My Christmas Gift... A Tardis!

A Notable Hotel To Remember..

Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel, Atlantic City

I remember seeing this hotel as a child in the late 1970's in Atlantic City, N.J. I was utterly fascinated. It was built near Park Place in 1905 and demolished in 1979. The hotel was built in Spanish and Moorish themes.

Books: Bound To Last

Trying to hold the ipads and Kindles at bay, inveterate book lovers still cling to the notion that only the printed word is the real thing. Many writers are often the most guilty of the idea that a book is only a book when paper and ink are involved. Perhaps. But in this age of electronic transition, many of our best writers still hold a special affinity for that “real thing. “ And to many of them that “real thing” or “special book” is still a treasure. In, Bound to Last: 30 Writers on Their Most Cherished Book, Sean Manning has assembled 30 exquisite essays, by 30 different authors who come to the defense of the printed word with spirited, soul searching stories celebrating the “real thing” not necessarily because of its contents, but because of its significance as a one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable physical object. To each of these writers the meaning of this, “object” goes beyond what is contained within its printed page__there is memory and circumstances and feelings that can only be attached to a tangible object__like a “real book.” Bound To Last, is a passionate defense of the “art of the book.” Despite the diversity of essays its essential theme is that there is a sheer joy in knowing that this tangible object exists in the world. Moving electrons are hard to quantify and hold in the hand. A printed book is different, a tangible treasure. If you love the printed word Bound to Last is bound to please (pun intended). Contributors include: Ray Bradbury, Chris Abani, Rabih Alameddine, Anthony Doerr, Louis Ferrante, Nick Flynn, Karen Joy Fowler, Julia Glass, Karen Green, David Hajdu, Terrence Holt, Jim Knipfel, Shahriar Mandanipour, Sarah Manguso, Sean Manning, Joyce Maynard, Philipp Meyer, Jonathan Miles, Sigrid Nunez, Ed Park, Victoria Patterson, Francine Prose, Michael Ruhlman, Elissa Schappell, Christine Schutt, Jim Shepard, Susan Straight, J. Courtney Sullivan, Anthony Swofford, Danielle Trussoni, and Xu Xiaobin

Once Again The Librarian Seeks Adventure...

The Librarian can be seen fearlessly descending this water slide.

Smell This...

Gettin' Squirrely...

Big Sur - Portal Of The Sun

Sunrise Through the Portal

Assembly Required...

Books: Colonel Roosevelt

Roosevelt Riding A Moose

If your looking for a literary biography of Theodore Roosevelt, pick up the last in the series of three volumes by Edmond Morris entitled, Colonel Roosevelt. The previous two volumes, Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Rex were magnificent and Colonel Roosevelt is a fitting completion of a series of books that has fascinated me for years. Actually I have always been fascinated with Teddy Roosevelt, and have read several biographies, but I think Morris does the best job, at least in terms of comprehensiveness, literary quality and prose style. In reading anyone of these volumes you get the sense that you are in the hands of a master biographer, one who really understands his subject, as well as the period in which the subject lived. This is a biography that is packed with more adventure, drama and tragedy than most novels. It covers the last 10 years of Roosevelt’s life and is sad toward the end. But most of Roosevelt’s life wasn’t about sadness; it was about overcoming and inspiring others to overcome. In terms of sheer excitement not many presidents have lived a life like T.R. Let’s see… which president spoke multiple languages, wrote 40 books, hunted lions, and explored the Amazon River avoiding a cannibalistic tribe that stalked him. (see: Candice Millard’s book, The River of Doubt). And along the way he managed to read a book a day and answer all his correspondence by himself. He also took a .38 caliber slug from an assassin’s gun announcing, "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose” He then gave a 90 minute speech as blood stained his waistcoat. Quite a character!! I recommend reading all three of Morris’ books. Start from the beginning. It’s well worth the time and Morris is up to the task.

A Gratuitous Picture Of A Ferrari...

