Peter & Max, A Fables Novel by Bill Willingham, Illustrated by Steve Leilahola

Peter & Max, A Fables Novel by Bill Willingham, Illustrated by Steve Leilahola

Peter Piper uses the flute Frost and his brother Max Piper, the flute Fire in this story of fairytales, love and magic. It is a tale of light and dark. One brother is a thief and trickster, the other a murderer and dark magician.

Max Piper is the representation of the Pied Piper who piped the children out of Hamelin. Hamelin plays a part both in our world and the world of fairy. There are many magical places including the house of the witch of the Black Forest, and the dark woods. Max Piper represents the dark fairytale in this novel. The part which kills the father, ensorcels people against their will, and spreads disease and strife. The juxtaposition is very well done.

Peter Piper is the lighter side of fairytales, you can represent where passages of the novel come right out of childrens nursery rhymes. Peter, Peter pumpkin eater had a wife and couldn't keep her and Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers so where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. Peter Piper even gets marred to Bo Peep. Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep, And can't tell where to find them, Leave them alone, And They'll come home, Wagging their tales behind them.

Somehow, through a magic all his own, Bill Willingham creates a complete story weaving the growth and rivalry of Peter Piper and Max Piper until their final confrontation. Thrown into this are various archetypical myths and legends; the man finding themselves in the dark woods and the boy becoming the master thief. Although, there are no footnotes, you can read many famous fairytales into this book.

The setting for the novel is before the graphic novel series starts called Fables. It is a prequel which stands on its own. The illustrator, Steve Leilaloha does a marvelous job with his black and white illustrations. The drawings remind me a bit of Charles Vess with a mix of Jack Kirby. There is final comic book piece at the end of the novel which provides a nice segway into what the Fables graphic novels look like. The Fables graphic novels have won numerous awards in the comics industry.

This novel resonates well with me. It has a comic book feel to it. The descriptions are very visually oriented. The author is painting pictures of things that have never been with words. Some of the images like Puss playing his fiddle, or goblin soldiers, or arrogant knights are quite colorful. Read it for the descriptions, the fairytales, the myths, and the intricately woven plot which makes a complete story.

Daily Thoughts 11/30/2009

Illustration of Peter Piper from the 1838 US edition of Peter Piper's Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation

Daily Thoughts 11/30/2009

Today was spent dealing with spyware and malware mostly. My computer is clean now. It took quite a bit of time to convince people that I would not pay for security. Sometimes, you have to back date your software. I ended up reinstalling internet explorer 7 because some websites don't function well with the latest version of internet explorer 8, I also backdated my Java because some programs don't run well with the latest java. It is not always smart to update to the latest programs. I also have Firefox. This way, I can have more than one browser in case things don't work with one of the other browsers.

My internet explorer went out, then I switched to using Firefox, until the problems were fixed. I also have Opera.

I rested a lot also. It was a nice slow day.

Woodwoodworkshop so far..

In the Zombie Apocalypse, I'd rather be a Geek!

I saw a GeekSquad car the other day.

I was in my car eating lunch in the grocery store parking lot, when the little black VW Bug with the large, yellow advertisement rolled by on the street in front of me. I'd seen the advertisements on TV back in college, but (as with most ads you see) figured it would be pretty much an East coast thing and we'd never see it out here.

Consequently, I was so stunned that it took me a few minutes to get the breadstick I was eating into my mouth.

Geeks are cool. And I say that with the utmost sincerity (and not just because I was one). Because, when it comes down to it, who does the world rely on to fix their computers, to design innovative things, to create art that makes our world beautiful, to send our men to the moon & keep them (and us) safe to boot? It's the geeks. That kid you sit next to who wears the thick glasses and is just kind of odd -- he's our next NASA Engineer. The guy who will solve global warming. The guy who will design the armored suit that will keep our soldiers safe overseas. The guy who will be the next Rembrandt. Or Tchaikovsky. Or Shakespeare. Those kids labeled as "geekish" are resourceful and free thinkers, minds who will challenge the world as we know it.

Still, despite their strengths, people will look the other way. People will still judge, and ignore, or worse yet, ridicule.

Not me, though. At the end of the day, when the zombie apocalypse is raining its wrath down on our heads, I'd rather share my foxhole with a geek. With a pencil and some baling wire, they might just get us out of the mess we'd be in.

~*~
Heather S. Ingemar has loved to play with words since she was little, and it wasn’t long until she started writing her own stories. Termed “a little odd” by her peers, she took great delight in exploring tales with a gothic flair, and to this day, Edgar Allan Poe continues to be her literary hero. To learn more, please visit: http://ingemarwrites.wordpress.com/ or follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/heatheringemar

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

This is a fun novel to read. It is a steampunk novel set in Seattle during the 1860s. Seattle Washington has not yet become a part of the United States. The city has fallen apart because of a mysterious gas that turns people into zombies.

I enjoyed the technology described in this novel. It is very dark. People wear filter masks to protect themselves from the zombie gas and have to purify all the water they drink. There are airships, giant drilling machines, and underground sealed living spaces.

There is a grim feeling to this novel. The feeling of an industrial wasteland. This is combined with a kind of western frontier spirit. The characters are stark and flawed. They are also driven by very human passions. Ezekiel Wilkes who is sixteen wants to find the true story of his father. Briar Wilkes want to find her son, Ezekiel who has descended into a wasteland.

The minor characters are just as good as the main characters, the evil Dr. Minnericht, his henchman Yaozhu, and the tough old woman Angeline are very aptly named. The descriptions are colorful and full of pathos.

This novel would be a good read for both teenagers and adults. There is lots of action, history, and very convincing descriptions.

Daily Thoughts 11/29/2009

Desk at the library of Zutphen. Source: Libraries in the Medieval and Renaissance Periods The Rede Lecture Delivered June 13, 1894 Author: J. W. Clark
Available from www.gutenberg.org Published: 1894

Daily Thoughts 11/29/2009

Google Books has a review page function much like Shelfari, Librarything, or BookConnect.
http://books.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=75375&topic=9259&hl=en

I tried to read I Drink For A Reason by David Cross. I did not like it at all. The sarcastic atheistic humor did not match my own. I found the strong language not to my taste as well. The writing was not the problem. The problem was that the content was not agreeable to me and I did not find it humorous. This book is not something I can recommend. I read the first two chapters then had to put it down.

