I Don't "Do"...EPILOGUE

Oh, the joys of living in a small college town...

I worked late tonight...until about six. I'm sitting in my office, and somebody opens the door a crack. Before I can see who it is, the door shuts again. I hear some girl answer her cell phone in the stairwell outside of my office.

Keep working. About ten minutes later, the door opens again...just a crack, then shuts. Then, the sound of the same girl's voice coming from the stairwell.

Nobody EVER comes to my office after four in the afternoon. Unless they know I'm there. That's why I like to work late...

As I'm leaving the building, cell phone vibrates in my pocket. Answer the call (noticing I have about five missed calls at the same time).

"Oh my God...you really are a librarian, aren't you?"

Okay. PTSD flashbacks. Creepy feeling. Look over my shoulders. Getting paranoid.

"Who is this?" I ask.

"[Jane Doe]" the woman says. "From Friday...oh, sorry. Had your cell number on the back of your card and I didn't know if you were in your office."

Note to self: Quit pre-writing cell numbers on the back of business cards.

"Oh. Hey. How's it going?"

Yeah, not very creative, but its the best I could do.

Long story short, this girl was calling to say that her roommates had thought, indeed, something had happened between she and I. After exchanging very vague pleasantries and several periods of awkward silence, the purpose of her call finally became apparent.

"Um...this sounds really bad...um..."

"Nope."

"Okay. Good. I was pretty sure, but not completely."

"No problem."

"You're really a librarian..."

"Yup."

That pretty much sums up the first 15 minutes of our conversation - repeated questions about a) was I sure nothing happened, b) questions about my professional life, and c) me responding in short answers.

Then I asked if she was the person who kept opening my door tonight. Apparently, one of her friends was in the building and wanted to "verify" I was who I said I was.

Who would lie about being a librarian? I have yet to meet a librarian or other library staff member anywhere who uses that as a pick-up line. More importantly, why would I lie about what I do? Especially to a girl with whom my only connection is her throwing up out my pick-up window.

Then she asked me if I wanted to go to some 80s Night thing with her friends. Or maybe go out Friday.

I politely declined but thanked her for the offer, exchanged more pleasantries, and hung up.

It was at this moment I came to a startling conclusion --

Somewhere, at some random time in the recent past, I must have died and gone to hell. Or worse. Like an episode of the O.C. Maybe worse...ugh...Dawson's Creek.

That is the most rational explanation I can come up with at this point.

Seven's Travels: Another one of those "Get To Know Ya" e-mails forces the Zenfo Pro to think.

Just got this as an e-mail today. Figure it has to be simple to answer one of these "Get To Know Ya" things...yeah, right.

Here's my stab at the latest:

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7 Things I can do:

Read tarot, dice, and dominoes.
I briefly apprenticed as a stonemason with my uncle - I can build a stone fireplace.
I'm a decent handyman.
I play guitar.
I drive stick-shift.
I listen to way too much music.
I can drive a tractor.

7 Things I can't do:(Yet)

Create an artistic work that I'm happy with.
Accept failure.
Bake.
Remember to meditate at least once a week.
Deal diplomatically with stupid people.
Catalog anything to save my life.
Keep my house clean.

7 Things that attract me to someone:

Eyes
Intelligence
How someone moves their hips
Kindness
Openness
Smile
Playful Impishness

7 Things I say most often:

“For fuck's sake!" (Picked up from some guy in Baton Rouge.)
“Ya'll” (The proper pronunciation of "you all" for anyone originally from the South.)
“Cat." (In reference to people in general, usually male.)
“Chica." (Term of endearment for females.)
“Dumbass”
“Dude.” (As a single-word sentence.)
“Chief.”

7 Favorite Movies (in no particular order, at the moment):

The Day the Earth Stood Still
Seven Days in May (original)
The Wild Bunch
Night of the Living Dead
Das Boot
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Key Largo

7 Books I have read recently (or am currently reading):

A Thom Gunn poetry anthology
A Archibald McLeish anthology
Carl Sandburg Poems for the People
Modern Numerology - Morris Goodman
Elaine PAgels - The Gnostic Gospels
A collection of Lincoln's speeches.
A collection of essays on the history of baseball

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I'm turning this into an open-source tag for any and all who wish to take a stab at this. Much more difficult than I thought it'd be.

Zenformation Playlist 9/27/05

1. Come By or Call - Skating Club (Wishing Tree/Kimchee Records)
A down-tempo little track from the 2002 Bugs & Flowers album.

2. Move It On Over - Hank Williams
Now this is an old-school, my-woman's-kicked-me-out hillbilly stomp. Hank's early death was the first major underground/alternative tragedy (people tend to overlook the fact that early country music was considered uncool and unsophisticated by, well, almost everyone at the time. Folks wanted the latest Benny Goodman disc or the hottest Glenn Miller 45, not some Louisianan singing about love, death, and not-so-fun stuff.).

3. Code Blue - TSOL
My parents hated this song. I wanna fuck, I wanna fuck...the DEAD... hmmm. Wonder why? One of those great SoCal punk legends from the 1980s.

4. Riot Act - Bottom of the Hudson (Absolutely Kosher, 2005)
Absolutely Kosher has a much more diverse sound than many similar sized labels, most notably Saddle Creek. Bottom of the Hudson is one of their more talented artists, with a bit of that Pet Sounds/Brian-Wilson-as-deranged-artist sound.

5. The Wanting Bird - Rodeo Boy (Sit-N-Spin, 2001)
Rodeo Boy's probably one of the South's best kept secrets. The group has recorded several albums for North Carolina-based Sit-N-Spin. Still one of my favorite songs.

6. I Wanna Holler (But the Town's Too Small) - The Detroit Cobras, 2004
Reminds me a bit of the Blackhearts.

7. We're a Happy Family - The Ramones
I have about 50 favorite Ramones songs. This track is in the Top 10. Essential Ramones - random lyrics, three-chords, under three minutes.

8. Atlantic City - Bruce Springsteen
What can I say? Probably the best post-Dylan acoustic rock album. Dark and mysterious portrait of America.

9. Shattered Faith - Bad Religion
BR has been one of those stalwarts of punk music. Highly intelligent and just politically charged brain food.

10. Grounded - Pavement (Matador, 1995)
Across America, nearly every scenester kid in every scenester band has been essentially trying to rerecord old Pavement tunes for about a decade now - without admitting their trying to do so. Steven Malkmus's solo stuff has never hit me in the same way, but he's still a talented songwriter.

