“I saw a movie and apparently they made a book based on the movie. How do I find out if you have the book?”
“What was the movie called?”
“Huckleberry Finn.”
“…”
On Jennifer’s birthday last year I wrote this. She said I never had to write another thing for her but could just keep linking back.
But regardless, here I am on the morning of our 18th wedding anniversary wondering how I can put into words what this wonderful woman means to me.
At this time every year I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. That Jennifer saw me, liked me, loved me, chose me, and married me. These things fill me with wonder and joy and I still can’t believe how lucky I am.
That we have laughed together, cried together, played together, explored together, dreamed together, and simply lived together for 18 years brings me more happiness that I can begin to explain.
And I get the distinct feeling Jennifer has enjoyed the 18 years too.
To be loved like this is amazing. To be told that you are loved with words, actions, and smiles every day brings a comfort and assurance that I would be lost without.
I love you Jennifer. Always.
Happy 18th.
With apologies to Iain Broome at Index Card Shorts - I haven’t used an index card and my pen may not be fat enough. But I did make something up today.
An Index Card Short can be anything you want it to be. An entire story. A play on words. An event or scene. They are snapshots of something or nothing. Whatever you want. A finished work or just the beginning. There are three rules. One index card. One fat pen. Don’t write small.
via Index Card Shorts.
I’m really curious to see where Iain Broome takes this. I’m almost tempted to try it myself. Almost.
“Librarians have suffered enough”, according to Lemony Snicket, who is setting up a new annual US prize “honouring a librarian who has faced adversity with integrity and dignity intact”.
via Lemony Snicket launches prize for librarians ‘who have faced adversity’ | Books | theguardian.com.
PS. Also a good way to make librarians like you and buy lots of your books. Assuming of course they weren’t already buying lots of your books anyway.
Earlier this year on a family holiday to Queensland, the mysterious Kinipela and I had an afternoon alone while our children were with friends. We decided to spend that time going for a walk in the Noosa Headlands.
A little way into the walk we found ourselves on a rocky beach. There were two other people there, but some distance away. It was peaceful.
Quiet.
Still.
Someone had been there before us and balanced a few rocks on top of each other.
Without speaking we both started to do likewise.
I have no idea how long we were there. It could have been 5 hours. It could just as easily have been 5 minutes. The reality is probably somewhere between the two. Not that it matters.
We crouched, sat, and knelt while trying to make rocks balance. Did I mention it was quiet? I think I mentioned it was peaceful.
We didn’t speak much. It wasn’t necessary. We weren’t working in each other’s pockets, but a distance apart. We regularly glanced across at each other. We took the odd photo. We each took breaks from our efforts to sit and admire each other’s work, or to wander across for a kiss, a touch, a brushing of hands.
When I look back over the last 12 months, that afternoon stands as a highlight.
The significance of this may not make sense to anyone else. But that doesn’t matter. I really only wrote this for one person. I’m pretty sure she’ll get it. She always does.
Kinipela and I have been married for 17 years today. We don’t do everything together, but we do a lot of things together. We don’t share all the same interests, but we respect and encourage each other to pursue them. We have different capacities for social interaction, but we have found an approach and a rhythm that works for us. We have travelled through life together for what is approaching two decades and continue to grow closer and closer.
Sometimes we are in each other’s pockets. Other times we are glancing over to see what the other is doing. Sometimes we are holding each other. Other times we are grabbing quick kisses while heading in different directions.
We seem to balance together. We are at peace. Together.
Sometimes we are enjoying the same things. Sometimes similar things. Sometimes completely different things. But always together.
Even when we are apart, we are together. Always stacking rocks.
Always have been.
Always will be.
Always.
Happy anniversary.
I’m sure everyone knows the legend that is passed on in cultures all around the world. The stories shared around campfires, in caravans, hotels, and people’s homes. Wherever folk gather together, long after the sun has set, eventually someone will start talking about the legend of Kinipela. The mysterious woman who will always make a conversation take the next step. Who will cross the line nobody else is brave enough to cross. Who will do so without any expectation of thanks or appreciation. She will do it because she loves an adventure. Because when she sees a line, she can’t help but want to cross it.
A woman of breathtaking beauty. With a body that can make grown men weep and a smile that brings light to the darkest of days. Some believe she has the uncanny ability to smile with her whole face in a way no other person can.
