Collected Status Updates

By popular-ish demand, here are three weeks’ worth of status updates. The ones in quotations were generously donated by my very funny friend JW who generously took on the task of writing my status updates while I was sick. He continues to offer them. He’s just that kind of guy. Thanks for reading.


Heidi feels better about working today knowing it will get her Opening Day off in April. 1:53pm -

Heidi "hasn't had this much fun since the pigs ate Grandpa." 12:20pm -

Heidi wonders if one can develop Stockholm Syndrome in relation to one's workplace. 10:28am -

Heidi has brought today's Meeting-a-palooza to an end. 2:37pm -

Heidi has used paperclips and sticky notes to impose order on chaos. 9:55am -

Heidi's morning began with Elizabeth rejecting Mr Darcy. Even though she's read the novel 16 times before she still says "gasp!" 8:18am -

Heidi is happy to be wearing her Keen Mary Janes. She does not expect Grover Cleveland Alexander or Grover Cleveland would be similarly happy. 5:01pm -

Heidi wonders if Grover Cleveland Alexander would be a better mascot for the day than Grover Cleveland or Super Grover. 1:17pm -

Heidi wonders if Grover Cleveland would be a better mascot for the day. 11:32am -

Heidi said "Oh. Yeah... forgot that" when J reminded her of Super Grover's propensity for crashing into things. 8:48am -

Heidi wishes she had a cape to help her feel more like Super Grover. 8:13am -

Jan 21

Heidi is back to being Groverian. 1:16pm -

Heidi wonders what would happen if she answered every question she gets on the reference desk as Yoda would. 10:52am -

Heidi is feeling less like Chewbacca and more like Grover today. 8:58am -

Heidi is going to take a muscle relaxant so she will stop making sounds like Chewbacca every time she moves. It's hard to be Heidi lately. 9:12pm -

Heidi IS walking around like Frankenstein. Or a burly linebacker in heels. 4:24pm –

Heidi worries she's walking around with a stride akin to Frankenstein's thanks to her recent physio appointment (if Frankenstein wore shoes like she does). 3:15pm -

Heidi needs to step out of the library. She just referred to someone as "embodying chivalry 2.0." 2:20pm -

Heidi wonders how long until the First Puppy is appointed. 12:46pm -

Heidi has radio coverage!! Woo hoo! 11:53am -

Heidi can't get a live stream of anything... boo hoo... 11:49am -

Heidi is giddily watching CNN

Heidi is listening to Patty Griffin's "Heavenly Day" and celebrating this long-awaited "brighter coming day." 9:11am -

Jan 19

Heidi is changing her name to Fernando ‘Boogaloo’ Velez. Maybe not right away. But soon. 10:30pm -

Heidi wishes she had Dap-Kings named Homer ‘Funkyfoot’ Steinweiss and Fernando ‘Boogaloo’ Velez. 1:02pm -

Heidi hopes leaving her keys at home isn't an omen for the week. 9:16am -

Jan 18

Heidi is working on her difficult third album. 5:46pm -

Heidi is stepping away from the laptop.... 4:04pm -

Heidi is thinking about setting up a facebook group callled "Fans of Mr Dickson and his generous use of his snow blower on our street." 2:45pm -

Heidi is once more convinced that the right pen can solve just about any writing problem. Today's weapon of choice: the Elysee medium nib fountain pen with Parker ink. 11:33am -

Heidi is feeling reclusive, recalcitrant, recast and oddly receptive. In short, she has a day of writing ahead of her. 8:55am -

Jan 17

Heidi "dreamt she walked through a field of tulips with Colin Firth. He was about to ask her something important when he tripped, broke his leg & she had to shoot him.” 10:38pm -

Heidi "has never been to Alaska, but she's starting to think maybe she has..." 10:33pm -

Heidi "has ended her trash talking and is contemplating taking out the trash, but without talking to it." 2:11pm -

Heidi has been listening to Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and is wondering where a girl might get some Dap-Kings of her own. 1:05pm -

Heidi is venturing thither. To America. Anon. 9:05am -

Jan 16

Heidi is probably not going to join the Facebook group "People who turn acronyms into adverbs and don't use them with irony." 11:31pm -

Heidi had a pint o' Strongbow. She no longer has a need for a geospatial portal. 7:12pm -

Heidi has a list of status updates that she wrote during her 5 hrs of meetings. Most relevant: "Heidi would like a beer. Or a geospatial portal." 3:56pm -

Heidi appears to have her own fight song... cool. 11:19am -

Heidi regrets saying "meh" to her question "should I dry my hair this morning?" 8:32am -

Jan 15
Heidi was told that he was bad, but Heidi knew Charley Gehringer was sad. That's why she fell for... 10:19pm -

