Ah, yes, my fellow intrepid spacefaring followers. Today's quest sees us exploring anime from my perspective. This could get quite long-winded and convoluted, so consider yourself forewarned.
Anime and myself go back about 10 years. Maybe a bit further back than that if you want to know when I first saw such a thing. My brother was in high school at the time, so it couldn't have been any later than 1995. It was Akira, that much ballyhooed anime of its time, being considered futuristically plotted, beautifully drawn, and amazingly satisfactory. It was also made out to be some animated equivilant of Blade Runner, but that's for another day. I was completely mesmerized! Biker gangs dueling it out on super-highways opened the story before the actual story happened (essentially: pissant biker runs into pyschokinetically altered boy who spreads his powers to pissant who goes on a rampage to be the baddest ass to ever live just to be shot by his best friend with a laser bazooka) and military destruction glossed over to look like a social commentary about the evils of scientific progress and communistic thinking. Or maybe not, but the slow parts are confusing.
Anyway, the anime bug laid dormant for 5 years before coming out to play again when I got to college, where I made friends with some guys who were very much into the anime scene. Thus I was launched a little further into the madness, where I would borrow DVDs from one of them. It wasn't until after I graduated that I started my own anime collection. At the moment, it's not some huge monstrous collection (mostly for lack of money and the proper amount of time it takes to watch it), but I would consider it well managed with very few duds. I like to do plenty of research, i.e. reading reviews, watching youtube trailers, maybe catching an episode online, in preparation for purchasing anime, so that explains the relative lack of duds.
That out of the way, anime is an interesting audiovisual genre. Yeah, there are a lot of different topics and stories told through it - it's not all ninja robots with superpowers ogling their female counterparts with utterly unrealistic expressions. Granted, those themes do make up the bulk of existing anime.
I'll tell you what I like, and then next time, I'll tell you what I don't like. See, I'm preparing you for my whiny self in advance. Aren't you happy now? So. What I like. I'll list a few series / films that I have with brief explanations:
1) Sword of the Stranger - a stand-alone film that is beautifully designed and with a pretty good, if simple, story. Nothing revolutionary story-wise, but the use of both Chinese and Japanese language instead of one language to represent two national mindsets was quite refreshing, and it's great for the action buff with all the samurai action going on with the requisite amount of blood being spilled (or at times, sprayed) to fulfill the anime equivilant of wanting to watch Die Hard.
2) Planetes - a single season series (26 episodes) about the story of garbage men in space. It's the future, and space-tourism has taken off with undesirable side-effect of cluttering Earth's orbit with deadly debris that threaten tourism and space-based industry. A very good interweaving of character, personal histories make the very centralized storyline in the second half of the season a very riveting watch.
3) Eureka Seven - a two-season mech series about a boy with a destiny (as most mech series are about, anyway), a girl with a mysterious and not-quite-human origin (another staple of mech series), and a militaristic system of government that attempts to harness the oft-misunderstood powers that govern the girl's existence and the boy's destiny (yep, another staple of mech series). So I like something that's bland? Well, no. It's actually quite good with very dynamic central characters (characters that stay flat throughout 20+ episodes should be in a zombie series... as zombies!) and some pretty good visuals and with a bit of a fairy-tale ending - but you want it to happen!
4) Princess Nausicaa - of course I must include on this briefest of brief lists a work of Hayao Miyazaki, and what better than the epic quest of a tree-hugging princess who seeks to stop the greedy imperial princess and her pet crawling world killer from destroying yet more pristine sunset settlement estate. Okay, so that was an extremely cynical and skeptical summary that I do not resonate with at all - I was just being snarky (surprise! no, no surprise?) The story of Nausicaa isn't the most brilliantly drawn, but it is 26 years old. What it does have is surprisingly realistic emotions and reactions to events that are, most unfortunately, exceedingly rare in anime. I will just go on and risk a blow to my manhood by saying all (except for Porco Rosso) of Miyazaki's films have made me cry.
