Use Your Brain

The Hollywood Librarian Trailer

2008-10-18T19:50:00.001-07:00

I Met The Walrus

2008-10-13T13:01:00.001-07:00

Building Academic Library 2.0

2008-08-27T19:31:00.001-07:00

Check out http://wordle.net/

2008-08-25T02:11:00.000-07:00

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Cool TED talk

2008-08-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jeff_han_demos_his_breakthrough_touchscreen.html

We Think

2008-08-15T20:41:00.001-07:00

America's Most Literate Cities 2007

2008-07-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.ccsu.edu/AMLC07/Overall_Rankings/Top10.htm

Portland is #12.

Blur - Parklife

2008-07-11T20:22:00.001-07:00

bikeTV-City Repair Project (Portland, OR)

2008-05-09T22:02:00.001-07:00

cool/painful website

2008-04-26T00:17:00.000-07:00

Art made from discarded books: http://www.carabarer.com/gallery.php#

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

2008-04-20T01:13:00.001-07:00

Who's Watching YOUR Space?

2008-03-13T23:10:00.001-07:00

Syracuse University School of Information Studies MSLIS

2008-03-13T23:06:00.001-07:00

Charlie Rose - Stephen Sondheim / James Lapine

2007-12-31T21:22:00.001-08:00

A Vision of Students Today

2007-12-23T12:01:00.001-08:00

Web 2.0

2007-12-23T11:53:00.001-08:00

Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

2007-12-23T11:48:00.003-08:00

Information R/evolution

2007-12-23T11:48:00.001-08:00

A Librarian's 2.0 Manifesto

2007-12-02T19:22:00.001-08:00

Kazuo Ishiguro

2007-08-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

Maeve Brennan

2007-08-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

Joan Didion

2007-08-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

This depresses me a bit...

2007-08-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

Where you fall in poll of U.S. reading habits

WASHINGTON (AP) -- There it sits on your nightstand, that book you've meant to read for who knows how long but haven't yet cracked open. Tonight, as you feel its stare from beneath that teetering pile of magazines, know one thing -- you are not alone.
Women are more avid readers than men, according to a new poll. One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Of those who did read, women and seniors were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices.
The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can hardly be called ravenous. The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year -- half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those who hadn't read any, the usual number read was seven.
"I just get sleepy when I read," said Richard Bustos of Dallas, Texas, a habit with which millions of Americans can doubtless identify. Bustos, a 34-year-old project manager for a telecommunications company, said he had not read any books in the last year and would rather spend time in his backyard pool.
That choice by Bustos and others is reflected in book sales, which have been flat in recent years and are expected to stay that way indefinitely. Analysts attribute the listlessness to competition from the Internet and other media, the unsteady economy and a well-established industry with limited opportunities for expansion.
When the Gallup poll asked in 2005 how many books people had at least started -- a similar but not directly comparable question -- the typical answer was five. That was down from 10 in 1999, but close to the 1990 response of six.
In 2004, a National Endowment for the Arts report titled "Reading at Risk" found only 57 percent of American adults had read a book in 2002, a four percentage point drop in a decade. The study faulted television, movies and the Internet.
Who are the 27 percent of people the AP-Ipsos poll found hadn't read a single book this year? Nearly a third of men and a quarter of women fit that category. They tend to be older, less educated, lower income, minorities, from rural areas and less religious.
At the same time, book enthusiasts abound. Many in the survey reported reading dozens of books and said they couldn't do without them.
"I go into another world when I read," said Charlotte Fuller, 64, a retired nurse from Seminole, Florida, who said she read 70 books in the last year. "I read so many sometimes I get the stories mixed up."
Among those who said they had read books, the median figure -- with half reading more, half fewer -- was nine books for women and five for men. The figures also indicated that those with college degrees read the most, and people aged 50 and up read more than those who are younger.
Pollyann Baird, 84, a retired school librarian in Loveland, Colorado, says J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter fantasy series is her favorite. But she has forced herself to not read the latest and final installment, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," because she has yet to file her income taxes this year due to an illness and worries that once she started the book, "I know I'd have to finish it."
People from the South read a bit more than those from other regions, mostly religious books and romance novels. Whites read more than blacks and Hispanics, and those who said they never attend religious services read nearly twice as many as those who attend frequently.
There was even some political variety evident, with Democrats and liberals typically reading slightly more books than Republicans and conservatives.
The Bible and religious works were read by two-thirds in the survey, more than all other categories. Popular fiction, histories, biographies and mysteries were all cited by about half, while one in five read romance novels. Every other genre -- including politics, poetry and classical literature -- were named by fewer than five percent of readers.
More women than men read every major category of books except for history and biography. Industry experts said that confirms their observation that men tend to prefer nonfiction.
"Fiction just doesn't interest me," said Bob Ryan, 41, who works for a construction company in Guntersville, Alabama. "If I'm going to get a story, I'll get a movie."
Those likeliest to read religious books included older and married women, lower earners, minorities, lesser educated people, Southerners, rural residents, Republicans and conservatives.
The publishing business totaled $35.7 billion in global sales last year, 3 percent more than the previous year, according to the Book Industry Study Group, a trade association. About 3.1 billion books were sold, an increase of less than 1 percent.
The AP-Ipsos poll was conducted from August 6 to 8 and involved telephone interviews with 1,003 adults. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Credit:www.cnn.com/living

