the pod bay door

:: It’s Tuesday, sunny and warm in NYC. The SLA conference is in full swing, with two days left. Yesterday we partied in the evening at an event sponsored by Dialog, which featured Tommy James and the Shondells (we don’t know of any of the band were members of the original Shondells, mind you). Then we went to a dessert party featuring a 40s-type jazz band, at the Park Plaza. Yes, one of the hotels on Central Park South, where the daily brunch costs a mere $79US.

:: Day Three began this morning with a meeting at the Marriott Hotel that was kind of a bust. For $28US I attended a mentoring breakfast, and arrived to discover the meal consisted of bagels and coffee. To boot, no students or new librarians attended. *sigh* I’m learning that the costs in the hotels here for conventions are sky-high (duh), and that the unions tightly control all labour.

Last night, Geoff and I were among the guests of IOP at a cabaret and dinner featuring the legendary Blossom Dearie. In her late 70’s, she played a superb show, with a nice mix of songs, and was supported by a great drummer and bass player. Afterwards we had dinner, met new people, then repaired to a couple of division suites where we shared drinks and laughs with friends and colleagues, including Stephen Abram and David Stern.

The keynote speaker is underway, but I’m passing in order to prepare for my short presentation as part of a panel at 11:30, and to make a couple of quick stops in the exhibit area. The weather has been cloudy and muggy, but thankfully not all that warm. Thank Ghu we have air conditioning in our little room at The Leo House.

:: Geoff and I are in NYC. Our flight yesterday via Minneapolis was smooth and uneventful. On the flight from Mpls to NYC, a group of students from a middle school in Reno came aboard, and another passenger and I played cards with two of them for a while. It is warm here, and the humidity is high. The TONY Awards are happening tonight, a few blocks from the conference hotel. We are attending a cabaret tonight, seeing Blossom Dearie perform, then having dinner with representatives from the Institute of Physics.

That’s it for now. I need my morning coffee!

:: In the meantime, 7,000 people got naked in the name of art.

:: One conference down, one still to come. Geoff and I fly to NYC tomorrow to attend SLA. It’s my 12th SLA, and 12th trip to NYC. Coincidence? The EBL conference was a blast – I learned a bit more about evidence based librarianship, and met dozens of fascinating and interesting people from Canada, USA, Norway, the UK, France, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and Australia. More of the same awaits us in NYC. I’ll try to post during the next few days, but no guarantees. Will write again soon.

:: Oh, and have you heard about the war of word between Roger Ebert and Vincent Gallo? Gallo’s new movie, The Brown Bunny, was screened at Cannes last month, and is now pretty much considered one of the worst film ever shown at the festival.

:: And this is too cool: three 12-year old boys began shooting a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1982. They finished when they were 18, in 1988. Fifteen years later, in 2003, word is out that the film exists, and the RoTLA director Stephen Spielberg has given the trio a big thumbs up. Watch the trailer here: http://www.drafthouse.com/trailers/raiders.mov. An article about the film appears in the Austin Chronicle. (From Slashdot via William Gibson.)

I must see these two movies.

:: I’ve finished Day 1 of the EBL Conference. I’m exhausted. The day went well, met some very cool people from Australia, the UK, Norway, USA, other parts of Canada. I MC’d the door prizes at the banquet, and only made one major gaff. Now I’m home, packing for SLA on Saturday.

:: I borrow music from the public library, and listen to the CDs in my car while driving. I borrowed an album called The Last Broadcast by the band, Doves. I must’ve read a review of it somewhere, having never heard of the band. I popped it into the CD player with no expectations, and can report that it’s quickly become one of my favorite albums of the year. The biographical info on the site is a bit cryptic, and I can’t confirm if there are three or four members in the band. The record sounds like there are many more. This band must be something to see in concert, if they are able to replicate the wall of sound in some of the songs on The Last Broadcast. I might describe them as Coldplay meets Radiohead (circa OK Computer) meets the Manchester Sound. It’s a great record. More short reviews here.

The weirdest thing, like, really weird? I was listening to the album yesterday, and stopped at Zeller’s to pick up some socks. I walked in, and the music in the store was “Pounding“, my favorite song on The Last Broadcast. Hello? Who’s programming music for Zeller’s?

:: Finally, many people are relishing the indictment of Martha Stewart, but some are pointing to the hypocrisy of the non-indictment (to date) of Ken Lay, who headed Enron while it stole billions, wiped out savings of 12,000 workers, cost 5,000 workers their jobs, misled and lied to their stockholders, and nailed California by rigging electricity prices during its energy crisis. Lay and his wife, btw, have annuities which, when they reach maturity in 2007, will provide guaranteed monthly payments for life of $43,023 to Lay, and $32,643 to his wife.

:: It’s late on Tuesday, the continuing calm before the storm. Thanks to everyone who contributed comments on purchasing a digital camera. I’ll either wait until I return from NYC, or buy one there if the opportunity presents itself.

:: My review of Nowhere in Africa, for Blogcritics.

:: Sometimes it’s cool to just sit and listen. A friend called today, concerned about something. I invited her over, and she sat and talked for an hour, and felt better afterwards. I offered the occasional comment or observation, but beyond that, just a sounding board.

:: My suitcase is open in the spare bedroom, as I slowly prepare for NYC. Tomorrow I help move supplies and registration for the EBL conference, and I attend the conference on Thursday and Friday. Thursday night is the banquet. Not a lot of time in between to organize and pack.

:: The new Steely Dan album, Everything Must Go, can be heard in its entirety on the Reprise site. But please, if you can, watch the five-segment video, Steely Dan Confessions, on the same site, in which Don and Walt ride around Las Vegas in Rita’s cab. You MUST watch the second one, “Lizzie on lyrics“, in which Lizzie tells Walt and Don that her boyfriend grooved her on to “you guy’ses music” in college. The piece de resistance is when she asks them about the lyrics to “Reelin’ In The Sheaves”, and Donald sez, “Reelin’ In The Sheaves, that was one of our best numbers.” I’m still laughing.

:: I watched the final episode of the third season of Six Feet Under tonight. A brilliant show, I found the third season a bit tiresome and weary – the focus was on the relationships of each of the main players, and after a few episodes of each of their relationships deteriorating, people screaming at each other, an art teacher who defined pretention, the show began to feel like an unwelcome visitor. I hope it improves next year.