Secret Agent Man*

It's summer, and we're running out of ice (Thank you, Rodgers and Hammerstein).

One of my summer projects is archiving our remaining sound recordings on LP. I had to laugh at one particular partial set. It's published by the"War and Navy Department"--which means it's pre-Cold War (before the name changed to Department of Defense in 1947)--and it's a partial set of educational records for instruction in conversational Russian. Several of the discs are subtitled "listening in", which, given the era, take on serious, somber overtones. I suppose it COULD mean for the listener to practice listening to the Russian conversation that occurs on these recordings, but why did I just think of Boris and Natasha Badenoff?

Onward...or not...

*--P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, 1966, for the British TV show "Danger Man".

Seasons of Love*

Most Americans, even if they're not regular musical theater attendees, know the opening chorus from that Puccini-based knockoff, "RENT":

"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?"

I quote this not because I'm a fan of the show, but because there are times that 1) I do not feel as though my work is valued and 2) There's so much busywork and minutiae in creating records that it's easy to feel overwhelmed. That year that's spoken of in terms of minutes can be interminable.

I'm in the process of archiving spoken word recordings for the library, and finding the poetry and prose anthologies to be the most time-consuming. Besides performer information, there's author information for every author represented on the recording, AND often musical information to consider. Slow going to be sure, but the harder I work at it the faster closing time comes.  Onward...

*--from RENT (1993), book, lyrics, and music by Jonathan Larson.

Handyman*

I'm now at the start of my second year at Lincoln University. I always like the beginning of the semester--students have a heightened level of intensity at this point in the year. New classes, new expectations, students don't change much. 

I'm working from the third floor reference desk, where I was last night due to a power snafu on the main floor that didn't allow that reference desk terminal to be used.  A help ticket was turned in to the maintenance office--it's not an IT issue so who knows when it will be fixed? The glacial pace at which tasks get accomplished at this university is truly astonishing. We're still waiting on the vendor responsible for the sliding glass doors between the second floor computer lab and the reference area to be fixed. Until that happens, we cannot offer 24/7 access to the computer lab. There is no sense of urgency--only resignation and frustration that we're in this for the long haul.

I once wrote on this page about a former employer of mine, Bill Jaeger, who often complained of people's stunning lack of information and/or curiosity about the two things in life they spend the most money on--their homes and their cars.  It often feels like that in higher ed, too.

*Otis Blackwell, Jimmy "Handy Man" Jones, c. 1959.

La Bonne Cuisine*, part 3

So this month's Cookbook Club at the PCI branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia features "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Childs and Simone Beck (and that other woman). I've tried some of the recipes and don't find them particularly difficult if you follow the directions--including reading the directions, especially the part where JC tells the reader to go through the motions of preparing said dish--something I've been doing for several years, without knowing it was a good way to learn.  So far I've prepared Haricots Vertes a la Provencale and Boeuf aux Oignons.  Both have been wonderful, but it got me thinking about the 2009 movie "Julie and Julia", starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep in the titular roles. The premise of the story was that Julie set a goal for herself to prepare every recipe (her count was 524) in volume one of Julia's book in the course of 365 days. I've been reading and cooking from (with great pleasure, mind you) that book for the last week, and to say the least, her claim that she completed such a herculean task in the course of one year raises suspicion. Here's why:

1) The movie intimated that, while she had friends over on a regular basis, she cooked most often for her husband and herself.  Following the recipe to the letter would yield enormous amounts of food--according to the cookbook, for 4-6 people.  Did she cut the recipes down accordingly?

2) Given the amount of food, not to mention the exotic ingredients many recipes required, it would require a budget far exceeding their limited means.  Was Julie secretly wealthy?

I also availed myself of reading viewer reviews at IMDB.com and discovered that I am FAR from the only voice expressing skepticism.

All that being said, I'm looking forward to November 6 and the next session of Cookbook Club.

Bon Appetit!!!

--*Leonard Bernstein, composer, 1947. Full title: "La Bonne Cuisine: Four Recipes for Voice and Piano".

