Obama Nation--Yes We Are!

80,000 people at Mile High Stadium and 35 million television viewers witnessed history Thursday night as Senator Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech during the Democratic National Convention, a speech made all the more poignant being that it was the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King" iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. Reports the next day indicated that more people watched Obama's groundbreaking speech than did the opening ceremony of the Olympics or the season finale of American Idol. That's a phenomenal achievement in the face of the so-called apathy of our reality-tv-viewing nation. Senator Obama has become a symbol of our hopes and dreams for so many in our country who have been left behind by the self-serving Bush-Cheney franchise.

Seeing history in the making Thursday night could be the ultimate in reality tv. Seeing that men and women of all ethnic backgrounds, religions, and persuasions could come together to show their love of country and concern for our collective future is as inspiring as Obama's speech. Now we all just have to follow through on the promise of that day. Now we all have to make our voices heard by voting on November 4.

Namaste.

Biden and Bagels

On Saturday, we finally found out who Senator Barack Obama's running mate will be: Delaware Senator Joe Biden. I never knew too much about his personal life, but I did like what he had to say during the primary debates. With his solid record of supporting women's rights and the environment, and his long-term leadership with foreign policy, he should make a great vice president.

Senator Biden also seems like a genuinely nice guy who cares about his friends and family and the people he has served. An example of this could be seen last Friday when journalists were "staking out" his home (his only house) in Delaware, hoping that he'd drop a hint as to whether or not he has been chosen for the VP job. Instead of feeling harassed by these journalists (or shouting "No comment!" to the press like they do on "Law & Order", the senator was congenial to them and even brought them coffee and bagels! (It looked like he went to Einstein Bagels, but I couldn't make out the logo on the boxes). Like a good host, he served his guests (albeit uninvited) a treat. Coffee and bagels! Now that shows class!

Namaste.

Wanted!

While "Wanted" didn't really cover new ground, it was a decent film. Once you get past the violence and the cursing, it's a story about your "average joe" wanting more out of life than just his Dilbert-esque life as an accountant. Nagging boss, ugly cubicle, boring work were just too much for Wes, adeptly played by the talented (and gorgeous) James McAvoy. The office scenes were funny and reminiscent of the hilarious "Office Space".  There was even a reference to that comedy's classic red stapler.  

Namaste.

Mama Mia! a Movie with ABBA Music

I went to see "Mama Mia!" with my friend Susan for her birthday. It was a sweet movie, as far as these types of movies go. Like icing on a cake, it was an enjoyable musical treat. I liked hearing the ABBA songbook, seeing the gorgeous Greek isles, and experiencing the joie de vivre of the characters. All the actors played their roles admirably, although I could have done with out Pierce Brosnan's singing.

I got to thinking of "Muriel's Wedding", the 1995 Australian film starring Toni Collette. ABBA's music was central to that delightful film, too.

Namaste.

Dark Knight Dilemma

I went to see the latest Batman film, "The Dark Knight", starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. After the movie, my friends Jen, Cindi, Heather, and I discussed how we liked it. I don't know if I liked it or not, although I told them I thought it was a good film. Now in the light of day, I'm not sure. In one way, it was an exemplary film: cinematography, special effects, story, and acting were all impeccable.

Yet, in another way, I didn't like the movie; it was very draining emotionally and physically. Eerie, too, and not just because we were watching the last cinematic images of the late actor, Heath Ledger. Yes, there was definitely something eerie about the maniacal, hysterical Joker adeptly played by Mr. Ledger. But there is something else. Maybe it's like what my friend Cindi pointed out: there's no "hope" in the story. There's nothing hopeful about humanity left at the end, but only feeble sparks of hope throughout. Whereas in the first film, "Batman Begins" there was a hopefulness that cut through the darkness of Bruce Wayne's and Batman's world. Yet, this film left us with nothing. No wonder why Mr. Ledger was emotionally and physically exhausted after making this film.

With "Batman Begins", we got to experience the mystical quality of the Batman character, and travelled with Bruce Wayne on his spiritual quest, one that sought to bring light back to the dark streets of Gotham. The Bat Signal is that metaphor. We also got to see Christian Bale erase all the other celluloid images of Batman away. He became Bruce Wayne/Batman in that film. Yet, we didn't really get to find out more about Mr. Bale's Bruce Wayne as much in "Dark Knight" as we did in the first film, nor were there as many touches of humor in the sequel (I refer to the humor of humanity as evidenced between Alfred and Wayne/Batman, and not the inhuman sardonic wit of the Joker).

