late to the party and i'm still dazed and confused...

Have you heard the one about the librarian who was charged with sexual harassment for recommending a book? (apparently everyone but me has, because he's already been found "not guilty" of those charges but now HE's suing for extreme emotional distress). This story was posted to one of my lists:

OSU-M librarian accused of sexual harassment hits faculty with counter-suit

By Jami Kinton News Journal (Mansfield, Ohio)

MANSFIELD -- A librarian at The Ohio State University-Mansfield accused of sexual harassment is suing at least four faculty members for defamation and intentional distress.
Scott Savage's suit lists Norman Jones, James Buckley, Hannibal Hamlin, Gary Kennedy and others yet to be identified as defendants.
The dispute stems from Savage's experiences, in February 2006, on the First Year Reading Experience Committee that chooses books for freshmen to read as part of their immersion into college life.
Savage initially suggested four titles from a conservative perspective, including David Kupelian's "The Marketing of Evil."
The next day, Jones e-mailed the committee to say Kupelian's book is "anti-gay and "homophobic tripe," the suit alleges.
Savage says that when he offered other reviews of the book, Jones sent private e-mails to library director Beth Burns, the campus dean and the committee that attacked Savage's professionalism and academic opinions.
Hamlin responded with an e-mail warning Savage the book would violate the campus's discrimination policy. Soon after, Buckley, who was not on the committee, sent an e-mail to all OSU-Mansfield faculty and staff members criticizing the book suggestion and saying he felt threatened and harassed by Savage.
According to the suit, Savage did not respond to these or future comments because "the discussion had degenerated from the professional task of producing a freshman reading list to an effort by faculty members to enforce their own liberal orthodoxy at OSU-M and to punish and humiliate Savage for his viewpoint."
At a March 13, 2006, assembly, Hamlin accused Savage of defending "hate literature" and told faculty the overriding issue raised by Savage was sexual harassment, the suit says.
The faculty unanimously approved a motion to forward a sexual harassment allegation to a university investigator. Three days later, Kennedy filed the complaint on behalf of Buckley and Jones with OSU-Mansfield's Human Resources Officer.
A month later, Savage said he received a letter from the OSU-M Human Resources investigator that stated he was not guilty of discrimination and harassment and charges never should have been filed.
Because of what he called "extreme emotional distress," Savage took a leave of absence from the campus July 5 and has not returned.
Defendants will have 30 days to respond or make a legal motion in response to the March 6 suit.
Savage is asking for $25,000 in compensatory damages, a minimum of $25,000 in punitive damages from each defendant, attorney fees and any other relief to which he may be entitled.
"I have represented people a number of times who have been nose-to-nose with the homosexual rights crowd," said Tom Condit, Savage's attorney. "The people who are homosexual activists are vicious. They are not honest and will take no prisoners.
"They want people to agree that homosexuality is a good thing or they will destroy you."
Condit said accusations and name-calling damage reputations, no matter the eventual outcome.
"No matter how long it takes, if this is settled immediately or if it takes 10 years, we are in this for the long run," Condit said.
Rodger Smith, assistant director of university relations at OSU-Mansfield, said Savage is due back on campus on July 2.

Now, from this, i got the impression that Savage had suggested The Marketing of Evil as one of several books to be read as part of a "Year of Reading" program and was then "attacked" by a group with an agenda, which would be bad and uncalled for to say the least, and also somewhat smacking of censorship, but then, as i was reading some of the comments, i thought to myself, there seems to be something more here, so i did a little further research, and i came up with this article:

Savage Injustice
By David French FrontPageMagazine.com April 24, 2006
Like many other universities, Ohio State University’s branch campus in Mansfield, Ohio has a “First Year Reading Experience” program, through which the school chooses a book for all incoming freshmen to read. The book is chosen by a committee that includes both faculty and library staff.
One of the members of this was Scott Savage, the head reference librarian at OSU Mansfield. Scott is a “Plain Christian,” a conservative Quaker who eschews most forms of modern technology, rides a horse and buggy, and endeavors to live a simple and quiet life. As a Quaker, Scott believes in nonviolence, and that evil and injustice should not be fought “with the weapons of this world.” His opponents on the committee made the mistake of assuming that because of this pacifism, Savage would be easily overwhelmed on the issue before them and that once his friendly persuasion had failed he would retreat into silence and acquiescence.
The other members of the committee initially recommended a variety of leftist works, a mixture of scholarly books and casual reads (such as titles by Jimmy Carter and Maria Shriver) for incoming freshmen. Scott objected to the one-sided nature of the list and suggested a less overtly political book, Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. After this suggestion was rebuffed, he suggested four more books, all reflecting mainstream conservative opinions: David Horowitz’s The Professors, It Takes a Family by Rick Santorum, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis by Baat Ye’or, and The Marketing of Evil by David Kupelian.
The reaction to these suggestions was swift – and outrageous. The Marketing of Evil particularly angered some of the professors because it advances a traditional Judeo-Christian view of sexual morality. One professor, J.F. Buckley, responded to Scott’s suggestion with a public allegation (through an e-mail to the OSU Mansfield faculty and staff) of harassment:

As a gay man I have long ago realized that the world is full of homophobic, hate-mongers who, of course, say that they are not. So, I am not shocked, only deeply saddened—and THREATENED—that such mindless folks are on this great campus. I am ending now, with the hope that I have seriously challenged you Scott, and anyone who “thinks” as you purport to do. You have made me fearful and uneasy being a gay man on this campus. I am, in fact, notifying the OSU-M campus, and Ohio State University in general, that I no longer feel safe doing my job. I am being harassed.