A New Type of Digital DivideBell Canada's Findings Raise Questions, at Best

The new digital divide--parents and kids
From the Ottawa Business Journal:

A new digital divide is emerging, as parents and their children are split over how their kids use the Internet.
Bell Canada's first Consumer Survey on the Internet habits of Canadian
families finds 72 per cent of parents believe that if properly supervised,
having the Internet at home gives their children an advantage in academic pursuits. However, when asked how they think their kids actually use the Internet, the majority of respondents indicated their child would rather email or chat online with friends than use it for studying or research. . .
-READ FULL ARTICLE HERE -

These are amazing -- and disturbing -- findings. A lot of theories concerning ICT development focus primarily on access to technology, but the Bell Canada survey provides at least an indicator that the multi-tiered models that include "layers" of social acceptance and adaptation may be headed in a more holistic direction.

Hmmm...

What factors are coming into play here? Is this a case of parents amongst the survey group believing that the Web provides a great advantage to their children, but they perceive their children aren't responsible enough to use it correctly? Is this providing clues towards a gap in perceived needs and information-seeking behavior based on social development (i.e. Internet as Toy/Internet as Tool digital divide issues tied to generation gaps)?

Hmmm...

A lot of questions. Not many answers.

GLOBAL INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM WATCH:Film Censorship Storm Brews in India

[From The Telegraph, Calcutta, India]

NEW DEHLI -- A row is brewing over possible Indian government censorship, with filmmakers questioning the proposed guidelines for entries to film festivals and national film awards.

The country's information and broadcasting ministry set up a committee to formulate a list of proposed guidelines for films.

Part of the committee's proposals, in brief:

The ministry would retain the right to exempt films from censor board certification. There could be three main grounds for denial of exemption:
• The film is a threat to national security.
• It could cause a law and order problem.
• It offends human sensibilities.

-FULL STORY HERE -

China sets new rules on Internet news

BEIJING (Reuters) - China set new regulations on Internet news content on Sunday, widening a campaign of controls it has imposed on other Web sites, such as discussion groups.
- READ THE REST HERE -

Why I Don't "Do" Drunk Girls... Nope, still not a Turn-On

When I was younger, I tried desperately to convince myself that "loaded" and "low IQ" was a turn-on. I tried really, really hard to believe that. Unfortunately, that effort always left me feeling as empty and meaningless as the women I was pining for or hooking up with at bars, concerts, and parties.

What's the point of going to bed with someone if you can't have a decent conversation in the morning? What's the point of wasting time and energy on someone you have nothing in common with? Cute only goes so far in life. And stupid people, well, are better off as someone else's baggage.

Everything, from the innocent dinner-and-a-movie to earth-shattering acts of hedonism, is made so much more enjoyable when one is able to to meet someone as an equal partner.

On my way home from the hitting the bars Friday night, I came across a girl sitting on a curb, having just finished throwing up next to my truck. The girl was well past any semblance of sobriety. She had a guy sitting next to her. He kept putting his arm around her, trying to cop a feel while telling her she'd be better off spending the night at his place, and trying to get her to have one more drink.

She obviously wasn't in much of a condition to make any sort of rational decision, but from the way she kept shoving the guy away, it was also obvious she had not interest in his advances, either. As I unlocked my door, I asked the girl if she was okay.

"This is none of your fucking business," the guy answered. His voice had a familiar tone to it - I've heard it way too many times. Its that creepy "she's almost drunk enough to let me fuck her" tone, the tone used by guys who are either too insecure about their manhood or too obsessed with getting laid.

I ignored the guy and asked again. The girl shook her head no and proceeded to projectile vomit again. I asked her if she needed help getting home. The guy stood up and promptly stormed off when she answered yes.

I helped the girl into the passenger seat, rolled down the window, gave her a plastic bag. When I started the truck, I asked her where she lived. She replied that she was from Cleveland (a six hour drive from Oxford.) It took about ten minutes of driving around to get her to remember where, exactly, she lived locally.

She threw up once again, managing to make it out the passenger window. She then curled up into a ball, head resting on my leg, staring up at me while I tried to shift gears through a tangle of arms and legs.

Then the drunken questions and commentary started:

"You've got pretty eyes...what year are you?"
"You are so sweet...sweet guys don't go to Miami...that guy was an asshole...ass-HOLE..."
"You're not really a librarian are you? Do you like read books all day? I like books."
"You have a girlfriend? You're not a serial killer or anything?"
"You smell really good...musky..."
"Did you hook up with a girl in Wells Hall last year?"
"You look like you'd be cool to hang out with...its so cool you're helping me...guys only do that in movies..."
"So you go to bars? Do you like drink and just hang out?"
"Can I change the radio? Do you have XM? This stuff's depressing..."

I didn't say a whole hell of a lot - I was too busy trying to locate this girl's house. The whole cab of my truck reeked of vodka.

When we finally located her house, I helped her out of the truck. She couldn't walk, so I carried her, unlocked the door, helped her up the stairs to her bedroom. One of her roommates looked out of her own bedroom, rolled her eyes, and slammed the door. I got the distinct feeling this girl I was helping out got into these kinds of situations often, and that the roomate was expecting me spend the night.

I laid the girl down on her bed and rummaged around in the dark for a lightswitch and a trashcan to put beside her bed. The girl was on her back, so I tried to roll her onto her stomach. When I did, she kissed my hand and tucked it into her chest.

I knew what she was expecting. I sat on the corner of her bed to try to gently remove my hand.

Big mistake. As soon as I sat down, this girl sat up, and pulled me down on the bed with her, and kissed me.

It was a worthless kiss, pointless and rather disgusting. I almost gagged. Everytime I tried to pull away, she just grabbed my head and pulled me in closer, kissing me harder, brutally, biting at my lip and trying to work loose my belt. I finally pushed myself free.

I couldn't even look at her. She started crying. Apparently, me helping her out was some kind of signal that I wanted to "do" her. She sobbed that she wasn't pretty enough, that she just wanted me to spend the night, that she wanted someone to just hold her, that she hated her life, and that she just wanted somebody decent to care for her.

I couldn't look her in the eye. I must've stood there for about ten minutes, staring at the floor and listening. I felt like maybe I shouldn't have offered any help at all - this girl obviously had a lot of problems beyond drinking herself into being an easy target for sexual predators. I felt like I was doing something wrong by not buying into her drunken stupor, by not being willing to just be there.

But, there are right ways to do things and wrong ways. I finally spoke up, telling her that I wouldn't be comfortable with spending the night and I'm not as good a guy as she thinks I am. I tried to explain that I just can't do that kind of thing anymore - it wouldn't feel right. I tried to give her a kiss on the cheek, hoping I could could kind of calm her down a bit, but she tried to pull me back down.

