Moby Dick

 I recently read Moby Dick, from cover to cover, for the first time.  This is a great book, maybe my favorite of all time!  It's a great tale of revenge that we all know, and many of the chapters read as beautiful short stories.  There is terrific use of language, and many beautiful Biblical allusions throughout.  Highly recommended!

Invisible Man

 Recently I finally read Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man from beginning to end and, I must say, I would call it one of the best works of fiction I have ever read.  It deals with the "invisible," or marginalized, main character's expulsion from academia and subsequent initiation into a Marxist Brotherhood.  Neither group, it turns out, has what he is looking for to offer.  This book is extremely skillfully and also clearly written, and it has just about everything you would want in a book, including villains, fight scenes, and a brooding antihero.  Recommended!

Favorites

 Favorite writers: 1. Charles Bukowski 2. Herman Melville 3. Dennis LeHane 4. Robert Bloch 5. Thomas Pynchon 6. James Joyce 7. John Grisham 8. James Patterson

Favorite movies: Psycho 1998, Shutter Island, Salt, Hugo, George Harrison: Living In The Material World

Song of Solomon and Tar Baby

 After putting it off for so long, I finally got around to reading some Toni Morrison novels - namely, Song of Solomon and Tar Baby.  Her writing style is very abstract and challenging, but I still HIGHLY enjoyed both books.  People have told me that Tar Baby is her best, and that Song of Solomon is overrated, but honestly, I found the opposite to be true - both are about even, with Song of Solomon being my favorite by a very slim margin.  Great final line with Song of Solomon!  I also bought her Beloved trilogy and look forward to reading and reviewing those here!  A great, highly important writer!  Recommended!

The Last Castle

 Fan of the film Salt that I am, I have long been curious about the film The Last Castle, which also features a character whose last name is Winter.  Recently, I was able to see the film, and though it doesn't tie in with Salt in any way, I still really enjoyed it.  Here, Winter is a sadistic warden who lays his brutal methods bare throughout the film, especially toward the end.  The film contains many touching and inspiring moments, as well as some fine acting.  I highly recommend it!

Confederacy of Dunces

 Recently I read John Kennedy Toole's Confederacy of Dunces.  Initially, I struggled with this book, as the main character is so odd and so down and out.  Ultimately, though, the bizarre yet enjoyable writing style won me over, as did Toole's own affection for his characters.  The decision to rehabilitate Ignatius Reilly at the end of the book really makes this story a winner.  Highly recommended!

Conversations With Scorsese

 Recently I read Richard Schickel's Conversations With Scorsese, a great collection of interviews with filmmaker Martin Scorsese.  This is probably the best book on Scorsese I've come across, and it contains some great tidbits on Scorsese (for example, the fact that the director of The Red Shoes is Thelma Schoomaker's husband).  The book is very well written, and contains some classic commentary and bits involving Scorsese's works, such as material on Kundun.  Very highly recommended!

12 Rules For Life

 I recently read psychologist Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules For Life.  It's basically an instruction manual for how one is to live life, and although I don't agree with everything in it (particularly some of the things about feminism), I do think it is a very good book.  He covers a lot of interesting ground, everything from Rene Descartes to Carl Jung to Nietsche, and the book fascinatingly also serves as a kind of primer and reintroduction to Western Culture.  It's also very well written and makes me curious about what kind of fiction he would write.  Recommended, especially for those looking for a good psychology book!

Noah

 Today I watched Darren Arronofsky's Noah on Crackle.  Crackle is a great service, by the way, definitely the way of the future as we transition away from DVDs.  Noah is a retelling of the story of Noah from the Bible, only with some contemporary and fantastic touches, such as sword-wielding villains in dark clothing and rock creatures.  The film is a great action tale that really reinvigorates that old story.  It represents good, classic Arronofsky, before he went overboard with films like Mother.  Definitely worth checking out.  Highly recommended!

A Little Help From My Friends: Why Finding A Library Job Is Easy

 

A Little Help From My Friends: Why Finding A Library Job Is Easy

Ted Gentle

 

            Since the end of my position, against my will, at the Midwestern University Emporia State University, I have written extensively about my quest to find a second job as a librarian.  This has included and involved participating in easily over fifty dead-end interviews throughout Alabama and the South.  Countless committees, interviewers, spokesmen, voices over the phone, and brief, corporate-sounding emails and letters have given me a “no,” for a variety of reasons.  Sadly I will say for the profession, little additional help was given to me as to how I could get back on the right track.  I was shocked, then, to learn merely days ago of opportunities available through “Friends” groups, or groups of volunteers, available at many public libraries throughout the country.  The process was as simple as filling out a form, sometimes with a fee, and submitting it to your librarian or online.  Oh, if only more librarians and library staff members knew of this option and were more diligent about recommending it to up-and-coming, and, yes, struggling, job applicants.  These networks really are a great way to build up a resume, gain experience, and get back on your feet.

            With a constitution and set of bylaws, friends groups assist with most libraries in providing more efficient, direct, and, yes, friendly service.  These can exist at the level of the library, or at the state and national level.  The friends also raise money for their library, commonly through book sales, but also by simply taking donations.  Fees also contribute to the yearly earnings of the friends.  These funds may be used by the library, the friends themselves for the library, or even to host events such as a yearly celebration (“Friends of Libraries,” Wikipedia).