Heidi was asked, "by the way where'd you meet Charley Gehringer?" She met him at the candy store. He turned around and smiled at her. You get the picture? 5:36pm -

Heidi heard the words she doesn't like to hear "Heidi... I thought you were supposed to one of the nice ones." 4:24pm -

Heidi and Charley Gehringer apologize to K for being unable to do anything about her library fines. Charley says "library fines do not make you a bad person." 12:03pm -

Heidi disagrees with D. She does not think Charley Gehringer would be "horribly disappointed" in her for accruing 75 cents in overdue fines at WPL. 8:47am -

Heidi "realizes with a start that in another life she was actually Charley Gehringer." 3:07pm -

Heidi wishes she'd published in "Fenland Notes and Queries: a quarterly antiquarian journal for the fenland, in the counties of Huntingdon, Cambridge." 2:33pm -

Heidi is having her mind read. It is unlikely it will become one of Oprah's Picks. 12:10pm -

Heidi wonders why there are TV chefs yet not TV librarians. 10:49am -

Heidi wonders what Gordon Ramsay would be like as a librarian. 9:48am -

Heidi is trying not to roll her eyes at the discussions of the "extreme, bitter cold" hitting Windsor. 9:12am -

Jan 13

Heidi did not realize until she read D’s status update that she was being all Gordon Ramsay-y while cooking. At least it wasn't Rachel Ray. 7:56pm -

Heidi did not know there was a song about pinball machines in the Mikado. She is a better person for knowing that there is. 5:54pm -

Heidi wonders how a librarian will be written into the Mikado but looks forward to finding out. 4:41pm -

Heidi has been made the subject of re-written Gilbert and Sullivan lyrics "For She is an English Librarian." Heidi is greatly amused. 1:02pm -

Heidi now knows what "luthier" means. 12:04pm -

Heidi is watching the snow fall and thinking about pitchers and catchers. 9:16am -

Heidi "has sent a message to an old friend. It reads, in its entirety, 'Ishmael: Call me.'." 10:55pm -

Heidi 's status writer is back at work: "Heidi is worried about the famed "Irony Triangle" that crosses the 49th Parallel. No, actually, she's not worried." 8:35pm -

Heidi is singing Supremes songs about Curtis. Again. 7:17pm -

Heidi doesn't know how to break it to D that we're going to have to go to Home Depot again. Oops. She thinks she just did. Darn status updates. 4:02pm -

Heidi is thost in lot... 2:02pm -

Heidi is happy to have a cute photo of Stephen Colbert in her presentation for this afternoon. 1:01pm -

Heidi just watched a Russell Crowe movie and still doesn't know which monochrome to wear tomorrow. These two facts are not as related as one might think. 10:38pm -

Heidi is trying to decide which monochrome to wear tomorrow. It's harder than one might think. Really. 5:45pm -

Heidi 's claim to Pinball Wizardry is tangential, at best. 4:47pm –

Heidi has been outed as a pinball wizard by Dale. She's as incredulous as you are (but hoping to beat her top score of 37,433 points today). 11:09am -
Jan 10

Heidi admits the pinball machine is pretty cool. 4:47pm -

Heidi is watching the arrival of a pinball machine from a distance. 12:11pm -

Heidi is smiling at D's inner ten-year-old as he patiently awaits the arrival of his pinball machines. 8:46am -

Jan 9

Heidi will be supplying her own status updates over the weekend. Her writer has the weekend off. She thanks him for his top notch work. 5:52pm -

Heidi "is no longer under the weather. She's back to controlling it from her mountain aerie." 1:31pm -

Heidi "feels so good she's considering a run for the Senate in 2010." 12:00pm -

Heidi feels better than she has in 23 days!! Woohoo!!!! 10:31am -

Heidi is very happy with her professionally-written status updates. She wonders what else she can outsource. 3:54pm -

Heidi "is invading her personal space." 1:42pm -

Heidi "was going to contemplate the enduring mystery of life, but then she thought, 'Oh, screw it.'." 1:02pm -

Heidi is, according to her professional status update writer, "the funniest person who ever lived more than a year in Lincoln Nebraska" other than Johnny Carson. 12:28pm -

Heidi 's 3rd outsourced update: Heidi thinks people everywhere just wanna be free, & they'd probably want it even more if they were working in a library. 12:13pm -

Heidi likes having a professional writing her status updates. Here's the latest: "heidi rules, but only with lined paper." 11:51am -

Heidi has resorted to outsourcing her status updates to professionals: "Heidi has decided to stop being sick, and the decision couldn't have come at a better time." 11:00am -

Heidi feels like a freak show: 3 out of 5 people she has met said "Whoa, you look horrible," 1 said "there there" and 1 said "Hey! I like your hat!" 9:37am -

