Rehearsal Dinner

Karen, Brian, me, Grandma Reich, Dad and Jane at the Rehearsal Dinner

Jennifer and Allie

The evening's entertainment was a quartet of biker a cappela singers (I'm not kidding)

DFW

Woohoo! Dallas Fort Worth Airport is a T-Mobile Hotspot! Not that I have enough time to do anything, but it's nice to be able to check in. :)

Off to St. Louis

I'm off to St. Louis for my cousin Aaron's wedding! We'll see what the net access is like from there!

Thoroughly Modern Millie

BobbiLynn and I had girls day out today, got all dressed up and -- after a tour of her now-furnished new house -- stopped by the Art Museum (to see the fabulous Liza Lou kitchen again), had a very civilized lunch in the museum cafe, and then saw the matinee of Thoroughly Modern Millie at the American Musical Theatre of San Jose in the Center for the Performing Arts downtown.
The performance was great fun -- a real old-fashioned musical with a fabulous type-writing/tap-dancing scene, fun 20s costumes, intrigue, surprise twists, and lots of falling in love.

Happy Car

Yay! My car is back and seems much happier!

Thank you to BobbiLynn for scooping me up at The Tech and (after a few detours including a lovely Caprese salad, some ice cream, and a bead store) helping me to reclaim my car!

Happy Birthday Carrie!!!

Flashback to Belgium, 2001 (?) San Francisco, 2004 Hmmm... I should have a lot more pics around here somewhere...

Today is Carrie's birthday!! And, if that wasn't enough, she's now exactly three weeks away from completing her masters in journalism from Columbia (and she's the class president and will be speaking at her graduation!) Let see... First I have to thank Brian for introducing us back in November of 1996 (?) A bunch of my Amherst friends came down and met up with her at the Inauguration (Jan '97). Then I moved down to Arlington and she showed me the ropes there. Eventually we lived in the same building and took countless field trips to Ikea, pumpkin picking, farmer's markets, political events, walks, etc. After I moved out West, I eventually convinced her that it was the place to be and I got to see lots of her again! Over the years we've traveled together to Belgium, Amsterdam, Colorado, Las Vegas, and probably a bunch of other places I can't think of off-hand. It's awfully sad having her all the way back in NYC again -- but I'm sure we'll both be moving around a bunch more times in the next few years and our paths do always seem to cross again and again. :) Happy Birthday Carrie!!

Cindy Hill, President of SLA

I had to miss tonight's lecture (since I'm car-less still), but it is supposed to be streamed live online so I'll try to watch (though I can't get it to work yet so I may need to wait until it is archived).

SJSU American Library Association Student Chapter Luminary Lecture Series
presents CINDY HILL, President of the Special Libraries Association,
speaking on How to Build an Empire, Or a Philosophy of Enduring Libraries and Passionate Staff

Ms. Hill, President of the Special Libraries Association and SJSU SLIS alumnus, will speak about building support for your library to ensure adequate funding for your department or organization's work. She'll relate this topic to a philosophy of lifelong learning and core competencies and address how these influence and direct our capabilities in our organizations.

Grrr... Arrgh...

Still no car until at least tomorrow. Turns out there are all sorts of things wrong with it (of course) and they need to keep it longer.

Thank you to Alan who saved me six bus rides today! Ugh.

Plus its WAY too hot here (5pm and its still over 90... ugh)

Go Eat Ice Cream! (tomorrow)

From LIS News, which reports that the ice cream is on the house tomorrow, April 28 6-10pm, and for every scoop given away, Baskin-Robbins makes a donation to First Book to provide new books for underprivileged kids.


(hmmm... I'll have to try their Cafe Mocha Nonfat Soft Serve Yogurt)

Car troubles

Thank you to AAA, to Bill who bought me my CT AAA membership, to Carrie who gave advice, to Cupertino Towing for towing me to the dealer, to BobbiLynn who cheered me along, and Glen who picked me up at the dealer and dropped me off at school! My car -- with whatever is wrong that stopped the brakes from talking to the transmission and therefore made it impossible to shift from Park to Drive -- is resting at the VW dealer until at least tomorrow night. No fun!

Happy Birthday Chris

Happy birthday to my Amherst friend Chris, who sent along these recent photos of his very cute kids Susanna and Benjamin.

Too hot to knit?

