Can I Write A Novel In One Month?

I know I have it in me, a novel. Let's see if I can't get it out and onto a piece of paper. The idea is wonderful. Write 50,000 words in one month in a novel of sorts. The editor in me hates the idea. How can I write and write and write with no editing along the way? How will I be able to make the reader understand me? Well for one thing no one will be reading my first draft, except for maybe my wife, if she would like to attempt to edit the mess I make.

My only goal in doing this is not to have her vomit after she's done. As long as I don't make her vomit I'm success right?

Cheer me on and lets see what kind of mess I can make.

It's been a long long summer

I'm writing now rather then later. I meant to prepare a perfect post that would astonish the blogging world and instead I'm writing this.

The summer started strong with some great concerts. The summer climax was The Dark Knight. I saw it nine times and hope to break an even 10 before the end of the month. My wife and I also took an archery class which was awesome. There is a real moment of Zen in the draw back and aim, right before the release. I spent my 10 year anniversary in San Francisco, we enjoyed our time the second time around, it helps the enjoyment factor when you're not running from the law. The city was beautiful, we walked everywhere and loved it. The city has it's unique architecture and culture that invites you in. I'll admit there are areas that aren't as attractive, but overall I have to say I could live there.

I'm actually finding out the more I travel, I have a few things I really need in a city. Large Body of Water. Mild Weather (mainly it can't get really hot I can handle the cold). It has to rain. There has to be a wide assortment of trees. I prefer either a large city or a small town none of these half hearted cities with marginal populations.

Which means that from San Francisco to Seattle I'd be in heaven, Chicago, Savannah (for those of you who might say Savannah is a middle city which is true, but you have to agree it's a city that demands respect), and of course New York City (who wouldn't want to live there).

The fall is looking good as well. We have a Coldplay concert, David Sedaris reading, meditation class, and fencing class. We also bought season tickets to the local theater company. Things are good.

Pearl Jam West Palm Beach, FL 6/11/08

Pearl Jam in Florida a first for me. I've been to many shows with PJ and I have to say it's always worth the journey. We got front row seats to the show and had a great time watching Kings of Leon open the show. The crowd was in a great mood and ready to get the show going and the people loved the band. If you've never heard their music its simple rock n roll.

Pearl Jam came out prompt and ready to set their tour off right. Opening with Ten's Ocean. A song I have never heard live. Every song from there to the closer was a sonic dessert. The band was loving life and playing well. It's great to see them mature, the stress and worries of their early days are gone leaving them the joy they had to begin with playing loud and live. This was a free for all tour as it didn't support an album, which meant the band could play whatever they wanted. They seemed to have a nice selection from each of their albums and even pulled out a few rare songs. It was a fun show and I can't wait to see them yet again. Here's the setlist * for song's I hadn't heard live before.


Oceans*
Severed Hand
Save You
Gods' Dice
Given To Fly
Faithfull
Unemployable
Sad
Dissident
Who You Are*
Even Flow
Low Light
Gone
Grievance
Glorified G*
Do The Evolution
Why Go
Encore 1
Inside Job
Better Man
Comatose
Rearviewmirror
Encore 2
It Rains On Me*
No More*
Alive
Yellow Ledbetter

R.E.M. at the Hollywood Bowl 05/29/08 W/The National & Modest Mouse

The National came out first and played a good set. I’m not as familiar with this band as the other two but their live show was great. I can’t wait to give their music a more in-depth listen. Their set included

1. Star a War
2. Brainy
3. Slow Show
4. Able
5. ? In My Beloved Wife? (not sure of the title)
6. Apartment Story
7. Mistake for Strangers
8. Fake Empire
9. Baby We’ll be Fire
10. Mr. November



Modest Mouse came out quickly and planned a fast set that was great. It had a lot of energy and really got the crowd ready for the main act. I’ve seen them twice before and I’ve come to learn that every show is its own. You never know what to expect from this band. Tonight was good, I don’t own all of their stuff but what I have I love and this was a great set which included.

