John Hodgman at the Radio & TV Correspondents Dinner. It's long but well worth the watch.

Star Trek was awesome. I give it my full stamp of approval. You can all go forth and view at your leisure. That is all.

Monster by Naoki Urasawa. Watch and/or read. Seriously. I haven't read anything as good in a long while.

Monster weaves the riveting story of brilliant Dr. Kenzo Tenma, a famous surgeon with a promising career at a leading hospital. Tenma risks his reputation and promising career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy. Unbeknownst to him, this child is destined for a terrible fate. A string of strange and mysterious murders begin to occur soon afterward, ones that professionally benefit Dr. Tenma, and he emerges as the primary suspect.

If you choose the anime watch the first four episodes before you make a decision to continue. The manga is just as good.

That is all.

Ok the answers to the previous meme! I get the feeling I subscribe to a lot of fandoms that you all need to get on the wagon of. *cracks whip*

1. Fullmetal Alchemist (Alphonse guessed by Striker) I'm not sure why Al is my fave. He just is!
2. Discworld - Commander Vimes. Because he is just freaking awesome. Vetinari and Moist are the two runners up. (Note for Frosty: Vimes is Greg Barrow. This is why you need to read Terry Pratchett.)
3. Neverwhere - The Marquis de Carabas. I think if more of my readers had read this book they would have gotten this one in a heartbeat. If you need a quick reason, the Marquis is a lot like Crescent.
4. Firefly (Simon Tam guessed by Frosty) This shouldn't even be a surprise to anyone.
5. Metalocalypse (The Manager (Charles Ofdensen) guessed by Frosty) Good guess. I just like secret badasses in suits.
6. Torchwood - Ianto. Badass in a suit with a Welsh accent. What more do I have to say?
7. Bleach - Shinji Hirako. If you get far enough in the manga/anime you'll understand why. (I.e. the pendulum arc)
8. Saiyuki - Cho Hakkai. Again I figure this would have been a give away if more read it. "Bookish" type who can kick your ass. Yes please.
9. DC Universe - Batman. C'mon! I made this one easy!
10. Good Omens - A. J. Crowley. Badass demon in a suit. ^__^ Aziraphale is a close second though.
11. Doctor Who - Donna. I'm not sure why but I just love Donna. She's atypical for a companion and can do really funny and serious. It was the Fires of Pompeii ep that really turned me onto her. She's just so awesome, surpassing Rose and Martha for me.
12. Rurouni Kenshin - Saitou Hajime. At one time I was a Kenshin fanclubber but then I was shown the light. Wolf of Mibu forever! He's just so damn cool and never subscribes to the Kenshin fawning that the rest of the characters have.
13. Battle Royale - Shinji Mimura. I like the name Shinji. ^_^ This is based on the book not the movie, which I haven't seen. Right after I'd read it I set up a da account, thus why my username is Shinji Mimura even though I don't use that handle anywhere else.
14. Star Trek: ToS - Checkov. Kepten! That is all.
15. Star Trek: TNG - Reginald Barclay. No, it's not LaForge. (For Striker: LaForge is indeed Gabe's favorite, but Reggie is who I based Gabe on originally.)

I borrow fromlamuella 

1. Post a list of 15 fandoms.
2. Have your friends list guess your favorite character from each fandom
3. When guessed, bold the fandom, put in brackets who got it and a sentence why you like the character/person.

1. Fullmetal Alchemist (Alphonse guessed by Striker) I'm not sure why Al is my fave. He just is!
2. Discworld
3. Neverwhere
4. Firefly (Simon Tam guessed by Frosty) This shouldn't even be a surprise to anyone.
5. Metalocalypse (The Manager (Charles Ofdensen) guessed by Frosty) Good guess. I just like secret badasses in suits.
6. Torchwood
7. Bleach
8. Saiyuki
9. DC Universe
10. Good Omens
11. Doctor Who
12. Rurouni Kenshin
13. Battle Royale
14. Star Trek: ToS
15. Star Trek: TNG

You should know better than to read an entire 95 chapter manga in one sitting. Don't do this again.

That is all.

NEW FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST. *head explode* GO AND GET IT NOOOOOOW!!!!! Dooo eet!






That is all.

Just a little rant that only the librarian-types who read this blog will probably understand.

