RIP Billy Mays and library funding

I've had a lot on my mind lately, but no inspiration to post anything here until now. Truth be told, I've been busy with two other blogs this summer for our Adult Summer Reading Club and for our Main Library Staff Summer Reading Club. So poor little Ridiculology has been neglected - nothing new though, right?

Things in my world have been a little crazy as of late - and not always in a good way. It's been hard to try to not worry about the governor's proposed $220 million cut to the Public Library Fund. It depresses me to think about what kind of impact that would have on libraries across the state, and especially at CML. At the same time, it's been amazing to see the support that the public has been giving to libraries over the past two weeks. From organizing rallies, to sending emails to legislators and calling the governor's office, Ohioans are coming out in record numbers in support of their public libraries. I hope it helps - the decision on the budget is being delayed through July 7th, but hopefully we'll know something then.

So if I lost my job as librarian (which I certainly hope won't happen), what do you guys think my second career choice should be? Wedding planner tops my list - with all of the weddings I've attended and helped plan over the years, I think it would be a good fit. Just in the past two weeks, I've been in one wedding and attended two others! Check out my Flickr page for photos.

Or, maybe I could become a pitchwoman, and take over for my dearly departed Billy Mays. Somehow I don't think that would suit me very well, but it certainly would be fun to get paid to yell at people all of the time. Speaking of Billy Mays, I have to confess that I am very, very saddened by his death. This statement by the Discovery Channel and his partner Anthony Sullivan just breaks my heart. He was a great man, and one hell of a salesman. I wore blue yesterday in honor of him.

So, what else could I do? Rodeo clown? Underwater basket weaver? ASTRONAUT?! I need a backup plan, people!

What I've been busy doing

If you want to know what I've been up to lately, check out this post on our staff Summer Reading Club blog: http://mainsrc.blogspot.com/2009/06/main-staff-src-dessert-potluck.html

I recorded and edited the video myself - it's not great, but it's not bad for a first-timer, right? At the very least, I hope people get a kick out of it!

Stuck in a reading rut

It's time for me to admit the truth: I'm a librarian, and I don't read.

Alright... that's not entirely true. I flip through craft books and cookbooks all of the time, but it's not the same as sitting down and reading a book - at least it doesn't feel that way. I love books, I really do, but at some point in college I stopped finding the time to read books for pleasure, and it's been a difficult habit to get myself back into.

I know this might sound like blasphemy to many of my friends. But whenever I log into my Goodreads account, I'm reminded of how little I've read in my lifetime, and it's kind of depressing. Granted, I'm not listing the 60+ Babysitter's Club books on Goodreads that I read as a kid, but still. There's only a little over 100 other books that I can recall reading, and that's just not enough.

And if that weren't enough, I recently attended a Reader's Advisory training at work where staff were throwing out names of authors I didn't know, talking about books I'd never heard of, and generally having a wonderfully intellectual discussion about books and reading that I couldn't participate in. Sure, I know that I don't have to read everything to do my job, but it still made me feel very inadequate.

So how do I fit reading back into my life? Well, I joined a book club - I figure that's a good start. We're reading Dracula this month, which is a book I've always wanted to read. And to give myself an extra challenge, I'm reading it on my iPhone! I've never really tried reading an ebook, and there's a "Classics" iPhone app (only 99 cents!) that includes Dracula, so I'm giving it a chance.

What are you reading right now? Does anyone else have trouble finding time to read too?

Things on my mind

Haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd share what's on my mind today:

1. Pepsi Throwback - it's good, but makes you realize how much sugar you're really drinking with it's distinct pure sugar aftertaste. I like it though.

2. I need a vacation, stat! I'm really looking forward to my upcoming trip to New Jersey to be in Julie and Paul's wedding, and maybe a trip to Chicago again this fall.

3. I love getting myself too involved - either at work, or with activities on my own time. I enjoy everything I do, but sometimes I wish I could hold myself back more. I guess maybe I wouldn't have as much fun.

4. Swine Flu - everyone needs to get the f over it. The regular flu kills way more people. So does pneumonia. And if we're talking about pandemics, don't forget about AIDS. Nobody seems worried about that anymore. But if you're looking for a good laugh, follow @the_swine_flu on Twitter.

5. I want to see a tornado. I don't want to be sucked up in a tornado, or killed by one, and I don't really want it to touch down. I just want to see a funnel cloud in the sky before I die. Is that too much to ask?

What's on YOUR mind today?

What else is there to think about on Saturday afternoon?

I was talking to a coworker today (Jim) about my favorite xkcd comic:


This was from Spring of 2007 - 2 years ago. It's still awesome, but I wonder what it would look like today? Twitter isn't even on there, and Facebook would have a much bigger space now. I wonder what other newer communities would make the map? And where would Cory Doctorow's balloon be now?!

Ada Lovelace Day

I wanted to sneak in my Ada Lovelace Day post before today is over, so here we go! If you don't already know about Ada Lovelace, find out more here.

There are so many amazing women in science and technology that I could go on and on about, but I ultimately decided to talk about Danica McKeller (widely known as Winnie from The Wonder Years). But Danica more than just an actress - she has a degree in mathematics, and is a published writer! Danica is incredibly intelligent, and she's making a point to let young girls know that it's cool to be smart. Her books to date are Math Doesn't Suck and Kiss My Math.

We live in a world where people, both young and old, often say, "Oh, I'm no good at math!" Why is that okay? Why is that acceptable? As Neil deGrasse Tyson said at a talk I recently attended, you don't often hear someone say, "Oh, I'm no good at English!" or "Oh, I'm no good at reading!" And that's because it's socially unacceptable to not be good at talking or reading, and it IS socially acceptable to not be good at math and science. If you haven't already noticed... this angers me.

Anyhow! Danica is my pick for Ada Lovelace Day because she is making it okay to like math. And she's gorgeous, and talented, and everything young girls want to be. She's the perfect person to be this kind of role model, and I'm so happy to see her writing books that kids can connect with.

I also feel I should mention that I used to own a shirt that said, "Algebra is for lovers." Erica = big geek. As if you didn't already know that.

Wyandotte Winery

Alright, so I didn't really do any of the things I said I was going to do yesterday. But I still feel pretty good about my day off - I relaxed (of course), did the dishes, and went out shopping with Miranda. After wandering around Target for a while, I had the great idea to go visit Wyandotte Winery. It's very close to where I live and every time I drive by, I tell Jared that I should go sometime to see what kinds of wine they have. Miranda was interested in visiting too, so we left Target and made our way over to the winery.

This place was really fun. One of the owners, Valerie, greeted us as soon as we walked in and invited us to have a wine tasting. We tasted six wines for $5 - I've never been to a wine tasting before, but this seemed very reasonable. The wines we tasted ranged from a semi-dry Riesling to a sweet apple wine (check out the whole list here), and all of them were really good! It was hard to pick a favorite. We walked out about an hour later just a little loopy and with two bottles of wine in our possession - the White Roses (a semi-sweet white wine, made from the Niagara grape) and the Sweet William (a sweet red wine, made from a mix of Niagara and Baco Noir). The wines were very reasonably priced at $9.99 to $14.99 per bottle.

For a first time wine taster, this was a very welcoming atmosphere! Both Valerie and her husband Robin were friendly and fun to talk to, and the other guests were just as laid back, talkative, and enjoyable to be around. I'll definitely go back here again to review it for Obscure Ohio, and to try some of their other wines as well!