REVIEW: Things the Grandchildren Should Know

Mark Everett, otherwise known in the music world as 'E', is an ordinary guy with problems. He's also the singer-songwriter behind the Eels, an indie rock band that continues to defy convention and accumulate fans worldwide. Since his family was first struck by tragedy when E was a teenager, he has been through a lot of heartache which he describes in this memoir in plain, straightforward prose. Unlike most celebrity lives, E's pain seems thrust upon him by fate and is not the result of rock n' roll excess. That fact alone makes his resilience and his life story a triumph.

Things the Grandchildren Should Know

by Mark Oliver Everett

256 pp., Thomas Dunne Books, 2008

Purchase here.

Emma and afterwards

Amy and I just finished watching the third and final part of Emma, the newest Masterpiece Classic production. It was great! I can't say enough about the recent string of quality literature adaptations, especially Bleak House, Jane Eyre, and the Complete Jane Austen cycle (including Miss Austen Regrets).

Lucky for you, PBS is re-airing two of the Austen classics over the next two weeks. First is Northanger Abbey and then in two weeks, Persuasion. Both are fantastic and you should clear your schedules to watch them!

REVIEW: A Braveheart Fan Book

Lin's book is interesting for the movie and Wallace trivia it contains despite the fact that it is poorly written for a professional novelist.

Braveheart: From Hollywood to Holyrood

by Lin Anderson

What does your library look like?

One of the projects I completed my final semester of school was to create a blog about a rural library issue. I chose to look at the architecture of Cache County's libraries. I'll probably be deleting it soon but, before I did, I wanted to share it with you:

http://rurallibrarydesign.blogspot.com/

Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.

REVIEW: The Year 1000

In this interesting little volume, Lacey and Danziger take us into a medieval world which is at times both very alike and very different from our own. Using a contemporary calendar to guide the reader through the months of the year, and with doses of humor and trivia along the way, we are introduced to the daily life of royalty, churchmen and, more often, the ordinary man and woman. We learn how they worked, how they played, how they talked, and even how they ate. The Year 1000 is an accessible overview of the period and a surprisingly entertaining read.

The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium: An Englishman's World

by Robert Lacey & Danny Danziger

230 pp., Back Bay Books, 1999

Purchase here.

Are books headed for the nursing home?

Check out this article from BBC News Magazine:

Page-Turning Passion

This year is being touted as the year of the electronic book, but the gadget won't change people's passion for the printed page, writes Lisa Jardine.

New Music! No, Not Really New.

I got very excited yesterday when I discovered while looking through an audio/visual catalog at work that there is a new Cranberries CD which came out today. But the more I looked at it and listened to previews on Amazon.com, the more I was disappointed at what I found. And apparently I'm not the only one:

The album takes its name from the Gaelic translation of ‘clap your hands’ and is surprisingly the band’s first ever live audio release.... That it appears to have been put together without the band’s involvement or consent, packaged by someone who evidently fails at graphic design, and consists mainly of already available B-sides, doesn’t seem to have discouraged The Cranberries from supporting the release.
(From wearsthetrousers.com)

Bleh. I'm still a big fan but what the band really needs to do for a live album is release an entire concert. Maybe their MTV Unplugged (which has been bootlegged for over a decade) or an audio version of one of their live DVDs. But this package is just so sad. :(

Books Finished in 2009

• Death Makes a Holiday, David J. Skall
• Doctrine & Covenants of the LDS Church
• Enemies of Books, William Blades
• Going Beyond Google: The Invisible Web in Learning and Teaching, Jane Devine
• Holy Bible (KJV, LDS edition)
• Leaving the Fold: Candid Conversations with Inactive Mormons, James W. Ure
• On Acting, Laurence Olivier
• Story of Michael Collins (Irish Heroes for Children), Isold ODeirg
• [Update] Young Folks' History of the Church, Nephi Anderson
• 300, Frank Miller

Milestone

I finished my last university assignment yesterday afternoon. I earned A's in both my classes this semester. I leave Clarion with a 3.9 GPA! Commencement on Saturday!

My Office

I meant to post these pics about four months ago. Anyway, here is my old work space and then my new office in Logan Library!

A Dog!

We bought a dog: a pure-bred, 2.5-year-old Beagle named [Update:] Aggie.

New cool music

MUSE

Three songs have impressed me lately:

• 'Apocalypse Please' by Muse: I first heard this on last.fm radio and was immediately excited by it's power. I asked a former Latin classmate and Muse fan which album of their's I should try first and she suggested 'Absolution' which contains 'Apocalypse Please'. I have it now. Watch a live performance of the song here. By the way, the first single off their new album is also excellent. Watch the video here.
• 'Where Did All the Love Go?' by Kasabian: Just a great song by this British band which I don't know very much about yet. Listen to a full preview here.
• 'Magnificent' by U2: I heard this the radio the other day while cruising up to the university Graywhale store in SLC and was blown away. It's the best thing I've heard from U2 in the last 12 years! Watch the video here.

Logan Elections

In Logan elections tomorrow, Tuesday, November 3, Amy and I support the following candidates:

• Randy Watts for Mayor
• Tony Wegener for Municipal Council
• Dean Quayle for Municipal Council

Get out and vote!

That's a Lot of Yo-Yo

I just saw this today on Amazon.

It's a Yo-Yo Ma box set... with 90 CDs!

Random at the Library

Today I was helping an older lady at the library. She saw my Union Jack tie and as we were walking to another area of the library, she said, "I hope you'll forgive me." She then began to sing 'Rule Britannia'! I had a good laugh as she continued to apologize.

The other day Logan Library borrowed a book from the Salt Lake City Public Library through interlibrary loan. The book, 'The English Breakfast Murder' by Laura Child, had this amazing pencil drawing in it. There is most likely no way this drawing will get back into the hands of whoever drew it, but I scanned it and then sent it back with the book. The picture you see here is the one and, maybe by some miracle, it will be found here.