The Darien Statements on Libraries and Librarians. I’m not going to go into too much detail here but I’m really not feeling the supposed revolutionary and euphoric effect of this manifesto. I’ve sort of had a peeve about this for awhile now and though I wonder if I’m just being whiny I think we do have a problem in the library world. Former coworkers and I had talked about this somewhat back on the Hell Planet and I’d gotten thinking about it again when the last LJ Movers & Shakers list came out. You know those people who live, breathe, and think libraries all the time? Somehow I got on the Annoyed Librarian’s blog (who I traditionally have avoided reading) and in response to the Library Society of the World’s Shovers and Makers movement (S&M, yes I know) she wrote:

It seems to have been awards season here in the Greater Libraryland Area and I missed it. That's just like me, really. Instead of keeping up with who are the hottest, coolest, hippest, most earnest and involved members of our profession, I do other things. At the moment, those "other things" include listening to some Bartok string quartets while arguing with Chip about whether a Negroni should be served on the rocks with a splash of soda or straight up and sodaless.

And that’s true. I like being a librarian but I don't think about library theory all the freaking time. I have hobbies and I go outside on occasion. I recall reading Michael Stephen’s blog and him talking about a social gathering of himself and other librarians and all they did was talk about libraries. Seriously, if you're out at a restaurant or in a bar you don't talk about libraries! Talk about movies, books, gossip, whatever! One of the commenters on that post also said:

Being hated by the Library Society of the World is a badge of honor, isn't it? I never understood what the LSW was about, why it was founded, and what the intention is, but I guess that's the point. I don't get it, so it's not for me, thank the Big Baby Jesus. I have enough real-life friends that I don't need to hang out in a chat room with a bunch of overearnest, eager-beaver librarians.

This is also true. I checked out the LSW last year and could really find no reason for it's existance other than as a sort of after school club. (Also, the Shovers and Makers thing? All I can equate with that is Syndrome from The Incredibles and his quote that "When everyones special, no one will be.")

But back to it.The Darien Statements just rub me the wrong way. As much as I dislike agreeing with the AL so much, her post about it pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter, espeically the part where she reminds us that there are a lot of regular library workers who put up with the day to day shit so that the elite can sit around and write manifestos. 

This was an issue I addressed for a paper while getting my MLS, focusing on how what you learn in library school is not what you end up facing in the real world. The professors, while great and brilliant people, were so far removed from the day to day of library work that I'm not sure they could find it with a neon sign over it. It's the same with the big names in the library world. Michael Stephens and his ilk don't do the 'in the trenches' library work any more and yet they're the ones that are the professions face. But they focus so much on theory and what's new that like a certain assistant director Mr. B, they can't see the here and now. (That's where we get those articles saying how being a librarian is hip but don't mention the dearth of crappy pay and the bane of that monsterous phrase 'other duties as required'. i.e. You can use that fancy degree to clean up the -insert bodily fluid of your choice- off the lobby floor.)

Librarians can be cool people, but I keep getting the eerie sense of this sort of librarian club, tittering away in the other room where the regular kids, who don't give their every waking moment to THE LIBRARY, aren't invited. I can't say that I like that.

Then again, maybe I'm just whiny.

Sorry for twice in one day but....

I went outside today. To the zoo. And the tea gardens. Hurrah for me.

I say this as I nom nom on my yummy Greek lunch. I'm almost afraid to admit that I like this city. Never in my life would I ever have thought I would say I like living in Texas. I mean maybe it's just south Texas, this state is so freaking huge I'm surprised they're not speaking another language in Dallas. There is a lot of stupid crap going on with the Texas Board of Education (involving evolution, surprise!) but almost the same thing is happening in Florida so I'm not missing much.

I had issues with Tampa when I lived there but a fondness for it followed me after I moved away and we all know my feelings about the Orlando/Kissimmee area. San Antonio has the touristy bits of Orlando without the rest of the city sucking because of it. I have my restaurants I frequent, as I'm a firm supporter of locally owned businesses. Proper used book stores. And honestly Central time has it's perks. This is kinda freaking me out a bit. Texas, wtf!


Random thoughts:

As my brother remarked when he was visiting: "This city is very brown." That is quite true. Everything is made of stone and is sandy & brown.

It gets very windy here. There are also many hills.

Whereas in every other city there is a McDonalds or Burger King on every corner this city is rife with Subways. Also, Whataburger > McDonalds. (Honestly I don't eat much fast food anymore, except for Subway b/c there is one literally right outside my work.) Subway is like the Starbucks of San Antonio.

HEB pwns every other grocery store.

Marrinitos

The roads here kind of suck and could mostly all do with some re-painting.

Real Mexican food *thumbs up*

These are provided by frostynorth.

1. Neil Gaiman - My favorite living author. I was first introduced to him in college when friends told me to read American Gods. I'm glad I didn't end up reading that one first because it's one of my least favorite of his books. I actually read Good Omens first (which he coauthored with Terry Pratchett) and then read Neverwhere. After that I was hooked and I've read most everything major he's written. I love his style, blending fantasy with the mundane and he isn't afraid of showing the darkness in things, even in his young adult books. Following him on twitter only makes me like and respect him more.

