They dug up the lot
And put up a Starbucks cafe
And charged the people three dollars and a half just to drink a latte
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They dug up the lot
And put up a Starbucks cafe.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Paved Paradise Lost
Joni Mitchell, the folk musician, is set to release a new album this fall that will include a revamped version of Big Yellow Taxi. The irony for me is that Mitchell has signed with Starbucks' "Hear Music" label. So, what are the lyrics to her songs going to be?
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Snape-mania continues! (no spoilers)
J.K. Rowling's writing has either greatly improved, or I've finally just devoted a solid, un-distracted 20 hours (plus or minus a few hours) to read a Harry Potter book from beginning to end. She's managed to wrap up the story much tidier than many other modern storytellers, be they authors, screenwriters or television series writers. I am pleased. It was fantastic reading out on a shaded balcony, in 32% humidity weather. I know, dreadful humidity to those from Denver, but simply delightful to those of us who live in a city built on a swamp.
Right now I'm contemplating re-reading some Dickens, to see if some of what's discussed in Elizabeth Hand's article in the Washington Post holds true. The **article contains spoilers**. Rowling, like many writers, borrows from a panoply of writers, rather than just one, but there are a few themes that I think would be interesting to explore, like how orphans have fit in society. Oliver Twist, here I come.
Right now I'm contemplating re-reading some Dickens, to see if some of what's discussed in Elizabeth Hand's article in the Washington Post holds true. The **article contains spoilers**. Rowling, like many writers, borrows from a panoply of writers, rather than just one, but there are a few themes that I think would be interesting to explore, like how orphans have fit in society. Oliver Twist, here I come.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Snape-mania arrives!
Exciting news arrived in my in box from the DC Public Library earlier this evening:
Even better: I have tomorrow off from work! I was supposed to run around and get errands done, but gah, now that my very own free copy of the final book in the Harry Potter series is sitting forlornly at the library waiting for me, my laundry will never get done, and I will soon be wandering around the city wearing grandma underwear. Ew. [EDIT: The library worker who sent out the emails did so inadvertently, so I will be receiving my copy with the proletariats tomorrow. Alas.]
I've actually never been able to make it straight through a Harry Potter book from beginning to end. While Rowling's images are vivid, I often find the descriptions really, really dense and detracting from the story. Moreover, I think the books have been marketed in such a way that does not give an incentive to read straight through. I mean, when you tell the reader that someone important is going to die, how many people are more interested in the how than the who? Wouldn't it be better to market the book like an episode of Grey's Anatomy? "The Grey's you won't want to miss -- Mt. Ranier awakens and spews ash, burying the interns alive in Seattle West!" The Potter corollary would be "The Deathly Hallows -- Potter and friends wander into Voldemort's trap....again!" But, maybe it's Rowling herself that needed to be muzzled instead for making statements about how killing off characters was tough for her to do but necessary for the story to evolve, blah, blah, blah.
Don't get me wrong. I'm able to get caught up in a well-told story. I saw the musical 1776 on Broadway, and during intermission I was concerned about whether the Declaration of Independence would be signed. Really. Nor is the length of a story the issue for me. I've read Little Women, which was the longest book I'd read until the Potter books were published (on the other hand, Catch 22 took me 2 years to read). This leads me to suspect that J.K. Rowling is, simply, not a good writer. She's got a great story, but the execution doesn't always do it for me. That's why I'll probably read one third of the way through, skip to the end to see who bites it, and then resume the book from where I left off.
This time, I'm also going to keep an eye out for Biblical imagery. That's right. I find it amusing that in light of the right-wing religious groups that have condemned the series for its witchery imagery, at least one religion reporter has considered Judeo-Christian imagery in the series, casting Harry as a Jesus-like figure, Dumbledore as a God-like figure, Voldemort as Satan, and Professor Snape as Judas. It's obvious that Harry has disciples and believers among the wizards and witches -- ooh -- we could even add a DaVinci Code-like element: Hermione as Mary Magdalene? Hmm. Now that I'm going down this route, a resurrection does not seem completely out of the picture, eh? Don't worry. I won't post any spoilers.
The item[s] listed below that you requested is/are available for pickup from the D.C. Public Library location whose address is listed above. Please inquire at the circulation desk with your Library Card to check out the item. After 10 days, the item[s] will be made available for the next customer.
Thank you for using CityCat 2K, your Library's online catalog.
Harry Potter and the deathly hallows / by J. K. Rowling ; illustrations by Mary Grandpre.