Heidi made it to her office... 9:15am -

Jan 7

Heidi likes these phrases from a NY-er restaurant review: "oxymoronically bland" and "with the texture of Play-doh, a freezer burned strawberry parfait." 5:45pm -

Heidi is home again today. 8:52am -

Jan 6

Heidi is thoroughly bored with her recurring status update motif and knows you are too. She apologizes. :(. 10:55pm -

Heidi would not have made a good invalid in a Victorian novel. 4:54pm -

Heidi is yellow today, she shines her light out like the sun/ She is a rainbow today/ All the colors of the world... 9:10am -
Jan 4

Heidi can't remember whether librarians report before or after pitchers and catchers. 8:35pm -

Heidi thinks Laundry Gnome 72 does a nice job with silks. 5:39pm

Heidi is happy to see Laundry Gnome 72. 3:32pm -

Heidi is looking out the window anxiously awaiting the arrival of the laundry gnomes. 1:43pm -

Heidi thinks that if you're sick for the whole holidays you should get a do-over. 1:21pm -

Jan 3

Heidi is still gathering library fines while she may. 4:26pm -

Heidi might be said to be a maverick.

Obama Dress Updates

What an amazing day! It's going to take more than a few hours to process how incredible it was. After my earlier post, I feel compelled to note that Michelle's inaugural dress was a lovely creation by Isabel Toledo which was paired with Jimmy Choo shoes. Meanwhile, the adorable Malia and Sasha appeared in outfits designed for them by J Crew. According to the Guardian: "From a fashion-watcher's perspective, it was Malia and Sasha Obama who stole the show today. Not even Aretha Franklin's spectacular hat could compete with a virtuoso display of on-trend colour-blocking by the first daughters, in their contrasting coats and scarves. Malia, 10, looked terrific in electric blue and black while Sasha, 7, hit it out of the park in this season's hot orange-and-pink colour combination. You heard it here first: orange and pink is the new red, white and blue." No news on the inaugural gown nor the First Puppy. Know that I'm eagerly awaiting news on both.

Facebook status update: Heidi is once more convinced that the right pen can solve just about any writing problem.

I'm behind on a writing deadline and I am trying to catch up today. I'll admit the prospect of spending today writing was making me a little cranky. My crankiness was also, I knew, the reason why I was spinning my writerly wheels. Over the years, I've developed a few tricks and today I pulled out the tried and true "writing with a lovely pen can make any writing task do-able and enjoyable." Today's weapon of choice: the new Elysee medium nib in older Elysee body with black Parker ink. Result: A less cranky Heidi and a map out of my writer's block and a good start at finishing. While taking a break, I started pondering my pens and took a few photos.































Some links of possible interest:
J Herbin Ink
Pear Tree Pen Company
Lamy Pens

Things Pondered: Michelle Obama's fashion sense

Sorry for the slowdown at the Cafe. After 3 weeks of struggling with what my doctor called "something viral," I am finally feeling almost 100%. The mind does funny things when the body is ailing and, after hours and hours of feeling horrible and watching distressing cable news stories, this particular mind found refuge in pondering Michelle Obama's fashion sense.

First of all, I should confess that I am someone who made a Michelle Obama inspired dress purchase this fall. But, I'm also someone who actively followed the Obama campaign and is excited by the idea of a "Michelle 2016" campaign. My interest in Obama's fashion sense is, in part, rooted in my own fondness for her dresses and fantastic kitten heel shoes. Mostly, however, I am fascinated by the ways in which her style has been politicized but also how style has become political in ways I do not recall seeing before.

In discussions of her sense of style, her choice of dress is routinely read as indicative of something larger, something more powerful, something more important than just a well chosen, well-tailored dress. In Saturday's Globe and Mail, there was an interesting article on the front page of the style section: "Relevant, Modern, Fresh, Cool, Self-Assured, Accessible, Poised, Unpretentious, Michelle." In this article, Amy Verner writes, "don't call her the new Jackie Kennedy. Michelle Obama's accessible chic says more about the culture at large than the world of haute labels."

Indeed, part of what seems to make Michelle Obama so accessible is many of her clothes come from stores we see at our local malls--albeit sometimes some of the upper end malls. Stores like Target, H & M, J. Crew and Black Market White House are accessible in ways that Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barney’s New York and Macy’s are not. In the summer, US Weekly also announced on its front page that Michelle shopped at Target. Perhaps Michelle Obama's appeal is rooted in a kind of sartorial "Yes We Can" idea. In writing about Target's partnership with Thakoon, one of Michelle Obama's favourite designers, New York Magazine writes "Sounds like we'll be getting Michelle Obama fare, which means we can all dress like her for New Year's!" In other words, with Michelle Obama-inspired wear at Target, the slogan might be "yes we can (perhaps) afford it."