2. Full Metal Alchemist - I really had a thing for this anime for a long while. I watched most of it in college then for some reason left off in the middle then watched the rest of it some years(?) later. I was sort of disappointed with the way the anime ended and the movie handled things. The manga is still going and is, in my opinion, vastly superior to the anime. I think I more sort of got obsessed with the idea of Al for some reason, I really have no clue why. I also have a Full Metal Alchemist messenger bag I got at convention a few years ago that I still use. (It replaced my original NERV bag.) On a side note, I also have a pillow in the shape of Al's head. It's one of my favorite con purchases ever.


3. Waffles - Ah waffles. I do like waffles as a food but I think this is focused more on my nickname being Waffles. This came out of my handle Wuf, and Calli calling me Wuffles (for some reason) and one day in chat she typed it wrong and wrote Waffles. (Not that the u key is near the a, but whatever.) It stuck from there and I have embraced the waffly goodness.


4. The Web 2.0 Lecture - Did I give you this lecture? If I did I'm very sorry. It's like my librarian duty to kick peoples butts to try new tech all the while beta-ing my brains out. This is less a term now and people are already looking to a web 3.0, symantic web style and I've started focusing on web 2.0 and healthcare. Amazing! For realz people, web 2.0! (Sorry again if I lectured you.)


5. Steampunk - Steampunk is awesome. No, I'm not one of those people who makes costumes and goes to the grocery store in faux victorian gear (even if pinstripes and goggles are pretty damn attractive) and I do generally like that era of fashion. I think it's perhaps the aesthetic of it and the ideas of it that attract me. That sort of mad science without all the modern chrome and steel, a sort of gritty landscape with lots of tubes and little knobs and things. Besides that, you can't really go wrong with a good airship.

you comment and I give you 5 things I associate with you, then you write about them. My 5 things are provided by zita_skyandano - Comment if you want some, then do it so I can comment and get 5 more things from you!

1. RPGS - I've been RPing since... wow, since 10th grade (1998 just to show my oldness). I came into internet rping and tabletop at about the same time. My geeky drama friends introduced me to Vampire the Masquerade (I didn't actually play any proper D&D until college) and we used to get together after school and play and all through high school I was like a walking encyclopedia of the World of Darkness. In 10th grade was when my family also got our first internet computer and AOL and I was instantly hooked. A friend of mine from school showed me chat rooms where people rped and of course my first one of my first experiences with it was going into one of the rooms and basically pulling a "WHY ISN'T ANYONE PAYING ATTENTION TO ME!" I learned a lot since then. I got into this huge AOL guild called the Order of the Crimson Star and was really into that for a long while. I also did some Redwall and a tiny bit of Star Wars gaming. I was really bad at the beginning, my actions usually something like *walks across the room* but it was my time in the guild that started to teach me to write better. My first "forum" game was a Sailor Moon rpg that I found on the internet. I consider that game to be my first serious one and where I wrote some of my better early stuff and I got to know the people so well I drove up to Georgia for a mini-con at one of their houses. That game sort of moved to Delphi forums, which is where I, about a year later, discovered Berbusk, and it's all history from there... (Sorry, that ended up really long.)

2. Domerin and Sesha - Ahh, not a surprising question. ^^ Sesha is probably the character I take to the more places than any other, mostly because I'm following Striker and Domerin. It stills surprises me just how well these two go together, despite how different they are but I'm assured they're soul mates. I wasn't overly fond of him in the beginning but now I'm very glad he came out of my head.

3. 3am RP session - Oh how I miss this! Back in the days when we were all in college or had no jobs to get in our ways we would stay up until 3am or so just rping, when you'd get to the point where you were rubbing your eyes to stay awake but you wanted to keep going. I really miss being able to just loose track of time and really immerse yourself in the story you're weaving and then go to bed and have trouble sleeping at first because you're still thinking about it. I used to not even get tired until past 11 but now I'm lucky if I can stay up that late. (I'm getting old.) Rare are the days now when we can get in a late session and never that late anymore.

4. Story/RP/Novel plots - I do a lot of this actually, both by myself and collaberating with other people. I like have an idea of whats going to happen and where things are going instead of just writing blind. I often get story ideas for myself but they generally stay that way and never make it out of my head.

