What I just read ...

Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind / V.S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee.

I agree with the foreword, "deeply serious but beautifully readable." What's better than that, for one thing? What strikes me if that we sometimes feel at all complete and like "a person" rather than a host of inputs/outputs (note that I say "sometimes").  I think what fasinates me most (today) is the ghost in the machine, or the "zombie" that records things without me "knowing." I wonder what my zombies will do today?

Through the Wormhole

I watched Morgan Freeman's Through the Wormhole last week and it was very interesting.

http://science.discovery.com/tv/through-the-wormhole/

I recommend it, but I pretty much recommend the Science Channel in general. I do love edu-tainment because it feeds passion for learning. Speaking of passion ... I had a crush on Morgan Freeman when he played Easy Reader on the Electric Company. Maybe that's one reason I'm a librarian today. One never knows what will generate the spark! We're going to light up the darkest night like the brightest day in a whole new way ....

Things We Think We Can't Do

I was just thinking on the way to work this evening about the fact that most things I've said I'd never do or be able to do in my life I have done. Case in point: Nook. I do have a Nook now, and I do read it. It turns out that I read e-pages just as enthusiastically as paper pages. Yes, I still like the smell of a new book, yes, I still like books--yes, I like my Nook. Turns out, there is a big welcoming place in my life for both paper books and electronic books. I think it's possible that we may in future enjoy an illuminated book like we have never known it before.

It's also kind of interesting to me that I made the journey to e-reading before I acquired a Nook--lots of cataloging references have gone electronic; my own specs have gone electronic (I no longer keep pieces of paper at my desk to look up procedures), etc. So I have been used to reading screens for some time now. The Nook is like a nice shady area to rest in compared to the glare of my work life. I wonder if that was necessary for me to take the leap? In any event, I'm glad I did; I'm having fun with my little library (and I think I've sold two or three just walking around with it; I should get a free e-book from B&N!)

15 Books

A good friend of mine sent me this challenge: Fifteen books or book series you've read that will always stick with you, so here goes:

Butternut Bill and the Bee Tree (1st book I remember reading)
Miss Twiggleys Tree
Frederick (about a mouse who wants to think about colors instead of collect food)
Smoky the Cowhorse
King of the Wind
D'Aulaires' book of Norse myths
The Hobbit
Moby Dick
Huckleberry Finn
Kon Tiki
The Alphabet versus the Goddess
The Patrick O'Brien novels
Under the Vulture Tree
Witches & Neighbors
Leaves of Grass

It's interesting--once I began, I thought of all these cool books I read when I was young and I had a hard time "growing up" and thinking of all the cool books I read as an adult. Some resistance there, I think, to "coming back" to adult life :) So the last books were squeezed out of my brain with some effort. I want to read Frederick again, and Miss Twiggley's Tree ...

Disturbed--The Band and the State of Mind

Just feeling a little out of it; worked too hard. Maybe I'll learn the lesson this time, but I didn't learn it last time. There is still hope, though. There's always a glass half full ... (Oh, yeah, I like to listen to the band; they do a lot of my primal screaming).

KLA is always a learning experience; this time it was just a little too exhausting. I did buy a Nook and I'm reading novels again, which is a good thing. I hope to even out my energy enough to take some kind of vacation this summer.

I really enjoyed 23 Things Kansas before I dropped out to become a brain case. Hopefully, I'll get back in there in the next weeks and catch up. Information crush! Informacrush! This is my brain on information and it looks like a fried egg.

Week Six: 23 Things Kansas

So the theme of this week is "rethink." I kind of tried delicious before and really didn't like it much. I watched the tutorials for diigo and decided to try that, but first I tried something different on delicious just to make sure I knew how to use it (shared a link with someone). Now I'm building lists on diigo and, so far, I think I favor it. I might actually get somewhere with this one. I like the toolbar. At first I had trouble, not making, but adding to the lists, but now it's working.

Week Two--23 things Kansas ha ha (There is no time in The Web!)

Just realized I didn't blog the 2nd week--just goofed around on Facebook. I'm on Facebook because my son's on facebook and I'm attracted to genius. Truly if there's a place 2 b, he will b there. However, when I have a blog, and a facebook, and a twitter and this e-mail account and that e-mail account, I do start to feel a little split personality. It's interesting that the very first thing to slide was my personal e-mail account, which I rarely check anymore. I think Facebook will last for me as long as I can connect to those important folks for updates. It's easier to find my son on Facebook than it is to phone him (we're too busy). It seems like just when I get absolutely disgusted with the tons of information, I find Michio Kaku on Facebook, or a new blog or Web page that's so much fun. What a rollercoaster is this membrane we eletronically inhabit.

Speaking of Kansas (and who isn't?), if you haven't yet, check out http://www.flyoverpeople.net/  cool pics to grace your space