Aimee Bender

2007-08-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

A Hipper Crowd of Shushers

2007-07-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/fashion/08librarian.html?ex=1341806400&en=bbc0120b9d9eb074&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Books Don't Take You Anywhere

2007-07-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON, DC—A study released Monday by the U.S. Department of Education revealed that, contrary to the longtime claims of librarians and teachers, books do not take you anywhere.

A sampling of the Department of Education study's findings.
"For years, countless educators have asserted that books give readers a chance to journey to exotic, far-off lands and meet strange, exciting new people," Education Secretary Richard Riley told reporters. "We have found this is simply not the case."

According to the study, those who read are not transported to any place beyond the area in which the reading occurs, and even these movements are always the result of voluntary decisions made by the reader and not in any way related to the actual reading process.

Phoenix-area 11-year-old Jennifer Gleason, who did not move in more than two hours of reading The Wizard Of Oz. "People engaged in reading tend to be motionless," Riley said. "Not moving tends to make it easier to read."

In various field experiments, the study found that young readers are particularly susceptible to the reading-travel myth. One test subject, 11-year-old Justin Fisher of Ypsilanti, MI, began reading a fantasy novel by C.S. Lewis under close observation. After 40 minutes, the only trip Fisher took was to the bathroom, a journey he himself initiated because he "had to go." Further, at no point did Fisher's voyage to the bathroom involve evil witches, messianic lions or closet portals to other universes.

"I just stayed in my chair without moving that much," Fisher said. "I think I scratched my head a couple of times."

Another case documented in the study was that of San Diego 13-year-old Liz Kent, who read Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. Over the course of more than three hours reading the pirate-adventure tale, at no point did she make a new friend or travel to a distant land.

The study did note one exception to the findings, citing situations in which people read on buses, cars, trains or planes. Even in these cases, however, the reading-travel link is tenuous at best.

"Many people enjoy reading while traveling," Riley said. "But it is important to note that the traveling always results in the reading, and never the reverse."

As a result of the study, it is expected that many young people will call into question what Riley termed "the empty promises of library posters and other pieces of pro-reading propaganda."

"I hate it when you get excited about a place and then you don't go there," 10-year-old Ashley Brandes of Atlanta said. "Reading sucks."

Credit: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29716

Moxy Fruvous - My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors

2007-07-02T01:34:00.001-07:00

Geek Love

2007-07-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

Librarian

2007-06-16T19:00:00.001-07:00

The Golden Road: Notes On My Gentrification by Caille Millner

2007-06-10T01:31:00.000-07:00

Documentary of the Week

2007-04-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

http://www.thecorporation.com/

Documentary of the Week

2007-04-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

Documentary of the Week

2007-04-08T22:55:00.000-07:00

Mexican/U.S. border at the Pacific Ocean

2007-04-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

Water (film)

2007-04-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

David Sedaris on The Late Show

2007-03-30T11:27:00.001-07:00

I'm going to see David on April 22nd!

New Seasons Market

2007-03-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

Mirror Lake

2007-03-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

Le Happy

2007-03-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

Barbara Ehrenreich

2007-03-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Juliet Schor

2007-03-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

Sauvie Island

2007-03-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

J.D. Salinger

2007-03-08T21:11:00.000-08:00

An Unreasonable Man

2007-03-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

http://videos.ifcfilms.com/unreasonableman/trailer.html

So you want to a librarian...

