While perusing the Kardashian Kollection at Sears two weeks ago, I came across a lovely Christmas sweater that lit up and weighed approximately 16 pounds. If it hadn’t been for my resolution to not buy myself anything through the holiday season, I would have picked that puppy up in a second because this year our library staff party was centered on the idea of ugly Christmas sweaters.
It turns out that we are totally on trend right now here at the Public Law Library. According to a recent article in the Seattle Times, ugly sweaters are all the rage. In fact, they could almost be considered ironic enough for hipsters except these sweaters are now deemed popular. So popular, in fact, that you can now forego the thrift shops and holiday shoppers and go online to UltimateUglySweaters.com for all your ugly attire needs. So while it may be too late for this year, bookmark this site for your next your holiday party needs.
Oh, and if anyone is curious, Rick Stroup won the Ugly Sweater contest here at the library. No one’s sweater even came close. Happy Holidays everyone!
Not only is eating right alongside breathing on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, eating has become a national pastime, nay, a sport. When I was a kid it was Hungry Man dinners and so long as the peas didn’t touch the mashed potatoes, I was happy. Now I want duck pâté canapés with huckleberry compote and challah French toast with hazelnut mascarpone. All the better if the huckleberries are artisanal and grown on a commune by a man named Sutra. Continue reading 'An Appetizing Archive'»
NPR reports on an eccentric perfumer who considers himself the antithesis of traditional perfumeries. New York’s Christopher Brosius creates scents that are unlike anything else on the market. And you certainly won’t find them at your local Macy’s. A trip to his website, I Hate Perfume, reveals this concoction: “M5 Where We Are There Is No Here – A subtle Jasmine perfume inspired by the last of Cocteau’s film”. If you needed a gift for that film-lover in your life, what could be better than a perfume that captures movie magic. And not to be neglected is the perfect gift for any librarian: “Russian Caravan Tea – Smoked black Indian tea, bergamot and the hint of shelves full of old books”. Russian Caravan Tea would test the veracity of the oft-exclaimed, “I love the smell of old books”.
No need to thank us for the gift-giving ideas, as our whiff on this story comes from Amy Eaton. Her ability to smell out a malodorous article is much appreciated.
Librarians are sexy. The bun, the glasses—all items that can be removed and let down in a Victorian-esque style worthy of a romance novel with flowing-maned Fabio on the cover. But what about guybrarians? Unless they’re sporting a mullet or long locks, they can’t exactly do the bun thing. But a group of sexy dude librarians are proving that the librarian sex appeal doesn’t just apply to women. The 2012 Men of the Stacks calendar is getting all kinds of attention, and with one hottie wearing nothing but a book, poised precariously like Adam’s leaf, it’s not surprising. These guys decided to produce the calendar to dispel the stereotype that all librarians are women. I can tell you that instead of my annual firefighter calendar, I’ll be ogling the Men of the Stacks each month of 2012.
Pacific-Northwesterners love their beer. We champion and praise our micro-brews for their depth of flavors, array of styles, and interesting adaptations. Yet we’ve been beaten to the punch and the Philadelphia Bar has taken the not so obvious pairing of legal work and beer to the next level:
Continuing legal education is a requirement of your profession, but that doesn’t mean you can’t mix business with pleasure. Now you can earn CLE credits while enjoying a cold one! Continue reading 'Bar Envy'»
On November 24, 1874, a man named Joseph Glidden was issued a patent for a strain of barbed wire dubbed “The Winner” which would go on to become the most popular form of fencing in the American West. So monumental was this discovery that Kansas could not let a tool that “tamed the west” go uncelebrated. Hence, the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum was created to pay homage to the fencing that illustrates the “inventiveness of the pioneers”. I came across this little gem of a museum while reading Eight Unusual All-American Museums and discovered that I can travel to a retirement community to view (and touch!) a Titan II Missile still on its launch pad, while exploring eight underground floors capturing the Cold War and the Nuclear Threat. Elsewhere in the US, you can view a museum dedicated to Jurassic Medicine, as well as a museum featuring Ava Gardner. Continue reading 'One Man’s Random is Another Man’s Collection'»
When I was 18, I went to Disneyland for the first time. It was one of those “I just graduated from high school! I’m going to Disneyland!” commercial celebratory moments, much like when Peyton Manning wins the Superbowl or Kim Kardashian dominates the cover of every single celebrity gossip magazine at the newsstands in the same week. And while I had a good time, I had to wait a whole decade to go to what I would consider the happiest place on the earth: The United State Supreme Court.
Yep, you read that right. I have a not-so-secret love of the Supreme Court. And I indulge my love openly at work (under the guise of “professional reading”) by reading the SCOTUSblog on a daily basis. So it was to my great delight to see that the site has been revamped just in time for the 2011-2012 court season. Now sponsored by Bloomberg Law, the new site layout still features the court daily calendar and a round-up of court news, along with new features to the site such as a beefed up “community” page for online discussion of the high court and law in general. Also, the site will now feature more commentary and case summaries from legal experts, as opposed to law students.
And for those of you keeping score, the Court has granted 49 total petitions so far this October Term, but one was dismissed under Rule 46 soon after it was granted, so you will want to use 48 as the total if you are like me and keep a score sheet.
In some offbeat library news, I was reading about a man who had been accused of stealing more than 400 books from his local library system. Apparently, the man, who lives in Oregon, was not planning on doing anything with these books except building his own home library collection. What struck me the most about this story was not that someone had the nerve to steal from the library, but that the person in question was only 24-years old. The jaded person inside me thought: Really? People his age still use the library? Continue reading 'Taking Back Books'»
For the most part we see the fun and jovial atmosphere surrounding flash mobs. Dancing, choreographed movements, people frozen in time, scenes from movies, or other out-of-place actions are just some of the eccentric arrangements offered by these seemingly impromptu events. However, that isn’t too say they are all harmless. Westlaw’s Headnote of the day reports a case of illegal flash mobbing:
“Arrestee’s conduct of dancing inside Jefferson Memorial along with 17 companions, each listening to music on headphones and dancing in place, constituted demonstration, within meaning of National Park Service Regulation prohibiting demonstrations at Jefferson Memorial, since it stood out as type of performance, creating its own center of attention and distracting from atmosphere of solemn commemoration that regulations were designed to preserve”. Oberwetter v. Hilliard, 639 F.3d 545 (D.C. Cir. 2011)
The Jefferson Memorial flash mob proves that it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Mob on a subway or in a park and you’ll probably be OK; but beware of memorials and other areas where demonstrations are prohibited. Also be wary of police officers ready to stop the illegal demonstration, as YouTube videos of the D.C. Jefferson Memorial flash mob display very physical altercations.
To end on a pleasant Friday note, here is a dance flash mob from our very own Seattle Public Library.
Like most librarians, I have a lot of books. I even have a few that at one point belonged to the Birmingham Public Library. I’m quite certain that I am banned for life from checking out books from any Jefferson County library. As an avid book-lover and hoarder extraordinaire, I am always looking for additional nooks and crannies to store my books. Imagine my delight when I found this house made of bookshelves. Osaka would be a tough commute but may be well worth it. You have to hand it to the Japanese; they certainly know how to make the most of their small spaces. Obviously libraries are made up of bookshelves, but not as literally as this library in Japan. Even the outside is made of shelves!
While I’d love to have my very own bookshelf-engulfed abode, I might just have to settle for this chair: the book-lover’s answer to the La-Z-Boy recliner with built-in remote control pouch. I’d never have to move my bedsore ridden buns again.
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