Ok, 90 degree weather isn't exactly conducive to knitting, and turn-out was down a bit at our knitting group meeting today, but it was still lots of fun (and they do serve nice cold icy drinks!) I ran into Emy over at The Yarn Hut and bought two more ribbon-yarns to make ladder scarfs with (and wore my new purple one that I finished on the airplane last weekend - pictured here). But it was too hard to work on them while talking to everyone, so after ripping it out three times and starting over, I went back to my other scarf (which sadly looks a bit too much like a dish towel...) We discussed working together on some blankets for Project Linus (each knitting some 9"x9" squares to sew together into blankets for those of us that a whole blanket is a bit much for still) A reporter and photographer from the Merc came to chat with us which was fun as well!

March for Women's Lives

I wish I could be in DC today for the March for Women's Lives. My friend Heather's there marching. There's a vigil here from 12-2 at the corner of Hamilton and Bascom, but if I'm going to be able to justify going to knitting group, I'd better stay home and do homework until then (eegads, i sound like a terrible feminist). :( I'll try to catch some of it on CSPAN at least (if they get their live feed fixed)


(There are a great set of links to blogs writing about it on Alas, a Blog)

Patriot Act Game

Check out this new board game.

The Seattle PI writes: "For those of you who think the Patriot Act is less about protecting the U.S. from terrorism and more about The Man violating what's left of our civil liberties, there's good news: Now you can turn your disgust to a board game the whole family can enjoy!"

Book Meme

I just thought that this was so much fun -- feel free to join in!

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

(via Icon Template)

"Collaborative advantage often involves creating new ways to think and work with others that presently may not exist, not just simply combining two technologies like ingredients in an omelet."
Mastering the Art of Creative Collaboration by Robert Hargrove

... and yes, I'm procrastinating, but I'm having a terrible time coming up with a search on "a subject of interest to you" for my 244 homework on Lexis-Nexis...

Tech Challenge!

Today was the 17th Annual Tech Challenge at The Tech Museum. I volunteered in the afternoon as a greeter and a "pool hostess" -- where I signed in high school teams to test out their devices in the "lake" and handed out ribbons. It is really an amazing event.

Here's a SJ Mercury News article covering it.


Here are some of the teams:

Damn Yankees

Mom sent these photos of Eduard as the Coach in last night's production of Damn Yankees at Greens Farms Academy. Brian and Karen are going to get to see it tonight! Isn't he adorable?
 

Iron Chef America

Iron Chef America has begun! I'm of course a HUGE Iron Chef fan -- but I think the appeal was that it was such a goofy Japanese thing (though when I was in Tokyo, everyone I asked about the show laughed at me). The really awful time they did one in New York was so utterly painful (including Bobby Flay standing on his cutting board -- after almost electricuting himself during the cooking) that I really didn't think they would bring it here. But I'm impressed that Alton Brown (BobbiLynn's favorite) is the commentator, and the celebrity judges include Ted Allen, the food guy from Queer Eye.

I'm watching the behind-the-scenes preview special now, and will reserve judgement until tonight's first battle between Bobby Flay and Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (who has won more battles than any other Iron Chef) -- and Sunday night we'll get to see Wolfgang Puck go head to head with Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto!

Volunteer Recognition Dinner

Tonight was the annual Volunteer Recognition Dinner at The Tech Museum -- always a really nice event. I had the honor of introducing the Volunteer Advisory Board (we all got to wear cool medals) and giving out one of the scholarships.



Here's Rika getting a very well deserved standing ovation for all her amazing work. I also won an alarm clock in the raffle (Greg's magic raffle-luck must have rubbed off on me!).

World Book and Copyright Day

I know, I know, if I start posting every "National such-and-such Week" and "World such-and-such day", I'll drive everyone crazy, but I love these things, and so here's another.

Did you know that today is World Book and Copyright Day?

"UNESCO's General Conference .. pay[s] a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity."

(they chose today because April 23 is Shakespeare's Birthday)

The Center for the Book in South Africa has some nice information on it as well. I really like their event posters (right sidebar).

Interestingly in England, they celebrated it on March 4th.

Generation C

Hmmm... been hearing a lot of buzz about Generation C. C for Content -- people making videos, online music, blogs, images, etc.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 44% of Internet users have created content for the online world through building or posting to Web sites, creating blogs, and sharing files.