I've actually never been able to make it straight through a Harry Potter book from beginning to end. While Rowling's images are vivid, I often find the descriptions really, really dense and detracting from the story. Moreover, I think the books have been marketed in such a way that does not give an incentive to read straight through. I mean, when you tell the reader that someone important is going to die, how many people are more interested in the how than the who? Wouldn't it be better to market the book like an episode of Grey's Anatomy? "The Grey's you won't want to miss -- Mt. Ranier awakens and spews ash, burying the interns alive in Seattle West!" The Potter corollary would be "The Deathly Hallows -- Potter and friends wander into Voldemort's trap....again!" But, maybe it's Rowling herself that needed to be muzzled instead for making statements about how killing off characters was tough for her to do but necessary for the story to evolve, blah, blah, blah.
Don't get me wrong. I'm able to get caught up in a well-told story. I saw the musical 1776 on Broadway, and during intermission I was concerned about whether the Declaration of Independence would be signed. Really. Nor is the length of a story the issue for me. I've read Little Women, which was the longest book I'd read until the Potter books were published (on the other hand, Catch 22 took me 2 years to read). This leads me to suspect that J.K. Rowling is, simply, not a good writer. She's got a great story, but the execution doesn't always do it for me. That's why I'll probably read one third of the way through, skip to the end to see who bites it, and then resume the book from where I left off.
This time, I'm also going to keep an eye out for Biblical imagery. That's right. I find it amusing that in light of the right-wing religious groups that have condemned the series for its witchery imagery, at least one religion reporter has considered Judeo-Christian imagery in the series, casting Harry as a Jesus-like figure, Dumbledore as a God-like figure, Voldemort as Satan, and Professor Snape as Judas. It's obvious that Harry has disciples and believers among the wizards and witches -- ooh -- we could even add a DaVinci Code-like element: Hermione as Mary Magdalene? Hmm. Now that I'm going down this route, a resurrection does not seem completely out of the picture, eh? Don't worry. I won't post any spoilers.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Worthwhile Things
We like beer. Beer is often free. Most other things in life worthwhile are, sadly, not.
Fortunately, we like worthwhile things too.
My brother writes this on the Komen NYC Race for the Cure page for the team he is organizing for the September 9 5K. Pithy, eh? He should work on Madison Ave. instead of John Street (wherever the heck that is).
By the way, this’ll be his first Race for the Cure -- let me know if you’re interested in joining or contributing a donation to the team, and I’ll pass along the team name, etc.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Catch and Release, part deux
So after much thought and wandering around DC, I "released" (see Catch and Release post) the book Love in the Present Tense in the courtyard behind 1616 P St., NW. For a better look at the location, take a look a this map. Seek, and ye shall find. Hopefully, the book will not wind up in a dumpster.
The book, incidentally, reminded me a lot of John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany.
The book, incidentally, reminded me a lot of John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Catch and Release
I went fly fishing for the first time two summers ago. I got to see the catch and release ethic up close and personal, as I managed to catch (and release) two river trout. This is the extent of my knowledge about freshwater, or any water, for that matter, fishing. So instead I'm going to write about the journey of books, but not in a "How are books made?" PBS-special kind of a way. More in a quasi-Big Brother-esque kind of a way. Sort of.
Several years ago, a work colleague was cleaning out her bookshelves at home in anticipation of a move. I was a beneficiary of the spring cleaning and came into possession of Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran. It was registered with something called BookCrossing. BookCrossing turned out to be something that a geography geek (aka, me) could love. It starts with someone registering a book and receiving a book ID. Then, when that person is done with the book, it gets "released," either in a "controlled" manner or "into the wild." The location of the release is supposed to be documented on the website. A controlled release occurs when you know who is going to receive the book. It can be as easy as giving it to a friend or to the next person on a list of people who have said they'd like to receive the book -- a "book ring." I haven't figured out what motivates one to join a book ring, other than to get unexpected mail one day consisting of the book. Concededly, real snail mail is pretty fun to get -- all I get are Pottery Barn catalogs and invitations to weddings that I've known about a year in advance. Regarding book rings, as far as I can tell, the public library tends to be a little more efficient (even in DC) when it comes to the so-called "catch and release" of books. What's more interesting are the releases into the wild.
A release into the wild is, essentially, just leaving a labeled book somewhere for someone to hopefully find. BookCrossing strongly discourages the release of books in airports and on planes for "security reasons." Obviously, the folks that run that website have not lived in Washington anytime recently -- throwing out trash in a Metro station was a security risk until earlier this year, when the trash cans (in a new and improved bombproof design) returned. Public address announcements constantly warn passengers not to abandon belongings on the trains and buses. Like that would really make a difference to someone intent on carrying out a terrorist act. But I digress.
