I always thought angels flew from place to place; but with F-15 bombers patrolling the skies of NYC, I guess some angels prefer the "F" train.

At Monday's class we learned more about shading, working from photocopies of Greek statues. I complained that my statue was lopsided (hah) but, as my teacher laughingly said, she was Greek and was thus perfect. Instead it was likely that it was my sketch that was a little off.

Ah well, no matter, because I'm so happy with my work that I've taped it up on the wall. Next to my pencil drawing of a lemon.

I don't quite know what this burst of creativity is, or why it has suddenly appeared, but I'm rejoicing in it.

Look out. By next week I could be knitting cardigans for taxidermied birds.

My first Holga pics are back!

You'll notice the overlapping image... which I'd like to claim was deliberate, but the fact is I couldn't figure out where to stop when I was winding the film. Ahem. I see many fun afternoons ahead, sneaking out of the cubicle and playing with my new toy. Thanks, Carrie.

Librarians Testify at Porn Law Trial -- The CIPA challenge gets underway before a special three-judge panel in US District Court.

Are you a multi-tasking lunatic? No time to study the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? Here's a mini-history lesson in map form, beginning with the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement.

I've just spent the day with a large group of librarians.
Regular readers will know how this usually makes me feel. (New here? The answer is: cranky).
Today was day one of a training session to teach librarians to find and evaluate websites for adult learners. There was something about the combination of literacy activists, outreach minded librarians and information assistants, and a "mission" that completely energized me.
Tomorrow I present a short talk on writing for the web. This is where I encourage them to forget all they learned about annotations in library school and instead take up Plain English.

What's happened to proofreaders?
Mississippi State University is currently advertising in the Chronicle of Higher Education for an Associate Dean for Pubic Services. This was the high point of my day. [Sorry, I've taken the link down as they have corrected this typo].

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My only task today is to keep bothering, pestering, nibbling, and divining content for the NYPL Summer Reading Club website. Oh, the joy of being a content editor. Right now I'm working on a list of "approved" words for the magnetic poetry game. And it's totally cracking me up. I fear the office that oversees services to teens has not thought out the consequences of water-related words on a poetry board. (This year's theme is "Splish, Splash, Read."). The list they gave me begins: moist, wet, dark, deep, and rough. If you were a teenager, what poem would you make with these words?

Well I made a semi-joking bet about 10 days ago that friends CB and JZ could not go a week without linking to each other on their sites. Heh. Carrie did it but Jeffrey didn't last the week. Nevertheless, I wish them a safe trip, free from long lines, men in sweat pants, and fanny packs.
Me, I plan to spend the weekend taking photos with my new, homemade, pinhole camera. It took all winter to eat my way to the bottom of the Quaker oatmeal container. I just need a darning needle and we're ready to go!

Well it's March and you know what that means. Yes, white rabbits.
A new month also means it's time to send another book to a stranger. This month's present, a photography book on Morocco, goes to a guy called Ray in San Francisco who "loves to read" and is using his (currently unemployed) time to catch up on his reading. In case you missed my friend Pam's comment on a thank-you note I received for an earlier gift, I have to share it with you. She wrote:

When you first wrote about your new plan to send a book anonymously, I almost cried. ... I told my Grade 9 class about this cool thing my friend was doing. Many of them were cyncial, heartbreakingly enough and had all sorts of reasons you shouldn't or they couldn't do something similar. We were discussing if anyone they didn't know had ever done anything nice for them out of the blue, or vice versa. It was a lead in to them writing thank you notes. Some of them wrote notes for bus drivers, their moms (for driving them around and making them study for exams), their brothers, etc. And there it is, your boon recipient was thinking the same thing. I'm telling my class tomorrow. Bah on cynicism!

A few new sites to share with you:

Humanistic Photography

Abraham Menesche's wondrous black and white photos.

The Pencil Box

Donate art supplies or equipment to New York City's public schools. Learn how to talk at a school's Career Day and find out about becoming a Principal for a Day.

Roq of Ages

Read the coming out story of a 70+ year old gay great-grandfather.