It seems rather strange to call it a generation, since its certainly not at all age based. But its nice to see all the great stuff that everyone is creating getting some attention.

Bon Voyage

Snuck out and saw Bon Voyage (in French with subtitles) at the neighborhood movie theater tonight. I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, but I did enjoy it.

According to the MovieFone synopsis, "In this comic drama set during the early days of World War II, the lives of several Parisians intertwine: a Resistance fighter, a femme-fatale movie star (Adjani), a professor with the key to a terrible weapon, his beautiful student, and a French politician (Depardieu). All struggle to save their country and sort out their lives and loves."

Bon Voyage to Lisa and John too, who are about to head off for an anniversary vacation to France!

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day. I feel like I should be doing something. Jean invited me to help count burrowing owls (it apparently involves "walking through open fields, with tall grass in some locations, searching for active nest burrows") but had a conflict this morning.

Does anyone know of a good site that would give a comprehensive state-of-the-environment report with what the biggest issues we should be working on are and a list of things we should be taking action on? I'll have to wait to see what Carrie blogs for today, she's usually my best source on enviro issues.

Update: There was a nice list of things to do on the democracy for america blog.

Update #2: Mom sent this along from the DNC
Click here to view our Earth Day Flash movie. Don't miss this chance to speak out. Earth Day 2004 is an opportunity to tell everyone you know about the clear choice we face in November. There is no fight for our environment more important than the battle to take back the White House for the American people.
Join the fight today by talking to your friends, family, neighbors, and everyone you know about the stark difference between President Bush's record of environmental destruction and John Kerry's vision for a cleaner and greener planet. Click here to visit our DNC Earth Day action center for all the resources you need to celebrate Earth Day 2004 the best way possible: by helping us win back the White House!

Circuits

Nice piece about the impact of technology on library budgets in Thursday's Circuits

[Thank you to Karen and Carrie (see comment below) who read this and thought of me]

Candles

Emy hosted a candle party this evening at her house. Here she is demonstrating the WOW factor involved. In the middle is BobbiLynn receiving her door prize from Cherie the candle lady. I must have been hungry, because I ended up ordering Strawberry Rhubarb, Cake Batter, and Belgium Waffle scented candles! BobbiLynn will be hosting another party in a couple of weeks if anyone else wants any candles...

Emy also showed off her fabulous socks she had just finished knitting! WoW!

Congrats to Paul, Aimee and Seth

Congrats to Paul, Aimee and Seth on their fabulous looking new house! Fingers crossed that all the closing things go well!

It looks gorgeous! I can't wait to come visit!!

Turning Pages

Check out this great site from the British Library, Turning the Pages where you can flip through books like Leonardo's Notebook and a 14th century Hagaddah, magnify sections, hear audio commentary, etc. Very nice!

Home at Last

Finally made it home -- took a couple hours more than I had planned, but I managed to get some work done on the plane and at the airports (though no, I didn't finish my paper). It was great to see everyone in DC -- but its good to be home!

Check out this great mention of Chautauqua that Howard posted on his Smart Mobs blog! I hope it gets a few new people into our author series. Stay tuned for an exciting "Super-Chautaqua" summer reading festival featuring multiple authors!

Happy Birthday Heather!!

My dear friend and Amherst-suitemate Heather has her birthday today!!!

BWI

Well I'm stuck for the afternoon at BWI -- my plane to Chicago was so late in leaving (in fact, it hasn't left yet) that there was no way to make the last plane out to San Jose, so I'm now scheduled on a later plane through Denver.

Its not so bad though -- there are desk spaces set up with plugs and my tmobile wireless connect seems to work (though its really slow).

As Mom put it, now I have no excuse not to write my paper (though blogging instead isn't helping I guess).

And, by some miracle, I even figured out finally how to register for my two summer classes while I was sitting here -- Resources For Children, Ages 6-12, and Seminar in Contemporary Issues: Funding and Grant Proposal Development

National Volunteer Week

This week is also National Volunteer Week! There's stuff going on all week in our daily briefings at The Tech, and Friday night is the annual Volunteer Recognition Event!

Looking for ways to volunteer? Check out this great Volunteer Match site, put in your zipcode, and find all sorts of great opportunities near you!

Happy National Library Week!

