Silent Library: Why hadn't any of you told me about this?

I didn't know there was a Japanese then American game show where people had to perform idiotic stunts in a library while keeping quiet. Holy crap, this is awesome.

Except that the "librarian" judge looks like a schmuck.

Silent Library - MTV Shows

let's play 'guess that anime':

here are some clues for you to guess which anime I'm watching now:
the show has a,

rockin, yet generic soundtrack: check
high-tech, yet retro world: check
story based on a video game: check

the protagonist has,

slacker-'tude: check
emo hair: check
long coat: check
boots: check
gloves: check
big guns: check
giant sword: check
fast bike: check
fights monsters: check
mysterious past: check
hot chicks who love/hate him: check
overly-melodramatic voice acting: check
sweet tooth: check
exists on a diet that should make a normal person obese: check
some sort of detective: check
precocious tot to guard: check
regrets: check
seemingly unlimited funds but claims poverty: check
never exercises or stretches, but has catlike moves: check
kicks ass at everything he does: check
pretends not to care, but deep down, really cares; in fact, he may care too much: check

yeah, sorry if these aren't enough clues.. click/drag for answer:
Devil May Cry

Not Game for Gaming Gamers

I was reading an interview with a librarian about gaming in libraries and I began to get agitated. And then that agitation grew to full-blown annoyance until I was more than a little pissed off.

The subject of the article loves to play games, all kinds of games, and thinks that libraries should do more to promote gaming programs to the public. I wasn't pissed off at the idea of gaming in libraries, but I think I was just pissed at the idea that a professional librarian would push for something he likes.

Well, maybe that's not really the problem. I'm not sure. But librarians are supposed to represent everyone, so when someone uses his position to promote something he enjoys in his personal life, then I begin to think something is wrong.

"I'm sorry, Sir a-Lot, but you must find someone who does not particularly care for large culos to promote your cause for you. You are too closely related to this issue."

"But I like big butts, and I cannot lie."

I distrust anyone who is giddy with enthusiasm for spreading his cause. Except for the above example. The cause for big butts ranks right up with world peace.

You know what I mean? It's like if you work with a librarian who has some hobby or interest and then they quit and your library is left with 200 books about juggling. Or syphilis.

In the library, I have the Bigfoot area. Books on Bigfoot are in the Dewey area for 001.9 (see, I know what I'm talking about). I don't like or dislike Bigfoot. But I don't, ever, in any way, want the Bigfoot collection to expand. I don't think everyone should know everything about Bigfoot. I will order new Bigfoot books if one is published that gives new information on Bigfoot's true identity, or in any way links Bigfoot romantically with Madonna. Then, yes, I will make room for that book.

But I don't order books for the Scotch whisky section of the collection, an area that I would increase to include every volume on whisky ever printed. And I would present whisky tastings at the library from twenty different distilleries, and we would sample that single malt nectar until all the participants were shirtless and punching each other bloody until finally only one could stand and walk away. And that winner would have all his (or her) library fines forgiven.

But the gamers are always so excited about playing games. You never hear the librarian who buys the gardening books get that excited about that new book on perennials. Why all the excitement? Ooh, it's Game Night. It's Game Night! Let's all play Boggle!

The least productive thing the librarian can say to the kids at these game programs is, "Tell your friends." Because this is it. The only friends they have are each other. You think there are more of these nerds out there? Like the next time they're in Abercrombie, they'll tell everyone to come to the library to play Uno?

Maybe I'm being too hard on the gamer librarians. I guess it's good that they're excited about something. But come on, games? How difficult is it to get people excited about playing games. Did you really go to school for that? It's like me and Bigfoot; I can't keep that fucker on the shelves. They could discover an undiscovered version of Pride and Prejudice filled with pornographic sex and it wouldn't generate as much excitement as some asshole shooting Bigfoot in the ass with an arrow.

Maybe if we all got as excited about our little corners of the library, as excited as the gamers get about their crap, then... who knows?

Man, I don't know why I'm so grumpy. I think it's the daylight savings time change; it's so dark in the morning, now. And I don't really have anything against Bigfoot. I love Bigfoot. You hear that, world? I love Bigfoot. I love you, you smelly, hairy bastard! I. Love. You.

