Under rated movie Tarsem Singh's The Fall from 2008

My husband watches quite a few movies, but I am usually too hyper to sit down for 2 hours and focus on one. When he suggests a must-see movie, I trust his judgment. The Fall by Tarsem Singh (who directed the movie as well as the Cell - another movie I feel was under rated) takes my breath away with this film.

The movie is a visual fairytale with absolutely wonderful art direction, whimsy and cinematography. Every shot seemed well thought out and planned. I watched it just wishing i could expand my television to encompass the whole room and take me into the scenes.

I recommend the movie for its artistry - it was panned by critics for the storyline, but i think the magnificent artistry should override those opinions and it should be experienced by all.

It makes me think of all the beauty out in the world I have yet to see. Also admiration for those who can put an artistic vision into a solid format.

I've inserted a link to a better review than I have given it. http://www.offscreen.com/biblio/pages/essays/fall_tarsem/

Gift giving season - as they say in Japan

In Japan, they don't mess around with the ambiguity of the occasion. In the summer and December it is gift giving season. There was a time in my life when I worked for a Japanese company and had many Japanese friends. There were specific rules about what is given. It is usually an edible item that is beautifully boxed and each item inside is individually wrapped.

In the United States, not only is there ambiguity of whether to gift people, but also one does not know if they will receive a gift from another.

There is also the awkwardness of being an over-gifter to someone who has nothing for you or being surprised by a gift without one ready to give back. Although I do not have a problem with the latter as I can always send a gift later.

A more pleasant visual

Cataloging today, I was looking for the names of the big 3 Fairytale authors: Grimm, Anderson and i always get stuck on the third which is Perrault (Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty) - Thank you Wikipedia.

I was struck by this illustration. I love the antiquarian childrens fairy tales and their illustrations - the artists are so underrated in the spectrum of the art world.

This is a 1913 illustration is of Beauty and the Beast by Warwick Gable. Who was a wonderful Victorian illustrator.

Not your everyday snowmen

I saw this article on truly disturbing snowmen and how to build them...It was a pleasant contrast to the usual xmas cheer.

Tonight I will eat Sushi with my Girls!

What a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays with a
Sushi feast with some girlfriends.

That's all i have to say about it.

CLA Day 3

Yes, I lost a day of blogging.

Recap, Yesterday was Latino Saturday.

Today was Cataloging Sunday.

Yesterday I met some fabulous people from multiple REFORMA chapters in California. Martin of the L.A. Chapter brought this huge banner for our booth - and let us cover up the Los Angeles part and California chapters....then we were trying to hang it up with little twist ties i brought from home and it wouldn't stay.... after many attempts - a vendor took pity on us and gave us 4 exhibit hooks which look like shower curtain hooks.

Then I was running back and forth helping out our Reforma booth which was like a cool hang out and at our Cataloging section booth ... just being on the exhibit floor and answering questions and pimping associations, seeing friends from library school and past jobs was exciting, but it really tires a person. After quite a few hours - i was feeling squirrly and bumped into my lovely friend Marie- she said, girl, you don't look quite right again realized that I hadn't eaten all day...so thank goodness for her - and we went to lunch and she helped me get centered.

I am too tired to finish discussing the Fabulous Latino Round Table Meeting, where we had record attendance and I was able to turn over the gavel to a great new chair, Janice. We also all then went on a taqueria run to a cute little place in San Jose, that had nice - outdoor patio sitting. Then we went to an after party at Roberto Delgadillo's two room hotel party in the JW Marriott....we even had some Reformistas there that didn't even go to the conference.

Much more to say about all that - but so sleepy and i am meeting someone for day 4 of CLA tomorrow at 7:30 am.

Besos

CLA 2008 - Day 1

Actually Friday is pre-day one, the institute day.

This was my schedule...

9am-Noon - Went to Executive Board Meeting to hear about CLA changes

Noon-12:30 - Registered, Found co-presenters.