Happy National Library Week - 4/18-24

National Library Week 2004 Proclamation

WHEREAS, our nation's public, academic and school libraries provide equity of access to library users nationwide no matter their age, income and socioeconomic background;

WHEREAS, libraries play a vital role in providing millions of people with the resources they need to live, learn and work in the 21st century;

WHEREAS, libraries are changing and dynamic places and librarians are the ultimate search engine, helping people of all ages find the information they need in print and online;

WHEREAS, libraries are part of the American Dream – places for opportunity, education, self-help and lifelong learning;

WHEREAS, libraries bring you a world of knowledge both in person and online, as well as personal service and assistance in finding what you need, when you need it;

WHEREAS, libraries are a key player in the national discourse on intellectual freedom, equity of access, and narrowing the “digital divide;”

WHEREAS, awareness and support must be increased for libraries, librarians and library workers by raising their visibility in a positive context and by communicating clearly and strongly why libraries are both unique and valuable and how librarians provide the information literacy skills that people need to succeed throughout life;

WHEREAS, more individuals must be recruited to the profession of librarianship and to work in libraries to maintain their vitality in today’s changing workplace;

WHEREAS, libraries, librarians, library workers and supporters across America are celebrating National Library Week with @ your library®, The Campaign for America's Libraries.

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that this is proclaimed National Library Week, April 18-24, 2004. I encourage all residents to take advantage of the variety of library resources available their school, campus or public library. I also urge them to thank both librarians and library workers for providing valuable services and making information accessible to all who walk through the library’s doors. Come see why there’s something for everyone @ your library.

Mom and Lisa

Mom came down to meet me here in DC (since its a whole lot closer than California). Lisa, Mom and I are now sitting around watching Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect.

Arden

Mike and Jen sent along this adorable photo of their son Arden. When I stopped by on Thursday, I brought some little stuffed animals that I had bought for him about a year before, and Mike wrote that, "He's really enjoying playing with them and as you can see, he doesn't want to put them down, even when it's mealtime."

Hirshhorn Museum

During lunch, I ran over to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. While I didn't have a chance to see very much (the breaks at this conference were way too short), I did see some very cool Calder's and a room full of Joseph Cornell, one of my favorites.

Sunny day on the Mall

Spent the day at the Storytelling in Organizations conference at the Smithsonian, and then Susan and I walked around the mall a bit afterwards. Here are some photos from there:

DC Friends

Got a chance to see a few of my DC friends -- here's Jen (unfortunately Arden was already asleep and Mike was at fencing practice) and Greg (straight from work looking very grownup in suit and tie...)


Hi Greg! :)

Team Meeting

Here's Lisa, Susan and I sitting around the kitchen table trying out Lisa's new digital camera.

Happy Birthday Janine!

Happy birthday to Janine (who's email address I forgot to bring with me on the trip, so I can't email her to wish her a happy birthday today.)

Happy Tax Day to all of you as well. (a bit of tax humor for your dog and one that suggests one should be able to claim one's inner child as a deduction...)

In DC

Just reporting that I've arrived! Lisa and John are making dinner and we're all watching American Idol (of course) :)

Off to DC

I'm off on an early flight to DC to see the Group Jazz gang -- will check in from there!

Mr. Mott

I'm very sad to report that one of my high school teachers, Mr. Mott, has passed away. I just saw it posted on Westport Now. I don't think I ever had a class with him, but worked with him closely at our radio station WWPT and at our television studio (where I would spend hours each day sitting around with him, Mr. Green, Mark and Evan.)

Remembering him today - and sending thoughts out to all who knew him.

BobbiLynn's New House!

I got a sneak peak at BobbiLynn and Glen's brand new house today before BobbiLynn and I tried out her new neighborhood diner and took a field trip over to the Saratoga knitting store where we stocked up on materials to make ribbon ladder scarfs (and I bought circular needles that I can hopefully take on the plane tomorrow). The house is absolutely adorable! So exciting!!

One of the best parts is this adorable little craft room off the deck!

And I finally got to see the source of all the rooster-talk that's been going on -- this lamp in their new kitchen! Thank you to Mom who sent along some rooster-themed house warming gifts to go with the theme!