            Can you believe that a process as potentially grueling as a job search could be so heartwarming and community-centered?  The friends, and the groups who support them, live up to their name and keep the atmosphere of the library from being too corporate, strict, and policy-based.  It is a shortcoming of the University of Alabama, as well as the average library institution, for not pointing out this option sooner to me and to others!  It is to such school’s detriment that they leave their students and alumni at such a profound disadvantage.  I think that a required course in library school on library friends groups would do the highly charitable job of “catching” library students or, more properly, librarians who fall through the cracks of their later, more official library career.  Let all environments that include children also be childlike, and child-minded, at heart, always to include and never to exclude.

            The purpose of this study, therefore, will be to study the role of friends groups in library communities in recent times.  Their multiple roles as bookseller, gift givers, food providers, and desk workers will be examined, to give those readers struggling for work a sense of how this role is important.  The similarities of friends to librarians, and their importance as a support network for those who use and love libraries, will be studied.  In doing this, the reader will come to understand that the friends have the same level of importance to the librarians they serve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

“Friends of Libraries,” Wikipedia.

Friends of Libraries - Wikipedia

            February 6, 2021.

Fighting Depression in the Library Field with Dr. DeMel Coleman

 

Fighting Depression in the Library Field with Dr. DeMel Coleman

Ted Gentle

 

            While an outsider might observe the library field as fun and stress free, in actuality it contains many bullying situations, confrontations, potentially violent altercations, and other obstacles.  Weathering the bad days that troublesome patrons and coworkers have in store for you can be one thing, but the feeling of depression that can strike when you are by yourself is arguably even more difficult to handle.  How do we keep the levels of serotonin and other chemicals manageable in our brains?  To formulate some strategies as to how to best confront depression in this field, I had a chat with expert psychiatrist Dr. DeMel Coleman.

           

Ted Gentle: What would you say is the one best way for a person to confront depression?

DeMel Coleman: Well, you would be surprised how important a role diet plays in a person’s mental health and depression.  There is a very close relationship between the gut and the brain, and the brain is what makes a number of chemicals like serotonin and dopamine that keep you in a positive frame of mind.  I just cannot stress the importance of good gut health.  Before you start that new library job, you might want to stock up on Probiotic Yogurt.  Cottage cheese is also good to maintain that chemistry.  Bananas have a large number of healthy chemicals in them, too, including a lot of fiber.  And nuts and peanut butter are high in Zinc, which is also good for the brain.

            When you eat chocolate, make sure that it is dark, and drink Almond Milk instead of actual milk.  Milk and milk products contain casein, which leads to inflammation that can cause depression.  Those steps are a good start and can really make a difference.  And it’s also fun to eat healthy!

Ted Gentle: What can we say about exercise?

DeMel Coleman: Obviously these are things that work in tandem with the good meals.  They have actually done studies, and rats that choose to exercise have higher dopamine levels than rats that are forced to with electricity.  They also are able to overcome cancer more rapidly when they exercise by choice.  Injections of cocaine into rats work the same way in terms of choice; if they choose to pull a lever to get a cocaine shot, the level of dopamine goes up.  I cannot stress the importance in overall health of choosing to exercise, and this will stimulate good chemicals in the brain.  Even a small amount of exercise, research has shown, can make a big difference.  So try to take a walk.

Ted Gentle: Walk around the block before that night reference shift!

DeMel Coleman: Exactly.

Ted Gentle: We’ve spoken before about my depression after leaving my first library job.  In addition to these things, you recommend some breathing techniques, massage therapy, and hot baths.

DeMel Coleman: Right.  Deep breathing in for five seconds and then out, counting each second, for five seconds activates a nerve called the Vagus nerve.  This nerve will tell you to relax, and in fact runs the length from your brain to the other end of your body.  Meditation is also very important, and sticking to a regular schedule with it, and I personally recommend Transcendental Meditation for my patients to research.  A large amount of clinical research recommends massages to effectively treat depression, and if you need something quick, you can massage your body with a tennis ball.  Hot baths, as I think many people know, can very effectively cure a bad mood, and to prepare for a good night’s sleep, consider adding Epsom salt, Lavender, and Melatonin, which they sell.  Melatonin, in particular, helps to prepare the body for and administer sleep, and the body also makes more Melatonin because of the sunlight from when you take a walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Coleman, DeMel.

            Interview.  February 5, 2021.

Secret Scorsese: The Honeymoon Killers

 While I was reading the book Conversations With Scorsese by Richard Schickel (the section on Boxcar Bertha), I discovered something very interesting: Scorsese directed part of a movie before Boxcar Bertha without his name on it: The Honeymoon Killers.  He was actually fired off the movie so, like Badge 373, there is actually another movie he directed without his name on it.  Let's remember that he also edited Woodstock and Medicine Ball Caravan (I haven't seen Medicine Ball Caravan).

If you remember, I actually gave Badge 373 a positive review.  I was actually able to find a copy of The Honeymoon Killers on YouTube.  Though the movie is very disturbing and very exploitive, I did ultimately decide that I liked it.  It features a couple (including an overweight nurse) who decides to marry and then rob a number of nice, unsuspecting women.  They also, in some cases, kill these women.  Disturbing stuff, but it has the feel of an old James Cagney or something, not to mention Roger Corman.  I did like the hard hitting ending.

If you are a Scorsese buff like I am, then check this out on YouTube!

Double Fold by Nicholson Baker

 I recently completed my reading of Double Fold by Nicholson Baker.  This is one of the more impressive pieces of library scholarship I have yet read, and it shows how crazy (and cruel) librarians can be.  Baker argues against microfilm and most digital conversions which destroy the original text in the process of their creation.  With great detail, he describes some of the texts that have been destroyed, as well as the mania that resulted in these destructive "preservation" efforts.  Baker's vocabulary is sometimes challenging, but the book moves along at a good clip, and it's a riveting expose ultimately of a problematic field.  Recommended!