Better late than never- how was your Thanksgiving? Mine was great! We had a three day extravaganza- on Turkey day proper we spent it with my brothers family and all I had to do was bring the pies! I made pumpkin cheesecake on Tuesday, apple on Wednesday and pumpkin on Thursday. The pies were a hit and there were even plenty of leftovers to take home! Yum! I have to give our hosts credit, they put on quite a spread and everything was delicious. New to me was yams...with marshmallows on top! I thought it was pretty tasty!
On Friday, the DH and I had a date night and saw Disney's Enchanted. I loved it! I can't remember the last time I smiled through an entire movie. I remembered what "feel good" movies are supposed to be like. I won't bore you with a review (there are plenty of them out there) but I will say that I will probably catch it again this holiday season (I don't think it will be leaving the box office any time soon!) and it will be a definite add to the DVD collection.
Just when we couldn't have any more fun- we did! While all of my friends had turkey growing up, I can only remember eating it once or twice. We had a traditional Mexican meal- tamales- when I was growing up. If you've never helped make tamales, it is quite an experience. All my cousins and I can recall being told we weren't spreading the dough right! To keep this tradition up, the DH and I have a second feast each year, duly named "Mexican Thanksgiving". We ending up with a crowd of 9 this year and I have to say this was our best year ever. The DH has perfected making caramel for the flan (I do the custard) and beans/refried beans. Ironically, the same man who protested when I told him real Mexican food requires lard, now buys the large size tub and hates it when we have to substitute shortening for our vegetarian friends. My Aunt passed on her rice recipe (it's all about toasting the cumin and then grinding it fresh) and I have a chicken enchilada recipe that's to die for. Really, you pour 2 cups of heavy whipping cream on top and then bake them. They are a crowd favorite- not that traditional, but they taste so good nobody cares! I think my brother and I are going to try tamales again this year for Christmas, I told him I'd slap his hand and tell him he's doing it wrong just like mom used to....ah....family traditions!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
My Knitting Everest
I am please to report that I have have conquered that darn sock! If you go back to previous posts, you will see that I have been working on a pair of socks for the dear husband. The first sock went smoothly...too smoothly.
Attempt #1: The second sock started strongly, and in my over confidence I took it to a meeting. Gigantic mistake! Never take knitting that requires thinking to a meeting. I was focusing on an interesting discusion and the next think I knew, instead of knitting on 4 needles, I was on 3....such sadness. The DH was very good about helping me frog the yarn (because it sounds like rip it, rip it, rip it) and rewinding the ball.
Attempt number 2: I cast back on and away I went, going strong, my confidence was returning. I got together with some gal pals and while we were waiting, one of my friends and I had a stitch n' bitch. Now, you would think I would have learned my lesson - but no. I was so close to putting my knitting down when disaster struck. I dropped a stitch. And in my attempt to be all cool and "look what a good knitter I am" I only succeeded in making a mess of things and dropping another stitch! Damn my ego. That's when I put the sock away for a month and a half. I was sure that I was going to have to frog the darn sock - AGAIN!
Fix #1: I finally had the courage to pick it up again, this time with my two handy reference books. I actually fixed my mistakes! Happiness! Joy! No frog sounds need apply...until...in my exuberance, I got ahead of myself and didn't reposition my stitches before turning the heal. Disaster...rib bit, rib bit here I come...the knitting got put away again...
Fix #2: After taking some time apart, I got out my trusty reference books again, and in my new one I found a trick for only frogging a few rows, by putting a needle through a lower row. This worked amazingly well! After frogging the two rows, repositioning the stitches and picking up a lost stitch or two (now I have it!) the rest went quite well. I am pleased to say that I finally finished the second sock!
The cruel irony: upon close inspection of the socks (which is what any knitter must do) I realized that the first sock, the one that went so smoothly- I see a bunch of mistakes. The second sock, that took 3 times as long and I thought was a disaster multiple times- looks better!
The anal retentive part of me is considering frogging the first sock and knitting it again so it can look better, but the part of me that has stared at the same patter since April thinks it's time to move on to a new project and a new skein of yarn.
Conclusion: pity the poor fool who has a love for needles and yarn...
Attempt #1: The second sock started strongly, and in my over confidence I took it to a meeting. Gigantic mistake! Never take knitting that requires thinking to a meeting. I was focusing on an interesting discusion and the next think I knew, instead of knitting on 4 needles, I was on 3....such sadness. The DH was very good about helping me frog the yarn (because it sounds like rip it, rip it, rip it) and rewinding the ball.
Attempt number 2: I cast back on and away I went, going strong, my confidence was returning. I got together with some gal pals and while we were waiting, one of my friends and I had a stitch n' bitch. Now, you would think I would have learned my lesson - but no. I was so close to putting my knitting down when disaster struck. I dropped a stitch. And in my attempt to be all cool and "look what a good knitter I am" I only succeeded in making a mess of things and dropping another stitch! Damn my ego. That's when I put the sock away for a month and a half. I was sure that I was going to have to frog the darn sock - AGAIN!
Fix #1: I finally had the courage to pick it up again, this time with my two handy reference books. I actually fixed my mistakes! Happiness! Joy! No frog sounds need apply...until...in my exuberance, I got ahead of myself and didn't reposition my stitches before turning the heal. Disaster...rib bit, rib bit here I come...the knitting got put away again...
Fix #2: After taking some time apart, I got out my trusty reference books again, and in my new one I found a trick for only frogging a few rows, by putting a needle through a lower row. This worked amazingly well! After frogging the two rows, repositioning the stitches and picking up a lost stitch or two (now I have it!) the rest went quite well. I am pleased to say that I finally finished the second sock!
The cruel irony: upon close inspection of the socks (which is what any knitter must do) I realized that the first sock, the one that went so smoothly- I see a bunch of mistakes. The second sock, that took 3 times as long and I thought was a disaster multiple times- looks better!
The anal retentive part of me is considering frogging the first sock and knitting it again so it can look better, but the part of me that has stared at the same patter since April thinks it's time to move on to a new project and a new skein of yarn.
Conclusion: pity the poor fool who has a love for needles and yarn...
Monday, November 19, 2007
Into the Woods
The dear husband and I are loving our season tickets to the 5th ave. It is so fun to have fancy date nights to look forward to! And did you know you get free parking??? Loving it!
We just saw Into the Woods, which my DH was very excited about. Ironically, I had checked Ticketmaster to see when it may be playing over the summer. We were batting around the idea of going somewhere it was playing for our anniversary (what can I say, I like to plan things in advance). There was a show in Vancouver BC the week before our April 08 anniversary, which would have been great because that's where we originally honeymooned.
I signed up to be emailed when any shows were available in my area, and once I got the email I went to the 5th aves website and saw the rest of the season. Which leads us back to season tickets at the 5th ave...
It turns out that the theater produces some shows (like this one) themselves. Since it's not a "Broadway tour" it hadn't shown up on my previous search. So all the actors were local and the sets and costumes were designed and built at the theater. All were fantastic, and if I hadn't read in the program that they had produced the show themselves I would never have guessed it wasn't touring. In a way I felt bad, because it was so good that people in other cities missed out on seeing the same show I did!
This was one of those instances where the DH owns the soundtrack and book and I had no idea what show he was gushing about. When I first listened to Into the Woods it reminded me of Wicked, the soundtracks are very complex with lost of layering and large group singing counter parts simultaneously. You really need to see it to put it all together. Then when you listen to the soundtrack you can untangle the voices and make sense out of it all. After seeing the show, I think my favorite song was Agony, when the two princes share their feeling on being in love with a woman...and later in the reprise, multiple women!
We just saw Into the Woods, which my DH was very excited about. Ironically, I had checked Ticketmaster to see when it may be playing over the summer. We were batting around the idea of going somewhere it was playing for our anniversary (what can I say, I like to plan things in advance). There was a show in Vancouver BC the week before our April 08 anniversary, which would have been great because that's where we originally honeymooned.
I signed up to be emailed when any shows were available in my area, and once I got the email I went to the 5th aves website and saw the rest of the season. Which leads us back to season tickets at the 5th ave...
It turns out that the theater produces some shows (like this one) themselves. Since it's not a "Broadway tour" it hadn't shown up on my previous search. So all the actors were local and the sets and costumes were designed and built at the theater. All were fantastic, and if I hadn't read in the program that they had produced the show themselves I would never have guessed it wasn't touring. In a way I felt bad, because it was so good that people in other cities missed out on seeing the same show I did!
This was one of those instances where the DH owns the soundtrack and book and I had no idea what show he was gushing about. When I first listened to Into the Woods it reminded me of Wicked, the soundtracks are very complex with lost of layering and large group singing counter parts simultaneously. You really need to see it to put it all together. Then when you listen to the soundtrack you can untangle the voices and make sense out of it all. After seeing the show, I think my favorite song was Agony, when the two princes share their feeling on being in love with a woman...and later in the reprise, multiple women!
Friday, November 9, 2007
Clipity-Clop Clipity -Clop : We LOVED Spamalot!
Ahhh...the satiric wit of the British. We love satiric wit. Despite both the dear husband and myself still suffering the effects of the dreaded bug going around, we dragged ourselves off the sofa for a night at "the theater".
The DH looked quite dashing and "double O" in his tuxedo (he does clean up nice!) and my vintage jacket from earlier in the week was smashing. In fact, we got complimented three times by Paramount staff who were ecstatic to see a couple get dressed up. It was most vexing when the audience member who had been sitting on the grail and got to go on stage was wearing a white wind breaker....
The show itself was fantastic. We love Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and had been listening to the soundtrack. But in order to truly understand the plot one does needs to see it in all its glory. The over the top moments were shocking and amusing all at the same time. All I can say is those dancing girls were in great shape, and the men in the audience must have found the performance to be particularly entertaining :) The costumes were amazing (the shinier the better) and the cast was excellent. We got a pair of souvenir coconuts, so we too can go questing at a moments notice... or loan them to my brother for his Halloween costume...
The DH looked quite dashing and "double O" in his tuxedo (he does clean up nice!) and my vintage jacket from earlier in the week was smashing. In fact, we got complimented three times by Paramount staff who were ecstatic to see a couple get dressed up. It was most vexing when the audience member who had been sitting on the grail and got to go on stage was wearing a white wind breaker....
The show itself was fantastic. We love Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and had been listening to the soundtrack. But in order to truly understand the plot one does needs to see it in all its glory. The over the top moments were shocking and amusing all at the same time. All I can say is those dancing girls were in great shape, and the men in the audience must have found the performance to be particularly entertaining :) The costumes were amazing (the shinier the better) and the cast was excellent. We got a pair of souvenir coconuts, so we too can go questing at a moments notice... or loan them to my brother for his Halloween costume...
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Vintage Find
Yesterday was the greatest day! I was at the stamp store in Issaquah (finishing off the last of my work resource budget) and next door there was a vintage clothing store that had a bunch of racks out front. I was browsing through the racks out front and found an awesome jacket! It is going to be my new theater jacket. The dear husband and I just picked up From the Earth to the Moon so I've been admiring some of the better bits of fashion mixed in with the 60s. The inside of the store was filled with even more treasures, shoes, purses, costumes, mens and womens clothing...I had to reign myself in to the one impulse buy. Plus my great new find had the price cut in half! Such a great shopping day!