I think that's enough for today. And next time, I will go into detail about the animes that have made me want to cry for the opposite reasons.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Silly Randomness or I Feel Like Posting Something Before Five Days Have Gone By Without
Thursday morning. Harumph.
I'm starting to not become a fan of Thursdays. Don't know why, but I suspect it has to do with knowing once I'm off work, I worry about nothing but the game ahead of me. Tonight's game is at 7, so you'd think I would worry less about it as opposed to a 9 game time, but all that worry just gets more concentrated per cubic minute. Don't ask how it's possible, just believe that it is.
I was going to open the photos with this blog with a shot of bug-bitten left foot. But then I thought that would be a bit much for the first photo. Maybe I'll make that the second photo, but then it may not be bug-bitten at that point. Lucky you.
And because I have nothing else to add (see title above, if you would), I will say that libraries whose computers are managed by a bunch of network administrators will always have irrate patrons because sometimes the library staff can only fall back on the much detested but true reason for why something doesn't work or why some setting is tamper-proof being: "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do at this time, because it's an issue that the tech support people need to deal with directly." Of course, the irrate patrons are always the same ones with the same problems on the same computer (there are over a dozen, buddy, pick a different one, would ya?), and they always act surprised or super-frustrated as if they never in their wildest nightmares imagined a computer dedicated for public use would fail to work for everything at all times.
Next time, we'll be spacefaring to a planet that has something to do with anime. Don't worry - it should be palatable for those allergic to such things.
I'm starting to not become a fan of Thursdays. Don't know why, but I suspect it has to do with knowing once I'm off work, I worry about nothing but the game ahead of me. Tonight's game is at 7, so you'd think I would worry less about it as opposed to a 9 game time, but all that worry just gets more concentrated per cubic minute. Don't ask how it's possible, just believe that it is.
I was going to open the photos with this blog with a shot of bug-bitten left foot. But then I thought that would be a bit much for the first photo. Maybe I'll make that the second photo, but then it may not be bug-bitten at that point. Lucky you.
And because I have nothing else to add (see title above, if you would), I will say that libraries whose computers are managed by a bunch of network administrators will always have irrate patrons because sometimes the library staff can only fall back on the much detested but true reason for why something doesn't work or why some setting is tamper-proof being: "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do at this time, because it's an issue that the tech support people need to deal with directly." Of course, the irrate patrons are always the same ones with the same problems on the same computer (there are over a dozen, buddy, pick a different one, would ya?), and they always act surprised or super-frustrated as if they never in their wildest nightmares imagined a computer dedicated for public use would fail to work for everything at all times.
Next time, we'll be spacefaring to a planet that has something to do with anime. Don't worry - it should be palatable for those allergic to such things.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Celebrating Things
Yesterday was my girlfriend's birthday. And I was a gentleman and took her out for breakfast, to work, picked her up from work, and we went out for finger food and drinks at a resturaunt called the Cadillac Ranch, which is located near a behemoth of a Giant Eagle (grocery store for those of you not in the Pittsburgh region).
Cadillac Ranch, by the way, was pretty good. We ordered pulled-pork sliders and chicken fingers. I ordered a Bloody Mary as my first drink. I'm not sure, but I think I use the Bloody Mary as an initial guage of how well I'll like a drinking hole. I've had some good smooth Bloody Marys as well as some strange ones. Among the strange are those served from 1902 Tavern, who had some horseradish floating in that thing, and Harris Grill, who was so kind to include a garden in my drink! Seriously, there was at least a slice of lemon, a celery stick, a large leaf of lettuce, some green olives, and something reddish in nature - maybe a carrot stick or small tomatoes? Honestly, I asked for a drink, not a reason to buy a plow. But for all I know, it was a vegan that served the drink. Regardless of the weird ones, Cadillac Ranch served a good, spicy Bloody Mary with the only downside being the amount of ice included. I'm not sure if that's what the midget straws are for, but they help keeping the ice from ambushing my face when tipping that tiny little tumbler back to get the last of the drink. On Wednesday, I'll be visiting Calico Jacks on the north shore with the Sweetheart to visit her bartender friend. I'll get to see and experience how she makes the Bloody Mary.
