A few weeks ago, I read a headline in the local paper that was along the lines of "Deleted scene shows that Thanos may not be dead". Now, there are all sorts of problems with this. First, it's a deleted scene, so basically it didn't happen. Second, is this really news? That belongs in an actual newspaper? And it's the second one I've been thinking about. Because once upon a time, I think the movie experience must have been different. You couldn't go online and read what every fan or TV station or radio station or podcast or so on had to say about the movie, or asked the stars in an interview, or hypothesized. You couldn't read about everything the directors said or didn't say, or whether the cast got along or not (although, I imagine that has always been a subject of speculation, even in the good old days of no internet).
Sometimes it's nice that there's all that commentary because it gives you insight into a movie and that can really increase your appreciation. But sometimes, it's just annoying, like whether or not Thanos lives on, or all the scenes that they thought about doing that aren't actually in the movie, in which case--again--it didn't happen. So it's just a distraction.
I don't know if it is better now or worse. In all likelihood, it is just different but I do think that the movie viewing experience in the digital age must be altered. And it's just an interesting thing to contemplate.
Monday, January 27, 2020
Saturday, January 25, 2020
The longest weeks
Why is it that the week after a three-day weekend is always soooo long? There are only 4 days, but somehow, the week drags on and on. But only when the four days are Tuesday through Friday. If the three-day weekend is a Friday through Sunday, well, the week after still seems long but it seems like it is more bearable than a Saturday through Monday three-day weekend. (This could just be because we just had a Saturday through Monday three-day weekend. It's just been a while since I had a Friday through Sunday one, so of course it seems better). Although, maybe the four day part of the week takes forever, too, because you know at the end of it is a three-day weekend. Either way, an extra day off makes for a long week.
Not that I'm in favor of getting rid of Monday holidays. I'm totally down with them. But it was definitely a long week.
Not that I'm in favor of getting rid of Monday holidays. I'm totally down with them. But it was definitely a long week.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Down the rabbit hole
On Friday at work I was looking at a job posting* for the US Department of Justice, because hey! Archivist for the DOJ! That sounds intriguing at the very least and I was curious. Well, I clicked on the posting and checked it out:
Okay, I'm not saying that the Federal Bureau of Prisons shouldn't have a diverse workforce, but leading with that? I mean, the elephant in the room is "We want you to work for the prison system" and they jump in with diversity. It just seemed odd. So, I had to share with my co-worker.
He also felt this was an oddly worded job advert. I mean, who says to themselves, "I want to work somewhere that values a diverse workforce. I know, the Federal Bureau of Prisons!"
Then, of course, we wondered if the archivist was also responsible for ensuring federal offenders serve their sentences and sincerely hoped not.
By now, I just had to find out more so I started reading the job responsibilities. Responsibility number one? "Responsible for designing, establishing, promoting, and providing oversight for Bureau of Prisons (BOP) historical and on-line museums." Which begged the question, what kind of museums does the BOP have?!?!?!?! We pitched some ideas, and none of them seemed really good. But why live in the 21st century if you can't just google things like this, right?
Well, Google informed us that there is a Museum of Crime. Which made more sense than a prison museum, to be honest. And what a museum! You, too, could borrow John Dillinger's 1933 Hudson Essex-Terraplane 8 for display at your institution! Or check out their other holdings: the Dillon Massacre Hatchet, the OJ Simpson Bronco, Ted Bundy's Volkswagen (you may have observed, like my colleague, that there are a lot of criminal cars), or the Wild West Ice Mallet. Or, visit their website to read articles like, "Early Warning Signs: Serial Killers" or "Wineville Chicken Coop Murders"** But the crucial question--is this an actual museum, or just online?
The answer, my friends, is that yes, there is a physical Crime Museum. It's proper name is the Alcatraz East Crime Museum (Coworker: "Isn't everything east of Alcatraz?") and it is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I hope you will all forgive me, but I had never realized there is a Pigeon Forge, Tennessee***. And in the midst of this, another co-worker asked us why we were talking about Pigeon Forge. Turns out she'd been there, but missed the wonders of the Alcatraz East Crime Museum.