2007-02-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smrrZpbvI20

Howard Zinn

2007-01-29T11:40:00.000-08:00

Pix Pâtisserie

2007-01-26T17:44:00.000-08:00

Elie Wiesel

2007-01-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

Masaru Emoto

2007-01-21T21:04:00.000-08:00

http://www.masaru-emoto.net

Powell's Books

2007-01-19T16:42:00.000-08:00

Diana Trilling

2007-01-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

Ted Kulongoski

2007-01-17T17:38:00.000-08:00

Ira Glass

2007-01-16T14:05:00.000-08:00

John Robbins

2007-01-15T17:26:00.000-08:00

Barcelona, Spain

2007-01-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

Half & Half

2007-01-12T20:39:00.000-08:00

I love Half & Half. It's a tiny tiny coffee shop near Powell's. Amazing grilled cheese sandwiches.

I borrowed these adorable photos from eggbeater.typepad.com/shuna/geography/index.html
(a blog I have a crush on)

David Sedaris

2007-01-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

Nancy Pelosi

2007-01-10T19:44:00.000-08:00

Terry Gross

2007-01-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

Credit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Gross

Naomi Klein

2007-01-08T18:01:00.000-08:00

Reading No Logo.

Credit: currents.ucsc.edu/04-05/02-21/klein.asp

Thich Nhat Hanh

2007-01-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

This beautifully designed book begins with detailed instruction in conscious breathing and awareness of the small acts of our daily lives, and goes on to show how practicing mindfulness helps us transform and heal difficult psychological states. It concludes with an exploration of the connection between inner peace and peace in the world. From Bantam Books.

"This book not only teaches mindfulness, it also exemplifies and induces it. Subtle and extremely effective." San Francisco Chronicle

Credits:
www.cpa.ed.ac.uk/edit/3.02/012.html
www.parallax.org/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=a...

Cairo, Egypt

2007-01-06T17:05:00.000-08:00

Men pray during Friday prayers before a protest against the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein at Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo January 5, 2007. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview published on Friday that execution had turned Saddam into a martyr and pictures of the hanging were "revolting and barbaric".

Credit: www.photos.reuters.com (05 Jan 2007 REUTERS/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

Carson Ellis

2007-01-05T21:42:00.000-08:00

Local incredibly talented artist.
Check out her website: www.carsonellis.com

Philip Roth

2007-01-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

My favorite author. Favorite works: American Pastoral and Goodbye, Columbus
Credit: http://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/2005/12/12/451938.html

Barack Obama

2007-01-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

Something about this photo makes me feel hopeful about America's future.
Credit: http://www2.indystar.com/articles/4/191586-7434-168.html

Will Shortz

2007-01-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

I will try not to hate you.

New Year's Eve/Happy Birthday Eric Party

2007-01-01T23:13:00.000-08:00

Tassa and I almost set the bed on fire while lighting the birthday candles. We all danced and acted like animals.

Noammmm

2007-01-01T00:06:00.000-08:00

2006-12-28T23:52:00.001-08:00

Posted By:This reminded me of Jeff

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

I miss Francis.

2006-12-27T01:10:00.000-08:00

I went to Seattle this weekend...

2006-07-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

Visited the Seattle Public Library...

This is the necessary pilgrimage for any book lover in the Northwest. The architecture left me speechless. Jeff and I felt like we were taken to another dimension.

The library has 11 floors. We went up to the 10th. The 11th is only for employees. We could see out and around Seattle. We could also see down the middle of the library. It was surreal- I actually got a little sick when I looked down to the first floor from 10th floor. I was afraid to look over, but managed to take a photo (which I'll post once I learn how to use a photo program in Linux).

We went to Seattle to take care of Sophie (Reid and Ali's 2 pound Maltese perma-puppy). She was a delight to play with, love, and hug. Jeff talked baby talk with her and she looked at him with great concern (tongue out, eyes wide).

Besides checking out the library, we visited the Experience Music Project. This is a definite must for any Jimi Hendrix fans. The museum displayed letters he wrote to his grandmother when he was a child, letters home to his father when he started making his first record in London, a part of the Fender Stratocaster that he set on fire during the Monterrey Pop Festival, and loads of handwritten lyrics on hotel stationary. Very, very cool. They also had a room devoted to the history of hip-hop and the NW music scene.