5. Books/Libraries - I've always been a big fan of books. I had a lot of them growing up and I was just as happy to read as I was to go play. I still own some of my ABC and kids books from when I was a child. I don't really remember much being read to as a child, then again I don't really like audio books or listening to people read books. I did read young adult literature but I always felt that I was sort of ahead of my peers on my reading level and I basically forsook (what we'd now call) tween and series books for "adult" literature by 5th and 6th grade. I was reading Lord of the Rings by 7th grade and I think Dragonlance and some Stephen King followed soon after. I used to keep a log of everything I'd read, though I don't have as much time to do things like that anymore. I was a huge fantasy fan in highschool but I've sort of grown out of that. I do read some fantasy but it's usually not your typical sword and sorcery.

As for libraries. I disticntly remember going to the library when I was living in Ocala. I remember staying in the childrens sections with the short shelves and feeling like I'd wandered into a forest when I'd go to find my mom in the looming adult stacks. I was always a huge fan of the library, I'd often walk there after school and hang out or go to the school library during lunch and read. I even remember when they switched from the card catalogue to the first computerized one and I embraced it full on. I still make full use of my public library and because of it I hardly pay for any of my entertainment. 

ETA: Pick more than one if you want. Bwah!

Stealing these from... everyone. Been to long since I've done a character thing.

NOTE: I reserve the right to NOT answer certain questions for certain characters! (I'll take this from Frosty as well. Heh.)

Pick any of my characters PC or NPC:

1. I will tell you the origin of his/her/its name.
2. I will tell you (up to) five random facts surrounding his/her/its creation.
3. I will give you a random fact of his/her/its backstory.
4. I may give one random fact about their future plans/goals.
5. I'll answer some random questions about the character or their past actions.

And also... (if I feel like it...)


01. Full name
02. Best friend
03. Sexuality
04. Favorite color
05. Relationship status
06. Ideal mate
07. Turn-ons
08. Last sexual experience
09. Favorite food
10. Crushes
11. Favorite music
12. Biggest fear
13. Biggest fantasy
14. Quirks in bed
15. Bad habits
16. Biggest regret
17. Best kept secrets
18. Last thought
19. Worst sexual/romantic experience
20. Biggest insecurity

Just returned home from very surreal night. Quick version: went to local atheist meet-up at yummy middle eastern cafe. Ended up sitting next to a librarian from Alabama who I realized later very strongly resembled a slightly stocky Captain Mal. Went for drinks after with a few others and got into a conversation about Wilfred Owen and the role of libraries in a changing world.

Just got to say one thing here: I love the regular HEB. (Which, incidentally, stands for H.E.Butt Grocery Company, but like KFC have changed the meaning to be 'Here Everything's Better'.) And I say this as a firm lover and long time Publix shopper.

I'm really thankful I don't have to shop at the Super Target (making any store 'Super' ruins it) and I tried the HEB Plus! (Super HEB) and found to my dismay that the layout would only make sense in bizarro world.

I found a regular HEB a little further away but like in Orlando with my further away regular Target I'm happy to drive a little further to avoid being pissed off when I shop.

But the HEB! I thought Publix was good with stocking stuff but this place had an almost disturbing variety of... everything. They even had a pretty large foreign/imported food section and a whole long ass wall devoted just to kosher foods. They even had apple varieties I'd never heard of before.

The HEB is also frighting (but in a sort of good way). I was passing through the frozen food sections and most of the lights in the cases were off. As I passed by they flicked on one by one. I'm assuming it was motion activated but it gave me a O_O moment there. It's a good way to conserve energy I'd bet.

I will say, on the list of things I love: grocery shopping very early in the morning, when you almost have the store to yourself. It's quiet, no kids screaming and running underfoot, and no long lines. It's heaven.

In lieu of the last post... I totally love this:

The come down has started in earnest. Fatigue has really set down on me but I still have so much stuff to do. It looks like the moving people lost one of my boxes. I'm not sure if they believe me but I have no silverware so it's obviously been misplaced. Things are half unpacked and I'm trying to figure out where stuff should go. It's all a mess.

Turns out here in Texas you have to get your car inspected (like in Cali) so I had to do that before I can get through the arduous process of getting my tags changed and my new license. Lots of driving today, including what would have been getting lost if not for my GPS. I love that thing. Tried a Whataburger for the first time ever. Better than McDonalds anyway. Also trying, and failing, to find a place that sells plateware that I would buy. Went to the local library. Made me sad to be there because I kept comparing it to the Hell Planet. Their library cards are even uglier than the cow ones.

The worst thing is the parking situation at my new job. I went to get my permit and ID and the way it works is that all new people are banished to lots far flung from civilization and must ride a shuttle in. Lot 17 (which is coded a cheery black in the handbook) is where I've been appointed. The actual drive to the medical center isn't particularly long but from the looks of things, and what I've been told, with the added shuttle ride it'll be a good 40 minute commute. Hurrah.

I shouldn't complain so early but I just want to be allowed to stop for five minutes and relax. Normal now, plz?