806 and counting . . .

When I moved I decided to create an Excel file with a list of all my books. So. . . Being an amazingly organized, efficient person I went ahead and did just that. Last night I added a few more books to the list which brought my total to 806. I'm actually somewhat disappointed. I'd assumed before I started this little project that I had over 1000. The people that moved my books probably figured over 2000.

I really think that to consider oneself a commited bibliophile you need to have at least 1000 books. I do have some in the garage still. Maybe 50-60? I'm not sure, but that still leaves me short. Every week I receive a newsletter that provides information on book sales in the Bay Area. I haven't gone to any lately but it is clear that I need to get busy. I think my goal should be to have at least 1000 in my list by the end of March. How does that sound?

Robin

What would Gary Larson say?

July 2, 2008 Update: We are getting a lot of hits on this post & I'm curious why. If anyone looking knows why I'd sure appreciate a comment!
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In response to the previous post, a few thoughts.

Check out the Children Now website. A friend of mine is (was?) the director of the Children in the Media program and they focused on this type of portrayal of children, as well as the violence images that are associated with/directed to children. The interesting and disturbing thing (aside from the very fact of this ad) is that ads like this are being aimed to younger and younger children. Advertisers are now marketing adult hygiene products to the 5-8 year old market segment (there's a 5-8 year old market segment!!!).

As for this ad, while it is disturbing, and it does legitimately bring up all of these issues, I do have to play devil's advocate just ever so briefly. When I was in college and was riled up by everything all the time and was taking lots of classes that focused on images such as this one and the damage they do to our society, one of the messages that was ingrained into my head was that nothing in advertising is a mistake. When a big firm spends $40 million on a national ad campaign, they don't leave anything to chance, and every is where it is for a very specific reason.

Well, now that I've been in and associated with the business for nigh on 20 years or more, and have worked with many firms and/or people from firms that are producing those very ads, I have to say that the same comments that are often made about our government in reference to massive cover ups of alien invasions can be applied equally to ad firms in this regard -- the powers that be just aren't as smart as we think they are.

None of this is to say that ads such as the Target ad are unintentionally exploitive, or that misogyny in advertising doesn't exist...they are and it does. What I intend by the above is to point out that there is not always an "actor" in the process of exploitation. Sometimes ads just accidentally look exploitive and that's just the fact.

As an illustration, let me reference a single panel Far Side comic from a decade or more ago. This comic garnered more negative/critical mail for Gary Larson than anything else he ever did. Why? Because people thought he was intentionally implying that the dog was "doing it" to the car. Uh uh. Mr. Larson just didn't see that when he drew it, nor did any of his editors. It was merely a dog dreaming of finally catching a car. Now, do we think that Gary Larsen secretly has thoughts of dogs mating with autos? Unlikely. Did he likely put that transmission case in an unfortunate position? Yeah. But, now that I've pointed it out, isn't it difficult to see anything else? Disgusting little dog! Sick man Gary Larson? I don't think so.

Way to go, Target

I thought I'd share this about Target in case some of you missed it. Earlier this month this 20ft ad was placed in Times Square. Amy Jussel, who is the founder of Shaping Youth, a blog that examines how media and marketing influence children, called Target to protest as she felt that placing a women's crotch at the center of a bullseye was an inappropriate message. Ms. Jussel was told the following via email: “Unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with nontraditional media outlets." A Target spokeswoman said that they do not work with bloggers.

Technorati, a blog search site, indexes over 112 million blogs and 120,000+ blogs are created worldwide each day. Does target not think that many of their customers are bloggers? Aside from that, to tell a customer you won't respond is bad business in my opinion. They did deign to speak with the New York Times , apparently they are traditional enough.

I started this post full of indignation about the slight to bloggers. As I read more & looked at some of the links on the Shaping Youth blog, I'm thinking my indignation was misplaced. Well, not entirely misplaced. Target is still the target (cute huh), but also advertising in general. I decided that I agree w/Ms. Jussel about the Target ad. It seems pretty innocuous but when you think about it as part of an overall pattern of advertising, I agree it is out of place. There is way to much advertising aimed at girls that is sending the wrong message. Shaping Youth has a link to an American Psychological Association report on the Sexualization of Girls that examines the impact of marketing on girls. I'd suggest looking at the blog & the report if you have kids.

I say kids, because it isn't just girls that suffer from marketing like this. If girls are taught to objectify themselves, boys are being taught to see them that way. I recently read a post about the Pink Gang, a group of women in India who have banded together to protect women from domestic violence. India, and many middle eastern countries have horrendous track records on how they treat women. Is the United States any better? Maybe we just dress it up better. Advertising works whether we like it or not. You can say that it can be ignored but it is difficult. Children today are constantly bombarded with advertising and I can't believe it isn't having a huge impact. I think we need to look pretty closely at what they are being told. What do you all think?