Nebraska discovers its librarians: is Outraged!

Breaking News from the Action 3 News Team, Nebraska's top Action News Team for the past 2 years: "Some librarians play games in the library. Are you as shocked as we are? We bet you are!"

Apparently some Nebraska librarians bought a Sony PlayStation for their library and shot a video while they played games. Nebraska (Motto, "No, Sir, We Don't Like It. Not One Bit.") found the video on YouTube during a search for videos on "another use for corn" and called the Action 3 News Team to express its outrage. "It's outrageous," Nebraska apparently said.

Now, when I play Fallout 3 at work and run the Xbox through our new ceiling-mounted $4,000 DLP projector, I shut the door to keep people from watching. Hell, I didn't trick my supervisor into thinking all this gaming crap was for teen programs just to let actual teens get their hands on all this cool stuff. I'm still in the planning stages. Planning stages that could take all of 2009.

From the Action 3 News Team Story:

Outrage of Video Showing Librarians' Playing On The Clock
The Action 3 News Team set out to show the ten minute YouTube video to some Nebraska tax payers in Omaha,... Cameron Paladino stood with his father, Kevin, while the father explained, "They are setting up this game, like a PlayStation game like Guitar Hero, while they're at work, and then they're playing it while they should be working. We are pay for that through our taxes."
With a confused look on his face the 6 year old says, "Is that bad?" His father Kevin says, "That is bad."

Not only were the librarians paid to "play games," they were reimbursed for mileage to attend "workshops" and to "eat lunch."

"How dare they," Nebraska responded when it heard.

The Action 3 News Team story concludes that the $400 "game is sitting in a closet, it is not even being used." Okay, Action 3 News Team Assholes, do you want the librarians to play games, or not???

The Nebraska Governor has appointed six people to find out just when Nebraska acquired these librarians, and what it is the librarians are doing there. Because they sure aren't farming.

I Got the Babel Fish.

So some other study says that video games are linked to frequent alcohol and drug use and low self-esteem and some other crap that really doesn't matter.

What I want to know is whether those surveyed were successful gamers or gamers who suck. Because I can tell you from experience that if you suck at games, the whole world sucks and you feel like shit.

When I was a young man, in my fifties, I played some computer and video games, but I didn't really care how I did. I played Pitfall and all those other games, but I never forgot to stop to have sex with my girlfriend, also in her fifties, ...yeah you got an image of that in your mind? Enjoy that for a minute.

But I remember the first computer game I bought, which was The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a text adventure. The game loaded from a single floppy disk and cost me about $40. And because it was so expensive, I played it every chance I got for about six weeks, so you could say I was addicted.

But the thing about a text adventure is that once you hit a wall, the game is over. If you can't get a door to open or get a bird to drop a key, that's it. You can go back and see what you missed, but seeing is relative. You can't really "look" at anything unless you already know it's there. And having a bag full of crap you've collected doesn't guarantee that you'll learn how to use any of it.
So you keep thinking about the puzzles and you hope you figure it out. And since this was nineteen-eighty-something, there was no Internet to connect with to find a cheat code or walkthru.

Of course there were the InvisiClues (had for another $12) books, that had invisible text clues of increasing helpfulness that you would highlight with a special pen to make them visible. But after a few days, they would become invisible again and no amount of rubbing or wiping or threatening to burn a different InvisiClues book, like maybe its mother, with a lighter would
persuade it to reveal the clues again. So you had to write the clue out in pen if you wanted a permanent copy.

But eventually, with enough guessing or help, you would get the thing or open the door, and move on to the next puzzle. And you would feel a little thrill of satisfaction that you'd accomplished some seemingly impossible task. But the truth was, and I think it's a huge leap in one's level of awareness, is that each player suffered through the same difficulties.

In life, it's easy to say "you don't know me," or ever be convinced that someone else has shared experiences with you. But in these early text adventures, unless someone was given a complete walkthru, each of us had the same experience. It was like some kung-fu movie where you learn that Everyone Must Travel the Same Path and that Each Trial is Shared by All.

And there was nothing violent about the journey. Type N and you go North. When you get to the bird, kill it with the rock or give it an orange or whatever, and the bird does exactly what it's programmed to do. Killing it wasn't a reflection on your psyche, or something.