They say she was born in a northern land of snow and mystery. That she was raised in an igloo, kept a pet moose, and rode a snowmobile to school. Other versions of the story say she skated on lakes of ice or paddled a canoe.
As an adult, she is said to have travelled to the ends of the earth. Nobody quite knows what she was seeking. Some say she didn’t even know herself. But she found herself in a land of sun, beaches, and ice cream. Although the translations do differ at this point. Some suggest is was a land of shopping malls, netball clubs, and primary schools. And ice cream.
Regardless of the reason for her travel or the nature of the land she discovered, the legends agree on one thing: that she found a precious treasure there. Of course, they disagree on the nature of the treasure. Was it gold and jewels? Or a fountain of youth and beauty. Some suggest a handsome man who brought her pleasure no other man could. The stories add that a dedicated librarian guards these sections of the original manuscripts because their contents are too shocking for most to read.
The legends say she can accomplish anything she puts her mind to, if she considers it worth doing. And that good things happen to those who are close to her. She has a way of bringing people together. Of seeing connections between one person’s needs and the opportunities another can provide. She seeks little for herself but always strives to help others.
Kinipela views much of the world through the lens of what most believe to be a camera. But it is clearly no ordinary camera. With it she captures not the souls, but the smiles of those she sees. Not for her own benefit of course, but for the benefit of the people themselves. So that in their darkest of times, thanks to Kinipela, they will never forget they have a smile. They will never forget the world can, and will, be better. They also say she can be booked for weddings, parties, and family portrait sessions.
Many people believe the legends are just that: legends. But others place great faith in their truth. They believe in the stories because they know there is hope in them. There is hope in the chance that such a woman exists. A woman of breathtaking beauty, of amazing compassion, of wisdom and knowledge far beyond her years (which according to what few pictures exist, must surely be early to mid thirties). They know the world is a better place if Kinipela is real. They cling to this hope and live their days longing to meet her.
Different cultures know Kinipela by different names. Jennifer, Jen, JenJoy, Jeffina, JJ, or simply J. There is one very small tribe that calls her Budina. One story tells of a nation of mighty warriors that once called her Jenny. Despite a polite request to use any of the appropriate names, they chose to use the forbidden name once again. Those warriors have never been seen since. All traces of their people have been erased from the history books. Their ashes scattered across the earth, destined to be blown this way and that by the wind as a constant reminder of their folly. Of course, even among those who believe the legends are true, most suspect this to be an unreliable account. But are you willing to take the chance?
There’s one last thing about the legend that confounds scholars to this day. Some manuscripts clearly place her birthday in the summer. Others place it in the winter. This is one of the great and precious mysteries surrounding this amazing woman. Perhaps we will never know the truth.
But we do know that today is the day on which many people celebrate her birthday. So I join with them today in hoping beyond hope, in dreaming beyond dreams, in loving beyond love, that she is real, that she exists. And knowing beyond all knowledge that the world is a better place because she does.
Happy birthday Kinipela.
The world is a brighter place because of you.
Testing.
1, 2.
In January, we dug a big hole
and played some cricket.
In February, my baby girl started school and my boy built a tower that reached to the sky.
In March (and a bit of February), I covered a fair portion of Philip Island on my bike.
I also made some necklaces.
In April I found a mermaid at the beach and three days later watched her jump on a hail covered trampoline.
In May, we bought a car and flew to Queensland the next day.
We also bought a new waterproof camera.
In June I sold a piece of jewellery to a stranger for the first time. I also found time for some soccer practice.
In July we played with some giant chipmunks
a giant car
and giant ants.
In August, we did some baby sitting
built a snowman
and made a coffee table for my wife’s birthday.
In September we welcomed a new cousin into the world
and had a super hero birthday party.
In October I was acting Hawthorn Librarian and work took a lot of my focus
but I did find time for a spot of pruning.
In November we went hunting butterflies
spent some quality time with Nanny when she visited from Canada
and celebrated a birthday party with the world’s cutest fairies.
In December I made some vases
a soccer goal
a rapunzel tower
and did some decoupage.
We enjoyed pancakes at Phillip Island with family
and hosted Christmas for the first time.
We played with some critters
ran
laughed
and smiled
And we had spent another year together.
No wonder I’m tired.
There’s something new popping up in libraries:
It turns out that tiny bedbugs and their eggs can hide in the spines of hardcover books. The bugs crawl out at night to feed, find a new home in a headboard, and soon readers are enjoying not only plot twists but post-bite welts.
