Boo for Blogger. Boo for updating my site without my permission. Boo for regurgitating my last 25 posts into your RSS feed.
Yay for inexplicably affordable shows by underrated Canadian bands. Yay for their crazy fans. Yay for venues where I don't have to crane my neck or stand on tiptoe to see the stage, even in a sold-out crowd. Yay for microphone-lickers. Yay for giant glass mooseheads. Yay for unexpected friend-sightings.
Boo for accumulated sleep debt. Boo for persistent eyelid twitching, like a hiccup on my face. Boo for low energy and a short fuse.
Yay for sunny weekends. Yay for cheap used bikes. Yay for the 205 trail.
Yay for commencement ceremonies. Yay for no more commencement ceremonies.
Yay for church. Yay for changing churches.
Boo for another Monday. Yay for another day.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday, April 07, 2007
In Which I'm So Glad to Live in Portland.
Today marked the return of the Portland Farmer's Market. I love farmer's markets, but especially the first one of the year. It's a big green block party: live music, tasty food, everybody excited because the sunny season is coming back. I sat on a wet curb to eat a bowl of carrot ginger soup with cilantro pesto (oh my) and listen to a gentle, accordion-accompanied rendition of "In the Jailhouse Now." Pigeons came and went; a tiny girl paused with her daddy to say, "Hi birdies... hi birdies." A passing beagle leaned in to get a better sniff of my lunch. "Nope," I told him. "Not sharing." The stalls were full of goodness: fresh flowers, young plants, pastry and honey and smoked salmon.
I can wander around a place like that for hours, just comparison shopping and absorbing happiness, but today I didn't get there until near closing time. So I was a model of decisiveness and efficiency. Goat cheese: check. Giant cookies: check. Interesting meat: check (farmed elk? why not?). It had started raining by the time I was ready to leave, but I still paused by the bug booth to watch the ladybugs swarm around the terrarium... and walked away with a two-for-one deal on lacewing eggs. I got soaked on my way back to the car and I didn't even care. The sunny season is coming back!
I can wander around a place like that for hours, just comparison shopping and absorbing happiness, but today I didn't get there until near closing time. So I was a model of decisiveness and efficiency. Goat cheese: check. Giant cookies: check. Interesting meat: check (farmed elk? why not?). It had started raining by the time I was ready to leave, but I still paused by the bug booth to watch the ladybugs swarm around the terrarium... and walked away with a two-for-one deal on lacewing eggs. I got soaked on my way back to the car and I didn't even care. The sunny season is coming back!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Which Blatantly Abuses Ranganathan's Third Law.
Wow, what an overwhelming response to that last post! Incredible.*
Okay, okay. Many of the books are Fairly Lame by both my standards and yours. It's true. But according to S. R. Ranganathan, there should not only be a book for every reader, but a reader for every book. Are you going to argue with the father of modern library science? I didn't think so.
I don't actually believe I'm going to get a lot of takers on the books I've posted, but I love the idea, and I think it has a lot of potential as a means of redistribution for those of us who have too much stuff (which describes most Americans). Can you imagine if everyone's blog/LJ/myspace had a list of things they don't want anymore, and are willing to give away? How fun would that be?
My experiences with swapping possessions through various venues has been really fascinating. Attending local clothing exchanges has not only improved the quality of my wardrobe, it has changed my attitude toward clothing entirely. Shopping for clothes can be hard for the frugal female; there's so much pressure to choose the right garments. If you spend money on something, you'd darn well better wear it enough to get your money's worth out of it, and if it gets stained or torn, well, you lose, loser. But if the clothing is free, all of that pressure is gone. These jeans don't fit quite like you want them to? Ahh, no biggie. Take 'em home for a trial spin, see how it pans out. If you don't want to keep them, bring 'em back to the next exchange. And if nobody wants them, they'll go to a women's shelter, not to a store that charges too much for your castoffs. On the other hand, they could end up being your new favorite pair.
Swapping books and CDs hasn't been quite as life-changing an experience, partly I think because of the more formal (one to one) trading structure, and partly because I get a little tired of shipping so much stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love those swaps too; they're just not as much fun as sharing.
So that's the idea behind the giveaway book widget.
*And while I was writing this post, or rather while my roommate was distracting me from writing this post, Tabitha commented on the previous one, so my snarky remark was invalidated. Thanks, TJ! You give me hope for the future of mankind.
Last night I saw Mew play at the Aladdin. The link is to one of those sites with audio that doesn't ask permission before playing, but it's a fairly accurate glimpse of how weird and cool their performance was... complete with surreal visuals projected on a screen behind the band. They are musically pretty interesting, and when they have a hook it's a powerful hook (see "The Zookeeper's Boy," which I posted a while ago), though many of their songs could be described as "completely hookless" or even "lacking a compelling melody." But considering the relentless multi-pronged hookiness of some of their compatriot musicians, I can see how they might want to avoid that from time to time.
One thing I never realized about Mew until I saw them live was that they have no female members. Wow. That's a lot of falsetto.
Anyway, good band, good show, but the one disappointment of the evening was the venue. Don't get me wrong, I love the Aladdin. But all day I was so sad that they didn't play at the now-defunct Meow Meow... because then I could have told everybody, "I'm going to see Mew at the Meow Meow," and they'd be all, "Are you even speaking English right now?"