But then the graphical games came and everything I did was wrong. I didn't jump at the right spot, or I never learned to fly. The solution required too much coordination and practice. I could never win at Tomb Raider because I couldn't swim or jump properly. Jump. Fall and Die. Jump. Fall and Die. Jump. Fall and Die. Jump. Fall and Die. The game wouldn't take it for granted the Lara Croft would know how to jump.

So if modern video games make kids depressed or violent or drunks, it's because games provide no clear answers. Or maybe they force them to fly before they're ready, and they can't help but to fall and die.

Either way, I don't have time for games because I'm sleeping with someone who's old enough to be your mom... yeah, try to get that image out of your head.

I'm pretty dumb.

I just played this game that's rated one star of difficulty (out of four) and I still had to cheat once to get a key.
It's a cute little game where you have to collect all the presents and unlock the door to leave the room. The instructions don't say that sound is required, but it makes the game a little more fun.

Click to go to Christmas Escape.


hints: sometimes you need to stand back and click under something to see what's down on the floor. and some items lift up and some you look inside (or both). you need to build a fire. click everything. the plant is thirsty. examine the thermometer after you start the fire. there is a correct time for the clock (look for the two sets of hidden numbers). and yes, I collected all the presents.

if you're really stuck, some cheats are on this page.

Old rich white people gaming at your library.

LISNews reported on a Washington City Paper story about The West End Library in Washington D.C. where many of the library patrons are "older, richer, whiter members of the neighborhood."
To accommodate the older, richer, whter patrons, the West End Library schedules game nights where they play

• Waltz Waltz Revolution (WWR), which is a slower, richer, whiter version of the classic DDR. And they play
• World of WASPcraft, where the older, richer, whiter patrons can rule the lands of 5-star hotels and Swiss banks as a "half-Mage, half-Corporate Litigator" with +9 Intimidation and Unlimited Credit.

Older, richer, whiter library patrons can enjoy game nights as much as teens. As long as the games are tailored to their specific cultural backgrounds.

So if you are not providing these programs, then ask why is your library so insensitive to this group of library user? I say you should embrace the old, rich, white people,... but not too hard because they crumble into dust.

Gaming in libraries, old school.

When I was a kid, we used to play tag in the library.

This wasn't the usual version of tag where you run around and chase someone, catch him, and shout "Tag! You're it." This was library tag.

The number one rule of library tag was not to get caught playing it. That meant you couldn't get caught by the librarian or by a library patron while running or chasing or doing any of the things one does when playing tag.

Our library was one huge atrium with a second floor overlooking the lower. From three simple positions, the circulation, children's and reference librarians could oversee 94% of the public area.

The back of the elevator was clear acrylic and the stairs were out in the middle of the main floor in the open, not tucked away in the corners or concealed behind doors. If this were WWII or Call of Duty, you'd be a dead man.

So this was slow tag, quiet tag. This was tag that involved every other person in the library because if you got caught misbehaving in the library, you got tossed out. And if you get caught too many times, you might get banned from the library. And what would my mom say when I told her that I couldn't wait in the library, after school, for her to pick me up? I guess she'd say a lot after she caught her breath from beating my ass.

So you could say that the.effing.librarian was an early advocate for gaming in libraries.

Tag (shh) you're (shh) it.

"Cat's in the Cradle," the video game

I don't have kids.

It's not that I don't want kids, but the bidding got so high on eBay that day when I put them up for sale that I couldn't refuse the offer. Besides, if I reneged on the sale, my feedback rating would plummet.

I put them up for sale as a joke, you know, as punishment. I said, "If you don't settle down, I'm putting you up for sale on eBay." And I logged in and wrote the description: "Evil children. Won't listen to parents. Good for stews."

A nice, old woman from the Black Forest bought them for 200 K (Krone) and a spell for eternal youth.

So when I played a game called Gravitation, I guess I wasn't prepared for its meaning. I can't tell you much about it, but if you have children (not in the cooking pot, but around the house), you might feel something from playing it.

The game will unzip where you tell it and it doesn't seem to install anything; it just runs when you open it. Except it wants to make your resolution 640x480, so if your computer doesn't like being forced into screen changes, you might need to change the settings manually before you launch.