It was a good birthday for the Sweetheart (or so she informed me at the end of it all), food paid for, visited the new Barnes & Noble on Settler's Ridge (I was surprised that it's not two-stories - the space is high enough for it, and nothing is small in that plaza, anyway), and only had to drive her car to inspection before being whisked off to breakfast. The previous evening (Sunday), she had a small party at her parents' house, which was enjoyable. I got to play horseshoes for the first time (all her relatives looked at me like I had 5 eyes and oozing sores when they heard I never played it in my brief 29 years of existence). The day before that, it was Sweetheart's godson's 1st birthday party, and there were a lot more relatives at that one (I guess turning 1 is more exciting than turning 22). The weekend before that was Sweetheart's grandmother's birthday party!
My dad wonders how large her family is with all the birthdays, graduations, and holiday get-togethers there are. He's acts like he'd believe it if I told him her family adds random strangers for a reason to have gatherings! But it's fun; I enjoy all the hubbub and excitement that comes with a large band of relatives with a slew of the next generation being born and raised.
Well, I suppose that's enough stargazing for the morning. As Sweetheart confided in me yesterday when reading my latest blog post, this blog is not Droid X friendly. But she still finished reading it, anyway. Hurray for persistence!
Cadillac Ranch, by the way, was pretty good. We ordered pulled-pork sliders and chicken fingers. I ordered a Bloody Mary as my first drink. I'm not sure, but I think I use the Bloody Mary as an initial guage of how well I'll like a drinking hole. I've had some good smooth Bloody Marys as well as some strange ones. Among the strange are those served from 1902 Tavern, who had some horseradish floating in that thing, and Harris Grill, who was so kind to include a garden in my drink! Seriously, there was at least a slice of lemon, a celery stick, a large leaf of lettuce, some green olives, and something reddish in nature - maybe a carrot stick or small tomatoes? Honestly, I asked for a drink, not a reason to buy a plow. But for all I know, it was a vegan that served the drink. Regardless of the weird ones, Cadillac Ranch served a good, spicy Bloody Mary with the only downside being the amount of ice included. I'm not sure if that's what the midget straws are for, but they help keeping the ice from ambushing my face when tipping that tiny little tumbler back to get the last of the drink. On Wednesday, I'll be visiting Calico Jacks on the north shore with the Sweetheart to visit her bartender friend. I'll get to see and experience how she makes the Bloody Mary.
It was a good birthday for the Sweetheart (or so she informed me at the end of it all), food paid for, visited the new Barnes & Noble on Settler's Ridge (I was surprised that it's not two-stories - the space is high enough for it, and nothing is small in that plaza, anyway), and only had to drive her car to inspection before being whisked off to breakfast. The previous evening (Sunday), she had a small party at her parents' house, which was enjoyable. I got to play horseshoes for the first time (all her relatives looked at me like I had 5 eyes and oozing sores when they heard I never played it in my brief 29 years of existence). The day before that, it was Sweetheart's godson's 1st birthday party, and there were a lot more relatives at that one (I guess turning 1 is more exciting than turning 22). The weekend before that was Sweetheart's grandmother's birthday party!
My dad wonders how large her family is with all the birthdays, graduations, and holiday get-togethers there are. He's acts like he'd believe it if I told him her family adds random strangers for a reason to have gatherings! But it's fun; I enjoy all the hubbub and excitement that comes with a large band of relatives with a slew of the next generation being born and raised.