Robin

Rules of Thumb

Rules of Thumb is a fun website that is devoted to gathering every rule of thumb on earth into a searchable database. According to the website, a rule of thumb is a homemade recipe for making a guess. It is an easy-to-remember guide that falls somewhere between a mathematical formula and a shot in the dark. You can contribute rules to the site & rate those that are already there. So if you have nothing better to do today, check it out! Here are a few rules from the site:

• The amount of time within which a cat will develop a dislike for a particular flavor is inversely proportional to the number of cans of that flavor remaining on the shelf.
• Red is the color most likely to attract attention. This includes the attention of the police if you drive a red car.
• If someone says, "It's not the money, it's the principle," it's the money.
• Expect a storm when your cows become agitated, start to bawl, and head for the barn.

By the way, try saying rule of thumb - sounds funny doesn't it?

Robin

Dig in, root down, and leaf out!

I've decided to adopt this adaptation of the famous phrase from the 1960s as my motto. I created this adaptation myself! (I think we all now know who I am) But the real point of this posting was to show for everyone's edification who actually wears the pants in this household with these pictures.

Don't know how to vote?

In case anyone is having trouble deciding who to vote for, I thought I'd share some information that may help. I found this first quiz on a blog: Presidential Candidate Matching. I took the test and found out that I should vote for Dennis Kucinich. I really didn't know much about him, ok I knew nothing, so I Googled him which led me to a second quiz: Pick Your Candidate. I took that quiz and got the same result. He isn't one of the big three but I guess I should look him up since we clearly agree on many things.

I find this quiz idea very interesting. It seems a much easier way to decide who to vote for than having to listen to all those debates and check websites and read all that political stuff. I'm thinking we should use quizzes for other important decisions. It would cut way down on the amount of thinking one has to do. I know that would be a plus for me because I have a lot more important things to do. For example, writing blog posts because NO ONE else has been posting!

Robin

A New Philosophy

I have a new philosophy. It really doesn't matter who caused the problem, it only matters that it is fixed.

You may be wondering what has brought about this change. My phone stopped working yesterday. In due course I called to report the problem and they had me plug a phone into my computer modem. Since that phone worked, they said it was an inside wiring problem & they'd have to send someone out. Of course, they couldn't get anyone out until tomorrow (which is now today), however, being the philosophical person I am, I was ok with that.

Today arrived (which had been tomorrow yesterday) and the nice technician showed up at my door. I explained the problem & he came over & looked at the modem, pulled out the large phone plug that comes from the wall & said it was plugged into the wrong place. He plugged it in the correct place and, amazingly, my phone worked. Unfortunately the only way the plug could have been changed was for me to have done it. Which is what happened. Yesterday, before my phone quit working, I couldn't get online. I dutifully began unplugging & plugging things in, as they tell you to do when you call for service, and eventually the internet started working. Then the phone quit working. As you've probably surmised, when I unplugged the phone cable, I plugged it back in the wrong place.

The technician was very nice and even fixed the plug as it was kind of wobbly (don't ask me to explain wobbly, I can't). He said people do things like that all the time & he cancelled the call so they wouldn't charge me.

So now my phone works and I have a nice new philosophy. Of course if Jill had been the one who messed up the plug my philosophy would be entirely different.

Robin

In a hole in the ground. . .

I'm sure that this is old news to all of you but thought I'd give you a few updates. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is going to be made into a movie. Like The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy, which I'm sure you've all watched repeatedly, The Hobbit will be directed by Peter Jackson. There will be two Hobbit movies. The first will cover the story as told in The Hobbit. The second will cover the 60 years between the end of The Hobbit and the beginning of LOTR. I had previously heard that there would be two movies & thought (along w/other people) that they were splitting The Hobbit into two parts which seemed pointless. I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of the second movie. Offhand, it seems kind of pointless as LOTR has already been released.

Anyway I found the second movie info on, you guessed it, The Hobbit Blog! The first movie is scheduled for release in 2010 so you'll have to be a little patient. In the meantime you can check out onering.net. It is full of Hobbit & LOTR information. You can also re-read all the books (notice that I'm assuming you've all read them).

Robin

From my garden...

A Native bouquet from Jill's garden!

Charlie the Coyote

I found this great blog that I thought you'd all like. It is called The Daily Coyote and has pictures of a coyote named Charlie. A woman in Wyoming had him left on her doorstep when his parents were killed so she has been taking care of him. She lives in a log cabin in a small town of 300 people, with her cat Eli, and Charlie. Take a look - the pictures are adorable!

