no pressure!

Overheard at the Library's check-out desk:
An adult and child checking out items. The adult showed the child a picture of Munch's "The Scream" and after they talked about it, the adult said, "You could draw something better, couldn't you?"
The kid was maybe eight years old, so I'm going to venture a guess: no. No, the kid couldn't do better.

feathered blond hair

I've been sick for the last few days. I feel less queasy if I don't stand up, so for something to do I started typing up more of my diary from when I was 12. I got bogged down while typing up a long, involved, vaguely depressing story of my friend and I stalking cute guys all over the mall. Here's the beginning of the story:
"On Thursday, [friend who is a sensible lawyer now, and wouldn't love me for putting her name here] and I went to Randhurst Mall. After about five minutes, we caught sight of the cutest boy! He had feathered blond hair, blue eyes, and was wearing cut-offs, a blue & white shirt, and a Budweiser hat backward on his head."
I'm not sure how we appreciated the merits of his hair with that backwards Budweiser hat covering it up. I haven't read ahead to the end of the diary entry yet, so I have no idea how this story ends. I'd guess my friend's mom (or my mom) picked us up, and we never saw the boys again. Sigh.

shrugs about Hefner

Usually I can at least see someone else's point, even if I don't agree with it. In this case, though, I'm totally baffled about why people are offended that Christie Hefner is the opening speaker for ALA. Some of the comments I've heard are reductive (essentially, "porn objectifies women, so I don't want to have her there"). She has some credentials that ALA members should like, so I don't get the fuss.

now I feel like a real American

I went to the restaurant across the street for a quick lunch, and ordered a hotdog. The cashier asked me if I wanted bacon on it.

for class 2/17

For those looking for ordinary posts from Random DearReader, please ignore this. I needed a space to post links for a class I'm teaching about Internet safety, and this was handiest.

Internet Safety:
Reminder about Internet safety

Tips for evaluating websites:
Tips for evaluating a web site (you have these on your handout)

Finding and Evaluating Web Sites: a list of tips

Some more good tips for the Internet

More information about web addresses and suffixes

Be especially careful of sites that deal with controversial topics (any topic about which people have differing opinions: religion, politics, even history. For example. there are websites that say that the Holocaust didn't happen!).

Sites to evaluate:
Jamestown

The White House

California Velcro

SETI Institute

Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division,
especially their facts page

Ova Prima Foundation

African Clawed Frog

Save the octopus

Some safe places for reliable information:
Databases from the Benicia Public Library site (if you use these at home, have your card number handy!)

KidsClick

Ask for Kids

Yahooligans

Kid Info

American Library Association's great websites for kids

best women's Nationals ever, I think

Wow, the women's long program at Nationals was amazing this year! I was sorry BeBe Liang didn't do better, of course. But Ashley Wagner was amazing - coming from 12th in the short to win the long, and come in 4th overall. I liked her costume quite a bit, too. I liked Kristine what's-her-name; it's always nice to see new faces. I was underwhelmed by the woman who did the most overdone bits of Carmen in an inexplicable brown dress, and of course by the irritating pumpkin-headed golden retriever, Rachael Flatt.
And then, too, Mirai Nagasu was amazing - given that she was weepy before she started, I was afraid she'd fall apart altogether. Zhang's "Ave Maria" was lovely - it's not my favorite piece of music, but she really did seem to float across the ice. I should like Alissa Czisny's miraculous win better (seriously, I didn't think she had enough points to beat Flatt; that cushion after the short was very handy!), but my favorite skaters tonight were Wagner and Nagasu.
I've probably misspelled a few names here, but I don't want to check them, lest I see other sports results that I'm not ready for yet. Here's hoping that Weir can rebound and win the long, by the way, just as Wagner did.

Oscar nominations

I'm not a fan of hers, really, but I'm pleased to see that Marisa Tomei got an Oscar nomination. She's been an easy target for "what a fluky Oscar win!" comments for years now, and hopefully this nomination will remind people that really, she's a fine actress.
(With, yes, some occasionally bad guesses about which roles to choose, maybe).

charlatan!

I went to a conference a couple of months ago. While at one of the social dinners, I sat with a man, and we talked about work. He talked about putting on a specific type of library program, and said he had never done it. So I was greatly surprised to see him, both at the conference and in print, presenting ideas of how to do this type of program.
It would be like a librarian creating a list of "great storytime reads" and not trying them in storytime first - but worse, because this person is making a name for himself that is in no way deserved. Disgusting.