Author Archives: Anna

?-lists

I always feel conflicted when people talk about ranking bloggers. It seems goofy to me to think about ranking a subset of bloggers like library blogs, because I think mostly the only people that read library blogs are other library bloggers. That being said, I was amused by Libraryola’s post about The Nice Thing About Obscurity, because I was listed as the last of the B-list library bloggers. Personally, if I were to rank myself on a list of blogs I’d put myself on the X-List of library bloggers, and the Z-list of comics bloggers 🙂
But if there’s one thing that is certain, if you want to get bloggers to link to you, post a list ranking other bloggers. Actually, I’m just happy to see Chris blogging again!

great bag quest partially fulfilled

I always seem to be on the lookout for a bag that I like. I don’t really like purses, because I need to carry around a bunch of stuff like a large book, a notepad, and a bunch of lipstick I never wear. So I was happy when I found this bag:

new bag

I can fit a gargantuan graphic novel and an umbrella inside and have room to spare:

inside bag

New bag, although you look a little bit more like a briefcase than is my usual style, I adore your many handy compartments, and the cute buckle I use to fasten you shut.

If you want this lovely bag, it is a Clava Schoolbag. You can get it at amazon. I bought mine from ebags, they have a free shipping deal now.

Silly Quizzes

Saw this over at Yet Another Comics Blog

You scored as Bebop (Cowboy Bebop). Hope you don�t mind being anime. Your style just fits perfect with the crew of the Bebop. Life is tough and your crew knows it, but you will find a way to survive. You always do. Now if only Faye would quit gambling all your money away.

Deep Space Nine (Star Trek)
81%

Bebop (Cowboy Bebop)
81%

Serenity (Firefly)
81%

Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica)
75%

Moya (Farscape)
75%

Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)
69%

Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)
69%

Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)
69%

SG-1 (Stargate)
50%

Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)
31%

FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files)
19%

Enterprise D (Star Trek)
13%

Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com

I don’t mind being Bebop, but I don’t wanna be DS9.

Seen over at etc.

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Tangognat!

  1. Human beings are the only animals that copulate while facing tangognat.
  2. Tangognat was the first Tsar of Russia!
  3. The eye of an ostrich is bigger than tangognat!
  4. Edinburgh imports three thousand kilograms of tangognat every year!
  5. The horns of tangognat are made entirely from hair.
  6. Humans have 46 chromosomes, peas have 14, and tangognat has 7!
  7. Tangognat can squeeze her entire body through a hole the size of her beak.
  8. A lump of tangognat the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.
  9. Influenza got its name because people believed the disease was caused by the evil “influence” of tangognat.
  10. You should always store tangognat in an airtight container in the fridge.
I am interested in – do tell me about

Valentine’s Day Refgrunt

Check out the first blog Carnival of Children’s Literature (via Big A little a, who also points to a review of a book library people should find most amusing)
Household Opera is going to start a series on why research is hard, check it out.

Wow, it was dead at the desk today. I really think that when short people wear long leather trenchcoats, they look the opposite of tough. I say that as a short person! It isn’t a good outerwear choice.
Bound periodicals are over there.
This is how you print things.
A student wants to research student life on campus in the 1960s and 1970s, I suggest the University archives as a starting point, and give him the hours and contact information.
That book is in processing, it isn’t on the shelves yet. Did you want to fill out a request form for it? No, you’ll check back later? OK.
You can add money to your copy card over there.
Community member wants to know where our legal reference books are. I show him and mention the electronic resources he can also use.
I wander around, cleaning up the scattered golf pencils.
Are you having problems printing that document? Try one more time, and let me know if you get the error message. Yay, it worked!
That book should be over there.
I help a student request a play from another library.
You can help yourself to that scrap paper.
I wander around logging a couple computers out of e-mail accounts someone left up and running.
I transfer a call to another department (the department in question seems to be reticent about posting its phone number on the web site).
Out of the corner of my eye, I think I see someone carrying a giant container of orange juice into the library…..she’s gone.
I’m sorry, I don’t know where our 3 hole punch is.

desk purge

I spent some time today going through all the piles of paper I have at work and throwing things in the recycling bin. I always feel sort of guilty spending time organizing my desk at work, because it doesn’t feel like a high level task. I should be spending time working on web pages or tattooing myself with the ACRL Information Literacy standards or tracking down sources to answer a fiendishly difficult reference question. But I need to organize my space and identify the things I want to keep for whoever ends up with my job after I leave. It did feel oddly liberating, throwing all these old handouts and articles about library instruction into the recycle bin.

