I would be remiss at this juncture if I did not mention the Librarians for Kerry-Edwards Yahoo group that has been picking up steam lately. In the interests of full disclosure I’d like to say that while the Kerry-Edwards ticket has my support, Kucinich or Dean were really who I was rallying for. I’ve embraced national level voting for tactical reasons lately. [thanks kathleen]
Month: July 2004
back to the porn grind
So, back to one of my favorite kind of stories: Adult web site run by University of Washington students apparently uses UW rooms and buildings for backdrops, specifically the Suzzallo library which used to house the library school back when I was there. I can’t find any actual shots that seem to be in the library though. If you can, drop me a line. [lisnews]
Institution’s Many Rare Works Included the Librarian Himself …
RIP J. William Matheson, LoC rare book librarian, who got his Masters in Librarianship at UW — same as me, same as where they are now making amateur porno.
hi – 10jul
Hi. Just so you don’t read it anywhere else first. It seems that I may have “blogger press credentials” for the Democratic National Convention in Boston in a few weeks. This is exciting but quite unexpected and I still don’t have the piece of paper in my hand that says “You’re in!”
Here’s how it happened. Back in May I read over at Eclectic Librarian that bloggers were able to get press passes for the DNC. The Boston Globe – normally an okay source for good information – stated that “This summer, [the DNC will] grant some of their 15,000 coveted credentials to blogs, the online diaries that link to news reports, post comments from readers, and critique the political process with unrestrained abandon.” Somehow I got it in my head that a whole lot of bloggers would be going, and despite the fact that I’m not reallly in the thick of blogger goings on, I decided to try my luck at getting credentials. I tend to be a lucky sort with this type of thing.
On this past Monday, I got a letter saying “Thanks but no thanks.” turning down my application, which I didn’t find too surprising. On Thursday, I got a call from someone at DNCC saying “Call me back,” which I did. After a bit of phone tag, I got Francesca on the phone who told me they were giving me credentials, to ignore the previous letter, and to look for a letter this week explaining it all. Later in the day I heard that there had been a bit of a dust-up earlier in the week when the credentialling bloggers started announcing themselves and it became clear they were mostly [all? I have no idea] men. So, I figure I got in on an affirmative action plan, though really I have no idea. Maybe I’ll get a letter on Monday, perhaps I won’t.
In the meantime, I’m boning up on the convention process, adding blog feeds like crazy to my RSS reader, and writing lists of Democrats that I would like to have a word with, if given the chance [Zoe Lofgren for example]. My boyfriend Greg who is a local intern for Senator Jeffords is schooling me on what happens at conventions, and I’m debating if I can get through it all without a cell phone, blackberry device, or heels. I may set up a separate page for DNC news, I may not. And, just in case you’re curious, I am not a Democrat, registered or otherwise.
USA PATRIOT Act stays as is, suck
Sanders-Paul-Conyers-Otter-Nadler Freedom to Read Amendment barely fails. USA PATRIOT Act stays as is with regards to surveillance rights in bookstores and libraries. Democrats chant “shame, shame, shame” over GOP tactics. One vote would have made the difference. Shame indeed. How did your rep vote?
The amendment, facing threat of a Presidential veto, received a majority of votes in the U.S. House when the time for voting expired. However, the House Republican Leadership then held open the vote twice as long as scheduled, an additional 20 minutes, as they “persuaded” Republicans to switch their votes.