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When I'm not feeling well, Rudy and Stanley help me make soup. Note our very observant bear's proper head covering (a tablespoon, naturally).
The Chicago Craft Mafia is having a special Valentine's Day Craftsacre with lots of fun crafty items to buy. 20% of the profits will go to 826Chicago, a writing and tutoring center. The sale will be this Friday, February 3, from 7:00-11:00 pm, at 1331 N. Milwaukee. [via Gapers Block]
Have you noticed those wacky "Enjoy Illinois" posters in the bus shelters? Well, now you can see all of them online, and even request a free one! [via Gapers Block]
It's interesting how, with modern technology, we're incredibly interconnected--except when it comes to hospitals. No cell phones permitted, no internet access, just a couple of germy pay phones. As I sit here awaiting news of my sister's special delivery, it occurs to me that maybe hospitals should partner up with internet cafes so family outside the hospital walls could know what was going on.
I can't believe how long it's been since I posted in this blog. I shall have to make a new year's resolution to do better! For the time being, however, here are some crafty posts to stave off the guilt. I've been meaning to put these up for some time.
Finally, a truly patriotic way to celebrate our nation's birthday--one that doesn't involve mass consumption of beer and hot dogs, and noisy explosions of possibly-illegal incendiary devices out back of my house for HOURS. If you missed it on July 2nd, NPR's Morning Edition performed their sixteenth annual reading of the Declaration of Independence. Even this cynic was moved.
Hurray! Michael Moore's controversial new film, Fahrenheit 9/11, will be shown at ALA! [thanks, LISNews!]
Googlebombing came up at a recent party, and I had a hard time explaining the technology, so here's a web page that not only covers the definition, but includes examples of current or recent Googlebombs.
What's a Googlebomb?
A Googlebomb is when a group of people link to a specific chosen page using a specific chosen link-text, in order to push this page up in the Google ranking. This can have political reasons and discredits a person, or is done for fun as part of a SEO (Search Engine Optimization) challenge. [via ResearchBuzz]
PR Bop points out this recent survey of American voters which asked which Harry Potter-esque powers they would most like to have. Although transmogrification (transforming stuff into other stuff) and invisibility cloaks came out on top, very few survey victims wanted to be able to talk to snakes. Go figure.
Gapers' Block alerts us to sites where the good folk of Chicago complain about weird transit experiences. This is Grand accepts submissions, while The CTA Tattler is one person's view.
Gapers' Block visitors also shared some of their stories.
If you missed the Venus Transit, like I did, you can either wait till 2012 to view it again, or you can check out the amazing pictures available online from various observatories worldwide. (via Yahoo Picks)
Are there gamers out there who still haven't seen Order of the Stick? Start at the beginning. Trust me.
Ok, I am in love with my Palm. I can admit that. But this, this really gets me excited. Jenny says that makes me (and her) gadget whores. But really, how can anyone resist a laser-projected keyboard for your handheld?
NASA wants an independent contractor to create an electronic archive of its huge repository of images and films.
Trying to stay on budget, the agency will not pay for the work, but rather offer the successful bidder an opportunity to use the materials however it seems best including commercially.
Am I the only one who feels antsy about NASA selling its materials to an outside vendor? (via ResearchBuzz)
Neat neat neat! Check out this exhibition on the history of games. "In "Pastimes and Paradigms: Games We Play," visitors can peruse early nineteenth-century geographical board game; a Civil War game; games designed to boost support for women's suffrage; a vintage Monopoly game; gambling punchboards; and a collection of games based on television shows. The concept behind the collection is the importance of games as a reflection of society and culture, and their subtle effect on politics, education, morality and other important issues of the day." (via ShelfLife)
I regret that I have turned off all commenting on my blog, because I got tired of being spanned by people selling products to enhance other people's anatomy. If I ever have time to sit down and figure out SQL code, I'll be sure to install some plug-ins that will allow relevant comments to be submitted. Sorry for any disappointed readers!
Bookslut links to Naomi Wolf's article about Harold Bloom's "sexual encroachment" on her during her senior year at Yale. And yes, maybe she's right that, so many years after the fact, it's not necessary to dredge all this up. But I have to disagree.
I think Wolf's point is well-taken: despite the greater visibility and more intensive prosecution of such inappropriate acts, certain institutions still refuse to take these situations seriously. I know from my experience with Harvard, at the tender age of seventeen, that one of the most terrifying parts of such an experience is the realization that the administration you believed was charged with your safety is far more interested in protecting itself.
I was never in Wolf's shoes, never the target of such an incident, but I was close to someone who was, and my faith in (as I thought of them at the time) grown-ups, let alone Ivy League institutions, was irreversibly shaken. It's why I didn't really want to go to college, once I got home. It's why I did my undergrad work fifteen minutes from my parents' house. The impact of the experience faded with time, yes, but it doesn't surprise me at all that it still haunts Naomi Wolf.
Wolf is right to bring these issues to light, if only so that some other young, vulnerable person isn't scared into believing that he or she is the first to suffer in such a way. Or that, by some miracle, he or she will somehow be the last. It is every person's responsibility to speak up, for those who come after, and for themselves.