1:20-4:30 -- Presenation on Dia de los Ninos/Dia de los libros

4:45-6:30 -- Work at BPLG booth #728, found out that they lost our registration and

set up crew had to beg teamsters for a table a 1 chair, 2nd chair would

cost $100.00 on exhibit day.

Also check on ACTSS booth - aka CLA booth

*Around 5pm realized I hadn't eaten breakfast.

6:30-7:00- Drop off computer and bags in car

7:00-7:30 --Walk to Fairmont for Award Dinner - ACTSS had two winners.

7:30-? -- Award dinner.

10pm --- Skipped after party

10:15pm -- Pay $18 to leave parking lot

11pm --- Home can't sleep on computer ...still on computer at 2:30am, wired...

thinking about conference that starts tomorrow!

Bumping into colleagues and people I see once a year was lovely - It gave me that pink cloud conference feeling...especially sitting at dinner with all catalogers and talking about authority control, cjk cataloging or pcc standards...really i love that stuff!

OBAMA!

I am listening to Obama's acceptance speech, and crying and have goose pimples going up and down my arms.

Whew....After being afraid that this could not, would not happen....I feel so hopeful and so happy.

These are some parts that made me cry...

If there is anyone out there that doubts that the dream of our founders is alive or questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

All those watching, our destiny is shared, a new dawn of American leadership is at hand... the true strength from democracy, opportunity and unyielding hope - that is the true genius of America - that it can change.

On NBC the reporter said before us in every classroom that we were all raised, there were 43 white males that were all the presidents before us. That, the biggest of barriers has been broken tonight.

I have felt little bites of racism all my life, especially growing up in white neighborhood and elementary school through the 70's where my view of the country all looked quite white...i.e. with no TV stars, teachers or leaders of color in my upbringing.

In my High School year book most of the people wrote that they wish that they could tan as easily as I could, that is what most people saw about me and could not see past; also in high school when I dated a boy from a neighboring white prep school...he was constantly harassed for dating a preppy Mexican girl and other boys would throw packets of taco sauce packets at him during band practice to taunt him about dating me.

I could go on...but i want to be part of the spirit of optimism of change, and I feel that I am as a part of the growing numbers of Bilingual/Bicultural Librarians....i want to try to leave the stings of cynicism behind as Obama said that he doesn't blame people for having.

Si se puede Presidente Obama!

Ida

Pre-Conference Stress

I am so stressed about the CLA conference coming up, I have four different groups to which I have made commitments.

I received the best advice from my colleague Julie Moore about conferences....reprinted with her permission.

"Try to pace yourself. Planning and doing a conference is rather like running a marathon ... and the last month is a sprint!!! There are always things that come up that you could not have planned on, so you have to stay flexible and roll with it all. Especially at the national level, I always feel like the people who are doing the planning and speaking are kind of like the thoroughbred racehorses at a race ... and right before the conference, it is just like right before a horserace ... with lots of nerves, stomping their feet, and a lot of snorting and whinneying going on! Then when they go to do their talks, everyone settles down and acts all professional. And afterwards, they are all prancing around!"

Thanks Julie!

I Finally met Francisco Jimenez!

I have been a long time fan of the author Francisco Jimenez and finally got to meet him at a lecture tonight. It was a small venue, so I was especially lucky that I got to ask him all my questions and stayed at the end like an author stalkeratsy and took pictures of him and his wife. I have no shame!

The event was at a public library and that made it great because it was a slice of the well-read and a slice of crazy (those who were just there for the public rest room) - but that just made it much more interesting. The top question of the night was about what the name and story was of the dog on the cover of his book pictured to the left. He said he didn't know the dog a few times, but I guess some people didn't hear that. One little kid asked him why his parrot died in the book.

I asked him how old his parents were when they came over from Mexico to do farm labor. His father was 37 and his mother was 28. It is amazing and admirable to me that being so young his parents would take on this huge responsibility to make a living. At 28, I don't know what I was doing, but I would not have been able to rotate between picking crops at three ranches a year and give birth to seven children.

