Fast food quiz

Well, we made it to another Friday here at The Itinerant Librarian. My two readers know that Fridays are often quiz day, where I amuse myself with one of those Internet quizzes some people love to hate. This week, we get to play with food. Dang it, no tostones or other Puerto Rican options? Just because I have a Spanish last name, it does not follow I have to like burritos. Actually, I do happen to like burritos and both Mexican and Tex-Mex food, but we are trying to make a point here, which was, oh well, this is just a silly quiz. The part about being pretty low maintenance is pretty accurate. I am overall a pretty mellow person as long as you don't rile me up.

Anyhow, here are the results:

You Are a Burrito

You're not a picky person. You're able to go with the flow and really enjoy life. You have a taste for the exotic, and you're quite adventurous. You're willing to try almost anything. You're very low maintenance. You don't mind getting a bit messy if it means having fun. You aren't superficial or easily impressed. Someone has to be the real deal if they're going to impress you.

What Kind of Fast Food Are You?

Halloween 2009 Post

Just for the fun of it, I am tossing together a small post on Halloween. This may become a tradition given I did it last year and the year before. I may or not go out this year, since the little one is not so little anymore, but if we do, it will be in costume. Anyhow, as for this post, it is mostly a few things I have found while browsing around the Internet that my four readers (actually, those four read the other blog, but who's counting?) might find interesting or amusing. Snarky comments are mine.

• As the old saying goes, you can't tell the players without a scorecard. Here then is a "Halloween Bingo Card." If you are familiar with the classic idea of office bingo, then you know how this works. And you know you will see some of the things on the card sooner or later (via Holy Taco).
  
• To file under ridiculous item of the day, apparently the Christian Right has a problem with Halloween? No, really? This is news? No shit. Well, I kid you not. According to a religious right columnist, Halloween candy is prayed on by witches before your children eat it. Yep, according to their logic, if you can call it logic, the manufacturers of Mars Candy, Hershey's, and so on employ witches on a full-time basis to do the cursing and hexing. And wait until you read the list of stuff that happens behind the scenes according to the fundie nutjobs. Go ahead, I dare you to go read the article (via AlterNet).
  
• Want some candy? Miss Cellania has some links on candies and cakes for Halloween.
• If you feel like a movie, AMC is running their annual Fearfest. Not only can watch movies on TV, but you can watch some of the vintage B-movies online too.
  
• Classic Cinema Online is another place to catch some B-Movies online (horror or otherwise).
  
• And speaking of films, here is a list of "10 Sex Scenes Involving Costumes." This is from mainstream films (not porn), but if a little skin or innuendo bother you, you may want to skip (via Spout blog).
  
• Learn a bit about the fantasy and folklore of Halloween, from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. A bibliography is also provided.
  
• Do you want to make your Halloween party just a bit cooler? Maybe these bottle labels can add a spark (via the Intoxicated Zodiac blog). The same blog also has a recipe for some brain shooters. I have made one similar to the one on that recipe (without the strawberry vodka), and I can tell you, they do look like brains. Great fun drinks to make.
  
• Here is something a bit more classical: Vincent Price reads the poem "The Raven" (via YesButNoButYes). You can find the text of the poem here.
• National Geographic News has a feature on "Halloween 2009: Top Costumes, History, Myths, More."
• Blogcritics has put together a series of their reviews and posts with Halloween themes for 2009. Need an idea for a book to read? Or a DVD to watch? This is a good place to start.
• The Census Bureau has its annual Facts for Features with facts and figures about Halloween for 2009.
• Do you still need an idea for a costume? If you are reading this, and the answer is yes, you are running a little late. Let me help out: here are some celebrity costume ideas (via Film.com), some costume trends for 2009 (via Offbeat Guides blog), and the totally controversial and not politically correct ideas (warning: some of these can be offensive: via Gather.com). Family Corner has some costume ideas that are family and kid friendly.
  
• Need a menu for your party? Some recipes. Epicurious has some for you here.
• If you are interested in a more spiritual angle, or maybe just find out where your particular faith practice stands when it comes to Halloween, Beliefnet has a section on Halloween here.

However you spend your Halloween-- out trick or treating, at a party, at home watching scary movies, so on--please do so safely. Please remember that if you choose to drink (alcohol, that is), to do so in moderation, and if you do drink a bit much, please don't drive.

Have a safe and happy Halloween.

Scary, but yes, the economy is STILL bad

Welcome yet again to another edition of "Signs That the Economy is Bad" here at The Itinerant Librarian. This is the Halloween edition (sort of).