Something to add to the list of things didn’t teach me in library school:
To reassure skittish patrons like Mrs. McAdoo, libraries are training circulation staff members to look for carcasses and live insects. Some employees treat suspect books with heat before re-shelving them, to kill bedbugs, which are about the size of an apple seed when fully grown.
The Monkey’s Paw, a second hand bookstore in Toronto has the most brilliant vending machine:
Built by designer Craig Small and the store’s owner Stephen Fowler, the ‘Biblio-Mat’ is an old metal locker that dispenses random, used tomes at $2 each.
‘IT STILL looks messy.” A student is heckling illustrator Craig Smith as he whips up a remarkable charcoal drawing of Billy the Punk, a character he illustrated for a popular children’s book.
Mr Smith laughs and applies finishing touches. He enjoys interacting with young readers at schools such as St Brendan’s Primary School.
He has visited about 30 schools this year, but at this Catholic primary school in Flemington he has an important mission – to act as a role model for Books in Homes, a program that provides children from disadvantaged backgrounds with nine books to take home each year.
Michael Clarke talks about the resurgence of vinyl and what it could mean for book publishers:
What indie rock bands have figured out is that the purchase of music does not have to be an either/or proposition. They don’t make their customers choose between analog or digital. Whenever you buy a record from just about any indie band, it comes with either a CD or with a card that contains a URL and a download code so you can get a digital copy at no additional cost.
You may know 16 simply as the number after 15 and before 17.
You’ll probably also recognise it as the square of 4.
Apparently, 16 is also the smallest number with exactly five divisors.
You may not know that:
- As a power of 2 it has an aliquot sum one less than itself; 15, and is the fifth composite member of the 3-aliquot tree having the 7 member aliquot sequence (16, 15, 9, 4, 3, 1, 0).
- Sixteen is the first number to be the aliquot sum of a lesser number; 12, it is also the aliquot sum of the greater number; the discrete semiprime, 26. It is the fourth power of two.
- Sixteen is the only integer that equals mn and nm, for some unequal integers m and n (m = 4, n = 2, or vice versa). It has this property because 22 = 2 × 2. It is also equal to 32 (see tetration).
- 15 and 16 form a Ruth–Aaron pair under the second definition in which repeated prime factors are counted as often as they occur.
- Since it is possible to find sequences of 16 consecutive integers such that each inner member shares a factor with either the first or the last member, 16 is an Erd?s–Woods number. The smallest such range of 16 consecutive integers is from 2184 to 2200.
- In bases 20, 24 and 30, sixteen is a 1-automorphic number (displayed as the numeral ‘G’).
- 16 is a centered pentagonal number.
- 16 is the base of the hexadecimal number system, which is used extensively in computer science.
- 16 appears in the Padovan sequence, preceded by the terms 7, 9, 12 (it is the sum of the first two of these).
(isn’t wikipedia wonderful)
There was a time I used to know a bit about maths. But aliquot sums, composite numbers, discrete semiprimes, tetration, Ruth-Aaron pairs, consecutive integers, and the Padovan sequence mean nothing to me.
There was a time I didn’t know what it meant to be in love. But all that changed 16 years ago today. So that’s what 16 means to me. 16 years of being in love with, and being loved by the most beautiful girl I’ve ever known.
And I’ll take that over all the consecutive integers in the world.
Happy anniversary J. I love you and can’t think of anyone I’d rather spend an automorphic number of years with.
Philip Roth tries to correct an inaccuracy in the Wikipedia article about his own book:
Yet when, through an official interlocutor, I recently petitioned Wikipedia to delete this misstatement, along with two others, my interlocutor was told by the “English Wikipedia Administrator”—in a letter dated August 25th and addressed to my interlocutor—that I, Roth, was not a credible source: “I understand your point that the author is the greatest authority on their own work,” writes the Wikipedia Administrator—“but we require secondary sources.”
What fines do I have to pay if I return an item late?
We are easy going people. We do not have late fees/fines. A conscience box is located on the counter for you to make a donation for late items. Privileges may be temporarily suspended if items are a few months overdue. Please be courteous to fellow library users and bring your items back in a timely fashion.
