Roger O Green

Doing Away With Dewey

There was an article in the local paper last week that the Albany Public Library was going to do away with the Dewey Decimal System in favor of a system that’s more like a bookstore, as I understand it. I have mixed emotions.

On one hand, I see why the library would want to utilize a system like that which the book-using public is used to. While I grew up using the Dewey Decimal System in the Binghamton Public Library, where I worked as a teen, it’s not as though I’m wedded to it. Indeed, the books in the special library where I work uses the Library of Congress classification, an alphanumeric system even more arcane for the casual user than Melvil Dewey’s categorization. Also, when I was going to library school, I quickly tired of the jokes about my devotion to the DDC.

On the other hand, the conversation suggests that DDC is complicated and that the bookstore model is “better”. Maybe it’s me, but I always find what I’m looking for in a DDC or LC library, while I’m more likely to have to ask for need help from a book store clerk. That’s because the categories in some bookstores are not as helpful as they might be.

The example that immediately comes to mind is Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, by Douglas A. Blackmon. Last month, the Writers Institute and the Friends of the Albany Public Library sponsored Doug Blackmon to speak at APL.

For those of you not from the Albany area, the Writers Institute was co-founded 25 years ago by William Kennedy. Bill Kennedy is THE most noted writer to come out of Albany, and his fiction about Albany has been award-winning. I happen to particularly enjoy his nonfiction book, O Albany!

There was a dinner before the Blackmon presentation, and for reasons unknown to me, I had the pleasure to sit next to Doug Blackmon. We had a very interesting talk. One point that he made, relative to this current discussion, is how well or poorly his book sells in a given store depended, to a very large degree, on where his book was placed in said bookstore. If it was placed in the American history section – and the story certainly is an American story not often heard – then it sold all right. But if it were placed in the ghetto of the black history section (“ghetto” is my term) – as though the story were only important to, or applicable to black people – then it tended to do less well.

Now, a library book is not sold by the institution. But how often a book circulates certainly effects whether or not other books on that topic and/or books by that author.

I have no inside information just how this “bookstore” model is going to look until the Pine Hills branch – MY branch – reopens next month beyond what I’ve read here. But I’ll be very interested to find out.
ROG

N is for Nest

We have lived in our house for nine years. The only wildlife that deigned to live on our back porch were these bees or wasps, who would actually drill into the wood of the porch.

So when my wife complained that I had tracked some grass onto the back porch back in May, I had no idea what the heck she was talking about. It turns out that there was a couple birds, male and female, building a nest on a narrow rail above the front porch. I should restate: actually, they were building three or four nests. But all but one were ultimately abandoned, but the vacated nests were eventually used to fortify the chosen dwelling. This rail is only about three inches (7.5 cm) wide, though the nest itself is about five inches (12.5 cm) in diameter; very well designed, I’d say.

Eventually, eggs must have been laid, although I couldn’t see from that angle; there’s only about a half foot (15 cm) from the top of the post to ceiling of the porch. Generally, one or the other bird would be hanging out at the nest the vast majority of the time. Although when I would open the back door and the smaller adult bird was awake, sometimes he or she would fly away for a time, but not too far.

Ultimately, we saw three baby birds being fed by their parents. But before too long, the birds were gone, leaving behind only the nest and purple poop on the porch. We’re still unclear as to why they chose our home as their temporary residence, but it was fun while it lasted.

ROG

Now greener ogre

I came across this software that takes phrases and makes several anagrams. One of the samples is the title of this piece. It also took the line “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” and changed it to “Neatly weighs up mawkish philosophy about unforseen reality”, which I thought was rather funny.

Saturday, we had plans to go to a museum a distance away, only to discover that it was unexpectedly (and illogically) closed. Plan B involved the usual housecleaning and shopping. But there came a point were my wife was going to take a nap and the daughter had fallen asleep on the sofa. Could I go to the grocery store to get some things?

I was surprised a bit by my disappointment. The idea of being in my own house, well not alone, but with it to myself was SO tantalizing. Going out to the store seemed counterintuitive, but go I did.

On the way back I run into five boys, maybe aged 14, on bicycles; no helmets, BTW. I too was on my bike. one asked me where Central Avenue was. Central Avenue is only THE main street in Albany. The answer wasn’t that simple; if they wanted a low number, it would have made sense to head east on Western Avenue, but the higher numbers would suggest going straight (north) on West Lawrence, ignoring the fact that the road seems to end, something you can do on a bike, though not a car.

I travel on, and see them AGAIN on North Allen, in front of the elementary school. The same kid said he couldn’t find Central. I said, “You have to keep going.” Another kid asked, “Is it beyond Washington Avenue?”

“Yes”.

Second boy: “See, I TOLD you so!”

Then boy #1 told me about some “furry” candy he wanted to buy, but his friends were going to go buy pot. Was this true, or an attempt to get a reaction from me? As it turns out the address they gave me was in Colonie, well past the Colonie Center mall, and I warned them it as a long ride.

I restated my directions: ride until you run into a funeral home. At which point, one of the other boys burst into a crying jag. I was told that his grandmother had just died. But this was “crying” that sounded mighty insincere, and I feel they’re trying to yank my chain, though I passingly apologize.