The Librarian spotted again out and about around town.

Books: Matterhorn

There have been good novels written about the Vietnam War, but Matterhorn, by Karl Marlantes is the first great one__literally, this is a great book. It’s like being dropped into a steaming jungle and ordered to storm a hilltop fortification, not once, not twice, but three times. You won’t be able to stop turning the pages and you will be sorry when it ends. Your guide is a novice lieutenant named Mellas. Your mission is to take one of the countless nameless hills near the Laotian border. Matterhorn as its called. Your purpose none, just senseless fighting__ purposeless futility. Bravo Company is ordered to take Matterhorn with great sacrifice and builds bunkers at the top, then the company is ordered to abandon their hilltop fortifications only to be ordered to take it again with even greater sacrifice and finally they ordered to abandon it again. Marlantes presents this absurdity with a stark reality that stings the reader with a vicarious sense of futility. There is a lot of gut wrenching brutal combat in this book, but it shows you what it was like, especially for those of us too young to remember. But there is more to Marlantes book than combat. Every aspect of the war is covered from the politics and the bureaucracy of the military to the nobility of camaraderie and brotherhood. Every character trait is on display, loyalty, disloyalty, love, hate, bravery, cowardice, intelligence and stupidity. But what actually makes this such a good book? Authenticity. It’s what it was like. If you are interested this is the book to read. Coming away from it you will appreciate those who sacrificed their lives here.

How Many Times Must I Tell You Grasshopper...

Cool Houses..

The Ferrari is parked in the back.

Cool Faces...

Perhaps...

Publishing Note: Errol Flynn: The True Adventures

For those interested in the very interesting life of Errol Flynn, a much anticipated biography, Errol Flynn: The True Adventures of a Real Life Rogue, by the late Lincoln Douglas Hurst, will be released shortly, perhaps in a few days.. What makes this one note-worthy is the breadth of knowledge about Flynn that Hurst brings to the table. Many books have been written about Flynn, including his own slanted autobiography, but few have actually analyzed Flynn’s complex personality carefully. It appears from early reports about the book that Flynn’s public persona of rogue did not always match his personal life. Hurst book promises to sort the fact from fiction. After I read it, I’ll will review.

Books: Day Of The Jackal

A friend asked me to recommend a good spy novel. At first I suggested any of John le Carre’s fine novels, but on second thought and because cause I was being asked to recommend the “best spy novel ever”__only one came to mind, at least to my mind and that would be: Frederick Forsyth’s, Day of the Jackal. Ah__ the”Jackal” the one man with a rifle that could change the course of history. Can any power on earth stop the “Jackal?” Well read the book. However, I can say, without being a spoiler, that Day of the Jackal is one of the most finely crafted and exciting novels, based on a true story, ever written. The Jackal is hired to assassinate Charles De Gaulle the president of France. He is an expert, ruthless, unstoppable and virtually undetectable. As the Jackal moves across Europe to position himself to stalk his prey, a brilliant French detective, Comissaire Lebel, who has almost divined the plot, stalks the killer move for move. The novel is well constructed, and moves from one scene to another with minimum of fuss in a linear line of no confusion. Forsyth’s details are exact, he names real names and he brings up contemporaneous political issues important at the time all the while wrapping it in a travelogue through geography and international politics. What’s brought forth is a harsh essentially is a world of casual calculated political plots. Forsyth makes every word count as the story moves to its climatic conclusion. The novel was also made into an excellent movie in 1973 starring Edward Fox, also a must see. So give yourself a treat__ the novel is the best espionage thriller ever__according to me.