Francisco was four at the time and could only go to school in the fall when there was enough work to support the family without him working. During those few months a year when he could get a little education, he was very happy to be in school. He admitted that he was scarred by the experience of not passing 1st grade and even though he didn't get any special help and could only understand very few words in English.

In later grades there were teachers who took extra time and effort to help him and show him and the other students what his strengths were. He gave the example of a teacher who displayed a map of California to the class and then called Francisco up to the front of the class and asked him to pronounce the cities because he knew he could do it the best. Another teacher in high school gave him a copy of The Grapes of Wrath and that one book changed everything for him. It gave him an understanding of his situation and also planted the seed for him wanting to write his own similar experience.

I mentioned the recent case where a pregnant 17-year-old female farm worker in Stockton was working in over 100 degree heat and was denied water and shade. She kept working until she passed out and died, I choked up a little bit when I said it, but it really angers me.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004458818_apfarmscenefarmworkerdeath.html

I mentioned the death because in his book he mentions the exploitation of the camp store merchants' exploitation of immigrants by inflating prices. I asked him if things have changed or if he still feels that immigrants are being exploited.

He said that this is why he writes his memoirs because he does not want these people and their experiences to be invisible. He wants everyone to know that these immigrants are a part of the American fabric and how they live. He also said in his new book Breaking Out (part 3 of his memoirs) is coming out Aug 25th. In it he writes about his march with Cesar Chavez to Sacramento, and his experience of being the first in his family to go to college. I could have smacked this one lady that said -- don't tell us anymore we want to read it. What the H... I wanted to hear him talk about his stories with the Chavez and she shushed him...

Regardless, I was truly star struck by how this man opened up about his extreme poverty without bitterness then achieved a PhD and professorship at a top University. His story strikes close to my heart being a child of an immigrant myself. Actually I was not born in the U.S. so that makes me an immigrant myself, but one with a much easier path.

A short bio link on him:
http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/cgi-bin/iowa/english/heros/hero/774.html

Don't throw out those crutches!

This picture is from a site that had home renovation nightmares and things that didn't pass inspection. I thought it was clever?!

Executive Summary of the RDA Meetings April 13-23, 2008

I am carefully watching RDA to see how this will manifest itself and change cataloging forever.

At one of the RDA updates at ALA they said that they will work to map RDA rules to ISBD punctuation rules first; second they will work to map RDA to US MARC; then they will work out the ILS/OPAC part. This was my understanding which made sense.

Here is a reputable link: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/jsc/0804exec.html

So it looks like 2009 will be the year that it comes out -- ready or not.

ida

Reasons to not stay at a $35 night hotel

1) The exhaust fumes from the truck stop in front of the hotel are nauseating.
2) The mass amount of electrical wiring over your room will not let your cell phone operate.
3) The noise from the freeway exit which is your neighbor will keep you awake.
4) The TV and phone will not work - really both.
5) Even though the you requested a non smoking - you will cough from the smoke smell when you enter your room.
6) A new cob web will appear in the bathroom from one visit to another.
7) The door does not seem to completely shut.
8) The dining option is only the truck stop 24 hour grocery store.
9) Two taxi drivers could not find the hotel and I had to call the hotel and pass the phone to the cabbies --- "Oh...behind that truck stop."
10)There is a pool, but it is being used by unsafe looking men with mullets and wife beater shirts drinking a keg of beer there all the time.
11) When people park in front of my door - the headlights wake me up.
12) One spends $30 per way in cab fare and 3 interstate exchanges to get to conference events.

If i didn't laugh I would cry.

10 Questions for the Dalai Lama

A man who was beaten, tortured and imprisoned for just being a monk, left prison with a lot of anger and resentment. After he left the prison where they tortured and hung many monks he told the Dalai Lama that he did not want to be a monk anymore - that it was time to fight.

The Dalai Lama spoke to him for two hours and told him, Violence is against our religion, Violence will make no change to our cause... Peace... smiling.. warmth.. and sharing...and explaining. This is more powerful...he said after the two hour talk he was able to smile again. This exampled showed hie strength. I wish I could have clipped the picture of the battered monk with a smiling face, but i couldn't.