Is Michelle Obama's sense of style bigger than "mere fashion"? It may well be. Contrast the stories about Michelle Obama's dresses from H&M, J. Crew and Black Market White House with some of the other fashion stories floating around during the election. And, more recently, A New York Times article suggests Obama may in fact be able to "Save America’s Fashion Industry?"

Interestingly, the Globe and Mail article also cites Suzanne Boyd, editor in chief of Zoomer Magazine, who notes, "There was never a run on anything Laura Bush wore." Change we can believe in? So it would seem.

Some other links perhaps of interest: Michelle Obama Fashion and Style, Michelle Obama: What Should She Wear, and the First Lady Fashion Quiz (I scored 11/15)

Possible margin comments my 18 year old self might have made if my afternoon were a short story: "Auspicious." "Symbolic." "Important."

Today, New Year's Day, I was washing up some dishes and thinking about the year that passed and the year to come. 2008 had some truly amazing days, hours and moments but it also had some very difficult segments.
In thinking about the year to come, I noticed two of my flowering plants-- neither of which had bloomed in 2008-- were starting 2009 on a pretty hopeful note despite the short, cold, dark days we're now having. Ever the student of literature I couldn't help but see this as a very good sign of things to come for 2009. "My year will blossom! I will flourish!" I smiled inwardly at my instinctive leap toward seeing the objects on my countertop as part of a larger symbolic and metaphoric matrix. Last week, you see, my brother found at my parents' house my copy of The Stone Angel. It was the copy I read in my first semester of university. Earlier this week, he was amusing me by reading out my young marginalia over the phone. No matter how distant the lass who wrote "symbolic" and "important" in green ink in the margins of her novels might seem from the person washing dishes in a different decade and province, it's strangely comforting to see she is still alive, well and ever hopeful.

Savoured: DIA on a Quiet Sunday Morning

Things Made: Creatures from The Cute Book

Over the past few months, I've been making creatures from the Cute Book for my little friend E who is, if you ask her, "three-and-three-quarters-years-old." Many more photos on my flickr site.

Aha...

According to a story on the BBC website, "Nearly half of all men and one-third of women have lied about what they have read to try to impress friends or potential partners, a survey suggests." Intriguingly, the men polled said they would "be most impressed by women who read news websites, Shakespeare or song lyrics" while women "said men should have read Nelson Mandela's biography or Shakespeare." As one might imagine, "one in five adults said they would read their chosen material whilst waiting for their date to arrive in the hope of making a good first impression."

Winter Storm Advisory: 10 AM

Toronto: December 11, 2008

My melancholy of missing people dissipated after finding some silence, a comfy chair, this view, a coffee and this passage from Virginia Woolf: "how curiously one is changed by the addition, even at a distance, of a friend."

Read: Mrs. Woolf and the Servants

If I've talked to you about reading recently, I've probably gushed about my latest find, Alison Light's Mrs Woolf & the Servants: "Virginia Woolf was a feminist and a bohemian, but without her servants-- cooking, cleaning and keeping house-- she might never have managed to write. While I like and admire non-fiction, I rarely find it as riveting and compelling a read as a novel. This book, however, was one that I had a hard time putting down. Perhaps it's my deep fondness for Woolf's novels or my vexed relationship with her notion of "the room of one's own." It might be my own puzzlement over how to carve out time to write among all the other things that demand precedence or my intrigue with the telling of lost histories. Or my admiration of excellent research and elegant prose. Likely, this book's appeal for me is a combination of all of these. The Times says it is "an invaluable glimpse into the hidden history of domestic service in an absorbing narrative, beautifully written" and the Observer calls it "A scintillating meeting of biography, social history and literary criticism." It's a mighty fine read. Some visitors to the Cafe will find it at their local academic library.

Saw: the first real snow of the year

I spent all morning organizing digital photos from the spring and summer and so today's snowfall seemed a bit jarring. I went out for a walk and noticed that even though the green is long gone, there are some interesting things happening with line and colour.

Sent: a magical link!

From the wonderful A, something equally wonderful and full of wonder:


This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

Looking: To the Cookie

Here at the Cafe, we like to look to the cookie. Of late, we've been looking to one of my favourite childhood cookies. A couple of weeks ago, I was inexplicably drawn to purchasing a bag of butterscotch chips and two minutes of googling when I got home brought me to this long-loved recipe for Butterscotch Oaties. I fear I might have looked to this cookie a bit too much in recent days.

Speaking of looking to the cookie, I also recommend looking at this lovely cookie site: Gourmet Magazine's Favorite Cookies, 1941-2008. It's a fascinating survey of cookie cookery over the past 60 or so years and some of them are stunning (such as the ones at the top of this post). If you're feeling particularly Seinfeldian, you can also make your own mini black and white cookies.

