hiking

I went hiking today at the Pinnacles near Berea. As I drove up to the Indian Fort Theater parking lot, I could see little droplets of rain on my windshield and I wished that I had remembered to bring the rain jacket I bought after a hike in the rain last spring. It’s the kind … Continue reading “hiking”

I went hiking today at the Pinnacles near Berea. As I drove up to the Indian Fort Theater parking lot, I could see little droplets of rain on my windshield and I wished that I had remembered to bring the rain jacket I bought after a hike in the rain last spring. It’s the kind of jacked that rolls up into a stuff sack the size of a hoagie bun. The rain didn’t continue, and by the time I got out of the car, it had stopped completely. None of the rest of my hiking companions had arrived, so I waited and watched the way the clouds draped over the tops of the foothills and attempted to read a book. Soon, Mary arrived and we decided to start hiking, since it didn’t seem that anyone else was coming today. The leaves on the trees had turned shades of red, orange, and yellow, with some greens remaining. When I would take my glasses off (the hike was strenuous enough that my body heat combined with the temperature made the lenses fog over frequently), it almost seemed like the far side of the hills were painted in watercolors that had bled together. I hadn’t hiked that trail in almost two years, and in the interim time I had forgotten that the trail went up and up without many level places until we reached the top. Once we were there, the view was well worth the effort. Mary and I stayed up there for fifteen or twenty minutes, catching our breath and enjoying the God-like feeling of watching the miniature world below. Then, we hiked back down (which was much easier than the hike up) and drove into Berea for a tasty lunch at Wanpen.

Two interesting articles arrived in my email today. One is yet another story about women in rock and how radio stations are starting to play them more. It’s well-written and does at least address the difficulty that women who write and perform original rock songs have in getting airplay on commercial radio stations.

“But not all radio stations are tuned in to the trend. When it comes to rock, testosterone still rules.”

The other story is the first positive article about weeding library collections I have ever read in a non-professional journal. It’s in the New York Times, so as usual, you’ll need to register in order to read it.

“In the lexicon of library science, managing such unwieldy growth is known as weeding. It’s the closest most New Yorkers will ever get to gardening.”

blogging, linking, and Guinness

No dumpster diving in dmoz today, just a few things that I ran across while surfing around. Doonesbury has been doing a bit on weblogs this week. [the homeless guy] Google is removing links from search results in it’s French and German search sites. Lis Harvey finished up her 50 State Tour last week and … Continue reading “blogging, linking, and Guinness”

No dumpster diving in dmoz today, just a few things that I ran across while surfing around.

I was very sad to hear of Sen. Paul Wellstone’s tragic death today. I don’t think he had even been a blip on my radar before today, which is strange since he is exactly the kind of politician I would want representing me. After hearing the NPR’s All Things Considered reports about him and his work in the Senate, I nearly cried at the loss. His family and friends are in my prayers.

dumpster diving in dmoz

It’s been a long time since I was a junior in college exploring the World Wide Web for the first time. I started off with random directory searches in Yahoo!, but once I found my niches, I rarely ventured out again, unless it was a focused search on Google or some other search engine. Today … Continue reading “dumpster diving in dmoz”

It’s been a long time since I was a junior in college exploring the World Wide Web for the first time. I started off with random directory searches in Yahoo!, but once I found my niches, I rarely ventured out again, unless it was a focused search on Google or some other search engine.
Today was different. Today, I decided to explore my new preferred directory, dmoz, and see what I could find. Here are a few of the more interesting sites:

I think that’s enough fun for one day… Okay, one more, but this one I dredged out of my memory from those early years of internet surfing – the Dumpster Diver courtesy of HoosierTimes.com.

librarian celebrity

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to hear Kee Malesky speak at the Kentucky Library Association fall meeting. For many years now I have been envious of her job as one of the three reference librarians for NPR, but after hearing about the stress and intensity that is a part of her daily routine in … Continue reading “librarian celebrity”

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to hear Kee Malesky speak at the Kentucky Library Association fall meeting. For many years now I have been envious of her job as one of the three reference librarians for NPR, but after hearing about the stress and intensity that is a part of her daily routine in a deadline oriented institution, I am glad I have my quiet cataloging job.