Well, I suppose that's enough stargazing for the morning. As Sweetheart confided in me yesterday when reading my latest blog post, this blog is not Droid X friendly. But she still finished reading it, anyway. Hurray for persistence!
Monday, July 26, 2010
9.5 is the new 2.4
So it's been a few days. Very well. It's also been quite busy, but that's okay. It's how most people keep from dying from boredom, anyway.
So, I've already tacked on the labels for this post before I even got into it, so there's a guideline, yessiree. No digressing sideways, upsidedown, invertedly, oops I'm already doing just that!
First item on the agenda: hockey. Notably, roller hockey. It's one of my favorite pasttimes, but don't remind me of that when winning is hard to come by. When winning is hard to come by, then analyzing roller hockey becomes the favorite pasttime. I've been playing at the Bridgeville Rollerplex, goalie for the Cluster Pucks. Last time we played, we went 7-3, won all playoffs games to win the championship, and I went 2.4 goals against avg (gaa) in the regular season with a 1 gaa in the playoffs. I managed to garner 2 season shutouts and slammed the big blank against the best regular season team in the playoffs. Granted, my defense was amazing - a notch or two above all the other defenses, even if our offense was sort of bland.
This season, through 2 games, I've let up 19 goals! Jimminy-friggin'-cricket, what the bat-crap is going on?! A few things, really. Let's put 'em in a list, but I'll leave it to you to figure out how significant it is, since the Droid X topic is chomping at the bit. And the reasons are: 2 previous d-men don't return, 4 new faces affect team chemistry, current d-men are re-learning which goal they're supposed to protect, there's a gap between "Cluster" and "Puck" whereas last time it was one run-on phrase (kind of an apt analogy for the way the d-men are moving), music before the game? not so much, rt. 79 between Cranberry and rt. 22/30 too intense, Mondays before - Thursdays now, much too humid in all that goalie crap, and added 10 lbs of bacon sees waistline as an ideal place to raise the baconlets.
Second topic: Droid X. Yes, I went all in recently on acquiring the new Droid X, Verizon's recent answer to Sprint's HTC Evo and Apple's iPhone4. I'm on my second Droid X. The first one decided it would develop a screen problem (think ADHD of technology) within 7 hours of activation and found itself back in a box and in the manufacturer's hands not long after that. Replacement showed up Thursday, and so far so good, it's still paying attention. Obtaining one's first 'smart phone' is a good way to develop one's own version of ADHD, btw, as all the new bells and whistles compared to the 2 year-old flip phone clamor for attention. This here blog will be snazzed up sometime soon when the photos and videos start rolling out, giving you people some blurry visuals to feast your eyes on. Yes, blurry. I never had a proper camera before the Droid X, and it's supposed to be the equivilant of a normal digital camera, so we'll see.
Third up: book review! I recently read Catherine Fisher's Incarceron, a YA read that was quick and relatively enjoyable thus far. Thus far? But didn't I finish it? Why, yes, I most certainly did! But it's book one in a series (trilogy most likely), but the books have already been released across the pond in the UK, so the follow up books will be fairly short waits. The next one is slated for release in the US in the Fall.
But who cares, says you, what about the book? Yes, it's an interesting read. I've not read any stories based on an isolated prison that is sentient. The story is about a boy, Finn, who lives inside the prison, known as Incarceron, and is convinced he was born on the outside and thus goes on the quest to find a way to escape. On the outside of Incarceron is a girl, Claudia, who is about to be married to a jerk of a prince and who finds out that Finn may be the long-lost thought-of-as-dead legitimate heir to the throne. Hijinks ensue. It's an enjoyable story thus far, but there are far too many questions left to be answered, as it should be in a series, so my final impression will hinge on how well Fisher addresses those questions.