After you play, then read the msnbc story about it.

And if you have kids, go pat them on the head or rub their horns or whatever you do to show affection. But do not listen to that Harry Chapin song around me because I'll be humming that thing for hours.

Welcome to the Internet. Warning: User-generated Content.

You can quote volumes of texts praising the goodness and nobility of man. But leave that same man alone with a magic marker and he'll draw a wiener on Gainsborough's "Blue Boy." (No, I don't think there are any wieners drawn on him, yet, but I do have some vacation time coming, and well, I'm just saying...)

So should it be a surprise that when the "Creature Creator" portion of massively-multiplayer-online-role-playing-ultra-Web 2.0-crapfest, Spore was released that guys started drawing wieners on everything? The answer is No, for those of you auditing this course.

Thus, the term Sporn, for characters in the Spore would with fully-intact, and visibly active politically incorrect body parts was created (Spore+porn, yeah, google that to see how many guys just got their last name made into a funny).

One of the phalloffenders said it was just silly and juvenile to create the "offensive" characters who engage in "sexually graphic acts."

"Users can create animated scenarios for the characters to engage in, some of which include sexually graphic acts." See, I told you. (from CNN, by Mallory Simon.)

Spore is rated E for Everyone, but includes content for Animated Blood, Comic Mischief, and Fantasy Violence. So it's within the acceptable use of the game to injure another Spore character, but be damned if you try to make love with one.

"When EA got word of the Sporn creations, it began working with YouTube to pull them down. Players who repeatedly upload 'offensive content' are warned, suspended and eventually banned, [Lucy] Bradshaw said."

This is where I see the world heading. The larger these online worlds become, the greater the likelihood that some corporations will own part of the Internet that we now take for granted as being free. All these servers, cables and wires are owned by someone other than us. At some point, when they feel there's enough money in it, everything they find offensive will be banned.
And violations will earn the offender a Scarlet Letter.

"Bradshaw hopes the sexual characters don't spoil Spore for everyone or get in the way of what she says is a revolutionary game."

Philosophically, I think people should be able to create what they want, but personally, if I played this game, I don't think I'd want to see some lumbering, or worse, super-fast, penis- or vagina- or anus- shaped character approaching my innocent, little bunny character. So yeah, I might be one of those who would label the sexually-graphic designers as Assholes. But would I make them wear the letter, the badge of shame? Of course, I would. Doesn't it look awesome?



"On a field, sable, the letter A, gules”

Library sued for violating gamer privacy

(from the Associated Press,... not!)

Philip Landisberg, 14, participated in the Colbert County Library's Video Game Hot Licks Showdown on July 2, and scored a "dismal" 60% on "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" during the first round of the Guitar Hero Axe Attack.

"Sixty percent on that song, and on 'easy' is truly embarrassing," explained young adult librarian Sarah Brand. "That song is meant as a warm-up, to relax the kids and get them to feel good about the game and themselves. I could understand if the kid was wearing mittens because of some OCD problem, or if he was obsessively touching himself while he played, as so many boys at that age seem to do, or even if he was born with lobster claws for hands like on Nip/Tuck, but damn, that kid sucked. Is Nip/Tuck coming back? I love Christian so much. But really, this kid just sucked. Oh, wait, that's my phone."

For the record, Sean's son on Nip/Tuck was born with Ectrodactyly, or "lobster claw hands," a deformity which may seem really cool to have because you get to have claws, but unfortunately, makes touching yourself truly dangerous. And to clarify, you should actually have a love/hate relationship with Christian.

Phil's parents, although disappointed with Phil's performance, have filed a lawsuit against the Colbert library for violating the teen's privacy. Philip's mother, Chloe Landisberg said, "The library had no right to post that score for everyone to see. Yes, Phil's level of suckage was egregious, but that just proves that his score should not have been put up for all the other kids to laugh at. The library is responsible. Do you know that everyone calls him 'lobster boy' now?"

"We posted all the scores of each participant on a board in the Youth area of the library," said librarian Brand. "If Fail, I mean, Phil couldn't bring it, he should have stayed home and played with his GoBots, or baked teddy bear-shaped sugar cookies with his mom."