First it was Bert & Ernie, then it was Tinky Winky, and according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, some folks are claiming that SpongeBob SquarePants is gay. I don’t care one way or the other, but what gets me is that some people are afraid of gay characters in children’s television programming. With the backlash against even the hint of the possibility of a character being gay, should the number of hate crimes against gay people committed by youth really surprise us?

“Whether he’s intended to be a gay character or not, that’s the question people are asking,” responded Mr. Kenny. … “It’s never been addressed by us on the show,” he said, adding with a wink that besides, “all the main characters are hiding horrible secrets of their own.”

public radio is endangered

I was talking with my Dean earlier today, and she told me about a network of Christian radio stations moving in to take out National Public Radio stations by taking over their frequencies. At first I thought it couldn’t be true, much less legal, but then I found a recent New York Times article reporting … Continue reading “public radio is endangered”

I was talking with my Dean earlier today, and she told me about a network of Christian radio stations moving in to take out National Public Radio stations by taking over their frequencies. At first I thought it couldn’t be true, much less legal, but then I found a recent New York Times article reporting on two NPR affiliate stations in Louisiana that were kicked off of the airwaves by American Family Radio resulting in a community of 95,000 people not having access to public radio (which includes local programming, unlike what AFR provides). As an on-air person at a local student-run radio station with a short broadcast range, this is disturbing to me.

“The Christian stations routed NPR in Lake Charles under a federal law that allows noncommercial broadcasters with licenses for full-power stations to push out those with weaker signals — the equivalent of the varsity team kicking the freshmen out of the gym.”

Jeffrey A. Dvorkin, Ombudsman for NPR has written a response to accusations of NPR having an agenda, liberal or otherwise, that is articulate and thoughtful.

If public radio was supposed to be an alternative, why do so many people feel excluded from those values?

Well, Congress voted yesterday. I knew they would give Dubya the power to join the “world’s worst leaders with the world’s worst weapons” but I kept hoping that more of them would hear the opposition (which is much larger and stronger than the media chooses to portray). Guess I should have known better, what with the elections being so soon.

moving to new technology

Welcome to my new site! Hope you enjoy the change, I know I do. There is an interesting article in the New York Times today about people who work with technology wanting to strip it out of their personal lives. I enjoy all of the tech stuff in my personal life at the moment, but … Continue reading “moving to new technology”

Welcome to my new site! Hope you enjoy the change, I know I do.

There is an interesting article in the New York Times today about people who work with technology wanting to strip it out of their personal lives. I enjoy all of the tech stuff in my personal life at the moment, but there are times when I need a vacation from computers.

“There

The Librarians and the Wishing Chair World Tour

On Monday afternoon, while scrounging through the playbox at WRFL for something to play that is relevant to my show, I ran across a band from California that call themselves The Librarians. I had to play a track off of their CD, even though it really doesn’t fit the format of the Estrogen Nation. I … Continue reading “The Librarians and the Wishing Chair World Tour”

On Monday afternoon, while scrounging through the playbox at WRFL for something to play that is relevant to my show, I ran across a band from California that call themselves The Librarians. I had to play a track off of their CD, even though it really doesn’t fit the format of the Estrogen Nation. I must say, they rock! Too bad they’re boys…I’d give them many more spins on my show if they had at least one girl in the band. As it is, they are my top choice for days when I can’t find enough women to fill the required slots. Anyway, I went ahead and ordered their t-shirt – I’m sure it’ll be a hit at professional librarian meetings. Oh, and I’m emailing with one of the band members about setting up an interview for RiFLe.

My friends, the band Wishing Chair, are looking for places to play on their World Tour. So, if you live in a town with a worldly name like London, Moscow, Sydney, or most especially Versailles, drop them a line and let them know about local venues. In my opinion, house concerts are the most fun, so you should also consider this. Kiya has put some links to informative websites about hosting house concerts on the World Tour page. Oh, and they now have really cool t-shirts for the tour. According to the monthly mailing, there are “[m]any sizes and colors to choose from, all 100% cotten in 4 lovely colors, ready to flatter any complexion and guaranteed to last until you wear ’em out. We won’t have anything really big or really small till we do our run on hand dyed tees this winter, so you all just keep your shirts on til then!”

Can you tell I like t-shirts?

Continue reading “The Librarians and the Wishing Chair World Tour”

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