Air Raid
1. Satin in a Coffin
2. Dance Hall
3. Dashboard
4. Fire it Up
5. Trucker’s Atlas
6. King Rat
7. ? Dreamed of Hell and Heaven but I don’t believe in either? (Couldn’t find
this one and I’m not even sure if this is the exact line Isaac sang.)
8. Float On
9. Paper Thin Walls
10. The Good Times are Killing Me
11. The View



I can’t easily tell you how many times I’ve seen R.E.M., but I can say each show is an experience that I’ll always cherish. Every tour/album has its own feel and emotions and this one was no different. The band played a clean set, and I don’t know if it was the feel of this tour or if it was because this was an early show in the tour or the place (Los Angeles) but the band wasn’t as fun to watch and interactive with the audience as in past tours. Saying this doesn’t mean the show wasn’t great but out of all of the tours I’ve seen it was one of the less entertaining ones. There were however some great moments within the show that I will always remember. Among them Ignoreland, and Let Me In. I’ve hear Let Me In a few different times and each one is great, but this time it was amazing. The band gathered around the stand up piano and played the song acoustically. It was private and gave the feeling of being with them in a studio or rehearsal. A private moment they shared with all of us. Here’s the set list

PRETTY PERSUASION
LIVING WELL
KENNETH
SITTING STILL
IGNORELAND
MAN SIZED WREATH
CIRCUS ENVY
DRIVE
ACCELERATE
HOLLOW MAN
FALL ON ME
HOUSTON
ELECTROLITE
FINAL STRAW
I’VE BEEN HIGH
LET ME IN
LOSING MY RELIGION
HORSE TO WATER
BAD DAY
WALK UNAFRAID
I’M GONNA DJ
----------------------
SUPERNATURAL
ONE I LOVE
UNTIL THE DAY
MAN ON THE MOON

Over all I’ll never go back to LA to see a show any show, the crowds there suck rocks, but it was a night I would never trade back. I meet two great security guards. They were twin brothers from Indiana trying to make it big and keeping their hearts from the blood suckers.

Death Cab For Cutie at Thanksgiving Point With Tegan and Sara 05/26/08 SLC, UT

This was my first show at Thanksgiving point, and I have to say besides the staff being rude and unhelpful, the services overpriced and being an hour late opening the doors the venue was great. Rouge Wave was scheduled to open the show, but due to weather they were unable to. Tegan and Sara also had a short set. They came out and played very well. This was my second time seeing them as an opening band, and I have to say they put on a good show. They have always been in a great mood played tight songs and engaged the crowd. I would love to see them headline a show, but they only seem to come to town as a supporting band. Their set was a nice mixture of old and new songs.

1. Walking with a Ghost
2. The Con
3. Burn Your Life Down
4. Speak Slow
5. I Bet it Stung (Dedicated to DCFC)
6. So Jealous
7. Where does the Good go
8. Nineteen
9. Back in Your Head
10. Living Room








Death Cab came out quick do to the time shortage. They played fast and didn’t mess around in-between songs. They were always as personable and pleasant with the crowd and enjoyed themselves. This was my third time seeing them play and I have to say they put on a great show.

1. Bixby Canyon Bridge
2. The New Year
3. Why You’d Want to Live Here
4. Photobooth
5. Long Division
6. Grapevine Fires
7. A Movie Script Ending
8. Where Soul Meets Body (Ben mentioned he needed to practice before coming on stage before trying fancy guitar tricks)
9. Follow You into the Dark (Ben was alarmed by the lack of clothing people were wearing for the temperature outside)
10. I Will Possess Your Heart
11. Cath
12. No Sunlight (Ben said this story is kind of about today)
13. Company Calls
14. Crooked Teeth
15. Sound of Settling
16. Manhattan Marching Band (Once Ben said that this would be their last song the crowd got upset and he said Come on you know we’ll be right back out in a few minutes, which got everyone laughing and screaming)
Encore
17. Title and Registration (Ben jokingly mentioned they had to hurry up and finish by 10 or they’d turn into pumpkins(this was a reference to the curfew the venue has to close by 10pm (It’s outside and surrounded by houses)))
18. Your Bruise
19. Transatlanticism


All in all I loved the show and wished we hadn’t missed Rogue Wave and had more time with each of the bands. I don’t think I’ll go back to the venue by choice but if a band goes there that I like I’ll still go.
Only complaint was that Tegan and Sara didn’t sell any T-Shirts in XL size. What’s that about? Don’t they think fat dudes like their music? Well I do.

The Cure, Salt Lake City 05/24/08 E Center

I've been a fan of The Cure since, the single "Friday I'm in Love" came out. I loved the video of Robert playing on the stage. A year later I meet a friend that was a hardcore Cure fan that introduced me to their other work and I have to say I've been smitten ever since. Disintegration and Faith are my two personal favorite albums. Even though I've been a fan for years I've never be able to see the live, until now. I wasn't sure what to expect but being a fan I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

The opening band was called 65 days of static, and I have to say the name fits the band. I've never seen an opening band that was purely instrumental. I loved the music but personally I would have liked them a lot more if they had a singer, but that's me. I did however like that they samples a line from the movie SINGLES.

