Joey Pigza Quote and Food Blog

I haven't blogged for about a week due to being out of town visiting my grandparents in Alabama for Thanksgiving and being generally distracted as it is the end of school, amongst other things. So I figured I would catch up on blogging by combining Sunday and Monday's post again. The Blog of the week is one that I have been obsessed with for two days called Momofuku for 2.  For those who have no idea what Momofuku is, it is the cookbook for the restaurant of the same name in NYC, created by genius chef David Chang (who Anthony Bourdain also thinks is brilliant, which gives him even better credit in my book). I had read the cookbook myself after waiting for it for over a month at the library, and thought his recipes were really ingenious twist on classics, plus the photos were gorgeous and it really makes me want to go to NYC to try it out. Chang now owns five Momofuku restaurants, which you can see through this link for more info. The author of the food blog Momofuku for 2 not only creates classics from the cookbook, like the Potatoes & Clams in Bacon Dashi  but also many other delicious creations such as French Onion Melt Sandwich, Thai Noodle Salad (which is very similar to a dish I have eaten in a Thai restaurant), and the best sounding title for a recipe Blueberry Boy Bait.

The quote of the week is a random one from Jack Gantos's third Joey Pigza book in the series called What Would Joey Do?, which is about a young boy who has ADHD and is just starting to get his life under control again. In this book, his mom who moved back in with him in the first book is dating again but Joey is not sure about the new boyfriend. I just thought it was funny. 

• “She won't call me anything like strange or abnormal or peculiar. She just says things like 'Oh, don't mind that Joey is trying to get pet termites to live in the woodwork. He's not like other boys. He is out of the ordinary.' And Booth whose head is so rectangular it looks like a shoebox with a nose stuck on one long side, gives me that I-didn't-raise-you-to-be-this-way-but-I'll-put-up-with-you-as-long-as-your-mom-is-my-girlfriend-otherwise-I-would-put-you-in-a-rubber-room look. In return I give him my Don't-fall-asleep-on-the-couch-because-when-you-wake-up-you-might-find-that-I-slowly-cut-all-your-clothes-off-and-when-you-stand-you-will-be-totally-naked-and-Grandma-and-I-will-have-your-camera-ha-ha-ha look.” Joey Pigza in What Would Joey Do

Cute Library Video

This short clip is from the Finnish Library Association and is about teaching your kids good habits, like reading. Once again, it was from Facebook, from the Help-A-Librarian page I'm part of.

Last 20 episodes and a new series

I am on the last 20 episodes of the Inuyasha (not counting the Final Act series episodes) and can I just say how frustrating it is!!?!  They've brought back Kikyo again, after "killing" her off like 30 episodes ago by the main villain Naraku, but now her spirit is back. As annoying as Inuyasha can be at times, I do believe that he is meant to be with Kagome, which is freaking hard when his ex semi-dead girlfriend keeps popping up. This time, Kagome had the choice about whether or not to save Kikyo and she did it without hesitation, though afterwards, Kikyo bolted and didn't wait for Inuyasha to show up. Then the fact that Inuyasha didn't go after her says something as every other time she's been injured, he follows her. 


That all being said, the ending of the series was crap. Nothing was resolved, including the main villain and all his associates still being alive and Inuyasha/Kagome relationship being same old same old. Now they have made a 26 episode series called Inuyasha: The Final Act, which has already been released in 2010 in Japanese with English subtitles. However, I find my comprehension and distraction level is way higher when watching the Japanese version, so I'm waiting till they release the dubbed version, which should be soonish (hopefully by 2011) as they've already gotten most of the old cast together (minus the voices for Sesshomaru and Kagome). I would like to watch the movies too, though those might have to wait awhile. 


In the meantime, I think I might start watching a new series called Kekkaishi, a series I actually know about as I've read the first 4 or so mangas, and I must say that so far they've done a good job. I really like the manga and the author, Yellow Tanabe. Here is a summary of the storyline.

*Muppet Wiki*

I'm a day late with this, but I've been swamped with school work,  so I apologize. Well that and I couldn't come up with a good website to share until now, lol. I finished my portfolio Sunday night and submitted it so just waiting for the feedback on it. I spent about half of the day today working on a paper for my reference class which was due tonight, and now my brain is fried and my lower back is killing me from lugging a heavy bookbag and laptop all over the library. So I'm watching Inuyasha episodes and relaxing. I think I might have some ice cream after I finish this post. 

