The Next Dark Age
We're in it Now
Glenview’s New Library – Day 1
I arrived early and parked in the commuter lot at the train station. ‘Cause who wants to fight it? And I caught a view that I hadn’t seen before, because it was behind the fence. From Jackman Park:
Again, I was early, so I went to the Dairy Bar for what will most assuredly be my last chocolate dipped cone of the season. It was a bad idea since there were cookies and punch and cake being served after the ribbon-cutting. But about once a week since April, I have gone to the Dairy Bar, gotten a cone and contemplated the glory of the new building going up. And let me tell you: I was not the only one. A couple of times, I met up with a guy that walked over with his dog, bought ice cream for the dog, and sat looking at it.
Around that time, I saw that people were starting to head in to the building. I finished my cone and followed them. No one was at the Used Book Store yet, and a nice man said that I could go into the big room where the big shots would be making their big speeches. So I did. But first I stopped in the Ladies Room. Do you know how happy a new bathroom makes me? So happy that after I washed my hands, and ran the towel on the counter where I had splashed, I noticed that someone else had already splashed the other end of the counter, and I so dried that off, too.
I took a seat at the back of the meeting room. Looks like a meeting room in any building, complete with the – what do you call them? airwalls? – that can divide it into two smaller meeting rooms.
GVTV was setting up the cameras and microphones. I took a look at the program. Still really early. So I read my book. Eventually, everyone was called in and it filled up for real. Standing room. So many that plenty of people couldn’t even get in. You could here them getting restless over the speakers, which was kinda funny. Halfway through the thanking of everyone and his dog, it occurred to me that we must be breaking a fire code. So I spent a couple of minutes identifying my route to a window that I could break and jump out of. There are lots of windows, so it wasn’t difficult. And then back to the thanking people. These poor little kids that just wanted to see their awesome new room (that takes up half the first floor) had to sit through three people thanking the architect. And his entire staff. And the builder. And his staff. And the Governor of the State of Illinois. And everyone that had ever sat on the Library Board of Trustees.
But we have a lot of books. I can’t wait to start using the place.
Why el Futbol Americano is the Best Sport
Because a girl can reasonably watch every single game of the season.
One game a week. I can plan my life around that for six months. Of course, I have to exchange my Writers’ Theatre tickets because someone forgot the date of the bloody Super Bowl. But that’s what I’m saying – it can be done.
Also, there are only a few channels that broadcast pro football. Fox and CBS have the early games, NBC has the late game and ESPN has Monday night. Although now that I am thinking about it, I don’t quite have a handle on Thursday games. And I better figure it out because I am going to be in Fargo for ours.
But hockey. Geez. They just dropped the puck because the game is out west. You know I’m not staying up for this. (Ooooh. Score! Who the heck is Bryan Bickell?) And. The games are on odd channels, so I have to go to the website and find the name of the channel (Versus) and then figure out where that is on DirectTV (603 for future reference). Basketball isn’t quite as bad, as the Bulls land on WGN a lot, but still – the West Coast games.
And for the love of All that Does Not Suck, we have two baseball teams!
Sixteen Games. Three weeks of playoffs. Super Bowl. Done.
The Grand Re-Opening
I was just getting ready to post about the re-opening of the Library – Saturday, 1pm – when the director of the Used Book Store sent me a link to an article. Patch.com is a website that does local news and Glenview has its own page. They wrote us up as The Best Used Books in town. (Never mind that I am pretty sure we are the only used book store in town.)
So. The Library. Here is the invitation from the website:
I don’t normally join in to the Happy-Joy-Community-Spirit stuff, (and I have no idea how many people are actually going to show up) but I actually worked for this one so I am all there.
Praying for the Non Believers
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=leartojugg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0446697966&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrYou might know Christopher Hitchens as the author of God is Not Great. I know him as an extremely literate, if rather mouthy, columnist at Vanity Fair magazine. I haven’t read his books, but I enjoy his columns and was sorry to hear that he is battling cancer. One can’t call it a “bright side”, but he is doing some really great and thoughtful work right now. He has begun a series in the magazine called “Topic of Cancer”.
You all know I have back issues of Vanity Fair hanging around my house everywhere. Half-read. And I refuse to throw them away. I finsihed September’s not long ago, which is where I read that first article. The second, in the October issue (the one with Lohan on the cover), was absolutely fabulous.
Hitchens is an atheist, and the article is about the messages he has received and conversations he has had, since his diagnosis, regarding faith and salvation. There are the horrid trolls on the Internet that say he is getting what he deserves and there are others that are praying for either his health or his salvation or both. His observations are priceless and he ends the article by saying:
“please do not trouble deaf heaven with your bootless cries. Unless, of course, it makes you feel better.”
Agreed. However, I will take the opportunity to offer Mr. Hitchens my best wishes on a full and speedy recovery.
Beam Me Up. Probably.
Weekend Assignment # 338: A World of Their Own
Even as astronomers discover planets that may be capable of supporting life, such destinations remain out of reach of would-be human colonists, even if the world is “only” twenty light years away. But if some science fictional technology were discovered in the next year or two (warp drive, matter transmission or whatever) that made it possible to leave Earth behind and go live on another planet, would you be tempted to do so? If you choose not to relocate, would you be interested in just visiting the place instead?
Extra Credit: If you did go, whether on vacation or as a colonist, and you were only allowed to bring one small suitcase with you, what would be in it?
I can’t say that I am tempted to go live on another planet. But all other things being equal (namely, that I am convinced it is relatively safe and it doesn’t cost tons more than my average vacation), I would be happy to visit another planet. However, there are a bunch of other variables depending on whether the planet is inhabited by sentient beings. Can we communicate with them? Do they welcome visitors? What do we know about their history and culture? Do they have wi-fi?