Robert and the band came out at 8:30. The stage had a U shaped lighting rack and four screens in the back ground that played films during some of the songs (there are parentheses with a word to describe what I saw in front of the song titles for the songs that had a film). Robert was in a good mood and talked a little in between songs but his heavy accent made it hard to tell what he was saying, besides thank you. I have to say I didn't expect them to play as long as they did. Next to Pearl Jam this was one of the longest shows I've ever seen. They didn't leave until 11:30 which was a total of 3 hours and 3 encores. It was a lot of fun. I would recommend everyone that has ever been a fan to at least see them once if they haven't already.
Ok here's the set list. For the new songs I picked titles that seemed to fit the songs so do forgive me if they aren't right. There was one song that was new that I didn't title because I couldn't really pin point a good line to use as a title.

1. (Stars) Plainsong
2. (Neon Lights) Fascination Street
3. A Night Like This
4. (Fly) The Walk
5. (Stick Figure) End of the World
6. (Painted Face) Love Song
7. (Single Cover) Pictures of You
8. (Spider) Lullaby
9. Catch
10. Perfect World- New Song
11. (Sunset) From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
12. Other Voices
13. Sleep When I’m Dead- new song
14. Push
15. (Spinning Hearts) Friday I’m in Love
16. In Between Days
17. Just Like Heaven
18. (floating face balls) Elsie
19. Shake Dog Shake
20. (pills) Never Enough
21. Hot Hot Hot
22. The Only One- new song
23. (mirror Sign) Wrong Number
24. (B&W violent images) One Hundred Years
25. Disintegration
Encore
26. At Night
27. (m) New Song
28. Play for Today
29. (trees) A Forest
Encore
30. Boy’s Don’t Cry
31. Jumping Someone Else’s Train
32. Grinding Halt
33. 10:15 Saturday Night
34. Killing an Arab
Encore
35 Why can’t I be you

It was a great set and I have to say it could have only been better if they had stuck in Fight, Untitled, or funeral song. I would love to see them play again.

Newest Batman Trailer

Follow the link and download your own copy of the newest Batman trailer. I've seen it several times online and twice before Iron Man. it's going to be great. I'm man enough to admit that after seeing it the first time I teared up.

WATCH IT.

I Believe in Harvey Dent

I once again helped out with a little viral campagin for the new Batman movie. I got a lot of cool stuff for doing it.

Writers Groups

This one goes out to my two faithful readers. I'm sorry it has taken me five months to post to my blog. I can come up with at least three lame reasons but instead I'll act as if this disgrace never happened.

One of the major things I seem to be missing in my non-college years is constructive feedback on my writing. I miss bouncing ideas off people and working through the stale sections in a work. Yet as I really think about it even in school I didn't get a lot of feedback everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get to their work, but still more then I am now receiving.

I need to form a writing group, but again I'm not planing on stick around here for too much longer. I'd hate to start something only to leave in a year or two. It might be good experience and a perfect excuse to bail if it doesn't work out. hmmm I'll think about it.

The ticket would be to find a small group that was willing to take on the work of not only reading your work but the work of five others and coming up with beneficial comments. I think the ideal number would be 4 to 6. That way if two people don't show up you still have as least 2 more people that did show up. The hard part is finding a group that would be willing to put the time into it. Students have too much in their life to handle more reading and meetings. Parents are also too busy so you need to find people that are either just out of college or past the parenting years.

The other question is how do you weed out the crazies? I've worked at a library long enough to know that there are a lot of people that write and a lot of them are not taking their needed medication. How do you keep them from coming to the meetings or even finding out about them. I don't want to promote the group in a public place so anyone can find it but I also want people to find it. Coffee houses are the first idea then there are places like a campus but then you get the busy college kids. I wounder if there is a site that acts as a message board for groups? I'll have to hunt. But then once again that doesn't help you find people you can meet locally unless they are aware of the site and that might rule out older people.

Last question, how often do you meet? I would like to say once a month to keep it simple for everyone, but is that enough? A serious writer might want feedback on a regular basis. I think the most you could hope for would be twice a month, but if you're too strict then people might stop coming if they haven't done the reading.

If anyone has ideas let me know otherwise I'll research this the old librarian way and let you know what I find.

The Joker Review

First off I got a copy of the Gotham Times that was awarded to people that sent in pictures of them dressed as the joker as part of a viral campaign.

The movie preview some say is a prolouge and others the first five minutes. Either way it shows a group of men robbing a bank in Gotham with clown masks on. Once one man gets his particular job completed another clown faced man kills him as ordered by the Joker so that the share of the money will be greater. We then find out that the Bank manager actually works for the local mob and starts to fight back and kills one of the joker's men. In the last few seconds we get to see Heath Ledger as the joker as he takes of with the money. I won't say how he gets away as it would spoil it for you.