So I left. Two more of her roommates were downstairs in the living room, I could feel them staring me down as I left, their minds probably filled with assumptions.

By the time I'd gotten home and got the vomit cleaned off the side of my truck, my heart felt like it was going to explode. So I picked up my guitar and played until my fingers went numb.

Former IBF Lightweight Champ Dies from Injuries Sustained in the RingThoughts about the Beauty of the Brutish Sport

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former world lightweight champion Leavander Johnson died in hospital on Thursday, five days after suffering brain damage in a title bout in Las Vegas.
The 35-year-old American collapsed while heading to his dressing room after he was stopped in the 11th round of a failed IBF lightweight title defense against Mexico's Jesus Chavez on Saturday.
- READ THE REST HERE -

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When it comes to boxing, folks tend to fall into one of two categories. To some, the sport is a barbaric display of senseless violence, a brutish exhibition of cruelty as a form of entertainment. To others, it is a science, a form of ballet, complete with surgically-precise moves, delicate footwork, and strategically placed jabs.


I've always thought boxing falls somewhere in the middle of these two views. Yes, it is a sport built for brutality. From the ancient Greeks to the Duke of Albemarle's 1681 exploitation of his butcher and butler to present day, boxing has been about the awe of the well-placed hook, the broken nose, the split forehead, and the blackened eye. It is gruesome, gory, and even sinister.

But it is, strangely, a thing of beauty. More appropriately, the fights themselves demonstrate the purest of understanding regarding human conflict. It is not about heroes and villains, not about the mercilous beating of one person at the hands of another. In the ring, unlike in military warrooms, corporate boardrooms, or political meetings, conflict, while violent, is a meeting of equals to determine who is the "more equal" of the two in terms of skill, talent, and power.

Sure, there are cheaters. Fiinks, criminals, grandstanders, and exploitive managers permeate the sport. Promoters have long used "Tomato Cans" (unskilled fighters booked for a fight simply because they bleed easily and offer no real competition) to pad TKO and KO stats.

But, in the ring, it still comes down to two men or two women interpretting the choreographic perfection of Ali, Dempsey, Liston, Foreman, and De La Hoya. And it comes down to skill, fortitude, and constitution. Even tomato cans occassionally land a decent hook that sends promoters hitting the ground at the same rate as their newly-defeated prizefighters. That has fed dreams of hope, and provided numerous folks with the faith to believe that, at least in the ring, the underdog can still win one for the little guys.

Boxing has also provided tragedy, displayed our cultural shame, and exposed our cultural ills. Muhammed Ali's refusal to go to Vietnam helped inspired the poor and black to mobilize and to do the same. Joe Louis and Jack Johnson helped shatter myths about cultural superiority and spit in the face of racism with every punch. More negatively, Mike Tyson's insanity, from the rape of a beauty queen to ear biting to threatening to eat children, serves as a constant reminder of the sheer excess and self-centeredness that hid beneath the surface of American culture in the late 20th century. Who needs fiction like Fight Club or American Psycho to dramatize the violent underpinnings of cultural failures in modern society? Ask Evander Holyfield about what it really feels like to watch an insane madman spit out your ear in a title fight.

At 35, Leavander Johnson held the IBF lightweight belt for a matter of weeks. And in his first fight as the champ, he dies as a result of his injuries.

Johnson's death demonstrates another thing about human conflict, the true tragic face of daily life.

Sometimes, people die in conflicts. Even when the violence is supposedly contained, controlled, and confined to a squared circle.

There is beauty in boxing, because there is something very true about it, something raw and unfettered.

Because of that, there is also bound to be death, destruction, and senselessness.

After all, that's the double-edged sword of humanity. On one side the appreciation of life; on the other, the very real touch and feel of death.

The Joys of NOT being a FatherDNA Paternity Testing, The Past, etc...

The Fed Ex package came about two weeks ago. Fairly decent weather. Wonderful afternoon.

But I had a package coming and I was, unfortunately, expecting it.

I had, for one of the few times in my life, choose to act like an adult and do the right thing. Take this swab out of the sterile wrapping, scrape the inside of my cheek a couple of times, then stick the swab in another sterile tube.

Seal up the pre-paid envelope thing. Call for a package pick-up. Done.

No pain, no sweat.

An ex-girlfriend had called four days prior. She and I had determined years ago that her daughter was not our daughter. Mathematically impossible, given that this beautiful child would've been born three months old, even if the pregancy had lasted the full term (it didn't.)

But her ex-husband, after years of denying he even had a child, all of the sudden wants proof that he is the father. Though he's never even bothered to meet his daughter, no birthday presents, or Christmas cards, no contact in almost seven years.

More importantly, he wanted proof, for some reason, that I wasn't the father.

So I took my first - and hopefully last - paternity test.

No pain, no sweat.

Yesterday, I got the results back, as did the mother. In a week's time, I go from shoving a Q-Tip in my cheek to finding out, once and for all, that I'm not a Dad.

It didn't really hit me until today the true ramifications of the possibility of actually being someone's father.

Frightening thought. Terrifying, actually.

I could've stuck a little piece of me in an envelope and, days later, I find out I was a dad - a horrible dad, someone who's never met his own flesh and blood.

How would I have told my folks? How would I explain the sudden appearance of a first-grader in my life to colleagues and friends? What about all that early childhood development stuff? And what about the "Dad's Anglo, but Mom's Latina" shit - does the child take my name after ears with only her mom's family name? What kind of bad genes/baggage/parenting would I really have to offer?

I can't take care of myself - how the hell would I have taken care of a child?

Fate can be funny sometimes. After pondering the various what-ifs for a few hours, I realized something amazing about myself.

I took a frigging DNA test not to prove anything, not out of a sense of bravado, and not even to prove that a six-year-old - that I've never met - wasn't my child.

I took the test simply because it was the right thing to do. Didn't call anybody to ask advice. Didn't think twice. I was asked, and I just...did. I don't get to do that much.

No pain, no sweat.

Just a Q-Tip and an envelope.

Got to admit, its pretty hard to write about it, though.

How to Make Leonard Cohen's Red Needle without Really Trying

The "Traditional" Leonard Cohen Red Needle:

• 2 oz. tequila
• A slice lemon (or other exotic fruit)
• Cranberry Juice

In a highball glass, add crushed ice. Then add app. 2 oz. of Tequila and fill with cranberry juice. Mix gently. Garnish with lemon or other "exotic fruits." Another variation, which I've heard referred to as a "Fresh Needle," adds kiwi juice to the cranberry.


