The only kind of book "defacing" I'll allow... Shaq-Fu Edition

"How you doin'?"

My supervisor found this gem in the stacks last night while weeding.  He wanted to take it out from behind the book cover, but I told him it was too good and he decided to leave it.

Terra (Terrestrials #1) Book Report.

Oh no, not another dystopian young adult novel you say.  Well, I think it's better than those other dark YA novels.  You know the ones with the monochromatic covers, if there is any color involved, it usually involves a rose or flower of sorts.

Although I am not the best source for YA novels, I have read the The Hunger Games and Divergent series.  And they all seem to be built upon the same premise.

Here's the ingredient list for non-vampire related YA novels:
1 - a post-apocalyptic world
1 - structured caste system
1 - a "typical" teenage female who belongs in the lower rung of society
1 - male character who becomes the love interest
1 - strange set of circumstances which leads said female to become the heroine

There are a lot of structural similarities between these three novels, fortunately, Terra is able to distance itself well enough to keep my interest.  

I did have some questions after finishing the book.  These are not technically spoilers since the Amazon book description includes these details, but whatever, you've been warned.

My first question is, how high in the atmosphere are the skydwellers living?  This leads me to my second question, if they are as high as I assume they are from reading, wouldn't all the scraps the scavengers look for burn up in the atmosphere?

Overall, Terra is a quick and entertaining read.  If you are a fan of The Hunger Games or Divergent, you would definitely appreciate the Gretchen Powell's take on a dystopian world.  Now I am on to my next book: The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor.  

Consumer Reports: Public Libraries Recommended!

'Consumer Reports' May 2013, Vol. 78, page 17

This afternoon I was browsing through the latest issue of Consumer Reports through our online database when I came across this public library shout-out in their "101 Secrets from our Experts" article:

"Need help with research?

The public library is a resource many people overlook. 

Libraries subscribe to databases you undoubtedly don't,

and librarians can find information not easily

available with a Google search

or to a person without a library-science training."

On behalf of all public libraries and librarians, THANK YOU CONSUMER REPORTS!  

Libraries suck at marketing themselves and their available resources.  So it is nice to see someone other than a library-targeted publication talk about our usefulness/relevance.  

9 out of 10 patrons are completely surprised when I tell them that they can access 'Consumer Reports' online, from home, 24 - 7, with their library card.  Pretty ironic/meta that I would come across this article using our online databases recommending our online databases.  

Rage of Thrones: I Read the Effing Book, GET A LIBRARY CARD!

Oh yeah, NSFW head's up for language and a naked male-Daenerys, besides, what are you doing watching YouTube videos at work for anyways???

T-Minus 5 days.  It's pretty good timing too, what with 'The Walking Dead' season 3 ending this Sunday as well.  As far as 'The Walking Dead' goes, I cannot say for certain that the comic books are better than the TV show, I think I prefer the show much better.  All I have to say, is that the Governor better die some horrific death or I'm going to be pissed until the start of season 4.

Tax Season '13, So far so good

Almost there, almost there... I can almost add another notch to my info desk tax season veterancy status.  When I was working circ, I could always point disgruntled tax-paying patrons to the info desk, not anymore.  Thankfully, I don't have to listen to/get bitched at about "Why aren't the tax forms here yet!?!?" (Thanks Obama! I kid, I kid).

I would consider this the halfway point through the tax season.  There's always a steady stream of slackers who come in past the filing date looking for forms, heaven forbid we should ever run out of 1040's by May 1st.

Oreo Library Commercial... Best Super Bowl Commercial Ever??

So this was my first time watching the Super Bowl with my library people, this was also their first time watching a game this season...  Needless to say, there were a lot of side conversations like, "Why did that guy run into that group of people, why didn't he just run around them?" "Why didn't he catch the ball it was thrown in his direction?"  Thankfully, I wasn't extremely invested in the game, alcohol does that, so it turned out to be a good time.

But the instant this commercial came on, the whole room was quiet.  It was instantly agreed upon that this was the best commercial of the night.

My Super Bowl Supplies

The Best Google Nexus 7 Case Isn't Actually a Google Nexus 7 Case...

Yeah, went all philosophical on your asses with the title but it is true, the one and only case I would only recommend for Nexus 7 tablets is actually a case I used with one of my past tablets.

Poetic Nexus 7 Case

The first style case design is by Poetic.  It holds the tablet by sliding it in and securing it shut with the flap and velcro.  This makes it too bulky for my personal taste.  I also don't like the bezel being covered in this ugly pleather.  It also isn't very snug so the edges rise up a little, hopefully later variations of this case have fixed that issue.

Another reason I bought this case was it's rotating feature.  Landscape mode is great and all, but sometimes you need to put it in portrait mode to crush your friends in 'Words with Friends.'