Found: Three more reasons why being a librarian is fun

1. It is a profession that runs annual contests like Pimp My Bookcart. This year's First Place went to Food for Thought by Student Employees of Columbia University Library: "Hot dog carts and used book vendors are a staple of any New York City sidewalk. A team of student work-study employees at Columbia’s Butler Library drew on this urban inspiration to transform a vintage wooden bookcart into Broadway’s hottest book stand."



2. It is a profession about which movies like THE LIBRARIAN: CURSE OF THE JUDAS CHALICE are made. Moreover, it is a profession that, when depicted in film, casts Noah Wyle* as the hero whose "geeky bookishness is coupled with a razor-sharp wit" and grants Bob Newhart the "amazing ability to fell villains when called upon to do so". Check out the web comic.


3. It is a profession who, in their professional communiques, offers links to videos like Sesame Street's classic "No Cookies in the Library." Cookie Monster would be pleased to know he could get cookies in our library*.



Grover might find the library* a little more amenable to him as no one is on specific shushing duty.

* For better or for worse, librarians may not be exactly as illustrated.

Brought: My own teacup

I don't think I've ever been to a social event where the invitation said "bring your own teacup." But bring my own teacup I did. I inherited this lovely teacup last spring from my grandmother and it did my heart good to wash it out and carry it up the street to an afternoon dance. The music and dancing were amazing. She would have loved it as much as I did. As I walked home this evening, carefully carrying my teacup, I felt like she and I had a very nice afternoon.

Received: Five Dozen Vintage Lipstick Samples

One of the signs of a good friend is someone who knows exactly what you will love even before you do. Such is the case of my friend L who, last week, gave me a box full of tiny vintage lipstick samples from Avon and, strangely, the Fuller Brush Company. At first, I was intrigued with this little box. I am now thoroughly enchanted. I love the little cases (especially the little metal ones), the colours, the colour names and the promises lurking within those names. Clearly there is a dissertation in here somewhere but here are just a few of the names: Orange Chiffon, First Violin, Prize Pink, Wild Honey, Fire Flower Red, Silver Trill, Red Commotion, and my current favourite, Russet Rage. Thank you L!

Found: Ink, Paper and Archives

Things have been incredibly busy lately and I've been flipping between ideas and interests and intrigues as if they were some sort of intellectual flipbook. Lately it seems as if half of my day is spent thinking about digital archives and the other half spent thinking about paper and ink. Occasionally I will run into things that make me stop and marvel at their loveliness. Yesterday it was the Thomas Jefferson Papers which somehow managed to embody three of my current fascinations: digital archives, ink and paper. Time and the grey cold skies melted away as I perused Jefferson's Garden Book. It's a beautiful document in so many ways.

YesterdayPhoto

Up until last night, Joe Louis Arena was a mythical place for me. As a lass, I had listened to and watched many an Oilers- Wings game coming from Detroit so it was a particular treat to see the Oilers in my first Joe Louis experience.

Return of the Facebook Haiku

Heidi has returned from London and is currently in residence at Windsor Castle. She may commence the writing of her Christmas address. 5:19pm

Heidi wishes the London she will visit tomorrow was of the UK variety. 7:27pm -

Heidi has been classified as part of the phylum "cardiganus” by JW. 12:58pm -

Heidi may or may not be doing a small jig in her office right now. 10:29am -

Heidi is relieved that she has friends protecting her from the biblio-mafia. Phew! 11:18pm -

Heidi is thinking about becoming a baker of pies. 10:49pm -

Heidi was feeling guilty about skipping class. Then she ate a piece of pie. Soon she will feel guilty about that. But happy. 8:33pm -

Heidi is back to singing "hey la, hey la..." 7:55pm -

Heidi is thinking of joining the Darling Mermaid Darlings. 7:30pm -

Heidi is singing "hey la, hey la... my voice is back." 4:23pm

Heidi is sorry to have disappointed Marlow. 2:12pm -

Heidi just likened herself to George Costanza in a conversation with a colleague. 1:16pm -

Heidi is being tormented by offers from British Airways. 10:45am -

Heidi is happy she has the Chiffons on her work computer. She thinks One Fine Day will be today's Ref Desk walk-up song. 9:49am -

Heidi feels agoraphobic looking at the open space on today's calendar. ACK! 9:19am -

Heidi is stunned and amused that her knowledge of Robbie Burns' poetry is helping her out in WordTwist. 7:17pm -

Heidi is more ironic than even she can handle. 5:07pm -

Heidi is, in her spare time, "the last, best hope of all men". 3:18pm -

Heidi is about to lose her voice again. Enter "Information Literacy: the Interpretive Dance." 2:32pm –

Heidi is wearing a poppy close to her heart. 10:18am –

Heidi is apparently quotable. 10:37pm -

Heidi is brought to you today by Halls Vitamin C cough drops, ibuprofen, caffeine, the MLA Style Guide, the letter J and now some joie de vivre. 4:58pm -

