For some reason, my blog software has been autosaving my entries, but NOT publishing them, so if you get a bunch of stuff today with odd dates on them, know that I did write them on those dates...but they got lost temporarily in www-land. Enjoy.
You can get a free Obama button from MoveOn.org. New designs...which look weirdly retro to me for someone who's looking to seem progressive, but what do I know?
JoshN just pointed out to me that SNL stole my parallel world theory right out from under me! Dirty scoundrels!
I am, of course, talking about my long-standing notion that since Nov of 2000, we have been living in Bush Bizarro World, where he stole the 2000 Presidential election, and nothing has been right since. Out there, somewhere, through the membranes that separate parallel universes, is a world where Gore won, 9/11 was at least partially thwarted by appropriate listening skills on the part of the administration, and we not only signed the Kyoto environmental accords, we signed them *first*. In that world, carbon emissions are down 5% in 8 years, and we don't owe China more than we owe anyone else.
I have to give SNL credit - theirs is hysterical. I missed it when it was first on. But I swear my theory came first!! Enjoy.
McCain has apparently taken a page from the Bush playbook. In 2005, the White House had three activists expelled from a Denver public forum with President Bush because it was the administration’s policy “to exclude potentially disruptive guests from Bush’s appearances nationwide.”
Maverick, my ass. Same old squashing of civil rights. And people actually believe this nonsense is "in our best interests". Tcha! We are, as a nation, "approaching spiritual doom", to quote the Rev. King.
The link above has video and other lovely stuff. Take a look.
So I'm here in Anaheim, staying at the Disneyland Hotel (see freaky photos of my hotel room fittings), and I'm getting deja vu to ALA in Orlando some years ago, where I also mixed Disney with librarianship.
Whenever I encounter the Disneyverse, I always remark on the truly exceptional level of customer service I always receive. Down to the guy trimming the topiary (though, really, this one was just disturbing from that angle), the employees are pleasant and helpful. I know, because a friend trained with Disney some years ago, that there is a draconian aspect to this - be cheerful or find work elsewhere - but as corporate-wide requirements go, there are worse.
Now I'm off to finish my presentation for tomorrow.
Notes: Amazon Bookstore in Minneapolis to Stay Open
Amazon Bookstore Cooperative, Minneapolis, Minn., which had announced plans to close at the end of this month (Shelf Awareness, June 6, 2008), has a new owner and will stay in business, according to the Star Tribune.
Ruta Skujins, a St. Paul native "who had always dreamed of owning a bookstore," will become the first sole owner of the bookshop that was started 38 years ago as a workers' cooperative.
"That's how much I believe the store can be turned around and returned to its glory days," said Skujins, adding, "I hope the scare reminds people how important independent feminist bookstores are."
Good for her, though I hope she knows how dodgy an investment an independent bookstore can be, esp. with a niche market. I applaud the vision and the faith, but I would be worried.
UPDATE! - The State Library of Iowa has sent out the following info, for helping all THREE (3) of the most-affected libraries:
In response to the numerous e-mails and phone calls we've received about how to donate to three of the worst flood-damaged libraries in Iowa, we have learned the following.
The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library 30 Sixteenth Avenue SW Cedar Rapids, IA 52404-5904 Please write "Flood Relief" in the memo line of your check (More information is available on their Web site, http://www.ncsml.org)
The latest American Libraries Online has some photos from Midwest flooding, including the one I pointed out earlier of the New Hartford library.
Another hard hit library is the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, which is a unique resource. My buddy David Muhlena, the library director, informed me that they got two (2) semi loads of artifacts and materials out before the waters hit, but had to leave materials and their working files behind because the water was on its way. They're back in now, and working hard to remove mud and "gunk" from the library. Best of luck, Dave!
A growing number of white supremacists, and even some of those who pass for intellectual leaders of their movement, think that a black man in the Oval Office would shock white America, possibly drive millions to their cause, and perhaps even set off a race war that, they hope, would ultimately end in Aryan victory.
Article is from the Southern Poverty Law Center. I forget sometimes how far, how very far, we still need to come.
As we get reports from eastern Iowa, my mind is reeling. Things are bad, and not looking to get better soon. The Iowa River through Iowa City isn't expected to crest until tomorrow, with potentially devastating results.
My buddy Mike Dargan of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Library has a photo of the damage to the New Hartford Library. Cedar Rapids is going to be just as bad, I expect, but on a much, much larger scale. Once they can finally get in, that is.