The Zenformation Professional Red Needle:

• 2 oz Don Julio Silver or Sauza Blanco (for the budget boozer)
• Unsweetened Cranberry Juice
• 1 tsp. pure cane sugar
• Lemon and lime slices

Combine, shake, and pour over crushed ice. Garnish with lemon and lime.

Leonard Cohen Nears the 3/4 Century Mark

Couldn't have put it better, myself...even if I tried really, really hard...
ZP

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Happy 71st Birthday Mr. Leonard Cohen
From Zydeco Fish, Toronto

Dear Leonard,

Happy Birthday and good luck with all of your money and legal problems. I really hope you get a satisfactory arrangement. I'm so sorry that you have to keep working, rather that retiring. The truth...

-READ ZF's COMPLETE BIRTHDAY WISH TO MR. COHEN HERE-

Zenformation Playlist 9/20/05Back to the Basics with a little Dark, a Little Light, and a Bit Mellow

1. Jason Lee - All Girl Summer Fun Band
Rather obscure indie song about an oft-overlooked artistic talent. Jason Lee, well, kicked ass in Chasing Amy and Mallrats.

2. Walt Whitman's Neice - Billy Bragg and Wilco
Recently got this as part of a Librarian-themed compilation, courtesy of Ms. Monkeythong. Haven't heard this song in ages! Combines three of my favorite things - Walt Whitman, Wilco, and the good Mr. Bragg.

3. Faith Children - Little Wings
I've seen Kyle Field and whoever he manages to drag along for the Little Wings ride play live at least 20 times - all while in California. Bars, coffee houses, and I think even at a party in Morro Bay. One of those weird solo projects under a band name.
Field (shown in the adjacent photo, right) really has some a unique earthy sound, though his later albums seem to be missing that original, lo-fi sound and a bit of the soul too.

4. Lo Boob Oscillator - Stereolab
Its hard for me to envision this song being more than ten years old, but it is.

5. Jambalaya - The Residents
What is it with me and the Residents' Hank Williams covers lately? the Residents are one of those bands that never really got the props they deserved. Stars and Hank Forever (Ralph, 1986) is one of those mythical albums from the 1980s - people had heard of it, maybe a few bars in some flick, but it still remains rock's version of Big Foot.

6. I'm Down - Calvin Johnson (the guy at left in the press photo above)
One of those making-out-underneath-a-blacklight type songs. And there has to be a lava lamp involved, the scent of Nag Champa, a tarot reading, and some discussion of favorite authors. Maybe a Gin and Tonic, Zenformation-style: Bombay Sapphire, two limes, with a dash of Grenadine.

7. Song of the Dispossessed - Dead Can Dance
See notes for No. 6.

8. Your Mama Used to Dance - Old Time Relijun
Abouncy, out-of-tune fuzz guitarfest. And well, the Dead Can Dance, right? What better follow-up...

9. Romeo is Bleeding - Tom Waits
Such an awesome song. Not to be confused with the movie of the same name.

10. Angie - The Rolling Stones
One of my favorite Stones tunes. Had to play it...adding to the mellow mood. Even though Jagger looks closer to the grave with every passing day and the corpse of Keith Richards (who I'm convinced died sometime in 1976) continues to play tothis day, one can't overlook the classics.

The Digital Divide as the Grand Canyon:Cultural Priorities Part of the Problem

In the U.S., we tend to forget, somewhere in the vast oceans of TiVOs, iPods, and other entrenchment trends, that there is a bigger picture when it comes to the development of new technologies.

For much of human history, technology has been used not simply to make people's lives easier. Technology has traditionally been developed as a means to better the human experience.

Welcome to the 21st Century.

While the overwhelming majority of inhabitants of this planet struggle to develop viable information infrastructures, combat government censorship and media control, and seek something as basic as a telephone, many in the U.S. and the rest of the so-called Developed World treat new video game consoles, the latest mobile devices, or fancy coding languages like an unalienable human right, free of any sort of social responsibility.

Devoid of social responsibility, information and communication technologies (ICT) creates, builds, and establishes nothing, save stroking the egos of the citizenry of the Developed World.

There are folks fighting, bleeding, and even dying to get access to ICT for their countrymen.

There are people - real, honest-to-God human beings - fighting to deliver basic technologies that could be used effectively to combat real world problems in the Developing World - everything from AIDs to dictatorships to hunger.

Think I'm full of shit on this?

The advent of the world's largest and most widely recognizable form of information and communication technology, the written word, led directly to the development of everything from poetry to literature, to avents in culture and the ability to document history.

The adoption of the printing press in Europe sparked the Reformation, colonial rebellion, and social revolution.

The advent of automated computing allowed men to do everything from build nuclear arsenals to putting men into outer space.

The ability to adopt technology is directly linked to the ability for societies to flourish.

What good's a damn $400 Mp3 player in the hands of a select few of the world's wealthiest teens and twentysomethings when the majority of their counterparts are struggling to learn how to better use ICT to build hospitals, to communicate and coordinate education, and to help bring vital services to where there was none?

Grahamstown, South Africa - This year's Highway Africa Conference was started with the call on African governments and the private sector to find ways of analyzing and closing the digital divide that has existed between Africa and the developed world for a long time.
In his keynote address, the Group Chief Executive of the South Africa Broadcasting Company (SABC), Mr. Dali Mpofu said that African governments have taken for granted the benefits that a country would derived from the development of Information and Communications Technology. (ICT).

He said Africans are willing to learn ICT but the infrastructure is not there as countries are yet to put them in place, and pointed out that "Government and the private sector must invest." -READ MORE HERE-

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Now, compare that tale to the list CNET recently compiled of the Top-10 ICT products of all time...with a free-to-the-public product like Google "almost being overlooked" and finishing in third place - behind the iPod and TiVO, entertainment technologies.
-READ THE LIST HERE -

CNET, the stalwart of promoting new wizbang gadgets, and its list demonstrates the gap not just in technologies but also in terms of cultural priorities. ICT development in the West is increasingly driven by trends in user demands for entertainment products. All the while, places like Sub-Saharan Africa seek to stem the tide of witnessing entire cultures fall decades behind in terms of the most basic of ICT - telephones, modem connections, digital educational resources, etc.

This is too damned funny...I Have a Seduction Style?!?

Got a call on Skype last night from a friend of mine in Paris finishing up her culinary education. This woman and I took a few classes together as undergrads and I've heard from her maybe twice in five years (I'm absolutely lousy at keeping in touch with folks myself. She found me by searching Skype for profiles.)

We talked for about 20 minutes, exchanged "real" phone numbers, and talked about life's weird quirks.

