It's almost the new year

Well I survived Christmas. My 9 year old nephew got me up at 6:30. The problem was that I had insomnia the night before and only fell asleep about 2:30 or 3. Needless to say I was a bit spacey all day. But all in all, it was a nice holiday. I hope that everyone else had a good one too.

Now its almost the new year. Time for those resolutions that I usually always break. Tops on my list: eat healthier. Last time I lost a lot of weight (which has come back) I got there by eating healthier. Maybe this will do the trick again.

Web site recommendation of the day: Stuff on my Cat . Its lots of pictures of cats with stuff on them: toys, clothes, etc. Kind of childish, but funny. Especially since the cats usually have a really disgusted look on their faces.

Reference Web Site

I know I've said that I am a librarian in a public library, but I may not have said that I actually work at the reference desk. People are always coming in to ask for medical information. Many times the books are checked out and I always recommend this site: Medlineplus.gov. This site is from the National Library of Medicine and is an EXCELLENT medical site. They have their own content as well as link to other RELIABLE sites including other government sites, professional organizations, and non-profit organizations. The information is clear and concise. Even I can understand it. Plus many times there are demos or tutorials. You can also look up medications and get side-effects and so on. And best of all: IT'S FREE! I cannot recommend this site enough. If you EVER need to find medical information, start here!

Not as grumpy

Christmas is almost here. I've finished my shopping and I have wrapped the presents. I am off work until next Wednesday so I can avoid listening to Christmas music if I want, and I went out looking at Christmas lights this evening with my 9 year old nephew. I think I'll make it. Here is a fun Christmas quiz:

Which of Santa's Reindeer are you? Dancer Like Dancer you are graceful and elegant. People can't help but watch you when you walk into a room Find out which of Santa's Reindeer you are at Quizopolis.com

WooHoo!

I FINALLY finished my Christmas shopping and the wrapping.

Book Banning

There have been some stories in the news again about people trying to ban the Harry Potter books in some schools. The challengers claim that it promotes witchcraft. Its fine if you don't want your children to read the series, but please don't try to prevent other people from reading them. I happen to like the series, but I'm sure that there are many people who do not. One thing you can't argue with: J.K. Rowling has gotten kids to read. Each time the newest book is released, the waiting list in my library is HUGE.

The American Library Association has a list of the 100 most frequently challenged books between 1990 and 2000. Out of the 100 listed, I have read 42 (or at least 1 in the listed series). I will say that according to the statistics from the ALA, most of the challenges are in schools. I wonder if people realize that when they ask for restrictions to be placed on books that that makes many people want to read it more.

Ok...I'm off my soapbox.

Christmas Music

I can't seem to escape the Christmas music. It's in every store. They are playing it at work in the workroom. They are playing it softly at the desk. For the past week I have heard the Carpenters, and Perry Como. For Pete's sake, last night they played Clay Aiken! Ok if you like Clay Aiken thats fine. But for someone who would rather be listening to Green Day or the Black Eyed Peas , its torture! If I hear one more Christmas song, I may just lose it!

Stress

It's really hard to be happy for people when you are unhappy. And this time of year seems to make it worse.

Best of Lists

One of the most interesting things at the end of the year are all of those "Best of" lists at the end of the year. Well there is a collection of them at Fimoculous.com. They have collected lists of books, movies, music, and just about everything. There are even lists like words of the year and best blogs that maybe you aren't reading.

Computer Annoyances

Ok. A few weeks ago I upgraded my computer's operating system to Windows XP. I was running Windows ME and it was not the greatest. I just realized last night that with the XP upgrade, my cd burner no longer works. Apparently it has something to do with something called ASPI (or something like that) and it makes the CD burner run. Well I found a web site to download that stuff, but I can't figure it out. Anyway if nothing else I'll upgrade my burner and software.

NBC.com has the episodes of Heroes for viewing for free. I wanted to watch this show but never got a chance to. So far I've watched episodes 1 and 2. So far its a really good show. I can't wait to watch the others. Hopefully I'll get through them before NBC takes them off.