Chloe confirmed that kids have taken to calling her son "Fail" instead of Phil, after the Internet term for failure. The Landisbergs have sued the Colbert County Library System for $2 million citing privacy violations and pain and suffering.

The American Library Association has issued a statement reaffirming the importance for teen privacy in libraries that adds "privacy in game and gaming 'fun nights' and competitions particularly in the posting or display of game scores" to areas where those scores are "visible to the public" should be treated with the same "ethical and legal protections" as patron borrowing records.

"Teens are cruel," says Brad Chuck webmaster for the Young Adult Library Services Association. "I do my best to avoid being around them. That's why I run the website."

The ALA also recommends on its YALSA website that teens who "truly suck" at video games should just "stay home and read a book."

[thanks to Terry for the game consult]

$1 Million to study video games

From LISWire:
School of Information Awarded $1.2 Million from IMLS for The Study of Digital Librarianship, Video Game Industry

"The School of Information at The University of Texas at Austin has received $1.2 million from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS) to prepare students for librarianship in a digital world..."

Aren't library schools supposed to prepare students for librarianship in whatever world exists at the time? So up to the point of awarding this grant, library schools have only been preparing students for librarianship in the Bronze age world? the Stone world? the strange World of Sid and Marty Krofft?

"The project will focus on providing doctoral students with a deep understanding of digital librarianship..." Oh, they have money for the new nerds. Nerd 2.0.

"Assistant Professor Megan Winget was awarded $255,040 to advance her research in the video game industry's methods, behaviors and attitudes for the purpose of building more meaningful models of collection and preservation of complex, community-built digital creations."
Preservation of video games? Yeah, they're called Ziploc bags. I think the one-gallon size will hold a Sony PlayStation. Buy some kitchen garbage bags for a PS3. For $250,000, you should be able to stock up.

Why are they studying the video game industry for preservation? The industry's view has never supported backwards compatibility, hence no preservation, only disposal and the purchase of new hardware. The only preservation in the gaming world is done by individuals and fans of video games.

The story says that part of the grant is to educate professors on archival storage, which I guess means to teach them to not touch the contacts on the Atari 2600 game cart. I can see these archivists discussing the best way to bag that Intellivision console, whether the controllers should be bagged individually or in pairs, and in what temperature to store it all for future generations. I wonder if they know about the landfill piled high with ET: the Extra-Terrestrial Atari 2600 carts.

Tell them to call me if they want a box of Atari ST or 3DO games. Yeah, 3DO; I even owned stock in the company. Yeah, I'm a dope.

old skool computing

Reading Little Brother reminded me of when I first got involved with computing. Okay, involved is stretching it, I guess I should say, became aware of computers. Around 1982-83, a friend at work told me about fights he got into on a bulletin board, and he asked me to help him write clever insults to send back to his attackers. We would search the dictionary for interesting words and write stupid stuff that we thought was funny and clever, but always involved the attacker's mother. It got boring fast.

But what I learned was that there were levels of trust that got more exclusive depending on how much trust you'd earned: give more, get more. One day, my friend gave me a piece of paper with a really long number written on it. He said that if I punched that number into any pay phone I could make long distance calls for free. I put the number away. But yes, I used it once.

But I remember that one of the ways my friend was supposed to earn trust was to give someone on the board credit card numbers from off the carbons we threw in the garbage after each credit card sale. Yeah, remember that, when every garbage can in every store was filled with personal data? I was in Sears once a few years ago to buy a dishwasher and the guy prints out a receipt for the delivery with name, address, phone number, and preferred delivery time then throws it in the bin under the register because he'd made a mistake. Horrified, I grabbed it from the garbage and took it with me. Holy crap!

Anyway, I never collected the carbons. The fun of computing was over for a while. Until around 1984 when some company started placing these computer kiosks in the mall that were used for printing out coupons for the local merchants and displaying ads. One of the other options on the kiosk menu was for playing Adventure. Which was freaking awesome!

Then I started saving my money to buy a computer so I could play games. What a dork.

And yes, still a dork.

Tagged. It.

I swear, I didn't even know I was playing. I was tagged to answer this "favorite author" thingy and I'll do the best I can, but I'm not good at these kinds of questions because even though I'm a real person living a real life, I rarely pay attention to it. My life goes about its business and I go about mine: I try not to get involved.