Robin

New Driver

Just a notice for any of you coming out to Stockton, we now have a new driver.
Elizabeth took her driving test today and did very well. She is now a licensed driver.
Not much else going on, we live a wonderfully boring life.

Library of Congress Blog

The Library of Congress, in conjunction with Flickr, has launched a photo pilot project. Approximately 3000+ photographs from two of the Library's most popular collections have been posted on Flickr. The Library is asking that people comment, tag and make notes on the photos. This will enable the photos to be found easier and hopefully provide more identifying information about each photo. The featured collections are 1930-40s in Color and News in the 1910s. Take a look at the photos by clicking here --> LOC/Flickr.

I think this is a pretty cool way to share the pictures with a wider audience. The Library's blog explains that many of the photos do not have information about where the photo was taken and/or who is in the photo. This is an amazingly clever way to try and fill those gaps.

Take a look at the photos, who knows you might see someplace or someone familiar!

Robin

Cambridge

Here it is! The last of my vacation posts. I know you've all been waiting anxiously for this. At least try & pretend that you have. We spent 4 nights in Cambridge at a bed & breakfast that was really great. My room was not en-suite which means the bathroom was down the hall. Actually it was right next to my room but I like the sound of down the hall. For some reason, probably because I was in England, I found this quite charming. Prior to leaving I had read on the b&b website that they offered a full English breakfast. Here is the description: Our full English breakfast includes free range eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, and beans, all organic. Our local butchers hand made sausages and bacon are free range and our local baker makes organic bread which he delivers hot to our door. I'm not much for eating breakfast so this didn't sound all that appealing to me. Actually it sounded pretty gross - beans for breakfast! However, since I'm such a brave person I decided to try it & was pleasantly surprised. It was really very good (except the mushrooms) & I've decided that beans for breakfast aren't a bad thing.

Cambridge is a really beautiful town. The University is the 2nd-oldest in the english-speaking world (Oxford is the oldest). We saw Kings College & St. John's College both of which are incredibly beautiful. The day we walked around the University it was foggy - as you can see in the pictures - which really added to the ambience. One of the things that really impressed me were the signs on the grass at the University. I can't remember the exact wording (Stephen, Kiko ??) but it came down to you can't walk on the grass unless you're a Fellow of the College. I really liked that.

We went to the Cambridge University Press (CUP) bookstore. CUP is a publisher that was granted a royal charter in 1534 by none other than Henry VIII. It is the oldest publishing & printing house in the world. I bought a totebag there. Quite the intellectual aren't I!

A word to the wise: If you decide to visit Cambridge don't bother trying to order chinese food. It's a long story so just take my word for it.

Robin

Update

I was going to post my final entry about our trip but I'm feeling miserable today. I've been sick for the last few days and feel exhausted today. So you still have that to look forward to but in the meantime I'm sure someone else has something interesting to share!! The honor of our family is at stake. People from all over the world are reading this blog (technically it is possible) & judging our family. Post something!
Robin

Post-storm dampness!

It's Jill again! I'm happy to report that this latest series of storms has bequeathed about 11" of rain upon my garden. Even with the heavy clay, this means the roots of my native shrubs are happily hydrated. And let me tell you about my latest excitement - the Norcal outlet! lots of pots all very cheap - it's in San Leandro, go quickly, tarry not! I was able to get 3 huge clay pots and about 6 small to medium pots for $25! I even got a big Malaysian pot for my Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale). As for this plant if you're looking for seasonal excitement in a container give it a whirl. It has resided happily in a 7gallon grower's pot (the shallow type) for 6 years. I only gave it a new pot for aesthetic reasons. It displays bright Spring green new growth, fragrant and showy flowers in Summer, attractive Fall color, and pretty Winter bark. Just give it plenty of morning sun, dappled afternoon shade, and don't spray the leaves with water during Summer in the mistaken belief that you're recreating fog drip (I speak from bitter experience - powdery mildew). Let Western Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa) and Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum) trail around and over the edge of the container and you've got Redwood Forest Excitement!
In other news - I just got an Ebb Tide rose. It's dormant right now, but I think we're in a for a thrill when this shrub stirs! I have several Tidytips (Layia platyglossa) in bloom right now, and still plenty of Nemophila! The Salvia involucrata and S. serpyllifolia are still bravely showing a smattering of flowers, as is the S. "California Sunset". My local hummingbird has been making regular visits, but the real hummingbird draw will be when the Ribes speciosum is going full force. There's a few little red flowers now, but this plant has amazing floriferous-ness potential. Soon there will pictures, just wait...