Here's the label from the inside, it's hard to tell but the red says 1964! How cool is that!
It needs a little work, I need to replace a button and the white trim is actually two pieces, so I need to sew the ends back together. But even I can handle simple sewing like this.
When we see Spamalot on Saturday I'm going to be styling! If you're interesting in going vintage hunting yourself the store is:
Doubletake
1175 NW Gilman Blvd #B6
Issaquah 98027
425-392-4908
Here's the label from the inside, it's hard to tell but the red says 1964! How cool is that!
It needs a little work, I need to replace a button and the white trim is actually two pieces, so I need to sew the ends back together. But even I can handle simple sewing like this.
When we see Spamalot on Saturday I'm going to be styling! If you're interesting in going vintage hunting yourself the store is:
Doubletake
1175 NW Gilman Blvd #B6
Issaquah 98027
425-392-4908
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Finished!
I wish I was talking about the dear husband's sock. But I still haven't confronted those dropped stitches...
But, at 8:21pm I finished Alan Greenspan's autobiography The Age of Turbulence. It was a long read, clocking in at 505 pages and about three weeks of reading. Which is a long time for me! As a librarian and bibliophile I tend to inhale a typical adult novel in a day. This was not the typical adult novel.
I paced myself at two chapters at a time, primarily because at that point my brain would start to feel overloaded. But I'm glad I read it in its entirety. So much of what is affecting America now- Social Security, Education, Energy Consumption (ahem Oil) to name a few - have a history that goes back much farther than my generations apathetic lack of interest.
Greenspan started with his birth and went from there, and I have to admit that it was fascinating reading about major events in history from the economic point of view. Gen X'ers and younger have never faced anything close to the hardships that older generations have. I have more sympathy for older people who gripe about my overly-privileged and indulged contemporaries that have no concept of enduring any real hardships. We don't!
I will confess that the economic analysis had a tendency to go over my head - I was an English major for a reason! (Hence the two chapter limit). But I still feel that I took away a hefty understanding of America's economic cycles. Hopefully my econ major brother will get around to reading it and can explain some of the finer points.
I would strongly recommend this to anyone who has a modicum of interest in the future. Greenspan has some interesting ideas (which irksomely enough mimic my husband's ideas most of the time, only the DH told them to me first!) about all those hot topics listed above and then some.
A hearty thanks goes out to my DH who got an abridged recap of what I'd read each night, and had great conversations with me about what we have done, should have done, and what we could do better. Especially if we add a $3 tax to each gallon of gas :)
Next up: Under the Black Flag. Nonfiction about pirates! Yarg!
But, at 8:21pm I finished Alan Greenspan's autobiography The Age of Turbulence. It was a long read, clocking in at 505 pages and about three weeks of reading. Which is a long time for me! As a librarian and bibliophile I tend to inhale a typical adult novel in a day. This was not the typical adult novel.
I paced myself at two chapters at a time, primarily because at that point my brain would start to feel overloaded. But I'm glad I read it in its entirety. So much of what is affecting America now- Social Security, Education, Energy Consumption (ahem Oil) to name a few - have a history that goes back much farther than my generations apathetic lack of interest.
Greenspan started with his birth and went from there, and I have to admit that it was fascinating reading about major events in history from the economic point of view. Gen X'ers and younger have never faced anything close to the hardships that older generations have. I have more sympathy for older people who gripe about my overly-privileged and indulged contemporaries that have no concept of enduring any real hardships. We don't!
I will confess that the economic analysis had a tendency to go over my head - I was an English major for a reason! (Hence the two chapter limit). But I still feel that I took away a hefty understanding of America's economic cycles. Hopefully my econ major brother will get around to reading it and can explain some of the finer points.
I would strongly recommend this to anyone who has a modicum of interest in the future. Greenspan has some interesting ideas (which irksomely enough mimic my husband's ideas most of the time, only the DH told them to me first!) about all those hot topics listed above and then some.
A hearty thanks goes out to my DH who got an abridged recap of what I'd read each night, and had great conversations with me about what we have done, should have done, and what we could do better. Especially if we add a $3 tax to each gallon of gas :)
Next up: Under the Black Flag. Nonfiction about pirates! Yarg!
Monday, October 15, 2007
GIANT Robots and Jungles
IMAX is awesome. No, really. If you've never seen a feature film at the new theater, you should! We went with friends last night and caught the last show of Transformers.
Now, if you read back in my blog, I wrote about seeing this moving in all it's beautiful glory on the 4th of July. After some debate we concluded that the 4 story Optimus we saw was about right on the lovely 6 story tall and 85 feet wide IMAX screen. As we were walking to catch the bus back I kept expecting to see something transform, and be "more than meets the eye"... I know we saw this movie in theater's twice, but I'll be picking it up the day it comes out on DVD.
Speaking of movies on DVD, if you haven't picked up a copy of Disney's The Jungle Book you should! It was just a fun as I remembered and the special features are good. My brother came over and we had a nice night watching Jungle Book and Tarzan. I would have recommended the Wild, but I lent that out to a friend. Next week he's coming over when Meet the Robinson's comes out, but I'll save that for another post.
Now, if you read back in my blog, I wrote about seeing this moving in all it's beautiful glory on the 4th of July. After some debate we concluded that the 4 story Optimus we saw was about right on the lovely 6 story tall and 85 feet wide IMAX screen. As we were walking to catch the bus back I kept expecting to see something transform, and be "more than meets the eye"... I know we saw this movie in theater's twice, but I'll be picking it up the day it comes out on DVD.
Speaking of movies on DVD, if you haven't picked up a copy of Disney's The Jungle Book you should! It was just a fun as I remembered and the special features are good. My brother came over and we had a nice night watching Jungle Book and Tarzan. I would have recommended the Wild, but I lent that out to a friend. Next week he's coming over when Meet the Robinson's comes out, but I'll save that for another post.
That Damn Sock!
I finished the dear husband's first sock with no problem at all. I started the second, and made the mistake of taking it to a meeting. I was a little too focused on the meeting, and well, I had to rip it out and start again. So, I've knitted the same 4 inches for the second time and a friend comes over to stitch n' bitch, and what happens? About 10 stitches from being at a stopping point I drop a stitch, and in my attempt to fix that I managed to drop another. So, I've put it aside for the last several weeks because I'm afraid that I will end up having to rip it out and knit this second sock for the THIRD DAMN TIME! Apparently, I am not ready to do socks and have a conversation at the same time. I can only watch television. I have been busy reading Greenspan's biography, so once that's done (only 2 chapters to go!) I will be facing my fear - and tackling that sock. The DH better wear these...
Such Spoiled Kitties!
As you can see, the old tree was in desperate need of replacement.
The entire cat tree arrived in one box (free shipping!) and is completely modular. If we get bored with the set up, we can take it apart. I can order replacement parts a la carte and as we need them.
Jack is curious about what we're doing, and is it for him.
The completed Cat Hotel!
Jack makes himself at home.
Ok, I have been shamed into blogging. I've been meaning too...really...but here is the long await cat tree review.
It is....amazing! It assembled quickly and I really like the fact that there are NO nails or screws. When they do destroy pieces, I can replace individual components, plus all the hammocks can go in the wash and are vacuuming much better than their old tree. It took the furry babies about a week to get used to it. I was greatly amused watching them pivot their little heads around trying to figure out how to get up and down. But they have the hang of it now and spend a lot of time on the cozy nooks and cubby holes. They are also do a hefty bit of scratching which my sofa appreciates. I'm only catching 2 of them (Kitten and Tigger) still working on the sofa and if you know the rest of my cats, that's pretty good! I've been amazed that even though the hammock and condos are only held up by velcro, it can hold my two fatties cozied up together. All in all, I would highly recommend this product to other cat families out there.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Summer...What Summer?
I can't believe it's almost September! I started a list of all the other things I wanted to blog about, and promptly got busy, then distracted and finally lost my list.
Since last I blogged...we went camping a second time (disaster!) saw more movies (see Stardust!), started taking dance lessons (fun!), I made a story time wiki (missangela.wetpaint.com!) and I managed to herd cats (I mean program proposals) for WLA...and all the other things that were on my list to blog about.
In the wonderful world of knitting, I finished the DH's (dear husband's) first sock months ago- and then got distracted by a baby gift. It was a close call but I managed a lovely blanket in seed stitch with a contrasting boarder AND a monogrammed letter. I was quite pleased with the result. Less pleased with being up until 2am the day of the shower to finish the main knitting, and then up at 9am to sew all the ends in. But I did it! And it was good. I casted on DH's second sock last week, and will seriously start working on it tomorrow.
I have a ton of neat knitting books on my shelf right now, but I haven't looked too closely for fear of being distracted again. If only my cats weren't so helpful when I knit...
Speaking of the fur babies, my latest excitement has been the purchase of a new cat tree. After MUCH looking around (read 2 years of searching), I decided to invest in a Stairway to Kitty Heaven set plus a few extra pieces so I can also create a Cat Hotel. I will be blogging extensively on this once it's arrived, up and tested. Until then, check out the site so you too can lust over cat furniture!
Since last I blogged...we went camping a second time (disaster!) saw more movies (see Stardust!), started taking dance lessons (fun!), I made a story time wiki (missangela.wetpaint.com!) and I managed to herd cats (I mean program proposals) for WLA...and all the other things that were on my list to blog about.
In the wonderful world of knitting, I finished the DH's (dear husband's) first sock months ago- and then got distracted by a baby gift. It was a close call but I managed a lovely blanket in seed stitch with a contrasting boarder AND a monogrammed letter. I was quite pleased with the result. Less pleased with being up until 2am the day of the shower to finish the main knitting, and then up at 9am to sew all the ends in. But I did it! And it was good. I casted on DH's second sock last week, and will seriously start working on it tomorrow.
I have a ton of neat knitting books on my shelf right now, but I haven't looked too closely for fear of being distracted again. If only my cats weren't so helpful when I knit...
Speaking of the fur babies, my latest excitement has been the purchase of a new cat tree. After MUCH looking around (read 2 years of searching), I decided to invest in a Stairway to Kitty Heaven set plus a few extra pieces so I can also create a Cat Hotel. I will be blogging extensively on this once it's arrived, up and tested. Until then, check out the site so you too can lust over cat furniture!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Fun with Nature
Ah...the great outdoors.
Now, I am one of those in between girls. I do not wear makeup everyday- special occasions are more my thing. My husband was shocked when he discovered that I don't own a hair dryer and I would rather sleep than deal with the aforementioned issues every morning. Or at least have time for a longer hot shower...more on those later!
On the other hand, I don't really like dirt that much and the thought of anything more than a day hike where carrying more than snacks and reading material is also a no thankyou.