All and all it will be an awesome movie, the new Joker looks awesome!

I can't wait till July 2008.

32

Want to be a x-ray technician?

The Dark Knight

Watch the new Batman Trailer for The Dark Knight. I have to say it looks good. I plan on watching I Am Legend this weekend to see the 5 minute preview of the Dark Knight. I'll post on it next week.

Happy viewing.

Flogging Molly Salt Lake City, UT Dec 7th 2007

It has been a long time coming for me. I've wanted to see these guys live for years and I finally had the chance this last weekend and all I can say is WOW!

You hear about their shows and really words can't describe them. Action, Loud, Happy, Jigs, Laughter, Dancing.

The crowd was eclectic at best and large the snow was coming down outside and everybody was waiting for the show to start. Once again the venue sound system sucked but thankfully the band doesn't just rely on sound to entertain. They opened with Baba O'Reily and from there took the sky.

The next day I was sour and that's a compliment in it's highest from me. Very few bands can still get his fat old man jumping but these guys did.

They played all the great songs and touched on every album plus they played about 2 or 3 new songs and they sound great.

I can't wait for the new album and new tour.

Regina Spektor Salt Lake City, UT Nov 2nd 2007

After seeing Regina at Lollapalooza this year we didn't want to pass up the chance to see her again. We were a little disappointed. Not in Regina but in the Venue and the crowd. The Venue's sound system sucks hard and you can't make out what she said in-between the songs. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but it was a sold out show for the club and the crows seemed to be 15 year old girls wanting to talk about the last shopping trip at the mall instead of listening to the show. Regina had to stop twice in the middle of the show to tell people to shut up. Very distracting. Poor Regina did the best she could and played some great songs, but I'll never go back to the venue again.

Sadly I look forward to her coming back and playing in a larger venue.

Damien Rice Orem, UT Sep 18th 2007

This is my second time seeing Damien Rice live, and I have to say I was nervous that it wouldn't be as good. I saw him in a small club that was very intimate with a small crowd of people in Idaho. I also saw him when He and Lisa Hannigan were still working together. That's what I was most anxious about to see if he could pull off all of those amazing song with out her voice.

I arrived early and I mean first person there early. I was hopping there would be a good sized crowd even though he just came to town in July.

I was on the first row left of the stage and it was a great seat. The crowds finally showed up and thankfully it was a huge crowd for the McKay Dee Event center. There wasn't an opening band and so it was a while before Damien hit to stage.

Here's the setlist.
1. Rootless Tree
2. Delicate
3. !
4. I remember
5. 9 Crimes
6. The Professor & La fille Danse
Intermission @
7. Grey Room
8. Eskimo
9. Volcanoes
10. Accidental Babies
11. Blower's Daughter #
Encore
12. Coconut Skin $
13. Women like a Man
14. Me, My Yoke and I
15. Cannonball


!- This was a rare song that I have on a bootleg but I haven't had the time to find the song to post the title but some of the lines from the song are-" Question the Boy Question the man, and I long to be with you and I long to be free".
@- Intermission- Vivian Long the Cello player sang one of her songs called Happy Thoughts. It was really good.
#- This was a once in a lifetime song. The crowd had been very respectful and quiet during his songs and Damien had been in a really talkative mood and friendly. For this song he said he wanted to try something and came and sat at the edge of the stage with his acoustic guitar and sang this song with not mic for his voice or guitar and the place was as quiet as death, I'm sure the people at the top back row could hear every word. It was truly amazing!
$- There was no barrier between Damien and the crowd and so for the encore he asked everyone to come up to the stage and for the encore really pumped up the juice and the crowd loved it.

My fears were unfounded and I loved the show. I wouldn't have missed this show for anything. The man is a true artist. GO see him live you won't regret it.

The Golden Girls and Me

I love my job. I know saying it seems as if I have to convince myself, but I do in fact love working at a library. The only thing that at times bothers me is the fact I feel as if I'm lost in a Golden Girls episode in which they visit the library. I work with three great ladies but there are days I feel the generation gap between us. One of my co-workers couldn't help shelve material while we were short a page (the person that normally shelves) because her arthritis acts up the day after. Another one went on a cruise with her whole family and before she left she was tanning so she could look good in her swimsuit and all I can say is ewww (shiver runs down my spine imagining Blanch in a two piece). The last Golden Girl just spent the weekend helping her other sisters decorate a Christmas door wreath for charity (which is awesome) and forced me to look at twenty different pictures of the stupid thing (which is not awesome).

