Rumor Control

There are some things I need to address. I’m not crazy, at least not in the standard scientific definition, but I am just a tad odd. I’ll agree to that fully, and with no help from my peers.

Here are some explanations, that may help (if needed) to describe my oddness.

Cover of Eric Idle

Two of ME?

To quote Eric Idle, ‘There is only me, sir.’ Growing up I spent an inordinate amount of time alone. I learned to keep myself company, and occupied. On the weekends, my step-brothers were around, and things were hectic. During the week, I was left to my own defenses, which, slap in the middle of rural PA as we were, I had lots of fun being me. I still do.

Compile this with the fact that I have an extremely odd sense of humor, and you might get that I’ve developed another personality. The fact is, however, much less scary.

It’s just that, from my point of view, I sometimes giggle at things that only I understand and possibly get. So, it is rather like I have inside jokes with myself, I guess, but- well, excluding that part of my mind that is The Rogue DJ, there is only me.

Who IS Bob, Anyway?

There are two Bob’s in my life. One is my trusty Brother-In-Law; the other is my pet skull.

I borrowed Bob from some acquaintances a few years back for a Halloween display. It turns out that Bob has a head for library work (ahem!) So, as I changed offices Bob always came along.

Bob is currently working on his memoirs, and takes calls and other menial but essential tasks for me throughout the day. He’s a great brainstormer, and helps me with my programming ideas and sometimes is rather quick with those tricky lexical gaps.

Robert H. “Bob" Yorick is always at work. If you come by say hello.

English: Young bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) in their nest. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Giant Mole/Vole

Yes, we’ve been doing some excavation in our back yard for the pool. So, after a day of delving, our pool workers discovered a small foundation. It was easily removed, and leveling and the other pre-pool necessities went on as usual.

When I returned home, I went out to the backyard to return some tools to my shed, and admire the diggings. The huge excavation was covered in a large black tarp, and held down in places with the bits of old cinder block  that had formerly made up the well house or fish pond.

As I was looking on, a large bump appeared at one end and rapidly made progress under the tarp from one side to the other.

Please keep in mind that I am a Monster Fan, and that I’ve desensitized myself with countless Monster Movies. However, that bump running around under my pool guy’s tarp scared me. I admit it freely. My mind raced as I tried to figure out of it was a cat or a neighbor dog or a rather large and ferocious rodent of some kind.

After the moment of cold-sweated panic passed, and I realized that rather than an animal or mutant of some kind, it was rather, the wind, I began to chuckle at myself (see above section, for questions of duality) and breathed a patient, if not an altogether brave sigh of relief and went inside.

Later, as we were bringing our doggies for walkies, Micki complained that some creature had dug up her stone flower pots at the end of our front walk. “Darned voles” she said.

Well, I said there’s a giant mole in the backyard under the tarp. “Vole”, she said.

Rodents is rodents. Even the giant ones.

Funny, I still get the heeby-jeebies just thinking about a big rodent.

Maybe it was the blog post I read by my friend Rich Powell, with the ‘giant woodchucks... big as rhinos’. Maybe. For more of Gill McFinn and his huge woodchucks, see here.

http://blog.gillmcfinns.com/2013/03/attacked.html

See? I’m not that weird? Right? RIGHT?

Pottery Slam 2013 [Director's Cut]

[This is the original uncut version that I wrote, including some more personal thoughts. It's not the version on the website, so if you've read that, this has more juice, as they say! Enjoy!]

In the Beginning...
When I took the Teen Services position last Fall, I had some good ideas for programming tucked away in my ‘Big Idea’ brainstorming book. I felt good about my start, and worked to build ideas with the young people of our community in mind.

A colleague suggested I do a ‘Poetry Slam!; a program where you hold a poetry reading for the young people in your community to come to the library and share their spoken word, rap and so on. While I loved this idea, it has been a very common program throughout libraries across the state and country and, in my opinion had been just a bit overdone. Add to that point that I had no intention of doing something so typical for my first big program. I wanted to knock the communities collective socks off, and impress the bosses too.
When the lightning struck, it was at the very end of the day and I was clearing out my inbox and tidying up my to-do list. There was an email from the local arts guild mentioning some important information about local potters.
Randolph County has some of the most talented potters in the world, and as a result are world renown for their skills. Why not have a pottery slam? Instead of having teens come to the library to make poetry, why not have them come to the library to make pottery with a few of these famous potters?
And that’s how it all started.
How to Plan a Library Program...
Programming for most librarians is a very delicate thing. You’ve got to have 75% ingenuity in marketing and 25% luck. The luck part is typically out of your hands. The weather could turn bad, or the time and date of the program may interfere with other community programming, which inadvertently supersedes the library and leaves the librarian scratching their head in wonder.
For me, initially,  coming up with the basic framework concept, naming it and inviting the participants, scheduling and planning  took enough time and effort that the program itself got pushed from late January to mid-February, which required me to throw together another program for January, so I could hit my personal goal of ‘at least one program for teens per month’.
However, soon enough, I had my participants informed, had the date and time set, and began my marketing campaign.
How to Market a Library Program...