So where does this leave me? Car camping! My husband and I tend to camp in Oregon because through their well designed (Washington take note) web site I can easily search for the amenities that I require:
1. Showers (Oregon is great because at most places it is FREE HOT showers)
2. Toilets (no vaulted outhouses- EW!)
Other than that I am quite content to spend 7 days sleeping on an air mattress and consume an entire bag of marshmallows on my quest to make the perfect 'smore. I'm getting quite close...but as they say in the library world "more research is required".
This year we split our time between Cape Lookout and Devil's Lake. The former is one of our standbys. It's right on the beach, literally the other side of a sand dune, and is conveniently located 12 miles outside Tillamook. Yes, that Tillamook of the famed cheese and ice creams and butters and fudge and so much yumminess! We ate most of our meals there. The Blue Heron is worth hitting, we did a nice wine tasting and they have excellent brie. Just to prove that "it's a small world after all" we ended up next to another library employee that I know from another branch. It was a weird "don't I know you" moment outside the bathroom.
Next we headed to Lincoln City where we kayaked and relaxed on the beach. It was warmer here so we were able to spend more time by the ocean. Ahhh...the ocean...there really is no good way to record the ocean, you just have to be there to fully hear all the sounds. There were a ton of kite fliers and I got to abuse the Outlet Mall to my satisfaction.
All in all it was a nice relaxing week for the Dear Husband and I to recharge ye olde batteries before heading back to work.
Now, I am one of those in between girls. I do not wear makeup everyday- special occasions are more my thing. My husband was shocked when he discovered that I don't own a hair dryer and I would rather sleep than deal with the aforementioned issues every morning. Or at least have time for a longer hot shower...more on those later!
On the other hand, I don't really like dirt that much and the thought of anything more than a day hike where carrying more than snacks and reading material is also a no thankyou.
So where does this leave me? Car camping! My husband and I tend to camp in Oregon because through their well designed (Washington take note) web site I can easily search for the amenities that I require:
1. Showers (Oregon is great because at most places it is FREE HOT showers)
2. Toilets (no vaulted outhouses- EW!)
Other than that I am quite content to spend 7 days sleeping on an air mattress and consume an entire bag of marshmallows on my quest to make the perfect 'smore. I'm getting quite close...but as they say in the library world "more research is required".
This year we split our time between Cape Lookout and Devil's Lake. The former is one of our standbys. It's right on the beach, literally the other side of a sand dune, and is conveniently located 12 miles outside Tillamook. Yes, that Tillamook of the famed cheese and ice creams and butters and fudge and so much yumminess! We ate most of our meals there. The Blue Heron is worth hitting, we did a nice wine tasting and they have excellent brie. Just to prove that "it's a small world after all" we ended up next to another library employee that I know from another branch. It was a weird "don't I know you" moment outside the bathroom.
Next we headed to Lincoln City where we kayaked and relaxed on the beach. It was warmer here so we were able to spend more time by the ocean. Ahhh...the ocean...there really is no good way to record the ocean, you just have to be there to fully hear all the sounds. There were a ton of kite fliers and I got to abuse the Outlet Mall to my satisfaction.
All in all it was a nice relaxing week for the Dear Husband and I to recharge ye olde batteries before heading back to work.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Transformers- More than Meets the Eye!
Talk about a 4th of July Movie! I have to confess to being a child of the 80s and am still amused by watching the cartoons of my childhood. Duck Tales, Tale Spin, Gummi Bear and Transformers are all in our permanent collection.
It was with some trepidation that my dear husband and I waited for the Transformers movie. For every Lord of the Rings there is the trauma of Spidy 3. But we had to see it just for the nostalgia (and the previews have been looking pretty kick ass) so see it we did.
It was amazing! I would have to describe it as 1/3 Black Hawk Down, 1/3 Independence Day and 1/3 fun with robots. They had enough homages for us big kids that still pull out the old cartoon from time to time,but the plot was such that even if you couldn't sing the theme song from memory you still understood what was happening. Since we do a family day for the 4th we saw it with a bunch of people ages 7+ and everyone enjoyed the movie.
We talked to some of our friends later who had also seen it and it was reported that one of them did a happy dance of joy on the way out of the theater. This will definitely be a welcome addition to our DVD shelves.
For a much longer and in depth review, check out this excellent posting from one of my other friends. And no, Movie Man didn't do a little dance, that was someone else...
It was with some trepidation that my dear husband and I waited for the Transformers movie. For every Lord of the Rings there is the trauma of Spidy 3. But we had to see it just for the nostalgia (and the previews have been looking pretty kick ass) so see it we did.
It was amazing! I would have to describe it as 1/3 Black Hawk Down, 1/3 Independence Day and 1/3 fun with robots. They had enough homages for us big kids that still pull out the old cartoon from time to time,but the plot was such that even if you couldn't sing the theme song from memory you still understood what was happening. Since we do a family day for the 4th we saw it with a bunch of people ages 7+ and everyone enjoyed the movie.
We talked to some of our friends later who had also seen it and it was reported that one of them did a happy dance of joy on the way out of the theater. This will definitely be a welcome addition to our DVD shelves.
For a much longer and in depth review, check out this excellent posting from one of my other friends. And no, Movie Man didn't do a little dance, that was someone else...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Ratatouille (Rat-a-too-ee)
Ok, I admit it, we really like movies. We see a lot of them.
Last Saturday I hopped online to check out the times for Nancy Drew (it looks like fun!) at my beloved Lincoln Square Cinemas.
Now, I have the opening day of Ratatouille on my day planner- and that is June 29th.
Imagine my surprise when I see it listed for just one showing on June 16th. Christmas in June! A sneak preview! I whipped out my debit card and tickets were mine! I called my fellow Disney enthusiast and travel buddy and voila! Double date night. Do I care that four adults with no children were giddy to see this movie- um, NO!
And after buying my tickets and popcorn, I have to say, this is Pixar at it's best. Which is impressive when you think of their track record- Toy Story 1 & 2 (3 is said to be in production), Bug's Life, Monster's Inc., The Incredibles...
The short before the feature was fantastic. They manage to convey everything without saying a word. Ratatouille's story is just amazing, if you are one of those skeptics that can't suspend their belief, believe! A rat that wants to cook in Paris may sound hard to swallow, but that's what Pixar can do, wrap the story so tightly around you that not only do you believe but you care. As the credits were rolling my dear husband leaned over and stated that we'll be seeing this again on opening weekend- and so should you!
Kudos to Pixar and director Brad Bird. With the Disney/Pixar merger and shakeup I sincerely hope that Ratatouille storms the box off and the corporate PTBs (powers that be) take the story people seriously. That's what Disney has been missing these past years and needs to find again, and I can't think of anyone better to show them the way back than the guys from Pixar.
GO SEE RATATOUILLE!
Last Saturday I hopped online to check out the times for Nancy Drew (it looks like fun!) at my beloved Lincoln Square Cinemas.
Now, I have the opening day of Ratatouille on my day planner- and that is June 29th.
Imagine my surprise when I see it listed for just one showing on June 16th. Christmas in June! A sneak preview! I whipped out my debit card and tickets were mine! I called my fellow Disney enthusiast and travel buddy and voila! Double date night. Do I care that four adults with no children were giddy to see this movie- um, NO!
And after buying my tickets and popcorn, I have to say, this is Pixar at it's best. Which is impressive when you think of their track record- Toy Story 1 & 2 (3 is said to be in production), Bug's Life, Monster's Inc., The Incredibles...
The short before the feature was fantastic. They manage to convey everything without saying a word. Ratatouille's story is just amazing, if you are one of those skeptics that can't suspend their belief, believe! A rat that wants to cook in Paris may sound hard to swallow, but that's what Pixar can do, wrap the story so tightly around you that not only do you believe but you care. As the credits were rolling my dear husband leaned over and stated that we'll be seeing this again on opening weekend- and so should you!
Kudos to Pixar and director Brad Bird. With the Disney/Pixar merger and shakeup I sincerely hope that Ratatouille storms the box off and the corporate PTBs (powers that be) take the story people seriously. That's what Disney has been missing these past years and needs to find again, and I can't think of anyone better to show them the way back than the guys from Pixar.
GO SEE RATATOUILLE!
SIFF Update #4
Ah, and our 2007 SIFF experience comes to an end. We saw a most satisfying film, The Damned Don't Cry at the newly opened SIFF Theater. Not a bad little theater but I have become hideously spoiled by the seats at Lincoln Square- I don't even bat an eye when I fork over $10 for tickets. Anything to not move if a tall person sits in front of me...
Using her tenacity, wits and sexual prowess, a dissatisfied housewife climbs the social ladder one man at a time. This fantastic film noir, a thinly veiled version of the rags-to-riches story of gangsters’ moll Virginia Hill, is perhaps an even truer depiction of the real Joan Crawford than Mommie Dearest.
I have come to the conclusion that I really like film noir. Before the show started we got some history of the movie and a plug for the Noir City festival that will be held in July. They will be having $10 double features that I for one, will be checking out. If I have a chance, Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir sounds like interesting reading.
Using her tenacity, wits and sexual prowess, a dissatisfied housewife climbs the social ladder one man at a time. This fantastic film noir, a thinly veiled version of the rags-to-riches story of gangsters’ moll Virginia Hill, is perhaps an even truer depiction of the real Joan Crawford than Mommie Dearest.
I have come to the conclusion that I really like film noir. Before the show started we got some history of the movie and a plug for the Noir City festival that will be held in July. They will be having $10 double features that I for one, will be checking out. If I have a chance, Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir sounds like interesting reading.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
SIFF Update #3
So- we saw Black Sheep last night at the Neptune Theater. The line to get in went on forever and every seat was filled. Not too shabby. I've seen a lot of midnight movies over the years and this was the first time I was scared enough that the adrenaline kept me awake until 2am.
Baa baa, black sheep, have you any…fangs?!!! The sylvan pastures of New Zealand, home to forty million sheep, are the setting for gory mayhem when a mutant strain of the normally placid fleecy ones runs amok in this endearingly funny horror romp.
My dear husband, loved it. Our friends, loved it. Me- I had my hands over my eyes- a lot. I believe I was curled up in the seat within the first 15 minutes. It was quite successful as a black comedy. The comedy was pretty funny, but oh- the gore! In a way, the bad special effects from the "days of yore" are more comforting, at least to this animated Disney classic watching gal. Thank goodness my husband knows when to cover my eyes and not let me peek!
The was the second year in a row I saw a midnight movie that involved a large amount of farm animals being exploded with methane flatulence...the boys want t make this a SIFF movie tradition...
I'm ready for my chick flick Mr. d'Mille...
Baa baa, black sheep, have you any…fangs?!!! The sylvan pastures of New Zealand, home to forty million sheep, are the setting for gory mayhem when a mutant strain of the normally placid fleecy ones runs amok in this endearingly funny horror romp.
My dear husband, loved it. Our friends, loved it. Me- I had my hands over my eyes- a lot. I believe I was curled up in the seat within the first 15 minutes. It was quite successful as a black comedy. The comedy was pretty funny, but oh- the gore! In a way, the bad special effects from the "days of yore" are more comforting, at least to this animated Disney classic watching gal. Thank goodness my husband knows when to cover my eyes and not let me peek!