In other words, Scott Savage’s very existence on campus—the way he thought and viewed the world-- made Professor Buckley fearful at work. Given the absurdity of that allegation, one might think that others on the committee would have introduced a note of sanity to the discussion. But this was not the case. In fact, the other professors immediately jumped to the support of Professor Buckley, and fellow faculty member Dr. Norman Jones recommended that the matter be brought before the school’s faculty association.
On March 13, 2006, after much discussion, the faculty association of OSU Mansfield voted without dissent to forward the issue of Scott Savage’s incorrect thinking to a “sexual harassment investigator of the university.” Whether out of conviction or cowardice, not one faculty member stood up to defend obviously protected speech. Not one faculty member stood up to defend academic freedom. Not one faculty member voted to stop a slanderous and false allegation. Not one faculty member voted against a motion to punish a librarian for suggesting a book.
At the University of Colorado, 199 professors signed a public petition to ask the Board of Regents to stop all investigations of Ward Churchill, including a plagiarism investigation that was unrelated to Churchill’s offensive (though certainly constitutionally protected) speech. To those professors, free speech was so important that it justified protecting a controversial professor even from plagiarism allegations. At Ohio State Mansfield, though, the faculty slandered a librarian for exercising the same academic freedom rights as other members of his committee.
So, in the name of academic freedom, leftists like Colorado’s Churchill must be protected – even from actual legal violations (like plagiarism) – when they celebrate the September 11 death of American fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters. Yet in the name of that same academic freedom, these same leftists can punish conservatives merely for suggesting books that offer a traditional Judeo-Christian perspective on sexual morality.
This episode in the heartland of red state America shows yet again how deeply the culture of Leftism has penetrated the daily workings of our universities.
David French is the Director of the Alliance Defense Fund’s Center for Academic Freedom

It seems we've stepped upon the Christian sensibilities of this great nation of ours (it really makes me glad that i'm not on THAT committee~although sometimes i feel like i have "opponents" on the committees i AM on i don't think they are officially called that...) I'm still thinking there is more than meets the eye to this story, but here's what i'm thinking: these are book suggestions for ONE book that the freshman are supposed to read during their first year (oh those poor, poor students how will they ever suffer through?) that puts quite a different spin on things than if you are suggesting a LIST of titles (it is quite interesting that our system just went through its own "One Book" fiasco). It seems that after Freakonomics was rejected (quite unfortunately in my opinion, as that would have made a good, quick, discussable and hopefully, less controversial read~perhaps everyone is regretting that decision now) maybe Mr. Savage felt like pushing his own agenda just a tad? The problem with a single book program is that you are promoting it as a book that Every (in this case) Freshman should read. You really don't want to promote (or offend) the views of either the majority or the minority of a certain population base (and just to insert a quick question here~why are conservative opinions called mainstream conservative while liberal views are always just leftist? and while we're at, it why are all of Savage's titles named and the other titles are just a variety of leftist works?) Some people just don't get it and sometimes that person is me, but it seems like things got a bit out of control here. Once you get emotionally involved it's a bit too difficult to see things rationally, like i said i feel like i'm still missing something but i'm not sure what it is (if i was then i wouldn't be missing it, right?)

more words to offend

so i haven't yet mentioned the whole controversy raging over That Book and That Word (mostly because a) i'm not a youth services librarian; or b) an offended parent/tax-payer/parent/ constituent/ whatever; c) i think the whole thing is rather silly; and d) the more i read the more i want to roll my eyes and say "Wake me when it's over" or, conversely "Isn't it over yet?"

But i think the whole brouhaha may be dying down (i hope, i pray) but if you haven't read the book perhaps you should (it might even go on my pile) and in the meantime i offer these two bits of humor:

