Amusing

This came through the Graphic Novel listserv I'm on...

Power Corrupts

Enjoy :)


(Okay, I admit it. I try to do this too with the YA manga that ends up on my desk. But if there's someone waiting, I usually send it to them first... unless it's something I'm *dying* to read... or unless the waiting list is too long)

Halloween!!!

This year was my Probably-12th More-or-Less-Annual Halloween Party!

These pictures, and the rest of them, will be shortly uploaded to my Facebook page, but here are a few I'm willing to share with the general public :)


I made some frozen hands of 7up to float in the punch. Having hands in my freezer was neat! And made for some interesting conversation while standing in line at the drug store :)



Here's part of my apartment, all decorated. That giant spider was only a dollar, and a pain in the butt to put together. Still, I love the effect! And the Dollar Store!



Candy cocktails were stationed throughout the apartment, this one guarded by a happy little skellington.



My witch friend brought some ale, and I love what it's called. If you can't read it, it says:
"MONTY PYTHON'S HOLY GRAIL Tempered over burning witches"


It was hard getting the frozen hands out of the gloves, and this hand told me exactly what it thought of being an ice cube.



Some of the tasty treats brought included this delicious rice crispie pumpkin



And this spooky grave cake!



Here are all the guests (not including me, who was taking the picture)

If this picture is cut off, try clicking here to view it..




And poor Hermes hid under a blanket on my bed, looking very much like Yoda.


2 days, 2 posts. I'm doing pretty well so far!

Librarians in "Happiness(tm)"

I just finished reading "Happiness(tm)" by Will Ferguson. It's the first thing I've read by him (other than his website) and I really enjoyed it. Kinda depressing, but very funny. I love a dark sense of humour :)

So, here's his take on a library in a tiny nearly-ghost town:

*~*~*

The library, in proud late-Victorian sandstone, was still the most impressive building in the county, even though its once grand square had been reduced to a scraggy patch of brown grass around a fountain that hadn't seen water in years.
...
Inside, there was dust and darkness, and in contrast to the blistering sun outside, there was if not a coolness, at least a certain lack of heat. The librarian, a tall thin-lipped woman with a fire-and-brimstone air about her, was hiding behind a stack of old books and had to be prodded out.

"Hello? Anybody here?"

Nothing. They could see her, huddled down, pretending not to notice, hoping they would go away.
(pg. 289)

....

He looked at the stacks of books, the shelves lined up on three floors, the old rolling ladders lying rusted in their tracks. The smell of must and mildew permeated the air. The entire place was heavy with words and deep with ideas. It was less a library than a depository of lost words.

"We haven't had any new additions since the 1920s," the librarian noted with a certain amount of misplaced pride.
(pg. 291)

Librarians in "Lirael"

Remember a while ago, I said I wanted to post about different interpretations of libraries/librarians in books (mostly fantasy)? I started off with Terry Pratchett and I've moved onto Garth Nix.

Let me start by saying I'm finally reading his trilogy (I don't think it has a name, but it starts with "Sabriel", then "Lirael", then "Abhorsen") and I love it! It's one of the best books I've read in a while!

But, onto the part of "Lirael" where the main character (Lirael - duh) wants to get a job as a librarian.

---
The Chief Librarian had a large oak-paneled office, with a very long desk that was covered in books, papers, and a large brass tray with that morning's breakfast still half-eaten upon it. There was also a long, silver-bladed sword on the desk, unsheathed, with its hilt close to the Librarian's hand.

"So," said the Librarian, her deep, commanding voice making Lirael jump. "You want to be a librarian?"

"Y-yes," stammered Lirael.

"But are you suitable?" asked the Librarian. She touched the hit of her sword, and for a moment Lirael thought she was going to pick it up and wave it around, to see if it frightened her.

Lirael was already frightened. The Librarian scared her, even without a sword.
(pg. 79-80)

Then, there's the equipment that every librarian needs...

"Now, this whistle clips on the lapel loops here, so you can bend your head and blow into it, even if something's holding your arms. But you should whistle only if you really need help. If you hear a whistle, run towards the sound and do whatever you can to help."

"Of course, the whistle's good only when someone can hear it," continued Imshi, handing Lirael something that at first glance looked like a silver ball. She indicated that it should be placed in the front left pocket of her new waistcoat. "That's why you have the mouse."

"What's it do?" asked Lirael.

"It gets help. Anyway, you have the whistle and the mouse. Here's your belt and scabbard, and I'll just see which dagger is sharpest. Ow! That'll do, I think. Now we just have to put the number in the book, and you have to sign for everything."
(pg. 82-85)

---

I wish I got all that equipment when I started working at the library.

From today's Questionable Content

I love this comic! Check out the one from today, especially this bit of dialogue at the end:


Penny: I don't need any "fixing up"! I can get guys perfectly well on my own!

Faye: Really? Does the public library have a Happy Hour?

Penny: That's a terrible idea! Have you ever SEEN a gaggle of drunken librarians?

Martin: A friend of mine in college got jumped by a gang of 'em one night. They shushed him so hard that he can't speak above a whisper to this day.

:D

Travelling Librarians

Deep in the snow, in the middle of a windswept moorland, a small band of travelling librarians sat around their cooling stove and wondered what to burn next.

Tiffany had never been able to find out much about the librarians. They were a bit like the wandering priests and teachers who went even into the smallest, loneliest villages to deliver those things - prayers, medicine, facts - that people could do without for weeks at a time but sometimes needed a lot of all at once. The librarians would loan you a book for a penny, although they often would take food or good second-hand clothes. If you have them a book, you got ten free loans.

Sometimes you'd see two or three of their wagons parked in some clearing and could smell the glues they boiled up to repair the oldest books. Some of the books they loaned were so old that the printed had been worn grey by the pressure of people's eyeballs reading it.

The librarians were mysterious. It was said they could tell you want book you needed just by looking at you, and they could take your voice away with a word.

(Taken from Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett, pg 224)

:D