But I don't want to ignore the invitation completely, so I'm posting some sort of answers here and I'll "tag" anyone else who feels like participating. If you feel a formal invite is needed, leave a comment and I will edit this post to reflect that. Some people have told me that this is a popular blog, but I see the stats, so I know not to believe them. But in case I'm wrong, I'm posting the rules for all you millions who visit:

1. Who’s your all-time favorite author, and why?
I don't think I've read enough to have a favorite author. I read all of Douglas Adams' books, even Last Chance to See, which is hilarious and necessary, but I never counted him as my favorite. I like to think of favorite movie directors since I watch lots of movies and have my whole life. And for that I say, Dario Argento. When I saw Deep Red, it make me find more of his work, and much of it was bad. But Suspiria is the only movie I ever walked out of because I was too scared to watch. And Sergio Leone; and Clint Eastwood for The Outlaw Josey Wales, of course.
2. Who was your first favorite author, and why? Do you still consider him or her among your favorites?
The earliest favorite is Ray Bradbury partly because he has lots of short fiction that I could read in any order. And like Kathleen, I read a lot of Nancy Drew when I was a kid (and maybe last week).
3. Who’s the most recent addition to your list of favorite authors, and why?
Again, can't list anyone, but I just got Little Brother by Cory Doctorow in the mail and it's gotten good reviews, so I hope I like it.
4. If someone asked you who your favorite authors were right now, which authors would first pop out of your mouth? Are there any you’d add on a moment of further reflection?
The first book I usually mention is Alan Moore's Watchmen, a graphic novel with a surprising amount of text. I like to bring up Watchmen because most readers don't consider taking on a graphic novel as a serious read.

Okay, that's the best I can do.

Video games bad for brain science

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Longitudinal Brain Imaging Project needs morbid brains. An ongoing study has been monitoring the growth of teen grey matter. "Participants visit the NIMH at approximately two-year intervals for brain imaging, neuropsychological and behavioral assessment and collection of DNA."

The study, so far, proves that teenage brains are very different from adult and child brains.

"Novelty seeking/sensation seeking and risk taking," Dr. [Elizabeth R.] McAnarney continues, "is the basis for considerable [brain] growth during adolescence, as well as for the seemingly reckless behavior of some adolescents. Novelty seeking/sensation seeking and risk taking are topics of growing interest as adolescent brain development is defined better and as morbidity from adolescent risk taking mounts…."

But what risk-taking is involved in video gaming? How can Science benefit from kids playing video games? What can be done to increase the brain "morbidity from adolescent risk taking"?

I guess one kid could whale on another kid with a Guitar Hero plastic guitar or a Dance Dance Revolution untied shoelace mishap might cause a brain injury against a TV screen, but for the most part, video games keep kids from taking any risks at all.

Compare to my adolescent non-video-game-playing risk taking:
Dove from roof into pool.
Rocks, baseballs, pool sticks bounced off head.
Shot in forehead, from b-b gun.
Punched.
"Clothelined," forearmed, elbowed during football games.
Crashed bike into both stationary and moving cars.
Jumped off roof onto ground and other kids.
Pushed out of tree.
Fell from top of NY stoop.
Rode bike off increasingly higher ramps, falling often. Upon landing, cracked bike in half, forever changing reproductive ability; all future produced DNA now carries modified gene producing offspring with innate "fear of fractions."

So kids need to stop playing video games and get out of the house and hit each other and jump off tall things and suffer some head trauma. If not simply to keep them from growing up as nerds and dorks, but to advance our understanding of neuroscience.

Why can't Cookie Monster remember my name?

I've played this game about ten times and this is the first time I've gotten a cookie.

See complete adventure walkthrough here. Print it out and use it for a placemat at your next children's party: leave crayons and let the kids color in the adventure!

Gamers are dirty, planet-killers.

I didn't know this:

Worldwide computer use requires 14 power stations for the necessary electricity, producing more harmful carbon dioxide emissions than the entire airline industry -- not including the emissions created and manufacturing and shipping around the products in the first place.
And games consoles -- of which 62 million were sold in last year -- are the gas guzzlers of this industry, using huge amounts of energy to generate the necessary mindblowing graphics and sounds.
When played online, they are linked up to huge server farms which use even more energy. (-source AFP at Yahoo).