• People can't afford to get a divorce any more.Very often people who don't know better or are single tend to say, "if things are so bad, get a divorce." Well, guess what, the economy is really bad, and people who usually would get a divorce, can't afford to do so. They end up living under the same roof much like roommates in college (and I don't mean that in a good way). After all, hiring a lawyer, going through the process, then setting up separate households, and so on can cost a lot. And yet, having said this, as I tell my students, look at the source. Who is pointing this out? The fine legal eagles of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), who are noting that there are fewer divorce filings these days. I guess things are bad when divorce lawyers are losing business.
• Death is another big expense. Well, Wal-Mart, whose slogan is "Always Low Prices, Always," has decided to help out with some of those last details. According to various news sources, including the BBC, which I am linking, "Wal-Mart Starts Selling Coffins." Prices start at $895 for a basic steel model. So now, we see that "catering for cradle-to-grave needs, Wal-Mart already sells everything from baby wear to engagement rings." You can see some of the models here. Funeral directors may worry that Wal-Mart's prices undercut them, but on the other hand, according to the article, they add that they still beat Wal-Mart on something: the human touch. By law, a funeral home pretty much has to let you use your own casket if you so choose. This article from the Lousiana TownTalk website discusses that a bit more. You can find the actual funeral rules at the Federal Trade Commission. By the way, for the record, I personally want to be cremated (and yes, my better half already knows of this wish).
• You may decide to skip the funeral home altogether and do the funeral yourself, a DIY funeral. It may sound like a joke, but this is serious, and there is some information out there for people to consider if this is an option. You can start with this post in BoingBoing on DIY funerals, which provides some information and links. NPR had a program on the topic as well, and here is the transcript for it. It is part of an NPR series on "The End of Life." The Free Geek has a small list of what to do if you plan your DIY funeral.
  
• Are you thinking about graduate school and getting a doctoral degree? Maybe you should consider unemployment as the author of the PhD webcomic proves, "it pays more to do nothing than to get a Ph.D." If only I had known that back in the day.
  
• On a serious note, another aspect of the economy that may be doing well in this time are vasectomies as well as other contraceptives. Something that the sky fairy followers and conservatives tend to forget, in their zeal for preventing responsible contraception and choice (as long as it is for someone else. As soon as their little Susie gets knocked up by the local high school jock, they themselves pack her up and run to the nearest abortion clinic under the radar), is that "that rational people facing hazardous economic times need to control the number of children they have to support. And, by the way, that kind of responsible behavior is good for the economy which can hardly afford the social programs to support families who can't make it on their own" (emphasis mine). Christina Page has the details in "Vasectonomics" (via the Huffington Post).
  
• This is not new, but it certainly is interesting. Escapist reading is doing well in the bad economy. You know it is a sign of a bad economy when people just want to forget about it.

The invasion of stupidity is no fun

I think we can pretty much handle every other major disaster if we put our will, efforts, resources, and minds to it. Natural disasters like earthquakes, fires, so on, are things that we can get over and rebuild over time. The rise of stupidity, coupled with the rise of willful ignorance and a serious lack of common charity and good, is something is much more fearful. When people are just too stupid for their own good that is a problem. When people are just too dumb to make some time to be informed, to learn, to be intellectually curious, then that is a problem. When in addition to that they simply adopt an "I got mine Jack" attitude where no one else matters but themselves, preferring to leave others to face true disasters on their own, that really is a problem. Stupidity and its rise are certainly a natural disaster. It is one you cannot recuperate from right away, and over time, it has a tendency to multiply. Now that certainly freaks me out.

Yes, the economy continues to be bad: Harvard Edition

Welcome to yet another edition of "Signs That the Economy is Bad" here at The Itinerant Librarian. This week we have a college edition. Let's get on with it.

According to The New York Times, "Leaner Times at Harvard: No Cookies." Let us look at this tragedy at the venerable institution of higher learning:

• You know things are bad when the kids at Harvard can't get a hot breakfast anymore. According to the article, "The loss of scrambled eggs, bacon and other cooked breakfast foods in the dorms of upperclassmen on weekdays seems to have stirred the most ire." Ok, I can kind of see that. Eating cold cereal and milk just does not cut it for some people.Then again, look at this on the positive side if you are stuck with eating corn flakes: "Research from University of Scranton found that breakfast cereals provide a surprisingly large amount of disease-fighting antioxidants" (source).
  