I would say that it's a story propelled forward by plot, notions of right and wrong, and questions of identity. The characterization isn't all that strong, even though there are a few blah twists, which seem a bit sloppy in my opinion. I guess those twists may take on more significance later on, but it's my experience that they don't. Hopefully Fisher will prove me wrong. I think the biggest question I want to see answered is how Incarceron came to change it's behavior from it's original 'setting', if you will, and turn from a benevolent chaperone to a sadistic justice-above-all entity. The social implications of the Incarceron's original purpose certainly add a moral quandary flavor to the story, and it's done well enough without becoming gratingly repetitive.
And that's today's journey at the Spacefaring Librarian.
So, I've already tacked on the labels for this post before I even got into it, so there's a guideline, yessiree. No digressing sideways, upsidedown, invertedly, oops I'm already doing just that!
First item on the agenda: hockey. Notably, roller hockey. It's one of my favorite pasttimes, but don't remind me of that when winning is hard to come by. When winning is hard to come by, then analyzing roller hockey becomes the favorite pasttime. I've been playing at the Bridgeville Rollerplex, goalie for the Cluster Pucks. Last time we played, we went 7-3, won all playoffs games to win the championship, and I went 2.4 goals against avg (gaa) in the regular season with a 1 gaa in the playoffs. I managed to garner 2 season shutouts and slammed the big blank against the best regular season team in the playoffs. Granted, my defense was amazing - a notch or two above all the other defenses, even if our offense was sort of bland.
This season, through 2 games, I've let up 19 goals! Jimminy-friggin'-cricket, what the bat-crap is going on?! A few things, really. Let's put 'em in a list, but I'll leave it to you to figure out how significant it is, since the Droid X topic is chomping at the bit. And the reasons are: 2 previous d-men don't return, 4 new faces affect team chemistry, current d-men are re-learning which goal they're supposed to protect, there's a gap between "Cluster" and "Puck" whereas last time it was one run-on phrase (kind of an apt analogy for the way the d-men are moving), music before the game? not so much, rt. 79 between Cranberry and rt. 22/30 too intense, Mondays before - Thursdays now, much too humid in all that goalie crap, and added 10 lbs of bacon sees waistline as an ideal place to raise the baconlets.
Second topic: Droid X. Yes, I went all in recently on acquiring the new Droid X, Verizon's recent answer to Sprint's HTC Evo and Apple's iPhone4. I'm on my second Droid X. The first one decided it would develop a screen problem (think ADHD of technology) within 7 hours of activation and found itself back in a box and in the manufacturer's hands not long after that. Replacement showed up Thursday, and so far so good, it's still paying attention. Obtaining one's first 'smart phone' is a good way to develop one's own version of ADHD, btw, as all the new bells and whistles compared to the 2 year-old flip phone clamor for attention. This here blog will be snazzed up sometime soon when the photos and videos start rolling out, giving you people some blurry visuals to feast your eyes on. Yes, blurry. I never had a proper camera before the Droid X, and it's supposed to be the equivilant of a normal digital camera, so we'll see.
Third up: book review! I recently read Catherine Fisher's Incarceron, a YA read that was quick and relatively enjoyable thus far. Thus far? But didn't I finish it? Why, yes, I most certainly did! But it's book one in a series (trilogy most likely), but the books have already been released across the pond in the UK, so the follow up books will be fairly short waits. The next one is slated for release in the US in the Fall.
But who cares, says you, what about the book? Yes, it's an interesting read. I've not read any stories based on an isolated prison that is sentient. The story is about a boy, Finn, who lives inside the prison, known as Incarceron, and is convinced he was born on the outside and thus goes on the quest to find a way to escape. On the outside of Incarceron is a girl, Claudia, who is about to be married to a jerk of a prince and who finds out that Finn may be the long-lost thought-of-as-dead legitimate heir to the throne. Hijinks ensue. It's an enjoyable story thus far, but there are far too many questions left to be answered, as it should be in a series, so my final impression will hinge on how well Fisher addresses those questions.