I can not wait until some young blood enters the retirement home and helps me feel like a younger and creepier Ralph Furley.

I did it! I passed my finals and I am a real live librarian now.













Crap now what do I do with my life?

The Stress of Waiting

I keep waiting for November 5th to come and see where my life will go. Will I be a librarian and save the world from misinformation or will I become a ditch digger or maybe a weird artist that scares all the neighbors because he uses trash and animal scat as his medium.

I feel as if I did OK but there is always that 1% of doubt or fear that creeps in and says yeah you sick old fart your stupid and nobody likes you.

I found an old friend this week which is cool. It reminds me of my old self, the young self that had so much hope and excitement. what happened to that old self did he get crushed under the weight of real life or did he mature. I can't believe I've done so much navel searching. Sorry

as good old Monty Pyton use to say,


Some things in life are bad, they can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse
When you’re chewing on life’s gristle
Don’t grumble, give a whistle
And this’ll help things turn out for the best

And always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the light side of life

If life seems jolly rotten there’s somefing you’ve forgotten
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing
When you’re feeling in the dumps don’t be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle, that’s the thing

And always look on the bright side of life, come on
Always look on the right side of life

For life is quite absurd and death’s the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow
Forget about your sin, give the audience a grin
Enjoy it, it’s your last chance anyhow

So always look on the bright side of death
A-Just before you draw your terminal breath

Life’s a piece a shit when you look at it
Life’s a laugh and death’s a joke, it’s true
You’ll see it’s all a show, keep ‘em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you

And always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the right side of life, come on Brian, cheer up
(Always look on the bright side of life)
Always look on the bright side of life
Worse things happen at sea, you know
(Always look on the bright side of life) I mean, what you gotta lose
You know, you come from nothing, you’re going back to nothing
What’ve you lost? Nothing
(Always look on the right side of life)
Nothing will come from nothing, you know what they say
(Always look on the right side of life) cheer up, you old bugger
Come on, give us a grin, there ya are
See, it’s nearly the end of the record
(Always look on the right side of life)
You’ll be nursing another tune in a minute
Alright, so your girlfriend just ran off with an Argentinean polo player
Okay (always look on the bright side of life)
Your ass been just decamped in the babysitter, and he’s from Norway
Alright, so your team’s losing fifteen-nil on to Barney
(Always look on the right side of life)
It’s not the end of the world, is it, now come on, cheer up
Moan, moan, moan, that’s what people do these days
Especially you old people (always look on the bright side of life)
All you’re gonna do is sit around and moan as you take your teeth away
Now come on girls, put the kettle on, have a nice cup of tea
That’s it (always look on the bright side of life)
Alright, come on, you groovy disc jockey, better get this rubbish off now
(Always look on the bright side of life)
Especially because we got something impressive like the news

I'm Off Like A Switch

I leave tomorrow for my final exam. Milwaukee here I come. Hopefully within two weeks to a month I'll be able to report that I graduated.

wish me luck'

How Lollapalooza 2007 Almost Killed my Blog

I've been planning a huge blog entry on how awesome it was to go to Lolla this year, but trying to study for my Graduate school finals has taken all my time. So with little time and the need to get back to writing let me just say I loved seeing Tokyo Police Club, The Fratellis, Regina Spektor, Modest Mouse, Pet Yorn, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Pearl Jam. It was awesome and maybe one day I'll post pictures and the setlists but most likely I won't we'll see. Anyway if you are on the fence towards going go for it.

My Batman Addiction

I'm finally getting better after being sick for so long. I'm sorry I haven't written as faithfully as I should but, things are on the up side. I got a new position at the library and will be starting it at Sept. 1; I hope I have time to do better on my postings.

Another time waster for me is my new found addiction to the Batman on Films site. Spend some time on the site and you'll soon see why I can't stop looking.

Last but certainly not least is the fact that I've been spending a lot of time studying for my finals which are coming up in Oct. so wish me luck.

Sick in the Chest

I'm back from Lollapalooza, but sick so I will post soon on the three day event. I must also begin studying for my finals, so time is a commodity I can not waste. Fear not I will return.

Technorati Profile

It's Over for Now

I got my grades in for my last semester of Grad. School. All A's once again I have to quickly acknowledge the fact that I had little to do with those grades and owe all my success to my Father in Heaven, Wife and Co-Workers.

I have my comprehensive final that is this September/October and will take place on campus at the University of Wisconsin. Hopefully all will go well and I'll graduate without a hitch this fall.