INAPPROPRIATE by Paul Rudnick March 12, 2007

A children’s book that included the word “scrotum” was recently the subject of great controversy in school libraries nationwide. A Google search has discovered several more questionable titles and excerpts from other works intended for readers twelve and under.
“The Pretty Little Bunny”
Melissa, the pretty little bunny, woke up one morning in May and said, “I think I’ll hop-hop-hop over to the carrot patch. I’m so pretty that all of the carrots will jump right out of the ground to see me.”
“You are very pretty,” said Melissa’s Bunny Mommy. “But your sister is pretty, too, and she doesn’t spend all of her time looking at herself in the mirror.”
“But is she as pretty as me?” asked Melissa. “Just look at my vagina.”
“The Clattery Caboose”
Carl the Caboose had worked for the railroad for a long time. He loved it when little children ran alongside the tracks and waved to him. But Carl was getting older. His bright-red paint was peeling, his wheels were getting squeaky, and don’t even ask about his prostate.
“Where’s Waldo’s Hand?”
“The Lonely Little Moonbeam”
The lonely little moonbeam would sleep all day, and then wake up and shine all night long, to guide people on their way. But he was lonely, because people never looked up and smiled at him. They were too busy performing fellatio.
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, and I Need It Bad”
“Cornelius Thimbletuck and the Wizard of Trewe”
Every night, Cornelius would pray that his parents would rescue him from the Smudgebury Orphanatorium, and every morning he’d awaken on his hard, wooden cot. And so before eating his meagre ration of watery gruel he would masturbate until his palm bled.
“Oh, the People You’ll Do”
“The Lion Princess”
Tarandiria, the beautiful lion princess, was strolling through the tall grass one day with her mother, Queen Malafala.
Tarandiria said, “Mother lioness, whenever I see that handsome leopard over there I get a strange, tingling feeling.”
“Where do you get this feeling, my child?” asked the Queen.
Tarandiria told her, “In my hyena.”
“Betsy Barstow, Colonial Girl”
One fine morning, as Betsy went to the village well in the Olde Massachusetts Baye colony, she ran into her best friend, feisty Katey Karmody.
“Oh, Katey,” said Betsy, “I have such news! My father and my brothers are joining up with the militia to fight the British, so that we may all be free!”
“Oh, Betsy, that is news!” cried Katey. “My nipples are like muskets!”
“The Big Floppy Penis”
“The Little Mermaid at Sea”
As Ariel cavorted through the waves and foam, she thought to herself, How I love the sea and all its friendly creatures. How I love capering and leaping from cove to lagoon. How I love to be at one with the grand undersea kingdom, but I think I have crabs.
“A Modern Child’s Garden of Verses”
Smart Susie O’Malley just loved her computer,
She didn’t need pencils or books or a tutor.
Chad had a laptop, a Mac, and a modem,
He Web-cammed smart Susie a shot of his scrodem

and then, of course, there is always:

Legion of Decency

Index Liberis Prohibitorum - Index of Forbidden Books for Children
The Boy Who Died From Eating All His Vegetables

Curious George and the High-Voltage Fence

Daddy Drinks Because You Cry

Dad's New Wife Robert

Eggs, Toilet Paper, and Your School

Fun Four-letter Words to Know and Share

The Kids' Guide to Hitchhiking

The Little Sissy Who Snitched

The Magic World Inside the Abandoned Refrigerator

The Man in the Moon Is Actually Satan

Places Where Mommy and Daddy Hide Neat Things

Pop! Goes The Hamster...And Other Great Microwave Games

The Pop-Up Book of Human Anatomy

Some Kittens Can Fly

Strangers Have the Best Candy

Things Rich Kids Have, But You Never Will

Whining, Kicking, and Crying to Get Your Way

Why Can't Mr. Fork and Ms. Electrical Outlet Be Friends?

You Were an Accident

Your Nightmares Are Real

You're Different, and That's Bad

(source: Steven Olderr, Webmaster, Anglican Library Society)

mistakes were made...

According to Maria Aspan of The New York Times, Time Warner is not falling all over itself to defend its decision to withhold the March 14 Swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated (and wouldn't you feel absolutely crushed to be deprived of such an incredible Steven Tyler shot as the one shown at left???) from its institutional customers and is instead blaming the debacle on an unnamed group of flunkies.

. . . Despite the differing responses many libraries initially received from Sports Illustrated representatives, Rick McCabe, a magazine spokesman, said on Friday that the magazine would provide copies of the missing issue to all affected subscribers who requested them.
According to Mr. McCabe, the decision to withhold the swimsuit issue was made independently of the magazine’s senior management, by a group that was also involved in removing alcohol or tobacco-related advertising from issues for classrooms and other subscribers who requested such alternate copies. He declined to further identify the group, but said that recent complaints about the swimsuit issue’s content from teachers and parents were also a factor.

Librarians and their patrons won’t have to worry about missing the latest in swimsuit fashions next year. The decision to withhold the issue was “a mistake that shouldn’t have been made,” Mr. McCabe said. “Certainly it’s not something we’re going to do again.”

The Swimsuits Were Skimpy, but the Magazine Was Invisible (March 12, 2007)

don't we feel special to recieve his apology and the gift of the extra subscription though?

what doesn't kill THEM makes THEM stronger...

So here i am 3½ weeks into this infernal-eternal-sinus-infection that might just kill me, and i would be rampaging; but i don’t have the energy.

After having gone through the first week of illness i actually dragged myself to my doctor for a diagnosis and went through a full course of antibiotics~and yes, i took every single one~never skipped a dose (i'm a good little patient when it comes to antiBs~never use them unless absolutely necessary; always take the full course.) Before my course was complete the beastly plague came back with a vengeance, and the doc prescribed another course of the same antibiotic which i tried for five days then, after no results, dragged my ailing body back again. She gave me Bigger, Badder drugs, so, here's hoping...

(in the meantime, my sinuses ache, my ears ache, my throat aches, my throat is sore, i continue to cough, and my migraine refuses to be upstaged; i'm a bit annoyed...)