Heidi is brought to you today by Halls Vitamin C cough drops, ibuprofen, caffeine, the MLA Style Guide, and the letter J. 4:47pm -

Heidi is brought to you today by Halls Vitamin C cough drops. And the letter J. 4:23pm

Heidi is glad to have her voice back. She was worried about being known as "that librarian mime". 2:19pm -

Heidi got called "evil" in her first three minutes of work. This might be a record. And maybe an omen. Perhaps even a warning. 9:18am -

Heidi has reconsidered. She now says to Dale, “Pot, this is kettle. Kettle this is pot.” 8:15pm

Heidi is not saying anything in response to Dale’s comment that “Heidi is nerding out over ___ should be her default facebook status setting. 8:15pm -

Heidi is nerding out over an Austen program. 8:15pm -

Heidi's wine selection was based on where she'd rather be right now (and it's not Leamington). Nothing against Leamington, of course. 6:55pm -

Heidi is thinking about Botticelli... 3:08pm -

Heidi has been narrating her day in the form of the Discovery Channel song: "I love my coffee mug, I love the treadmill, I love my iPod, I love Jane Austen still..." 12:43pm

Heidi and Colin Firth went skating and drank lattes. They were best friends. Even though Heidi is awake now, she likes to imagine they still are. 8:50am -

Heidi is seeking the healing power of a tremendously mismatched ensemble of polar fleece. 7:51pm -

Heidi feels blinded by library science. 5:51pm -

Heidi is not a fan of working Saturdays. Or feeling ill while at work. She is happy, however, that it's cold enough to wear her cute boots again. 2:18pm -

Heidi just issued her second double dog dare of the week. What's up with that? 9:48am

Heidi loves tornados, she loves arachnids, she loves hot magma, she loves the giant squid... 9:35am

Heidi really was just answering a question about what we do with vegetables. 9:13pm -

Heidi says: "Yes We Can. We also Pickle and Freeze." 8:09pm -

Heidi begins assembling her White House | Black Market team.

Heidi's inner Audrey Hepburn is doing battle with her inner Harriet Beecher Stowe. Again. Heidi hates it when that happens. 11:08pm

Heidi is waffling about a dress. Which is, in case you were wondering, different from dressing for a waffle. Or like one... 3:44pm -

Heidi says, "America, I have never been more hopeful than I am this morning that we will get there." 8:56am -

Heidi is quoting those modern bards Blur: "Wooo Hooooo!!!" 12:30am -

Heidi wishes she were in Grant Park right now. 10:23pm -

Heidi is even more pleased CNN is projecting Obama will win Ohio. 9:34pm

Heidi is pleased that CNN is projecting her laundry to be done shortly. 9:01pm -

Heidi has Hope. And laundry. These are unrelated. Though she also has faint hope someone would do her laundry. 8:12pm

Heidi has Hope. And laundry. 8:10pm

Heidi not only has Hope, she has snacks. 7:23pm -

Heidi is looking forward to being part of the Best Political Team on Facebook Chat. She hopes John will let her be Campbell Brown. 4:46pm -

Heidi may or may not be a bad influence. She remains chock full o' hope. 3:20pm -

Heidi is chock full o' hope. 10:58am -

Heidi and John N will be the best political team on Facebook Chat tomorrow. 10:06pm -

Heidi is wondering if she and John N will be the best political team on Facebook Chat tomorrow. 10:00pm -

Heidi wonders how it is that Lou Dobbs can shake her peaceable nature in less than three minutes. 8:51pm

Heidi is dismayed to learn that an unwatched pot of rice does not cook any faster than a watched pot of rice. Additionally, threatened rice does not cook any faster. 7:02pm

Heidi is going to be late... drat. 4:58pm -

Heidi is venturing thither. She shall return anon. 7:20am -

Heidi just realized she is a merry wife of Windsor. 2:29pm -

Heidi is set to bring her message to prime time. 1:49pm

Renovations at the Cafe

In the past week, Alec and I came to the conclusion that it seemed like time to put TodayPhoto on hold for a bit. As noted in its last post, there were wonderful things about doing TodayPhoto but other things were being pushed aside. While I miss it, I'm looking forward to channeling some energy into other projects, including this blog which has been neglected over the past months. Some of the ideas behind and within TodayPhoto will, I expect, manifest themselves here. I'm excited about getting back to work at the Cafe. Cheers, H