Winter Starts To Brew In Yosemite

via David Craig

Fall Is Here....

via Beauty Hunter

Time Travel: 1940's London

Books: Magical Prague

Golem__to most he is a despicable creature from the Lord of the Rings, but actually Golem came out of the mythology of the ghettos of Prague, a mystical and menacing creature. Which is fitting since Golem like Prague posses a strange historical alchemy, a complexity that’s hard to fathom. A traveler can experience Prague, but to understand it is a different matter. There are not many good books in English about Prague and fewer great books, however one does hit the mark__Angelo Maria Repelino’s 1993 classic, Magical Prague. Repelino’s book goes far beyond being a mundane travel guide. Magical Prague is a blend of history and travelogue, combined with literary and art criticism wrapped in a personal essay. And even in translation from the Italian, it reads well. Repelino extracts from Prague, its mystery and ambiguity. He uses melodrama, ghost stories, facts, fiction and barroom tales to evoke the essence of this Bohemian capital. Prague and Repelino are perfect partners. Prague offers mystery and complexity and Repelino the skilled interpretation. Repelino he takes the reader on a “magical tour”, so to speak. Unfortunately, Magical Prague is out of print, but a used copy can be found on Amazon or in a library. So if you are interested in this part of the world, its history, people and culture, Repelino’s book is worth the read. None better.

Recommended Destination: Prague

Prague's Vinohrady District

Decoration...

Books: Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

So what’s the deal with Steig Larson’s Millennium Trilogy? Why is it so popular? These books are long, slow paced, filled with radical politics and poorly translated from Swedish. Sales for these books have reached 45 million worldwide and three movies have been made. Admittedly I have only read one, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but from what I read the following novels are even longer and much the same. I also must admit I am captivated by this novel, couldn’t put it down and will probably read the next, The Girl Who Played with Fire. Plus I have a hankering to see the movie. “Good Grief.” Well it didn’t take much soul searching to figure it out. It’s the character, Lisbeth Salander. She’s fascinating__ a 20 something enigmatic sexually kinky, tattooed and pierced computer hacker who also happens to be a mathematical genius. Salander and her partner Mikael Blomkvist a left wing investigative reporter, inhabit an edgy and violent world and set out to undermine the corrupt Swedish system. It’s remarkable how Larson is able to provoke sympathy for this violent anti-hero. She has been abused so much by those around her and Swedish society. It seems only fitting she should lash out. All this pent up anger is acted out in a complex plot that lumbers slowly at times as Larson goes into excruciating detail about a genealogy or a government agency. Corruption in government and business are major themes in this book. But wanting to know what Salander will do next makes you want to read on. This character makes these books work and is why these books are such a phenomenon. Salander is easily the most interesting fictional character in a decade. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a combination intellectual thriller mixed with a touch of goth and gobs of high tech.

Books: The Hard Way Around

Spray, Slocum's Boat.

Who is Joshua Slocum? I asked three friends, none knew. Could be my company? Perhaps, but Mr. Slocum’s exploits happened a while back, 1895 to be precise. Slocum or Captain Slocum as he was known, was the first person to circumvent the globe, live to tell about it and publish a best selling memoir called, Sailing Alone Around the World. (1900). Sailing Alone won him widespread fame throughout the world and he became known as the “American Sinbad”, even though he couldn’t swim. Slocum long forgotten by those not part of the seafaring crowd has now been brought back to life in Geoffrey Wolff’s recently released biography, The Hard Way Around: The Passages of Joshua Slocum. Slocum was a “interesting character” and Wolff does a good job of bringing Slocum’s life into a realistic perspective without losing the sense of adventure that Slocum inspired in his own day. Even though Wolff’s book is a roaring tale of hardship and sea adventure it is also and more importantly a story about the end of the glorious age of sail, and the passing of an era of genuine heroes. Wolff’s book is more though than an adventure story, it is also a literary biography. Something that has also passed out of fashion I think. Slocum’s personality was complex and Wolff handles this well, piecing the events of his life together carefully, but in at a pace fast enough to keep the story moving. Eventually Slocum went mad and was arrested for rape on a reduced to a charge of indecent exposure. He spent 42 days in jail. In 1909 Slocum set sail for the West Indies and was never heard from again? It is presumed he was lost at sea, but that’s not certain. So if you would like to read a true story that is a cross between a Patrick O’Brien novel and Robert Lewis Stevenson novel you have found the book.