A Home Wanted

As I haven't done anything for DARG for a while now, and as they have so many new dogs and cats up for adoption, I thought I must really do another painting.

This is Sledge.  He is a cross Husky something and was apparently abandoned by his owner.

It always amazes me how human beings can be so callous about their fellow creatures.  We domesticate them to such a degree that they become totally reliant on us for all their needs, and then idiots like this owner decide they don't want them anymore!

I believe we share this beautiful planet with our fellow creatures and our intellect does not give us dominion and lording rights over them.

I hope Sledge finds someone who will care for him.

Daily Thoughts 11/28/2009

Expedition 17 crew members pose for a portrait inside the Jules Verne ATV with original manuscript and XIX century book by Jules Verne. ATV is another name for a type of space ship. This picture is from NASA. It is public domain.

Daily Thoughts 11/28/2009

New York is Book Country is being revived on May 16, 2010 in Union Square Park in Manhattan. The location is very interesting. I think it will be nicer than the usual uptown location where they closed off the streets. This makes it much more walkable than it was before. I have been to this event many times. http://www.newyorkisbookcountry.com/events/home.jsp

I have been reading through Mashable a bit lately. There is quite a bit on the concept of "social publishing", where social media and publishing intersect. It is a new concept.

The Elements of Expression by Arthur Plotnik

Arthur Plotnik is writing about using words to express oneself. This includes both writing and giving speeches to an audience. The book aims to expand the readers ability to communicate to an audience. The text is replete with examples of how to use words expressively; slang, similes, figures of speeches, and other word choices are discussed.

The writing is enjoyable, sometimes funny, and often poignant. He demonstrates what he is attempting to teach. I liked many of the pointers which he gave; drink a lot of water the day before you give a speech, take the time to read the language of different groups like doctors, hackers, and lovers, write down memorable quotes not just from books but from people who you talk to, and develop your own voice.

I liked the book enough to continue reading his other works. I plan on reading The Elements of Editing next. He makes what seems dry and technical very entertaining.

I have started reading Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. It is a steampunk novel set in Seattle. So far, there is gas that turns people into zombies, an unlikely heroine, airships, and a wonderfully inventive setting. I am enjoying the science fiction novel very much.

Daily Thoughts 11/27/2009

This picture was taken from Les mémoires de Saint-Simon (Memoirs of Saint-Simon), anthology gathered by Le Goffic & Tellier, Paris 1862. Publishers Mark. From oldbookillustrations.com

Daily Thoughts 11/27/2009

An article, What it Will Mean When The Ebook Comes First. http://www.idealog.com/blog/what-it-will-mean-when-the-ebook-comes-first

This is an inevitability. The way I see it is that you will be able to get the book or other media from a digital kiosk to download onto a device in a variety of formats. If you want a hardcopy, you pay a little extra for the paper and printing. The book will print in two minutes as a trade paperback. If you want it in hardcover, you may have to go into a larger store where there will be a few browsable items and a bigger machine which will make a hardcover in four minutes. This is practically here. It will take a while for it to go into place.

I am glad that the malware on my computer is gone. I think Computer Associates cleaned it out while I was sleeping using a remote login. When I got up in the morning, it was gone and my security suite was updated.

Housing Works Used Book Cafe in Manhattan, New York is having a 30% off sale. It is one of my favorite bookstores. The proceeds go to help homeless people with AIDS stay off the streets. They have a very nice selection of books.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/arts/27bspare.html?_r=2

I never did get out to go to any of the Black Friday sales. I did get a chance to finish watching Cowboy Bebop the shows. The collection was six dvd discs. I really like the opening music. It is worth it just listening to the opening. I am going to watch the movie as well. I guess I have become a fan.

I also had a chance to start reading the first few chapters of The Elements of Expression by Arthur Plotnik. I rather like his explantions of descriptive versus prescriptive grammar and english. I like to think of prescriptive english as what you need to know in order to write clearly and with accuracy, and descriptive english as how to choose the right variation of grammar to express yourself. I know it is not the real definition of descriptive english or prescriptive english, but it is how I think of it.

While I was looking around the web, I found an interesting startup called Fast Pencil, it appears to be a self publishing service which includes templates and workflows for creating a variety of different kinds of books. http://www.fastpencil.com/

Makers by Cory Doctorow

Makers by Cory Doctorow

This is the kind of book which will keep you up reading until you are done. It is a story of technology, creativity, and intrigue. The story is focused on digital fabricators and three dimensional printers. It describes many things which are coming very soon.

You could call this near future science fiction, but it includes a lot of things which are normally left out of science fiction stories. There are homless people, street scenes, strong sex scenes, and descriptions of every day life. This makes the story easy to relate to.

The social commentary in this story is biting. We learn what happens to fat Americans and what the future might look like if goth culture becomes mainstream. It also feeds into a diverse setting which spreads from New York to Florida to Russia.

We get a very complete picture of how a future technology revolution might occur. It is not just the story of the inventors, there are also business characters, and reporters to flesh out the story and make it more believable. Cory Doctorow is very much a participant in current issues in technological change.

Makers feels like it took from Down and Out In the Magic Kingdom an earlier book by Cory Doctorow. Disney World plays a prominent role in this book, both as something glorified and vilified. Disney adds to the wildly inventive behavior as well as the themes of exploitation and conflict.

This is a book worth reading. It is a long book, 416 pages long. It is also the kind of book where you might want to block out a couple of days to sit down and read it one sitting. This matches the fast pace of the writing.

Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars by William Patry

Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars by William Patry

William Patry focuses on the history of copyright as it pertains to innovation. The copyright wars refers to the dispute between the music corporations and other large corporations and individuals who use digital content. It is the continuing controversy over file sharing, digital downloading, and new formats of content which are bringing change to the publishing, film, and recording industries. William Patry includes a lot of history on technology and copyright. This book is very relevant to what is happening now in the publishing world and the library world.