The was the second year in a row I saw a midnight movie that involved a large amount of farm animals being exploded with methane flatulence...the boys want t make this a SIFF movie tradition...
I'm ready for my chick flick Mr. d'Mille...
Saturday, June 2, 2007
SIFF Update #2
In a magical world with no restrictions on time or money (or the amount of movie popcorn I can eat) here is what I would see:
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Action/Adventure/Archival
Captain Blood Action/Adventure/Archival
Scaramouche Action/Adventure/Archival
Aachi & Ssipak Animation (if you're interested in alternative energy sources- what about- poo? some friends saw this and reported it was very funny)
The Big Combo Archival/Film Noir
Dasepo Naughty Girls Black Comedy
Fido Black Comedy
Severance Black Comedy/Horror (I just heard that this is being released in theaters, starting in NY)
Waiter Black Comedy
Alien Autopsy Comedy
Poltergay Comedy/Gay/Lesbian/Horror (Sounds so funny!)
Ballets Russes Documentary
Girls Rock! Documentary
In the Shadow of the Moon Documentary (This came really close to the final cut...)
The Banquet Drama (Another schedule conflict...)
Red Road Drama/Thriller
The Aerial Experimental/Fantasy
Angel-A Fantasy (Friends saw it and liked it plus I like the name he-he-he)
The Signal Horror (the Dear Husband really wanted to see this- darn schedules!)
Plus the three we actually bought tickets for:
Gunga Din Action/Adventure/Archival/Family Friendly
Black Sheep Black Comedy/Horror
The Damned Don't Cry Archival/Film Noir/Romance
What are you watching?
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Action/Adventure/Archival
Captain Blood Action/Adventure/Archival
Scaramouche Action/Adventure/Archival
Aachi & Ssipak Animation (if you're interested in alternative energy sources- what about- poo? some friends saw this and reported it was very funny)
The Big Combo Archival/Film Noir
Dasepo Naughty Girls Black Comedy
Fido Black Comedy
Severance Black Comedy/Horror (I just heard that this is being released in theaters, starting in NY)
Waiter Black Comedy
Alien Autopsy Comedy
Poltergay Comedy/Gay/Lesbian/Horror (Sounds so funny!)
Ballets Russes Documentary
Girls Rock! Documentary
In the Shadow of the Moon Documentary (This came really close to the final cut...)
The Banquet Drama (Another schedule conflict...)
Red Road Drama/Thriller
The Aerial Experimental/Fantasy
Angel-A Fantasy (Friends saw it and liked it plus I like the name he-he-he)
The Signal Horror (the Dear Husband really wanted to see this- darn schedules!)
Plus the three we actually bought tickets for:
Gunga Din Action/Adventure/Archival/Family Friendly
Black Sheep Black Comedy/Horror
The Damned Don't Cry Archival/Film Noir/Romance
What are you watching?
Saturday, May 26, 2007
SIFF Update #1
We finally settled on three movies to see this year. The first one we caught was today: Gunga Din.
Two Thumbs Way Up!
Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Victor McLagen in 117 minutes of black and white fun.
Three British soldiers must save India from a revival of the murderous Kali cult (and one of their own from marriage and the tea business) with only their fists, their wits, and the aid of native water bearer named Gunga Din in this epic, rambunctious 19th century adventure.
There were great action scenes and some fabulous one liners. And who doesn't like a movie with cute elephants???
This was extra fun for us because our favorite show on Adult Swim- The Venture Bros.- has made several references to Gunga Din. And the jokes are even funnier now! Plus, you have to love cartoons made for us Gen Xers who while officially "all grown up" still want to watch cartoons!
Two Thumbs Way Up!
Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Victor McLagen in 117 minutes of black and white fun.
Three British soldiers must save India from a revival of the murderous Kali cult (and one of their own from marriage and the tea business) with only their fists, their wits, and the aid of native water bearer named Gunga Din in this epic, rambunctious 19th century adventure.
There were great action scenes and some fabulous one liners. And who doesn't like a movie with cute elephants???
This was extra fun for us because our favorite show on Adult Swim- The Venture Bros.- has made several references to Gunga Din. And the jokes are even funnier now! Plus, you have to love cartoons made for us Gen Xers who while officially "all grown up" still want to watch cartoons!
Friday, May 25, 2007
It's SIFF Time!
Ah, summer is in the air and it's time to enjoy SIFF. I am lucky enough to have a movie guru for a friend who takes all the work out of choosing what to see. He was so organized this year that he made a Google calendar and shared it with me! That's what friends are for!
For those of you who are not so lucky, check out the list! I myself am intrigued by Swashbuckler Saturdays and of course the Midnight Movies. I am told by my dear husband that we need to see a horror film about sheep New Zealand. I think aliens are involved...
For those of you who are not so lucky, check out the list! I myself am intrigued by Swashbuckler Saturdays and of course the Midnight Movies. I am told by my dear husband that we need to see a horror film about sheep New Zealand. I think aliens are involved...
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Faux Pas Overload
OMG. Why are there so many people with poor car alarm etiquette? We went to a wedding last weekend and had to take the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge. As we get out of the car my husband only locked the car (no arming) because the ride would most likely set it off.
We are upstairs as the ferry got underway and the first of the "please turn off you car alarm off" messages start. The first one wasn't so bad. But then every five minutes...the black Audi is still going off...a black four wheel drive Audi...a black four wheel drive Audi with plates that say it was bought at University Volkswagen. YES! The announcements got that specific! And when we went down to our car- you could still hear the alarm going off! It had been blaring for the entire ferry ride!
We arrived at the wedding ok, and when we got out of the car my brilliant husband states that we will forgo arming the car a second time because we would not want it to go off during the ceremony. What happens? Someones alarm goes off! Really! They were sitting in front of us so we got to watch as they ignored it the first time. The second time it went off the really embarrassed wife made her husband go disarm it. Their faux pas was only trumped by the guest who forgot to turn off her cell phone (courtesy mode people- how hard- really?) and her very loud ringer of an old fashion telephone rang while the bride and groom were exchanging their vows!!! The bride was looking a little cranky at this...can't blame her.
Now, one would think all the possible rudeness had happened? No! There's still more! We get all loaded back on the ferry and the announcement comes on "would the owner of a..." and my flippant spouse and I say in unison "black Audi"- and it was! The same jerk from the first ferry was on the same boat as us! And they had learned nothing! It gets even better- as we were pulling into traffic back in Seattle the evil black Audi was in front of us (we had a moment of fear wondering if they had been at the same wedding) but we were able to dispel that fear when the idiot driver made an illegal u-turn and block both lanes of traffic! Truly, unbelievable.
I can report though, the wedding was beautiful and my knitted gift bag was quite lovely with some pretty soap from Lush. Now back to the socks for my dear husband...
We are upstairs as the ferry got underway and the first of the "please turn off you car alarm off" messages start. The first one wasn't so bad. But then every five minutes...the black Audi is still going off...a black four wheel drive Audi...a black four wheel drive Audi with plates that say it was bought at University Volkswagen. YES! The announcements got that specific! And when we went down to our car- you could still hear the alarm going off! It had been blaring for the entire ferry ride!
We arrived at the wedding ok, and when we got out of the car my brilliant husband states that we will forgo arming the car a second time because we would not want it to go off during the ceremony. What happens? Someones alarm goes off! Really! They were sitting in front of us so we got to watch as they ignored it the first time. The second time it went off the really embarrassed wife made her husband go disarm it. Their faux pas was only trumped by the guest who forgot to turn off her cell phone (courtesy mode people- how hard- really?) and her very loud ringer of an old fashion telephone rang while the bride and groom were exchanging their vows!!! The bride was looking a little cranky at this...can't blame her.
Now, one would think all the possible rudeness had happened? No! There's still more! We get all loaded back on the ferry and the announcement comes on "would the owner of a..." and my flippant spouse and I say in unison "black Audi"- and it was! The same jerk from the first ferry was on the same boat as us! And they had learned nothing! It gets even better- as we were pulling into traffic back in Seattle the evil black Audi was in front of us (we had a moment of fear wondering if they had been at the same wedding) but we were able to dispel that fear when the idiot driver made an illegal u-turn and block both lanes of traffic! Truly, unbelievable.
I can report though, the wedding was beautiful and my knitted gift bag was quite lovely with some pretty soap from Lush. Now back to the socks for my dear husband...
Monday, May 7, 2007
Reflection
Wow! I can't believe we're done. It seems like we just started...thinking back I was cautiously optimistic that this would be a good learning experience. I am so happy to say that it was!
We covered a lot of concepts. These were the big winners for me:
We covered a lot of concepts. These were the big winners for me:
- I LOVE Blogging! I got roped into my homeowner association's board, and my comment was: we needed a community blog or wiki.
- I'm taking advantage of the reader feature through Gmail.
- I have a Facebook account. And I'm cool enough that the teens in my life message me!
- While I like Library Thing, I love my DVD Aficionado account.
- My personal webpage of children's links is being turned into a wiki.
- Online generators are almost too fun to play with...
- I love my search engine. I keep thinking of more websites to add to it.
- I'm trying out online applications for my WLA board. Zoho didn't work out so well, but I'm going to resend the information from Google.
- I already enjoyed YouTube, but now I know how to embed video.
- I like the idea of listening to Podcasts. I don't know how much time I'll have to listen to them, but I think it will be easier when I can download them on my new MP3 Player instead of being tied to my tower.
- I'm really excited to start downloading eBooks!
This may sound bizarre, but I'm really going to miss checking the 27 Things blog each Monday and reading about the latest lesson. This has been a wonderful use of staff time, and I didn't even begrudge the hours I spent at home finding just the right pictures I wanted to upload.
This was a great way to continue my lifelong learning goals. Technology is just going to become more and more integrated in our everyday lives. It's important not to be left behind!
I really liked the format of Learning 2.0, it worked very well for my learning style. The hands aspect is so important. If I'd just attended a lecture or read an article about any of these skills, it wouldn't have stuck with me. I for one would be happy to have "upgrade" sessions. And if I could go back in time, I would tell myself not to hesitate at all! I was going to learn a lot and come out with some great new skills. Or at least a blog that I can go back and reference...
My suggestion for a new topic is pretty tame. Much like eBooks, I know we have the eMovies. I keep meaning to look at them from home or try one out but it's yet to happen. Maybe if I get to blog about it, that will finally motivate me.
When I get my MP3 player, the first thing I'm going to download is a good old Amelia Peabody mystery. I just love the way Barbara Rosenblat narrates, and the hold list for the audio versions is usually long.
Thanks for all your work Learning 2.0, this has been great.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
More Knitting = More Better
My socks for WLA were a success so now I get to knit something for me! Not really, I'm knitting for my husband- but the sock drawer they will live in is still in my house, so it kinda counts.
