This summer sucks.
Confession: a big part of that is on me. [I am in a mood today, and I feel like screaming into the void. (Sorry, not sorry) This post is even more skippable than most.] I mean, for a little bit of context, am I the one snatching legal residents from the streets of Spokane? No.…
Leftovers
July 4th ended up being a very busy day. I had an early volunteer shift that had morphed into doing animal care for the whole place (instead of just the birds) — for me that adds more than an hour to my shift (I’m not terribly efficient with the other animals because I don’t work…
Summer School
I made a couple of miscalculations this summer. Last year I took a MySQL course, which is only taught during the summer at SJSU. It’s designed to run as an intensive 10-week course. And yep, it was intense — the kind of situation where you end up knowing about 1000% more than you did before…
Get the Useless Degree
Get in losers, we’re going for a trip down memory lane, via my current grad school classes. I’m feeling salty today, for reasons, so there might be some swears. (Here’s a photo tax.) I’m an MLIS student (Library and Information Science), and this summer I’m taking a one-month seminar on copyright for cultural institutions, and…
Black History Year
I did not get through my ambitious syllabus in February, so I guess 2025 is going to have to be Black History Year… I’m not mad about it. One thing I did do: cook using recipes by Black recipe developers. First up: Bryant Terry. He specializes in vegan food, which I enjoy, and the cookbook…
Black History Month: Kadir Nelson
Kadir Nelson is a talented, prolific, accomplished artist. I became aware of his work because of his New Yorker and Rolling Stone covers, which are… just… breathtaking. In addition to his incredible skills as a painter, his narrative chops are second to none. He has a website, with a gallery and store: https://www.kadirnelson.com/ In 2022,…
Black History Month: Augusta Savage & Annie Easley
This morning I learned about two extraordinary Black American women: sculptor, poet, teacher and gallery owner Augusta Savage (1892-1962), and mathematician and computer scientist Annie Easley (1933-2011). [The New York Public Library has a great libguide for Augusta Savage.] Thank you to Mariame Kaba (@prisonculture.bsky.social) for posting a link to a PBS American Masters segment…
Black History Month
Meteor Showerby Clint Smith I read somewhere that meteor showersare almost always named after the constellation from whichthey originate. It’s funny, I think, how even the universe is telling usthat we can never get too far from the place that created us.How there is always a streak of our past trailing closely behind uslike a…
The Worst Day
A couple of nights ago, there was a mid-air collision between a military helicopter and a commercial flight on approach to Reagan National Airport. Sixty-seven people were killed, including the crew of the helicopter, and the crew and passengers on the jet. Although we saw what happened, we will have to rely on the skill…
On Tumbleweeds, and Not Knowing
If you’re expected to be one of the smarter people in the room, I understand that it’s tempting to wade in to a topic you know nothing about and make stuff up, to sound smart. Bit of unsolicited advice: don’t do that. Particularly if you don’t know what you don’t know. Fudging around the edges?…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Follow My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Carmen Yount 