A Re-Post from TodayPhoto, May 2008

Day 2: Canadian War Cemetery at Calais
Both of our families lost beautiful, vibrant, adored young men in the Second World War. Even though they died long before we were born, D and I still notice an absence in our families for those who were lost and are still mourned. And so, we traveled to the Canadian War Cemetery in Calais to visit one family grave site and also to pay respects to all Canadians buried there. Taking a bus to a nearby village and then walking though this gorgeous and historically significant landscape to get there, I worried about what we might find. What if the grave site was in disrepair? Should I have brought seeds or bulbs to plant? What would we report back to our family? As we climbed the hill and approached the cemetery, I quickly saw how wrong I was to question what I might find. On top of a gentle hill and protected by trees was a serene and immaculately maintained tribute to our fallen countrymen and women. On our visit, two gardeners quietly tended the site and paid careful attention to all the tiny details. Spring flowers and bulbs were planted between each grave stone, edges were trimmed and precise, the lawns mowed evenly and carefully. Calais is a long way from the Canadian prairies but there's something of them in the flowers, in the sky, and in the way a place looks after its loved ones.

How to write a fugue: or, what a Britney Spears song sounds like as a fugue.

(Note: If you just want to hear the fugue itself, advance to 3:29)

Colbert on Libraries

What I've Been Reading: The Frozen Thames

Earlier this week I read Helen Humphreys' lovely book The Frozen Thames. Having loved a couple of her other books, I was excited about this one. I was even more excited to read it after I held it: it is a small book that nestled perfectly into my hands. Its layout to brings together text and historical illustrations. In the ongoing discussion of why eBooks will never fully replace print books, this book is Exhibit A.


The Frozen Thames' premise is that "In its long history, the river Thames has frozen solid forty times. These are the stories of that frozen river." Humphreys has written a short vignette for each of those forty times. Humphreys draws me in with her subject matter (i.e., Julia Margaret Cameron, Virginia Woolf and gardens but she captivates me with her spare, elegant, evocative prose that moves toward a moment you feel like you can almost hold in your hands. For example, "The girl looks at the robin on her bedpost, and he cocks his head and looks back at her. Somewhere downstairs the other robin is singing. All over London, the girl thinks, all over London this very same thing is happening. Each house is a dark lantern, and each one holds the lit flicker of bird within its ribs" (175).

This book is not only a meditation on the river Thames but, as Humphreys writes, "This book is intended as a long meditation on the nature of ice. Each story is a story of transformation, as ice itself is the result of a transformative process" (182). The fact that there is only one vignette from the 20th century is significant: "we are in danger of losing ice from our world. If ice disappeared, we would not only lose the thing itself and its stabilizing place in the balance of nature, but we would also lose the idea of ice from our consciousness, and all the ways in which we are able to imagine it" (182).

What I've Been Reading: People of the Book

As some visitors to the Cafe may know, a number of us are finding ourselves with a bit more spare time than usual. I've been feeling incredibly distracted lately and so have attempted to find some respite in catching up on my reading. In the next few days I'll be posting some more about what I've been reading.
One particularly interesting read from the past 14 days is Geraldine Brooks's People of the Book. This novel is, as the promo material describes, "Inspired by the true story of a mysterious codex known as the Sarajevo Haggadah, People of the Book is a sweeping adventure through five centuries of history. From its creation in Muslim-ruled, medieval Spain, the illuminated manuscript makes a series of perilous journeys: through Inquisition-era Venice, fin-de-siecle Vienna, and the Nazi sacking of Sarajevo."
I was originally drawn to this book for its connections with book history and because it was dedicated "to the librarians." Having spent mornings engrossed in it, I think there is a lot more going on in this book than an interesting topic and a compelling read. Given a range of things happening both locally, nationally and internationally, I've spent a lot of time recently thinking about power: not only about the ways in which people take, use, and abuse power but also how ordinary people can find, reclaim and assert power in small yet deeply significant ways. In recent weeks, I've also thought about libraries, librarianship and the multiple roles libraries and librarians have played in the world throughout history and today. Brooks's book is one that I'm going to be thinking about quite a bit over the weeks and months to come.

Top Things from Todays' RSS Feeds

Digital cameras give us another way of enjoying art
"Everyone does it. Even I do it, and in theory I disapprove of anything that gets in the way of a pure contemplative experience of art. When I see other people doing it and I'm not, it makes me angry and contemptuous - can't they just look? But every so often I too reach for my digital camera or, if I haven't got it, my phone's built-in camera, and photograph or even film a work of art."

There are many mysteries in Wrest Park -" not least what precisely went on in the bedrooms concealed in the dome of the Georgian garden pavilion, a miniature party house with secret staircases hidden in the panelling - but the one that baffles the gardener is how such a spectacular place became almost forgotten."

MoreCowbell.dj is "a little Flash app that takes in any MP3, analyses it, and adds rhythmic cowbell and Christopher Walken samples, thus vastly improving it."


"It's not that they're not compelling, but sometimes those 'must read' books remain unread. There, I've said it.
This is a risky admission for someone in my line of work to make. But I have this as an excuse: I have to read a hell of a lot. And I also like reading a hell of a lot. But there are only so many hours in the day. Other writers and critics understand this."