I'm sure there are all sorts of complicated problems with doing away with late fines, but I do like the idea of fine-free libraries. One of those problems might be about how auditors would respond to the idea of a “conscience box” of cash on the counter. Of course what works for one particular library might not be a good fit for another. Needless to say, this post contains my personal views only.
NPR polled just over 75,000 people asking their favourite teen novels of all time.
And now, the final results are in. While it’s no surprise to see Harry Potter and the Hunger Games trilogy on top, this year’s list also highlights some writers we weren’t as familiar with. For example, John Green, author of the 2012 hit The Fault in Our Stars, appears five times in the top 100.
In fact, John Green has 4 books in the top 22. Yes, he deserves it. People like John Green, Scott Westerfeld, David Levithan might be household names within YA circles, but I think there are a whole lot of people who have never heard of them but would love their work.
Très bien. Now, please forgive us, but we must ask: would you rather read about a shooting, a bludgeoning, or a drowning?
Just like it says, Choose your Highsmith will ask a series of questions to help you decide which Patricia Highsmith book to read next. For what it's worth, I was asked the above question after choosing France as a setting. Mr Ripley anyone?
Here’s the historical graph of the usage of the words “vampires” “zombies” and “unicorns” over the last two hundred years:
I’m all for new cover art on classics, but this feels a touch too shameless.
Sexing Up the Classics for Teens – Entertainment – The Atlantic Wire.
Hugh Rundle has produced another thought provoking article, suggesting the current copyright system is doomed.
Librarians should not play along with this. Eli Neiberger told us earlier this year that our mission should be to ‘fight for the user’. Fighting for the user doesn’t mean signing petitions pleading with publishers to sell us their ebooks. It means looking for alternatives and spending your money with companies that do serve your communities needs properly. Show your community how to publish their own ebooks and bypass the publishers. Show your community how to curate their own newsfeeds using Twitter or Flipboard and cancel your subscriptions to crappy news aggregation databases. Refuse to subscribe to any service that requires your members to create a new account with the provider or an associated DRM software product. Question whether ALIA should really enshrine support for Copyright in its policy documents. Demand to know why IFLA opposes one of the few systems that could support the creation of cultural works without locking them down.
Winter is coming for the copyright slumlords. Make sure you rug up, and remember whose side you are on.
As Hugh knows, I’m closely involved with our library subscribing to a service that requires our members to create an account with a DRM product. That’s how we’re getting at least some popular ebooks into the library. I’ve read other arguments that we should boycott such providers so the publishers are forced to do it our way. I wouldn’t be surprised if the publishers preferred this – then they could just stop selling ebooks to libraries. The fact is, if we want some new release popular ebooks in the library (we can’t get them all), we’re currently forced to make some big compromises.
I’m going to try to guess what is in Hugh’s head and predict his response: that’s fine, let people buy ebooks at the cheap prices that will result when the copyright revolution hits. Libraries will need to reposition themselves as something other than popular fiction lending institutions if they are to survive.
The Book Show is a collection of artworks created by a group of artists inspired by one of their favorite book.
Lyman Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz by Jérémie Fleury
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein by Guillermo Gonzales
Fifty shades of Grey has been pulled from another US library:
“It’s quite simple — it doesn’t meet our selection criteria,” said Cathy Schweinsberg, library services director.
“Nobody asked us to take it off the shelves. But we bought some copies before we realized what it was. We looked at it, because it’s been called ‘mommy porn’ and ‘soft porn.’ We don’t collect porn.”
But…
Copies of “The Complete Kama Sutra” are available through the Cocoa Beach, Mims/Scottsmoor, Palm Bay and Titusville branches. Also up for grabs countywide: “Fanny Hill,” “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” “Fear of Flying,” “Tropic of Cancer” and “Lolita.”
So what makes “Fifty Shades of Grey” different?
“I think because those other books were written years ago and became classics because of the quality of the writing,” Schweinsberg said. “This is not a classic.”
So it’s been pulled because it’s porn? Or because it’s considered too poorly written to one day qualify as a “classic”?
the rural romance genre is growing at a phenomenal rate, with publishers estimating sales have tripled in the past four years. A uniquely Australian take on romance fiction, ”chook lit”, as it’s affectionately known, routinely outsells local popular fiction and crime.
Chook lit. Is that always going to be the thing now? We have to come up with some silly little catchy phrase to tag each sub-genre with?
(via Romance and rodeos rule as rural readers turn to ‘Chook lit’.)
