Went into work today and was surprised to see a boy sitting off to the side of the entrance to the library meditating. And it struck me that anyone compelled to meditate at the doors to a library isn’t really meditating so much as they are saying, “Look at me! I’m so special! Gaze upon my self-consciously serene face as I commune with the Buddha.” I was trying to think of something sufficiently snarky to say. But then I realized that it isn’t like I’m the Buddha police, and the kid was punishing himself enough by meditating on concrete. I don’t think it would be all that possible to free one’s mind from clinging if your butt is totally numb.
But you never know!

I enjoyed ALA. I especially enjoyed being mistaken for a Canadian while shopping. I bought some shoes.

Some of the programs I went to were very illuminating, or at least presented some interesting research. I think that the next time I go to ALA, I will go armed with stickers saying “Yes! I’m a librarian and an easy mark! Rob me blind!” for those people that think the entire city is their conference center and go wandering about with their badges and corporate sponsored tote bags.

I tore through the new Harry Potter. It left me underwhelmed. I probably need to read it again, since I read most of it between midnight and 2 am, so maybe I was underwhelmed due to sleepyness. I thought that it was nice to see how some of the characters are growing up, like Ginny and Neville. Harry was appropriately angsty for a teenage boy. Rowling continues to be great at building an atmosphere of increasing dread, but somehow the ending didn’t have the same payoff the other books in the series had for me.