At the moment my would-be rampaging energy is focused on those who insist on using antibiotics without cause thus helping to bring about our current "superbugs". Did you know this also applies to the current trend of all those antibiotic and antimicrobial soaps, hand sanitizers, cleansers, and whatnot that are all the rage. We're frenziedly and paranoidly cleaning ourselves into even bigger and badder diseases people! Then what will we do to rid ourselves of them. Somehow i thought i was protecting myself by taking care of me and mine but the world influences the whole world (besides i'm miserable and it's so nice to be able to blame someone besides myself for a change)

Anyway, if i Could rampage, this would be the start of my manifesto...

a bit of an extreme reaction...

here's an interesting little tale:

LANCASTER POLICE
Librarian refused to ID hurt woman

Cardholder found struggling in river
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Mary Beth Lane
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
LANCASTER, Ohio — A woman who carried no identification except her public library card was plucked from the icy waters of the Hocking River on Thursday night.
Lancaster police were able to identify her as 51-year-old Sheila Springer, but no thanks to the Fairfield County District Library.
Police are considering referring a complaint of obstruction of official business to the Lancaster city prosecutor over library circulation manager Laura Gibson’s refusal to cooperate, Sgt. Randy Greenawalt said yesterday.
Springer remained at Grant Medical Center in Columbus yesterday, but her condition was not made public at her request, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Police got a call from a passer-by at 8:43 p.m. that a woman was in the water behind Carnival Foods along Memorial Drive, where a footbridge crosses the Hocking River.
The caller, 56-year-old Jimmy Willoughby, was walking across the bridge when he heard cries that he initially thought came from a cat in distress, he told police. Then he spotted a woman in the water directly under the bridge.
After he called police, he plunged into the water to help.
Police Officer Eric Eggleston found the man holding the woman’s head above the water. The water was about 1 foot deep, but the current was strong. The two men struggled trying to get her up a steep, slippery riverbank, and then Lancaster firefighters arrived and used ropes to drag her from the water.
She was fully clothed but bore no identification except for her library card on a key ring. A police dispatcher reached the library circulation manager and asked for help identifying the woman. Gibson refused.
Officer Matt Mullett then tried, explaining that it was an emergency and she was required to cooperate, and Gibson refused again, saying she could not release the information without a subpoena, according to the police report.
"I can’t comment," Gibson said yesterday, when reached at the library.
Meanwhile, the woman was identified after she was taken to Fairfield Medical Center, where someone recognized her. She was flown from there to Grant Medical Center.
The woman told Eggleston, who accompanied the rescue squad to Fairfield Medical Center, that she had gone to Carnival Foods to buy a Mountain Dew and was walking back across the footbridge when she wound up in the water. How she got there is still unclear, Eggleston said, because she gave varying accounts.
She hurt her pelvis and leg, the officer said.
Police had not had any trouble with the library before, said Deputy Chief Dave Bailey. He said he had no comment about the librarian’s behavior Thursday night.
Orman Hall, president of the library’s board of trustees, said it was unfortunate that the librarian did not cooperate and suggested that she mistakenly erred on the side of conservatism in preserving the confidentiality of a library patron.
He was confident that library Director Marilyn Steiner would educate the employees on how to work with police.
"We need to do some work," Hall said. "I am confident that Marilyn and her staff will clarify the issues around confidentiality to make sure this doesn’t happen again."
Police plan to honor Willoughby for his efforts, Greenawalt said.

now i just have this to say about that:

first off, does the press just go in search of stories to make librarian look like stern, "we must obey the rules at all costs", hands-on-hips, shushing, naysayers (and i'm also questioning the actual "librarian" distinction itself~it seems like the actual job title was Circulation Manager~which doesn't always mean librarian~in my system it doesn't~i know in some systems it does~i know the MILS is a bone of contention among many in the profession {and i also know that you don't ALWAYS have to have one to be a Librarian} but outside of the profession people still seem to think that anyone working within the walls of a library is called a Librarian~and i'm really not saying anything against the paraprofessionals here~just against a press who doesn't do the proper research or a public who remains uninformed of titles.)?

secondly, how much did it really hinder the whole rescue process to NOT know the woman's NAME?

thirdly, yes, there are confidentiality issues, but couldn't she have called someone then and there to give her the okay to give out the name under the circumstances (that is, since she didn't seem to have the common sense to see that yes, she could actually give out the information (and, as someone pointed out on one of my lists, the police ARE allowed to lie to get information, how was the Circulation Manager to know that this wasn't one of those cases~tho i'm not sure how damaging a name could be~again, colour me uninformed) asked and nobody would really fault her for it~at least i don't think so~but maybe that's just the rash, wild, non-stern, non-rule- obeying, librarian in me?)

and the award for most trusted reference source goes to...

NOT Wikipedia.
now who would've guessed???

According to an article in U.K.'s The Register© Wikipedia's most illustrious "professor" previously known as "Essjay" (actually twenty-four-year-old community college drop-out, Ryan Jordan, who had claimed to hold doctoral degrees in both theology and cannon law as well as being a tenured professor at a private university) as resigned his post at Wikia Inc. under the pressure of what is threatening (according the The Register© at least) to topple one of the world's favorite sources and threaten the very idea of wikis or open source web sites.

Very interesting food for thought if nothing else.

Of course, Wikipedia has had its doubters from the beginning, authority and content always are a bit suspect when just anybody can contribute. But Wikia Inc. has been working on its image problems and promoting the idea that it is reliable that quite a few have fallen prey to the idea~ease and accessablity also being at issue here. You almost have admire Jordan's cheekiness though(well, maybe):

Some Wikipedia users argued that Essjay had compounded the deception by flaunting a fictional Ph.D. and professorship to influence the editing on the site.
“People have gone through his edits and found places where he was basically cashing in on his fake credentials to bolster his arguments,” said Michael Snow, a Wikipedia administrator who is also the founder of The Wikipedia Signpost, the community newspaper for which he is covering the story. “Those will get looked at again.”
In a discussion over the editing of the article with regard to the term “imprimatur,” as used in Catholicism, Essjay defended his use of the book Catholicism for Dummies, saying, “This is a text I often require for my students, and I would hang my own Ph.D. on it’s credibility.”

