books, storytelling
In various on August 26, 2008 at 6:35 pm
In honor of Sandy Berman appreciation month, I offer you a reprint.
I first met Sandy Berman on Jessamyn West’s fridge, got to know him since on Jenna’s blog. Kind of makes me want to be a librarian (truth, though it isn’t just Sandy; I’ve long harbored a secret fantasy about working at the Brooklyn Public Library Reference Desk.). And it is so hugely important to remember that systems don’t fix themselves and assumptions don’t challenge one another. That it rarely occurs to someone to say “what is ‘the Jewish question’?” and then to say it again, “no really, what does that mean?” because getting an answer matters, and then addressing the very narrowly centered perspective from which the Library of Congress can confidently file volumes under “the Jewish question” also matters and becomes possible. Or something like that.
I’ve just finished Leopold’s Ghost and the unexpected lesson therein was about assumptions and language and going with the flow and never questioning authority. I learned something or digested something about the difference between authority and power and realized that questioning authority doesn’t only mean challenging power but even more simply not accepting authority, expertise that doesn’t make sense.
Secretly, questioning authority at its most basic has more potential to shake the foundations of the status quo than direct confrontations ever will. And, secretly, this is all why arts education is vital: because it teaches you to play with ideas and expression and helps us all question authority with far more confidence.
So, there.
I don’t know if I make any sense, but go send Sandy a card.
books, technology
In various on March 18, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I learned something new yesterday. A few things, actually. One thing I learned I already knew, but that is the best kind of learning, right? It goes like this: we’d all do well to ask “why?” a lot more often. “Why?” and also “in what sense is this a problem?” Most of us don’t ask enough questions and we let things slide by that we wish we understood because we’re sheepish about asking why. That only works, mind you, if you listen to the answers you come up with and ask yourself whether or not you make any sense.
The other thing I learned, though, was that Firefox bookmark keywords rock. Seriously.
If you make a bookmark like http://worldcat.org/search?q=%s and give it the keyword “book” you can just type “book tufte” into your location bar and get a list of all the books on Worldcat that match that search. That is so much easier than installing another search engine and switching between them. Sooooo much easier.
art, artists, books, learning
In various on February 9, 2008 at 5:55 am
I have a sneaking suspicion that I’d like Josh’s poetry, ever since I found out about Glottopsychiatry. Other sneaking suspicions? Other people are having more fun.
Also, quiz (a survey, actually): what do you know about the ERA?
anarchy, books, letters_home, politics, suggestions, todo
In various on January 6, 2008 at 12:09 am
Oh wait, it is too late to give it to everyone on your list. Whatever. an atlas of radical cartography is out finally. Go buy ten copies.
Read the rest of this entry »
books, event, various
In various on May 25, 2007 at 2:49 pm
(tonight) The Desk Set Presents:
Dance Dance Library Revolution
Dewey Decimal themed cocktails help librarian groupies find what they’re looking for at Enid’s. Jonathan from New York Night Train spins tunes to unravel the tightest of buns and fog everyone’s glasses. Prepare to be shushed.
First drink free with a donation of a non-fiction paperback to Books Through Bars. And remember, you don’t have to be a librarian; you just have to want to dance with one. What else: cake, prizes, special guests.
Enid’s
560 Manhattan Avenue, at Driggs, Brooklyn
10:30p; $free
718 349 3859
http://myspace.com/thedeskset
http://www.newyorknighttrain.com
books, boston, letters_home, miracle-drugs
In various on January 8, 2007 at 5:43 pm
This was going to be about Frances and Susie and pho in Quincy and the Lube Sheep retailer and the local ballfield also about bell hooks and Audre Lorde and Jack’s booklist and Barnes and Noble not stocking adequate political theory in the suburbs. But it got long and obtuse and beside the point and there was an addendum, a PS, that I did want to mention, one for the miracle drug files.
From the “trust us, we’re bigger than you” department, this one is a doozy. The shocking news? Drug manufacturers sometimes tell lies when the truth might eat into their precious profit margin! I’m not trying to mock the Zyprexa Kills folks here, I swear. Someone has to act like it is news when this shit is revealed or it will start to fade into the background, like all the other big liars of our times (this is where a more devoted blogger would have some salient examples to fall back on. Sorry.)
So it turns out that medication routinely perscribed to treat bi-polar disorder might, you know, kill you. Dramatic weight gain, very high blood pressure, very high cholesterol, heart disease are more than just minor side effects, but once a bi-polar person pushed someone off of a subway platform while he was off his meds, so we now aim to incarcerate anyone who refuses to be medicated into a diabetic stupor. Makes perfect sense to me. The Icarus Project seems to be a bit more nuanced about the whole thing. Their blog, a del.icio.us network, and oversized downloads (search for zyprexakills) tell a very interesting story. To make it bonus interesting Eli Lilly is trying really hard to shut them up. I think it is sort of interesting.
art, books, storytelling
In various on May 24, 2006 at 9:27 pm
I’ve been trying for a while to find this story I read in McSweeney’s about a soldier, presumably in Iraq, though I think they never say that explicitly, who goes crazy. He deserts and changes his name to “Helps People.” He starts out sort of normal, just rescuing people from roadside bombs, nursing them back to health and sending them on their way, but eventually he starts helping people by locking them in cages in this underground bunker. I wish I could find that story, because sometimes I try to explain it to people but they just stare at me.
I keep my back issues, I probably have the issue that the story appeared in.
books, movies, scheming, suggestions
In various on November 24, 2005 at 9:01 am
Anne recommends Control Room and Gunner Palace for some good Iraq war context. I am trying to build up my list of movies to see and taking suggestions. They don’t have to be about Iraq or about war or even educational (though the only other movie on my list right now, Whale Rider is also a documentary [it is not a documentary, check. Thanks maggie]), they just have to be worth watching.
For bonus points, I am also looking for reading for my upcoming trip to Cape Town. I just finished Hugh Masekela’s autobiography, Still Grazing, which made me realize that I know very little about the history of apartheid. Once upon a time, I knew a lot about it, and I need to find some books that will help me think about South Africa all over again.
I never saw Long Night’s Journey into Day, the 1999 documentary about the South African Truth and Reconcilliation Commission, which might be a good place to start. I was overwhelmed by Cry Freedom when I was 14, I wonder what I would think of it today.