I would say that it's a story propelled forward by plot, notions of right and wrong, and questions of identity. The characterization isn't all that strong, even though there are a few blah twists, which seem a bit sloppy in my opinion. I guess those twists may take on more significance later on, but it's my experience that they don't. Hopefully Fisher will prove me wrong. I think the biggest question I want to see answered is how Incarceron came to change it's behavior from it's original 'setting', if you will, and turn from a benevolent chaperone to a sadistic justice-above-all entity. The social implications of the Incarceron's original purpose certainly add a moral quandary flavor to the story, and it's done well enough without becoming gratingly repetitive.
And that's today's journey at the Spacefaring Librarian.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Does This Make Me An Addict?
I know, I know - a third post in one day?!
I guess it's one of those days, which is probably how over half the blogs that exist have come into being. It's strange. We are surrounded with numerous people throughout the day from fellow commuters to coworkers to friends and family. And yet we feel compelled to create a blog to express what we really think. And it's not so much 'hiding' behind the mysterious cloak of the internet - most social programs actually encourage us to say who we are, and most of us take it on good faith that we'll be safe saying who we are when venting thought streams online.
Why is that? It's not necessarily because we feel that there are not enough opportunities to talk to people, is it? No, I think it has to do with communication practices among peers. (Listen to me, I sound like a professional! Don't make that assumption, by the way.) I think people used to be able to simply listen to the other person finish their thoughts without interruption, but now with the constantly updating environment that the digital world offers, actual interpersonal communication is mimicking digital communication.
Please don't interpret that statement as some kind of 'the internet is bad' mentality. I think it just goes to demonstrate the effectiveness of the digital methods that it inspires an entire lifestyle. No one can post a comment these days knowing that the last published comment they read before starting to compose their response will be the same comment that shows prior their completed response. And people get used to it. Unfortunately there are still juvenile delinquents typing 'First' when a brand spanking new news item or facebook status is posted.
Careers and individuals have, as a modern community, come to the point where the computer and its access to the internet have become the focus not just for entertainment but also for basic information needs (online newspapers), work functions (in my case, connecting to OCLC to check bibliographic records), and social interaction (why, blogs, of course!). And like anything else, you spend enough time focusing on it, it becomes the center of the focus. It vies for attention along with family members, religious beliefs, friendships, hobbies, you name it - it's jostling to be the first place we look at during any given moment.
Sure, this view is approaching the issue of changing communication practices pretty deeply - almost more energy than it's worth devoting to it, really. Oh, the point I'm trying to make!
Yes, the point I'm trying to make is that one of the major factors for the blog existing is that the internet (as if it's something sentient...) has made us all a wee bit twitchy, like squirrels on crack, when we converse with each other. It seems to have noticed its error and offers us the blog - an outlet that allows individuals to express fully developed thoughts (even if very few of us actually DO put forth fully formed thoughts). The only difference is that now instead of engaging the audience face-to-face or via phone, you get to pick a larger pool of people to make up your potential audience. And to make up for that lack of intstant guaging of the audience, web 2.0 was born to allow the audience to talk, or shout, back. Which usually works well with short posts, so that thoughts don't get too carried away.
That's obviously not this one.
I guess it's one of those days, which is probably how over half the blogs that exist have come into being. It's strange. We are surrounded with numerous people throughout the day from fellow commuters to coworkers to friends and family. And yet we feel compelled to create a blog to express what we really think. And it's not so much 'hiding' behind the mysterious cloak of the internet - most social programs actually encourage us to say who we are, and most of us take it on good faith that we'll be safe saying who we are when venting thought streams online.
Why is that? It's not necessarily because we feel that there are not enough opportunities to talk to people, is it? No, I think it has to do with communication practices among peers. (Listen to me, I sound like a professional! Don't make that assumption, by the way.) I think people used to be able to simply listen to the other person finish their thoughts without interruption, but now with the constantly updating environment that the digital world offers, actual interpersonal communication is mimicking digital communication.