Books: Cleopatra: A Life

I’m constantly surprised by the quality of books coming out lately. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff, is a meticulously researched and exciting biography about one of the most mysterious woman in history. Cleo, if I may be so bold, has fascinated and baffled historians for centuries. There has been a lot of guess work and a lot of mythology about Cleopatra. Her life was short less than 40 years, but her influence in her day was great and her reputation in history is mythological. Who better to sort things out than one on the finest biographers writing? And what a job she does. Schiff is magnificent here. She has excavated rare historical facts and has infused them with a particular brand of erudition not often found in modern biographers. Much of historical biography today is often interpreted through a filter of modern day sentiment and ideas. What British historian Herbert Butterfield called, “The Whig Interpretation of History.”

Such a method warps the past in terms of the present. Cleopatra in particular is buried under centuries of lies and it takes someone of Schiff’s caliber to set things straight. In this biography Cleopatra becomes historically real as well as the characters that surrounded her. What emerges is a picture of Cleopatra who combined sexual intrigue with political astuteness to influence her lavish court as well as the era in which she lived. Her subtly of personality and her relationship with Antony helped forge an empire that would ultimately lead to her doom. Cleopatra: A Life may also be read as a general history of the era__an added bonus from a fine writer. It’s refreshing to see a biographer of an ancient figure return to the classical sources. Highly recommended.

Books: Fall Of The Giants

I never could resist a fat book. So when I saw Ken Follett’s 985 page, Fall of the Giants, I couldn’t resist. I was expecting a good long story to get lost in, but what I found was that and even more. Fall of the Giants, is a novel full of historical accuracy and well developed characters. Follett has a unique way of drawing the reader into a very tactile portrait of the past. The story is intimate and detailed yet grand and sweeping at the same time__ quite a unique achievement. The plot follows the lives of five families during WWI and the Russian Revolution. Connections, interconnections, political intrigue, illicit love and conspiracies abound everywhere. This a complex book and as they say, “size doesn’t matter”, but when writing a book this size it does because it can become very unwieldy. Especially in tying plot lines together and moving the narrative forward at least in a way that keeps readers interested. Follett pulls it off well. There are no boring passages, and no political grand standing. Something refreshing in the fiction I have been reading lately. Is this literature? No. Is it a grand and good read? Yes. Be warned this is a sweeping novel that will pull you in and put you into another time and place. And it’s long and takes a lot of time to read. The thing is it’s only the first in a series…

Typical Librarian's Muscle Car...

The Fiat 126 provides an exciting ride with ample room for the librarian's books in the back.

The Librarian Going To Work..

The Librarian has recently gotten an urge to ride to the library on one of these. A Honda CBR 1000rr

Books: Cole Porter

Cole Porter wrote some of the most sophisticated and witty music ever written. His melodies and lyrics charmed a generation. Many assumed that his life was a happy romp through high society. This idea got further reinforcement when his life was depicted in the 1946 movie, Night and Day starring Cary Grant as Porter. His public persona: rich, sophisticated, happy go lucky and in love with a beautiful wife. In reality Porter preferred men for his intimate relationships and also suffered from a debilitating medical condition he acquired after a horse he was riding fell on his legs and crushed his thigh- bones. This eventually led to osteomyelitis, a painful and stubborn bone infection that then led to an alcohol and narcotic addiction. Porter suffered silently before the public for 25 years until his death in 1964. Remarkably during this period he wrote some of his most memorable music. I didn’t know any of this until I came upon William McBrien’s book, Cole Porter (2000). I told a friend this and he said, “Haven’t you ever seen the film De-Lovely with Kevin Kline?” Ah no. Missed it. He told me to see the movie and I told him to read the book. He was not impressed and said the book was 10 years old. Regardless of this book’s publication date it is an impressively researched biography that deserves a read. McBrien is meticulous in the way he recreates Porter’s high society life, his love affairs and his pain. What emerges is a stunning portrait of a talented man who in spite of his physical and emotional pain was able to produce some of the best and sophisticated popular music ever written. McBrien’s book shows just how complicated life can become. As Cole Porter wrote: “Is it the good turtle soup, or is it merely the mock?”