I went to the Seattle Knitting Expo a few weeks ago which was a bit of a let down. It was over $75 to take a class, and I wasn't that excited to go...but I did get a great recommendation for a sock book, Knitting Vintage Socks: New Twists on Classic Patters by Nancy Bush. It has patterns from 100 years ago, lots of cool pictures of the original newsletters, history of knitting and how she translated the old patterns in to directions modern knitters can understand . The sock patterns themselves are neat in their own right so I'm knitting the Gentleman's Dress Sock for my dear husband. Lucky him.
I got this great yarn while I was down in Portland, but I have this sinking feeling that I'm going to have to call them and get more shipped to me. That's what I get for going in to a yarn store while out of town and asking "what do you have here that I can't get at my local yarn store". It seemed like a good idea at the time...
On the gift front (because I never seem to knit for me) we have a wedding to attend on Saturday, and I have no idea what to get them. They are merging house holds so they didn't register any where. People! This is very hard on your guests! Since they don't need any more material items I found some ideas in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson...maybe the knitted bag on the cover. They could keep their wedding favors inside!
I went to the Seattle Knitting Expo a few weeks ago which was a bit of a let down. It was over $75 to take a class, and I wasn't that excited to go...but I did get a great recommendation for a sock book, Knitting Vintage Socks: New Twists on Classic Patters by Nancy Bush. It has patterns from 100 years ago, lots of cool pictures of the original newsletters, history of knitting and how she translated the old patterns in to directions modern knitters can understand . The sock patterns themselves are neat in their own right so I'm knitting the Gentleman's Dress Sock for my dear husband. Lucky him.
I got this great yarn while I was down in Portland, but I have this sinking feeling that I'm going to have to call them and get more shipped to me. That's what I get for going in to a yarn store while out of town and asking "what do you have here that I can't get at my local yarn store". It seemed like a good idea at the time...
On the gift front (because I never seem to knit for me) we have a wedding to attend on Saturday, and I have no idea what to get them. They are merging house holds so they didn't register any where. People! This is very hard on your guests! Since they don't need any more material items I found some ideas in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson...maybe the knitted bag on the cover. They could keep their wedding favors inside!
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Podcasts
I know I don't have to post, but I have to share that there are lots of pod casts all about Firefly! One about the creator Joss Whedon, cast and other good stuff called Firefly Talk. I need to listen to this- especially since it's still up to date and they just had an interview with Orson Scott Card! How cool is that!
It's all in the name for me- Podcast Alley had the most zing. Once I stopped messing around and got to looking for library pod casts, my opinion, eh- not so much. I was looking for "library and kids" and most of the interesting ones haven't posted in over a year. No luck for listening to Poopy Diaper, Thomas Ford, CineKids or OtterScrubber. What can I say, good names! I ended up subscribing to LibVibe which I am listening to now and is, no surprise, pretty eh.
YouTube
I've been looking forward to this one! YouTube is so much fun. I can't tell you how many times I've been dragged over to a computer to check something out. My husband's all time fav- the group acting out the first level of Super Mario Bros. It's really funny! And dead on accurate...
To be totally honest, I can't really think of a demographic that is using YouTube and would be interested in library related videos. Storytimes have the in person connection with children that you can't recreate in a 2D medium. Teens would be amused at spoofs, and to be honest- so would I! But whatever "it" is, it HAS to be interesting, the competition on YouTube for my limited attention span is pretty steep.
How close am I? Not this close...
Real Men Knit! Really!
And for my husband...
To be totally honest, I can't really think of a demographic that is using YouTube and would be interested in library related videos. Storytimes have the in person connection with children that you can't recreate in a 2D medium. Teens would be amused at spoofs, and to be honest- so would I! But whatever "it" is, it HAS to be interesting, the competition on YouTube for my limited attention span is pretty steep.
How close am I? Not this close...
Real Men Knit! Really!
And for my husband...
And the Award Goes To....
I looked at the Web 2.0 Awards and in particular the travel awards. Always a big interest of mine - and our patrons.
There was no definite winner for this category due to not enough nominations or a clear winner. I looked at all five honorable mentions and they were intriguing in different ways.
Kayak looks like all the other travel sites- at first glance. But there were some features that I found appealing as an online traveler. It automatically had my departure city as Seattle. I like that! It also made finding an airport code easy! It tries finishing your airport as you type, so it was only a few letters in to typing Houston that I had the correct lists of airports. I like. They do deals and buzz, which is the cheap tickets that only come up for half an hour or until they sell out.
Jumpclaimer has an interesting premise, but fizzled flat in my opinion. It's supposed to be the online version of travel postcards using your cellphone to send SMS (shore message service). You text your location to the site and it puts a "thumbtack" on your location. In theory, family and friends can track your trip. But you would need to look up the location codes online ahead of time. For example, if I wanted to say I went through Bellevue, I would send an SMS to +41 78 872 7679 with my location in the format of test#country_code#town_name#your_comment and put in the code for Bellevue: 47,61056,-122,19944. Too complicated for me! If I wanted to send my coworkers/family/friends postcards while I'm on vacation, I would. But you know what? I don't! I'm on vacation! I don't want to be thinking of them at all....you can all look at my photos when I get back.
TravBuddy can be my buddy. It links to travel blogs, photos, travel guides, people traveling to and living in the locale! Lots of interactive information. I looked at the Belize entries and it seemed on the mark from my own travel experience there.
Tripmojo needs to find its mojo. I don't know what it wanted to do. You put in hotel names and I was expecting to get reviews. In actuality, it only pulled up a list on nearby hotels and when you clicked on the hotlink for more information....it sent you to the corporate site. Totally useless.
Wayfaring has some neat possibilities. You open an account and can create personalized maps (using Google maps) that can be shared with friends and family. You can make a map of your day, where you go and where to park. This could be useful to patrons and KCLS since I believe I saw another suggestion in the memo that the directions to libraries need to be updated.
Of the five I think Wayfaring, Travbuddy and Kyak are the most useful of the bunch. Happy traveling!
There was no definite winner for this category due to not enough nominations or a clear winner. I looked at all five honorable mentions and they were intriguing in different ways.
Kayak looks like all the other travel sites- at first glance. But there were some features that I found appealing as an online traveler. It automatically had my departure city as Seattle. I like that! It also made finding an airport code easy! It tries finishing your airport as you type, so it was only a few letters in to typing Houston that I had the correct lists of airports. I like. They do deals and buzz, which is the cheap tickets that only come up for half an hour or until they sell out.
Jumpclaimer has an interesting premise, but fizzled flat in my opinion. It's supposed to be the online version of travel postcards using your cellphone to send SMS (shore message service). You text your location to the site and it puts a "thumbtack" on your location. In theory, family and friends can track your trip. But you would need to look up the location codes online ahead of time. For example, if I wanted to say I went through Bellevue, I would send an SMS to +41 78 872 7679 with my location in the format of test#country_code#town_name#your_comment and put in the code for Bellevue: 47,61056,-122,19944. Too complicated for me! If I wanted to send my coworkers/family/friends postcards while I'm on vacation, I would. But you know what? I don't! I'm on vacation! I don't want to be thinking of them at all....you can all look at my photos when I get back.
TravBuddy can be my buddy. It links to travel blogs, photos, travel guides, people traveling to and living in the locale! Lots of interactive information. I looked at the Belize entries and it seemed on the mark from my own travel experience there.
Tripmojo needs to find its mojo. I don't know what it wanted to do. You put in hotel names and I was expecting to get reviews. In actuality, it only pulled up a list on nearby hotels and when you clicked on the hotlink for more information....it sent you to the corporate site. Totally useless.
Wayfaring has some neat possibilities. You open an account and can create personalized maps (using Google maps) that can be shared with friends and family. You can make a map of your day, where you go and where to park. This could be useful to patrons and KCLS since I believe I saw another suggestion in the memo that the directions to libraries need to be updated.
Of the five I think Wayfaring, Travbuddy and Kyak are the most useful of the bunch. Happy traveling!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Come Into the Lab...
I had noticed Google Labs, but had yet to explore them. I remember looking at their online Shakespeare, which I think is through Book Search on the non-beta Google products.
I started going down the list and saw public source code and thought- cool! A way to search for city codes. It took me a moment to realize, um- HTML code that is free to use. Sigh. Both are neat, but I'd like searchable municipal codes more. Silly me.
Trip planner is great! And I was so happy to see that Seattle Metro is one of the cities searchable. The last time I searched a bus route from my house to work it was one hour and two transfers. According to Google Trip Planner, I can catch a bus to work from the end of my street! My critique is that it only planned the next trip, and got confused when I tried to search a morning route tomorrow. But I'll be checking that out!
I LOVE music trends! I thought it was so neat that it linked lyrics and other song titles. This could be a great way to help answer those ref questions that start "I heard this song on the radio..."
Trends is a lot of fun. I put in some very serious searches like "Prince William, Prince Harry" and "Rosie, Donald Trump". This could be great for comparison searches when students need to compare topics.
Lots of neat stuff on Google Labs. I've said it before and I'll say it again- Google Rules!
I started going down the list and saw public source code and thought- cool! A way to search for city codes. It took me a moment to realize, um- HTML code that is free to use. Sigh. Both are neat, but I'd like searchable municipal codes more. Silly me.
Trip planner is great! And I was so happy to see that Seattle Metro is one of the cities searchable. The last time I searched a bus route from my house to work it was one hour and two transfers. According to Google Trip Planner, I can catch a bus to work from the end of my street! My critique is that it only planned the next trip, and got confused when I tried to search a morning route tomorrow. But I'll be checking that out!
I LOVE music trends! I thought it was so neat that it linked lyrics and other song titles. This could be a great way to help answer those ref questions that start "I heard this song on the radio..."
Trends is a lot of fun. I put in some very serious searches like "Prince William, Prince Harry" and "Rosie, Donald Trump". This could be great for comparison searches when students need to compare topics.
Lots of neat stuff on Google Labs. I've said it before and I'll say it again- Google Rules!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Learning 2.0 is Stalking Me- Really
This is starting to get a bit creepy. It's like Learning 2.0 knows what I'm doing and wants me to "tech it up". One of the CAYAS board members suggested that we use online docs just as I'm looking at this lesson.
The impetus for this conversations started when I had to retype and edit our new board roster from last years and emails with the new members information. It was more time consuming than it needed to be. As I sat there trying to make the formatting work I thought to myself, this would be SO much easier if I already had the document and could just make changes.
I emailed a suggestion that we invest in jump drives that would house all the documents that each board position uses. While most of my board that this was a great idea (ah validation) one member thought it would be a better idea to have online documents that we could access.
So here I am, trying out the first few lines of our roster into both Google Docs and Zoho. Google was good, very similar to Gmail which I love. Not a surprise, very likable. Then I went over to Zoho and.....(gasp) I liked it better. It has more formatting options, I especially liked the html capabilities . It asked me what I wanted to save my document as. My A-type personality loves that I can let people see documents but not necessarily edit them. Google doesn't let me do that!
I need to play around some more, but this has some possibilities.
The impetus for this conversations started when I had to retype and edit our new board roster from last years and emails with the new members information. It was more time consuming than it needed to be. As I sat there trying to make the formatting work I thought to myself, this would be SO much easier if I already had the document and could just make changes.