Please don't interpret that statement as some kind of 'the internet is bad' mentality. I think it just goes to demonstrate the effectiveness of the digital methods that it inspires an entire lifestyle. No one can post a comment these days knowing that the last published comment they read before starting to compose their response will be the same comment that shows prior their completed response. And people get used to it. Unfortunately there are still juvenile delinquents typing 'First' when a brand spanking new news item or facebook status is posted.
Careers and individuals have, as a modern community, come to the point where the computer and its access to the internet have become the focus not just for entertainment but also for basic information needs (online newspapers), work functions (in my case, connecting to OCLC to check bibliographic records), and social interaction (why, blogs, of course!). And like anything else, you spend enough time focusing on it, it becomes the center of the focus. It vies for attention along with family members, religious beliefs, friendships, hobbies, you name it - it's jostling to be the first place we look at during any given moment.
Sure, this view is approaching the issue of changing communication practices pretty deeply - almost more energy than it's worth devoting to it, really. Oh, the point I'm trying to make!
Yes, the point I'm trying to make is that one of the major factors for the blog existing is that the internet (as if it's something sentient...) has made us all a wee bit twitchy, like squirrels on crack, when we converse with each other. It seems to have noticed its error and offers us the blog - an outlet that allows individuals to express fully developed thoughts (even if very few of us actually DO put forth fully formed thoughts). The only difference is that now instead of engaging the audience face-to-face or via phone, you get to pick a larger pool of people to make up your potential audience. And to make up for that lack of intstant guaging of the audience, web 2.0 was born to allow the audience to talk, or shout, back. Which usually works well with short posts, so that thoughts don't get too carried away.
That's obviously not this one.
Libraries As Buildings
Egad! Less than 6 hours later, episode 2 is upon us!!!
But seriously, it's not that bad. Or important. Probably.
I figured I'd start laying the groundwork for fleshing out views on all things library (that I know of, anyway). In order to breach the specific topic that I have in mind, I will start with saying that if I had an opportunity to advise all hopeful librarians-to-be prior to applying for positions, the following advice would be dispensed:
"When you go for an interview, ask about pests, leaks, and smells."
You may be clucking your tongues like hens and tsking like appalled nursemaids, and I would initially agree with you, since it would seem rude on the face of it to ask a potential employer about their building problems. However, it is something that will affect the hopeful librarian-to-be should they land the position. Afterall, a job has an entirely different appeal once situated under a leak, and if that leak happens to be above a drop ceiling tile, then you may want to invest in a safety helmet along with that umbrella. And bugs? Never mind that your window that looks out upon a beautiful, awe-inspiring vista of green hills, trees swaying in the breeze, and gaily floating butterflies (or another industrial complex, for that matter) seems like it's been properly sealed against the elements, the bugs will find a way to invade your space. One would like to know if ant traps, ant sprays, and thumb-squashing is a requirement for performing a job uninterrupted.
Of course, you may be the Bear Grylls type and therefore heartily embrace all possible extreme situations that require you to act in way that forces coworkers to squeamishly squirm upon observing your behavior.
I suppose an interviewee could broach the subject by asking about the age of the building and its past history. A 50-year-old brick-and-mortar structure that used to be a frat house would present certain likely structural issues than, say, a 12-year-old converted end-of-the-world shelter. And then there's the issue of who's responsible for upkeep of the facility. Do the employees perform cleaning duties? Do repairs come out of the library budget if the building is owned by local government (a common situation in Western Pennsylvania)? If renovations are to be made, how much of a hassle is it to implement from start to finish compared to the necessary hassles of enacting renovations?
These are not issues that most hopeful librarians-to-be will think of, because they are usually just anxious to land a job.
From personal experience, 50+ year-old former club houses maintained by local governments should give an employee pause.
Or in the expert method of Bad Translator, "Government buildlings, libraries, the poor". There's a sort of correlation there.