When William Patry talks about moral panics, he often uses the idea of metaphor; ordinary people being labeled as pirates, highwaymen, or robbers for downloading content. Another metaphor which is quite interesting is the idea of authors birthing their works. William Patry claims that the copyright industry is trying to drum up resistance to change and innovation.

In this book there are many arguments put forth about how copyright should function. It is very much an attempt to persuade the reader that copyright should act and be a particular way. The arguments are very interesting. For example, he argues that copyright is a government program used to ensure that intellectual property benefits the public and authors. He further makes another argument that copyright is not like physical property and must be handled differently.

There are sections on DRM (Digital Rights management) and the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act). These are very important because they have created many new issues in copyright like orphan works something that is very convoluted. As part of his going over new legislation, William Patry reminds us that copyright should encourage innovation not prevent it. The United States is falling behind countries like South Korea and Japan. His viewpoint is very much a call for a change in how copyright is currently being done.

This book is published by Oxford University Press. There are extensive notes and an in depth index. He includes many quotes from prominent people in the copyright industry. William Patry is a senior copyright counsel for Google, a practicing attorney, and a professor. This book combines the scholarly with the persuasive quite well.

Daily Thoughts 11/26/2009

"A Thanksgiving Tour". 1907 editorial cartoon for Thanksgiving holiday from the Daily Picayune newspaper of New Orleans. A turkey is depicted driving an automobile through a fence labeled "Financial Flurry"; a road sign says "To Prosperity". Reference is to the Panic of 1907, with hopes that prosperity is ahead.

Daily Thoughts 11/26/2009

I finished reading Makers by Cory Doctorow. It is the kind of book which you don't want to put down. I'll probably review it tomorrow. Today is Thanksgiving.

I'm having some problems with malware, so I can't spend too much time on the computer. I spent some time this morning speaking to my internet service provider.

I started reading The Elements of Expression by Arthur Plotnik. I am also watching some more of Cowboy Bebop. It is a quiet day.

CARTAS QUE EU ESCREVO PARA MIM

Quando escrevo preciso de elementos básicos, o que poucas pessoas sabem... ou entenderiam.
Eu geralmente coloco um som... seja lá qual for... vai depender do estado da Alma.

Café. E enquanto aquela água ferve... vou idealizando as palavras. Café pronto, idéia quase pronta... cigarro aceso... e por favor, um tanto de silencio. Falo sozinho nesse preparo. Deve ser engraçado entrar num ambiente e pegar uma pessoa com uma xícara de café, cigarro ardente e falando sozinho... mas é praticamente uma necessidade biológica.

Ouvir minha voz ressoando e reverberando pelas paredes da casa. Dizem que eu tenho a voz forte e grave.

De preferência que eu esteja conectado a internet.

Engraçado porque isso pode parecer que atrapalha, não é mesmo?

Pelo contrario, me ajuda... um bocado.Sinto-me muito feliz quando encontro alguém que possa trocar idéias on-line.

Eu juro que gostaria de entender um pouco mais dessa minha necessidade de escrever.

Não me lembro ao certo quando comecei.

Mentira! Acabo de lembrar... quando meu primeiro Amor veio a acabar...digo, o primeiro

relacionamento, eu escrevi uma carta longa.

Lembro que a carta de despedida... era sinceramente profunda.

Começou um ato desenfreado de escrever.

Eu já escrevi isso numa poesia... escrevo para morrer... e para ficar egoisticamente registrado.

De alguma maneira, meu medo de virar poeira cósmica é o que me deixa puto.

Poeira é apenas sujeira.

Não me acho nenhum grande pensador... nem poeta... muito menos escritor. Só exponho o que sinto... em palavras. Óbvio que eu gostaria, e muito, que o Mundo me lesse. Apenas no sentindo de poderem enxergar com meus olhos. Nem que seja por um segundo.

Comecei a escrever porque sempre achei que as pessoas da minha família nunca me deram ouvidos... no que eu tinha a dizer. Diziam e ainda dizem, em algumas circunstancias, que eu sou agressivo quando falo. Talvez pelo tom da voz... e por meus olhares.
Pois é... deixa eu falar dos olhares um pouquinho.

Eu sei que essa é uma das minhas maiores “armas”. Sim, estou falando de sedução. Afinal num me acho nenhum tipo de Don Juan. Mas “Deus” foi um cara generoso comigo, de alguma

maneira.

Escrever! Era isso que eu estava falando afinal. Foi no medo de não ser ouvido... e ser “agressivo” que comecei a escrever.

Pois por acaso não vão ouvir minha voz e podem até reparar nos meus erros medíocres... das minhas acentuações baratas.

Rimei “dor” com “amor” por longos anos. Mas mesmo rimando “dor” com “amor”... comecei a sentir aquilo tudo. Mesmo sendo poesias baratas (e hoje muito bem escondidas), criaram essa estrada invertida. Hoje eu corro para dentro... numa busca insaciável por tantos “eus” habitantes.

Hoje eu falo mais. Digo, verbalizo mais o que sinto. Aos 15 anos conheci uma figura que dizia que eu morreria de câncer se eu não falasse. Morro de medo de morrer de câncer. Doença desgraçada.

Hoje, sendo agressivo ou não... eu falo mesmo.

Mas quando vou, de fato, expressar algo, prefiro escrever... ou olhar. Mas não poderia ficar gravando meus olhares... em câmeras de celular. Seria ridículo. Me sentiria, um pouco mais, ridículo.

Cargas d’água, hoje a internet não conectou. Passei um café depois da 1:00hs da manhã e fumei alguns cigarros. Não pude falar sozinho nem deixar a voz reverberar pelas paredes. Meu irmão dorme tem duas horas e isso o deixaria emputecido. Comecei escutando música instrumental e tô ouvindo MPB agora.

Que engraçado, tiveram dias que cheguei a sentar numa calçada qualquer daqui de SALGUEIRO para escrever debaixo de garoa.

É um surto escrever. É uma mentira tão sincera... que chego a vivê-las como se fosse verdade. Mas eu prefiro mentiras sinceras... do que algumas verdades.