What's in a Hot Beef Sundae? Apparently "Golden mashed potatoes covered with a generous portion of our roasted and seasoned-to-perfection top round beef. Then aged cheddar cheese, more golden mashed potatoes smothered with our special beef gravy, more aged cheddar cheese, a slice of buttered toast, and a cherry tomato on top."

McCain/ Obama Wordles Someone took "McCain's acceptance speech from last night's Republican convention and compared it to Barack Obama's acceptance speech from the Democratic convention and made wordles of each. John McCain's wordle is on top, Barack Obama's is on bottom."

From the "Is this April 1?" category: Michael Jackson and Robert Burns

I saw this yesterday and still have the feeling that I had a really weird dream where Michael Jackson recorded an album of Robbie Burns poems. But, alas, I don't think it's just a weird dream. According to a story in the Guardian, "the album is a modern musical take on some of Burns' classic poems." In case you were wondering, "There are no current plans to release the recording as an album." Read some of the aftermath.

Back to school

There's something about that hint of fall in the air that-- no matter how long I'm out of school--still gets me itching for new pencils. Here's a neat site that makes the average pencil a curiously compelling site of aesthetic inquiry. I'm particularly fond of the range of Dixon pencils. And, while you're thinking about things you write with, here's an interesting site about the physicality of writing.

Just read: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

I am grateful for Alec who never steers me wrong in his book recommendations (among other things). His latest suggestion is stellar: Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This book won the 2008 Caldecott Award.
In trying to find words to describe it, I stumbled upon this description on the book's website: "This 526-page book is told in both words and pictures. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not exactly a novel, and it’s not quite a picture book, and it’s not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things." Indeed, it's hard to know exactly what to call this book other than remarkable.
In doing some more reading about this book on the website, I was captivated by an essay by Remy Charlip called "A Page is a Door." Here, Charlip notes, "A book is a series of pages held together at one edge, and these pages can be moved on their hinges like a swinging door...Of course if a door has something completely different behind it, it is much more exciting. The element of delight and surprise is helped by the physical power we feel in our own hands when we move that page or door to reveal a change in everything that has gone before, in time, place, or character. A thrilling picture book not only makes beautiful single images or sequential images, but also allows us to become aware of a book’s unique physical structure, by bringing our attention, once again, to that momentous moment: the turning of the page."
These pages are a door you're going to want to open.

Pretty things

Visitors to the cafe may know of my fondness for pretty things, fonts and fabrics. Amazingly, here they all are in one neat-o site. Here are some of my favourite items: one two three four.

Richard Serra in London: Or, Reason 412 that I'd like to be in London this fall

We saw this exhibitin Paris in May and I became a fan.
I'd love to go see Richard Serra's installation in London.. See more of his work here.

Heidi's Adventures in Wonderland (or Cleveland...)

This past week, D and I went to Cleveland to see the Tigers play two away games. Those two games were the best of times and the worst of times. If you follow the team, you know what I'm talking about. Aside from baseball, we also went to see what we could see of Cleveland. Although our travels to Cleveland met with a few raised eyebrows ("you're going to Cleveland because....?"), we saw a few remarkable things.

The first is the stunning Cleveland Botanical Garden. I saw a lotus flower in full bloom for the first time, walked among butterflies, saw an actual baobab tree, and felt transported to another world.

Perhaps the most amazing part of my visit was seeing the children's garden. I left feeling thoroughly enchanted. So often children's spaces are built according to what adults think children want. This space struck me as an entirely different kind of space. I wasn't surprised to read later that the designers of this space asked
children what they wanted to see and do and then designed a space according to what they said.


The resulting space looks like something out of The Hobbit with child-sized paths, archways, buildings, plants and activity centres. While many children's spaces are heavy on text and guided activities, the designers of this space seemed to understand that, given ample stimuli, children are happy to explore what they want in the way they want to explore it.

While we were there, three little kids studiously filled small watering cans with water they drew from a hand pump and then watered whatever plants they wanted. Another sat in the shade on a blanket with a grandparent and another squealed to see real live frogs in a pond. Meanwhile, another amused himself by filling his shoe in the fountain and another just looked at flowers and a range of growing vegetables that were all at her height. I think we all took away something magical that day.

After leaving the garden, we stumbled upon this exhibit by Jerry Uelsmann and Maggie Taylor. I have seen some of Uelsmann's work in books before but, as one might expect, found his work even more impressive in the gallery. I'd not seen anything by Maggie Taylor before and left wanting to see and know more about her work. I bought the exhibit catalogue and remain wowed and intrigued. Maggie Taylor has just published a gorgeously illustrated version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Who knew Cleveland could be such a wonderland?