What then? Where do I go from here? I've thought about this a lot over the last year. Educationally I don't plan on taking anymore formal classes for the next five years unless required for my job. I do plan on reading all of the books I've been buying and stock pilling for the last nine years while I've been in undergrad and grad school. I finally have the time to read the things I want to read. This is probably my greatest reward with finishing school; I get to read books I pick. I also plan on taking some classes for fun like guitar, cooking, art, writing, and whatever else might tickle my fancy at the time. I also will need to get a second job if I want to be able to get out of debt from all of my student loans I've acquired over the many years.

Professionally I don't know where I want to go, well that's not entirely true. The next two years I will be an indentured servant to my benefactor library. They were kind enough to help me pay for half of my schooling and to help me with assignments and such and I plan to work my butt off for two years paying them back. After that I plan to apply for several dream job locations and see what happens. I won't list those here but I will say there are also some dream job locations, Northwest, and the East Coast.

Kids are the other big goal in the next few years.

My Heart Weeps at the Dubliner

My Heart Weeps at the Dubliner or How I was rescued from certain disaster in the middle of the flight due to an overabundant supply of V8 and conversation.


Introduction

I’d like to begin by saying this was an eye opening experience that I’ll always cherish. It not only allowed me a chance to broaden my views and ideas of what a successful library is, but it also awakened ideas and passions I didn’t know I held until I attended my classes. I also enjoyed the often candid times I was allowed to spend with my fellow co-workers and the relationships I was able to foster and develop because of this experience.

Day 1: Thursday

We all arrived safely to our hotels on Thursday and split up to do our individual things. Well actually we had planned to all go out to eat together at DuPont Circle, but Theron and I split up with the group on our way to the subway and ended up running into a splinter cell of Trish, Mary Ann, and Patty. We invited them to join the gang but Patty was the only one that wanted to so the three of us made our way to the red line platform to await the rest of the group. After three trains had come and gone we decided we were the ones that were behind and jumped the next train. Once we got to DuPont Circle we asked a local bookstore employee for a good place to eat and found the Luna Café. Our waitress was nice but newly arrived from Balkans, so we had a few moments of translation blurbs, but our food arrived well and good. I had a lovely meatloaf with great mashed potatoes. Right before we finished the rain began and ended quickly just enough to give a refreshing burst of humidity.
We decided to walk from DuPont Circle back to our hotel, which ended up being a fun stroll. We passed several Embassies along the way home, Peru and Uzbekistan to name a few. We also walked the west backend of the mall if that makes sense, where Patty got verbally challenged by someone that looked to have had a bad day. We went to the White House and walked around it and learned that the White House doesn’t have a backyard. Patty also broke four Federal laws by stealing some of the grass from the lawn of the White House. We then made our way to the Capital were it appeared that there was a protest of sorts amassing on the steps, but by that time we were tired and so we went home to rest. I made my way up to the hotel roof and enjoyed a nice swim while it lightly rained.

Day 2: Friday

We started early and had a nice walk up to the Judiciary Square stop on the Redline to get more acquainted with our surroundings. From there we went to the Library of Congress and met a very unfriendly greater that made sure to make us feel unwelcome and part of the masses. Our tour guide was a wonderful older gentleman that took us on a great tour of the library and explained some of the interesting facts and hidden secrets of the library; like the fact that part of the fresco of the library is aluminum leafed because at the time of construction it cost more to use that than gold and it would show off the power of America. We also learned that artists dealt with copyright issues at the time of construction and went so far as to sign the finished works “copyrighted” along with their signature. There is some amazing symbolism in the library’s construction that would be a wonderful future study. The high note of the tour was looking at the Gutenberg Bible and hand-written Bible side by side. They were both created at the same time and it shows the end of one method and the beginning of another mode of creation for the word.