AUTOR : JOSUÉ NETO

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Daily Thoughts 11/25/2009

Vincent Van Gogh, The Night Cafe, 1888

Daily Thoughts 11/25/2009

I am almost done reading Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars. Right now, I am reading about the history of technology and copyright. It starts with movies, then moves to videos starting with betamax, then dvds, and finally I am reading about the internet and movies. This of course touches on the subject of DRM (Digital Rights Management) and the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act). It is quite interesting and very relevant. It speaks directly to the issue of innovation and copyright.

I just finished the book. The last chapter is on innovation in relation to copyright. William Patry makes an argument that copyright often prevents innovation and limits the adoption of new technologies. I found his observations about how Japan and South Korea have become the world leaders in broadband adaptation to be enlightening. This is a very good book.

I received another suggestion for conferences that crossover between librarianship and publishing. The International Conference of the Book is another one: http://2009.booksandpublishing.com/

Gus's Unique Talent in Cynthia's Attic

Hey, everyone! And, Happy Thanksgiving (almost). Mary Cunningham was supposed to post today, but since she's busy getting ready for the big dinner tomorrow, I said I'd fill in for her since I want nothing to distract her from cooking that turkey!

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Gus. My given name is Augusta Lee, but don't call me that unless you want a kick in the shins. Other than my limitless appetite, I have a pretty special talent. I don't supposed I need to keep it a secret since there are already four – count 'em – four books about me! And, my time-traveling side-kick, Cynthia, of course.

Our latest adventure take us on a very special trip to Swiss castle in the early 1900s to look for clues in the disappearance of a magician's assistant. This may not sound like much of a challenge, but, if we don't find her then Cynthia's family could face personal and financial ruin! We can't let that happen, now can we?

So check out Cynthia's Attic: The Magician's Castle. In fact, check out the whole series! Thanks to me and my very special talent to travel from place to place through a magic trunk, you'll be glad you did.

Oh, and check out the cool video below!


Buy Cynthia's Attic Series on Amazon

Mary Cunningham Books
Cynthia's Attic Blog
Amazon
Kindle
Fictionwise

Daily Thoughts 11/24/2009

Book talks, 12:15 to 12:45 : noon hour, every Thursday Nov. thru Apr.
Work Projects Administration Poster Collection (Library of Congress).

Daily Thoughts 11/24/2009

I am still reading Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars by William Patry. Currently, the book is focused on copyright as a form of property. It describes the issue of whether copyright is a natural right or is a created social phenomenon that is governed as a commodity. There is quite a bit on the congers or early book trade groups in England. This is an entry from Wikipedia. I am not saying that it is 100% correct, it is interesting though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conger_(syndicate)

I also watched some more of Cowboy Bebop, the anime series which is turning out to be quite entertaining. I like the data dog, a Welsh Corgi named Ein, it is my favorite character.

I took a short break from reading Moral Panics and The Copyright Wars and started reading Makers by Cory Doctorow. This is a science fiction novel about the near future. It hits the dot com and high tech world like a nail on the head. It is about a new technology revolution that is coming in the near future, fabbers, or three dimensional printers capable of working with metals, plastics, composites, and other materials combined with robotics and microchips in machine shop settings. The ability to custom make almost anything up to the size of a refrigerator in a small factory.

I found this on linked in. It is two more conferences focusing on the space between libraries and publishers. Timothy Dickey mentioned it in the ALA group. There is a very fine annual conference of librarians, publishers, and vendors in Charleston, SC (just completed for this year): http://katina.info/conference/

Also, OCLC has begun to host an annual symposium to explore metadata needs between librarians and publishers: http://www.oclc.org/publisher-symposium/

My Prize

Yesterday I picked up my wonderful prize for coming second in James Parker's  Windows to the Words challenge blog!

All the way from the USA, arriving safely in Cape Town (we never know whether anything will get to its destination or not!), here are the two marvellous paintings - the hummingbird is a tiny little painting which will sit next to me in my art room.

Thank you James!

 

Comic Book Hero

What can I say? Little Lulu was my first literary hero. I hurried to the corner drugstore with a dime clutched tightly in my hot little hand to buy each month's edition the minute it hit the newstands. I collected piles of them and read and reread them. I still have a few, although brittle, and always watch for them at flea markets and antique stores.
In truth, I wanted to BE Little Lulu. I loved her fiesty attitude, her mischievious pranks, and the way she always outsmarted the boys. Sometimes she played detective and called herself "The Spider." When she caught the culprit - usually her father, she always said, "The Spider spins again!"
Her best friends were Annie and Tubby. Sometimes she babysat Alvin, a pesky little boy. Her teacher, Miss Feeny, often sent her on errands, but the truant officer, Mr. McNabb, always ended up chasing her thinking she was playing hooky. Gloria was the perfect, pretty little girl and Wilbur was the rich boy in her class. Willy and Iggy never wanted girls in their club, but Lulu broke that barrier and always figured out a way to make them look stupid.
I named one of my characters Lulu in her honor in my upcoming novel, Back to Bailey's Chase, due out Summer 2010. Go Lulu Moppett!
In fact, I think I'll go read some Little Lulu comics right now.

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Birthday Miley, Happy Happy Joy Joy

by Pam Ripling

Shout out to Miley Cyrus, who’s celebrating her 17^th birthday today. I’ve always been fond of Billy Ray’s likable offspring. Were I a teen, I’d covet that gorgeous blonde wig she dons as Hannah Montana, her teenish-sultry singing voice, her down-home practical girl television persona. I was glad she was the influence-of-the-day for my young daughter a few years back, when Lizzie McGuire (Hilary Duff) faded into that neverland of ex-Disney pre-adult stardom. And yes, I know, Miley's fallen from grace for some, due to some campy photos she's posed for. She's a teen, they all do it, get over it. Each of these girls are unique and beautiful.

So what is my unique talent? I stumble on that word, “unique” because it denotes a sense of, well, a little bragginess. I don’t like to be braggy, like Sister Berenstain Bear. I like to think that I’m good at a few things, but I’d never go so far as to call myself unique. After all, doesn’t that mean something like, “one of a kind?” Here are a few things that might be “different”-- albeit not unique. (Taking deep breath.)

