I just sat in on my first meeting ever where someone's been fired. Er...sort of fired. Her "job has been eliminated" and the reasoning makes sense and there are other positions that are being made available to her if she wants them. But it's still kind of shocking.

Also it means there's absolutely not a future for me here (at least no in the near future). And that's fine, because it's what I was thinking anyways. It's good to know it for sure though- it makes my soon-to-start job hunt a little easier. I had been hoping that the rumblings I had been hearing meant they would be adding people, but the new initiatives etc... are the reasons this job was deleted- to make room for a diff. FTE to perform different work without adding people. Who they'll be hiring within probably a month or two. And I would apply but I definitely don't have the supervisory or project management experience for the new job.

This frees me up to go to the UK!!!! Woot.

Aaaanyways...

Do you ever do that thing where you run into people you know but haven't seen for a while and say to each other as the conversation winds down "hey we should get together sometime! Call me when you're in town again!" and then realize that you don't have their number and they don't have your number but say nothing about it?

It's happened twice already this week. It's not that I'm rude or anti-social. I guess I just always assume that I'm way more excited to see people than they are to see me so I just leave it up to them to do the realizing and ask for my number if they really want it. I think the other part is that I know it's not really ever going to happen anyways- this happens a lot with friends who are married- I mean when are we going to find time to hang out? I'm not going to hang out with the husband (inappropriate- even if we were friends before), and the wife has kids to take care of, and it's just weird hanging out with most couples (when I'm a single) so...who are we kidding? (If you think I'm talking about you, don't worry, I'm totally not- if you're reading this and you're married with kids and I still hang out with you, it means we are "best friends of ever" (to quote Leslie Knope)).


(Bears love friends)


What do you think? Am I a bad person who should be more pro-active in friend-making and -keeping? Or am I just being realistic? Or am I just the only person who does this?

This has been such interesting listening- I need to find the original piece that prompted this discussion, but it's a discussion between a book critic who feels that YA lit has become rather dark and, in some cases, unacceptably so for its intended audience and a YA author who strongly disagrees. The book critic originally wrote something somewhere (that's what I need to find) that prompted a sharp reaction from parents/librarians/etc...

After listening to this, I actually agree more with the book critic than the author (who really came across as not the best advocate for the case she was trying to make).

The critic cited studies that have found strong correlations between teens' exposure to high-risk behaviors via books with their actually adopting those behaviors. The author took umbrage with that and harped on the fact that "correllation is not causation". While this is true, correllation is indicative of a relationship- it might be that the books influence the behaviors or it might be that kids who practice the behaviors are attracted to a certain kind of book.

It seems that a lot of the outcry in reaction to the original piece was because readers (I guess) thought the critic was advocating censorship- I don't think that's true, and I don't think that's the solution in any case. What I DO think she's advocating is that more care be taken in selecting books for YA readers. Some readers may be able to handle certain issues or types of books better than others- the biggest issue here is one that I think most YA librarians already practice- trying to match the right book with the right person.

I don't know if I'm making a lot of sense- just listen to the discussion- it makes more sense than I can.

Nothing says Independence Day like eating take-out alone on your couch while watching fireworks on TV.

My life is awesome.

So I've been listening to Julia Child's "My Life in France" and all I can think about is moving to Europe. This is really bad for my focus.

Oh wait, I've always had a problem staying on task so this really isn't an issue. Whew.

Also, I spent a while last night looking at library jobs in the UK and I'm totally qualified. If they want to deal with all the junk that comes with bringing someone from outside the country to work.

This is why I don't approve of hair-feather-extensions. Also, it's delightful that fly-fishermen take their hobby so seriously- one man quoted in this article calls the trend "sacrilegious".

Oh another reason I don't approve- we are not owls, we are not Steven Tyler, and we are not in the movie "Rock-A-Doodle". Do you want to be mistaken for any of those? I don't.

I tried to upload an image of the..."female" lead from Rock-A-Doodle but Blogger is being crazy right now. Suffice it to say, you do not want to look like a sexy chicken. Or a chicken that someone tried to make look sexy. How can you look sexy with a beak? That entire movie is a travesty. IT'S ABOUT AN ELVIS CHICKEN.

The Green Lantern was....so terribly cheesy. I love Peter Saarsgard (sp? I'm too lazy to look it up right now) and he was probably the best part of this movie- the only actor who wasn't trying too hard, and he looked disgusting. But what an awesome characterization- his character pre-mutation (like at the party mid-movie) reminds me most forcefully of someone with whom I recently went on a date. And with whom I will never go on a date again.

Anyways, the movie. Oh yes, Mark Strong as Sinestro was also pretty good. But aside from that...purple aliens, blue aliens, aliens shaped like giant killer bees- it was like a new installment in the Men in Black franchise, but broader and weirder and not nearly as entertaining (as the first MiB, I can't speak to the later ones, not having seen them myself, but that should be a statement in itself- that I didn't see them). Oh yeah, and greener.

Also, I like the oath he speaks to the ring- there are the makings just in that of a spectacularly epic space-crime saga, but everything else about this movie falls SOOOO far short of that potential. Also...the good guys fight using the force of will, and the bad guys have harnessed the power of fear (which, apparently, is yellow)- that premise I know is part of the source material, but it just seems so dated.

Ugh. Watch it. If you're bored.


This movie was...meh. The same story as The Perks of Being a Wallflower (which is better) and Speak (but without the violent central premise- this is also a better story), and Born Confused (but not about second-gen Americans- this is also better)- that story being "American teenager has identity crisis but is saved by love/friends/family/relationships and art". Each of the stories mentioned about is both less-trying on my patience and more sincere than "The Art of Getting By". I am starting to really like Emma Roberts, but not even her spunk could save this bore.

There are also a lot of really awkward moments in this movie.

Skip it.



Super 8 is my favorite blockbuster-type movie so far this year (probably soon to be replaced, or at least tied, by HP7). It's not perfect, but it has all the things I love about Spielberg (heartfelt stories, honest characters, and nostalgia that somehow seems fresh) and all the things I love about Abrams (come to think of it, it's probably more his touch that takes the nostalgia and makes it seem fresh and shiny and new, and his love for explosions and big noisy things, and conspiracy theories, and awesome jokes) and smashes all of these things into a gem of flawed delight. It's hilarious, it made me jump (a lot), and it was better the second time I saw it. Also, it's two movies in one- there's a zombie movie in the credits.

Definitely definitely watch it. (with a wary eye for the surprisingly foul mouths of 13-year-olds)