So why was I excited about wanting to see "Batman Begins" right after I stepped out of the movie theater (and later wanting to buy the special edition DVD for my collection), but with "Dark Knight", why do I wish to never see it ever again?

Anyone?

Namaste.

We've Only Just Begun: Assessing My Library's "23 Things Web 2.0" Exploration Project

I can honestly say that I enjoyed my library's staff development project, "23 Things: to Explore New Technologies, Enhance Individual Skills & Encourage Creative Responses to Community Needs". For nine weeks we blogged, flickr-ed, wiki-ed and played around with Web 2.0 (and Library 2.0) tools and technologies. While I was familiar with most of these concepts, I appreciated having a chance to learn more about the world of Web 2.0 and to get more "hands-on" experience within a structured learning environment. If our administration offered another discovery program like this, I would definitely like the chance to participate.

I love to learn! If it was up to me (and I had unlimited funding), I'd be a perpetual university student. With all the formal schooling I've had (I have two bachelors' degrees and a master's), I should have had a PhD by now. Someday I will get that degree, but for now, I've been taking every advantage my employer has offered to enchance my professional skills: computer classes, supervisory and leadership classes, workshops, etc. Each year, our library even dedicates a whole day for training the entire staff. However, this year we tried something new: we were encouraged to participate in this self-study training program.

I think my favorite exercise was creating this blog. As a writer and journalist, I obviously like to write. And I also like graphic design, so the layout and design aspect of the blog was fun to do. As was our exploration of Flickr and photosharing. Although I had a Flickr account prior to doing this project, I didn't use it much. But now I think I will use it some more. I just returned from an Alaska cruise; therefore, I can upload my vacation photos to my account in order to share them with my friends and family without having to print out all 200+ photos. Maybe I'll even post some of my travel journal on my blog, along with my favorite photographs. I definitely want to continue blogging and keep this blog updated.

Finally, I would like to thank the Web 2.0 Exploration Project Team for all the hard work they put into making this a fun and educational project.

Namaste.

Listening on Overdrive

Okay. First things first. I have an iPod Nano. I mostly download music. But last year I downloaded an audio book: "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman. Confession: I've never listened to an audio book, not on cassette, CD, or digital medium.

Having thoroughly enjoyed reading Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, of which "The Golden Compass" was the first book, I thought I'd begin my foray into the audiobook world with a title in which I was familiar. Since my library didn't have the audio version of this book at that time (neither on tape, CD, nor through our digital audio collection service, Overdrive), I decided to buy the audio from iTunes. (By the way, we now have the book on audio CD).

When the librarians all attended a training workshop for Overdrive, I found out why "The Golden Compass" wasn't available through that service: there is hardly any children's or young adult titles in the collection. Oh. And you can't use iPods with Overdrive. (Apple Inc. hasn't contracted with them as of this writing). So, as a library patron, why would I want to use this service?

Apparently, a lot of our patrons are enjoying Overdrive. We get a lot of questions about it at the reference desk. Our patrons get to listen to best sellers and popular nonfiction titles for free. While I'm still not big on audiobooks (I've yet to finish listening to "The Golden Compass"), I can appreciate the fact that many "readers" enjoy listening to a good book (and not have to pay upwards of $25 for an audiobook like I did). So I'll give Overdrive another try for my personal edification -- and because it's one of the last assignments for our library's Web 2.0 exploration projects.

Explore. Explore. Explore. Browse. Browse. Browse. Oh what to "read"? Oh wait. Cool. I just found Stephenie Myer's first novel for adults, "The Host". Sounds good to me. Stephenie Meyer is the "hot" young adult author of the best-selling "Twilight" series.

Now I'll listen to an excerpt...

Okay. When I go home I'll download the Overdrive software (easy, because I have a Mac and high-speed internet access) and "check it out" for the 14-day loan period. I do have an MP3 player my friend gave me, so I can listen to it on that device. Thus, I'll give this audiobook stuff another try.

Namaste.