Passages

Leaving

Ian Rapoport has left the Clarion-Ledger to be the Crimson Tide beat reporter for the Birmingham News. I liked reading his articles and his blog. I wonder if he'll have a blog for the Birmingham newspaper.

My college's French chef's last day at the college is tomorrow. He's going to work for another company. (The company he's leaving has the cafeteria contract for the college.) I attended the reception for him earlier this afternoon. It's too bad that he's leaving. I really like the guy. Despite not being an employee of the college, he very deservedly won the college's highest honor earlier this year.

Beginning

Football season begins this evening for NCAA Division I universities. High schools in Mississippi began their seasons this past week. My high school alma mater plays tomorrow up in Canton.

Landmarks

Tomorrow will be the sixth anniversary of my being here at the college.

Welcome to Shermer

The fall semester started last week at the college. I've been busy with library projects such as getting ready for bibliographic instruction tours, doing some book ordering, and orientation of new student workers. One thing I've not gotten done is cleaning my office. It's a mess, and I need to clean it.
In addition to my regular library duties this fall, I've agreed to work a study hall two evenings a week. Hopefully, I don't have to be just like Principal Vernon.

This semester is going to be busy for me. I already work Monday nights at the library. The study hall will be held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. I'll have enough time to make the book club meetings. Some of my Wednesday evenings this semester look to be devoted to anime club. It looks to be yet another hectic semester.

One thing I've noticed in the past few months...

Deaf students have tended to be the loudest students at my library.

The Dead White Male of the Month

Groucho Marx

Louisiana Power and Light

I recently read John Dufresne's Louisiana Power and Light. I thought it was pretty good, but not particularly enjoyable. I suppose I needed a really fun book to read and while it's been described as wacky, it wasn't quite wacky enough for me last month.

Next on the agenda is Phule's Errand, which is I hope more wacky like the previous books in the Phule's Company series. This latest book's gotten some pretty bad reviews on amazon.com. I hope the book's not as bad as I fear it is.

School Starts Tomorrow

I went to Laurel for Blues Bash Friday. It was very nice-- really hot-- perhaps the second warmest Bash I've attended. It was good to visit with friends and socialize. The Blues Bash is a reunion of sorts for me. When I go, I see people I know from when I lived and worked in Laurel.

I drove back to Clinton that night. TD called to confirm the planned Bogue Chitto Floating Excursion was happening, and it did. I was tired when we headed down that way and was tired when we headed back. It was a lot of fun.

When I made it back to Clinton last night, I was exhausted. I fell asleep before midnight-- unusual for me-- and finally dragged myself out of bed for good at 2:00 this afternoon. I needed the sleep. I'd been averaging four to five hours of sleep and was drinking coffee and frappes with espresso shots to keep me from falling asleep at 6 p.m., which would have really messed up my sleep schedule.

In other news in the virtual world, a message board I subscribe to-- Six Pack Speak-- has become a members-only board with no lurkers allowed and subscribers must be approved. Approximately 1800 members were removed from the list. I survived.

School starts tomorrow. I'll be at work at 1:30 in the afternoon.

A Grouping of Eagles and Other Flights of Fancy

Today was Faculty Convocation Day. I saw people I'd not seen since May. I also saw people I've not seen since June since there were instructors who taught classes during part of the summer.

It's hard to believe that the fall semester starts next week. This summer was hectic. I was able to accomplish some things, but not everything on my agenda.

I had a dental appointment this past Thursday. I brought along my iPod mini and was listening to artists such as Enigma, System of a Down, and Alison Krauss while having crown work done for some three hours.

Joy. At least there was nitrous oxide.

I arranged to take Friday off just in case. I needed it.

Before my dental appointment, one item on my agenda that I was able to complete was the library's periodicals subscriptions for this fiscal year. We resubscribed to the great majority of them.

One subscription that I've decided not to renew is that of the Clarion-Ledger. The library has subscribed to two copies of the newspaper for many years, and I like to read various sections of the newspaper as I've mentioned in previous posts. Also, some of my favorite Clarion-Ledger writers have blogs that are among my favorite links.

Unfortunately, the newspaper has had an extremely poor delivery record for many months. It's gotten to the point that I'm surprised when the newspapers are successfully delivered. Calling the Clarion-Ledger circulation department has become an activity that I've come to loathe.

We've been promised that a circulation manager would call. Many times. Of course, no one has called.

With no expectation of quality service from the Clarion-Ledger, I asked my supervisors and colleagues if I could cut back on the number of copies that we receive, and they said sure. So, instead of two Clarion-Ledgers, there will be only one. Not that it makes a difference anyway, the library has gotten one copy instead of two many a day.

The money that would have normally been used to purchase the second copy of the Clarion-Ledger? Well, it's going to fund subscriptions to some weekly newspapers in the area-- the Copiah County Courier, Crystal Springs Meteor, Port Gibson Reveille, and the Jackson Free Press.

I was reading Bill Simmons' column of August 4 the other day. He was asked what was the best performance of the national anthem at a sporting event. He mentioned six performances with the best performance being this rendition by Marvin Gaye at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game:



If you haven't already, I suggest you read him-- even if he's decided to support Tottenham Hotspur.

In other news, my mother's flying tomorrow to Evansville, Indiana, to visit my aunt (her sister), uncle, and family (cousin, husband, and sons). She'll be there for a few days.

My mother originally purchased the ticket in case Hurricane Chris headed north. As I've mentioned previously, she stayed in Hattiesburg during Katrina, but mentioned she didn't want to do that again if she could help it.

This trip is the first chance my mother's had to get away and do something without having to worry about my now recently deceased uncle. Hopefully, she'll have some fun.

I also plan on having some fun while she's in Indiana. Friday afternoon after work, I'm heading off to Laurel for Blues Bash.

I ran by the Lauren Rogers Museum last week and purchased a ticket, a t-shirt, and renewed my membership. For twenty dollars, you can eat barbecue, drink beer, and listen to music. For me, it's one of the few times I can head down to Laurel and am almost guaranteed to see a lot of my friends.

Membership information can be accessed here. The museum is one of Mississippi's treasures and is deserving of support.