 

 The way the case rests when in portrait mode isn't the most stable, you have to make sure you don't press on the tablet too hard or it will dislodge from the cases ridges and your tablet will do a trust-fall on your desk.  

This particular case doesn't have the auto sleep/awake feature, which isn't a deal breaker for me.  It also has holes for the speakers.  Unfortunately, the one main feature I was looking for, rotating view, is also one of it's biggest downfalls.  The case uses a thick metal swivel for the rotation feature and it bulges out.  It swivels very easily too, if you have the case wide open, laying flat on a table, you can spin the tablet like a spinner, like a Twister selector.  This kind of sucks when you're laying down in bed reading, and you loosen your grip for one instant and the tablet swings into your face

Clamp Style Case

 

Here's a real first-world dilemma, if I want a rotating Nexus case, I have to use a quite fugly, bulky looking case.  The other option is to forgo the rotating feature in place of a clamp style case.  It has a sturdy hand strap, but a really thin strap to secure the case when it is closed.

The clamps do a good job of keeping the case secure, but in order to use the tablet in landscape mode, you have to disengage the bottom two clamps.  I can't see these two clamps maintaining their grip when you're constantly moving the tablet in and out of these two clamps.

The case is thin and clean looking.  It has holes for the speakers and the auto awake/sleep mode. 

Rotating HTC Flyer/View 4G Case

Thankfully, I had an extra rotating case from one of my last tablets, the HTC View (Flyer).  The HTC View is actually thicker than the Nexus 7, but otherwise it has the same dimensions. 

The tablet fits snugly and is very secure. Quite frankly, it looks much cleaner than the previous clamp style.

It doesn't wobble when you use your tablet in portrait or landscape mode.

The case has a perfect cut out for the micro-USB slot, even the slot for the Nexus 7 power button and volume rocker is in the same spot as the HTC View's volume buttons.  Unfortunately, you do have to cut the case to get better access to the Nexus' volume button and I did not have much finesse when I did this, but it works and the case isn't falling apart.  There aren't any holes in the case for the Nexus' speaker, and I didn't want to ruin the structural integrity of the case by doing so.  You can still hear the speaker pretty well and it's not like you're using this tablet because it has a "rocking sound system," so this isn't really a big deal.

The swivel motion is fluid but there is enough friction in the movement, that the tablet won't swing on its on. Sorry if the pictures and text show up all wonky, multiple picture and Blogger don't get along. So in the end, the best case for the Google Nexus 7 tablet is actually a case made for the HTC View/Flyer. With a little modification for the volume buttons, this case delivers.

Maybe You Touched your Genitals in the Library...

Well, maybe I did... maybe I did.

During closing one night, I was making my rounds giving the usually ಠ_ಠ face to patrons who weren't packing up their ish after the 2-minute warning.  I happened to glance in one of the trash cans and this caught my eye: "Maybe You Touched Your Genitals" hand sanitizer.

Celeste and Jesse Forever: a good movie that probably isn't playing at a theater near you...

I finally got my library friends together to watch "Celeste and Jesse Forever." It opened on August 5th, but only started showing at a local theater last week.   I was also a little apprehensive recommending this movie, because the previous movie we watched, "Ruby Sparks," also labelled as a "romantic-comedy" (a point I could argue about), was a let-down, we all agreed and should have been skipped. I should have followed my instinct, when I saw the trailers, it didn't click with me.  It didn't seem interesting at all, but I did give it a chance and $12.50 ಠ_ಠ

Needless to say I went in the theater with low expectations, I mean this only opened on 4 screens.  And it's not like this is a home-brewed movie with unrecognizable names: Rashida Jones (I LOVE HER), Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood, Emma Roberts.  But I had to send out a YouTube link of the trailer because most of my friends never heard of it.

We were all laughing within the first 5 minutes and thankfully it didn't fall off from there unlike other movies: when I started watching "Friends with Kids," I kept thinking to myself, "Why the hell didn't anyone tell me how funny this movie is/was!?!"  After about 30 minutes I realized why, it fell flat on its face and ultimately let me down.  Rashida and Andy play their parts well --- the funny and serious.

You know how these romantic-comedies always have their funny and bright moments but inevitably end up in that dark and serious place, some movies take a deep nosedive and some stay there too long and can never dig themselves out.  "Celeste and Jesse Forever" has its serious moments in spurts and it quickly comes back to normal so you don't end up feeling all bummed out for the characters and what they're going through.  Let me be honest, some of the humor is immature and crude, but you don't feel like it's out of character, so it's natural.  Hell, the older lady sitting in front of me with her adult son was laughing the loudest.

Walking out of the theater we all turned to each and unanimously agreed that it was a good movie.  Which was such a relief for me, because if it was another crap-fest, I would have been ridiculed until the next movie outing.  Later in the day, I ended up watching "The Five-Year Engagement," boy, am I glad that I didn't recommend watching that movie...