Crowds

I went to Walmart today to do some more Christmas shopping. What a mistake! Someone please tell me: why do people INSIST on stopping their carts in the middle of the aisle? Can't they PLEASE move to one side or the other? I mean at my Walmart the aisles are barely big enough for two carts to pass. I actually stayed quite calm though.

I just finished reading The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen. Its another serial killer book, but a bit odd. Usually Gerritsen is pretty straightforward with her explanations. This one was rather different. The plotline is this: there is a brutal serial killer in Boston. At the scene of his murders he leaves strange symbols and latin phrases. Is he a satanist, or just trying to through the police off of his trail? He has caught the attention of the Mephisto Club, a club of eccentrics who study the nature of evil. Then a detective is killed on the door step of one of the members. It seems that the killer has become interested in the Mephisto Club as well. Detectivc Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles have to decipher the symbolism and catch the killer before he strikes again.

Gerritsen seemed to use a lot of ancient symbolism in this and she definitely left it open for a sequel. The book was a page-turner and captured my interest pretty quickly.

Flickr!

If you've read this before, you know I work in a library. We have a committee that teaches lots of tech topics to our co-workers on just about everything from how to check our work e-mail from home to how to download audiobooks to an mp3 player. One of the things we've been talking about are the social networking or sharing sites. And one of our future topics is Flickr! So, I broke down and opened an account. Yay me! Here is my address: http://www.flickr.com/photos/msbookworm/. Stop by and visit! I don't have many photos yet, but I will be adding more.

Pop Culture

I LOVE pop culture. One of my guilty pleasures is all of those countdown shows on the E network and VH1. Dumbest things ever said, least metal moments, best videos of the 80s, I love them all. And one of my favorite blogs to keep up with this stuff is Whitney Matheson's blog for USA Today called Pop Candy. She talks about tv, movies, celebrities, music, comics and all sorts of stuff. I really like to read it after Lost is on. There is always a HUGE discussion about what symbols and meanings we may have missed. If you like this kind of thing, don't miss Whitney's blog!

The Most Stressful Time of the Year

I am known as a scrooge by my friends and family. Every year I try to get into the Christmas spirit and I fail miserably. Why is Christmas so busy and expensive. I was doing fine until my car window decided that it was not going to go down anymore (its not an automatic window) so I am going to try to find the time and money to take my car to the mechanic. And of course my car is 11 years old so they will have to order a part. So that means I have to rent a vehicle so that I can get to work and try to earn money to pay for all of this. This will be on top of the Christmas presents going to my credit cards, the $6500 heat pump that I will be paying for til I die, a dentist visit, a visit to the eye dr., contact lenses for the year, and repairs to my well and water softening system. Its hard to be cheerful when I just see myself getting farther and farther into debt. How much longer til this holiday is over? I'm ready for Springtime already.

A Beautiful View

Here is one of my favorite views. It is the view from Jefferson's Rock at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. This is the time of year that I want to hibernate. It is dark when I come home from work and the weather is so cold. Even when we have a few nice days like we did last week, I am stuck inside the library and unable to enjoy it. So I like to look at these pleasant views of places that I have visited and imagine that I am there in nice, warm, sunny weather.

I have not reviewed a book in a while, so I really should get back to it. Terry Pratchett has written tons of books. Most of them are fantasy works and they take place in this fantasy world called Discworld. They are truly funny. The ones I especially recommend are his three Tiffany Aching books:

1. The Wee Free Men
2. A Hat Full of Sky
3. Wintersmith

You definitely must read them in order. The series starts with young 9 year old Tiffany Aching travelling to Fairyland to rescue her sticky little brother, Wentworth. Its a harsh journey, so to assist her she has the Wee Free Men, or Nac Mac Feegles. Tiny blue, heavily tattooed Pictsies (yes that's how it is spelled) that speak with a heavy Scottish brogue and love nothing more than a strong drink and a good fight. The Feegles are the best part of the books. Very comical. I also recommend this on audio so that you can get the full effect of the Scottish accent.