Even decades later, it’s still hip to be square - The Boston Globe

Even decades later, it’s still hip to be square - The Boston Globe
I commented on the Boston Globe website (with an abbreviated version on Facebook - I could never make it on Twitter!)
I am surprised to be the first to point out that Huey Lewis gives a wonderful description of Ken Kesey’s Sometimes A Great Notion, while attributing it to One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Throughout the 1970s I told anyone who would listen that I considered the story of the Stamper family versus the union (and the river) as THE Great American Novel. I compared his style to Faulkner, with the point of view and narrator constantly shifting. Kesey takes you into the head of each wonderfully conflicted character, as they confound and frustrate one another, the townspeople and the would-be author sent by the union to sort things out.

Wisdom, repetition and jargon, oh my!

Actualizations: You Don't Have to Rehearse to Be Yourself by Stewart Emery




While reading: Page 32-33: “Before we got born we were living in a super little apartment…everything was taken care of for us. It was warm, it was comfortable, the climate was perfectly even; the room service was terrific; all the food and everything else we needed were piped in; there were no loud noises and very few intrusions. Then…we get evicted…an unpleasant shock.” Believe it or not these words are in service of a joyous vision of what life can and should be.
Upon completion: I wish I had noted what author referred to this title, so I could credit him or her. I read a different book by Emery long ago. This one has some incredible insights if you can get past the repetition (think Knots by R. D. Laing) and the jargon of the 70s. “A true friend is someone who supports you the way you really are and kicks you in the ass when the way you’re being represents a lie about the way you really are.” (p. 150) “We actually have to take the time to sit down and have a conversation with ourselves and let ourselves know what we appreciate about ourselves. And also we need to forgive ourselves…Acknowledge what worked in an appreciative way, and acknowledge what did not work in a compassionate way. Ultimately, you are the best friend you have. Get to know and appreciate the person you have slept with all your life. (p.150)
He has some wonderful things to say about child rearing, as well as how goals are wonderful in the context of “the game of life,” and a trap if we forget it’s a game. He concludes the book delightfully on page 222, “We must grow beyond dependence and preoccupation with the avoidance of loss. We will then arrive at independence. Which is a trap unless we see it as a prelude to the master game: the art of creative interdependence, the art of playing together in reality, creating results of joyful service, and being mirrors to each other’s enlightenment.”

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Thanks to Seth Godin and N. M. Kelby

I read The Constant Art of Being a Writer: The Life, Art and Business of Fiction by N. M. Kelby because Seth Godin writes on the back cover, “Don’t wait, don’t stall, don’t browse. Buy a copy right now.” Being a librarian who can get most books free – as well as being thrifty to the extreme - but who has purchased both books and CDs by Godin, I had to devour it. The reader is rewarded with a lot of insights including how to use social networking. I applaud her efforts to help you sell what you write while never letting you forget that the writing is an act unto itself and worthy of your dedication, whatever the number of your readers.

Let Trustees Do Their Job!

As I was about to leave for today’s SEMLS meeting (where we voted to merge with the other Regions to morph into the Massachusetts Library System while bemoaning our colleagues’ job losses) Ruth Kowal of Boston Public Library called to ask me to help fight the Senate amendments to the State Budget that would deny State Aid and Library of Last Recourse funding if Boston closed or reduced staffing at any Branch.

Ruth said a further amendment would make this proposal more “fair” by including any library with Branches. I told her I would spread the word to my SEMLS colleagues at the meeting, and Cindy Roach announced it from the podium. (We’ll miss you, Cindy!)

I then wrote to Brockton’s State Senator Thomas Kennedy thanking him for proposing an amendment to increase the amount of State Aid, and asking him to help fight the Branch related amendments. Decisions on how to best utilize the limited resources are best made by local Boards of Library Trustees who are entrusted to serve the needs of local constituents!

A Prescription For Serenity

There's a Customer Born Every Minute: P.T. Barnum's Secrets to Business Success by Joe Vitale


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
On March 18, 2010, I posted on FaceBook, and on this blog, “Harry’s Invocation For Brockton Rotary.” The key sentence was, “The most powerful four words, the shortest prayer and most challenging statement of faith, the crux of the Lord’s Prayer, for me, is ‘Thy Will Be Done.’” Imagine my delight, reading Vitale’s inspirational paean to Barnum, with his description on page 146 of finding Barnum’s “tiny, unadorned headstone… And on the front of it, still legible after over 100 years, was the phrase Barnum loved: “Not my will, but thine, be done.” This is another book that I put aside, not posting because it contained so many quotes I wanted to share. This one suffices. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

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Congrats to Betsy Wolfe: Dennis Lehane in Braintree

Congratulations to Elizabeth "Betsy" Wolfe, Library Director at the Thayer Public Library, for bringing this charming author to Braintree and introducing him on the stage at Thayer Academy. See if you think he looks like Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector. Throughout the talk I couldn't make the connection, because the resemblance was physical only. Lehane was witty and entertaining and very real and down to earth. Wife Jody and I both enjoyed this tremendously and the hour and a half flew by. Thank you, Betsy!
'Shutter Island' author Dennis Lehane speaks to Braintree audience - Quincy, MA - The Patriot Ledger

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Library Journal - April Fool?

I just posted the following comment on Library Journal's web site in response to their article, "Congress Creates Super Federal Library Agency":

I received the April 1st issue today. Looking at the cover article I assumed that “Congress Creates Super Federal Library Agency” was an April Fools joke. Then I saw that the date on LJ on the e-reader was April 1, 2015, and thought perhaps this was a true essay in futurism. I hurried to read the article.
My first clue to the aptness of my initial impulse was “A cabal of politically savvy library administrators and congressional staffers did the impossible…” Further along I tripped over the name of “the Congressional Research Service’s Winston Smith.”
The sidebar quote from “Sen. Dewey Cutter” topped the rest. As a proud graduate of Columbia University’s SLS (yes, youngsters, there really once was an ALA accredited library school at CU) that name was guaranteed to tickle the funny bone.
If I have misread, and Paul J. Steere’s contribution is the result of scholarship, research and sincere prognostication, I offer my profound apology.