 

So the website of the week is the Muppet Wiki, which I discovered last week while browsing the web.  As they say on the website, it is a "collaborative encyclopedia for everything related to Jim Henson, The Muppet Show, Sesame Street and The Muppets Studio. The wiki format allows anyone to create or edit any article, so we can all work together to create a comprehensive database for fans of the Muppets." I think it is a great idea! I have loved the Muppets ever since I was little, probably 8 or 9, and I grew up watching Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, The Muppet Show, and Labyrinth. I was a little miffed when the Jim Henson Company (JHC) officially sold the rights to the Muppets to Disney (both companies I love watching movies and TV shows from, but they were owned by Disney before unwillingly and it just looks like they sold out). I know they probably did it because Disney is able to market them in ways the JHC couldn't dream of, because they have so much more money, but it kinda seems like they sold out. But anyways, I ended up browsing the wiki for news of the new Muppet movie that should be coming out next year's Christmas Day. So yay, excited to hear that! So take a look around the wiki and enjoy.

Quotes about reading to children

Since I have just finished my portfolio and submitted it, it makes sense to do a book-related quote. It's funny that I was better at writing about Youth Services than I was the reflective essay that actually counted towards graduation. Either I found this quote somewhere along the line while researching something online or it was one from one of my Children's Literature classes. In any case, it is a great quote and one that should be followed. 

• "Read and tell stories to children when they are babies, and they will love the colors and shapes of illustrations and the relaxed mood of your voice. 
  Read and tell stories to children when they are toddlers, and they will shiver at the recognition of animals and listen with delight to rhymes.
  Read and tell stories to children when they are true walkers and talkers, and they will laugh at funny incidents and fall in love with special characters.
  Read and tell stories to children when they are in their first years of school, and they will appreciate the opportunity to retreat from learning and embrace the world of relaxed imagination.
  Read and tell stories to older children and adults and they too, will find themselves transported into the world of image and wonder."--Ken Roberts

Portfolio Drama

I am finally working on my portfolio that is due on Monday. Part of the holdup was that I didn't know how to add content to the digital part of the portfolio, which is the part that the committee grading it will be seeing. Well that and I'm stumped as to which papers to add to it, which was why I hadn't really worked on it earlier. It has five areas of competencies that I have to include: information and its organization, provision of information services, organizational/leadership/management issues in information agencies/services, application of technology and research to evidence-based practice, and lifelong learning/professional development. So far I have two papers up, and need to find three more, plus write a reflective essay on why I have chosen those particular papers, looking at the classes I took and what worked/did not work, and reflecting on the program as a whole (i guess, only part I'm REALLY not sure about). I am hoping to get a look at a friend's portfolio to see how it should look. 

I was finally told by my adviser that I didn't have to find papers for the other nine Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) competencies but only write a reflection paper on them based on what I learned during my degree. So I have conquered this part of the portfolio first, and have created a pretty decent first draft of that, minus two competencies I just can not think of what papers/class to use.

Inuyasha Part 2

Well, I am currently 100 episodes into Inuyasha and I am loving it! My favorite character outside the main group (Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kilala/Kirara) is Kouga, the wolf demon who is in love with Kagome, which of course, infuriates Inuyasha to no end and he is always challenging Kouga to duels to the death as a result. Yes, he is possessive of Kagome, but at least he declares his love and tries to express it, unlike Inuyasha who is too scared to really tell Kagome. I never really noticed it when I was watching the show before, probably b/c they were out of order, but Inuyasha's brother Sesshomaru is pretty hot. 

I found out today that there are 26 new episodes that came out between 2009-2010 in Japanese with English subtitles called Inuyasha Final Act. They say that the English language version is in the works, so I might have to wait for that. They are supposed to follow the manga and pick up where the first 6 seasons left off. I am also interested in watching  Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which is supposed to more closely follow the manga (compared to the original series, which starts out the same, but the characters/decisions/storyline changed as it went on). Truth be told, I've only really watched two anime series, and Fullmetal Alchemist was my second series and I absolutely love it (and would love to own it)!

