Trip Proud Journey!!

Someone contacted me about the expression "trip proud" and said that she had heard "journey proud" instead. I did a search for this phrase and came up with all kinds of information including four books by that title! I also found links saying that it is indeed old-fashioned, and "very Southern." One of the books I think I want: Journey Proud: Recollections of a Fifties Woman, which is about politics as well as the time referenced. There was also a link to a use by a Houston Chronicle columnist:
http://blogs.chron.com/cookstour/archives/2006/03/journey_proud.html
The thing that seems amazing to me about THAT is that Leon Hale, who I mentioned in the previous entry, is also a columnist for the Chronicle. He was the one saying "trip proud." AND I came across this very humorous definition from Urban Dictionary that is not entirely what I had in mind but...well, here it is and euuu: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=journey+proud
What a fun diversion when I should be packing for my trip! I may be trip proud, and I am, but I am simultaneously in denial. Off to pack and brave the Wal-Mart hordes. If you live in a small town, this is a necessary stop before a trip for incidentals, etc., alas.

Trip Proud Countdown

One of my favorite newspaper columnists, Texan Leon Hale, once wrote about having the condition called "trip proud" whereby you are very excited and jazzed up about an upcoming journey. It is appropriate for me, since I am two days away from a trip to New York City and Washington DC, teaching a travel study class. We will be staying in dorms at Columbia University and American University, respectively. Yep, I am excited! I am also wondering if this expression is unique to Texas. The only other reference I could find to it on the Internet was a travel blog, and the woman writing it is a Texan. Anyway, here I am, wide awake since 4 AM today. I have been grading papers and answering emails. Gonna need a nap later! Think I will post to LM_NET and see if people are familiar with this saying. Will report back if so.

Learning from my students

One major perk of my job is that I learn so much from my students. I actually started this post back in April when reading assignments. Students have to do annotated lists of websites. I get great sites that way, myself! The first couple are from back then, and now I am grading the SAME assignment for a summer class. So I am adding. This is a hodgepodge but all are sites that were new to me and especially appealing:

• Librarians at the Gate (a cool blog): http://librariansatthegate.blogspot.com/

• Librarian's Guide to Etiquette: http://libetiquette.blogspot.com/
• Wiki: Library 2.0 in 15 minutes a day
• Milkweed Cafe--This site does include some commercial products as well as information about butterflies, but I liked that part too. And I never KNEW that Luna moths don't even have a proboscis because they DON'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO EAT! That made me oddly sad for them. http://www.milkweedcafe.com/
• Wicked, interactive science site. OK I went just because of the title, and bet kids would too. It does have cute sound effects and I was humbled by my poor score on the electricity quiz. Will not divulge score: http://www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/quizit/feature_quizits_s.php

More to come in future postings...

Life As We Knew It

I just finished listening to the audiotape of this book by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I was glad to have a long enough drive this past Sunday returning home from visiting my dad to get to the end, as this book really did suck me in. Evidently I am not the only person to feel this way. Here is the link to one blog about it:
http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/bookshelves_of_doom/2006/11/life_as_we_knew.html

After you suspend belief about the initial event (asteroid hits moon, pushes it closer to Earth), you get caught up in the escalating aftermath and struggle for survival. This instant change to the relationship between Earth and moon resulted in terrible consequences that were both immediate and ongoing--tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions.... Miranda's life and that of her family spiral into a desperate struggle to survive as the days, weeks, and months go by. This book would be great for getting kids to think about:

• climate change
• how lucky we all really are to live where we do
• importance of family
• survival preparedness

and other topics. It would be a fun book club selection. I wish it were not so, but suspect that some people will object to a couple of things in the book that are very inconsequential but do reflect Pfeffer's views on politics and religious demagoguery. The president at the time is from Texas, and Miranda's mom refers to him as "that idiot" a couple of times. Also, there is a pastor in the book who is a bad guy and exploits one of her friends. I wonder if anybody who has read the book has comments about these minor issues? They would certainly not keep me from recommending the book highly to any young reader, or from booktalking or adding the book to lists. Don't miss this one!