I emailed a suggestion that we invest in jump drives that would house all the documents that each board position uses. While most of my board that this was a great idea (ah validation) one member thought it would be a better idea to have online documents that we could access.
So here I am, trying out the first few lines of our roster into both Google Docs and Zoho. Google was good, very similar to Gmail which I love. Not a surprise, very likable. Then I went over to Zoho and.....(gasp) I liked it better. It has more formatting options, I especially liked the html capabilities . It asked me what I wanted to save my document as. My A-type personality loves that I can let people see documents but not necessarily edit them. Google doesn't let me do that!
I need to play around some more, but this has some possibilities.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 Contemplation
This was an interesting exercise. When I was at WLA last week the breakfast speakers were talking about....wait for it....Learning 2.0! I had a really neat feeling as I sat at the table eating my limp french toast, listening to the two speakers debate concepts we've already covered. I knew what avatars were!
Here are a few thoughts from the readings.
1. I can't imagine what it's like to work for a branch who's circulation numbers have dropped 55%! Even over 12 years that's frighting. I agree with his point that we need to have more information available digitally, and I think KCLS has really done this well. I send a lot of students to the database versions of resources that I had to trek to the library to use back in the day. BUT as our patron survey has told us, our users WANT more books. And for that I am truly thankful to work in this area.
2. I am completely behind making interfaces more user friendly and less complicated to use. I ventured into Factiva last week (not a database I use frequently) and I had to stare at the screen for a moment to get my barrings. As it was, I just dove it and said to my patron- well, let's try clicking here! BTW, we found the article he wanted. Yay me :)
3. There is a fine line between making good/fast decisions for the good of our patrons and succumbing to techno-lust. As a system we might want to put a few more measures in place to avoid falling into that trap.
4. I still have difficulty thinking of the library in terms of commodities. I know that's how the public looks upon us, but old habits die hard. I'm hesitant to completely turn into Starbucks or Barnes and Noble, we need to hold on to the essence of our library-ness and that area is getting pretty blurry.
Here are a few thoughts from the readings.
1. I can't imagine what it's like to work for a branch who's circulation numbers have dropped 55%! Even over 12 years that's frighting. I agree with his point that we need to have more information available digitally, and I think KCLS has really done this well. I send a lot of students to the database versions of resources that I had to trek to the library to use back in the day. BUT as our patron survey has told us, our users WANT more books. And for that I am truly thankful to work in this area.
2. I am completely behind making interfaces more user friendly and less complicated to use. I ventured into Factiva last week (not a database I use frequently) and I had to stare at the screen for a moment to get my barrings. As it was, I just dove it and said to my patron- well, let's try clicking here! BTW, we found the article he wanted. Yay me :)
3. There is a fine line between making good/fast decisions for the good of our patrons and succumbing to techno-lust. As a system we might want to put a few more measures in place to avoid falling into that trap.
4. I still have difficulty thinking of the library in terms of commodities. I know that's how the public looks upon us, but old habits die hard. I'm hesitant to completely turn into Starbucks or Barnes and Noble, we need to hold on to the essence of our library-ness and that area is getting pretty blurry.
Google Rules!
Ok, I tried. I really, really did! I know there are articles about how librarians are getting to dependent on Google and need to think outside the box. And I understand the fear of getting stuck in a rut. So I tried Rollyo first- how magnanimous of me...
But Rollyo was lame. Really lame! The results were bad- so bad! If I saw Appendix D-2 and the Books to Grow On list come up one more time....not good searching. I was also amused when I tried searching "gaming in the library" and it brought up the California National Indian Gaming Association. Um- no.
Google searched so nicely, and without all the clutter and "blurring" of advertisements.
Google rules all. Really. But it's nice to confirm that Google continues to rule all.
Here is my search roll Disney Mania, search for updates on things in the Wonderful World of Disney. Try searching for submarines!!!!! I want to go to Disney Land soooooooo badly!!!!
But Rollyo was lame. Really lame! The results were bad- so bad! If I saw Appendix D-2 and the Books to Grow On list come up one more time....not good searching. I was also amused when I tried searching "gaming in the library" and it brought up the California National Indian Gaming Association. Um- no.
Google searched so nicely, and without all the clutter and "blurring" of advertisements.
Google rules all. Really. But it's nice to confirm that Google continues to rule all.
Here is my search roll Disney Mania, search for updates on things in the Wonderful World of Disney. Try searching for submarines!!!!! I want to go to Disney Land soooooooo badly!!!!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Frankie Says...Relax!
This was the best exercise ever! I added my very favorite generators to my link list, so look there! I was sadly disappointed by the following generators who got me all excited, but then let me down.
The A-Team Episode sounded fun, but my episode got all garbled and didn't make sense. Lame!
Make your own action figures sounds cool, as anyone who owns a deluxe Nancy will confirm, but SHHHH!!!!! Lame again!
The satirical tones of Catbert intrigued me, but was I satisfied? EHHH!!!! Wrong again!
And last but not least, the generator that I thought would make me delirious with joy- the Disneyland Sign! But did it? NOOOOO!!!!! And that review is from someone who finds almost anything related to Disney thumbs up. Really, I'm that over the top. Ask my friends, they will rat me out.
At the end of the day I had fun, see the generators that made my list, and anytime I can put my kitty on the cover of a magazine- we'll that's a great day.
Feel free to email Cat Fancy and tell them to call me. Captain Jack is ready for his close up Mr. DeMille...
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Alex Rider: Book to Movie Vent
I need a moment to share my displeasure with movie distributors. Anthony Horowitz writes this amazing J/Y series about a teenage MI-6 spy named Alex Rider. I love it. This is not an exaggeration.
Last year I was tickled pick to hear that the movie for book one, Stormbreaker, was in production due to come out over the summer. I plugged the movie and the latest book at my school visits. Children were very excited! I was very excited! Then Ewan McGregor signed on and I had heart palpitations -I know it's a small part but he makes such a dashing spy...
The UK got a big opening, but then disaster struck. The US opening was delayed. It was delayed again...but ultimately...it never showed in this area! Believe me, I checked my movie times every weekend. I would have ventured out of the safety of the suburbs for this movie. And then came the poor reviews and I couldn't even go see it to judge for myself! Such frustration!
Flash forward to last weekend. My DH (dear husband) and I were strolling the aisles of Blockbuster waiting for inspiration to strike. We get most of our movies through the library and we just don't rent often enough (read: holds haven't come in) to warrant a Netficks subscription.
We'd selected Stranger Than Fiction (btw it was good in an interesting kind of way) when I finally found my long awaited Alex Rider sitting on the shelf.
I have seen the movie twice now and perused the special features.
My reaction: a well done book to movie! The author wrote the screenplay and was very hands on in the filming. From the special features it's quite clear they thought they had a Harry Potter thing going on with a series of movie. The cast was full of big name actors.
Robbie Coltrane (um...Hagrid anyone)
Damian Lewis (Mjr. Winters in Band of Brothers)
Ewan McGregor (Down with Love, etc...)
Bill Nighy (Pirates 2, Blow Dry)
Mickey Rourke (Sin City)
Alicia Silverstone (Clueless)
Even the teen actor Alex Pettyfer did well. Better than Daniel Radcliffe managed in HP 1...he get's better, but let's be honest, Emma Watson as Hermione made the first movie.
Where did it go wrong? Why did it fail? My best answer- they deliberately kept the film out of American clutches. No big name companies or producers. Which meant the movie was true to the book. But they missed out on the connections Hollywood brings.
I'm torn, would it have been as good if it was filmed in the states instead of in England? If the author wasn't evolved and hadn’t wrote the screenplay? If a team of US screenwriters had hacked it to bits?
No, it probably wouldn't have been a well done movie that visualized the book. My only consolation is the hope that it was better received at home in the UK. I'll keep my fingers crossed for more Alex Rider films to trickle over to Blockbuster's wall.
Note: my DH thought the action scenes were cheesy- but compared to the man movies he's selected they seemed fine to me!
Last year I was tickled pick to hear that the movie for book one, Stormbreaker, was in production due to come out over the summer. I plugged the movie and the latest book at my school visits. Children were very excited! I was very excited! Then Ewan McGregor signed on and I had heart palpitations -I know it's a small part but he makes such a dashing spy...
The UK got a big opening, but then disaster struck. The US opening was delayed. It was delayed again...but ultimately...it never showed in this area! Believe me, I checked my movie times every weekend. I would have ventured out of the safety of the suburbs for this movie. And then came the poor reviews and I couldn't even go see it to judge for myself! Such frustration!
Flash forward to last weekend. My DH (dear husband) and I were strolling the aisles of Blockbuster waiting for inspiration to strike. We get most of our movies through the library and we just don't rent often enough (read: holds haven't come in) to warrant a Netficks subscription.
We'd selected Stranger Than Fiction (btw it was good in an interesting kind of way) when I finally found my long awaited Alex Rider sitting on the shelf.
I have seen the movie twice now and perused the special features.
My reaction: a well done book to movie! The author wrote the screenplay and was very hands on in the filming. From the special features it's quite clear they thought they had a Harry Potter thing going on with a series of movie. The cast was full of big name actors.
Robbie Coltrane (um...Hagrid anyone)
Damian Lewis (Mjr. Winters in Band of Brothers)
Ewan McGregor (Down with Love, etc...)
Bill Nighy (Pirates 2, Blow Dry)
Mickey Rourke (Sin City)
Alicia Silverstone (Clueless)
Even the teen actor Alex Pettyfer did well. Better than Daniel Radcliffe managed in HP 1...he get's better, but let's be honest, Emma Watson as Hermione made the first movie.
Where did it go wrong? Why did it fail? My best answer- they deliberately kept the film out of American clutches. No big name companies or producers. Which meant the movie was true to the book. But they missed out on the connections Hollywood brings.
I'm torn, would it have been as good if it was filmed in the states instead of in England? If the author wasn't evolved and hadn’t wrote the screenplay? If a team of US screenwriters had hacked it to bits?
No, it probably wouldn't have been a well done movie that visualized the book. My only consolation is the hope that it was better received at home in the UK. I'll keep my fingers crossed for more Alex Rider films to trickle over to Blockbuster's wall.
Note: my DH thought the action scenes were cheesy- but compared to the man movies he's selected they seemed fine to me!
Monday, April 2, 2007
Wild Over Wikis
My brother was the first to say "just wiki it" instead of "just Google it" so I was interested to learn more. I must say, I like what I see!
SJCPL's subject guides were great! How cool is that- it links to local information! I went browsing through the pet books and not only do the librarians get to post their favs (I could be conviced to do that kind of list) but it shows covers and even took me to the local animal rescue.
Library Success really is one stop shopping, but it needs more J entries. I went to recommended books and there was no children's topic! What's up with that!!! YA/Teen was there- and linking to blogs- and I know there are J blog book reviewers out there....
Book Lovers has a great set up. I love the pink! I thought it was interesting that they were just introducing tags- Sarah Hunt's pod cast about how she uses tagging to keep track of booktalks was a great tip, and shows why they are adding that feature.