Books: Built On Books

Ever been affected by what you read? Most of us have, but what about some of the great authors? What did they read and how did this affect their writing and their life? This is the premise behind the book, Built on Books: How Reading Defined the Life of Oscar Wilde (2009), by Thomas Wright. Wright spent 20 years reading his way through Wilde’s personal library, embarking on a fascinating adventure of discovery and speculation. His conclusion is that Wilde actually built his life out of the books he read. His library was his reality. The books he read were as important to his life as his family, friends or lovers. From this library he derived the intellectual culture that infuses his writing. Wilde’s eclectic library contained about 2000 volumes along with magazines, periodicals and scrapbooks. The entire collection was sold at auction in 1895 to resolve his debts after he was convicted and sentenced for “gross indecency.” The auction was actually the real “gross indecency.” The items were sold to a voracious crowd of antique dealers and curiosity seekers at knock down prices. A fist-fight even broke out at the sale. The police had to be called. Wright was able to piece the library’s contents by looking at the surviving auctioneers list. Wright does an interesting job of weaving Wilde’s life in and through the books he was reading at any given point in his life. I’ve never seen a biography quite put together this way, but it seems to work. The only negative for me was that there was a bit of over speculation on Wright’s part. But who knows maybe his speculations are correct. Either way this book approaches Wilde’s life from a unique perspective.

Books: Voltaire, The Almighty

Voltaire could never accept any form of orthodoxy. He was a thinker who followed his own rules whether it was in his philosophy, his plays, his romantic life or his politics. I think whether one admires Voltaire or not depends on what aspect of Voltaire’s thinking one happens upon. Recently a new biography came out about Voltaire, called simply, Voltaire, by Ian Davidson, essentially it’s Voltaire’s life cobbled together from his own letters and journals. This type of biography is valuable in one sense as it is draws from primary documents, however such an approach can also render a distorted view of a historical personality. If you are interested in getting to know Voltaire better I think Roger Pearson’s, 2005 book, Voltaire the Almighty might be a better choice. Pearson’s biography offers a more grounded look at Voltaire’s long and often troubled life. He focuses on Voltaire’s philosophical love of liberty, which drove much of his thinking and his life. Pearson’s work is not too academic or too technical. It will hold your interest, especially if you are someone who had been exposed to Voltaire’s writing or philosophical ideas. Here is a book that looks at the “brew,” so to speak, from which Voltaire’s ideas were formed and the events that made him one of the most important figures of the French Enlightenment. Voltaire was born, Francois Marie Arouet, an illegitimate child who all through his life pursed the nobility that he so savaged in his writings. He was a complex character, brilliant, yet elusive. What made him tick? I think Pearson’s book does a good job in unraveling the mystery. Davidson’s, Voltaire is best read after one has read a less one-sided look at Voltaire’s life, i.e Voltaire’s own interpretation of his own life. Pearson’s has also written, Voltaire in Exile,(2006) but I have not read. The reviews for it are favorable, so you might want to give this book a look also. Oh, don’t forget to look at some of Voltaire’s famous quotations, most of them gems. Examples: “Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung”, “Behind every successful man stands a surprised mother-in-law.” and finally, “I have lived eighty years of life and know nothing for it, but to be resigned and tell myself that flies are born to be eaten by spiders and man to be devoured by sorrow.”__Voltaire

Techno Lust..

New MacBook Air. I want one.

The Librarian Comes Out Of the Sea..

