Angora Cats or Lap Poodles?

I was reviewing a peer’s text encoding work for the Indiana Authors and Their Books digitization project (site not yet public) and found this gem from a medical text, Worry and Nervousness, or, the Science of Self-Mastery, by William S. Sadler, M.D. (Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1914). All emphasis below is my own.

THE UNMARRIED AND CHILDLESS

The nerve hygiene of single people, childless married people, old maids, bachelors, widows, and widowers, deserves special attention. As a class these people are given to a great deal of thinking about themselves, while they are usually quite without a definite aim and purpose in life. There is a great tendency for this class to become selfish, self-centered, while the tender emotions of natural affection and love are so little exercised that the unselfish social instincts become stunted. There is a great tendency to develop a peculiar temperament and an eccentric disposition. [...]

Life, a Miscellany

These last two weeks, I’ve lacked inspiration and I’ve had little time to do much besides getting the new Starrynight website ready to go live. You can take a peek at the test site here. I still have a lot of content to move but I don’t anticipate the style and navigation to change drastically. Unless of course, some tells me that hate so-and-so and that I need to change it or else they won’t love me anymore (Tim, I tweaked the orange color–hopefully, it’s less painful now). I’ve had fun with this redesign. I even got brave and played with a little php. I have no idea what I’m doing but my changes didn’t seem to break anything. So, success?

I’ve listened to about three-quarters of Northanger Abbey. It’s… different. I feel absolutely nothing for any of the characters. I know Austen is writing satirically but I’m not a big fan of the genre that is being mocked to begin with. Austen is not being nearly as ruthless as I’d like. I want horrible things to happen to Catherine Morland. I’m probably not meant to feel that way about the heroine. She’s just so damn clueless and she keeps making the same mistake over and over. Every character in this book could die and I’d clap and cheer. They’re all too two-dimensional–even for satire. All of you. Die.

In other news, The Cavaliers just announced their 2010 program, or parts of it, at any rate. Interesting concept. I immediately thought of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World but that film has nutty, vaguely carnivalesque theme music, which judging from the show logo is probably not what The Cavies are going for. In any case, I look forward to June!

In OTHER other news, my microwave may not be malfunctioning after all. Russ has used it a few times with absolutely no problems. He is convinced that there were small bits of metal in the green beans I was reheating. Oh, I feel much better now that I know the microwave won’t EXPLODE; however, there was METAL in my GREEN BEANS. Russell could not understand why I would not be consoled on this matter.

No Joke

It is entirely coincidental that this long-overdue blog post is appearing on the first of April. “Jen! Are YOU doing BEDA?” [...]

If You Build It/Lead a Horse to It

I’m attempting to get some posts out of “draft” status. Here is one I started a few weeks ago.

I found an essay at LISNews written by librarian, Abigail Goben, regarding the needs of patrons between the ages of 20-40. Goben posits that libraries, while doing an admirable job finding new and exciting ways to reach out to teens and children, have neglected patrons who fall into the post-college (and possibly pre-family) category. Intriguing but who are these patrons? What do they want? If libraries expand hours, staff, and programming (let’s assume that there isn’t an economic crisis and that the coolest, most talented librarian ever is doing the program planning ), will that make mid-20 somethings more likely to walk in the door and stay an hour and a half?

To find answers, I started with the most authoritative source I know: me. Indeed, the patron Goben describes IS me. While reading her essay, I was all nods. In fact, I was one click away from my library’s program website before the thought struck me: “I can barely make time to run inside to pick up my holds, how will I make time to attend programs?” OK, granted, I’m probably not the most representative example of persons of this age group. I work 60 hours a week in addition to trying to keep a new film company afloat. My husband and I share one car, so physically getting to the library is a bit of a challege at times. On the other hand, I wasn’t always this busy. Even when I had my own car, worked a normal 40 hour week and didn’t have a film production company diverting my attention, I still didn’t attend library programming. Is that the library’s fault? Absolutely not. MCPL DOES have programming that interests me, good collections and services, and hours that suit me. I simply didn’t make the time, then or now. Are all of us 20 and 30-somethings too busy with Life? Has Evil Technology destroyed our ability to interact with one another and sit still for ten minutes without Tweeting or checking Facebook? Was all of the wonder and curiosity which we possessed back in college stamped out of us by the big, mean Real World? Surely not. Attending such programming simply isn’t a priority for me.

I’m curious what others of this demographic think. Are you interested in on-site programs at your public library? Is your library offering such programs? Do you attend them? Why or why not?

The expectations of library service held by 20-30 somethings, to my knowledge, hasn’t been studied much. I applaud Goben for putting this concern on the radar. Check out her blog for more smart writing.

Oh, and yes, I can pay my fines online– and yes, I’m feeling rather smug about it.

Review: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

Back in November, I reviewed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahme-Smith. I am happy to be able to give a spoiler-free glimpse of the prequel, which will be released on March 23rd.

Special note: Quirk Books is giving away 50 Quirks Classics Prize Packs, which include advanced copies, audio books and much more. See here for details.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
by Steve Hockensmith.
Philadelphia: Quirk Books, c2010.
320 p. : ill. ; 21 cm. $12.95
9781594744549
Link to Publisher.