But seriously, it's not that bad. Or important. Probably.
I figured I'd start laying the groundwork for fleshing out views on all things library (that I know of, anyway). In order to breach the specific topic that I have in mind, I will start with saying that if I had an opportunity to advise all hopeful librarians-to-be prior to applying for positions, the following advice would be dispensed:
"When you go for an interview, ask about pests, leaks, and smells."
You may be clucking your tongues like hens and tsking like appalled nursemaids, and I would initially agree with you, since it would seem rude on the face of it to ask a potential employer about their building problems. However, it is something that will affect the hopeful librarian-to-be should they land the position. Afterall, a job has an entirely different appeal once situated under a leak, and if that leak happens to be above a drop ceiling tile, then you may want to invest in a safety helmet along with that umbrella. And bugs? Never mind that your window that looks out upon a beautiful, awe-inspiring vista of green hills, trees swaying in the breeze, and gaily floating butterflies (or another industrial complex, for that matter) seems like it's been properly sealed against the elements, the bugs will find a way to invade your space. One would like to know if ant traps, ant sprays, and thumb-squashing is a requirement for performing a job uninterrupted.
Of course, you may be the Bear Grylls type and therefore heartily embrace all possible extreme situations that require you to act in way that forces coworkers to squeamishly squirm upon observing your behavior.
I suppose an interviewee could broach the subject by asking about the age of the building and its past history. A 50-year-old brick-and-mortar structure that used to be a frat house would present certain likely structural issues than, say, a 12-year-old converted end-of-the-world shelter. And then there's the issue of who's responsible for upkeep of the facility. Do the employees perform cleaning duties? Do repairs come out of the library budget if the building is owned by local government (a common situation in Western Pennsylvania)? If renovations are to be made, how much of a hassle is it to implement from start to finish compared to the necessary hassles of enacting renovations?
These are not issues that most hopeful librarians-to-be will think of, because they are usually just anxious to land a job.
From personal experience, 50+ year-old former club houses maintained by local governments should give an employee pause.
Or in the expert method of Bad Translator, "Government buildlings, libraries, the poor". There's a sort of correlation there.
Itinerary for the Spacefaring Librarian
Welcome to my new blog!
Of course, that's up to you to decide if you feel welcome or otherwise. If you do not feel welcome, please do not bother me with that sentiment, as I am unlikely to do anything about it.
So what is the Spacefaring Librarian? I suppose a better question to ask would be what can you expect from the Spacefaring Librarian. You can expect observations, both mulled over and unthought through, about the following: libraries, books, technology, sports, social, political, religious - pretty much anything that isn't the deep psychological ramblings of my mind. I've done that blog before on Xanga, which may or may not still be in existence. My pyschological ramblings are actually quite boring. It's how I fall asleep at night - wondering what I'm thinking. It's remarkably effective.
I should tell you now that I am related to Imperfection Personified. So you may see references to that blog or possibly even the stand-alone blog, Digressor, of whom I am also related.
There. Now that's out of the way, stay tuned for the next episode of the Spacefaring Librarian!
Of course, that's up to you to decide if you feel welcome or otherwise. If you do not feel welcome, please do not bother me with that sentiment, as I am unlikely to do anything about it.
So what is the Spacefaring Librarian? I suppose a better question to ask would be what can you expect from the Spacefaring Librarian. You can expect observations, both mulled over and unthought through, about the following: libraries, books, technology, sports, social, political, religious - pretty much anything that isn't the deep psychological ramblings of my mind. I've done that blog before on Xanga, which may or may not still be in existence. My pyschological ramblings are actually quite boring. It's how I fall asleep at night - wondering what I'm thinking. It's remarkably effective.
I should tell you now that I am related to Imperfection Personified. So you may see references to that blog or possibly even the stand-alone blog, Digressor, of whom I am also related.
There. Now that's out of the way, stay tuned for the next episode of the Spacefaring Librarian!
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