Another crisis book

Mom sent me an article today from last week's CT Post entitled, A Midlife Crisis at 30: Women of Generation X Search for Balance of Work, Family by Beth Whitehouse (syndicated nationally from the LA Times)

It draws on the book Midlife Crisis at 30 : How the Stakes Have Changed for a New Generation--And What to Do about It by Lia Macko and Kerry Rubin. (There's also an excerpt here)

I just hope its better than the Quarter Life Crisis was (which left us all wanting to go out and write a better book ourselves). Hmm... maybe I should get this new one and Facing 30:Women Talk About Constructing a Real Life and Other Scary Rites of Passage by Lauren Dockett, Kristin Beck for Carrie's upcoming birthday (though I bet someone else already thought of that) (257 days more for me, but who's counting)

Take Action

According to Salon.com, "some 12,000 sealers armed with rifles and spears headed for the ice floes and islands off eastern Canada on Monday in the world's largest seal hunt, followed by protesters condemning the $20 million harvest as barbaric." It really is just a gruesome practice -- the images they show are always heartbreaking.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), a former client of mine at NMP, is asking us to take action to Support US Senate Resolution 269 - Call for an End to Canada's Seal Hunt. Both the Connecticut senators have signed onto the bill, but our California ones don't appear to be on the list yet.

CNN Piece on Amherst

Thank you to Brian who sent along this CNN Piece on politics at Amherst,: "Steering past the apathy undertow: Amherst College students find ways to make politics a priority" by Rebecca Allen '90. I was excited to see that the Amherst Feminist Alliance was still going. I spoke to my dear friend Heather '99 (head of the AFA when we were there) last night who had also reported that bus loads of Amherst folks were coming down to DC for the March for Women's Lives.

I also like in their little profile of Amherst the 4 prominent alums they pick to feature:

Prominent alumni
- Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal System
- Dan Brown, author of “The Da Vinci Code”
- Calvin Coolidge, U.S. president, 1923-1929
- Francisco Flores, president of El Salvador

Batgirl

Did you know that Batgirl was a librarian?

According to this (and lots of other sites):

Barbara Gordon, the niece and adopted daughter of Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, graduated summa cum laude from Gotham State University with a degree in Library and Information Science. After graduating, she became the head reference librarian at Gotham Public Library.
The librarian transformation into Batgirl happened one night on her way to the policemen's masquerade ball. Dressed in a homemade "Batgirl," costume, she accidentally encountered the villain Killer Moth and foiled his attempt to kidnap wealthy Bruce Wayne. Barbara enjoyed the thrill and risk of crime fighting, and after modifying her motorcycle to create the Batcycle, Batgirl was born.

Professional finder-out of things

Cute feel-good story today that's been linked on a lot of library blogs from the Chicago Sun-Times about the reference work done at the Skokie (IL) Public Library via phone, desk and virtual reference. The library even served as the "lifeline" of a "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" contestant (but the contestant didn't call and guessed wrong).

I especially liked how they described one of the librarians as a "professional finder-out of things" -- I wouldn't mind being that...

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to my friends and family who are celebrating today with brown-sugar covered hams and baskets full of goodies. I'm in favor of any holiday that celebrates chocolate, and it took great willpower not to buy my favorite cadbury mini eggs (shown here -- though I did buy one cadbury creme egg in a weak moment).

BobbiLynn and I were musing over the origins of the easter bunny, and I was trying to determine which aspects of the holiday (clearly the eggs) were more from the pagan side than the Christian side. I found this nice Bonnets & Bonnies: The Origins of Easter site which gives a brief overview, including:

Lambs, chicks and baby creatures of all kinds are all associated with spring, symbolizing the birth of new life. Since ancient times many cultures have associated eggs with the universe. They've been dyed, decorated and painted by the Romans, Gaul's, Persians and the Chinese. They were used in ancient spring festivals to represent the rebirth of life....During the 4th century consuming eggs during Lent became taboo. However, spring is the peak egg-laying time for hens, so people began to cook eggs in their shells to preserve them. Eventually people began decorating and hiding them for children to find during Easter, which gave birth to the Easter Egg Hunt. Other egg-related games also evolved like egg tossing and egg rolling....The Easter Bunny is a cute little rabbit that hides eggs for us to find on Easter. But where did he come from? Well, the origin is not certain. In the rites of spring the rabbit symbolized fertility. In a German book published in 1682, a tale is told of a bunny laying eggs and hiding them in the garden.