So, a book is released. Hopefully, someone "catches" the book after it is released, logs onto BookCrossing and then documents how and where it was received, maybe how the reader felt about the book, and whether it will be released or join someone's permanent collection. The end, unless you're like me and intrigued by the physical journey a book could take, especially if its journey is not preplanned. The idea that a book I left at the Jordan Pond House Restaurant in Acadia National Park in September 2006 could be picked up and travel to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, go to Madison, and wind up in Springfield, Illinois, is intriguing to me. Unlike books passed around via book rings, where book recipients are at the very least connected by a mutual interest and diligence in participating in, I assume, some sort of BookCrossing-created virtual social network, books that travel by releases into the wild have a less certain fate and may wind up in the trash after one reading. The rewards, I think, are greater, though. If a book forwarded outside a book ring is picked up by more than one reader, the book's journey is one that reflects the interconnectedness of humans through everyday actions. And that's pretty rad.
Recently, I hunted around BookCrossing to review the histories of the most-traveled books. Sadly, it appears that the most-traveled books are in book rings, suggesting that books that are released into the wild are either forever lost or retrieved by those with little interest in participating in BookCrossing. When one releases a book into the wild, one may update the book's online presence with notes as to where and when the book was released, and a fellow reader may then go "hunting" for the book. As of this post, 48 books were released in DC within the last 30 days; the most recent release was 5 days ago. Someone released 10 of them in his or her back alley....uh, I'm unlikely to go into a back alley to find a book. After some more clicking, I found that this particular bookcrosser has left also left books in the ladies room at work....and someone else "caught" the book. Now, the restroom at my office isn't exactly a Superfund site, but I'm not sure I'd pick up a homeless book from the loo. Regardless, you get my point that many of these books released to the wild have a greater chance of making it to the landfill than to the hands of someone amenable to the BookCrossing concept.
With such little chance of randomly making it into the hands of someone willing to log a book into BookCrossing, what is the motivation for a wild release? Eternal optimism? Geography geekdom? Receiving a free, non-gifted book? For me, yes, all three.
I'm curious about the fate of the copy of Reading Lolita in Tehran that I caught and released in Maine. I wasn't registered with BookCrossing and the time and have since lost the paper on which I wrote the book ID. Maybe I'll have the chance to redeem myself. An advance reading copy of Love in the Present Tense by Catherine Ryan Hyde and published in 2006 was laying on a table in my building lobby. It's now sitting next to me, with its new BookCrossing ID number and a brief message written inside the front cover. After I read and release it, we'll see if we ever hear from it again. I'm betting no, but one never knows...
Several years ago, a work colleague was cleaning out her bookshelves at home in anticipation of a move. I was a beneficiary of the spring cleaning and came into possession of Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran. It was registered with something called BookCrossing. BookCrossing turned out to be something that a geography geek (aka, me) could love. It starts with someone registering a book and receiving a book ID. Then, when that person is done with the book, it gets "released," either in a "controlled" manner or "into the wild." The location of the release is supposed to be documented on the website. A controlled release occurs when you know who is going to receive the book. It can be as easy as giving it to a friend or to the next person on a list of people who have said they'd like to receive the book -- a "book ring." I haven't figured out what motivates one to join a book ring, other than to get unexpected mail one day consisting of the book. Concededly, real snail mail is pretty fun to get -- all I get are Pottery Barn catalogs and invitations to weddings that I've known about a year in advance. Regarding book rings, as far as I can tell, the public library tends to be a little more efficient (even in DC) when it comes to the so-called "catch and release" of books. What's more interesting are the releases into the wild.
A release into the wild is, essentially, just leaving a labeled book somewhere for someone to hopefully find. BookCrossing strongly discourages the release of books in airports and on planes for "security reasons." Obviously, the folks that run that website have not lived in Washington anytime recently -- throwing out trash in a Metro station was a security risk until earlier this year, when the trash cans (in a new and improved bombproof design) returned. Public address announcements constantly warn passengers not to abandon belongings on the trains and buses. Like that would really make a difference to someone intent on carrying out a terrorist act. But I digress.
