13% of Library of Congress Collection Missing

Materials Missing At Library Of Congress...

Perhaps they need to do some shelf reading. Or maybe they should hire me, I mean my skill-set is perfect to help them solve this little issue: not only am I a certified librarian, but with my superhuman samurai skills I could fend off potential thieves or any who would dare misshelve a book. Of course you wouldn't want to swing a katana in the LC (blood on the books), but you could use less bloody ju-jitsu techniques. I recommend the oma plata when defending your collection because you control you opponent's arms so they can't pull books off the stacks while you choke them out.

Just saying...

Podcast Fiction

For about the last year and a half I've been listening to podcasts. If you're not familiar with podcasting--which is a pun on broadcasting--it's basically RSS syndicated audio. That is, you subscribe to a podcast, and as a new episode is released it's downloaded directly to your computer or MP3 player.

For me, podcasts have largely replaced radio because I can pick what I want to listen to, and when I want to listen to it. One of my favorite things to listen to is podcasted fiction. What's out there is of varying quality, but a lot of it is good, some of it is exceptional. Here's a list of some worthwhile stuff:

• EscapePod: SciFi and Fantasy stories. The editor of this podcast, Steve Eley, is willing to take risks, which makes for some very interesting stories, although there have been a number of misses. The last episode, "Results," was a hit. It explores the effects of a future where eugenics are normalized. Every bit as interesting as Gattaca, but from a very different perspective.
  
• PsuedoPod: Horror Stories, and sister podcast to EscapePod. While PsuedoPod takes perhaps fewer risks, its stories are of similarly high quality. My favorite is one of the first, "Little Boy Leg Bone," which gave me a new appreciation for the horror genre.
• Jack Palms Series by Seth Harwood: Badass crime noir. Definitely one of my top three podcast novels. Seth is a phenomenal author, and these books are exciting, and not just because of the sex and violence.
• One Among the Sleepless by Mike Bennett: Fiction, but with a twist (murder, insanity, kinky sex, arson, urination and more, all with humor). Also one of my top three.
• How to Disappear Completely by Myke Bartlett: A magic realism detective story. Also in my top three.
• Other worthwhile podcast fiction includes:
• Number One with a Bullet by Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff.
• 7th Son trilogy by J.C. Hutchins.
• Electricity by Myke Bartlett
• Fortress Draconis by Michael A Stackpole
• Hall of Mirrors by Mike Bennett
• A Long Way from Disney by Seth Harwood
  

Future Champ

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Originally uploaded by bigguspillus

Look at this kid... He's ready to go.

Actually, he has no idea what the boxing glove is for, he just likes it because he sees me putting it into my gym bag. Still, I think he'll be ready for martial arts by 5.

He may not grow up to be a SamuraiLibrarian, but he will be a SamuraiSomething.

Politically Correct

Last night somebody came to the library and asked me if we had any books to help her learn "Indo- Canadian."

Eventually she settled for a book on Punjabi.