• I rarely, if ever, get writer’s block
• I don’t hate our president
• My kids all respect me
• I’ve dreamed of being a 1940’s starlet
• I’m extremely tolerant of diversities
• I don’t like licorice
• My father was a stand-in for Clark Gable (okay, that last one was about Dad, not me, but still...)

Oh, I once toured a huge popstar’s home with his fiancée just because I knocked on the door and she let me in (a perk of growing up in N. Hollywood.) Talk about a dream come true! That was a truly unique experience.

I know, it’s a rag-tag list, but I don’t care, because I can almost smell the turkey and cranberries, which distorts my ability to write a uniquely decent blog on a Monday morning...

Wishing you all a wonderful day of gratitude!

Pam Ripling is the author of middle-grade mystery, LOCKER SHOCK! Buy it at Quake, Fictionwise or Amazon today! E-book version now available for your Kindle! Visit Pam at www.BeaconStreetBooks.com.

Daily Thoughts 11/23/2009

The library in the Kirby Hall of Civil Rights building at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States.. April 1, 2005. Benjamin D. Esham for the Wikimedia Commons.

Daily Thoughts 11/23/2009

I am reading more of Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars by William Patry. The last section I was reading was about metaphors and copyright. There are quite a few different metaphors described; people being pirates, birthing intellectual property, lawyers being sharks, copying works being thievery, and many others. The language is very charged, entertaining, and pointed.

You sometimes have to wonder about certain aspects of copyright. From what I have seen a typical book lasts about a month or so in the bookstore where it sells for a while, then the older copies are sent back to the publisher to be remaindered and sold at a discount. In a library, the library keeps the book for about a year or two, then checks the amount of time which the book has been circulated. If it has literary merit, they might keep if it has low circulation, otherwise it is likely to be deaccessioned. Not a whole lot of books make it past three or four years let alone seventy.

In Moral Panics and the Copyright wars, the author, William Patry says approximately 1.7% of books are still in print after 70 years. This is not a huge amount of books. In my mind, most of them go to that imaginary place, the library where all the forgotten books are in endless rows to be never found again. You also have to question this, with print on demand, as well as book scanning technology, it is not that hard to get a book printed again. Out of print is a fuzzy term these days.

Maybe, things will change, and many of the books in the libray of forgotten books will fade away and enter Google Books search to be found as digital ghosts that slowly make it back into existence as people look at them on the internet. They may even rematerialize completely through the magic of print on demand. The Espresso Book Machine has partnered with Google Books to make its content easily available. I can imagine whole isles of books disappearing from that imaginary underground repository as I write. http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2009/09/books-digitized-by-google-available-via.html

I spent some time during the last few days cleaning up and consolidating my keywords for my blog. I still have to do it again to eliminate even more phrases, but I have made an initial pass for spelling, duplicate style entries like professional books and professional literature, extra punctuation, and other mistakes. Google limits the total number of keywords allowed.

Ainda sobre oa azulejos

Olá meninas, antes de mais nada quero agradecer a todas as sugestões que vocês me deram! Valeu mesmo! Com elas comecei a "clarear" minhas idéias...
Eu quero fazer com esses azulejos alguma coisa diferente, fora do convencional. Confesso que minhas primeiras idéias foram as tradicionais: bandeja, suporte para panela e quadros. Eu acho lindo tudo isso, mas o que eu quero é algo diferente. Sabe aquela coisa que você olha e fala: que legal, não é que eu jamais imaginei que isso desse certo? Pois é mais ou menos isso o que eu quero, algo inusitado, afinal são azulejos exclusivos e, com certeza, quem fez esse não conseguirá fazer outros, hehe...
Pesquisando na net achei essas idéias:

Trabalho de Chris Lindner

Trabalho de Arnaldo Lopes

A Débora me sugeriu esta matéria que eu adorei! Olha só:
Campeão nos votos (Talma, Keka, Maris e Juliana), um quadro ou painel. Acho que também ficaria legal quadrinhos sobre o fundo de madeira, fato é que o fundo realça os azulejos.

Adorei essa mesa! Dá pra pensar como ficaria a idéia da Cláudia Vargas, com os pés de máquina...
Não consegui fotos de bandeja, como me sugeriu a Hazel, a Cinthya e a Fernanda,nem de um móvel como sugeriu a Rose, mas ainda vou procurar mais um pouco.
Enquanto isso, se alguém tiver mais alguma sugestão... please!
Beijos!

Daily Thoughts 11/22/2009

Various antiquarian books, including Francis Grose’s Antiquities. From the site,
http://www.fromoldbooks.org

Daily Thoughts 11/22/2009

I have started reading Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars. Right now, I am reading about the fight between the record labels and the online downloading services. It is very much a story about legalistic control versus innovative new products. The story is quite interesting. It describes two different models of content distribution push versus pull. A push model tries to push out what a company thinks people should get. A pull model is based on pulling in what customers want and including them in the process. The story of Copyright Wars is also a reminder that it is easy enough to go to forms of entertainment that are more flexible about copyright than traditional print media like video games for entertainment.

I watched some of Cowboy Bebop Remix, The Complete Collection on dvd. This is supposed to be one of the best anime series ever done. The soundtrack which is a mix of jazz, bebop, and light rock is fantastic. The story is also excellent. It is the story of two bounty hunters, Spike and Jet and their travels through space to catch various people wanted by the law. I liked the first few episodes. It is something to watch while I am on vacation.

I Yam What I Yam

Popeye The Sailor is a wonderful cartoon that doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves. Popeye first came out in 1929 and was at one point, more popular than Mickey Mouse! Pretty cool, hey?

Have you ever listened to what the guy mumbles in the old cartoons? OMGosh, it would have all the PC types up in arms today. Hilarious stuff though, and the reason he's always been my favorite cartoon character.

Here's a few of my faves from what I think is the best cartoon of his ever: Popeye Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves:

Popeye, trying to get the door open: Open Cecil, Open Sissy…and then later, when he eats his famous spinach: Open Says-me…

When he does get in, he's afraid to get caught, so he runs through mumbling "tippy-toe, tippy-toe, tippy-toe, tippy-toe" lol!

