Claude Monet; my favorite painter. I'm especially fond of his landscapes/country scenes such as this one. It's so tranquil and inviting. I imagine myself in this scene, feeling the breeze and appreciating the peacefulness on a lovely day. I was very forturnate to see an exhibition of his paintings in Cleveland in April. I've also seen some of his works at the Art Institute in Chicago, and shared thoughts with my niece and sister.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thing 9
I didn't have too much of a problem finding a number of interesting feeds, although I noticed that, to view the NY Times Book Review feed, you have to subscribe to their site. According to them, it's free, but I can't help wondering if this is a sneaky way to get me on more e-mailing lists.
As far as the other search tools for finding feeds/blogs, I did a search using the term "public libraries". The search on Feedster resulted in quite a few hits, but most all were barely related to the topic. It reminded me of a Google search. Syndic 8's search resulted in only 4 hits, and two were simply the home pages of library systems. Topix was very confusing, in that it appears you can search only via a geographic area. Although, I must say, I found a nice feed in the area where my grandparents, aunts, uncles and parents lived. Technocrati turned out to have the most productive results. Specifically, I found a great blog from a children's librarian in Florida.
As far as the other search tools for finding feeds/blogs, I did a search using the term "public libraries". The search on Feedster resulted in quite a few hits, but most all were barely related to the topic. It reminded me of a Google search. Syndic 8's search resulted in only 4 hits, and two were simply the home pages of library systems. Topix was very confusing, in that it appears you can search only via a geographic area. Although, I must say, I found a nice feed in the area where my grandparents, aunts, uncles and parents lived. Technocrati turned out to have the most productive results. Specifically, I found a great blog from a children's librarian in Florida.
Thing 8
Setting up the RSS feed wasn't a problem. The podcast and the video were helpful, though. It certainly is pleasant to be able to get what you want, without the annoying (to say the least!) ads and commercials!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Thing 7
How much more efficient my job as a librarian is with a computer at hand. How nice it is to not have to wait until I get home to see if anyone has tried to call me. How enjoyable it is to get an e-mail from a friend or family member and be able to "write" them back immediately, and know that they will read it the same day. How lovely it is to get a photo online from these same people and see a smile or someplace they just visited. How wonderful it is to shop online and not have to battle traffic and crowds of people.
But, how scary it is to nearly get run off the road by someone driving and talking on their cell phone. How sad to see people walking down the street and staring at their cell/text/camera phone and never looking at you and therefore ignoring you. How annoying it is to be at a restaurant or the grocery store and to listen to someone arguing in a loud voice on their cell phone with someone else. How disheartening it is to watch people staring at a computer screen for hours at a time watching videos or playing games. How depressing it is to be stand next to someone wearing headphones and realizing they have no idea you are even there. And, how frightening it is to think that simple, beautiful, thoughtful things such as handwritten letters and sitting down and talking with someone face to face are becoming increasingly rare occurrences.
But, how scary it is to nearly get run off the road by someone driving and talking on their cell phone. How sad to see people walking down the street and staring at their cell/text/camera phone and never looking at you and therefore ignoring you. How annoying it is to be at a restaurant or the grocery store and to listen to someone arguing in a loud voice on their cell phone with someone else. How disheartening it is to watch people staring at a computer screen for hours at a time watching videos or playing games. How depressing it is to be stand next to someone wearing headphones and realizing they have no idea you are even there. And, how frightening it is to think that simple, beautiful, thoughtful things such as handwritten letters and sitting down and talking with someone face to face are becoming increasingly rare occurrences.
Thing 6
Sorry, but the "mashups" and the 3rd party tools hold very little interest for me. I can't see myself spending my valuable (I think) time on them. I did look at several of them, such as the postcard montage, and the "color pickr" and while I respect the time these people put into getting these together, my personal feeling is, much ado about nothing, to steal from Shakespeare. But, I have to admit the librarian postcard idea was fairly intriguing. Once I get a digital camera, and learn how to use it, AND learn how to upload photos, I may try to create a card!
Thing 5
At first, Flickr was a little hard to work with, but once I got the hang of it, finding and posting photos was fun. It certainly helped personalize my blog. The "help" page was a big, well....help!
MST3K: Prince of Space
Mystery Science Theater 3000: My all-time favorite TV series. Many's the time I have had a boring, unhappy or otherwise forgettable day transformed into a great one by spending 90 minutes to two hours with MIke Nelson, Tom Servo, Crow, Gypsy and the gang.
Friday, July 13, 2007
titanvis_7700_fountain.jpg
My favorite city. Chicago at night is beyond-words beautiful. My sister and her family live in a suburb, and seeing them and the city is a highlight of my year.
Omaggio a Audrey Hepburn
My all-time favorite actress. She was as great a person as she was a movie star.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The name was the hardest part!
I spent waaaaaaaaaaay too much time trying to come up with a clever name, and wouldn't you know it, it had already been taken, even though my name was an obscure character from a very obscure movie. So, I picked an even more obscure phrase from this almost unknown movie, and this time, I lucked out. So, we shall see how things progress from here.
John
John
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