~A Contributor to Wikipedia Has His Fictional Sideby Noam Cohen The New York Times, March 5, 2007

here's what i believe to be some interesting points made by The Register© article:

Does it matter?

The episode has been quite a calamity for the project: Wikipedia funders now regret their contributions, and senior Wikipedia editors regret their personal investment in the project. May we add three points that are in danger of being overlooked-
Firstly, there's the issue of "deception" and the New Yorker. Pranking the media should not be considered a crime; it's an honorable activity. Journalists are deceived on a daily basis - and should be more often, as it keeps us on our toes. When you hear journalists complaining about this onerous obligation - of sifting their sources, you know that privilege has won out over duty. Yet this is something the Pulitzer Prize winner commissioned to write the now notorious feature failed to do.
Make no mistake, Jordan's appearance in the hallowed pages of the New Yorker was not due to his 16,000 edits on Wikipedia, or his natural charisma, or photogenic charms - it was because his sales blurb claimed that he was a Professor of Theology with four degrees. Who better to fulfull Stacy Schiff's brief, to marvel at one of the Wonders of the Modern World? Schiff duly delivered what her editors required: a piece of advertising copy.
It stands as a a warning that evangelism and reporting don't really mix.
Secondly, there's the very elephant in the room that Schiff failed to mention: the cult-like aspect of Web 2.0-flavoured technology-evangelism that we see in projects like Wikipedia. What did the New Yorker miss? Only the obvious, as reader Michael Paxton pointed out via email -
"I know this will sound ridiculous," he writes, "but it is beginning to seem that Wikiology is, more and more, taking on the form of the much maligned (pseudo) religion, Scientology."
"The personality cult, the rejection of conventional truths and realities that challenge the core objectives, the once informal steering groups hardening into a shell of dogma that realises that rejection."
"Hell, the moment I read ArbComm I immediately thought of the Scientology's 'Sea Org'. Both the role as upholders of the core objectives (on behalf of the leader) and the affected air of hand chosen adjudicators of martial law seem to simply add to the rather scarey similarity."
"Please, oh please, warn us if Jimmy Wales ever starts building a navy!"
Not all idealists on the Wikipedia cause are prepared to let this go. Here's a crie de couer from an editor in despair, spotted last week: We've stopped being an encyclopedia. We've stopped using common sense. We've taken our eye of the big picture and focused on ourselves, our myopic power games, our petty process, and our internal need to keep every one in line. We count sources to determine notability - because we need objective rules. Never mind the fact it is absurd. We fight little wars with [Daniel Brandtmonsters of out own imagination]. Never mind the fact they cheapen us. We care not for the damage we do to the real world and its real people, or potential we miss, as long as we can make little rules and have little people follow them.
I'm sick of the little people and their little rules. For now, I want no part of them. I thought there were signs of hope. And I was wrong. + :If this is a direct or indirect result of [List of Internet phenomena], I feel some responsibility for the situation.
Please e-mail me. Which may be the last sound of any conscience the project had ebbing away.
Thirdly, and (almost) finally - there's the question of what Wikipedia's place in the world really is.
A few months ago at a social event, your reporter had an epiphany - but then we all need to get out more. A random stranger was expressing delight at finding "stuff" - information, factoids - on the internet, but couldn't grasp that Wikipedia wasn't owned by Google. When you type in a word, or question, doesn't "stuff" just come out of the computer?
It was hard to explain that Wikipedia was a separate entity that wasn't owned by Google, and even harder to explain - forgive me, dear readers, for I didn't have the courage to explain this - that it was actually Wikipedia that now "owned" Google.

and, from Shelley Powers at her burningbird blog

Wikipedia Walking

I've recently stopped using Wikipedia, or stopped using it as an original source. I've found two things:
First, Google's results have degraded in the last year or so. When one ignores Wikipedia in the results, on many subjects most of the results are placement by search engine optimization–typically garbage–or some form of comment or usenet group or some such that's not especially helpful. Good results are now more likely found in the second or third pages.
Second, I find that I'm having to go to more than one page to find information, but when I do, I uncover all sorts of new and interesting goodies. That's one of the most dangerous aspects of Wikipedia (aside from the whole 'truth' thing), or any single-source of information: we lose the ability to discover things on the net through sheer serendipity.
I still respect many of the authors in Wikipedia, and think it's a good source.
However, this event only strengthens my belief that Wikipedia should be pulled to the side for search engine results, like the Ask definition for words that match in Google, and people go back to searching the web by actually searching the web.

So what do you think? Do you still use Wikipedia (if you ever did)? Does this change the way you look at it and how you use the information in any way? And what do you think of Web 2.0? Or is it all just a case of "Where are we all going? And what am i doing in this handbasket???"

i always suspected as much

have you ever wondered if your pet can read your mind?