In the big fight with Ali Baba, he jumps into Ali Baba's clothing and punches him from the sleeves, inside the collar, saying things like "peek-a-boo!"

Give it a watch on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox5mzTtYfK0

Hope you have as many giggles as it gave me!

Warmly,
J.R. Turner

J.R. Turner is the author of the Extreme Hauntings series. The first book, DFF: Dead Friends Forever is available at Amazon.com, Kindle, Fictionwise, and Echelon Press.com

Daily Thoughts 11/21/1009

Jan Baptist Weenix, Portrait of Rene Descartes, 1647, Oil on Canvas

Daily Thoughts 11/21/2009

Sometimes you find interesting things then learn you are not quite a match. This is a grant available from the Women's National Book Association for attending a publishing class if you are a librarian. It is an interesting idea. http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/sundry/alapubawrds/wnbaannheidbreder.cfm

I found this while reading What's the Alternative Career Options For Librarians and Info Pros by Rachel Singer Gordon. So far, the book is quite interesting. It covers all the other options than traditional library work; indexing, publishing, government work, associations, editing, writing, teaching, training, information technology, archives, museums, competitive intelligence, knowledge management, metadata, and information architects.

This is a bit on my profile from the library roots project. A bit on my beginnings as a librarian from Bookcalendar:
http://libraryroutesproject.wikkii.com/wiki/User_talk:Bookcalendar

What's The Alternative Career Options For Librarians and Info Pros by Rachel Singer Gordon.

This was a very interesting book to read. It brought up a variety of thoughts. I was rather surprised that bookstore worker was mentioned. An owner of a small independent bookstore makes about $40,000-$50,000 a year around New York, New York if they are quite good. The same is true of a comic book store owner. It is a labor of love with many extra hours each day.

Publishing does not pay much better as well. An editor makes about the same amount of money in New York, New York. It is not that different from a librarian. An editors job is very different though, there is a lot of writing and of course editing. If you really like writing it is the right for you. Of course if you are an editor, you are expected to write as well, maybe novels or nonfiction books. It tends to extend beyond the job with many extra hours.

Rachel Singer Gordon describes many similar institutions to libraries; genealogical societies, museums, record centers, schools, bookstores, and other sundry places full of paper. Also the traditional paper oriented abstracters, indexers, information brokers, catalogers, and knowledge managers are described.

My favorite job description is for an army orchestral librarian. Imagine having to mark all the scores for the musicians you ordered. Another job description I liked was the emerging technologies librarian. I have a soft spot for technical toys.

This book seeks to redefine the job of librarian as one of an "information worker." This opens the career field to include library webmasters, Google content specialists, prospect researchers, and many other knowledge economy positions. It brings in job boards like Craigslist, Mediabistro, and Idealist. This seems quite diffuse and a bit fanciful.

The different professional associations are also covered including the American Publishers Association, the Society of American Archivists, the Society of Indexers and many ohters. Also how to create your own business is suggested.

This book is a nice overview of a path of career change for librarians. It has many examples of people who followed a different career path with short two page stories. There is a survey on nontraditional library careers, a list of suggested websites, a bibliography of books, and an index. It is a very complete and deeply researched book.

But, what if what you are seeking really does not fit into the "traditional" alternative job descriptions. Publishing and librarianship are dealing with many fast emerging technologies that are introducing rapid change. The positions these technologies engender are not fully understood. What if you are interested in content portals, social media book sites, or other things that defy categories like print on demand kiosks. How can a job board or an association help? Where does it lead?

I've started reading Moral Panics and Copyright Wars by William Patry. William Patry is the senior copyright counsel for Google. He even includes a disclaimer that his opinions are not necessarily the same as those of Google.

Quinces and Walnuts

My computer was non functional for 3 days this week.  Our single, state run telecommunications service took its own sweet time about restoring lines in our area, and my service provider was not amused when I asked her if I needed to take up writing letters and using the post office again!  Absolutely no sense of humour.

And with Summer finally here, life seems to get very active, so not much painting gets done.

I did, however, manage to paint from a rather nice pic taken from Dana Marie's Inspiration all Around us blog, of quinces and nuts - I called them walnuts - I think that's what they are.

Now she has another amazing pic posted, so hopefully I will get to that one in the next week! 

Anime -- The New "Saturday Morning" Cartoon?

By the time you get to high school, you probably consider yourself "above" cartoons. Hey; you're almost an adult now! And there are better things to do than crash in front of your t.v. in your pj's every Saturday morning to catch reruns of old Looney Tunes and Disney... (despite the fact, you wish you still could crash on the couch every Saturday morning.)

The first time I was exposed to anime -- Japanese cartoons done in the manga style of drawing -- I was in college, and thought I had left cartoons behind a long time ago. Cartoons are simple, quick stories for little kids. Not so with Anime. I had walked into one of my girlfriends' rooms and cast a jaundiced eye at her t.v. "What are you watching?" I asked.

"Oh, it's really cool, come see!"

Quite frankly, I wasn't prepared for was the complexity and depth of anime storytelling.

Characters face difficult choices encompassing everything from being a hero to their world or sticking up for a friend in need and all variants in between. Entire worlds are built and landscaped. Sure, they maybe drawn caricatures of people, but gone is the Tom and Jerry simplicity of storytelling.

For the older, more discriminating watcher, anime may be the way to go when you need that cartoon fix (but don't want to appear like a kid!).

~*~

Heather S. Ingemar has loved to play with words since she was little, and it wasn’t long until she started writing her own stories. Termed “a little odd” by her peers, she took great delight in exploring tales with a gothic flair, and to this day, Edgar Allan Poe continues to be her literary hero. To learn more, please visit: http://ingemarwrites.wordpress.com/ or follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/heatheringemar

Daily Thoughts 11/20/2009

This picture was taken from Contes populaires de Basse-Bretagne (Popular tales of Lower Britanny), by F-M. Luzel, Paris, 1887. This came from oldbookillustrations.com which hosts a variety of public domain images from old books.

