a possible return from retirement?

I've been checking my friend Jess' blog daily to see if he's changed his mind about ending the "blogging project"--I just don't think it's proper to hound him during our conversations--and it appears that he may be weighing a triumphant return from his recent retirement. He's removed the message he left, announcing his retirement, which can only give me hope. Unlike Michael Jordan, I believe this return will show him in better form than his last showing, so expect bigger and better things from him if he does decide to put his fingers to the keyboard for a public display of intellectual prowess. Here's hoping that Jess shrugs off the cape that is draped over his shoulders and, with a primal yawp, begins a madcap boogie--the likes of which the late James Brown would be amazed by.

To commemorate this special occasion, I have decided to dip into my archives of Jess-related paraphernalia and offer this picture, taken during one of our afternoon porch-sitting sessions. Cheers!

Technorati Tags: jess boldt, michael jordan, james brown

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my Flickr badge

Just wanted to draw everyone's attention to my Flickr badge on the right-side of the page (scroll down a little to see it). It's great! I love it! And hopefully you're getting to see the picture of Sam eating a hot dog! Super Duper Weenie is the greatest--see here for a review, and make sure you look at the pictures. Whenever we drive to Jersey or NYC to visit family and friends, I have to make a stop. Simply delicious. Well, before this blog becomes one big rave about hot dogs, I've got to go. Gotta go to Simmons for my 12-8 shift at the reference desk, and then we have friends (Ally and Alex) visiting from Brooklyn, so we'll be up all night.

Technorati Tags: Super Duper Weenie, Flickr, badge, hot dog, hot dogs

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don't start me talking, i'll tell you everything i know

Good news on the job front--I went in yesterday and interviewed for the cataloging position at the Boston Public Library and, pending background check, have been offered the job. It's a temporary position but a good way to get my foot in the door . . . that and it's great money! I never figured I'd be making this much on a part-time job while still in college. The people I'd be working with are great, too--it was a relief to find some librarians who work blue.

So, in celebration of my new job, I'm sharing my good will and posting two new songs! Aren't you the lucky one? I was just listening to an old "best of" disk of Sonny Boy Williamson that I've had for years but never listen to and was reminded of a great song: "Don't Start Me To Talkin'." Really, I wanted to play "Fattening Frogs for Snakes" for you, but this song works better. While listening to Sonny Boy play that wicked harmonica, I was reminded of a version of the song I had heard John Minton play--and remembered that I had a recording of it on disk! It was from a show he played at the now-defunct Toast and Jam, a coffee shop in Fort Wayne I used to frequent. So here they are, in all their greatness, Sonny Boy Williamson's version and John Minton's version of "Don't Start Me To Talkin'." Enjoy!



Technorati Tags: John Minton, Sonny Boy Williamson, cataloging, music

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Whopsy frobscottle!

I've been reading Sam my favorite bed-time story, The BFG, for the past year and it's done the trick of getting her off to sleep quickly. We're almost to the end now; the Queen's Army and Air Force is off, ready to capture the nine human bean-gulping giants! As a child, I loved Quentin Blake's illustrations (he did a lot of work for Roald Dahl's books) and, during our engagement weekend, Sam and I got to see original art from The BFG when we visited The Eric Carle Museum of Picturebook Art. Great fun! It even had some of the depictions of what happens when you drink whopsy frobscottle . . . and you get whizpoppers!



So I had mentioned seeing a couple of potential spots for our wedding in New Hampshire this past weekend. Hate to say it but Sam and I had a terrible experience at the Castle in the Clouds, so there's no way we're having it there. It's was such a bummer, because I was so excited about it, but it was a disaster. The events coordinator didn't tell us about the secret rear entrance up the mountain, so we never ended up meeting her. Long story short, when we finally got to the secret meeting spot that she had never told us about, she was already gone. When we got in touch with her over the phone, she was rude and unapologetic . . . overall a nasty character. She stressed that it would take her all of ten minutes to get back to where we were, and had better things to do--this, after we had driven two hours to get there! My mind just boggled. So the next day I wrote a letter to the General Manager. What else can you do in a situation like that?

But with every bad experience, I tend to have a great experience. Don't know if it's how my Irish luck plays out, or if it's karma, or whatever. The next stop was the Bedford Village Inn, which ended up being the "gold standard" we'll be comparing to when looking at our other selections. I've taken video of it all (including the stunning scenery at the Castle in the Clouds), so maybe I'll post it on YouTube.

I got an email last week from a professor of mine, asking if I'd be interested in a cataloging job at a "well-known institution in downtown Boston." I put my name in the hat and ended up with an interview at the Boston Public Library. The job deals with cataloging fore-edge painted books from the Rare Book Department, which will then be digitized and available online. Sounds like interesting work, and the pay is pretty great too! So I'll be going in on Thursday--sounds like it'll be an informal meeting, so it seems like I've already got the job.

Last but not least, it's a new week! And I've got to keep my promise to post music. This week is The Smiths, with "Panic". A great clangy 80's English pop tune with a refrain we can all agree with--hope you enjoy!

hang the blessed DJ
because the music they constantly play
it says nothing to me about my life

slacker!

I find myself again in the position of apologizing to no-one for not having posted in the past few weeks. Why apologize? I don't know, absolves me of my blogging sins?

Two weeks ago I had my fiscal management course, taken over Spring Break. So while all those girls were going wild, I was keeping my shirt on and being studious. Take it from me girls, it ain't all that and a slice of pie. But at least my family wasn't ashamed of me after seeing my Spring Break escapades. The class was great, really--we had a variety of very interesting individuals who gave talks. Most notable was a board member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), who dropped this line: "last week when I was at Warren Buffett's office, I asked him what he wanted to see on accounting sheets . . ." In case you're not sure who Warren Buffett is, here's a good article from Salon, and here's the Wikipedia entry. We also had a Vice President from the Federal Reserve talk to us about media concerns and their impact on the market. Really great stuff, but it's not for everyone.

Sam and I will be going to New Hampshire this Saturday to see a few places we have pegged as potential spots for our wedding. The one I'm most excited about is the Castle in the Clouds, which isn't too pricey and is freakin' beautiful.

So I've just seen word from my friend, Jess, that he's done with the blogging experiment. Or, as he says it, there's "nothing left to write." I find that hard to believe--this from a guy who just published a book of poetry. But sometimes it can get a little silly, writing a blog that you're sure no-one reads or, much less, cares about. That and blogging makes it difficult to divide the truly personal and that-which-should-be-blogged. I know that there's enough going on in Jess' life that he could talk about, but it's not always appropriate for the blogging forum. Same goes for me--I've written one post that was lost because Firefox crashed and, in retrospect, was happy that it did because what I had written wasn't appropriate for a public forum, no matter how little it's read. Along this line, my dad had told me about a workshop he had attended, made mandatory by his employer, that discussed the implications of correspondence through the digital environment, where anything inappropriate you say can and will be haunting you at some point in the future. Just type "MySpace" and "arrest" into Google and you'll see some implications of this.

Anyway, I hope Jess will get off his duff and come back to blogging. I've been enjoying his posts, there hasn't been a dull one yet.

I've been kicking around the idea of posting a song to the blog once a week, so this will be the first one. And in honor of St. Paddy's Day, I bring you The Dubliners singing Finnegan's Wake. If you're interested in understanding what they're singing, I suggest seeing the lyrics here. Enjoy!