Facebook, Facebook, Facebook!
Between encouraging my patrons to ‘LIKE’ the Randolph County Public Library Facebook page to get updates, contacting local news organizations and creating posters and handouts ready, and my regular non-programming duties, like buying books, staying up on the most important topics of the day concerning teens and reference duties, visiting the schools and talking up the library and it’s role in the community with plugs for the Pottery Slam!; marketing the program became a real campaign.
There are only so many ways to get the information out there. Once I did the basics, along with word of mouth and social media tactics, I had to hope that someone would notice.
On the Friday Before...
When friends and colleagues began to whisper about snow, I clenched my jaw and tried not to listen. Weather is one of those uncontrollable factors in library programming. In one of my other auxiliary duties, I do a bi-monthly screening of popular movies. Sometimes these are well attended, but sometimes they’re not. Usually, weather is a big factor.
However temperatures were in the mid-sixties that day, so I went home hopeful that the Pottery Slam would not be affected by inclement weather.
The Big Day Arrives... White.


Early Saturday morning, peeking between the blinds, I saw snow, and my heart sank. The Pottery Slam! was not set to begin until noon, but if roads were slippery or if the snowfall was too deep, my potters and my patrons would be no-shows. For hours, I hemmed and hawed about whether or not to postpone my program. However, in the end, with a little help from my director, I emailed my potters, and posted a confirmation of our Facebook Page: “Hey Teens! We are still having the Pottery Slam! Today... at 12 pm. See you at Asheboro Public Library!”
Better than I Ever Hoped...

When the potters arrived, unperturbed by the snow, and began to set up, the only fear I had was that none of my teen patrons would show. The really wonderful thing about the weather that day was that regardless of how hard it snowed, and it snowed hard, none of it stuck. The roads were only wet.
As the kids and their folks arrived, (and many came through that day, to my surprise) I realized that my program was a success.
How to be a Good Potter...

I don’t know how to be a potter. However, from what I saw of my three potters on that day, there are three things you need to be a good potter.
1. You have to be a good teacher.
2. You have to be patient and encouraging,
3. You have to be willing to put up with a nervous librarian.
All three potters, Adam Wiley, Betsy Browne and Joseph Sand just took over. They worked their magic and helped others to learn how as well. Aside from wondering out of the room periodically, to look at the snow and check for more patron participants, All I did was mill about and take pictures. As the young people circulated through the different stations, creating their own pottery, I saw another wonderful, but unexpected side effect occurring. Moms and Dads also sat down by the wheel and made some pottery, getting into the fun of it with their kids.

In the End...
I couldn’t have hoped for a better day. Loads of people made loads of pottery which will be glazed and fired and put on display, before I give the pieces back to their makers.
The program fulfilled several aspects that all teen programs should seek to attain. It was hands on;; it involved members of the community who will make an unforgettable impression; and it was fun.
I was lucky that my program managed to hit all of these and more.
And on top of it all, with the help of Adam Wiley and the Randolph County Community College’s pottery department, the pots were all fired and are now on display!

Special Thank You’s
This program would not have been a success without Adam, Betsy and Joseph; thanks guys for all you did!
Andrew Johnson who helped cut out extra cardboard squares right before we ran out.