The Bite of Seattle was happening at the Seattle Center. We bought some delicious veggie crepes and watched crowds of people play in a huge fountain.

I went to a used bookstore and got 2 good books for $8. The Chosen and A Dry White Season. The bookstore didn't have air-conditioning though it was 95 degrees all weekend long. Two hot-looking cats laid out on stacks of books.

I drove the 3 hours home...a wonderful weekend...

Lots going on...

2006-05-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

Between two jobs, volunteering, studying for the GRE's, and hanging out with friends I'm not finding a whole lot of time to update this blog. Hopefully I will be able to sometime soon.

2006-02-27T22:14:00.000-08:00

He has all a hamster could want.

*Look out tower
*Small cozy purple cottage (for sleeping)
*Large home with big red wheel, nutritious food, and water bottle.
*Tubes to travel to all these places.

2006-02-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Oliver.

I like to sleep, run on my wheel, and explore C & J's apartment in a plastic red ball.

Love

2006-02-09T21:51:00.000-08:00

I got all emotional tonight. I'm a sucker for pretty much any love stories. (fuck "The Notebook"-the worst book and movie!)

I decided to listen to/read a Valentine's Day themed article on NPR. The article included stories written by everyday folks about their favorite love songs. The stories and music aren't stupid, gushy, and unoriginal (like The fucking Notebook). They aren't just about man/woman love. They are also stories about pets and loved ones who have died.

I really enjoyed the first story written by a man from Wisconsin (haha-it's about man/woman love). In a way, it reminds me of the first time I laid eyes on Jeff (if you're curious-just comment or e-mail me). You have to listen to "Cathy's Clown" (the link is provided) while reading the story. I promise you'll like it. If you don't, go watch that fucking Notebook movie and cry your eyes out that way.

I also really liked the story by Margaret in Texas.

Our temporary kitchen table

2006-02-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight Jeff and I had a romantic (see candle) dinner at our temporary kitchen table. It's a utility table that he bought at Big Lots for $22. We'll just use it until we get an actual (and nice) table and chairs. Soon-oh yes my friends!- it will be my artsy crafty table. It was nice to eat facing each other instead of eating at our computer desks (*munch* *tapping keyboard* *munch*)
Tonight's mixture was some kale/swiss chard with soba noodles. I topped the noodles with a fine selection of nigari tofu, red peppers, onions, and eggplant. It was wonderfully delicious.

Also, Skyy is getting a lot of wins at www.puppywar.com. As of this moment, she's been to 39 battles and she's won 58% of them.

Sophie, on the other hand, is not doing to well (out of 39 battles-she's won 39%). I think people think that she has a costume on, when she really is just wearing her own pink suede jacket. Costumed dogs tend to do badly. Also, the picture is a bit blurry-my fault. I'm sure she'll improve.

I made this beautiful bowl of soup for dinner tonight

2006-02-02T22:16:00.000-08:00

1) Saute 1/2 cup of onions with about a tsp of olive oil until onions are transluscent.
2) Add 1 cup cut up veggies.
3) Add 2 cups of veggie broth and 1/4 cup of tofu.
4) Let simmer for 3-4 min.
5) Then add 2 tbsp. of miso.
6) Let simmer for 5-10 min.
7) Add some steamed brown rice and serve!
8) Eat, smile, and think about how you are so much better than the minions that walk this earth.
9) Enjoy!

Purple hat complete

2006-02-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

Remember the purple thing I was knitting (with circular needles) a few entries back?

Well, here is the end result. A beautiful comfy hat.

2006-02-02T02:39:00.000-08:00

I'm knitting a sweet little sock. First time using double-pointed needles.

Help!

2006-02-02T02:37:00.000-08:00

I'm addicted to Japanese sweets.

Pets or Lack of

2006-02-02T01:47:00.000-08:00

For nearly the entire month of December I snuggled with two adorably kind kitties every single freaking night.

I'm obviously feeling a lack in the pet department (see last entry). In order to fill the gaping hole of black utter pain I feel on a daily basis, I decided to buy some bird feed and "critter" mix.

I become overjoyed when gangs of black-eyed Oregon juncos grab a bite to eat and dance in the plastic plate of feed I set on the porch. The seeds fly everywhere and, you know, that's cool.

Another frequent visitor is the fat fat fat white-bellied squirrel (the one politely eating with both paws in the upper right photo). He just munches and watches me work away at my desk.