So, a book is released. Hopefully, someone "catches" the book after it is released, logs onto BookCrossing and then documents how and where it was received, maybe how the reader felt about the book, and whether it will be released or join someone's permanent collection. The end, unless you're like me and intrigued by the physical journey a book could take, especially if its journey is not preplanned. The idea that a book I left at the Jordan Pond House Restaurant in Acadia National Park in September 2006 could be picked up and travel to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, go to Madison, and wind up in Springfield, Illinois, is intriguing to me. Unlike books passed around via book rings, where book recipients are at the very least connected by a mutual interest and diligence in participating in, I assume, some sort of BookCrossing-created virtual social network, books that travel by releases into the wild have a less certain fate and may wind up in the trash after one reading. The rewards, I think, are greater, though. If a book forwarded outside a book ring is picked up by more than one reader, the book's journey is one that reflects the interconnectedness of humans through everyday actions. And that's pretty rad.
Recently, I hunted around BookCrossing to review the histories of the most-traveled books. Sadly, it appears that the most-traveled books are in book rings, suggesting that books that are released into the wild are either forever lost or retrieved by those with little interest in participating in BookCrossing. When one releases a book into the wild, one may update the book's online presence with notes as to where and when the book was released, and a fellow reader may then go "hunting" for the book. As of this post, 48 books were released in DC within the last 30 days; the most recent release was 5 days ago. Someone released 10 of them in his or her back alley....uh, I'm unlikely to go into a back alley to find a book. After some more clicking, I found that this particular bookcrosser has left also left books in the ladies room at work....and someone else "caught" the book. Now, the restroom at my office isn't exactly a Superfund site, but I'm not sure I'd pick up a homeless book from the loo. Regardless, you get my point that many of these books released to the wild have a greater chance of making it to the landfill than to the hands of someone amenable to the BookCrossing concept.
With such little chance of randomly making it into the hands of someone willing to log a book into BookCrossing, what is the motivation for a wild release? Eternal optimism? Geography geekdom? Receiving a free, non-gifted book? For me, yes, all three.
I'm curious about the fate of the copy of Reading Lolita in Tehran that I caught and released in Maine. I wasn't registered with BookCrossing and the time and have since lost the paper on which I wrote the book ID. Maybe I'll have the chance to redeem myself. An advance reading copy of Love in the Present Tense by Catherine Ryan Hyde and published in 2006 was laying on a table in my building lobby. It's now sitting next to me, with its new BookCrossing ID number and a brief message written inside the front cover. After I read and release it, we'll see if we ever hear from it again. I'm betting no, but one never knows...
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Go Buff, Go Blue! Go GW!
Thanks to the kindness of others, I now own a Limited Edition George Washington bobblehead doll. Only in Washington, DC, my friends, can you obtain a bobblehead doll of a political figure as a promotional giveaway at a professional sporting event. Every other park has hotdogs and Italian sausages running in a foot race....we have larger-than-life caricatures of 3 former Presidents shutting down poor Teddy Roosevelt on a regular basis. I'd rather see Sandra Day O'Connor taking on Thurgood Marshall in a foot race, but who am I? Maybe next season The Green Bag will sponsor a Supreme Court Justices bobblehead promotion...
As an extra special treat today, the Nats beat the Cubs, 6-0, in spite of RFK Stadium being inundated by Cubs "fans." I seriously doubt that there are more than 17 true Cubs fans in the world -- everyone else just says they're Cubs fans because it's trendy. I did see one really confused guy wearing a White Sox jersey and hat. Hey buddy, wrong league! We all know that there really are only two types of baseball fans, anyway: those that hate the boys from the Bronx and those that love 'em.
Happy Independence Day!
Monday, July 2, 2007
The Tao of Starbucks
I now go to Starbucks because my daily commute no longer takes me past Swings, which serves up the best flavored coffee in the city. When one takes coffee black like one's soul, one needs to have some French vanilla or hazelnut in the coffee to make oneself slightly more human. Anyway, Starbucks has been doing the "The Way I See It" campaign. Although I have wholeheartedly been sucked into the fray, I don't think my discussions about those quotes on the cups is exactly what the company contemplated when it sought to "get people talking and encourage discourse." My conversations arising from a Starbucks cup tend to go in this direction:
Angela: "Wild animals often do a much better job of caring for their offspring than we civilized and educated humans do. If we cannot keep children safe in their homes, how can we hope to make ourselves safe in the world?"
The Way I See It, #265
I don't agree with this, either. Hyenas do not have to pay a mortgage
me: scavengers
Angela: Well, bears, squirrels, whatever
My apologies to the author of #265. I didn't mean to poke fun. Angela may have; I can't speak for her, but I'm sure the author didn't have us in mind when writing his or her pithy pearl of wisdom.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
U.S. Gov't-approved spiced ham
Friday, I forwarded an email from my work account to my personal account. I waited and waited for the email to show up in the in box. It turns out that my overzealous spam filter determined that the forward from a U.S. government email account was, well, spam.
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