Anyway, I need to remember this lesson.

Day 1 of ALA - Anaheim

I'm here at the big show! The super bowl of library conferences.

Today for the first time I helped out with the Spectrum Institute.
It is an orientation program for the new awardees of the Spectrum
scholarship and also a booster shot of enthusiasm for the profession
and ALA in general

I assisted in the professional options fair, which is one of the areas
that I remember the most from the institute which I attended. It has
grown since the time that I was in it.

During the two hours I spoke with about a dozen new LIS students.
It was interesting to me that the new librarians I met split into two groups:
those who wanted to be Metadata professionals; or in terms of Public Librarianship, those
who wanted to be children's librarians.

But then again, I remember x number of years ago, I had thought I wanted
to be a children's librarian ....and I tell you that will probably not happen. I don't
have that good crowd control gene that is needed.

Otherwise, it was heart-warming to see so many of my spectrum alumnae - get big
hugs from them and try to catch up on a year's worth of news in 5 minutes.

It was a lovely start to the conference to see the bright new future of the profession.
We exchanged face book names and I offered to be available if they need any help in the future.
But it may be me that needs the sharp future minds to help me.

ida

Me - Dancing @ an ABBA concert on SL

Well, my avatar, dancing @ an ABBA concert last night in Denmark
on Second Life. It was a breakthrough to find that there was a concert
at a certain time and then get there and then figure out how to dance
to the music.

I am working with Sandy Vella to work out some useful application for
the CLA ACTSS division, but learning something fun first never hurts.

Anne Frank Postcard found

Today in the Netherlands, this postcard was found in an antique store.

It was authenticated as an original postcard addressed to a friend she wrote about in her

diary. This is only the 2nd card ever found that she sent...what a waste that she had

to hide 25 months to die in a camp later. I'll never forget reading about her when I was

young. Her story taught me about history in such a personal one-on-one way.

I actually went to Amsterdam when I was in college and I remember going to the house where

she hid and seeing the false bookcase that led to the hidden home. Here's the link if you want to

see it. http://www.channels.nl/amsterdam/annefran.html

Movie Babel - Universal angst

Alejandro González Iñárritu

I now want to see everything from Iñárritu that I haven't already. He makes me proud of Mexican cinema.

Sometimes I feel like mi gente don't look at the global picture, but this proves differently. Written by another Mexican from D.F. Guillermo Arriaga - it shows the human angst of the rich and poor in four countries. Even getting into the mind of this beautiful, mute Japanese girl. She deserved her Oscar nomination for expressing the angst within us all without words but showing it through her face, body and emotions.

Another title besides Universal Angst could be, the wealthy countries/people always win. Despite four incidents of tragedy, it was the two cases where the wealthy came out a bit ahead, whereas the poor lost even more. Not only was it the poorest, but the two most kind and poor characters lost everything. To me this is key in Mexican cinema.

Best bit from latest Zadie Smith read...

Best speech ever from an aging woman to
a husband with a wandering eye...

from: on Beauty by Zadie Smith

...I’m acting crazy and emotional all the time - my body is telling me the shows over, That’s real.

And I’m not going to be getting any thinner or any younger ...I want to be with somebody who can still see me in here. I’m still in here and I don’t want to be resented or despised for changing.
I’d rather be alone.

I don’t want someone who has contempt for who I’ve become. I’ve watched you become too. And I feel like I’ve done my best to honor the past, and what you were and what you are now. But you want something more than that. You want something new.
I can’t be new.

Another excellent line in a different section-- the greatest lie ever told is that Love sets you free.

I have been M.I.A.

I was at a meeting where someone was talking about the 2.0 world. They criticized bloggers who kind of let their blogs go...I think it is actually a good thing, that means that bloggers are out enjoying the sunshine or doing something in life 1.0. Like the woman in this photo.

However, I do want to keep my blog going. There will be more things of substance I promise, but for now I really enjoyed this story of a family in texas that made their house out of beer cans.

Source of photo unknown.

ida