Archive for January, 2007

Jeeze, you’d think we were lazy bums or something!

Tuesday, January 30th, 2007

Watched another movie!

Catch 22 – Wow. There were so many well-known actors in this I wanted to have IMDB up right next to me to keep track of it all. Plus there were just a lot of people in it. Trying to keep track of who died when was pretty confusing. But I have to admit that I enjoyed it… well as much as you can enjoy a movie where most of the characters are likable… and then just like that they’re dead. Sad. I was just going to say “plus I don’t like war movies”
but I did like:

  1. Das Boot – which was incredible and terrifying if you don’t like enclosed spaces.
  2. Saving Private Ryan – I cried at the end. I’m ashamed, but what can you do.
  3. Full Metal Jacket – Show this to anyone that you are trying to convince not to join the military. Plus the Sargent that was screaming at the recruits was none other than R. Lee Ermey. Wow. What a way to get the hairs on your arms to stand to attention. I’m hoping that things are different, but it still makes me hope that Jack doesn’t want to join the military.
  4. Starship Troopers – Jeff will be so proud. I have to admit it. I love this movie. Its silly and violent. Its all about who’s got the biggest cojones. However I do think that as much as its silly, the movie (the book really) also has a statement to make. It was published around 1960, which, although it didn’t sound premeditated, coincided with the Vietnam War. The movie made it seem as though it was a privilege to fight in the war against the bugs. In order to become a citizen, you needed to join the military. You also needed to join the military in order to have babies… what a way to kill off the population. Plus there was a whole side thing with the females and males being treated as equals, but so much so that nothing was separate, they showered and bunked together. Interesting and silly.
  5. Apocalypse Now – I hope that war isn’t really like this. If men were going this mad, I don’t know how anyone made it out alive. This is also based on a book. A book I was forced to read in high school. A book which I tried to block out of my mind because it was so very awful. It was called Heart of Darkness (by Joseph Conrad) and I seem to remember that Mr. Conrad wasn’t well versed in the English language, and yet still decided to write the book in English. Still the movie is disturbing and fascinating, much like all the rest of these movies.

I don’t know what compels me to watch some of these movies. Many of them make my skin crawl. And yet, I still watch them, and I thank god because at one point I wanted to join the Air Force. It may be for some people, but not me. I’ll stick to children and teens beating each other up rather than me beating up the rest of the world.

Blegh. Good night. Make love not war.

I actually watched movies this weekend!

Sunday, January 28th, 2007

In WATAT, she posted about the movies she had time to watch this weekend. I can’t believe I made time to watch these many movies, but somehow we managed to watch these movies this weekend:

  1. Emma which I watched alone. I know that I had seen it once before, and I don’t think I need to see it ever again. I forgot how terrible it was. Yuck. I have a soft spot for movies like this, but this was just putrid. Gwenneth Paltrow plays Emma. The whole thing’s a sloppy disaster.
  2. Better Off Dead If you are ever in a foul mood, you need to watch this movie (or 16 Candles). Both are hysterically funny and absolutely silly. John Cusack is so innocent and naive. I don’t think I stopped laughing once.
  3. The Blob This one was actually much better than I thought it would be. Plus the “hero” of the movie was a female high school senior (and a cheerleader too).
  4. the first half of Gone with the Wind with my in-laws. Good grief is it a long movie.
  5. and right now I’m watching The Big Store with the Marx Brothers. Boy this isn’t one of their better ones. Oh my god. There’s some offensive stuff in here. The 1940’s were quite a time for movies.

At some point I really want to watch Pan’s Labyrinth and An Inconvenient Truth. But, considering the time, I don’t think its going to happen this weekend.

Just because it seems like its a requirement of new years…

Monday, January 15th, 2007

My long overdue resolutions:

  1. get more organized at home & work
  2. write more often in all my blogs
  3. play ddr more often
  4. get pregnant
  5. call friends more often
  6. learn how to play my ukulele
  7. complain less
  8. spend less money on frivolous things
  9. talk to library patrons more often to get an idea of programs they want
  10. clean my house and actually throw stuff away

Jenny started today

Monday, January 15th, 2007

My sister started working for me today. It was a lot of fun working with her. She gave me quite a few ideas for the summer reading program. Plus she showed me a tool on our library catalog that I didn’t know about. How cool is that?