*KarmaTube*

We all know YouTube right? Well I was browsing my email and once again the geniuses at Skirt! magazine had sent me another brilliant link, this time from a website called KarmaTube. The description on the website says that it is "a collection of short, 'do something' videos coupled with simple actions that every viewer can take. Our mission is to spread the good." 

Now the reason I went to this website was for this virtual choir video, where this guy Eric Whitacre sent out free copies of his musical work Lux Arumque via the internet and 185 random people sent in videos of themselves singing individual parts, which he then put together to create this wonderful music video. The music itself is so sublime (I am a former church and recreational choir member so I know what I'm talking about), but the fact that he got 185 strangers to cooperate is just amazing. I would be be very interested to hear more of his work. The other one that I really liked was this video about a non-verbal autistic girl who was able to talk through a computer. She is very inspirational, and I passed it along to my social worker friends as an example of the what kids can do.

Quotes about love

Seeing as I'm 63 episodes into the anime series Inuyasha, which is about love, I figured this week's quotes should reflect that. So I decided to use my absolute favorite love quote, from the book Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. It is a fantastic book that was recommended to me about five or so years ago by my dad, and is the true story of the author and his adventures in India. 

• ‘I love you, Karla,’ I said when we were alone again. ‘I loved you the first second I saw you. I think I’ve loved you for as long as there’s been love in the world. I love your voice. I love your face. I love your hands. I love everything you do, and I love the way you do everything. It feels like magic when you touch me. I love the way your mind works, and the things you say. And even though it’s all true, all that, I don’t really understand it, and I can’t explain it—to you or to myself. I just love you. I just love you with all of my heart. You do what God should do: you give me a reason to live. You give me a reason to love the world.’--Shantaram 

Inuyasha!

So whilst taking a break this afternoon, I discovered that I could watch whole episodes of one of my favorite anime shows, Inuyasha (whose name literally means "friendly dog demon," which I never knew until today). I am very excited about this, because I've only ever been able to watch it sporadically over the years, and never really in sequential order. I started watching it in college, whenever I was on breaks home to visit my parents and couldn't sleep, as it was usually on at about 11pm on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim TV show. I loved the silly and sometimes romantic storyline and the costumes. The weird thing is I don't like the original Japanese version as I think the subtitles take away from the show (though I usually like subtitles), I prefer to watch the English dubbed version. 

Anyways, I have decided to watch all 167 episodes in the next year. I also possibly want to read the manga versions as well, as I've heard that they help explain some of the story loops by the sudden end of the anime series. They've also made 5 movies that I will try to figure out how they fit in. 

The show is basically about a Kagome, a 20th century 15 year old girl whose family guards an ancient shrine, tree and well. One day she falls down the well and end up in an alternate dimension of feudal medieval Japan, where demons run amok. She discovers that she is the ancient reincarnation of Kikyo, a priestess whose main job was to protect the Shikon, a powerful jewel that can make demons invincible. Inuyasha is a half-demon ,who is trying to steal the jewel, but Kikyo imprisons him on a tree with a spell (coincidently the same tree that grows near the ancient shrine in present-day Tokyo next to Kagome's house). A series of demons try to steal the jewel, which Kagome now possesses, until she accidently explodes the jewel into many many pieces. In the beginning, Inuyasha and Kagome must work together to get the jewel shards and they dislike each other, but they grow to like each other as time grows on. For more detailed info, see this Inuyasha Character Wiki. Also, if you would like to read the manga version of it, please go to this link. 

11/5/10
Watching this show over again is awesome because it makes me remember why I started watching in the first place. The show is so steeped in Japanese folklore/mythology, alongside with the fantasy of the show (alternate dimensions, time travel etc). Plus it is so interesting to see the character development as it progresses. I am currently on episode 50 and  you learn so much about Inuyasha and Kagome in particular, but also about secondary but frequent characters like Kikyo, Naraku, Miroku, Shippo and Sango. I had totally forgotten about my favorite name in the show too, Sango the demon slayer's pet demon cat, Kirara/Kilala depending on who is pronouncing it. Oh and I finally found out when the Warring States period was, so it is technically Renaissance Japan (vs. Medieval) as was between 1400-1600.

It's finally autumn...