This is a temporary fix for my feelings of pet-less despair.

All I know for sure is that I'm sooo gonna be a cat lady...

Beauty Kit

2006-01-29T14:17:00.000-08:00

Check out this disturbing video by Pleix Films. It's called Beauty Kit.

The Art of Sushi

2006-01-28T22:45:00.000-08:00

I made sushi for dinner.

Circular needles

2006-01-21T14:41:00.000-08:00

I love circular needles! I have so many project ideas going through my head right now!

January flowers

2006-01-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I noticed that some greenery was starting to sprout up in the garden. So exciting!

Chopsticks

2006-01-16T22:53:00.000-08:00

I'm collecting chopsticks now. They are superior to forks. I love the hot pink clothspin chopsticks that I picked up for $1.95.

Cool Podcast

2006-01-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

Ok, so a few things.
1.) Jeff bought me some yarn annnnd a nice pair of circular needles (size 7). I'm really excited to start using them. My first pair of circular needles. Yay!

2.) We went to Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks in Southeast Portland. We chatted with the very cool owner and struggled over what yarns to bring home. Next time we go, we plan to knit in their large and brightly lit up cafe.

3.) I checked out Brenda Dayne's blog. She's in Wales. Her blog contains podcasts for knitters to listen to while they create. It's great. Just click the purple "Listen to Episode #." Make sure you've got your needles!

The Dormitory Boys

2006-01-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

Check out this blog and try not to laugh at their videos.

TVSet.org

2006-01-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

Thinkaboutit.

2006-01-05T09:47:00.000-08:00

We arrived back to Portland on Tuesday night. The last month or so has been filled with attending a wedding, snuggling with adorable cats, babysitting an adorable pomeranian named Skyy, goofing around with the family (on the 4th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...), and hanging out with my dear Jeff.

What the bleep do we know?

2005-12-29T20:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, so Jeff and I rented a fantastic movie a few nights ago. It's called What the bleep do we know?

Here's the website: www.whatthebleep.com. It's a documentary that explores a variety of topics from quantum physics to the basic structure of our brains.

The best thing about this movie is that it explains these complex topics in an easy to understand way. It uses cool visual effects. Andddd it takes place in Portland. Woo-hoo! At the beginning and end of the film you'll see the main character (Marlee Matlin) get on at the Goose Hollow/Jefferson train stop (two train stops from my house). They also film at a lot of familiar places around town. Very cool!

Also, check out the following page on Dr. Dr. Masaru Emoto books http://www.whatthebleep.com/crystals/. I think his research is very fascinating. His books are bestsellers and they are full of pictures that will make you think differently about the world around you. What the bleep do you know? is also available in the form a wonderful book.

Look up compassion in the dictionary

2005-12-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

I realized today that I'm not a snob. I'm very aware of the superficial environments around me. Also, this dog is handsome.

I want two kitties.

2005-12-22T13:16:00.000-08:00

New Year's Resolution #2: Get two kitties (I'd like them to come from the same litter).

Oh, the places I have been...

2005-12-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

My cities

2005-12-21T22:26:00.000-08:00

I grew up in the city pictured above (Rochester, NY). Jeff and I are here visiting our folks for a bit.

Portland, OR has been my new home since July 2005. It's a great place and I plan to stay for quite a while.

Peter, I want it.

2005-12-21T21:31:00.000-08:00

New Year's Resolution #1: Get a job, so I can get my paws on one of these.

It's the 14-inch iBook G4. I may go for the Powerbook though -cause it's bigger.

Peter-I will wait at least until January (when a new one is supposedly going to be released). Meanwhile, I will obsessively look at www.apple.com and www.macrumors.com.

I will someday buy this book

2005-12-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

I lurv this book. I've been reading through it during my recent visits to Barnes and Noble. I love ReadyMade magazine as well.

Jeff and I are really big on making everything for our apartment. This book has many marvelous and funky-cool designs for furniture and random home decor items.

cool blog

2005-12-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

Hey, check this out. It's cool.

My first hat

2005-12-07T23:40:00.000-08:00

So Jeff loves to wear this ugly thing in public.

Anti-war protest

2005-12-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

Khara and Seth (Abu Ghraib reenactment-he's on the left-she's on the right) helped shut down the Eureka Military Recruiting Center for a day. Full story at http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/11/1784725.php.
So so proud.