I’ve decided that I’m really going to need to work her hard. I have so much to do. It’s sometimes hard to keep it all straight. I think it’ll be nice to have ideas and projects to bounce off Jenny. Sally said that I can have one of the clerks as my own. I may have to take her up on it. I could really use someone that I can have do all the actual orders once I fill out the cards, have them make all the posters (even though I really like making them) as well as any other small things. Its hard though, I like doing a lot of these things myself. Unfortunately I know that I don’t have the time. I look at calendars like Webster’s and I grow faint. Granted, I know that they have more staff, but I wish I could offer more. I wish I knew what the heck I was doing!…

I think that I might need to try and visit a couple of Webster’s story times, because as much as I try, I don’t think I’m doing a very good job. In fact, I think I’m terrible. Sure, I’m not as bad as the hockey player that came to my library, but he didn’t plan on making story telling part of his career. Oh dear.
On another note, I’ve tried adding a wiki to my blog, but I don’t like this one too much. Fheh. I guess I’ll have to look a little harder.

Sometimes…

Sunday, January 14th, 2007

I just feel so sad.
I don’t really know how to explain it. I just feel so weary and useless. I try to hide it from people, but sometimes, I think my sister sees it. Or my mom. It’ll go away again, but its always there in the background. It makes me feel so weak. I feel this way now. There are so many things I should be doing. So many things that I need to do. But I just can’t. I feel so tired and weak. So alone. And I don’t think that there’s anything I can do about it. I can’t really tell anyone. My feelings are so very small in the grand scheme of the world. I know people that have had loved ones die, have had cancer, have had awful things happen to them. What’s happened to me? Nothing. I should feel really happy. But sometimes, I just can’t. I know that Jeff tells me not to get sad. But sometimes it just doesn’t work that way. I just get so tired and bleary.

small speck.
doesn’t really matter.
no one need bother.
no one sees it.

except me.
I see it. I feel it.
its this tiny dark speck in my heart.
burning and aching.
but there’s nothing to be done about it.
I must live alone with this burden.

Try to be strong.
Though it weighs me down so.
It hurts and makes me weak.
No one wants to know.
I can’t let them know.
They will hurt me more.
Break me.

Interesting discussion about comic books

Sunday, January 14th, 2007

Free Republic discussion

I’m doing a presentation in two weeks about comic books for kids, and in researching, I found this interesting discussion about a public library carrying Gunsmith Cats in the children’s collection of their public library. This comic is published by Dark Horse Comics, which usually publishes adult comics. I highlight this because they are usually VERY adult. I may have one series from Dark Horse in my teen section, but I have stickers on them that say they are for OLDER TEENS.

I was really horrified by the way the people discussing viewed librarians and libraries…

“And I know a certain liberal (perverted) librarian (Hi Vicki you miserable wretch. Grow a spine witch) who despises children basically anti-family who moved to the Florida panhandle who would defend this type of kiddie porn comic book. She’s probably ordering stacks to fill her library cuz GOSH, it’s all about free speech.”
A couple of people said that the girl should steal the book and burn it. Terrifying.

Luckily, Conan the Librarian was there to share a librarian’s point of view.

Then I read an article about this poor guy who worked at a comic books store in Texas, and was arrested because he sold an adult comic book to an adult. For shame.

Back to reality

Sunday, January 14th, 2007

I’ve hardly been on the Internet these last three? four? weeks. I’ve had lots of vacation, quite a bit of which was spent at Walt Disney World. I had plenty of plans for my time off (hmm. preparing for my presentation maybe?) but it was hard to get anything done with this little “issue” called Jack. For some reason he wanted me to play with him all the time.

… sorry time for bed (its 11:15 pm) I’ll finish up tomorrow. Hopefully.