The Evolution of Audiophilia

Years ago, we had records. ( I faintly remember 8 tracks, but oh that was a long time ago for this boy). I was small then, and the tape was slowly becoming popular. I can remember a time when the record store was still viable and people actually went there and hung out. Then, when tapes took over we all watched the tiny shiny frisbees slowly evolve.
I remember the first ‘studio pressing’ golden Compact Discs in the late 80’s. Now, even the CD has begun to be pushed out by the mp3 and online music stores with catalogs trillions deep.
Most of my CD collection has been ripped onto my hard drive along with entire collections from my wife and father in law. It’s vast, topping off at about 35,000 songs including audio books, 20,000 without counting the books.
The funny thing about my collection is that it is, in its entirety, made out of complete albums. Until the recent past holidays, I never bought just one song for ninety-nine cents.
I have always thought that a CD or album or tape or real-to-real or 8 track from an artist was created to tell a story of sorts. Like a book of poems, it was up to the listener to come up with the details, but the whole album was thoughtfully constructed with the listener in mind. Why not listen to the whole thing? Didn’t we owe it to ourselves to do just that, after spending about $10 on them?
Right, so you’re thinking ‘what about mix tapes?’. Well, once tapes got rolling, you could sit next to your boom box and start recording your favorite song when the DJ played it on the radio. Later boom boxes were manufactured with two tape players.  One would record while the other played. You could switch out one side all day and make various completely unique compilations for your GF or BF to be romantic, wild or just plain awesome.
You could copy your friend’s latest tape too. The one you couldn’t afford.
I remember one time, I made a copy of a friend’s Led Zeppelin IV tape and wore it out. Then made another copy.
Since cars didn’t typically have CD players in them,  you could record your favorite CDs on your HiFi and listen in the tape deck in your Bonneville or Le Baron.
So then cars upgraded to CD players and more recently auxiliary ports, for cable that go right to your smartphone or mp3 player. Now, our boys can jack into the car stereo system and play their favorite loud ‘Screamo’ or ‘Alternative’ rock. Since they were right on the fringe of CDs morphing out in favor of mp3s, It seems that all three boys still prefer to listen to an entire album, like my generation. However, it’s become obvious that most music consumers now only buy a single song from a artist that they like and have large collections made up of one shots, rather than whole studio productions. As I said, this was sort of taboo for me. Sure, I bought ‘singles’ from albums that were getting airplay but not released yet, just to tide me over, but like the ‘special features’ link on DVD’s they often only left you feeling agonizingly keen anticipation, rather than satisfaction.

The Rolling Stones Live at Leeds Roundhay Park, 1982

Which brings me to the point of this post. Just before Christmas, when Google Play was giving away a free ‘surprise item’ every day, I was able to get the Stones’ ‘Beast of Burden’ live from Leeds Roundhay Park from 1982. I love the Stones, and though I was pretty sure I didn’t have the cash to buy the whole album, I jumped on the free download in full swell of the Holiday Spirit.
So last week I was listening to The Story with Dick Gordon, from APM and heard the interview Dick had with Gregory Porter.
Porter has an amazingly anachronistic voice, and his band is very tight. I like Jazz, so I decided to check out some excerpts from his latest album, ‘Be Good’. Of course, I loved it.
So I hemmed and hawed over buying the whole album for 9.99, which is really quite reasonable. And for the first time in my audiophilia ridden life, I only bought three of the songs. Well, if we don’t evolve with the times, then we’ll be lost. As soon as I can afford it, though, I’ll buy the rest of the album.

Great Responsibility

Soviet tanks face U.S. tanks at Checkpoint Charlie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