After the tour was over we were all allowed free time to go and explore the city and spend the day in meditation and contemplation over the future of our country and field of Library Studies. I choose to begin my day visiting Arlington Cemetery. It was a nice trip that began with Trish, Mary Ann, Patty, and Holly joining me on my way there. Once there we split up and went to the different sites. I went to JFK’s grave and memorial, as well as the tomb of the unknown solider. It was a humbling experience to be among those that lived and died for our country.
I then went solo for the rest of the day as I made my way to the International Spy Museum. This was a great museum that is dedicated to the history of espionage. I highly recommend this museum for anyone with a pulse. Next door there was also a great hotdog shop with Leninade. From there I made my way to Ford’s Theatre to find out it was closed, but I did go to the Peterson’s house where I found out that the house was not historically correct in that it didn’t have any of the actual items from the time period in the house, just antiques from the time period, so that was a let down. It was still interesting to be in the same building that President Lincoln died in.
I then went to the National Archives to see the Bill of Rights, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and other important American documents. They also had two great exhibits, one about the lives of the Presidents before they held office and one about the archives themselves and what unusual items they had. There was great stuff on congressional hearings on how comic books are corrupting the youth and the government files on UFOs. From there I walked back to the hotel and had a relaxing time looking over the ALA packet and deciding on what classes I should take. At 8:30, Theron, Kevin, and I went to meet the group at Old Ebbitt Grill for our big group dinner. On the platform we ran into Ann and joined her on the trip. We had to wait for our table and everyone got a bit goofy waiting, Holly even danced like a monkey for pennies. The food was amazing and Lynnda was generous enough to pay for all. Thanks Lynnda! I had an Italian dish with pasta, ham, spinach and a wonderful white cream sauce. I also tried some of Mary Ann’s pork, which was great, and one of Theron’s muscles, which were spicy, and some of Karen’s chicken, which was nice and crispy, and the mash potatoes were also great. Deborah and I then walked over the White House at night so she could get a picture of it and then we walked home. It was a long busy day full of fun.

Day 3: Saturday

I started the day off early with an 8am lecture by Film Director Ken Burns. He was showcasing his new documentary “War.” It was a great film, but as Theron astutely pointed out, “All his movies have been the same since Civil War.” It’s definitely worth watching, but it’s the same thing except a different war. Burns did say, “Libraries are the DNA of our society,” and “When a Man dies we lose a library.”
My next classes were called Bringing in the Boys: Using Multiple Intelligences to Plan Programs that Appeal to Boys. It was an interesting class on the eight types of intelligences that are out there and how to plan programs around those intelligences to encourage boys to take part in the library programs. It was a great class with some interesting insights that would be worth looking into. If you want to learn more there is a wiki at www.multipleintelligences.pbwiki.com . You can also contact one of the instructors by email at abrown@worthingtonlibraries.org . I then went to meet the group for the “Conference Opening General Session” with guest speaker Bill Bradley. I have to be honest and say it’s nice that a bunch of ancient librarians are being recognized and given awards, but it’s boring as all get out to watch. I think they need to have a special awards show and get them all over with at once instead of making us suffer through them before the speaker comes out. Bill’s speech was short and political. There is a theme at this conference toward the political. After the speech, Theron and I went to the ballgame, the Washington Nationals against the Cleveland Indians. It was my first pro game and a lot of fun. We got lost and missed the first 4 innings but the last five made up for it. It went back and forth at the end with the Indians winning the game. I had a blast. The crowd was a lot of fun to watch.

Day 4: Sunday

My first class in the morning was called Using Technology to Market to Young Adults. This was a good class on how to get teens involved in creating an environment for them at the library. The main thing to remember is to make them apart of the creation process so that they feel invested in the programs and area. Get their feedback as much as possible; let them know that their opinions matter. They also stressed the importance of a teen space online that is part of the library. Ideally, a library should have a teen webpage. If that isn’t possible, an account on myspace or at the least a teen blog will help. The point is to make the teens feel like they have a place at our library, a place to voice their opinions, and a way to communicate with each other. They also stressed that for rural libraries or library systems that cover a large area of land an online space can allow teens who share the same interests the chance to communicate with each other and build bonds and friendships through the library. I think we should take serious thought in creating a teen blog. It’s something that IT wouldn’t have to create or manage. We could use Blogger.com to create an account and one to two Librarians could moderate the discussions. Since coming back from DC, Sarah and I have thrown some ideas around and we even came up with a name that we could use that is still available on blogger- TheThiiird. It has great brand appeal with the roman numerals III as a potential visual brand. It also sets up the three rules of any teen group 1. Respect yourself 2. Respect others 3. Respect the place. It’s something to consider. One of the presenter’s blogs is http://indielibrarian.blogspot.com/ and another website to look at for further information is www.ypulse.com .
My next class was called Off the Chain: Reader’s Advisory for Exploding Genres. I took this class to help me create better collection development for fiction. It was a great class that focused on different up and coming genre’s to look at for the twenty-something age range. They also mentioned some great literature review sources that we as a library don’t have and should think about subscribing to. I’ve sent out requests for a free sample copy of the publications in hopes that I can sample them before requesting that we subscribe to them.
The next class was the LAMA President’s Program. It was on leadership and the main speaker was Frances Hesselbein who used to be the president of the Girl Scouts. It was a good speech on how to be a better leader.
My last class for the day was called Video Games as Service: Hosting Tournaments @ Your Library. I wanted to take this class in preparation for the South Branch opening and would like to attempt a Beta version at OVB or Main before we open. It really broke down the steps you need to take in setting it up and how actually hosting tournaments is cheaper and more cost effective than buying material for check out. It went over what platforms and games are the best for tournaments and even talked about how you can promote the tournaments. For more info checkout http://www.aadl.org/files/ala-gaming.pdf .
I ended the night with a nice dinner at the Irish Pub called the Dubliner. I had a delicious Beef O’Flannery. I also enjoyed the company of Trish, Kathy, Deborah, and Holly. After they left I stayed to enjoy the live Irish music.