Project-X: Superbad's younger sibling that tries too hard to impress everyone

The premise seemed interesting enough for a comedy: crazy high school party all shown from a first person view.
They seemed like they wanted to produce a carbon-copy of 'Superbad' even down to the main characters.  Don't get me wrong, that is not a bad thing at all, I think that 'Superbad' is a great comedy, but unfortunately Project-Bad tries too hard to be it's own movie.

Project-Bad

SRSLY... 3 friends: 1 extremely nerdy guy, 1 annoying guy who desperately wants to be down with the in-crowd, and 1 good guy who has a female admirer but is too awkward/shy to do anything.

With 'Superbad' you felt like you actually went to school with someone like them, they came off as real, affable in the sense that you could accept them for their quirkiness and immaturity.  In 'Project X' you just end up hating these guys, especially the guy who plays Costa aka wanna-be Jonah Hill.  

Both are vulgar, with 'Superbad' the humor comes off as natural for teenagers to talk and act that way, compared to 'Project-X' you could actually call it tastefully done.  Project-Bad uses vulgarity to get a rise and shock in the hope that the eye-rolling includes some laughs.  Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, well maybe those who liked '50 Shades' because obviously those people love garbage.

Farewell Maurice...

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Read So Hard, Libraries Tryna Find Me...

I Don't Always Buy Books for Myself...

But when I do, it's usually something stupid/silly that I enjoy.

Over the weekend while getting drunk with a bunch of librarian-friends, one of them told me that earlier in the day, she "bought a book that would make me jealous."  My response was, "The Archer book?"  At first she was surprised, then she realized that her shock was unfounded.  I'm not always one of the first to catch a great TV series from it's beginning (Firefly, Freaks and Geeks, Arrested Development) with the exception of Community, Modern Family, and Archer.

I haven't read a book that made me laugh so much since Bossypants.  Then again, I'm pretty sure that The Art of Racing in the Rain and Unbroken weren't meant to be funny or I have completely let down all of my past English teachers by completely misinterpreting "the author's hidden message."

My friend also looked for an audio-version but alas, you can't have it all.  I just had to read it in the characters' voices.  If anyone out there can get an audio-version produced, I will forever be grateful.  It would be a guaranteed cash-cow. I mean, have you listened to Samuel L. Jackson's reading of "Go the F*ck to Sleep"???  He put that book in the DDDDAAAANNNGGGGEEEERRR ZZZZZOOOOONNNNEEEEE...

X-Men + Community = My Geek Heaven...

http://avivor.com/

I think the next Halloween episode should feature these characters.  Chang does fit perfectly as a creepy Nightcrawler.

Keep it Classy Harlequin...

I found these old pictures on an old memory card.  The books on the left were donations from a patron.  All of the titles are circa 1970.  For some reason, I just don't think these sold at the last book sale...

Don't Make Me Be a Librarian...

The move from Circ to Info has introduced a lot of new and different responsibilities.

When I worked at the circ desk:
Patron - "Someone is talking on their cell phone in the quiet study"
Me - "You can tell the librarians at the Info desk." 
Patron - "Someone is looking at inapproriate websites on one of the public internet stations" 
Me - "You should tell one of the librarians at the Info desk."


Do you see the pattern?  Well now karma is paying me back because now I am the one who gets pointed to from the Circ desk when it comes to those patron interactions.  I cringe at the thought of having to tell children not to run, but I would hate the thought of them running around carelessly and knocking over one of the many elderly patrons. 

It is a straight shot from the entrance to the children's section, maybe if I can set up some obstacles to discourage any form of accelerated movement, maybe an errantly placed book-cart here or there ought to do it.

The Best Flickr Account Ever...

In the spirit of Halloween here's a link to the best Flickr account in the world:

R.I.P. Steve Jobs...

I am not the biggest Apple fan around, hell I don't even own any Apple products.  But game recognizes game and he is undeniably one of the greatest innovators of our generation.  "To Infinity and Beyond..."

Creepy Colonial Kids...

"Hey little colonial girl, what are you up to?"
"Just chilling with my squirrel on a chain"....

The dead stare on both of their faces pierces through your soul and will terrorize your sleep for days.

Make fun of them and their pet squirrel if you dare, but do you know what happened to the last person to laugh at them?  The little girl in the gold hoop skirt cut them.  She's still holding the knife and it still has blood on it. 

Colonial kids were hardcore for real...

The $129 Bookmark...

I finally found that $100 bookmark today, actually, it was exactly $129.  There wasn't any form of identification in the wallet, just the cash.  Luckily I was able to pull up the patron ID from the book the wallet was wedged in.  Pretty ironic that a patron used a wallet stuffed with $129 in cash as a bookmark for a book titled Money, Money Money.