According to The Pagan origins of the Easter Bunny, "In second century Europe, the predominate spring festival was a raucous Saxon fertility celebration in honor of the Saxon Goddess Eastre (Ostara), whose sacred animal was a hare. " And of course, the hare and rabbit are symbols of fertility and new life in many cultures, particularly during Springtime.

But back to the candy, check out these Easter Candy Facts, including that, "Each Easter season, Americans buy more than 700 million Marshmallow Peeps, shaped like chicks, as well as Marshmallow Bunnies and Marshmallow Eggs, making them the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy." Other interesting facts? "Chocolate bunnies should be eaten ears first, according to 76% of Americans. Five percent said bunnies should be eaten feet first, while 4% favored eating the tail first." "Yellow Peeps are the most popular, followed by pink, lavender, blue, and white." "Americans consume 16 billion jellybeans at Easter, many of them hidden in baskets. If all the Easter jellybeans were lined end to end, they would circle the globe nearly three times."

And apparently "In Norway, reading detective novels and crime thrillers has become a popular Easter pastime" (according to Easter Around the World.) Hmmm, another excuse to spend some of the day reading The BeeKeeper's Apprentice (which is GREAT so far).

Sunny Saturday Out

BobbiLynn, Glen and I took a field trip to the San Jose Flea Market (a crazy place) and then lunch at Santana Row (along with a quick inspirational trip to Anthropologie).

Glen even spotted Emy (who he had only seen in photos on our blogs!) through the window and we rushed out and talked to her for a while. I'm going to be a charter member of the Emy Fan Club (and BobbiLynn is the sergeant-at-arms).

Check out BobbiLynn's fabulous new knit ribbon scarf (thank you to Emy for the pattern). I can't wait to try making one too.

Bibliomysteries

Oh no! I found this site while looking for a list of fiction with librarians as the main characters for my Reference class, and now I'm going to want to read all of them!

What are bibliomysteries?

"mysteries that have settings, plots, or substantial characters in them related ot the world of books, writers, archives, and libraries."

Kayaker?

In the category of things that you don't expect to see everyday, it was hard not to notice that there is a kayaker in the swimming pool...

Eduard can drive!!

Eduard got his driver's license today! (For those of you who remember when he was born, this may be a bit scary, but I'm sure he'll be a safe, responsible driver.) Congrats!! How exciting!

There are some new limits in Connecticut for new drivers:

• During the first three months, only one passenger may be in the vehicle with the driver and that passenger CAN ONLY BE:   ONE parent or legal guardian (The parent or legal guardian must be at least 25 years of age), OR  ONLY ONE licensed driver instructor OR  ONLY ONE person at least 20 years of age who has held a license for four years and has not been suspended.
    
  
• During the second three months, which is between three and six months after the license is issued, the ONLY passengers allowed are members of the teenage driver’s immediate family, licensed driving instructor or person at least 20 years of age who has held a license for four years and has not been suspended.  In addition, until reaching their 18th birthday, teenage drivers may not transport more passengers than the number of seat safety belts installed in the vehicle.
   

Another day, another library!

Today I'm off to be extra help at the Campbell Library! I'm so excited to get a chance to work there!

Michael Gorman

Michael Gorman with the very cool Jean Amaral, Co-Chair of our Student Chapter of the ALA. (I'm not sure why his suit came out looking like that in the photo)

The Marginal Librarian, an online magazine, described our speaker as: "Michael Gorman, cataloguer wunderkind, prime mover, visionary prophet, dynamic guru, librarian. Michael Gorman is all this and more." They even sposored (in jest) a "spot Michael Gorman contest" at the 1997 Winter ALA Conference, urging adventurous and intrepid conference goers to navigate the hordes of lurching librarians and track down this notable character. (So I figure we should get extra points for coming to see him today).

Mr. Gorman has worked in librarians for more than forty years, most recently as a senior administrator in two academic librarie.s He has been a member of ALA for many years and has served as a divisional president, a member of the Executive Board and in other positions. He is the author of a numebr of books, hundreds of articles, editor of the Anglo-American Cataloguing rules [a very big deal], and recipient of many awards. He has taught courses at a number of library schools and lectured around the country.

In an interview about his candidacy for ALA president, Mr. Gorman stresses working with L.I.S. schools to produce a generation of librarians who are inspired and motivated to carry on the important mission of libraries. He was there visiting our school today to brainstorm with us about the future of ALA and librarianship and to solicit our input and suggestions on what issues and activities we believe ALA should be focusing on to help librarians and communities in the future.