Incredible News! The TEXAS LEGISLATURE Did Something Good!!!

This was just posted by Gloria Meraz of Texas Library Association. On the last day of its session, the Texas Legislature, both House and Senate, passed the full funding for informational databases for K-12 schools. After all the letters and calls, frustration and doing without, Texas librarians can look forward to providing students with these valuable resources. When the same legislative body cut funding in 2002, I felt ashamed and frustrated. That cut took place during a summer special session, at a time when many teachers and librarians were out for the summer and unaware of the proceedings, thus reducing the outcry of protest. The lack of funds hurt the poorest of the poor, those districts that could not pick up the funding from local monies. Right after this happened, I began offering presentations about how to cope with the lack of databases and how to work to regain them. I also wrote an article for Teacher Librarian about the situation, and gave the short list of states not providing the databases at that time: Colorado, Florida, California, Texas, and Rhode Island. Finally, five years later, it appears Texas students will once again have equal access to the databases, regardless of where they live. I cannot think of a piece of writing that would make me happier to be outdated.

Now, we can sit back and relax! Not really. We need to THANK those representatives who supported the bill. We need to continue to be vigilant in case the databases become threatened again. And, of utmost importance, we must increase awareness of the resources' value, and teach students and colleagues how to use them.

Book Burning...Bad? Good? Mix?

This is an interesting news story about a book store owner in Kansas City, MO, who is burning a sizeable number of books that he cannot even give away. In doing so, he is accomplishing several things:

• He is decrying the decline of reading in today's media-driven world.
• He is dramatizing the demise of many independent book stores.
• He is probably getting rid of some really junky books.
• He is promoting reading and his own business in a dramatic and attention-getting manner.

As a librarian and lifelong book lover, I do know that all books are not worth saving. No library collection can thrive without weeding. The same is true for a home collection of books. And many books are not worth donating either. You are doing no one a favor if you "contribute" books with biased, inaccurate, or dated information. I have a copy of "Someday You Will Go to the Moon," a relic of my childhood. I also have some other old, outdated, and very politically incorrect books that I keep for the memories. But they are not viable for any other reason. Furthermore, I have no illusions about the two books I have written thus far. One, in particular, should be ready to burn in not so many years. It is Internet and Personal Computing Fads, whose title I never really liked, and whose contents will certainly be hopelessly outdated relatively soon because of rapidly changing technology. I would like to think my second book about cyberethics might have a bit more staying power, but it too has a limited life span.

So what is my opinion of this guy burning a bunch of books? Overall I think it is a cool (hot?) idea! I am assuming he is burning items that have little or no worth. Even a copy of Edith Hamilton is fair game if it is a paperback that falls apart in your hands. He is getting people to think about reading and the value of books, and that is good!

PS To get to the original story, click on the title to this entry. Do visit the website. It is very interesting.

Saturday, May 19 Night Sky: Crescent Moon and Venus

What a magical sight on a wonderful night! My daughter Emily is visiting from Portland, OR, and we went down to Rice Village in Houston, TX for a little shopping and snack. Walking out of Mi Luna tapas restaurant (what a coincidence!) we looked up and saw an amazing sight. It was the bright crescent moon in a dark clear sky, with an amazingly bright heavenly body just off the lower tip. We debated over what it was? Satellite? Star? Planet? and finally decided it had to be a planet, but which one? Today, relaxing on the back porch, I took time to check online. As you might expect, I quickly found my answer: this was an unusual alignment of the moon and Venus. Supposedly you can see a slightly lesser version of this tonight, May 20, and a similar occurrence on June 18. Mark calendars...it is worth it! AND, for a great website, go to the link above. It was somehow also magical to me to feel a connection with all the people across the country who posted in with comments on what they were doing when they were equally amazed by the sight. We may be different in many ways across this wide country, but we all feel awed by such a beautiful sight. Check the link for all the great comments, and add one if you saw it too!