This led the discussion to what on earth is in Pigeon Forge, TN, that she had been there, which led to a google search for "things to do in Pigeon Forge, TN", and was that ever a find! I can't believe people aren't flocking to PF in droves! There's the Crime Museum, of course, then Dollywood, the Titanic Museum Attraction, the Ripken Experience, the Hollywood Wax Museum, Elvis and Hollywood Legends Museum, and Paula Deen's Lumberjack Feud Show Park and Adventure(yes, feud and not food. My co-workers and I agree, this is a huge lost opportunity for Paula). Then there's slot car racing, laser tag, bowling, mini golf, mountain tours, indoor skydiving, and so much more. I think the entire town is an amusement park. No joke. But best of all, there is WonderWorks, where you can encase yourself in a bubble. Which got some serious reaction from my co-worker (the original one, not the one of PF expertise).
That, of course led to the question, "What is the biggest bubble ever blown?" and I will have you know, that is an autofilled question in google search. This led us to the Bubble Blowers Museum webpage**** where we learned not only the answer to that question, but also who set the world record for blowing the most bubbles with a tarantula in their mouth.***** And we discovered Tom Noddy's Bubble Magic Book, which is a real gem of a find. I mean, a chapter called "Beyond Round Bubbles"? How can you resist? And, while the Bubble Blowers Museum article said it's hard to find, I located a copy for sale on Amazon for a quite reasonable price in, say, 10 seconds. (Also available on Amazon? Some extremely entertaining reviews of Mr. Noddy's book. I recommend them).
And, then it was time to get back to work, really. Of course, I did buy a copy of Bubble Magic for my co-worker (how could I not?).
What a rabbit hole!
P.S. We also discovered that no, you can't really blow bubbles in space, which is obviously the most pressing question after the largest bubble ever blown.
*It's a thing people do. This is fine.
**You know you are curious.
***I have heard of it, I just listened to a podcast series about Dolly Parton and they talk about Dollywood, which is in Pigeon Forge, TN, so I must have heard of it. It just didn't register.
****No, no. It's real.
*****It was one bubble, right? Because WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? Actually it was 119 bubbles. WHY????
He also felt this was an oddly worded job advert. I mean, who says to themselves, "I want to work somewhere that values a diverse workforce. I know, the Federal Bureau of Prisons!"
Then, of course, we wondered if the archivist was also responsible for ensuring federal offenders serve their sentences and sincerely hoped not.
By now, I just had to find out more so I started reading the job responsibilities. Responsibility number one? "Responsible for designing, establishing, promoting, and providing oversight for Bureau of Prisons (BOP) historical and on-line museums." Which begged the question, what kind of museums does the BOP have?!?!?!?! We pitched some ideas, and none of them seemed really good. But why live in the 21st century if you can't just google things like this, right?
Well, Google informed us that there is a Museum of Crime. Which made more sense than a prison museum, to be honest. And what a museum! You, too, could borrow John Dillinger's 1933 Hudson Essex-Terraplane 8 for display at your institution! Or check out their other holdings: the Dillon Massacre Hatchet, the OJ Simpson Bronco, Ted Bundy's Volkswagen (you may have observed, like my colleague, that there are a lot of criminal cars), or the Wild West Ice Mallet. Or, visit their website to read articles like, "Early Warning Signs: Serial Killers" or "Wineville Chicken Coop Murders"** But the crucial question--is this an actual museum, or just online?
The answer, my friends, is that yes, there is a physical Crime Museum. It's proper name is the Alcatraz East Crime Museum (Coworker: "Isn't everything east of Alcatraz?") and it is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I hope you will all forgive me, but I had never realized there is a Pigeon Forge, Tennessee***. And in the midst of this, another co-worker asked us why we were talking about Pigeon Forge. Turns out she'd been there, but missed the wonders of the Alcatraz East Crime Museum.