A Castle in Wales

As we were planning our trip Kiko mentioned that she had gone to high school in Wales and would like to visit the school. This sounded like a nice idea & we decided to take the train to Wales and visit her old school. What she didn't say was that she had gone to school in a CASTLE! An actual castle - incredibly cool! Her old high school, Atlantic College, is housed in St. Donats castle in Llantwit Major, South Wales. St. Donats is a 13th century castle that was owned at one point by William Randolph Hearst.



Due to the excellent reputation Kiko had at school, we were given a private tour of the castle (I really like being able to say that I had a private castle tour)! It was really incredible to see so much of the interior and how the school is using it. It is pretty neat to have 21st century computers in a 13th century castle. I also like the narrow, winding steps that had rooms off of them. You can imagine people hundreds of years ago living in these rooms.


We drove around some small towns in Wales and saw lots of funny signs. You'll notice I said drove. Instead of taking the train we ended up driving which was an interesting experience. Actually "we" did not drive. Stephen did. Bear in mind that in the UK they drive on the correct side of the road unlike in the US where we drive on the wrong side. I was a bit worried about how well Stephen would drive but I have to say he did very well, you'd think he'd been doing it all his life. Unfortunately since his return to the US, he is still driving on the correct side (the UK side) of the road.


This is my penultimate post on our trip. Tomorrow I tell you about Cambridge and then I'll have exhausted the only interesting parts of my life. This means somebody else better come up with something interesting to post!

Robin

Paris

I was wondering why Paris is called The City of Lights. According to Wikipedia, it is because it was a center of education & ideas and also early adoption of street-lights. I was hoping for a better explanation but thought I'd share that. That is pretty much all the education you're going to get out of this post. I don't know a lot about Paris or French history (I can hear everyone breathing a sigh of relief). Well actually I know about Marie Antoinette, the Revolution & France in the 16th century but I'm going to spare you all the lecture.

I never had a great desire to go to Paris but once we decided to go I started getting really excited about it. It sounded so, I don't know, French. So off we went, taking a Eurostar train from London to Paris. We went to Notre-Dame and Pere-Lachaise cemetery. We ate at a French cafe, I bought a coke that I later realized cost $5.15 and I spoke to French people who answered in English. Kiko spoke French in the cafe. She kept saying she didn't know much French but she was rattling something off. I was quite impressed until we ended up being asked to leave the cafe. Just kidding - I thought she did a great job even though I couldn't understand a word of it! We also went to a French department store which I forget the name of. It was pretty cool though. I bought some french bread there & a cookbook which is in French - I don't know why, it just seemed like the thing to do.

We walked around a LOT in the FREEZING cold and it was really amazing. Stephen got some great pictures and it really does look just like all the pictures. Weird but not surprising I guess. In London I didn't feel like I was in a foreign country but I definitely did in Paris.

This picture is of a French police station. It is funny because I took this picture of the front and then we walked around a bit & were at what I think was the back. There were a couple of policemen standing there & Stephen was going to take a picture. One of them shook his finger at him not to take the picture. He didn't do it but I think he should have gone ahead. So what if the guy had a gun. . .

I loved Paris. It felt magical. That is really the only word I can think of to describe it. And I want to go back someday!

Robin

Cute Pippin!

I was going to write about Paris today but I'm feeling lazy & these pictures are so cute I thought I'd share them instead. Pippin was quite comfortable here just admiring the fire. He looked up when I took the picture but you can see in the bottom shot how he was just staring at the fire.

Posted by Robin & Pippin

London Wrap-up

This post will be my final one about London but never fear, I still have Cambridge, Wales & Paris to write about!

I'd like to start by thanking Stephen for establishing the Bury My Sister at St. Paul's Fund. I'm sure you've all sent in this month's contribution. St. Paul's is an incredibily amazing place & if you've been there or ever go I think you'll understand why I'd want to be buried inside. I'm not even going to try & describe it. I spent a lot of the time we were there just sitting & staring (probably w/my mouth hanging open which explains why people looked at me funny). Prince Charles & Princess Diana were married in St. Paul's. Personally I think it takes a lot of nerve to be married in St. Paul's Cathedral and then get divorced. I guess some people just like living dangerously.

We did indeed spend some time at The British Library. My fingerprints are permanently embedded in the case where the letter written by Elizabeth I was displayed. Other highlights included the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Harrods, and Hampton Court Palace.