A 26-year-old, on her second husband, the current one a 51-year-old investment banker from The Netherlands who sounds about as exciting as a sawdust sandwich. She doesn't want children; her hubby wants four. He wants her to move to Dublin; she wants to move back to San Jose, Calif.

They were fighting. So she hopped online and started tracking down people from her past. Apparently, I was try no. 15.

And, apparently, she was totally shocked that I'm now a librarian in Ohio. She envisioned I'd either a) be a professor somewhere, b) working for ESPN or having made it to network, or c) in law school.

She'd also heard a rather vicious rumor... apparently I dropped off the planet because I got some girl pregnant and I'd run to Louisiana to chase women and drink myself into a coma. Well..did move to Louisiana, but it was for...uh...grad school.

Anyway, she thought enough about it to almost believe it. I dispelled some of the nasty rumors, but, for some reason, she had a hard time buying into me being a librarian, that I was basically living like a monk (trust me, if you're unfamiliar with Oxford...I'd be more likely to find a date at the Vatican), and that I still refuse to allow Abercrombie and Fitch into my house because of its often racist t-shirt content (she thought that was just something I told girls to get them to take their clothes off.)

Alise sent me this random survey thing she got from a friend of hers. Figured I'd post it because it was sort of interesting, and since she asked that I let her know if I'd somehow become prude, frigid, or something.

Apparently, I'm a good catch or something. Of course, the survey results aren't scientific and sound like they came out of Cosmo or YM or even Seventeen Magazine.

---

Your Seduction Style: Prized Object

The seduction game you play is tried, true, and still effective: hard to get. You know that the best seducers turn the tables - and get their crush to seduce them. The one running has the power, and you're a challenge that is worth the chase. You are a master of enticing and pulling back. Giving a little and taking some away. You are controlled enough to know rewards come after a long seduction dance. Even though you want to call, email, or say "I love you" first - you don't! You're style is the perfect mix of hot and cold - so much so that you have many suitors. Think Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's ... or any of those creepy guys from the Bachelor. You're skilled at inspiring a chase. The real test is picking the person to slow down for.

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

"...You Have the Wrong Guy, Chica"Bizarre Friday Night Conversation Leads to Drunken Confessional

This has to be one of the most bizarre online conversations I've had in a long time, literally came out of nowhere- I think this woman was either very drunk or was REALLY, REALLY confused. If this conversation belongs to a Zenfo Pro reader and you're uncomfortable with me reposting this, please e-mail me and I'll take the post down.

This was just too damned bizarre to not repost. Just in case, I removed all ID material, and, as always, people I KNOW or chat with regularly online have no reason to fear reposting of confidential or private chat material without express permission by both parties. I repeatedly, as you'll read, told this person I was not who she thought I was. Apparently, she just ignored it and kept going.

Otherwise, this serves as a good warning to folks. A lot of people with Yahoo! IM get those annoying "Just saw your Yahoo profile...are ya horny baby?" type IM spam things. Sometimes, they might not be spam, just somebody too out of it to realize they hit the wrong button.

Please, please...drink and IM responsibly.

---

[ID REMOVED] :Hey
[ID REMOVED]:gotta question
[ID REMOVED]: think i did something really stupid
JWAYNEJACK: Hey
JWAYNEJACK: How r u?
JWAYNEJACK: do i know you?
JWAYNEJACK: stupid?
JWAYNEJACK: hehehe...what'd ya do?
[ID REMOVED]: ummmm
[ID REMOVED]: do u know what a dp is?
JWAYNEJACK: Uhhh...think you have the wrong person...
[ID REMOVED]: Ya. U know what i mean. don't play mr innocent here you were at brick street when i hooked up with that guy from dayton and then u an i went back to [PERSON'S HOUSE} and hooked up and u told me u didn't care
[ID REMOVED]: remember that girl tina...she was like so wanting you.
JWAYNEJACK: yeah....pretty sure you have the wrong guy, chica
JWAYNEJACK: pretty sure i don't know you...pretty sure i've never hooked up with anyone at becky's house. only tinas I know live in Colorado and Cali.
JWAYNEJACK: Bye...good luck

[I go offline, come back two hours later]

[ID REMOVED]: hey where'd ya go?
[ID REMOVED]: i was watching the history channel and dying my hair with stacy
JWAYNEJACK: K.
JWAYNEJACK: Hey
JWAYNEJACK: I really have no clue who you are
JWAYNEJACK: Think you have the wrong guy here
[ID REMOVED]: my bf wants me to do a dp for him.
JWAYNEJACK: K.
[ID REMOVED]: Ya..his brother and roomatethink i'm like hot and he wants to watch
[ID REMOVED]: i don't want to do it
[ID REMOVED]: never done that kind of stuff
[ID REMOVED]: think its icky and makes me feel pretty worthless
JWAYNEJACK: well, don't do it then.
JWAYNEJACK: its your body and you have a right to do what you want with it. If you're not comfortable doing something, then just say no.
[ID REMOVED]: :) That's like so sweet!
[ID REMOVED]: Thanks....
[ID REMOVED]: I wanna dump this stupid stupid bf it makes me so like mad. feel bad for being mad, but i guess thats just me
[ID REMOVED]: you know how i get sometimnes when i've been drinking :O
[ID REMOVED]: i don't want to dump him hes a realy nice guy and hegoing to grad school and mom loves him
JWAYNEJACK: ???
JWAYNEJACK: Um...hate to be rude, but would mom still love him if she knew he'd asked you to pull a train for his friends???
JWAYNEJACK: Look...
JWAYNEJACK: You obviously have me confused with someone else
JWAYNEJACK: I really need to get to bed soon
[ID REMOVED]: K. U realy are sooooo sweet!
[ID REMOVED]: So you thinki shuld dump [JOHN DOE]?
[ID REMOVED]: its only 1 am silly! You're too youg to goe to bed this early! Hahaha :))
JWAYNEJACK: Well...
JWAYNEJACK: Don't know the situation...not dr. phil or anything...but sure, why the hell not? I wouldn't date somebody who I don't want to date anymore...
JWAYNEJACK: but i don't know you...seriously...youre talking to a stranger here...
[ID REMOVED]: K.
[ID REMOVED]: need ta thinck soer up roomies plyaing cornhole and stacy's got out o tha bathrom
[ID REMOVED]: Call me!

[ID REMOVED] has signed out.

---

Zenformation Playlist Returns! 9/15/05Shout Out to the Folks at the Alma Maters

1. Carpel Tunnel Syndrome - Kid Koala
KK is probably one of the best turntablists of all time. This song got me through my last two quarters of the ol' undergrad.