It is officially autumn here in South Carolina, as the temperature has dropped into the the 60s and the leaves are changing and falling off the trees. I love it, though it also makes me feel old. I wake up all creaky and feeling like death warmed over, and this morning I definitely need my cup of tea as I'm completely congested. Good old PG Tips, English tea which originally my husband insisted on getting and now doesn't drink because it upsets his tummy. This is fine, leaves more for me to drink. Now that it is cold outside, I can drink tea on a regular basis. I mean yes, I love me some iced sweet tea, and I will drink that on occasion when we go out to eat. It's funny that my husband will drink hot tea but refuses to drink sweet tea, but then again the same thing goes for anything other than hot coffee. He will only drink it hot, but not iced or any other coffee-flavored thing. Autumn makes me want to bake bread and other baked goods. That and sleep a lot, buried deep in our super fluffy winter blanket.

I have so much work to get done before the end of the semester, basically 5 1/2 weeks away. I have a Reference paper due next Tuesday and I need to further summarize articles I gathered for Assignment 5 for that class. The biggest thing is that I have my portfolio due on November 15, which is basically my thesis for the Master's degree, which I need to get started on and start picking papers. I think I will tackle that this weekend. Oh yeah, and there's my research proposal for my Research class, which I finally got my articles for so I can start on that, as well as keeping up with the reading/lessons for the class. So needless to say I need to get started now, so I'm done with this post. 

The Code

I found this a few weeks ago on The Merry Librarian and wanted to share it because I think it about sums out the unwritten job description of a public librarian. 

“I declare myself a Librarian, and swear myself to this Sacred Code. I acknowledge that I am but a humble servant of society, and forfeit my identity and rights as an individual. I willingly lay down my right to personal space. I accept that I shall henceforth be a surrogate mother to all patrons: I shall clean up their messes, their puke, their children’s puke, and re-shelve all of their carelessly tossed books. I shall silently tolerate their screaming fits when they fail to read signs about Internet usage limits, fines, and behavioral expectations. I will cater to their every need: from, “Will you set up my email account for me?” to “I need help with my taxes,” to “I just can’t understand why my husband left me!” I will follow their children around, cleaning up trails of toys, chewed books, urine and bubblegum. I will assist the man who speaks only to my chest; I will converse with the woman whose breath is foul enough to kill kittens. I will smile when they scream, smile when curse, smile when they are demanding and irrational. I am a Librarian: I am all things to all people. By this Code I do swear.”

This past weekend

This past weekend nothing much happened, except for two things. One of our friends decided to move out to where we live so we'll actually get to see him more, always a plus. The other thing was that Liverpool won their second game in a row, even though it is only the 3rd win of the season and the first away game. But we're still hopeful, though I do wish Torres would get his act together. He's been out of it since end of last year, and has only scored 2 goals in 23 games this season. I've also now been waiting three weeks to hear back from the library folks in Arizona, so I don't know what to think about that, except feeling really frustrated. Anyways, on to quotes and website highlights. 


This week the quotes for the week will be from two of my favorite comics. The first will be from the extremely talented Alan Moore and his Absolute Watchmen, which includes all the cool behind the scenes and extra stuff from the comic book. The second comes from my newly discovered favorite comic, Rex Libris Volume 1: I, Librarian. For those who have not heard about it, it is about an awesome, witty and just plain hilarious comic strip about a 2000+ yr old librarian named Rex Libris whose job is to shush people and reclaim overdue library books from creatures all over the galaxy, with force if needed. 

• “Why do we argue? Life's so fragile, a successful virus clinging to a speck of mud, suspended in endless nothing.”--Alan Moore, end of Chapter 6, Absolute Watchmen 
  
  
• “That fiend knows my every weakness! Damn you Yeti! Why do you torment me so? These buttertarts brim with the very calories of evil! Inexorably drawing me in to a carbohydrate-fueled hell of high caloric sin!”—Rex Libris, Rex Libris: I, Librarian

The website of the week is Book Club Buddy, which I found a couple of weeks ago through the women's newspaper, Skirt. I've not been able to use it yet, but it seems like an awesome site! It's got Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry books that you can check out to read, Author Interviews, Videos which include book trailers and author Q&A, and Reading Guides for Book Clubs. Also, if you are an author, you can promote your book and if you register for the site, you can win free books.