The ALA Midwinter wiki has such fun information! I might have to check out some of the bar recommendations ;)
There are a bunch of Library applications for Wikis- for the public: book reviews, programming interests/suggestions, local information and subject guides. For staff: book talks, programming ideas, branch updates (e.g. that broken bathroom door).
The CAYAS board has been talking about starting a Wiki, and after browsing through these I have some great ideas. We are interested in starting a knowledge based open wiki where youth services people can share their experiences. We could tag booktalks, program ideas, story time tips, how to deal with rowdy kids... this could be a great resource!
SJCPL's subject guides were great! How cool is that- it links to local information! I went browsing through the pet books and not only do the librarians get to post their favs (I could be conviced to do that kind of list) but it shows covers and even took me to the local animal rescue.
Library Success really is one stop shopping, but it needs more J entries. I went to recommended books and there was no children's topic! What's up with that!!! YA/Teen was there- and linking to blogs- and I know there are J blog book reviewers out there....
Book Lovers has a great set up. I love the pink! I thought it was interesting that they were just introducing tags- Sarah Hunt's pod cast about how she uses tagging to keep track of booktalks was a great tip, and shows why they are adding that feature.
The ALA Midwinter wiki has such fun information! I might have to check out some of the bar recommendations ;)
There are a bunch of Library applications for Wikis- for the public: book reviews, programming interests/suggestions, local information and subject guides. For staff: book talks, programming ideas, branch updates (e.g. that broken bathroom door).
The CAYAS board has been talking about starting a Wiki, and after browsing through these I have some great ideas. We are interested in starting a knowledge based open wiki where youth services people can share their experiences. We could tag booktalks, program ideas, story time tips, how to deal with rowdy kids... this could be a great resource!
Sunday, April 1, 2007
3D is Back!
And the D stands for Disney! We caught a showing of Disney's new CGI movie Meet the Robinsons yesterday- but with a special twist. The Pacific Place AMC has the only screen in town showing the movie in- dare I say it- Digital 3D.
Only 600 screens nationwide have the 3D version, so you have to trek into Seattle to see it. But I will attest that it is totally worth it! And the higher ticket price (FYI $11.75/adult). But hey, you get to keep the glasses!
Now, 3D is dead you might protest. And normally I would agree. Just a few weeks ago we saw a midnight showing of The Creature from the Black Lagoon old style. Paper glasses with red and blue lenses: the glasses didn't fit over my husband's regular glasses, I couldn't see the 3D effects at all...the 3D, well it was not good. I won't go into the plot issues...just remember, it's a classic.
But Disney 3D- this is a thing of beauty. Actual plastic glasses- both lenses black- and the 3D was just fantastic. To make the movie even better, Disney showed an old Donald Duck short Working for Peanuts (the one where he works at the zoo and Chip n' Dale are stealing peanuts from Dolores the elephant) which was originally shown in 3D back in 1953. How cool is that!!!???
I won't spoil the movie for you, but there is a great Walt Disney quote at the end that made this movie goer get a bit teary. Thank goodness for long credits!
Apparently Disney released a limited showing of The Nightmare Before Christmas last year in 3D that was such a success that they are planning on showing it again and with a larger run later this year. So if I can't tempt you to see Meet the Robinsons, perhaps that will.
Only 600 screens nationwide have the 3D version, so you have to trek into Seattle to see it. But I will attest that it is totally worth it! And the higher ticket price (FYI $11.75/adult). But hey, you get to keep the glasses!
Now, 3D is dead you might protest. And normally I would agree. Just a few weeks ago we saw a midnight showing of The Creature from the Black Lagoon old style. Paper glasses with red and blue lenses: the glasses didn't fit over my husband's regular glasses, I couldn't see the 3D effects at all...the 3D, well it was not good. I won't go into the plot issues...just remember, it's a classic.
But Disney 3D- this is a thing of beauty. Actual plastic glasses- both lenses black- and the 3D was just fantastic. To make the movie even better, Disney showed an old Donald Duck short Working for Peanuts (the one where he works at the zoo and Chip n' Dale are stealing peanuts from Dolores the elephant) which was originally shown in 3D back in 1953. How cool is that!!!???
I won't spoil the movie for you, but there is a great Walt Disney quote at the end that made this movie goer get a bit teary. Thank goodness for long credits!
Apparently Disney released a limited showing of The Nightmare Before Christmas last year in 3D that was such a success that they are planning on showing it again and with a larger run later this year. So if I can't tempt you to see Meet the Robinsons, perhaps that will.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Library Thing Rules!
I LOVE library thing. How did I not know about it's existence? The only thing that would make it more perfect- if you could track movies as well. Ohh- the though of it gives me the shivers!
LT was really easy to add to, though I did notice that it kept inserting the tags from my first entry into others. Not a huge biggie, I can live.
Here is my Library, I just pulled five titles I know we have to start with. I will definitely be adding a ton more.
As to Technorati, that was neat. I was sad to see my images still aren't showing in Flickr. I double checked that they were tagged correctly, but I may have to send them an email...I found the post search function to be the most interesting.
On a side note, I am well and truly entrenched on Facebook. It really is cool! I highly recommend others give it a try!
Addendum- Sunday, April 1st: Many thanks to Shortbeard the Pernicious who alerted me to DVD Aficionado. Check out my collection!
LT was really easy to add to, though I did notice that it kept inserting the tags from my first entry into others. Not a huge biggie, I can live.
Here is my Library, I just pulled five titles I know we have to start with. I will definitely be adding a ton more.
As to Technorati, that was neat. I was sad to see my images still aren't showing in Flickr. I double checked that they were tagged correctly, but I may have to send them an email...I found the post search function to be the most interesting.
On a side note, I am well and truly entrenched on Facebook. It really is cool! I highly recommend others give it a try!
Addendum- Sunday, April 1st: Many thanks to Shortbeard the Pernicious who alerted me to DVD Aficionado. Check out my collection!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Behold! The Goodness that is Daft Punk!
As an example of my coolness, check out who's coming to Seattle- and I have tickets!!!!
Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daft_Punk or their official site http://www.daftpunk.com/
There is an amazing DVD called Interstella 5555. Kazuhisa Takenôchi was so inspired by Daft Punk's music that he animated an entire movie to go with it. No dialogue, only animation and music. There are no words to describe it, so watch it!
Here's the plot courtesy of Amazon:
"An unscrupulous music executive and his flunky kidnap an alien, blue-skinned techno band, rob them of their identities, pass them off as human, and foist them on an unsuspecting public on Earth. After their arrival and their impact on the human population, the members of the band try to piece back their identities, escape from the clutches of the evil music executive, and return to their own world."
Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daft_Punk or their official site http://www.daftpunk.com/
There is an amazing DVD called Interstella 5555. Kazuhisa Takenôchi was so inspired by Daft Punk's music that he animated an entire movie to go with it. No dialogue, only animation and music. There are no words to describe it, so watch it!
Here's the plot courtesy of Amazon:
"An unscrupulous music executive and his flunky kidnap an alien, blue-skinned techno band, rob them of their identities, pass them off as human, and foist them on an unsuspecting public on Earth. After their arrival and their impact on the human population, the members of the band try to piece back their identities, escape from the clutches of the evil music executive, and return to their own world."
Anybody, who is Anybody is on Facebook
I previously reported that my teen in-laws didn’t make me their friend in MySpace. Crushing. But they do still like me and I AM cool enough to be their friend! I feel validated again. It turns out that MySpace is no longer cool enough and they have migrated over to Facebook where I will be joining them. Ta-Ta!
Del.icio.us
Looking around was weird because we aren’t actually logged in to the account, so I’m inferring that we’re linked to the bookmark page. To quote a phrase from library school that I usually reserve for my sarcastic voice- the “back-chaining” capability was intriguing. It reminded me of the Gale databases that allow you to link to similar articles via search terms or dare I say it- tags? I randomly "back-chained" related users and chose angrymartian just for grins. Not a huge surprise, his/her comments were pretty geeky.
I tried out a reference search to see what kind of results came up. As the presidential race starts simmering, we usually get asked for the previous election results or “that map that has the blue and red states”. Normally I would Google that request with dependable results. I put “presidential maps” into del.icio.us- gave it a bit of a challenge – and lo and behold it gave me a list of pretty handy bookmarks. Check out http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/, you might need it soon ;)
So, yes- I have to say it this could be very useful for both research and personal use.
I tried out a reference search to see what kind of results came up. As the presidential race starts simmering, we usually get asked for the previous election results or “that map that has the blue and red states”. Normally I would Google that request with dependable results. I put “presidential maps” into del.icio.us- gave it a bit of a challenge – and lo and behold it gave me a list of pretty handy bookmarks. Check out http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/, you might need it soon ;)
So, yes- I have to say it this could be very useful for both research and personal use.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Incorrect Assumptions
MySpace really is a single person Mecca. When I created my account and was asked all those lovely questions, I filled them in. Imagine my surprise when I looked at my profile and MySpace had assumed that
A: I was single and
B: I’m not interested in having children
Now, the first one is completely false (my 6th wedding anniversary is next weekend) and while the second is most likely correct- it’s not the kind of information I want listed on my online profile!! It must have taken at least 15 minutes of tinkering before I managed to correct it.
I was also vexed that MySpace took my zip code and listed my location as Bellevue, Western Australia, United States. I had to refresh the screen, entering the same information 8 times before it corrected to Bellevue, Washington. Now, I know that some people would find this infinitely amusing and leave it, but my A-type personality just couldn't stand it.
To add insult to injury, my teenage in-laws, well, they don’t want to be my friends. See if I let them raid my closet any time soon...
All in all, while I’ve been adding to MySpace, I’ll delete it when learning 2.0 is over. I am thinking about checking out Facebook when I get a chance, that sounds a little more my speed.
Monday, March 19, 2007
MySpace + Libraries = ?
While the rational part of me recognizes the usefulness of libraries joining MySpace to reach younger library users, I still have a hard time visualizing it. Most teens think we’re lame to start with- so how do we create spaces that are attractive and engaging? Is it harder to be lame online as opposed to in person? Since we’re creating these sites as groups and over time does that allow us to be more appealing? This generation shops at stores I’m afraid to go into- Abercrombie & Fitch is pretty imposing- plus I’ve yet to forgive them for replacing the Disney Store at Bell Square. I finally ventured into American Eagle but only with two teenagers to prove I was worthy of wandering around. I concede that this is a good way to reach teens, but it would take a focus group of teen approval before I'd be comfortable putting something up to attract them.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
And now…it’s time for something completely different!