2. War - Edwin Starr
That silly movie with Jackie Chan and Christ Tucker - whatever the hell its called - almost ruined this song for me. Almost. Starr has that energy that came along with late Motown. Even a buddy comedy can't ruin it.

3. The Road to Rock and Roll - Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros
Joe Strummer is still sorely missed. For those who don't know who the hell this guy was, go down to your local independent record store and demand (don't ask) for a copy of London Calling. If the clerk has to ask you who recorded the album (the Clash), then you're in a Sam Goody. Maybe Hot Topic, or the Abercrombie and Filth....er Fitch outlet.

4. Rock the Bells - LL Cool J
Old school, going back in the day - 1985. Ladies still Love Cool James.

5. Cock Mobster - MC Paul Barman
One of the catchiest loops to come out of underground hip-hop in a long time, and the insane lyrics about fornicating with various female celebrities is just damn hillarious.

6. Ghetto Bird - Ice Cube
Can't Diss the Cube. Even if he did do a couple of family-friendly movies and starred in a couple of stoner vehicles, Ice Cube is still one bad mother.

7. How We Know - The Thermals
Song reminds me of a cross between some classic Pogues, thought the band did end up getting a bit overhyped. One of the more energetic current bands.

8. I'm a Bee - Love as Laughter
Sam Jayne is a noise rocker. A la Ted Leo.

9. Pretty Dress- Rosie Thomas
If you dig OTR, but need something with a little more pop appeal. I hate to sound like a wuss, but this song has that kind of Shirley Manson/Aimee Mann kind of beauty to it. Rosie has an awesome voice that can remind anyone of cups of joe at coffee houses on rainy Sundays.

10. Daylight to Dawn - All Night Radio
Such a cute little 1960s style ditty. Very mellow.

Robert Wise Dead at Age 91:One of Hollywood's last masters of cinema

Robert Wise, a four-time Academy Award winner whose epic 65-year career ranged from editing Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" to directing the quintessential 1960s musical "The Sound of Music" to launching the first "Star Trek" film, has died of heart failure at age 91.

Wise was one of Hollywood's most versitile and influential personalities.

In the 1950s, Wise virtually invented the concept of social consciousness in the genre with The Day The Earth Stood Still, a sobering tale about a powerful alien sent to earth with a warning to mankind - learn to live in peace, or to face the wrath of the galaxy's superpowers.

The film highlights the sheer pettiness of most political disputes, warfare, and the benefits of working together to build a better world (as opposed to simply finding new ways to kill one another.) It is just as relevant today as it was in 1951.

America's Human Failures: Why Self-Righteous Denial of Katrina's Reality is the Worst Kind of Crime Against Humanity

I've started seeing those "Let Them Eat Cake" e-mail forwards - these self-loathing, self-absorbed little pieces promoting the idea that New Orleans should be written off as being nothing more than a city full of money-grubbing welfare mothers, gangmembers, and burdens on the rest of society.

One particularly vile piece I received recently talks about about how in 1927, the folks of Louisiana were somehow more American than their modern counterparts, a diatribe against social services, and comments about how the folks in Southeast Louisiana who were stranded should somehow be held accountable for being "dumb" enough to be born poor in the South.

I've fielded questions from regular, everyday folks who ask things along similar lines - loaded questions where people simply seek to justify the imaginary bubble that separates the imaginary self-centered American "me" from the reality of an American "us."

Why didn't these folks just walk out? (A: by the time the confusion really set in, the city, because of gross mismanagement and miscommunication, was cordoned off - no one was allowed in or out by the military forces).

Didn't these people have cars/flood insurance/know that a hurricane was coming? (A: With 24% of the city living below the poverty line, it is impossible not to look at poverty's ugly face - the dillusional belief that everybody can afford a car, insurance, or access to information is merely socioeconomic Xanax that keeps the middle and upperclasses of this country from feeling guilt over abandoning their fellow man in favor of materialism.)

Why didn't those people expect a hand-out for suffering? (A: Don't think anybody in Miss., La., or Bama's expecting a hand-out; they'd gladly take their jobs, homes, and communities back in exchange. If you think hurricane relief is a "hand-out," then don't come crying if your home ever gets destroyed by Mother Nature.)

For those folks reading who somehow want to still choose to live in the belief that the government did the best it could, that what happened in the Gulf can't possibly happen again, or that the sheer human suffering and chaos in the South won't ever happen to that American Me, well this ain't no goddamned episode of Fear Factor.

There's no changing the channel, there's no "I Gave at Sept. 11th," and there's no hiding behind that facade of "nothing touches me." Doesn't work like that.

The people of New Orleans and the Gulf don't need your pity, they don't need your heartfelt sympathies and condolences, and they sure as hell don't need bullshit apologetics about why you are willing to let your countrymen live in filth for days on end.

This isn't some carwreck on the side of the Interstate, where you keep driving, fascinated just enough to care for a split second, then being able to comfort yourself with excuses at night for failing to stop and offer assistance.

With Katrina and subsequent government response, this is your parents in that carwreck, Louisiana and Mississippi your broken, mangled family. If you have a problem with that imagery, well, when your real kinfolk are bleeding to death on the side of the road, don't expect me or anyone else to stop and help - they were probably too stupid to pay attention to the road anyway, right? Right?

There's no avoiding it by flipping through the channels, listening and espousing bullshit justifications, and no political rhetoric to offer comfort. There's no facade thick enough to hide this kind of tragedy. In the next few months, America will absorb a lot of these good folks, bringing them into their communities, their homes, and into their lives until their hometowns, businesses, and governments get back on their respective feet. And its going to impact every aspect of American life.

There's no time to deal with the "American Me" folks anymore - no coddling and telling them that they don't have to fret, that nothing impacts them except what exists in their own bubble universe, and that somebody else will clean up this mess.

Its our mess. If you're not willing or too full of shit to help, then get the hell out of the way.

JamBase | CLARENCE 'GATEMOUTH' BROWN: 1924 - 2005

ORANGE, Texas. -- Friends, fans and peers expressed sadness this weekend with the passing of American Roots Music legend Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown.
After evacuating his beloved home in Slidell, Louisiana, to Orange, TX to escape the path of Hurricane Katrina on August 28, 2005, Mr. Brown died in Orange, Texas on Saturday, September 10, he was 81 years old. The hurricane leveled his home, which was filled with artifacts and memorabilia from his 50-plus years of recording. He had been battling lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease and had been in ill health much of the past year. The destruction of his home weighed heavily on him.
- Josh Miller, JamBase contributor.
-FULL ARTICLE HERE -

Texas Governor mum on pastor's musings about Katrina purifying

The Religious Nuts are starting to make the rounds regarding God somehow punishing America/Louisiana for Sin. Its always amazing to me that there are so many clergy in the U.S. today who know longer focus on doctrines of love; instead this select group chooses hateful rhetoric that would make the Third Reich proud.