They went on their way, I mine, left wondering: who ARE these kids, where did they come from, what did they REALLY want in Colonie, and how the heck do they not know where Central Avenue is?
***
I’ve been having a lot of vivid dreams recently. One involved a relative of mine on my father’s side who accused me of mocking her when she had a child out of wedlock. this is untrue, as far as i know, but the specificity of that and other dreams is fascinating to me. These are the dreams you wish you could film, or are really glad you cannot. Another dream was particularly grotesque, again with references to my father’s people. These things are supposedly manifestations of something, but I’m at a loss to ascertain what.
***
Why has my mother’s phone number in North Carolina changed? New area code AND the seven digits. I’ve known the old number impressed in my mind for years. Arrgh.
***
Arthur at AmeriNZ on bigotry, in this case, a homophobic columnist.
***
Thom Wade links to the Jon Stewart/Daily Show assessment of an Al Franken amendment to a Congressional bill against rape by governmental contractors. 30 Republicans, who I thoughtfully listed in the comments to that post, opposed the bill.

ROG

Magical Mystery Tour MEME

Another Sunday Stealing.

1. Is there anybody you just wish would fall off the planet?

Right now it’s Glenn Beck. Somehow more irritating to me even than Rush Limbaugh.

2. How do you flush the toilet in public?

Very well, thank you. Well, some of them flush automatically, others with a handle which I push with my hand. What, am I supposed to use, my feet?

3. Do you wear your seatbelt in the car?

Yes, but not outside the car; people would talk.

4. Do you have a crush on someone?

Sure. Probably you.

5. Name one thing you worry about running out of.

Time.

6. What famous person do you (or other people) think you resemble?

No idea. There was an Albany high school math and science teacher I evidently look like.

7. What is your favourite pizza topping?

Mushroom & onions. Together.

8. Do you crack your knuckles?

I can, but rarely do.

9. What song do you hate the most?

The Men In My Little Girl’s Life by Mike Douglas.

10. Did just mentioning that song make it get stuck in your head?

It’s so vapid that, no, not really.

11. What are your super powers?

Ability to discern information that may not be evident to others.

12. Peppermint or spearmint?

Peppermint.

13. Where are your car keys?

Lost. I swear they’re in the bedroom, but cannot find them.

14. Last song you listened to?

Where Did Our Love Go by the Supremes on a Motown compilation album.

15. What’s your most annoying habit?

I have no annoying habits. I’m perfect.
Honestly, it’s a certain shyness where I don’t always engage with people.

16. Where did you last go on vacation?

Well, I won’t consider visiting my mother in Charlotte, NC. Staying in Saratoga.

17. What is your best physical feature?

I am told my eyes.

18. What CD is closest to you right now?

You mean physically close to me? Some Motown compilation.
Emotionally? The Beatles’ Revolver.

19. What 3 things can always be found in your refrigerator?

Milk, yogurt, ketchup.

20. What superstition do you believe/practice?

Really don’t have any. Don’t even read the horoscope, though I have in the past.

21. What colour are your bed sheets?

Blue.

22. Would you rather be a fish or a bird?

Bird, for sure. Maybe a falcon.

23. Last thing you broke?

A glass in the kitchen sink.

24. What are you having to eat tonight?

Pizza in all likelihood.

25. What colour shirt are you wearing?

Green.

26. If you could be doing anything else today, what would you rather be doing?

Catching up on reading.

27. Do security cameras make you nervous?

I’ve surrendered to the notion that there just is no privacy anymore. I’m so glad that whatever I might have done in my sordid past was not captured on film.

28. If you wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?

How Green Is My Valley

29. Last time you went to a cemetery?

Visited one in Saratoga.

30. Last concert you went to?

Bruce Springsteen.

31. Favourite musician(s)/bands you’ve seen in concert?

Talking Heads; Temptations

32. Next concert you’re planning to attend?

Have no plans. But I tend to see one a year.

33. Do you talk to yourself?

Pretty much constantly. And I find myself to be a pithy conversationalist.

34. Have you ever adopted or purchased a pet?

Had cats for years, but not for years.

35. Have you ever been present when an animal is being born?

Yes, kittens.

ROG

Half Breed

I have developed a premise about some of those folks who instinctively dislike and especially distrust Barack Obama; while some of it may be because he’s black, I think there are just as many who react that way because he is of mixed race. Allow me to explain.

That bayou yahoo who refused to give a marriage license to a mixed race couple – doesn’t he know about Loving vs. Virginia? – was probably seen as an aberrant reactionary; well, maybe.

When people say that someone is “half” something, that “something” is generally something other than white, e.g., “she is half Chinese”, with the white assumed. (Read this Racialicious article to see why the whole fractionalization nomenclature is problematic.)

In fact, the only person I’ve EVER heard described as “half-white” by a white person is Barack Obama. Usually the context is this: “Why does he identify himself as black when he’s half-white?”

Well, that’s the great thing about the United States now, though not always in the past, is that people generally decide how they are identified. What the Census has allowed as of the last decennial count is that people can choose if they consider themselves as of one race or two races or multiple races. It’s THEIR choice. Michelle Obama gets to identify as black even with her mixed heritage. Henry Louis Gates Jr gets to identify as black, even though his DNA test revealed in a PBS documentary that he was as much of European stock as African.

But when Barack Obama identifies as black when he had a white mother: is this seen as some sort of “rejection of his whiteness”? Thus the Glenn Becks of the world can say, apparently without irony, that the President “hates white people” and have some coterie of folks actually believe it.

I’ve not been talking policy disagreements here, so if you think that the enmity is totally based on deficits, health care. et al., that’s fine. I’m just not convinced.
***
The title comes from the sometimes-angry Indian/white “half breed” named Quint on Gunsmoke, played by Burt Reynolds in 1962-66, who had difficulty fitting in with either culture.
Or maybe some song by Cher.

ROG