Here’s what’s going on in the wonderful world of knitting. For WLA Last year I knitted up a matching scarf and hat for the CAYAS IG basket. Not wanting to be repetitive this year, I thought I’d reach a little higher and try something new. My bold idea: socks. Harder than they appear non-knitters. Hilltop Yarn in Seattle, http://www.hilltopyarn.com/, had emailed me a newsletter at the end of the year that had a pattern for some cozy fireside socks. Hilltop East (the sister store) was kind enough to hunt the pattern down and ship it from one store to another. Now, I own a set of circular needles with most of the needles sizes. Imagine my consternation when I discovered that I would need to buy two new sets of needles to make these socks. I don’t use double pointed needles a lot, so I thought I’d pick up a pair of inexpensive needles at Joann’s or Michaels, but neither store carried them in the correct sizes. Most vexing. I was at Ben Franklin and their helpful knitting guy sold me a booklet for the Magic Loop, http://www.fibertrends.com/viewer/patterns/0_magicloop.html. This method allows you to use circular needles as double pointed. This was great news! No more new needles, I could use my big set. Ah, but this was not to be- in order to use this technique you need to have a 36 inch cord and my set requires using connector pieces to do that. Curses, I was foiled again. I caved and bought my new needles sets and started knitting away. After three socks, I had my pair. See the photo below. If you’re at WLA in the Tri-Cities they’ll be in the CAYAS gift basket!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
RSS and the Boiling Point of the Human Brain
I woke up this morning and I was feeling pretty good about RSS. I fed my cats, starting surfing the web while they ate, and logged in to Blogline instead of clicking through my usual routine of websites. I have to admit that it worked pretty well- even the Seattle times which I thought would be cumbersome as an RSS.
Then I got to work and started the new set of tasks with RSS and my enthusiasm faded...
Going to my favorite sites was WAY easier than searching for them. Syndic8 was too cluttered, too busy- and I didn't like the search results. I liked the subject tabs that Topix uses, but I wouldn't use it to search for RSS sites. I liked the look of the Google Blog search, but I didn't get the kind of results I wanted. I had better luck doing a regular Google search. Bottom line- I didn't find any sites to add using these search tools.
I did have some luck with Feedster, but again the search results weren't too hot. I was perturbed that it defaulted to date instead of relevance. My personal preference is to find what I’m looking for and then check the date. I found a site I liked, erroneously closed the window, typed in my search again and the results weren't repeated! This may be a occupational job hazard, but if I do a search once and get a result, and I repeat the exact search in a matter of minutes, I shouldn't have to spend another 5 minutes using different search terms to re-find the blog I wanted. This made me go grrrrrr......Overall, I was happiest with my results from Blogline. The results were good and the page reasonably uncluttered compared to some of the other search tools.
Then I started to look for library themed feeds. I searched in all of the above, and ended up using two from the 27things list. I thought Library Bytes and Librarian.net were the most interesting. Again, I wasn’t impressed with the search results; most of the content was unappetizing.
Upon looking at my blogline account I now have 14 feeds being updated. I have to admit to feeling a bit overwhelmed. I don't know that I really want to read through that much daily. Only time will tell.
Then I got to work and started the new set of tasks with RSS and my enthusiasm faded...
Going to my favorite sites was WAY easier than searching for them. Syndic8 was too cluttered, too busy- and I didn't like the search results. I liked the subject tabs that Topix uses, but I wouldn't use it to search for RSS sites. I liked the look of the Google Blog search, but I didn't get the kind of results I wanted. I had better luck doing a regular Google search. Bottom line- I didn't find any sites to add using these search tools.
I did have some luck with Feedster, but again the search results weren't too hot. I was perturbed that it defaulted to date instead of relevance. My personal preference is to find what I’m looking for and then check the date. I found a site I liked, erroneously closed the window, typed in my search again and the results weren't repeated! This may be a occupational job hazard, but if I do a search once and get a result, and I repeat the exact search in a matter of minutes, I shouldn't have to spend another 5 minutes using different search terms to re-find the blog I wanted. This made me go grrrrrr......Overall, I was happiest with my results from Blogline. The results were good and the page reasonably uncluttered compared to some of the other search tools.
Then I started to look for library themed feeds. I searched in all of the above, and ended up using two from the 27things list. I thought Library Bytes and Librarian.net were the most interesting. Again, I wasn’t impressed with the search results; most of the content was unappetizing.
Upon looking at my blogline account I now have 14 feeds being updated. I have to admit to feeling a bit overwhelmed. I don't know that I really want to read through that much daily. Only time will tell.
Monday, March 12, 2007
RSS & News Readers
I'm glad to finally know what those RSS and XML icons are all about. I find the concept interesting, especially as it pertains to websites that may not be continuously updated like news websites.
I've been working on a new knitting project- the brave new world of socks- and I was surprised to find the best online tutorials and videos came off of blogs. Using Bloglines to keep track of updates will be easier than checking in every once in a while to see what's new.
I'm not so sure how I feel about using it for news, if I want to check the headlines I just pop over to Google news or the Seattle Times. Then I can scan titles for what interests me. Having everything in one place may be nice, but sometimes I just want to take a quick peek at what’s going on locally. If I’m using Bloglines to keep up to date on the news, I am just as likely to get distracted by a new knitting post.
The site I was most interested in adding to Bloglines, http://ultimatedisney.com , doesn't do RSS yet. This is a shame because they have great articles on DVD releases/reviews, and that would have been helpful. I’ll keep an eye out for the RSS icon in the future.
I'm not sure how libraries could use RSS, that's an interesting question. I think that library blogs could be a new way to share information with staff, but unless the staff person is already using reader software- they might as well just check the library blog.
I'll continue checking up on feeds through Bloglines as Learning 2.0 progresses, and who knows, I might change my mind. But at the moment, I'll only really use it for keeping track of the things that are not updated daily.
I've been working on a new knitting project- the brave new world of socks- and I was surprised to find the best online tutorials and videos came off of blogs. Using Bloglines to keep track of updates will be easier than checking in every once in a while to see what's new.
I'm not so sure how I feel about using it for news, if I want to check the headlines I just pop over to Google news or the Seattle Times. Then I can scan titles for what interests me. Having everything in one place may be nice, but sometimes I just want to take a quick peek at what’s going on locally. If I’m using Bloglines to keep up to date on the news, I am just as likely to get distracted by a new knitting post.
The site I was most interested in adding to Bloglines, http://ultimatedisney.com , doesn't do RSS yet. This is a shame because they have great articles on DVD releases/reviews, and that would have been helpful. I’ll keep an eye out for the RSS icon in the future.
I'm not sure how libraries could use RSS, that's an interesting question. I think that library blogs could be a new way to share information with staff, but unless the staff person is already using reader software- they might as well just check the library blog.
I'll continue checking up on feeds through Bloglines as Learning 2.0 progresses, and who knows, I might change my mind. But at the moment, I'll only really use it for keeping track of the things that are not updated daily.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Fun with Flickr/Mashups
Tonight I poked around with Flickr/mashups and liked some more than others.
I liked Spell with Flickr, I don't know what I'd use it for, but it was neat to click on the letters and have it pull up new ones. The dark background and font was a bit of overkill. It might be my bad eyes, but I gave up trying to read the blog. I was also surprised to see the coding towards the bottom of the screen. I'm not sure what it's there for...I did appreciate that the ads were optional and not forced upon you. It was odd that all the links took you to the same google ads page, but that's why it's a mashup and not a polished product.
I am very intrigued by the Trading Card Maker, but that will require being on my home PC and my digital library. Being board games geeks, this definitely could have usable applications. I used some sample images and even without thinking too hard came up with a neat card. The hard part will be creating a viable game to go with them. It's like making your own Magic deck!
I liked Spell with Flickr, I don't know what I'd use it for, but it was neat to click on the letters and have it pull up new ones. The dark background and font was a bit of overkill. It might be my bad eyes, but I gave up trying to read the blog. I was also surprised to see the coding towards the bottom of the screen. I'm not sure what it's there for...I did appreciate that the ads were optional and not forced upon you. It was odd that all the links took you to the same google ads page, but that's why it's a mashup and not a polished product.
I am very intrigued by the Trading Card Maker, but that will require being on my home PC and my digital library. Being board games geeks, this definitely could have usable applications. I used some sample images and even without thinking too hard came up with a neat card. The hard part will be creating a viable game to go with them. It's like making your own Magic deck!
Lamanai Ruins, Belize
Lamanai Ruins, Belize
Originally uploaded by amazingknittingkitty.
Last March my husband and I went on a Western Caribbean cruise for our anniversary. One of our favorite experiences was in Belize where we visited the Lamanai Ruins. There were three large structures like this, and we were allowed to climb two of them. The view from the top was amazing and we could see even more ruins that had been over taken by the jungle.
Using Flickr was surprisingly easy. I started by wandering around the house taking photos of bookish type things, stacks of book, our various bookcases, etc...
I found the upload process no difficult than uploading photos to Costco. It was the tagging process that I found the most interesting. It reminded me of being at the iSchool and my intro to cataloging class- I must confess that was my only cataloging class. It was fun to think of all the ways to identify the objects in my pictures, and let's just say the tag IKEA was included.
I only meant to upload and tag the 5 shots I'd taken for the purpose of using with Flickr, but I was inspired enough to upload some other shots in my digital library like this one. I felt them to be more visually interesting than my bookcases.
I found it very intuitive to go back in to delete tags (like the one assigned to my bookcase) and change descriptions, even adding this photo to my blog proved to be pain free.
Personally, I don't think Flickr is viable for all photos, at least not the way I use them. Indexing hundreds of photos would make my brain melt. But for the few exceptional photos, the tagging could be quite useful and browsing through other public photos is quite entertaining.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Plussing
Walt Disney created a term I just love- plussing. It means going back over your work again and again and finding what you can add or "plus" to make it perfect.
In my attempt at plussing I thought adding a photo to this blog would be nice. So when I got home and on my own PC, where all my photos are since we went digital, I started to mess around with Blogger.
OK, so I didn't manage to get the photo where I wanted it. But it's here :) Kudos to my adorable kitty Capt. Jack. But I think I figured it out- keep an eye out. I signed up for Hello and Picasa2 and played with those last night. Picasa2 could be very useful in tracking down all those duplicate photo backups.
So far, so good. I'm experiementing with new programs and stretching my boundaries. And any new way to keep track of all my digital photos- well that's just fabulous.
In my attempt at plussing I thought adding a photo to this blog would be nice. So when I got home and on my own PC, where all my photos are since we went digital, I started to mess around with Blogger.
OK, so I didn't manage to get the photo where I wanted it. But it's here :) Kudos to my adorable kitty Capt. Jack. But I think I figured it out- keep an eye out. I signed up for Hello and Picasa2 and played with those last night. Picasa2 could be very useful in tracking down all those duplicate photo backups.
So far, so good. I'm experiementing with new programs and stretching my boundaries. And any new way to keep track of all my digital photos- well that's just fabulous.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
Monday, February 26: The Adventure Begins
Ok, so I have to admit that I'm optimistic about this. I consider myself to be pretty tech savvy, but a fair bit of things we'll be covering are new to me or I've heard of it, but haven't had time to play with it. I'm looking forward to trying new things out! And the free MP3 player doesn't hurt either :) I've always liked the idea of being a life long learner but life gets in the way- I keep meaning to sign up for this class or that class and somehow it never happens. Being able to experiment on "work time" is a huge plus.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