This led the discussion to what on earth is in Pigeon Forge, TN, that she had been there, which led to a google search for "things to do in Pigeon Forge, TN", and was that ever a find! I can't believe people aren't flocking to PF in droves! There's the Crime Museum, of course, then Dollywood, the Titanic Museum Attraction, the Ripken Experience, the Hollywood Wax Museum, Elvis and Hollywood Legends Museum, and Paula Deen's Lumberjack Feud Show Park and Adventure(yes, feud and not food. My co-workers and I agree, this is a huge lost opportunity for Paula). Then there's slot car racing, laser tag, bowling, mini golf, mountain tours, indoor skydiving, and so much more. I think the entire town is an amusement park. No joke. But best of all, there is WonderWorks, where you can encase yourself in a bubble. Which got some serious reaction from my co-worker (the original one, not the one of PF expertise).
That, of course led to the question, "What is the biggest bubble ever blown?" and I will have you know, that is an autofilled question in google search. This led us to the Bubble Blowers Museum webpage**** where we learned not only the answer to that question, but also who set the world record for blowing the most bubbles with a tarantula in their mouth.***** And we discovered Tom Noddy's Bubble Magic Book, which is a real gem of a find. I mean, a chapter called "Beyond Round Bubbles"? How can you resist? And, while the Bubble Blowers Museum article said it's hard to find, I located a copy for sale on Amazon for a quite reasonable price in, say, 10 seconds. (Also available on Amazon? Some extremely entertaining reviews of Mr. Noddy's book. I recommend them).
And, then it was time to get back to work, really. Of course, I did buy a copy of Bubble Magic for my co-worker (how could I not?).
What a rabbit hole!
P.S. We also discovered that no, you can't really blow bubbles in space, which is obviously the most pressing question after the largest bubble ever blown.
*It's a thing people do. This is fine.
**You know you are curious.
***I have heard of it, I just listened to a podcast series about Dolly Parton and they talk about Dollywood, which is in Pigeon Forge, TN, so I must have heard of it. It just didn't register.
****No, no. It's real.
*****It was one bubble, right? Because WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? Actually it was 119 bubbles. WHY????
Monday, January 6, 2020
I bid you adieu
Dear 2019,
You have been gone now for 6 days and I just want to say, we had good times, we had bad times, may you rest in peace.
We saw some new places: Boston, Disney World, the bird refuge. We made it through the flu, another round of gum grafts, and coped with the traditional Christmas bug (it happens when you spend the holiday with a bunch of kids). We saw a lot of family throughout the year which was always joyful and managed some visits with old friends, which was a delight.
There were some professional developments--received a certification and took on some new responsibilities, only to change positions later. That was exciting and unexpected.
Read a lot of books, found I could still get a sound out of a flute, and kept working on old hobbies to some degree or other. Failed dismally at most of the goals for the year but hopefully managed to remain a decent person, even if I didn't improve.
And now we come to a new year. It just won't be the same without you, 2019. I know we all have to move on at some point, but know that, despite the exhaustion and stress and general global discord, you were a good year and you'll be remembered fondly.
You have been gone now for 6 days and I just want to say, we had good times, we had bad times, may you rest in peace.
We saw some new places: Boston, Disney World, the bird refuge. We made it through the flu, another round of gum grafts, and coped with the traditional Christmas bug (it happens when you spend the holiday with a bunch of kids). We saw a lot of family throughout the year which was always joyful and managed some visits with old friends, which was a delight.
There were some professional developments--received a certification and took on some new responsibilities, only to change positions later. That was exciting and unexpected.
Read a lot of books, found I could still get a sound out of a flute, and kept working on old hobbies to some degree or other. Failed dismally at most of the goals for the year but hopefully managed to remain a decent person, even if I didn't improve.
And now we come to a new year. It just won't be the same without you, 2019. I know we all have to move on at some point, but know that, despite the exhaustion and stress and general global discord, you were a good year and you'll be remembered fondly.
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