During the height of the Cold War, there were certain people whose sole responsibility was to monitor the Soviet’s nuclear weapons, so that we would not wind up as radioactive ash in the wind. They too, had folks assigned to keep a hawk eye on us.
No one wanted nuclear war. We had really powerful weapons but everyone collectively hoped that neither side would use them. And, so far, no one has.
When I was little, everyone was still talking about Communism, and the Soviet Union was still our Great Enemy, and we were still hanging around waiting for the ‘big one’ when some nut case in their military complex had a breakdown and pushed the launch button.
I can still remember the Duck and Cover song they taught us in school to help us remember what to do when the bombs came. Not that hiding under my desk would save me from the blast. That safety measure was about as helpful as a seat cushion that doubles as a floatation device when my plane is crashing over Kansas.
Still, eminent destruction was always in the back of our minds. We were programed that way. We placed our hope in the responsibility of our leaders. Hoping that ultimately none of them was a nutcase who secretly wished for nuclear war.
Today, the Soviet Union has dissolved, the chief threat of Communism is lead in their paint, and trying hard not buying Cuban cigars.
Now, our main enemy resides among us, in the form of violence against one another. It’s become such a threat, that once again we’re having to learn new programming. We’re having to begin to think about the possibility of being shot to death in our homes, schools and workplaces. Police officers are trained now, to deal with loan shooters. Everyone has to know what to do, in case a person with bad wiring comes to work and decides to kill people. It’s like Duck and Cover, only the chances seem much more likely to be assaulted by a shooter, than it ever did for nuclear bombs.
Some people want to make this new reality about the availability of weapons to nutcases. Some people want to make this about the weapons themselves. Some think that the issue is violence being so prevalent in entertainment. And some think that it is rampant sin. There are tons of ideas as to what the root cause of this threat is, and lots of ideas about how to solve it. But there are no real solutions.
The real issue is not that there are guns to be had by loonies. Certainly, loonies can get hold of guns. But if we limit their availability in any way, those who are not loonies that wish to own weapons will cry foul.
So, then, what is the solution?
During the Cold War, we were taught to believe in our particular side, and remain vigilant against the enemy. We collectively stared threateningly at the Soviets, and they stared back, both of us realizing that we had big thunder to back up our respective ideologies. But both sides had done enough testing, understood enough about the destruction, the horror and the evisceration of human life that would result from those bombs, that neither one would be irresponsible with them.
That responsibility is what we lack today. We don’t care if you own guns, and we don’t care if you use them to defend your home or hunt game, or use them recreationally in other ways. It’s your right to own a weapon. If you have bad wiring and the person in the cubicle next to yours won’t stop popping their chewing gum and one day you go looney and take a weapon to work with the intent to harm that colleague, you lose that right.
But that’s not enough. If we pride ourselves on being able to keep destructive tools for appropriate use, then we must be responsible. It is everyone’s responsibility.
I don’t own a firearm. I know folks who do. If those folks would begin to act as though their wiring was faulty, I’d do my part to make sure there was not going to be a possible incident.
This problem isn’t about the right to bear arms, it’s about the responsibility that we have, if we choose to do so.
If we cannot be responsible with our freedoms, then maybe we don’t deserve those freedoms. If we want a solution that works, we must be willing to take collective responsibility, not just for ourselves and our families, but universally. Especially when the ultimate threat could be the loss of our own lives.

The Etiquette of Seclusion

Image via CrunchBase

People forget themselves on social media. Sometimes the best that you can do is to just get away.
My current office at work is in a back corner, near the newspaper archives. At one time, it was right off the main thoroughfare of our ‘behind the scenes’ work area. I was rarely able to get much work done, because someone was always having a chat about their favorite book, or talking over the cubicle barrier to me about their holiday plans, etc. So when the opportunity for me to move to a new office came, I jumped on the one in the ‘way back’. Now, far from the excess noise and distraction, and with a very polite and quiet neighbor, I’m able to concentrate for prolonged periods of time, with no interruptions. When I get curious about what’s going on, I walk out to the busy parts and visit. Then, I can go back.
Along the same lines, sometimes it becomes apparent just how deeply immersed I am in social media. I begin to feel inundated with other’s thoughts, photos and lives. I am so grateful for the contact that social media has allowed me to maintain, especially with family and friends who live far away. Yet, occasionally, I see the breakdown of my own etiquette and it becomes evident that I need to step away.
A few months ago, I had one of these etiquette breakdowns, and while I’m still a bit ashamed of myself, the end result was a realization that can be applied to social media and real life.
During the heat of the pre-election madness, a ‘friend’ on Facebook posted something that filled me with fury. I don’t wear my politics on my sleeve, however I do occasionally try to present an alternative point of view. It’s hard for me to shut-up when folks are being just plain ridiculous.
My mistake was thinking that any comments on my part would do anything but add fuel to an already out of control fire. Several hours and some pretty interesting commentary later, I realized that I had probably cemented my ‘friend’s’ opinion of me in the negative. I wrote a prolonged letter of apology and explanation, hoping to minimize the damages and try to stave off any further burns, but when I received no reply, it became evident that the damage was done.
I was sharing this unfortunate occurrence with another pal who had had similar issues with a ‘friend’ on his own wall. He suggested that before I go berserk over someone’s apparent idiocy, I take a step back and readjust their settings on my newsfeed. ‘Seclude yourself,’ he said. ‘You won’t read the crap, but will still get to see pictures of the kids.’ Super idea.
Now, when the urge arises to growl, bark and snap at ‘friends’ on social media who seem to have lost their common sense, I step back, look at their settings and adjust away.
Keep in mind, that it is also good to do a calculus of my own posts, now and again. Is what we put out there uplifting? Is it close-minded or hate-filled? Are we posting a whole lot of everything, every thirty seconds?
I try to be thoughtful about what I post as well as how I respond. It keeps everyone happier, and it’s a good habit for real life too.
In real life, however, you still stand the risk of getting a chewing out, if you’re being a nitwit and since there aren’t adjustments one can make in actual social gatherings, my hope is that we will all try to maintain a certain level of manners and politeness.
At least until I go back to my office.

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