According to some researchers they can:

Petsensory Perception

A cat disappears when her owners go on vacation each year, yet arrives back at the house an hour before they return. A dog runs to the door, the moment his owner leaves work, and sits and waits expectantly until she arrives home. A man sits on the couch, his dog slumbering in the next room. He thinks, “I should take Daisy for a walk,” and suddenly his dog comes bounding in the room, leash in mouth, anxious to go. A cat curls up next to the phone just before a family member calls, but never when anyone else is about to call. These kinds of stories are told by many pet owners from all over the world.

Most dogs and cats are very attuned to their owners, and quickly learn their patterns, read their body language and anticipate what’s going to happen next. But there are so many stories of pets seeming to know more than their natural senses would allow that it has been the subject of study and debate for years. Are their natural senses even greater than we ever imagined? Or do they have a sixth sense? Some kind of psychic connection to their owners?

Biologist Rupert Sheldrake, author of Dogs That Know When Their Owner is Coming Home believes that animals have perceptive abilities of telepathy and premonitions. Veterinarian and author, Dr. Allan Schoen says in his book, Kindred Spirits, that people and animals are intimately connected. Pets whom we feel especially close to, seem to understand our needs, read our moods, and sometimes even communicate with us on a level that transcends words or body language.

Can pets be so connected and attuned to their owners when they are far apart, even when there is no possible way they could be using their sense of smell or hearing? Physician and author Dr. Larry Dossey, says there is a connection between all species, which is not limited by locality. He refers to it as a “nonlocal mind.” Consciousness is not restricted to the brain or the body or time or place. Therefore people and animals can have an effect on each other, even when miles apart. Traditional scientists remain skeptical about psychic abilities among people – let alone pets! They say much of the phenomenon can be explained in other ways, through pets’ acute senses of hearing and smell, reading human body language, or noting other cues happening in their environment. Dogs and cats live mostly in a scent world, and are also very sensitive to sounds. It may be that when an owner thinks about taking her dog for a walk, this happy thought causes a slight change in her body chemistry, which the dog can smell, and associate with walks. Some who swear their dog knows when their owner is coming home, may find their pets are unable to do so when they come home in a different car. Another simpler explanation is that owners notice their pets’ mysterious behaviors only when related events coincide. The cat may curl up by the phone now and then, but the owner doesn’t notice. If the cat happens to sit by the phone when “dad” calls, the owner is more likely to take note of it. There is no dispute that our pets live on a sensory level that’s different from our own. Though we share the same five known senses, dogs and cats take in their world mostly through scent and sound and act on instinct. We take in our world mostly through sight and act on intellect and emotion. So it’s not surprising that our pets are able to clue in on things that we can’t imagine could be possible. But sometimes, hard science has no explanation for extraordinary pet perception. The debate goes on.

Dixie can always sense an impending veterinarian trip. Once i start putting on my shoes she disappears (as if i never put on my shoes at any other time). I have to put my shoes, the cat carrier, my bag, and any other to-go necessities out of sight, out of mind near the door and hum a little tune to keep my intentions out of my own mind while i stealthily sneak up on her if i plan on getting her to the vet anytime that same day. Interestingly enough i can get a carrier out and leave it in plain sight if it's another cat's turn and it doesn't bother her a bit.

Both Dixie and Demetra seem to know if i'm just pretending to be asleep because they will repeatedly tap me on the face and neck with their paws to get me to pay attention to them (pet them, cuddle, etc). I assume they don't do this when i'm asleep because i never wake up with little claw marks on my face or neck...

My cat Ophelia and i always had i certain kind of mind-meld going on that my roommates were in constant amazement over. She always knew when i was serious (like wanted to go to bed NOW) when i told her to come into my room, and when she could get away with ignoring me. She always knew when i was going to come home (even though i had a completely unpredictable schedule, no car, and we lived on a second floor interior apartment) and would go to the door about five minutes before i was to walk in it. She knew when i needed comforting, she could also express her dissatisfaction with me by placing herself three feet in front of me with her back to me. That cat was my baby and there will never be another like her...

don't you love it when other people make your decisions for you?

without even consulting you? i mean it just makes your life SO much easier, doesn't it?

Sports Illustrated Withholds Swimsuit Issue from Libraries, Schools — March 8, 2007 ~LIBRARYJOURNAL.com
In an unannounced policy change that already has librarians fuming, Sports Illustrated (SI) decided this year to withhold copies of its risque annual swimsuit issue from classrooms and libraries. SI spokesman Rick McCabe acknowledged to LJ that publisher TIME, Inc., neither offered to let libraries opt out of receiving the issue nor announced it beforehand. Though reader mail doesn't indicate that the issue is any racier than before, McCabe gave this explanation: Over the course of time, we've received feedback from some of those institutions saying it wouldn't be an acceptable thing for them to have or to share with their constituents, and the decision was made that this was one way to hopefully alleviate that issue."