A gratuitous pic posted for those of you longing for summer as it wanes. I know on Halloween I rather be on a sunny warm beach. East coast weather is so eck this time of the year!

Could This Be A Librarian Contemplating Collection Development Over A Bowel Of Spaghetti And Wine?

My Hero: Marcello Mastroianni

Short Review

Being a librarian, I was asked recently by a relative to recommend a short list of entertaining books to read, excluding anything infected by my boring tastes. Well.. how do you like that? The nerve. After getting over the initial shock of the insult I got right to the matter at hand, as any librarian can’t resist a list of good books. Here is what I recommended, considering this person is young and wants to read significant contemporary books. “No arcane authors in Latin or boring history,” was my charge:

The Watchers, Dean Koontz: Supernatural thriller like only Koontz could write, involving genetic manipulation that creates two extraordinary animals. Frightening, but exciting, page-turner that may keep you awake.

The Life of Pi, by Yan Martel: Fable like story about the adventures of a 16 year-old son of a zookeeper who takes 227 day wild ride on a freighter packed with animals through shark infested waters. Fabulous tale of ritual and self discovery.

Fly On The Wall, E. Lockhart: Story about a teenager Gretchen Yee who becomes a “fly on the wall” in the boys locker room and learns a lot about boys and life. Belief must be suspended for this one, but a good read full of lessons.

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson: A spellbinding combination of murder, mystery, family saga, love, and financial intrigue. Themes include violence, capitalism, and responsibility.

Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell Well I couldn’t resist adding something with a touch of history. This is an intellectual thriller involving the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. What you say? It’s a rare manuscript. In the story it contains codes that lead to buried treasure.

The Librarian's Breakfast..

Indulgence in morning.

Wild Ride and Rough Landing

Ever had a flight that felt like this? "Everyone have their seat belts on!"

MoMA's iPhone App

When I’m in New York City one of my favorite places to visit is the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). So I was excited to see that MoMA had released a free app for the iPhone/iPod Touch. I downloaded and installed and was not disappointed. Wow it’s actually pretty good! Now I can carry MoMA with me where ever I go. Literally, this is quite an app, you can search tens of thousands of works in the museum’s collection and get a fine picture and a good bit of a detailed description. If you want you can browse by floors, take a picture of a work of art or take a multimedia tour. There’s even an option to email the picture you took to a friend turning it into a postcard. This feature is obviously for rubbing it in and making a friend jealous__”see where I am.” It’s also obvious that this app can be used as a guide of the building when you are actually down at 11 West 53^rd Street. The app also includes a calendar of MoMa’s upcoming exhibitions, and the ability to create a personalized play list of music to accompany you as you browse the halls. Good job MoMA!

An Idea: the National Digital Library

British Digital Library Logo

Can you imagine the Library of Congress being digital? That’s right no books, no journals, no paper. What would the building look like? Would it even have a building? Or would it be just a server that sat in a closet? Frighteningly it would probably be a series of servers linked together and dependent on a tenuous supply of electricity. The NDL or the National Digital Library would have no place, it would be everywhere at once via the Internet. All the printed knowledge we have accumulated freely accessible to homes, schools, offices, to anybody. Sounds great, but is it just wide eyed utopianism? The idea of the NDL has started to be seriously bantered about. The idea is afoot. And the seed for the NDL has already been planted in the NDLP (National Digital Library Program of the Library of Congress). However this program only deals with digitizing materials about the history and culture of the United States. But could an all-inclusive NDL be created? One containing all published books and journals? Other countries are trying to do it. The Dutch for instance are digitizing every Dutch book. And after all Google is digitizing everything, so it seems. Sounds great, sounds easy, just warm up the scanners. But wait a minute such a concept is actually extraordinarily complex. What about the publishers and their infamous copyright restrictions and licenses. If you were a librarian like me, you would know these fellows mean business. They don’t like their copyrights and licensees violated. This is what is known as the legal obstacles. And what about the technological obstacles? And how could you marshal the political support to fund such a project? Hmm I’m starting to sound negative. I was also thinking, an NDL wouldn’t be as egalitarian as it sounds because not everyone has access to the Internet. And doesn’t a single pipeline to all knowledge make it vulnerable? That all being said, I am actually in favor of the NDL and think it’s be doable. And actually as a librarian I get kind of excited about it. The most important thing needed in order to make it doable is a strong public sentiment in favor of such a project. Once the will is there the other pieces, legal, logistical and technological will fall into place, albeit I would guess, with a lot of fits and starts. The most difficult task then lies not with legal and technological, but with creating the desire and motivation for it.