Purifying? God was trying to purify New Orleans? For its sin? Its "devil-worship?" God has, for some reason, ignored Las Vegas, allowed Amsterdam to stay afloat, and spared Los Angeles and San Franciso, yet one Texas Christian uberSoldier wants to lead folks to believe that God would destroy millions of homes and hundreds of churches and other houses of worship because He doesn't like gay folks?

The Governor of Texas may not have the cajones to stand up and say anything in the face of religious whack-jobs while his state hosts the New Orleans Saints football team and scores of evacuees. Why come out with something meaningful when strategic silence can help minimize the loss of that important American demographic - religious hatemongers. Gotta keep the "I speak for God" nuts happy, else they choose to take their PAC funds somewhere else next election.

To me, Rick Perry's refusal to come out himself and publicly decry this kind of rhetoric is just as bad as standing at a megaphone screaming "God hates Fags" and then wondering why some idiot gets drunk and goes out for a night of "Biblically-inspired" gay-bashing.

Gov. Perry, as a former celebrant in The Rev. Dwight McKissic's house of devil-worship, I proudly give you a two-fingered salute for choosing to be a politico over being a true leader.

And I'm not flashing you the University of Texas Horns, either.

ZP

---

Texas Governor mum on pastor's musings about Katrina purifying
Another pastor who attended says comments were offensive.
W. Gardner Selby
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) spoke at two private events this week where a Texas minister wondered if God sent Hurricane Katrina to purify the nation of sins, including homosexuality.
The GOP leader didn't object at the gatherings in San Antonio and Houston on Thursday.

Gubernatorial spokesman Robert Black, contacted Friday, said:
"The governor does not agree with that. But far be it for the governor to try to divine the will of the Almighty."...
-FULL STORY HERE -

FEMA Aid Site Only Takes IE; Firefox, Mac Users Need Not Apply

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), already the subject of sharp criticism in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, may find itself chastised further for restricting access to its online assistance site to Windows and Microsoft Internet Explorer users.
To file a claim online at FEMA's Individual Assistance Center, where citizens can apply for government help, the browser must be IE 6.0 or later with JavaScript enabled.
That cuts out everyone running Linux or the Mac operating systems, as well as Windows users running alternate browsers such as Firefox or Opera.
When TechWeb tested the site using Windows XP and Firefox 1.0.6, the message 'In order to use this site, you must have JavaScript Enabled and Internet Explorer version 6. Download it from Microsoft or call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) to register' popped up on the screen.
Attempts to contact a FEMA representative were unsuccessful...

-FULL STORY HERE-

- By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb News

Charmaine Neville, Some Girl Needing a Light, and Irony

(September 07, 2005) -- Every time you think you've heard it all about the horrors of New Orleans in the past week, something like Charmaine Neville's experience comes around the bend, or the blog, and smacks you over the head like a club. It's a story of dead babies in the water, alligators eating people, heroism (she commandeered a bus to save dozens) and despair.

-FULL STORY HERE-

From Editor & Publisher

---

I had a girl ask me today, after overhearing a portion of my conversation with someone, tell me she was so sorry for me.

"You should dump that girl Katrina...she sounds like trouble. Gotta light?"

I thought she was making a joke. Turns out she hadn't heard a thing about Katrina - hadn't watched the news since classes started back up, hadn't picked up a newspaper, and only listens to her iPod when she wants to hear music.

Knew Scarlett Johansson was on the cover of Cosmo, though. And she thought the hurricane couldn't be all that bad - the government would get things going again.

Told her about the evacuees. Homes lost. Dead folks rotting in the sun, bodies popping from gases building up, outbreaks of strange diseases, and the fact that my alma mater is now home to field hospitals, scared undergrads like herself, and the sheer amount of history lost.

She just blinked, big hazel eyes fluttering beneath overcoated eyelashes.

Tugged at her popped collar with "preppie" embroidered across the neck.

"Um...well...it'll get better. The government always fixes things. Always. Except gas. You know its like $3 a gallon? Wonder what caused that?"

Then she gave me her number. Said to call her tonight- maybe we could hook up this weekend. Said I seemed like a nice guy.

That number went into the trash.

I'm too nice of a guy to get picked up by someone who's sense of reality revolves around getting her news from Cosmo.

"Where the Hell'd the Zenformation Professional Go?"Checking In

Wow...what a week...two weeks...

I've been sort of in and out of it for a while now, trying to find new and creative ways to help my countrymen.

I know there's a lot of folks who stop by and read the Jasoba Fett Tales of Unrepentant Madness. For those who may have lived under a rock or haven't heard a thing about this bad motorscooter called Katrina that's caused states of emergencies in 15 states now, shut down twoof them, obliterated at least 10 libraries, and left hundreds of thousands homeless, well, killed at least 10,000, destroyed billions in property, and has turned the Big Easy into a toxic waste dump filled with bodies...

Why do you continue to read? Can you even read? Why are you wasting my bandwidth?

* * * * * *
I also know there's a whole hell of a lot of truely awesome folks out there reading this, all of whom I want to thank from the bottom of my heart. First, my main man G over at Library Bitch. Smurf from over at Discovering the Truth, and Kara over at Enigmatic Simplicity. I appreciate the comments and best wishes. (And G., your message today made my day, dude!) You guys all rock, as do my family, friends, and colleagues.

Also need to give mad props to the good folks who've given so much time and effort, blood, sweat, and cybertears getting Geaux Library Recovery up and running as a legitimate information clearinghouse...special thanks to fellow bloggers...you know who you are. And to all the librarians, archivists, conservators, preservation specialists, and volunteers who've joined in, you all have a special place in my heart. We've been able to help a lot of folks in Louisiana get the things they need.

A lot of folks may remember my friend Jen (who used to post regularly, but, because of her little unsanctioned visit to Oxfor, was asked to not post anymore by her management). To echo what she told me last night on the phone : no, bless your slutty little heart girl! Jen didn't want me to tout her donations to various charities, but she gave the equivelent of nearly half my salary to Katrina-relief in canned goods, water, money, and clothes over the last few days (Ah ha, who'd a thunk it...feature dancers make more money than librarians.) And yes, I finally got your scrunchie unstuck from the window... selling the panties you left on eBay (just joking, went out with the mail today.)