Okay, okay. Many of the books are Fairly Lame by both my standards and yours. It's true. But according to S. R. Ranganathan, there should not only be a book for every reader, but a reader for every book. Are you going to argue with the father of modern library science? I didn't think so.
I don't actually believe I'm going to get a lot of takers on the books I've posted, but I love the idea, and I think it has a lot of potential as a means of redistribution for those of us who have too much stuff (which describes most Americans). Can you imagine if everyone's blog/LJ/myspace had a list of things they don't want anymore, and are willing to give away? How fun would that be?
My experiences with swapping possessions through various venues has been really fascinating. Attending local clothing exchanges has not only improved the quality of my wardrobe, it has changed my attitude toward clothing entirely. Shopping for clothes can be hard for the frugal female; there's so much pressure to choose the right garments. If you spend money on something, you'd darn well better wear it enough to get your money's worth out of it, and if it gets stained or torn, well, you lose, loser. But if the clothing is free, all of that pressure is gone. These jeans don't fit quite like you want them to? Ahh, no biggie. Take 'em home for a trial spin, see how it pans out. If you don't want to keep them, bring 'em back to the next exchange. And if nobody wants them, they'll go to a women's shelter, not to a store that charges too much for your castoffs. On the other hand, they could end up being your new favorite pair.
Swapping books and CDs hasn't been quite as life-changing an experience, partly I think because of the more formal (one to one) trading structure, and partly because I get a little tired of shipping so much stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love those swaps too; they're just not as much fun as sharing.
So that's the idea behind the giveaway book widget.
*And while I was writing this post, or rather while my roommate was distracting me from writing this post, Tabitha commented on the previous one, so my snarky remark was invalidated. Thanks, TJ! You give me hope for the future of mankind.
* * *
Last night I saw Mew play at the Aladdin. The link is to one of those sites with audio that doesn't ask permission before playing, but it's a fairly accurate glimpse of how weird and cool their performance was... complete with surreal visuals projected on a screen behind the band. They are musically pretty interesting, and when they have a hook it's a powerful hook (see "The Zookeeper's Boy," which I posted a while ago), though many of their songs could be described as "completely hookless" or even "lacking a compelling melody." But considering the relentless multi-pronged hookiness of some of their compatriot musicians, I can see how they might want to avoid that from time to time.
One thing I never realized about Mew until I saw them live was that they have no female members. Wow. That's a lot of falsetto.
Anyway, good band, good show, but the one disappointment of the evening was the venue. Don't get me wrong, I love the Aladdin. But all day I was so sad that they didn't play at the now-defunct Meow Meow... because then I could have told everybody, "I'm going to see Mew at the Meow Meow," and they'd be all, "Are you even speaking English right now?"
Monday, April 02, 2007
In Which Books Want To Be Free.
I just added a new LibraryThing widget to my page. The older one (below the archive links) is for books I'm reading; the new one (just under the moon) is for books I'd like to give away. (Please don't confuse the two.)
I have a small number of books I'm done with and ready to pass on, and a somewhat larger number that I acquired cheaply or free in order to build up a stash of credits on PaperBackSwap.com. This strategy worked well, but now that I have plenty of credits, there are quite a few leftovers I'm eager to dispose of. Disclaimer: None of these were acquired through the library that employs me. I maintain a strict distinction between my books and my employer's.
So these are the books that appear randomly in the new widget. All are in decent condition, but most aren't worth more than a buck or two. I could easily haul them off to a charity or donate them to my employer, and at some point I may. But here's the thing: I'm addicted to that glow of satisfaction I feel when I connect a book with someone who wants it. PBS has been a great way to get that fix. Maybe this will be another.
So here's how it works: if you see a book you want (or if you know someone or some organization that would benefit from it), just let me know via e-mail or comment, and I will give it to you next time I see you. If you live far away, I will mail it to you free of charge. If I don't know you, but we have mutual friends, I'll gladly pass it to you via our human link. If I don't know you and we have no mutual friends... hmm... well, leave me a comment with some kind of contact info, and we'll talk.
Of course, I'll be happy to provide more info on any titles that catch your eye. Later on I may even create a separate page where you can view all available books (there are currently 27), but for now, you'll just have to hit refresh if you want to see more.
I have a small number of books I'm done with and ready to pass on, and a somewhat larger number that I acquired cheaply or free in order to build up a stash of credits on PaperBackSwap.com. This strategy worked well, but now that I have plenty of credits, there are quite a few leftovers I'm eager to dispose of. Disclaimer: None of these were acquired through the library that employs me. I maintain a strict distinction between my books and my employer's.
So these are the books that appear randomly in the new widget. All are in decent condition, but most aren't worth more than a buck or two. I could easily haul them off to a charity or donate them to my employer, and at some point I may. But here's the thing: I'm addicted to that glow of satisfaction I feel when I connect a book with someone who wants it. PBS has been a great way to get that fix. Maybe this will be another.
So here's how it works: if you see a book you want (or if you know someone or some organization that would benefit from it), just let me know via e-mail or comment, and I will give it to you next time I see you. If you live far away, I will mail it to you free of charge. If I don't know you, but we have mutual friends, I'll gladly pass it to you via our human link. If I don't know you and we have no mutual friends... hmm... well, leave me a comment with some kind of contact info, and we'll talk.
Of course, I'll be happy to provide more info on any titles that catch your eye. Later on I may even create a separate page where you can view all available books (there are currently 27), but for now, you'll just have to hit refresh if you want to see more.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