iMac Wallpaper

Rick asked me to post the wallpaper I'm currently using on my iMac, so he could use it. Here it is..

Tech Stuff: The First Acceptable iphone Battery Extender

Mophie Juice Pack Air This is the first battery extender I have seen for the iphone that extends battery life for nearly twice that of the iphone alone and adds no extra bulk or weight. It sells for about $56.00 on Amazon.

Books: iWoz

Without the Woz, would we still be using slide rulers__perhaps? But there is a greater story here, one about an engineering genius, the Woz, who hatched an idea 30 years ago and how that idea shaped his personal journey and developed into the behemoth company we know today as Apple. I was an early adopter of Apple products__ loved them from the start. So I was excited to see this book published in 2006, (yes my review is a little late, but I didn’t have a blog then), appropriately entitled, IWoz, Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented The Personal Computer, Cofounded Apple and Had Fun Doing It. And that about sums it up. He invented, cofounded and had fun. Plus he is an icon. There is something special about the Woz, something likable not found in other founders__no names mentioned please. It’s rare that two complimentary geniuses, Wozniak and Jobs, would meet and be able to see their vision through. In doing so we all benefited. As you read the book Wozniak’s personality and way of thinking become apparent and you see how he was able to create the personal computer as we know it today. I won’t describe everything that takes place in the book, but three points emerge that the reader takes away: first that Wozniak developed the Apple II computer on his own and without the help of Jobs, secondly he never left Apple’s employ, he is still officially an employee, and thirdly he never had a falling out with Jobs, they remain friends to this day. The book then ends with encouragement for other young inventors to see their dreams through to their completion. It’s good to have Wozniak’s side of the story in his own words rather than an interpretation of that story through the eyes of others and the many books that have been written about Apple. Is this book worth reading? Why pick it up? Yes definitely so. Why? Hey the Woz__is the man who invented the personal computer__ no kidding. Oh by the way, visit: woz.org

This Is The New Case For My iPhone

Some of you asked to see it. Cool isn't it! (Speck ToughSkin Case)

The Librarian's Life...

Undoubtedly the librarian has parked his Ferrari 250 GTE in front of his favorite winery.

Essence Of Bel Canto

Sadly, Joan Sutherland died on October 10th at her house in Switzerland. Somehow I wish she could have used her voice box for another 100 years. It seems such a waste to possess such a tremendous talent and only get to use it for 83 years. To say her voice was magnificent is obvious and has been said many times over. But if you were lucky enough to hear one of her performances the obvious actually became a tonal reality. The same experience was true of Luciano Pavarotti. It was just shocking that someone could be born with such a large voice, almost as if it were a freak of nature gone pleasantly right. Sutherland was the best coloratura soprano of the 20^th century. Of course that’s my opinion, but I think it’s true. Her voice was large, beautiful and technically perfect. Beyond that she could do all sorts of trills and renderings of lyrical phrases that were perfect. She sung in a wide range from low G to well above a high C without the least sign of effort or strain. She exhibited no contortions of the face or destruction of intonation or heaving of the chest. Instead she exhibited only the emotions and dramatic presence needed. Take a listen sometime to her singing of the “Mad Scene, in “Lucia di Lammermoor.” In other words, she made it look effortless and the stunned listener could only say, “wow.” To touch true beauty is rare in life, because it is a transcendent virtue not easily quantified, but only experienced. Sometimes a voice can transport us there, but ultimately that voice is a reflection of the artist’s soul and a brief reflection of the face of God. Thanks, “La Stupenda.”