But I kinda guessed this part:

"I don't care, we're all going to die anyway," says 17-year-old Christian.

"Most people who play games don't really think at all of the environment, they think about the fun factor," says 22-year-old Sebastian.

Seventeen-year-old Geld from the Netherlands shrugs as the sound of music in the windowless hall pumps louder and louder.

"A washing machine uses more energy than a computer," he says, turning to get on with his game, fingers working madly on the buttons.

So gamers don't care about the environment, and apparently, don't wash their clothes. And we think appealing to them is going to save libraries. Oh, help us.

Tag, I'm it.

I've been tagged with this game.

Rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pgs.)
2. Open the book to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag five people

the three closest books to me have no numbered pages, the six closest books are:
Twisted Journeys #3 (a choose your path graphic novel with too few pages);
Harlan Ellison’s Dream Corridor v.2 graphic novel;
Star Wars Dark Empire graphic novel;
The Murder of Abraham Lincoln graphic novel;
Linux Solutions;
Watches International v. 8.

The closest novel is Catch-22, so here is p. 123:

"Of course I put laundry soap in the sweet potatoes," Corporal Snark admitted to Yossarian. "That's what you asked me to do, isn't it? Laundry soap is the best way."

"He swears to God he didn't have a thing to do with it," Yossarian
reported back to Milo.

I guess to be fair, I should have posted some stuff about "The first option in this tab allows you to select whether you'd prefer an icon view..." or "The movement features all wheels positioned around several axles in a horizontal manner..." But I took the easy way out.

Tag:
journey of a kitten
The Gypsy Librarian
Misadventures of the Monster Librarian
French School Confidential
Judge a Book by its Cover

The persistence of memory.

I can still hear the music in my head.

I saw a link on gamecouch from The Onion about a kid who claims that half his memories are Nintendo related. I feel the same way about some games. I used to play a game called Killing Time so much that every so often, the music still creeps into my brain forcing me to wonder from where and when it soaked in.

Video games are about repetition until satisfaction. The win reinforces the experience and guarantees long-term remembrance. In real life, important moments might slip by without making a permanent image in our memories. But video games require us to memorize events, to repeat steps and view locations until they become second nature. Real life can't compete with this kind of recreational brainwashing.

So I agree that many people will remember solving a game puzzle much longer than they might remember daddy's dying words. "He said he hid the gold, where?"

I thought the ALA coerced for diversity?

All I ever hear is how librarians are frumpy and bun-haired. And I'm tired of all the sex discrimination. What about male librarians? Where are the American Library Association's recommendations for diversity when it comes to us? I don't mean in jobs because we get promoted more often and get better pay (hell, we're men!). I mean our image. Where is the image of the male librarian in popular culture? Why all the women stereotypes?

What is the look of the male librarian stereotype?

Is he hobbitish? Homerish? Perpetually confused and embarrassed by his career choice? Freshly tattooed and paroled from a federal prison? Bruce Wayne, Luke Skywalker or Clark Kent, but without the sex-appeal?

I'm a little pissed because I just saw the Librarian Dress-up game online, and I don't see a dude, I see that stereotypical librarian woman; huge boobs, tiny waist, smoochable lips... but no guy, anywhere.

So I had to use all of my non-talent to create the Male Librarian dress-up game. Yes, it's ugly, and a nine year-old could do better. (And sometimes the images don't move, but hit refresh and maybe they will.) But hell, all I had was Paint and Notepad and the script I stole from the original page, so screw you. Why don't you do better.

If anyone has the talent, please include these items for the male librarian:
lightsaber, Burt Reynolds' "Bandit" mustache, cowboy hat, yo-yo, assorted ties, Walther PPK, tuxedo, Terminator sunglasses, katana sword, Samual L. Jackson "Pulp Fiction" hair, Homer body, "The Man with No Name" poncho, Alex "a clockwork orange" bowler hat and cane, Ash "Evil Dead" chainsaw arm, vampire teeth, Deliverance banjo, Van Halen guitar, etc.

Get out there and find that nine year-old and put his ass to work.

Here is a list of the few male dress-up games I could find: http://www.dressupgames.com/boys.html