“A world with zombies in it had no tolerance for softness or sentiment. The dreadfuls infected everything just by virtue of existing. To live in their world, one had to become like them. Dead inside.

So be it.”

[...]

Upcoming ‘Dreadful’ Reading

An advanced review copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls arrived yesterday!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith. Quirk Books c2010

I’ll be posting a review on March 3rd. PP&Z:DOD, the prequel to the NY Times bestseller written by Seth Grahme-Smith, will be in stores on March 23rd.

Publisher link.

So We Came to February

I closed out January with five stitches in my thumb (first time getting stitches– first visit to the emergency room). Surely, I can do better in February.

Reading

Sharp object encounters aside, January was a pretty good month. I managed to read quite a bit more¹. Listening to the audiobook versions of S&S and MP during commute and workout time helped me take in a little Austen on the days I didn’t have sit-down-and-read time. I’m determined to finish all of Jane Austen’s major novels by the end of this month (I will likely put off reading Northanger Abbey and Lady Susan until a later date). I will keep reading the Pern series (I’m about a quarter of the way into Dragonquest now). I currently have Fables checked out from the library and will start that once I’ve finished Emma. I’ve been poking around for some staple sci-fi titles and have compiled two or three recommendations, which I will probably start in March. Right now I’m reading The Woman in White (via DailyLit RSS, which I just reactivated after a week hiatus), Emma, and Dragonquest. I have good reading variety this month, each title enjoyable in different ways.

And Writing

I hardly blogged in January and I don’t have any creative or academic writing to show for my time off. I was at first excited to see that Laurie Halse Anderson is urging everyone to have a Blog-Free February but then figured that it’s less daunting for me to pop on and ramble a bit here instead of sitting down and composing something formally. So I’m going to take a pass on BFF this year (although BFF would be an awesome pairing with BEDA, if Blog Every Day in April becomes an annual phenomenon). Better to keep all writing channels open. I’m intrigued by the call from LISNews for essays relating to libraries or librarianship. I’ve been recording ideas, links and news items regarding a number of library topics for months but haven’t had the kick in the butt to make something material of it. I don’t have to submit something but writing up a few pieces on different topics might be a good exercise.

And Life

Reassessing finances prompted me taking more part-time work. I rearranged my IU schedule to accommodate additional hours at Avers. Last week was an adjustment period. I was far more worn out after my workout sessions last week but I felt more like myself after yesterday’s session. And, as it was much easier getting up at 5:30 this morning than it was last week, I think my body is finally realizing that I’m not shorting it on sleep (I started going to bed earlier but, for whatever reason, I still felt exhausted when the alarm went off). This week (and possibly next) will be the test: getting up a 5:30, working at the library, working an additional 20 some hours at Avers, and maintaining my current workout and diet routine. We’ll see how it goes.

Once I’m sure that I’m in possession of the proper quantities of sleep, calories, and sanity, I will start focusing on weight loss again. I plateaued in January, in spite of continued diet and exercise. I’m honestly not discouraged that I haven’t kept losing. If nothing else, this proves that I can maintain a goal weight if I stick to the habits I’ve relearned.

Right. Now that I’ve gotten that housekeeping post of out my system, on to more interesting thngs.

• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
• Those Left Behind (Serenity ; v. 1) by Joss Whedon

And So It May Be

In my 2009 prospectus, I decried resolutions as “stupid.” SCIENCE agrees: link. Instead, I like to think that I have ongoing, long-term goals.

Of last year’s goals, I think I’ve improved the most at being more healthy. Seeing results is nice but I know my body a bit better now too. In 2010, I’ll keep doing cardio 3-4 times a week but I’d like to begin varying workouts with strength training. Now that I know how many calories per day/week I’m consuming, I will also focus on eating meals that are better balanced.

As to being more organized: this could still use work. I’m using more tools to help but sometimes I wonder if I have cotton candy for brains. My memory is horrible. I depend on my iPod Touch to remind me of upcoming vents, compose to-do lists, plan meals and exercise, track my finances, etc. Where I feel like I fail on being organized is minimizing clutter. This 2009 goal I completely failed on. In my defense, this is not entirely within the realm of my control. Russell had no such resolve to make our home less cluttered after all. And if I thought a theatre production created a lot of costume/prop clutter, boy does shooting a film create a mess (and most of the Banshee property isn’t even being stored at our place–thanks Chris and Meagan!). However, there are things of my own I can probably get rid of to free up space. This will definitely be on the Things to Do in 2010.

Looking forward, I’m not sure that I need to add another Big Goal to the heap. Now that I think about it, there are a few long-term goals not mentioned here like paying down debt as quickly as possible, which is hardly a goal, as I don’t have much choice in the matter. I will work on being more thoughtful in 2010. I tend to be frightfully self-absorbed and I don’t always realize when I’m neglecting someone else’s feelings by simply being too caught up in whatever I’m doing. I hate being flaky.

So nothing too crazy in 2010. Sorry about the general boringness of this post. I almost posted this privately but figured that posting publicly would hold me more accountable.

And now, for your patience and fortitude in surviving to the end of this post, a diversion! If you had to sit through just ONE MORE Christmas songvid, it should be this one.