Art: Lord Frederic Leighton

Dadedalus and Icarus

I first came upon Lord Frederic Leighton (1830-1896), when a friend told me about an opulent house/museum belonging to Leighton that he visited on a recent trip to London. Leighton was a Victorian painter much in favor during his lifetime, who fell into derision and then was rediscovered, or should I say, re-appreciated some 70 years after his death. Leighton painted many portraits and landscapes, but his best works are of historical and classical themes.There is a fantastic quality about Leighton’s paintings. The works seem to pull historical themes out of the past and push them at the viewer. The colors are almost over saturated with rich tones that have a distinct vibrancy. All his paintings are characterized by a certain nobility of concept and a perfection of draftsmanship not seen in many of artists of the British School. His figures have a distinct attitude of dignity and gesture. In other words, Leighton painted “beauty.” That is why looking at his paintings is so pleasing. His forms are perfect, the bodies and landscapes beautiful. Critics believe that Leighton’s genius can best be seen in his sketches, which contain an essence of spiritual beauty and subtlety of expression that often doesn’t make it to his finished works. These sketches are numerous, highly regarded and often prized above some of his paintings. The man himself, lived as he painted, surrounding himself with beauty and opulence, filling his house with sumptuous but somewhat ostentation art and decoration. According to accounts by contemporaries, he was genial and courtly and welcomed into all societies. The irony about Leighton is that he had the shortest lived peerage in history. He was awarded it on January 24^th and died the next day. His house, by the way, can be seen via a virtual tour on the Internet at the Leighton House Museum website.

Beauty In A Berry

Goji Berries

The Sleek Body Of the Contemporary Librarian

This cataloger cools down after an intense day of pouring over MARC records.

Wow! You Better Watch It If You Drink This Stuff At Night

This is a perfect example of how language can evolve in a short time.

Observations: The Pent Up Librarian

Did you know the British Library has a Special Operations Division? Well not really. But in the anime R.O.D (Read or Die) it does. It’s where Yokimo Readman aka Agent Paper works. She works in a library and by the by occasionally saves the world. Now this concept of a special operations division in a library appeals to me. It plays to my sense of bookish adventure. The concept of the librarian/adventurer has surfaced in a few fairly recent movies and at least one TV show(Buffy). The Librarian Quest for the Spear appeared in 2004 starring Noah Wyle as a likeable, yet bumbling Indian Jones type librarian. Apparently, the concept was well received and followed by the 2008 sequel, The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice. I’m suspicious though that the ratings numbers were artificially skewed by a huge hoard of “adventure depraved vicarious seeking librarians.” Ever seen on of them? Give wide berth. And yes it takes that many adjectives to describe one. Perhaps you think__ “ha I’ve seen one of those” and you think of the demure glasses clad librarian just bursting with pent up erotic potential. Mind out of the gutter please. I’m speaking of the hero/librarian here not the nymph/librarian. The only thing these two have in common is the ‘pent up” factor. A friend once asked me if all librarians were, ‘pent up.” I said, “yes, how did you know” while looking as crazed as possible. He took two steps back. Anyway the concept or even the remote conception of a librarian as a hero seems to have caught on, at least among “pent up librarians.” At first I thought the adventuring librarian concept might be new and novel, a creation of mocking Hollywood script writers, but it turns out that the idea is not without precedent. Who but the man himself, Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt, was a librarian. Yes Casanova a book stamping tight assed librarian. Who would have thought? Goes to show ya. You never know what your librarian does at night. I think this is a good thing this new found hero role lets off some of that dangerous “pent up steam” that all librarians carry around bottled up inside.