In his book, Our Singular Strengths: Meditation for Librarians, he writes:

It is often asserted that no two snowflakes are alike, though I cannot imagine how you would prove it. It is also true that no two libraries are alike - collections, staff, building, programs, services differ in ways large and small. Most of these difference are of little consequence, but each lirbary has at least one particular strength - something that sets it apart and makes it uniquely valuable. (p. 192)

It is clear that our speaker today represents something uniquely valuable to our field as well, and it was my great honor to introduce Michael Gorman to the group.

Jean or someone took this silly photo of me giving the introduction

Eli Edwards, graduating SLIS student, has posted some of the more interesting comments and themes from the event on her blog, Confessions of a Mad Librarian

March Meetup

Stopped by the National March for Women's Lives Meetup at Armidillo Willy's in Sunnyvale (yes, the feminist meetup was at a BBQ joint... hmmm) where people were getting ready for the march in Washington on April 25th. I wish I could go (and in fact I'll be in DC just a few days before), but wanted to make sure I was on the mailing lists for any post-march local action.

Related to that, Heather sent me this fantastic site yesterday -- http://rightwingeye.com/. Check it out!!

RadioWaves

You can listen to my cousins Osha and Sasha on their KCSZ radio show, live Tuesday mornings 9-12 pacific. You can listen online through iTunes!

According to their description:

Selecta7 Sound Delivers Up on Spins in Rasta Cruz

Selecta7 Sound crew Osha B and Sasha B play first generation ska, rocksteady, dancehall, hip hop, jungle, r&b, music from hot cultures, and even some punk and Sabbath.

We also deliver up local and global news about coastal awareness, beach respect, surfing, and Santa Cruz culture. Keep an ear out for interviews with pro surfers, musicians, and other local artists and community figures.

I'm listening now!

I found the afikomen!

Just got back from a great seder! I did find the afikomen* (and ransomed it back to Harold for $5) I had a great time but ate way too much (including a bit too much of my own chocolate heath bar matza stuff)

The food was fabulous -- includiing a Sephardic Haroset (with apricots maybe?) which was just amazing, and it was a great group. We could have used some transliterated lyrics to Dayenu, but Margaret managed to lead us from the Hebrew.

The finger puppets of the four questions were a big hit! (thanks Mom for sending them and the bag of plagues!)

I finally got to see my cousins Sasha and Osha who live here in Santa Cruz -- and meet their grandmother.

Here's me with Annie, Margaret, Harold (who lead) and Alan

The table was beautiful, and the silverware said "FN" for Felicia Newman -- Aunt Felicia of the famous seders!!

* For those of you new to this, the afikomen is a special piece of matzoh which is broken in half at the beginning of the Seder and hidden. All the "kids" get to search the house for the piece during dinner, and it has to be found before the end of the Haggadah (the book telling the Passover story that is read during the seder) can be read after dinner (and everyone can get dessert).

Brian's Pollie Award

Just saw on Brian and Karen's blog that one of Brian's projects got an Honorable Mention in the Best National Email Campaign category at the Pollie Awards hosted by the American Association of Political Consultants. That's awesome! The Pollies are a big deal in our field. (My old company NMP used to do those Halloween sites for Unicef...)

Happy Passover

Happy Passover! I'm off to Seder at Margaret and Alan's in Santa Cruz!

My favorite thing about Passover is the thought that around the world today, people are sitting around doing the same things (more or less) and eating the same foods, telling the same stories, etc. So send me a photo of your Seder and I'll post a couple here :)

Next year in Jerusalem!

Mom sent these of her Seder:

(if I was home, there would have been an orange on the seder plate - grin)

Junior League Lunch

Rika, Van and I attended the Junior League of San Jose's Volunteer Recognition Lunch today at the Santa Clara Marriott. Van was honored with a certificate from the Junior League. Over 900 people attended the luncheon and it was a really lovely event with inspiring video profiles of the Crystal Bowl Award Winners.

Some Statistics

Saw a posting of these statistics on The Resource Shelf blog and thought they were worth pointing out to the three or four of you checking this. They are from the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau. Check out the 2003 20 Leading Occupations of Employed Women. There's also a list of Nontraditional Occupations for Women, which are those in which women comprise 25 percent or less of total employed.