I heard a rumor today that just a couple weeks before my time here is done I’m going to be presenting (with a colleague) a poster presentation for a regional library conference about a project I’ve worked on. I was trying to figure out how I’d answer any questions people have:

I’m not going to be here to develop it further, but IF I WAS, I would…..
I don’t know. I barely even work there any more!
Information Literacy Schmiteracy, That’s what I always say!

I’m fine with working on the presentation though, because I’ll feel like I’ll have done what I could to put the word out there about the project. It might be a nice thing to do to wrap everything up. If you have any poster presentation tips to share just let me know!

Manga Series

Johanna has an overview of Erica Sakurazawa’s works. I think I’ve read around 3 of the Sakurazawa volumes, I wish some of the manga companies would translate some similar works, because there’s not a whole lot of manga out there aimed at a 20something audience.

I find it amusing that in the Kanye West song “Touch the Sky”, it has the lyrics:
Yes, yes, yes, guess who’s on third
Lupe steal like Lupin the 3rd

Look at the wrap up over at Tilting at Windmills, which compares graphic novel sales at comic book shops and bookstores. I really wonder what will happen to Tokyopop when it no longer has new volumes of Fruits Basket. I just don’t see as many series coming out from them with the same level of hype and fan enthusiasm.

Some spoilers ahead, these are some of the series I’ve been reading recently:

Basara #15 – In Basara the star-crossed lovers Sarasa and Shuri have been leading double lives, falling in love while unknowingly being sworn enemies. Shuri is the Red King, and Sarasa has disguised herself as the rebel leader boy Tatara. They’ve just missed meeting each other as Red King and Tatara several times but finally in this manga they confront each other on a battlefield and they both realize that the person they love is the person they’ve sworn to destroy. Oh, the angst! Shuri has the predictable reaction of a samurai, while Sarasa almost buries her identity as Tatara. I was surprised that the character I was most worried about was Ageha, the mysterious former slave who has dedicated his life to Tatara. Sarasa is devastated that she’s in love with the tyrant whose men killed her brother. Ageha has given up so much for the rebellion that the potential loss of the destined rebel leader almost destroys him. This a climatic moment for the series, and it’ll be interesting to see how Tamura deals with the aftermath over the next 10 volumes.

Tramps Like Us #8
Some volumes of Tramps Like Us feel more like interconnected short stories, instead of a having a single main plot moving everything forward. Sumire finshes the visit in Hong Kong with her boyfriend Hatsumi. Momo meets an elderly woman in a park and learns about her life. Then, Sumire and Momo reverse roles on a bet, with an added twist of a touch of amnesia. Each of these stories ends with a little bit of character development as the characters grow and change.

Fullmetal Alchemist #5
This has a funny episode, as Ed and Alphonse travel with Winry to meet their old teacher. They a town called “The Boomtown of the Broken Down,” where the prosthetics industry has turned the place into a place where all the auto-mail engineers hang out. Hijinxs ensue when they encounter a thief girl with ultra fast automail legs. There’s also a flashback sequence that fills in some of the gaps in history right after the boys lost their mom, as they set out to learn alchemy. Fullmetal Alchemist is one of those titles that is both popular and very good. I think it is consistently enjoyable because of the way it balances character development and action.

From Far Away #5, #6, #7

I bought the first couple volumes of this series and decided that I wasn’t going to keep buying it. I did end up getting it from the library, and I’m enjoying the later volumes more than the earlier ones. Noriko is less helpless (although she still manages to get kidnapped a lot) and the relationship between her and Izark grows. All is not well for our transplanted Japanese girl and her warrior potential boyfriend, as he seems to have the regrettable habit of turning into a progressively scarier demon and she appears to be the agent that will bring about his final most horrible transformation. I still wouldn’t buy every volume of this series, but I don’t feel like my time is wasted reading it for free.

Bleach #3, #4, #5

I think I like this series because Ichigo is so cranky, and there is a great supporting cast of characters like Chad. Ichigo takes on more foes as a soul reaper, and he meets a popular TV spiritualist who might not be entirely fraudulent. In volume 5 he has a new foe and many of his friends seem to be manifesting spiritual powers of their own. I’m starting to wonder how much Ichigo’s power effects his friends. This is another action series that I’m finding entertaining. I don’t think I’ll collect all 20+ volumes, but I’ll happily read it every now and then.