If I could only bring one small suitcase, it would contain:
- Changes of clothes
- Digital camera and extra batteries
- Something to write in. I had a Moleskin once, wonder what happened to it?
- Sunscreen
- Drugs. Of the anti-motion sickness variety. ‘Cause if that is anything like the Star Tours ride…
Neuromancer, by William Gibson
Neuromancer, by William Gibson, was a pick for my book club. Shannon said that she chose it because while she has read plenty of fantasy, she had never really read straight-up sci-fi. And the point of our book club is to read things we would not have otherwise read.
OK, then.
I started reading it cold. No background, just opened and started reading. I got about a hundred pages in when I realized that I wasn’t really getting it. The scenes were really cinematic, and I could picture some things pretty well, but I didn’t feel like I was getting the point. I needed Cliff’s Notes, so I found a summary on the Internet.
After reading a summary, I realized that I wasn’t too far off on the meta-plot. I just wasn’t particularly enjoying it. The hero, (or anti-hero as it happens) a hacker named Case, never really grabbed me. The mystery of the “job” and who was in charge was decent. But I am a bit bothered that my favorite character was Dixie, the computer program containing the.. what did they call it?..saved consciousness of a legendary hacker.
Then we get to the AI questions. How intelligent should we make them? Legislating their “lives”. Somewhere around that point, I remembered that Neuromancer was written before Star Trek had Data. Before Keanu was plugging into the Matrix. Before “cyberspace” was a mainstream word. Before the freakin’ Internet.
OK. I guess I get why it is so great. But that doesn’t mean that reading this book was any fun.
HR Nerd Article
The Chicago Tribune ran an article about the changes to Flexible Spending Accounts due to the Health Care legislation. The biggest deal is that next year, we will not be allowed to submit over-the-counter drugs for reimbursement without a doctor’s prescription. They printed a decent Q&A:
Will I be able to use FSA money for:
Over-the-counter medicines without a prescription? No.
Medical co-pays and deductibles? Yes.
Medical supplies without a prescription? Yes.
OTC medications without a prescription purchased in 2010 but not reimbursed until 2011? Yes.
OTC medications without a prescription purchased in 2011 during my 2010 FSA’s “grace period”? No.
The point of the article was that FSAs are still a good deal. We just need to understand the new rules when we sign up next time around.
Hell’s Kitchen
You all know I don’t watch reality T.V. Partly because I really like scripted shows, with writers that are thinking ahead and creating characters that I love and conflicts that make me think. Or you know, they blow things up. But mostly I don’t like reality T.V. because it seems to reward people for behaving badly.
It is my understanding that the “better” reality T.V. shows are the ones that involve a professional competition of some kind. Because then, at least, the contestants are required to demonstrate some skill other than getting attention. So when I heard that Emily, a kid I used to know, was a contestant on Hell’s Kitchen, I thought I should watch. And last night was a double-header. Here is a picture from their website:
Emily is in the top row, all the way on the left. I don’t know her well, but her sister was a good friend and I spent a lot of time at their parents’ house back in the day. As a child, Emily was rather…loud. And a bit in-your-face. (Weren’t we all.) She also has the soul of an artist. I remember that she painted murals on her basement walls, and they were charming. She went through a phase of shaving her head, which I thought was a riot. She grew into a fine young lady and went to culinary school. I have been to at least one party that she catered and it was lovely, but then I lost track of her. I am happy to root for Emily.
All I knew about Gordon Ramsay was that he is a famous chef and he likes to yell at people.
In the first episode I saw, Emily had a bad night. Something about burning bacon. The girls on her team were screaming obscenities in her face. I had to mute the show for awhile, it was so bad. But as far as I can tell, she did not engage in the drama. At the end of the show, she was one of the girls nominated for elimination. Chef Ramsay said he didn’t think she had enough “stamina”, but in the end he sent someone else home.
In the second episode last night, we hardly saw Emily because the other girls were engaged in so much drama. She created a ravioli dish that Ramsay seemed to like and won a point for her team. But otherwise, she kept her head down and her mouth shut and cooked. I was really proud of her.
Hell’s Kitchen was even meaner and more cringe-worthy than I expected. But I guess if Emily could stand living it, I can stand watching. For awhile.
She Loves Me, at Writers’ Theatre
I’ve had a rough time at Writers’ Theatre lately, which is the absolute opposite of the way the critics felt and only a matter of my taste. And getting sprayed by a half-naked Stanley Kowalski. I was apprensive going into She Loves Me, another musical.
Remember that Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan movie – You’ve Got Mail? It’s based on that. And did I mention it is a musical?
It opens with your standard cheery “What a beautiful morning” song. And if you can live through that, it gets pretty good. All the actors could sing and the characters are generally likeable. The small orchestra was hidden behind a screen and they were great.
Inasmuch as the standard rom-com is not my favorite genre, I really got into the sub-plot involving the store owner, Mr. Maraczek (played by Writers Theatre veteran Ross Lehman. I love that guy.). He goes from friendly to cranky to outright mean..and secretive. And then the P.I. comes to visit him. Oh. Damn.
Overall, it was light and fun and a fine start to the season.
More Girl Stuff
Yesterday, I was in Target and in need of nylons. I grabbed Hanes Solutions Silky Sheer for $5.49 to wear to work today.
After work, I had a meeting at the Library. Walking in, my heel caught on a cobblestone and I fell – scraping my ankle and banging my knee pretty badly. I was fine, but there was a lot of blood. Here’s the thing: the nylons didn’t tear. They snagged a bit at the ankle, but I have shoes that can snag nylons worse than that. I couldn’t believe it. I would have taken a picture, but that’s..you know..unattractive.
The Next Dark Age 