Hampton Court was completed in 1521 by Cardinal Wolsey. Wolsey rose from humble origins (I like that phrase) to become Lord Chancellor and Cardinal under Henry VIII. For many years he enjoyed nearly unlimited power. Unfortunately for Wolsey, Henry began to rely on him to accomplish the impossible and when Henry decided to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and marry Anne Boleyn, he expected Wolsey to make the divorce happen. Not so easy. Wolsey was caught between an adamant and increasingly petulant king and a pope who was the prisoner of Catherine's nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. To make a long story short, Wolsey fell from power and was accused of treason. He died on his way to London to stand trial. In the play Henry VIII, Shakespeare has Wolsey say, Had I but serv’d my God with half the zeal I serv’d my king, He would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies. That has always struck me as a fitting epitaph. Like many of those who served the Tudor rulers, he reaped a reward that was far less than he deserved.

As usual I got a bit off the subject of describing our visit to Hampton Court. It is really an amazing place. The kitchen area is vast and standing in it you can just imagine a 16th century meal being prepared. There is also a maze out in the garden which was fun to walk through (except that I was freezing). The other really neat thing about Hampton Court is that it contains a Landmark Trust apartment that can be rented for short-term visits. Guess where I want to stay next time!

I don't really know how to summarize my visit to London. I was afraid that after wanting to go for such a very long time that it wouldn't be everything I expected. I was right - it was far, far more than I ever envisioned. I find it difficult to imagine people living their everyday lives in the midst of so much history. They just walk along the street as if it is nothing that the Tower of London is a few blocks away! I feel like people should want to touch me reverently because I've been in London. Samuel Johnson said, "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." I can't improve on that.

Robin

Cheers from our cousins across the pond

As you've already heard, we spent a bit of time in the Motherland last month. Apparently they don't call it Jolly Old England over there as much as I thought they did (a word to the wise), but we had a right smashing time nonetheless. As my ever so ever so better Anglicanly informed sister has already pointed out, one of the highlights of our trip was Westminster Abbey. What she failed to point out, however, was that we also spent a great deal of time (two separate visits) at St. Paul's Cathedral (a Baroque church designed by the great Christopher Wren at the end of the 17th century). By the end of our first visit there, Robin had decided that her primary aim in life would thenceforth be to be buried in St. Paul's. After some heated discussion, we decided that the best means of achieving that would be to make a very large donation around the time of her death. Toward that end, I am starting up the "Bury My Sister at St. Paul's Fund." I will be establishing this as a 501(c)3 later this month, but in the interim, all donations can be sent directly to me (obviously Robin can't be expected to make the donation after she's gone). We are shooting for a $1 million, so give till you can't give no more.

For me, the highlight of the trip was the British Library (no picture policy there as well, sorry). With more than 13 million books, almost a million journals and some of the most incredible manuscripts, diaries, letters and musical compositions, it is as close as I've ever come to sacred ground. To the right (I hope), is an image of the original manuscript of the poem Dulce et Decorum est, perhaps the great poem ever written about war by probably the greatest commentator on war in the English language (let's not try and compete with the Russians on this one). Written by a 23 or 24 year old young man while in the trenches in France, this poem profoundly altered (and still does) the way many in  Europe perceived the war. It is in many ways a living piece of history (the actual manuscript, of course, not this image over here to the right.

Robin didn't mention food all that much. For those of you who are not acquainted with British cuisine, my hats off to you. While they did give the world the "chip" (that would be a french fry to us here in the colonies) that may be the extent of their culinary contribution. Luckily, there are lots of Indian restaurants in London (to go along with the lots of Indians there).

Another thing we did while there was to zip on over the Channel to Paris for the day. Paris is a nice place, I highly recommend it. If you ever seen those beautiful postcards of typical Parisian streets, lined with cafes and trees, you know what Paris looks like. The whole city is like one never ending postcard. How droll. I guess that's all for now. I'm including a picture taken from the top of St. Paul's. This should help you find it when you go to visit Robin's tomb (much later, of course). 

Happy New Year!

I meant to post this last night but had such an exciting New Year's Eve that I didn't get to it for 24 hours. Actually what happened was that I was so tired last night I went to sleep before midnight. I think that is one of the signs of old age, being unable to stay awake on New Year's Eve.

Hopefully you all have an extensive list of New Year's resolutions that you've already begun work on (& that it includes posting to this blog!). Personally I've given up making them. Mine rarely lasted past the first day so it seems kind of pointless to make them.

I am however, resolved to keep this blog going! While I've been a bit dilatory in my posting I'll continue tomorrow with more tales from our trip. I should point out that there were 2 other people on this trip & I haven't seen a post from them. In their defense they've both been sick so I guess they are excused temporarily.

I hope everyone has a great 2008!!

Robin