Apparently the CTA doesn't think that people waiting forty minutes in sub-zero temperatures on a windy Chicago street need heat lamps as much as el riders, who often wait up to ten whole minutes outside, or even hide in the station and pound up the stairs when the train is announced. Thanks for the sympathy, guys. I'll mail you my frost-bitten fingers next week. (via Gapers Block)
Looks like the genius who brought you the gut-bustingly hilarious Weight Watchers cards has a book deal! Hurray and congrats to Wendy McClure. (via Gapers Block)
Since I'm now down with a cold, and remembering the torment that is being stuck in the house for days on end, I would like to suggest a list of things to have on hand in case of such emergencies:
1. Matzo ball soup. No sick ward is complete without mama's cure-all.
2. Trashy magazines. Absolutely vital for the sick blob with the attention span of a gnat.
3. Equally trashy paperbacks. Again, gnat + very light reading = happy sicky.
4. Netflix. Try not to watch all your movies the first day. Big mistake.
5. Episodic DVD sets. In the absence of Netflix, your only hope for the long, lonely hours.
6. Some kind of game system. Never underestimate the power of video games in the healing process.
We shall be embarrassed by you forever. (link via The Morning News)
Jews just can't ever get a break. New York rejects "Oy Vey" sign, according to CNN.
It may just be me, but I think Thai Ginger and Red Pepper Peanut Butter sounds great!
Sun Times, that is. Shifted Librarian Jenny Levine gets profiled (more reliably available PDF version) by Chicago's other paper. Link from the lady herself.
O ye, who ride the el from sunrise until the day endeth, rejoice! The CTA's new (as in, not yet available, natch) transit card, the Chicago Card Plus, will allow credit card re-up of available funds, and can also be used as a 30 day pass! Wonders will never cease.
Some holiday pictures of our mixed-faith household, in honor of the new year:
Why you never leave your mop on the back porch to "dry" during a Chicago winter, however mild: 
Note how incredibly artistic I can be when others supply the actual art! I call this piece, "Suspicious Librarian."
Thanks to Alice at That Rabbit Girl for the link.
What's that you say? You haven't seen Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King yet? What kind of traitor are you? Do you not realize that the Men of Gondor need your assistance? Denethor has gone bats, I tell you, absolutely bats! Jump on your horse right now, Rider of Rohan, and get yourself to the theatre!
What a lovely film. The music, the visuals, the rich fabric of Middle Earth's society, the gorgeously dirty Viggo Mortensen. Mmmm.
Well worth a year's wait. Now I'm drooling for the extended edition box set. Previews at our screening included S2; I, Robot; The Chronicles of Riddick; Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow; and Butterfly Effect, which unfortunately stars Ashton Kutcher.
So here's my fabulous excuse for the lack of posts on this blog of late: no internet access!
My love to ComCast for their complete lack of assistance.
Things we tried:
1. Endless calls to tech support at all hours of the day and night.
2. Pinging and iprepairing and everything else from the C:\ prompt (fun!).
3. Service call (episode 1).
4. Changing the network card (episode 1).
5. Reformatting the hard drive (episode 1).
6. Changing the cable modem.
7. Service call (episode 2).
8. Changing the network card (episode 2).
9. Reformatting the hard drive (episode 2).
10. Several episodes of crying, screaming, throwing things, and calling ComCast to ask for a supervisor.
Don't get me wrong, ComCast's people were largely nice, cooperative, and competent. Some of them, unfortunately, were clearly allied with the dark side. However, all's well that ends well, I guess. I still need to reinstall a bunch more programs, but that's ok.
Congrats to fab BookSlut Jessa Crispin on making the cover of the Chicago Reader's Fall Books Issue! Go, Jessa!
Has anyone tried this crossword software for the Palm OS? Or the NY Times premium crossword puzzles subscription?
I've just purchased a Tungsten E, to which I am utterly devoted. It's a bit small for gaming, but I thought it would be nice to do puzzles on the train sometimes. Any advice?
Lately, Fresh Air has been chock full of absolutely hilarious controversy. Check out Bill O'Reilly's insane refusal to answer any serious questions, and Grover Norquist's comparisons of unfair tax practices to the Holocaust. Terry really liked that one.
Two interesting transit topics came up this week.
Today I rode my bike around the city, about ten miles in all, putting up flyers for the Kelly Girls. Then I collapsed in dead exhaustion. I think I'm out of shape, and I'm more grateful than ever that Chicago is basically flat flat flat. Also, the bike lane on Damen is excellent! I had forgotten all about it since I moved south.
On Eight Forty-Eight the other day, there was a big discussion of the potential CTA fare hike, and its implications. There was this guy from Northwestern's Infrastructure Technology Institute who insisted that fares shouldn't be subsidized, or at least shouldn't be kept artificially low, because that doesn't do anyone (including "poor people") any favors. He felt that it would be better to charge more for transit, and that people who ride farther should pay more (as on the DC Metro and other systems).
This really made me see red. After all, basically he's talking about penalizing lower-income riders, people who can't afford to pay much more for transit, or who can't afford to live in the expensive neighborhoods in which they work. They ride from far away, and Schulz's suggestion that charging them more for these longer rides would give them an incentive to live nearer their jobs is a ridiculous argument.
Now that I have this crazy new job as a chemistry librarian, despite a complete ignorance of chemistry, I'm taking a general chem class. This is mainly to get up to speed, so I can be a more useful resource for my department. However, right now I'm swimming in molarity and stoichiometric equivalencies.
I'm fairly certain I could calculate the molarity of the solution in my brain right now. Gah.
So here's the part where I actually get to see if my blog is working. I've been futzing endlessly with my images, which finally make me happy, but I can't figure out my stylesheet worth a damn. So I'm going to see if adding entries makes it display properly. Here goes ....