• But that is not the horrifying part. Oh no, not by a long shot. What can possibly be so terrible? From the article, "that professors will go without cookies at faculty meetings." Holy Mother of Pearl, you know shit is hitting the fan when the professors can't have their cookies at meetings anymore. It's time to batten down the hatches. Did it occur to anyone to maybe ask for volunteers to bake a batch of cookies, then take turns bringing cookies in? Not from the looks of it, and these are Harvard scholars we are talking about. We'll see how long before the local faculty governance in my school figures they can't afford the wine and crackers they usually serve after the meetings. I can only imagine the horror as they get upset, and things turn ugly. Hey, if it is happening at Harvard, it will eventually trickle down to other universities and colleges.
  
• And the horror continues. According to the article, "Mr. [George] Hayward [a junior student] said that those who live on the Quad, a 15-minute walk from Harvard Yard, were disproportionately affected because the library there was closed and shuttle bus service to and from the central campus curtailed." The kids may have to actually walk. Imagine that. And no, I am not being mean, but in my undergraduate days at a certain other fine university in the Midwest, I had walks of 15 minutes or more (often more) to get to classes, with snow in the winter, and you did not hear me whining about the shuttle being curtailed (shuttle? What is this shuttle thing you speak of?).
• And then we have this tragedy happening to some of the campus athletes: they have to share space in some facilities. Holy crap. The poor kids in the Tae Kwon Do Club have to "to share practice space with the Crimson Dance Team." This could get ugly.
  

Let's be honest, it is kind of hard to be sympathetic to Harvard, which, although their precious endowment has lost money since last year, they still have 26 billion (that is billion with a B) dollars sitting on the endowment as of June of 2009. I think the folks do protest too much. Of course, Harvard feels they need to cut even more. They did, according to the article, lay off 250 staff members. But, here is the most horrible idea that's floating around to save money. Hold on to your hats now, here it goes. Don't say I did not warn you:

• "The Faculty of Arts and Sciences has started an online “idea bank” where students can suggest savings. The 170 submissions so far include charging tour groups to enter Harvard Yard and having students clean their own bathrooms instead of paying other students to do it under a work program." (emphasis added).
  

Imagine that, the poor children of privilege may have to learn to clean after themselves. What is this world coming to?

The New York Times is not the only place that picked up this story. The Harvard Crimson picked up on the cookie tragedy too in their article "Faculty Meeting Lacks Usual Cookies." This is certainly a hot topic if their campus newspaper picks it up. The cookie tragedy gets worse:

• "'As part of our cost-cutting efforts, we’re doing our little part here in our Faculty meetings, saving about $500 per meeting for cookies and coffee,' Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael D. Smith explained during the meeting." Where the hell are they getting their cookies from? I guess Pillsbury's finest are not good enough for these people. And I take it Folger's is not an option; they are probably drinking the most expensive coffee in the world. Having to go down to Folger's or Maxwell House could be a tragedy. Heaven help them if they have to end up with Sanka. Doing your little part, yea, sure.
• Of course, the self-delusion that they, the faculty, are somehow suffering continues: "'This is the first time in modern times with no cookies,' Faculty Council member Harry R. Lewis ’68 said as he held a white mug of tea. 'We are sharing the pain with the undergraduates.'” Are you effing kidding me? The world will not end because you did not get your cookie after the meeting. Ask the angry kids with no hot breakfast, and then come talk to us. Boo effing hoo. Take turns baking cookies or bring your own and share. The Humanity! The first time in modern times with no cookies? What's next? No coffee in the break room? Or no tea for the esteemed old timer?
  
• And you can speculate the lack of cookies is already having an effect: "But few professors were there to be disappointed as the meeting was more sparsely attended than usual, with several of the front rows almost entirely empty." No cookie, no meeting. Harvard faculty unite: "Hey hey, ho ho, I want my cookie dough!"
  

Drew A. Bennett, writing an opinion piece for Inside Higher Education on "Picking Up Crumbs" may have said it best:

"GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!" (emphasis in the original).

I will concur. The folks at Harvard need to get a grip. There are real economic crises at colleges and universities across the nation, situations that seriously affect students and their ability to get educated. I will be blunt: those folks in Cambridge need to suck it up. Mr. Bennett's story set in "an open-admission, two-year college within the 14th poorest congressional district in the country" is something worthy of sympathy and something that needs serious addressing. Heck, that is a lot like the open-admission place I used to work at, and we certainly did miracles with what we had, which was nowhere close to what Harvard, even with their "cutbacks" currently has. Harvard losing its faculty meeting cookies, not so much. Get a life.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and I was at the Candlelight Vigil last night

(Crossposted from The Gypsy Librarian).