Daily Thoughts 11/20/2009

I am almost done reading Smart Networking by Liz Lynch. I'll probably finish reading it on the train home. I also have quite a few books which I have checked out for my vacation; Peter and Max A Fables Novel by Bill Willingham, The Elements of Expression by Arthur Plotnik, Makers by Cory Doctorow ( Cory Doctorow is one of my favorite authors), Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars by William Patry ( William Patry is the Senior Copyright Counsel at Google, Inc.), I Drink For A Reason by David Cross (I saw this in Forbidden Planet on the way to my Twitter for Libraries class.), and The Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics, selected and edited by Art Spiegelman & Francis Mouly, with an Introduction by Jon Scieszka (Art Spiegelman is superb, he is the author of Maus, and Jon Sciesczka is a most excellent childrens author. Sciesczka is best known for his fractured fairytales like The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales.)

I also took out a dvd, Monsters vs Aliens which is a Dreamworks film.

Last night, I finished watching Pinocchio. It was very enjoyable and very dark. I was already familiar with the story because I read the Little Golden Book version of Pinocchio which is very true to the Disney film. I have never read the original book by Collodi. Disney considersthis a masterpiece. I liked it a huge amount. It is much darker than many of the previous disney films I have seen.

Smart Networking Attract A Following In Person and Online by Liz Lynch

This book is an overview of the networking process. It integrates old fashioned one to one in person networking with more modern social networking tools. It is about how to use both based on your needs.

The opener of the book is an attempt to help you get over your fear of asking other people for help as well as how to offer help in a networking context. There is a very nice description on how to not push too hard.

I liked the ideas in this book, especially on how to create a pitch, and create a one page plan.

For social networking tools, linkedin is described as a must. They also describe how to use an ezine or email letter to create contacts and build a following. This is not something I had seen other networking books do.

The book is short and to point being 192 pages long including the index and bibliography of popular business titles. There are lists of things to do as well as success stories in each chapter. The writing is very upbeat, easy to read, and is aimed at motivating people to go out and make contacts.

Daily Thoughts 11/19/2009

Gregg Arlington, Works Project Administration, 1940

Daily Thoughts 11/19/2009

Working With Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman was not what I expected. There was very little on how to improve your emotional intelligence. There were many examples of how emotional intelligence affected the workplace.

I was hoping when I picked up this book, it would give me exercises on how to think and act about emotions in the workplace. It did not do this at all. I found a single suggestion that was practical; write down how you feel things are happening at work. There was nothing else.

If you want a book on how teamwork, leadership, self-mastery, and self-regulation are more important at the managerial level than specific technical skills, this book is for you. Daniel Goleman gives many specifics on why someone who is more outgoing and socially capable will advance quicker than someone with exceptional technical skills but little social ability.

I found the argument persuasive, but would have liked some better details on how to address this issue in the work environment.

The writing was very heavy and was slow to read. It felt very intellectual. There are extensive notes and an index. I do not think that it met my purpose, but other people may find it useful.

I finished up reading the Wiki from Essential Twitter for Libraries Workshop run by Jaon Kucsma and Kathryn Shaughnessy. It gave me enough to have an idea on how to properly set up a twitter account for a public library:
1) Include your library name. 2) Include a logo or picture. 3) Include a link to your libraries homepage. 4) Use your logo or picture as the background for your page on twitter. 5) Include a statement about what you can do for people. 6) Announce new materials. 7) Announce events. 8) Announce important local news. 9) Provide links to interesting subjects. 10) Interact with your patrons. 11) Add relevant research sources like the Library of Congress and CQ Researcher. 12) Add local contacts like the city and county government.

I have been reading more of Smart Networking by Liz Lynch. It is asking me to stretch a little bit and try a few new things. Right now, I am a member of American Library Association and the Westchester Library Association. I am thinking about joining New York Library Association. I have never really done anything with these groups other than go to the conferences. Recently, I joined the American Library Association Connect social networking site which is interesting. I also am on Linked In. Facebook for some reason does not hold my attention that well. There is also my Alma Mater, University of Pittsburgh, but I am not sure that I want to spend money to join the Alumni Association. All of these places want a bit from you.

I always found conferences that deal directly with books like Book Expo America and Tools For Change In Publishing more interesting than library specific conferences. These are more industry conferences than professional conferences though. I am looking forward to the 2010 Day of Dialog between Libraries and Publishers. Again this is where libraries meet publishing, not purely a professional association conference.

Daily Thoughts 11/18/2009

The Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan where I am going today for Web 2.0 with my free Expo Hall pass. This is also where Book Expo America is held. The building is immense inside. The image is from Wikimedia.

Daily Thoughts 11/18/2009

If you want to see what sites are following a particular website, Yahoo Site Explorer is an excellent tool. I occassionally check this to see who is following my site. http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/

I looked today and I want to mention two sites that had a nice feel to them. http://cromely.blogspot.com/ and http://www.literarynobody.blogspot.com/

On the way to Metro I stopped off at Forbidden Planet and looked at some titles. My favorite was Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, the new Mashup book based on Jane Austen. I also liked Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded a set of essays by John Scalzi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o A link to Twitter In Plain English a video shown in the class from Common Craft.

The class on Twitter for Libraries was quite interesting. It was very different than a personal twitter account. They want everything to be very focused and very clean. Library accounts should not have any excess spam: people who are there for only their personal goals.

I learned how to use hash tags, something which I always had a little bit of problem with before. Two of the hashtags they suggested were #followfridays and #followalibrarian as well as Internet Librarian 2009 #IL2009 . It was very educational. One of the websites which allows you to search for tags is http://www.tagdef.com

They are going to send us a link with all the resources that were mentioned in the class. The class ran for three hours at the Metro Library Consortium in New York. The speakers were both excellent. They covered a lot of different material including retweeting, hash tags, searching twitter, setting up twitter accounts for libraries, url shorteners, 140 character novels, and other subjects.

After I went to Twitter for Libraries, I stopped by Time Machine Memorabilia, Comics, and Collectibles and asked if they could order a copy of Bryan Talbot, Grantville. I think this will be something which I want to own.

After I was done having lunch, I went to the Web 2.0 Conference at the Jacob Javits Center. It was mostly internet companies with a lot of internet service providers. There was not much that was especially focused on libraries. Still, I learned a few things.

