Librarian's Rant

Seen in American Libraries Online:

“The good news is that most technically savvy kids are going to show this soon-to-be law exactly the respect that it deserves. . . . The bad news, as Ars Technica points out, is that adults who would be capable of and inclined to help kids make safe online choices are now cut out of the loop, since kids are going to have to sneak around to use these sites. It’s abstinence education for computers, and likely to work exactly as well.�

—Angela Gunn, in a posting about the Deleting Online Predators Act on USA Today’s Tech_Space blog, July 28.

This documentary sounded interesting - I just read about it in my Bustline newsletter from Bust Magazine. Have you discovered Bust yet? No? Well go out and buy one! It's a hip women's magazine. I feel hipper just reading it...

September 1: "This Film Is Not Yet Rated"
This investigation into the Motion Picture Association of America's secretive movie-rating system got standing ovations at Sundance. The film highlights the disparities in the board's rulings on Hollywood and independent films regarding gay and straight sexual situations, and violence and nudity: the latter in each pair more likely to garner a film the NC-17 rating that spells commercial suicide. It's revealed that raters receive no training, are deliberately chosen without expertise in media literacy or child development, and are most often either movie theater management or studio bigwigs. The film itself is currently undergoing appeal for its own NC-17 rating. See the movie, sign its online petition, and stand up for the art-house!

From Boing Boing: BookMooch: give away your old books, get others'

Interesting idea, using a points system. "In order to keep receiving books, you need to give away at least one book for every two you receive." You can also donate points to charities.

I also recently heard about a community book exchange in the Chicago area. (Thanks, Jenna).

It makes me think--is the rise in this sort of cooperative trading arrangement a result of the poor economy, the increase in use of social networking websites (well, until DOPA kills them all!), or some other nebulous factor?

In any case, I applaud the concept and those willing to do the organizing work to make these sort of arrangements function. It will be interesting to see if/how they survive.

Proof my buddy Brian should write for The Onion:

Hooray, First Amendment!

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, AUGUST 17: Airports across the country, already reeling from the liquids ban of just a few weeks ago, were again thrown into chaos today, as local agents of the FBI claim they have uncovered evidence of a widespread terrorist plot to plant thousands of venomous snakes on commercial airliners all over the country. According to Jim Jameson, FBI Agent, "this plot is really widespread, and very far along. When we cross-checked the first solid rumor we got against our newest terror-detection tool, the Government Operated Online Global Link Extractor .com, it instantly returned well over 17,300,000 hits."

Via LIS News:

NPR : British History Goes Online

Imagine being able to look up who was living in your house in the eleventh century. Britons can now do that with the online version of the Domesday Book. The book is Britain's nationwide inventory, commissioned by King William I in 1085, and was put on online Friday by the British National Archives.

I just found this...disturbing...to my concept of the universe:

For Now, Pluto Holds Its Place in Solar System

Pluto dodged a bullet today.

In the hope of ending years of wrangling, a committee of astronomers and historians has proposed a new definition of the word “planet� that would expand at a stroke the family of planets from 9 to 12 and leave textbooks and charts in thousands of classrooms out of date.

Update: someone responded with this, and it got me thinking: "Not to mention thousands of years of astrology down the tubes!"

Yeah, I mean, I know what happens when Mercury is in retrograde, but what do you do when Xena is on the rise?! (besides duck)

I seriously have this vision of all these astronomers in Prague next week skulking around cobblestoned corners, having secret meetings in coffee houses, taking sides for the Planet Revolution. Viva Le Pluto!

A gem from The Onion:

Dewey Decimal System Helpless To Categorize New Jim Belushi Book

If no decision is reached within the week, librarians may be forced to shelve it in the "phantom zone" between Jenny McCarthy’s book of marriage tips and novels in which a cat helps solve a mystery.

Thanks to Brian for the link.

A Face Is Exposed for AOL Searcher No. 4417749

"My goodness, it’s my whole personal life. I had no idea somebody was looking over my shoulder." - THELMA ARNOLD, an AOL user who was identified through her Web searches.

One interesting point made:

John Battelle, the author of the 2005 book “The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture,� said AOL’s misstep, while unfortunate, could have a silver lining if people began to understand just what was at stake. In his book, he says search engines are mining the priceless “database of intentions� formed by the world’s search requests.

“It’s only by these kinds of screw-ups and unintended behind-the-curtain views that we can push this dialogue along,� Mr. Battelle said. “As unhappy as I am to see this data on people leaked, I’m heartened that we will have this conversation as a culture, which is long overdue.�

Via someone in my HP book club at church:

Potter No. 6 claims Thanksgiving '08

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth installment of the lucrative franchise, will come out in theaters on November 21, 2008. Now, Warner Bros. just needs to hire a director and confirm the cast. The fifth installment, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," bows in July. The "Prince" date will mark a return to the Thanksgiving period for the sorcerer series. Of the four "Potter" films to date, only the third installment, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," has been released during the summer.

This biblioblogger left me a comment the other day, so I explored their site and found the following hysterical post: Can I be fined for this?

Brian sent this one: Best. Titles. Ever.

Angie sent me this one: Cats That Look Like Hitler