I bet my four readers at The Gypsy Librarian were expecting the next installment in my small series on blogging mistakes and library blogs (first installment here). I am taking a break today to highlight a very important issue as well as let my four readers know about some of the good work going on in my campus. Ok, this is kind of to let people know where I was last night too. The series will resume next Friday.

* * * * * * * *

October has a few observances associated with it. One of those observances is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (link to President Obama's proclamation). Last night I attended a candlelight vigil held on our campus to recognize the issue of domestic violence and to educate people. The event took place at 7:00pm last night in the fourth floor meeting room of the library. They were going to do it outdoors, but the weather did not cooperate. Nevertheless the event was successful, and from a quick glance, I think we had about 50 people or so. We did get some representatives from our campus police, a very strong Greek presence (ladies and gents), and some students. I was the only representative of the library present. The room's lights were down, and the room was lit with candles. At the entrance, there was a display with educational materials.

The event started with an opening statement by Ms. Samantha Dwight, who among her many hats has done work for the Campus Assault Response Effort (CARE) and is an educator/facilitator/presenter extraordinaire on this and other gender issues. She does a bit of everything, so if she reads this I apologize in advance if I can't quite "put her in a slot." At any rate, she read a statement, including a recognition of the important role that law enforcement officers have in domestic violence prevention. Those men and women in uniform when they get a call never know what they may be walking into. So our thanks go to them.

Next, the ladies of Alpha Chi Omega took the stage and did a dramatic reading. Members of the sorority took turns reading statistics and facts related to domestic violence in the nation. This had a moving effect on the crowd, and we learned a thing or two in the process. The last member on stage sang a song.

The activity would come to an end as a prayer was said for the victims as well as those involved in caring for them as well as for us all. And silently the event closed.

Whenever possible, I think it is important for me to attend events like this. In my role as outreach librarian, this is another way for me to reach out to our campus community, another way for the library to say present and that we support the cause. Personally, I just think this is important and needs to be supported. We have a long way to go in educating people, and events like this are a way to do it.

I would like to wrap this up by offering some links and resources that I hope people will find useful. Please, if you happen to be a victim, or you know someone who is, know that there is help out there. Some of the links will include phone numbers and contacts. On our campus here, the folks at C.A.R.E. are one such resource. Need more information, and you are local, you can contact them, or you can contact me, and I will refer you to the right place or find you the information you may need.

The resources then:

• The Domestic Violence Awareness Project. These are the folks who promote and maintain activities for the observance, which started as an awareness "Day of Unity" back in October of 1981. The Project is coordinated by the National Center on Domestic Violence. You can learn about campaigns, find educational materials, and get links, and phone numbers if you need help. Of course, if you are in imminent danger, dial 911.
  
• The National Coalition on Against Domestic Violence. Among the things this organization does, "the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), in conjunction with Ms. Magazine, started the Remember My Name project in 1994 to create a national registry of names of those who have lost their lives to domestic violence. Since then, NCADV has continued to collect information on incidents of people who have been killed by an intimate partner and produces a poster each year for Domestic Violence Awareness Month listing the names of those submitted to the project. To date, over 7,753 people have been memorialized through the project." Names are added daily to the list, which you can view on the website.
  
• The U.S. Department of Justice has an Office on Violence Against Women. In addition to listing national hotlines, the site contains a lot of good information, including statistics.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a handbook on domestic violence awareness. This seems geared to employers so they can be supportive in the workplace. Provides some good information.
• The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The number is 1−800−799−SAFE (7233) or TTY 1−800−787−3224. Their contact form can also be used to get assistance if you prefer, though they encourage calling more. You can also find some information on the site.
  
• The National Youth Violence Prevention Center also has resources related to the observance here. Yes, it is not just spouses or significant others; children and youths in families where an abusive situation exists suffer too.
• The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) is also a good resource.
• In Texas, the Attorney General has some resources here. A bit more geared to sexual assault, but still good information.
• There is also a Texas Council on Family Violence.
• Locally, you have the good folks of the East Texas Crisis Center. If you need help locally, this is a place to go.
  

This small list is certainly not comprehensive. I have tried to put out some resources that I have looked over and seem to provide good information. Readers are invited to comment, respond, and if they have other suggestions for links, add in the comments as well.

And yes, I tagged the post under "celebrations and holidays." It is not because I think domestic violence is to be celebrated; it is not. But this is also about a monthly observance, which is what I use the tag for. Just to be clear.