Day 5: Monday

My first class of the day was You Must Write It: 50 Tips for Publishing with YALSA. It was a wonderful class that talked about the importance of publishing in the library field and the best way to go about getting published in YALSA. It inspired me to not allow myself to get lazy after finishing Library School. I’ve even enlisted Sarah to help with an article/book idea that we can submit for publication.
My last class for the conference was The European Union Today: Forging European Identity. This was an interesting class on how different Europe’s libraries are from America’s and how their libraries and universities are changing in the 21st century. We also learned about how the EU is changing the way European’s look at their identity and how that can be used in America to see how our libraries are changing the way we look at ourselves as Americans.
I then went to the National Aquarium and spent some time there enjoying the fish. I also walked the Mall as I made my way to the Museum of Natural History so I could see the Hope Diamond.
Later that night I made my way with Deborah, Kathy, Holly, and Monet on the Monuments by Moonlight tour. It was a fun time seeing the city as the sun went down. The highlights of the night were the World War II monument, Marines Monument (Iwo Jima), and the Einstein Monument.

Day 6: Tuesday

To end the trip on a high note Theron and I went to see the National Cathedral. We arrived at about 9am and the tours didn’t start until 10:30 so we walked the grounds of the cathedral and found an open door that we wondered into. From there we were able to spend an hour on a private tour of the cathedral passing several different employees including a security guard. It wasn’t until we rode down the elevator with one of the maintenance men after viewing the seventh floor observation deck that the cleaning lady stopped us and kicked us out of the cathedral. After that we walked the gardens and waited until the gift shop opened and then made our way back to the Hotel where we meet up with the rest of our group and started the journey home.
In closing I’d like to thank Lynnda and the Library Board for allowing me to attend my first ALA conference and for giving me a scholarship. It was very kind and generous. I learned a lot and have many new plans for the future of our library.

Here are the pics
http://travel.webshots.com/album/559685924TGrlWD

Me on YouTube

My first video on YouTube and I already have two fans and 15 views after an hour of it being on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzhFwBMxc1M

Henry David Thoreau

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business.
--- Henry David Thoreau

Grades for Spring 2007

I got straight A's for the second time in my life. I can't take all the credit for them thought. I received a lot of help and advice from my wife and fellow co-works.

I just got back from a mini conference in San Jose, CA. I have to say the trip was fun. I love traveling especially to new places. The town didn't really impress me all that much, but the people were all very friendly and helpful. Most of the time we didn't even have to ask for directions or help they just sensed it.
The conference was a lot of fun but the classes were all about computer system questions and functions and you can only make that some what interesting, so by the end of the conference I was ready to go home. I'm not an IT person and I only went because I'm on a committee to help redesign the OPAC (Online Public Access Computers), and I was hoping some of the classes would give me some ideas.
I had fun exploring the downtown area and looking in local stores. We ate at a lot of different restaurants but none that stuck out as must eats. Went to a ball game and saw the single A team the Giants get beat by the Nuts (can't remember the city they were from). A real nice cop gave us a ride after we figured out that all the buses had stopped running.
I swam the first two night and really enjoyed it but the wind was blowing and it was pretty chilly so I didn't swim the last night.
The funnest part about the trip was all the jokes that were played. I got short sheeted, chips in the bed, and my luggage hidden. I poured water on a mattress, set up a 3:15am wake-up call and stacked five room service trays in front of the girls door. All and all a good time.

End of Third Semester

The end of my third semester of Grad. School is over. Time is falling by and it makes me wonder where I'll be in another few months. After I take my comps. this fall I'll take on the title and responsibilities of a Librarian. I don't even know where in the system I'll be working. I haven't gotten my grades back yet but unofficially I have an A in my Children's Literature class. I'll let you know how the others go.
My last semester starts back up on the 29th and ends on the 7th of July, roughly 6 weeks of hell. Their summer semesters are shorter but they still hold the same amount of information that they cram down the cake hole. I will officially go crazy and loose all sense of time.
Bear with me a little longer and I'll be able to make regular postings.