And to my peeps down in the Gulf Coast...you will not be forgotten.

-ZP

LOUISIANA CONFIDENTIAL: NO Mayor Nagin:"Let's do something and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country"

But thousands of people are feared dead and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said he was furious at the lack of help his historic city had received.

"I need reinforcements. I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man," he said in a radio interview. "Now get off your asses and fix this. Let's do something and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country."
- Reuters

When this is all said and done, Ray Nagin will be remembered as the man who watched the Big Easy collapse. He and the other elected representatives from Louisiana have every right to be angry. Louisianans have every right to be angry.

And this morning, I'm so fucking embarrassed to call myself an American.

I can't sleep I'm so angry. I haven't eaten much in the last two days I'm so angry.

There are now gangs raping and pillaging across New Orleans. I've gotten reports -- rumors from the refugee camps in Baton Rouge (lets quit using goddamned euphemisms at this point - evacuees seems to imply that the American public somehow cares enough about its own people to do something) -- that there's break-ins, locals exploiting their guests, people being asked to stay indoors after dark, and underequipped recovery workers screaming everywhere for help from everywhere.

And I'm wondering who's listening?

Every day, an American state falls deeper into a heart of darkness, deeper into something more similar to to Mogadeshu, Baghdad, Darfur. There is talk of dyptheria, malaria, cholera outbreaks.

Certainly not the majority of Americans, I'm starting to believe.

Here in Oxford, I've heard more "Oh, that's too bad"s and "wish I could help, but..."s coming from people's mouths lately that I'm starting to prefer hearing nothing at all. The only sincere expressions of concern I've heard recently have, well, come from my colleagues. I had a woman from another department swing by and ask how I was doing. I told her, well, that I was just glad to be alive.

I've even heard guys make jokes about the whole thing - "No more Girls Gone Wild Videos, huh?" and "Cell Phones? They can't read in Louisiana, why would they have cell phones?"

The last joke, by the way, came from a skinny-ass mop-topped kid in some real fine designer duds. If he'd been a little older, and I was in the mindset I had when I was younger, I would've easily whooped the Abercrombie & Fitch out of him in front of his girlfriend.

Instead, I simply walked it off, reminding myself of the old rule of turning the other cheek - it is better to walk the road of peace and to swing by a church and ask for the strength to walk a righteous path than to accept the shallowness of violence.

I realized tonight that I'm not the only one angry with the way the U.S. has responded, the sheer apathy and rag-tag recovery efforts that are a result of a decade's worth of being a generally self-absorbed, materialistic, and gluttonous nation.

When this is all said and done, Ray Nagin won't be remembered as the man who watched the Big Easy collapse or stood by while the Gulf Coast bloated like a corpse in the South's steamy September.

If things don't improve, the only persons responsible for a state's brutal collapse...will be us.

All of us.

Failure to act is the worst form of cowardice.

God help us all.

ZP

FYI...Tulane Emergency Website Back Online

www.emergency.tulane.edu

Burning the Candle at Both Ends...

It may be a while before I can start blogging regularly again...between work and the Geaux Library site, I'm swamped. Need to sleep eventually.

If you're one of those phantom Miami folks reading this, please get out, organize, and let's pull our shit together. I have yet to see any real student or faculty initiatives to help out these hurricane survivors.

That goes for everybody else as well. Got extra clothes? Give em up for a good cause. Got a change jar? Who needs beer money anyways?

Do what ya can...it can never be too much.

Much love,

The Zenfo Pro

(and to this girl Stacy who offered me a hug today, thanks. Acts of random kindness by strangers are always appreciated. Will try to answer your e-mail this weekend. Needed the shoulder to cry on. And yeah, that girl in the pig-tails and glasses who blew right past me and yelled hey while I was on the cell after I lit your cigarette...that was the ex I wrote about last spring. And yes, it's been a pretty shitty week, all-and-all...Thanks!)

Update on Libraries from Louisiana Library Association Executive Director ....

FYI...Beverly gave me permission to repost this in its entirety this morning...
ZP

---

Subject: evacuees & libraries




Reports continue to come in, including now comments on how the libraries
are
working to help the evacuees:

Linda Fox reports:
West Feliciana library is A-OK and welcoming lots and lots of folks who
have
lost EVERYTHING in the NO area. We are giving away books, temp-loaning
children's books, printing out FEMA and LA Works packets, offering crayons
and coloring books,and running a quiet children's video for the little guys
whose parents are on the Internet. We've set up one Library card to check
out some materials temporarily...to lose a few books won't be much of a
loss
after what we've heard. We just try to keep thinking of things to do to
help.

Loretta Gharst reports:
Here in Calcasieu Parish we have had many hurricane evacuees coming to our
libraries throughout the parish to use our internet computers. Yesterday
we
collected and dropped off donated books and magazines at the civic center
Red Cross shelter and opened up a computer lab in our downtown meeting room
for the exclusive use of evacuees (it is within walking distance of the
civic center). Every branch is reporting waiting lines for using the
public
computers. Staff have created a webpage with links for the evacuees and
are
constantly updating it http://www.calcasieu.lib.la.us/Hurricane.htm
Reference staff at the various libraries are gathering and distributing
information to evacuees in their communities. Children's Librarians are
setting up story programs with the Red Cross.

Beth Vandersteen reports:
Central Louisiana is bursting with evacuees in every possible location with
more streaming in even as I type. People are pouring into the libraries to
use the computers; we've waived print fees for FEMA forms, etc, and
stretched the time limits whenever possible. We contacted the Red Cross
about doing storytimes in the shelters on Monday, but they've not responded
as yet - I'm sure that's not first on their lists! Rapides Parish Library
began delivering reading material to shelters yesterday, along with
coloring
sheets, crayons, library information flyers, etc. We've put out library
information on flyers as well as through the local media, set up collection
boxes for toiletries and items needed in the shelters, broadcast news and
movies on our TVs, and issued temporary library cards for those who want to
check out materials.
The Coast Guard and other entities involved in the rescue efforts have set
up coordination centers in this area. ABC News was in our Main Library
this
morning needing some of our resources, and we were pleased that we met
their
needs.

All of us are doing what we can to provide information services, a book or
two to help pass the time until things get better, and a bit of compassion
-
as are all of you! Many of our staff are hosting displaced families in
their homes. Times like these make me proud to be in this profession!
--------------------------------------------------------------
Beverly E. Laughlin, Executive Director
Louisiana Library Association
421 South 4th St
Eunice, LA 70535
337-550-7890 (phone)
337-550-7846 (fax)
www.llaonline.org