I Me Mine*

All through the day, I me mine
I me mine, I me mine
All through the night, I me mine
I me mine, I me mine
Now they're frightened of leaving it
Everyone's weaving it
Coming on strong all the time
All through the day I me mine

I-I-me-me-mine, I-I-me-me-mine
I-I-me-me-mine, I-I-me-me-mine

All I can hear, I me mine
I me mine, I me mine
Even those tears, I me mine
I me mine, I me mine
No-one's frightened of playing it
Everyone's saying it
Flowing more freely than wine
All through the day I me mine

I-I-me-me mine, I-I-me-me mine
I-I-me-me mine, I-I-me-me mine

All I can hear, I me mine
I me mine, I me mine
Even those tears, I me mine
I me mine, I me mine
No-one's frightened of playing it
Everyone's saying it
Flowing more freely than wine
All through your life I me mine

Regular readers of this blog know that I generally title my posts after popular songs.  For the first time, I felt compelled to post George Harrison's brilliant lyrics as well.  The reasons why will become apparent.

From Wikipedia:

...the Bhagavad Gita 2:71-72 can be translated as "They are forever free who renounce all selfish desires and break away from the ego-cage of 'I', 'me' and 'mine' to be united with the Lord. This is the supreme state. Attain to this, and pass from death to immortality." 

I was reading the account of another D-list celebrity who felt it necessary to broadcast their gender confusion to the world, accompanied by quotes of support from other star-bellied sneetches who didn't want to be thought of as not supporting their confusion.

In the old days (and I guess it still happens to some extent), if a Hollywood type wanted attention, they'd talk about their "brave" stint with drug rehab, spouting pretty much the same language as anyone else who had been thru it.

I think a lot of the world's misery is brought on ourselves and by extension, others around us, because we are by nature narcissistic, thinking only of ourselves and how we feel at the moment. I'm no different.

We need to think of prayer not as a last line of defense but as a method of first resort. It's a habit that far too few of us indulge in, and would solve a lot of problems if we did.

You don't like what I have to say, go on to the next blogger (n., person who thinks what they have to say is worthy of inscription in marble).

You too.

*--George Harrison for The Beatles, Let It Be, 1970.

PS: I'm not sure what to think about getting a contact from "Unknown Region". Where could that be? Area 51? The United States Space Force? Sesame Street? Some have suggested it's Russian hackers, but the thought merely amuses me. Onward.

Changes, opus III*

I'm not entirely certain why I haven't written since April.  We've had three deaths in the family since March (My mother, father-in-law, and my wife's godfather) and so we've been taking care of family business, so I guess that's part of it too.

The girls are headed to college (and back to college) in a matter of days.  We're very excited, although it'll be MUCH quieter with only our son home (still looking for a job).  Is there a parallel of the "honey-do" list for adult kids who are recently graduated but don't have a job yet? (GRRRRR) If not there will be...heh, heh, heh...

Work at LU is about to gear up. Students are back on campus for marching band, a few moving into the dorms, with classes starting on the 22nd.  BUT--the big news is that after four years without a director, we're getting one--Carla Sarratt from Wilmington NC. She was in the public library world in her most recent position.  We'll see how it goes.  We hear that she's big on programming and public engagement, so buckle your seat belts.

*--David Bowie, Hunky Dory, 1971.

Cool*

The longest business relationship that I've had in my life, even longer than my marriage (25 years this year), is with my insurance agent at State Farm (no, his name isn't Jake). He's seen me through good and bad times, high points and low; he's always been there. We even have a "Facebook friendship" that started after he retired. We've never socialized, sat down for a beer or dinner, (and I would if I had the opportunity), but was always dependable and gave top-notch service.   I trusted him, and he never gave me a reason to reconsider that trust.

I know that not every insurance agent or company, nor every business of any kind, is like that.  It can be disappointing, even devastating, to realize that the relationship was not what it seemed.  I'm not naive enough to think that people (and business models) don't or will never change, it's just that when it comes down to really needing the significant other, be it business or personal, to be there for you, to be in your corner, it turns out that the positivity, well wishes, and words are just a facade to get you to go along.

I'm not going to mention the department in or the name of the institution involved (it isn't State Farm) but I have to say that I am indeed VERY disappointed in their lack of transparency, their lack of cooperation, and their seeming lack of effort in matters concerning members of my family. 

We are not blameless. Perhaps we didn't accomplish necessary tasks with the expediency expected of us. However, we have been more than patient with this department--perhaps too patient.  I'd love to be able to say the institution's name, but you know how negativity in social media goes these days.

To Be Continued...

*--from West Side Story, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Bernstein, Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents, 1957.