Paris Neighborhood

Page A4 of today's NY Times has an article about the Marais in Paris, focused on the Rue de Rosiers where my favorite tea shop, Le Loir Dans La Theiere is. They also interview the owner of Goldenberg's deli, where we had lunch one of the days we were visiting there in January. Its interesting because the appeal to tourists like us is the combination of the old Jewish life (we went to the Jewish museum there this trip) and the great shopping and interesting restaurants, but I can see how the residents would object to more change.

Liz is going to Boston!

Yay! Mom just wrote and reported that Liz has picked Boston University! She apparently loved her visit there, and Mom writes that the College of General Studies has a very neat interdisciplinary core curriculum for the first two years. According to the course descriptions:

The College's core curriculum assumes that the first two years of study are an optimum time for exploring a significant body of historical and scientific knowledge, for examining a wide range of cultural patterns and values, and for developing critical thinking and effective communication. Thus, the core curriculum provides the student with a challenging program of interdisciplinary study focused on developing modes of intellectual thought.

And the first year, she'll probably be taking:

• Traditions in the Humanities
• Social Science I: Introduction to the Social Sciences
• Physical Science I: Ancient Cosmology to the Newtonian Revolution
• Rhetoric I: English Composition, Written and Oral Argument
• Humanities II: Breaks with Tradition
• Social Science II: Modernization of the Western World
• Physical Science II: Matter and the New Cosmology
• Rhetoric II: Research Methodology and Writing
• Elective

Scrap Scarf Day

It was scrap scarf day at knitting group, where everyone brought bits and pieces of leftover yarn and we dumped them in the middle of the table so they could find new homes. Only Anne and I actually made scrap scarfs, but lots of people took home new stuff to play with. Here's the start of my scrap scarf (its less scary in person). Anne picked out the yarns for me.

Walk and brainstorming

Tina and I met up this morning to go for a walk and check out the farmers' market (where I bought a ton of strawberries to bring to Seder tomorrow for a dessert). We walked a beautiful section of the Los Gatos Creek Trail which turned out to be more of a hike than I had expected (next time we'll probably choose the flatter bike path since I'm such a wimp!)

We had so much fun and talked and talked and brainstormed all sorts of cool business ideas over coffee!

Pro-Choice Men Make Brunch - plus a concert

I had heard a rumor that Eduard had gotten a hair cut, but spot him here at the Pro Choice Men Cook Brunch event in Westport this morning still looking quite scruffy (though still cute). He's over on the far left of the photo.

Mom and Bill have all the fun though -- here they are today with Erica Jong.

Later that day, they also hosted a house concert for Jonathan with a string quartet playing Beethoven. Here's Mom and Jonathan (with Aunt Susan's paintings in the background).

Daylight Saving Time

Happy Daylight Saving Day -- don't forget to change the batteries in your smoke detector.

Lunch with Hillary

Also from Mom today comes this photo of she and Bill at a fundraising lunch event today with Hillary Clinton.

Murder Walks the Plank

There are few things more satisfying in life than finishing a mystery by one's favorite author! I just finished Caroline Hart's latest, Murder Walks the Plank. Its apparently the 15th (?!!?!) book featuring Death on Demand Mystery Bookstore owner Annie Lawrence Darling and her utterly adorable husband Max Darling. She is consistently my favorite mystery writer and just gets better and better each time! The best part is the name-dropping of all the other mystery writers and characters throughout the book. Even one of the other characters is a mystery writer who keeps quoting from her own characters! Thanks to Mom for sending it along!

Tech Scholarships

Spent the evening reading over the applications for the Tech Scholarships -- 17 really amazing high school students. Its going to be tough to narrow it down to the finalists tomorrow when the committee meets! Like last year, I'm really impressed with the caliber of the students and their essays about working at The Tech really make me proud to be part of this organization. (sniff)

Libraries and Museums

Marylaine Block's column today is on partnerships between libraries and museums, Natural Partners. She even quotes Robert Putnam, one of my favorite's.

Q1 Volunteer Communication Meeting

Tonight was our quarterly all-volunteer communication meeting. Lots of great information from lots of The Tech's staff and the VAB. There are tons of exciting things coming up -- including a HARRY POTTER IMAX this summer!!!