Nor was the publisher able to differentiate among academic libraries, public libraries, and school libraries. "It's done as a block," McCabe said. Those institutions that didn't receive an issue can request it either through a toll-free customer-service number or the web site, he said; already some have done so through their serials vendor. While libraries of all types have suffered from the "Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue disappearance syndrome" and thus kept the issue behind the desk, that doesn't mean librarians wanted SI to stop sending it. Writing on the SERIALST electronic discussion list, Lynne Weaver of Randolph-Macon Woman's College reported that her customer service representative told her that the publisher decided it was inappropriate to send to "institutions." She observed, "It seems to me that if one has a subscription to a title, all issues for that subscription period should be sent. It is up to the recipient to decide what to do with the issue once it is received."

i have always hated it when people tell me what to do, being the semi-rebellious, non-conformist that i am. But it really brings out the protester in me when i'm given the illusion of choice then i have it pulled out from under me. When i was in the seventh (or maybe eighth) grade and my biology class was working on their science fair projects we were given a choice of either going to the school library or staying in the classroom and working there. There were only a few of us who wanted to stay in the classroom which is when my biology teacher unilaterally decided that the entire class was going to the library; which was something that this, hitherto shy, quiet, accommodating student, took great offense to and decided that she, for one, was NOT going to the library, NO MATTER WHAT~you got the Taurus bull, Mister, and she shall not be moved. So, i started my own little protest movement, my point being that he had offered us a choice which he then removed just because he was dissatisfied with the results (i find it at least slightly ironic now that i was refusing to go to a library, of all places~maybe i just sensed i would be spending quite enough time there in future days). I managed to gather quite a little following, because hey, student revolt, and Mr. Biology wasn't sure what to do~i ended up in the Principal's office standing on MY principles, and Everyone Else ending up spending their class time in the classroom debating the issue.

In the meantime our library has to call for our Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition so we can put it on our shelves until some adolescent boy decides to relieve us of it...

Katushka, Demetra, and...

in case you haven't noticed by my cats' names i am a bit enamoured by Russian names (and a few other things of Russian origin (it may be in part due to my Alaskan childhood)~in part due to the whole foreign/exotic air of it all~the idea of native peoples~my love for Fiddler on the Roof, Nabokov, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and all those guys, or i don't know what; but, needless to say, i am obsessed (i always wanted to go there too). In college i tried to take on the language but, due to illness, surprise, surprise, couldn't deal with the immersion style class that required constant attendance.So when i noticed this quiz on Liz's site how could i not avail myself of it?

Your Russian Name Is...

Varya Laryssa Smirnov

What's Your Russian Name?

and isn't it interesting that my last name in Russian is synonymous (is that the word?) for the vodka~can i collect any royalties for that~maybe just for the bottles i've downed personally?

Anyway, once i took the quiz, i realized i already had my Russian appellation; and it wasn't Varya Laryssa Smirnov~it was Katreenka Tudor (okay maybe not so Russian~but i had a whole back story to go with it, which a blogger friend of mine, who shall remain nameless here, could confirm~if he weren't nameless.)

So, when i was working at "The Bookstore" we were eventually forced to put our names on our nametags, and, of course, being me, not wanting to put my actual name on my name tag, i came up with "KATREENKA" (yes my own spelling~i have to be somewhat unique after all) i also came up with the story of how i came to be Katreenka (originally, i think for the day i met Ralph, but you know, i'm kind of souring on that now...so, i'll just tell you...)

The story goes...my parents met in some Russian literature class and there was this short story by Turgenev, or Tolstoy, or Dostoevsky, or maybe even a prose work by Onegin (neither of them can remember for sure) in which the main character was named Katrinka or Katreenka or something like that. And my parents got involved in this fierce discussion/argument/fight about whether she was a strong or a weak character or a put-upon character or a bitch or a victim or whatever and then the argument/slash discussion spilled out of class disgust/contempt/hatred turned into desire/lust/love and the rest was...well, if not history, then at least the naming of yours truly... Because i am the drama queen/fiction writer that i am i could go into a huge amount of detail about this class, this fight, this character, my parents, the romance that ensued, how neither of them remembered who exactly the author was, and my endless search for the short story (of course the whole thing is made up~and i'm adopted~not that that makes a difference with the name thing.) By the by, Tudor comes from Elizabeth and my obsession with that whole reign but that's another story...

And Demetra came up with her own name...kind of...when she was but a kitten and i was flipping through my Gods and Goddess' name book i came across Demeter (a permutation of my own given name~by the by) and i thought..."how to Russian this name Demetri...Demetra...and the eight-week-old-kitten looked up at me and mewed as if to say,

"That's My Name."

And so it was.

And who am i (since that's her name and all) to change it? She's answered to it ever since.

if i were to get a dog...

it probably wouldn't be a poodle (and, contrary to what you may think, i do like dogs~though i do lean more to the feline persuasion)~i just generally prefer the larger varieties~ as indicated~quite correctly (for a change)~interestingly enough, by the following quiz result.

Poodles are just a little too cute, fluffy, yappy, and foufou for me (although i always thought chiauiaus were kind of cute.) However, (you could just sense that but or however coming couldn't you?) i discovered a wonderful picture book called Fluffy, Scourge of the Sea by Teresa Bateman illustrated by Michael Chesworth while my colleague was weeding picture books about an ingenuous French poodle (and i must admit French poodles are quite intelligent) which almost made me want a poodle (actually not~it just made me want the book.)

Fluffy not only convinces the hardened pirates of the sea to make him their captain but also to change their ways, in an, oh so endearing way. To see how check out Fluffy, Scourge of the Sea.

You Should Own a Husky

Athletic, free-spirited, and perfect for cuddling

and i've always wanted one too~that or an Akita~just never wanted the yard to go with it...or to do the walking, etc, etc, etc (that's what the man's for~i mean they've gotta be for something right?)

What Kind of Dog Should You Have?

a whole lotta of quizzes

some accurate...some...maybe...well...maybe, i'll let you ponder on it... (sometimes you really shouldn't put a librarian in front of a computer~but then again, where else would you put her?)

