here, meaning to post something, but then forgetting. I'm sorry!

I haven't really been all that busy, though. Well, besides that whole work thing. That seems to keep me busy.

So far, I have one grade. One. Yippee!

Let's see.....I bought one of these. Much cheaper than the Christie Brinkley/Chuck Norris version seen here. And, after using it for a mere four days, I do believe I'm going to curl into a little ball and ache the rest of my life away.

I guess that means its working, right?


Classes have started, and its a challenge getting back into the swing of things. Class cuts into the heart of after work nap time. After finding out that our Sports Law class has morphed more into Entertainment law, a lot of people have opted out. Not me, though. I'm looking forward to it.

Today's blog posting is brought to you by

our friends at forwarded email.

A girl and a card

The last time we went to Santorini's for lunch, a friend and I both put our business cards into the fishbowl drawing for lunch for 15. Or is it 12? I can't remember.

Anyway, she won! Yippee! So, we're off to Santorini's for lunch today, and its free!


Take that, cold and nasty rain!

Just scanning the headlines quickly

And I thought this one said "Eddie Money hired by Dodgers as hitting coach."

I didn't even know he liked baseball!

Dumbass. Maybe its a good thing we don't have grades yet, as I obviously can't read.....

Follow the AVN road.....

So, Unnamed Source was blogging about the AVN awards, and the article said that Jenna Jameson's dress barely contained her bosom. So, I had to see the dress, naturally, and clicked on the picture. Horrible pic of her, by the way, but they were right about the dress.

Anyway, I clicked on something at the top of the page and it led me to this article, about human skin bound books in libraries. When we were preping to move to the Interim Central location, we searched through many of the old things in the basement, and someone said that there was a human skin bound book of witchcraft down there. I never did find it, and don't know if it was an old librarians tale or not. I had just assumed it was. Now.........

Some people are just MEAN!

But not me. I give you quizzes to take.

Horror Story

And it all started with a missing wallet. Be careful out there, people!

More from the filthy lying f-ing republicans talking points

Claiming that Abramoff, their latest albatross, has given money to D as well as R.

Could be. And maybe, somewhere, there is a fact to back that up.

In the meantime, we have this. Find me a D with ties to Abramoff money, and I'll be the first to tsk tsk them for being a dumbass. Until then.......

What the FU---

Okay, the man is out of control. I like that law. I don't like that one, so it doesn't count? You can just write on the law "I'll obey it unless I won't"?!

Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Why the hell do we even have Congress?!

Beauty Shop

I put off seeing this because I was afraid it was going to suck. Yeah, I said it. I thought it was going to suck. Oops. Hey, even I make a mistake every now and then. This movie was FABULOUS. Hilarious. No, I mean, like really really funny. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Kevin Bacon was great. Alicia Silverstone was great too and Andie MacDowell too. Alfre Woodard was (as always) superb.

And, when Djimon Hounsou comes to the door shirtless.......

Ladies......

make ya wanna slap ya mama!

What are you waiting for? Go rent it!

Today's CD

As my friend JC says, CCR is the band I hate to love.

Many faces of Ray

Ray, as I saw him in The Tide of Life, although this picture is from some other movie.



This picture is from At Home with the Braithwaites. I haven't seen this yet, but I have put in my patron request for the library to get it.



This one is from King Arthur. I remember seeing this movie, but don't remember seeing him in this movie. I didn't give it a rave review, however.



And, most recently, from Rome. Quite a bit of difference between the first pic and the last, wouldn't you say?

So Sorry

Over Christmas, my sister and I started watching Monarch of the Glen. Neither of us had ever seen it before, but I brought home Series 1. We didn't get it all watched, though, with our dad giving us a million other things to do (like make cookies, cakes, wrap presents.....)

So, my sister calls me this afternoon after church and tells me that she checked out Series 1 & 2 from her library. My fault that she's addicted now, of course.

Actually, she blames Cubs fan, not me. So, I guess that's all right. Even though its not really his fault......

Anyway, if you haven't seen it, do try and check it out. Its a charming little show.

Greetings

Well, its Sunday afternoon. To be honest, I haven't done anything all day except read this book. The second to last one in the series. I have the last one sitting on my living room table, but I think I'd better leave off just now. I'm sure that so much reading is bad for.....something. I did lift weights a bit this morning, but I still feel the sharp guilt of "you've been doing nothing all day" nagging at me.

I don't like guilt.

Its also the last free week before classes start again.

No, no grades yet.

But, that means I'd better start thinking about buying books for my two new classes this semester. Strangely enough, I priced them and the bookstore is cheaper than my ususal stop, Barrister Books. Although, they did offer a 5% discount, so maybe I'll have to redo the math.

For now, though, I think I may have to go find dinner, and watch a little AFC football.

God, I am SUCH a lazy bum today......

Earlier this year a wise man said to me.....

that if I was waiting for Kerry Collins to save my Raiders I would be a very disappointed fan at Season's end.

Well......he's wise for a reason. I cannot BELIEVE the season is over and all they have to show for it is firing Norv Turner. Can't we fire Kerry Collins as well? I mean, really! And Randy Moss, let's fire him too. Its so sad. And, while I'm over the moon about the season the Bears had this year, my AFC team was an abysmal 4-12.

4-12.


At least we should be in the top 10 for the draft.

GROSS!!!

Okay, why was this outside my car this morning? I mean, who is eating outside in January, for one thing? And for another thing, who is too lazy to take their plate inside? I almost thought someone set it out for a stray cat or dog, but THERE IS A FORK!!!

Get this book!

The best part of working in a library is that I get to see tons of books that I simply wouldn't see otherwise. I wouldn't have time to browse library shelves if I had a different kind of job. But, now I browse because of my job. Nice. I noticed this book as soon as it came in, and I highly recommend it.

It is mostly cookbook, with some other entertaining things thrown in for good measure. I cannot recommend this book highly enough (especially if you're interested in Latin cooking and/or new and interesting things to drink!) Run, don't walk, to your library or bookstore and pick this one up.

Fascinating!

Update: For all those interested in this, here is another take on it, posted by one of the commenters on Sports Law Blog.


I never thought of statistics as "intellectual property." But, are they? If so, do fantasy leagues have to obtain a license to use them? Should they?

Its a silly thought at first blush, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if someone hasn't spent a lot of time putting together statistics. Shouldn't that property be protected? On the other hand, it just feels like big (sports) business being unnecessarily oppressive.

Don't know how I feel about this one yet. Don't even really know if they have an actual argument. What do ya'll think?




First seen over at Sports Law Blog

Patience is a Virtue

that I don't have.


I'm just saying.

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone's NYE and NYD were better than mine. I spent the majority of Thursday afternoon, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in bed with a cold/sinus infection. Not entirely sure which it was, but the great pain under my eyeballs to just above my eyebrows leads me to lean in one direction over another. At any rate, three and a half days inside, a vaporizer,books, BBC America, Monarch of the Glen DVDs and Nyquil seem to have made all the difference in the world. I should be ready to report to work tomorrow. (bummer!)

I did miss lunch on Friday with two of my favorite ladies, though. Sorry, gals.