O'Reilly Media is increasing the number of galleys they plan on putting up on http://www.netgalley.com . I like the O'Reilly computer books. I think they are very high quality.

I was surprised at the number of Australian companies that were at the Web 2.0 Conference. They had a lot of people there.

My most interesting conversation was with Richard Chan, a Product Manager from Microsoft's Bing. They have a new real time Twitter search function which is part of Bing, http://www.bing.com/twitter . It has a number of interesting features including the ability to search photographs which are related to Twitter as well as aggregate links about a certain subject.

Richard Chan showed me the aggregated links for The Web 2.0 Conference. It was updating every couple of minutes. No other search engine that he knows of does this. He also showed me the Bing Visual Search which was interesting, but not quite as interesting as the Twitter search engine.

I walked around and picked up some literature as well. I have not had a chance to read through all of it and fully look at it yet.

On the way home, I read some of Smart Networking Attract A Following In Person and Online by Liz Lynch. There is a url associated with the book. http://www.smartnetworking.com

Eles são lindos, mas o que fazer com eles?

Aos 13 anos cismei de aprender a pintar porcelana. Encantada com tantos pratos lindos, achava que ia ser fácil, fácil... Mas o que não é fácil aos 13 anos? Então fui eu, com a cara e a coragem, e mil tintas e pincéis! Pra minha decepção, ao invés de pintar pratos, minha primeira missão foi pintar azulejos.

E durante 20 anos (ai!!! tô ficando velha!) eles ficaram guardados na despensa da mamis, até que mês passado eu os resgatei. Mas, olhando pra eles, só consigo pensar uma coisa: Eles são lindos, mas o que fazer com eles?

Daily Thoughts 11/17/2009

Work Projects Administration Poster Collection (Library of Congress). 1940Poster for WPA Statewide Library Project, showing a boy holding a book in his raised hand.

Daily Thoughts 11/17/2009

I'm editing my keywords on this blog. Google limits the number of keywords which you can have for a blog, so I am going back through to eliminate and consolidate some of the keywords. I am in the letter b right now.

Today was a quiet steady day. I checked the displays, made sure the shifting projects were moving, checked the mezzanine books to see which books needed to be kept, and did lots of detail work.

There was not a lot which happened today. I spent some time looking through older issues of Library Journal, Computers In Libraries, and Publishers Weekly. It was particularly predictable.

We also confirmed that people were coming to the Westlaw Patron Access workshop on Thursday.

On the train home, I read a little bit on networking and emotional intelligence in the workplace. It was pretty mundane.

I spent some time getting my pack ready for the free Expo Pass for Web 2.0 Conference at the Jacob Javits Center as well as the Twitter and Libraries class. I think that I am ready. The Web 2.0 Conference is an O'Reilly conference. I am rather like O'Reilly Media.

Daily Thoughts 11/16/2009

Alexandre Dumas in his Library.

Daily Thoughts 11/16/2009

Today has been a quiet steady day. I checked on the displays and made sure more new books were put out. I also checked on the progress of the shifting projects.

This morning I did some ordering of books and read Library Journal online. While I was ordering I noticed Bryan Talbot has a new graphic novel called Grantville. It got a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Bryan Talbot's art is truly fantastic. He is best known for his ground level comic, The Adventures of Luther Arkwright which is a kind of alternate history adventure which mixes spying, conspiracy, psychic powers, and very interesting alternative artwork.

I have a book which came in for me to read, Smart Networking Attract A Following In Person And Online by Liz Lynch. Also, I picked out another book which is nonfiction, Dear Undercover Economist Priceless Advice on Money, Work, Sex, Kids, and Life's Other Challenges by Time Harford. Tim Harford writes for the Financial Times. It seems to be in the same vein as Freakonomics which was a bestselling economics title.

In April 2010, Tobias Buckell is releasing a short story collection, Tides From New Worlds. It should be quite interesting. Tobias Buckell uses Caribbean themes in his science fiction writing.

Tonight, I watched a bit of Pinocchio on video tape. It is the first time I have seen it. I rather liked the When You Wish Upon A Star Sequence. Some people consider it to be the best animated film ever made. This is probably true for childrens films. I am not so sure for more teenage or adult oriented animation. It was quite hard to find this. I could not get it on dvd. Disney tends to release their films irregularly. It is often hard to predict when a particular Disney film will become available.

Cartoon Crazes from the 60s

From the Road Runner, Chip 'N Dale, Foghorn Leghorn, Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw, Sylvester and Tweety Bird (Who can forget Granny?), Rocky & Bulwinkle foiling Boris and Natasha at every turn, to Underdog. Who doesn't love the old Saturday Morning Cartoons?

Use your imagination when reading these famous Foghorn Leghorn phrases:

"Fortunately I always carry a spare set of feathers." or the famous, "Now looka I say looka here." "Go, I say go away boy, you bother me." Can't you just hear him? I never got tired of hearing his western twang.

But, as much as I loved Chip 'N Dale, Bulwinkle and Underdog, my alltime favorite cartoon character was Tweety - aka, Tweety Bird, Tweety Pie - who appeared in 48 cartoons in the Golden Age of Cartoons.

Tweety is, for the most part, a good-natured character happily spending life in his cage or a nest. That is until Sylvester starts slinking around, threatening him, he can become downright devious. And, if Tweety fails to stop his arch-enemy, then it's Granny to the rescue - the little old, bun and bustle-wearing spinster whose weapon-of-choice is an umbrella.

In doing research for this blog post, I tried to pull up current favorite Saturday cartoons and couldn't find any! Are there good cartoons out there? Please, somebody clue me in. Who is the new Tweety Bird, or Mighty Mouse, or Underdog?

Leave a comment with your favorite! Meanwhile, enjoy this stroll down memory lane.

Meanwhile, check out Saturday Morning Cartoons DVD from the 1960s on Amazon

Mary Cunningham is the author of the award-winning, 'Tween series, "Cynthia's Attic," co-author of the women's humor/lifestyle book, "WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty," and has several published short stories, including Ghost Light available on Kindle, and new release, Cynthia's Attic: Christmas Daisy. Pre-order - Echelon Press

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Directly from the publisher Echelon Press
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or visit my website: Mary Cunningham Books