You Are Most Like Carrie!

You're quirky, flirty, and every guy's perfect first date. But can the guy in question live up to your romantic ideal? It's tough for you to find the right match - you're more than a little picky. Never fear... You've got a great group of friends and a great closet of clothes, no matter what! Romantic prediction: You'll fall for someone this year... Totally different from any guy you've dated.

Which Sex and the City Vixen Are You?

You Are a Fun Girl!

You are all about having fun - and you don't need to drink to have a good time Sure, you've thrown back more than a few every so often But getting totally stupid and wasted is not your style You're the life of the party, by keeping everyone laughing and smiling

Are You a Party Girl?

You Are a Wild Woman

Sky diving on the first date? Why not? You're up for almost anything, and that's what guys love about you. You don't back down from challenges, and you love to challenge others. You're so wild it's a little scary, but that's usually a good thing!

gotta plead GUILTY on this one
How Daring Are You?

You Are Psyche!

Eternally in search of purpose and insight. You're curious and creative with a total sense of wonder. Totally empathetic, you pick up on other's moods easily. Just be sure to pamper yourself as well!

What Goddess Are You?

Your Beauty Element is Air

You're quirky, fresh, and fashionable in a surprising way. You have a beauty that's all your own, and it changes as quickly as the wind!

What's Your Beauty Element?

You Should Be a Cherry Redhead

Sexy, dramatic, but still sweetly feminine. Perfect for getting out of the hair color doldrums!

well actually i like to call it more burgundy or BLOOD RED~but maybe that's just me...

What Kind of Redhead Should You Be?

Your Style is 1950s

High heels, pretty dresses, classic makeup... You're a feminine beauty who knows how to play up her assets!

i'll have to ruminate on this one...

What Decade Matches Your Style?

Your Celebrity Boob Twin:

Pamela Anderson

Who's Your Celebrity Boob Twin?

You Are Champagne

A true mystery, no one can quite figure you out... That is, until you start drinking. Then you tend to let loose. You're fun to drink with, but it definitely takes you a few drinks to loosen up. You prefer to date a man who likes the finer things in life... like a five star dinner with that champagne.

well yes AND no (is that clear enough???)

What Alcoholic Drink Are You?

You Are 49% Bitchy

Generally, you're an average woman, with average moods. But sometimes... well, watch out! Sometimes, you let your mean side get the better of you. And you enjoy every minute of it.

How Bitchy Are You?

some (maybe even me) would probably rate me a little higher here~i guess you just caught me on a non-rampaging day...

"but i am just a simple librarian...

...i have only read about dancing in books..."

~Lisa Simpson (as Lisabella in Tango de la Muerte)

but look how much fun I have at MY library!

maybe gorillas aren't so out of the question after all...

she's baaack...

and it's been such a long, long (cold, dark, and lonely) time. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season Eight, #1 (Dark Horse Comics) will be released March 14, 2007! and you can preview it here.

"Buffy creator Joss Whedon brings Buffy back to Dark Horse in this direct follow-up to Season Seven of the smash-hit TV series. Since the destruction of the Hellmouth, the Slayers have gotten organized and are kicking some serious undead butt."

I was reading in one of my old journals from February 1998 when i was going through a terrible breakup (or actually my relationship was over but hadn't broken up yet) and it was the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV (yes, i actually watched it, when it was on). I watched as she had to come to terms with the soulless vampire that had once been the man she loved as he mentally tortured her and those she cared about. This is what i wrote:

Buffy endures a pain that seems so real to me. What has been inflicted on her is the intensity of the pain that i feel. It gives me the voice to speak of it.

There is so little inside of me, but it all hurts. All it is is pain.

not exactly profundity, but there it is.

What was going on on BtVS always seemed to correspond so exactly to my life, and to express it so much better than i could myself. Joss set out to express High School as hell (which it always has been) and i have always loved a High School Show~perhaps in an effort to relive/redo my own hell. Did Buffy come along at just the right point in my life or is Joss just such a genius at metaphor that he managed to make it universal?

If you want to know why i love Buffy and what the Buffyverse means to me this is just one answer.

"The thing about changing the world...once you do it, the world's all different."

I’m the girl you’ll notice first

when you walk into the bar

The beautiful girl

often sitting alone

(even with friends)

playing with her drink

with that faraway look in her eye

I’m the girl with that certain something

you can't quite pin down

who looks like no one else you've ever seen

and reminds you of someone you can't remember

The girl who will let you talk forever

and who will reveal so little information

The girl who sometimes seems to be laughing at you

but makes your heart leap each time

she enters a room

The girl you will pursue relentlessly

and wholeheartedly

And slowly

if you earn it

I will peel away layers

and show you the rest

of this girl

And

I’m the girl

you will fall in love with

And

I will give you my heart

and my soul

and my mind

and my self

And we will love

And we will be happy

And then

I’m the girl you will leave

heart slashed, soul shattered, mind lost

self still in love

Because

that’s the girl i am.

if i had a different result i don't think i would have told you about it...

You Are a Smart American

You know a lot about US history, and you're opinions are probably well informed. Congratulations on bucking stereotypes. Now go show some foreigners how smart Americans can be.

Are You a Dumb American?

then again it's not like the questions were that difficult...