I have a new post on: At the Expense of the Listener, “Almost and Too Cool – The Bawdies.”
Posts authored by leems
Our lives with books
I am finally back in the saddle of keeping up with my fellow library schmucks and I’ve scrolled through enough news items for the ‘e-books not print books,’ ‘death of libraries in face of digital materials,’ ‘no one has personal libraries anymore’ chants to finally give me a headache. I understand it’s posh and edgy to make such sweeping pronouncements but it’s only done to get a rise. I mean, isn’t it? You all don’t really believe that digital literature will replace all things print?
Lo and behold, my personal library. I weed it often but it never decreases appreciably in size. And you know what? My collection of digital literature, some duplicating but most unique, is probably growing to be just as big. Arguments abound from people who rose to the bait of the digital over physical headlines generally go like this:
PRO Digi:
- multiple books accessed through one light weight and portable device
- less storage space
- fits into already increasingly digital world
PRO Print:
- art books and often comics are not made for digital interface
- like the feel and smell of books
- not everything is duplicated, therefor how can print be replaced
I find I use print and digital books in different ways. I used to keep list of books I wanted to read but didn’t have the time right now, you know, the ones libraries don’t reliably carry. Now I buy the e-book because, although it is a purchase, it seems like less of a commitment. It doesn’t take space in my home and when I am done with it, deleting it will feel a whole lot less of a waste than trying to donate a print copy in a responsible way. E-books equal easy to dispose equals somehow easier to buy. I buy print books when I know I will want to revisit the thing many many times, when I know I will want to lend it to a friend. A lot of my print collection is picture heavy, harkening back to a standard print pro. Increasingly my print collection houses several indie publications, not only rare for their small printing, but because the indie comic and zine making community is still very hands on.
People who cultivate personal libraries will probably just add digital material to their print collecting. Libraries are a multimedia experience after all. People who bought the best seller, or the book their friend recommended, to read and then discard, or sit on an ignored shelf in the family room, will probably move their habits to digital if inclined in that direction. My point: there is no either or decision to be made, and each circumstance will be different for each consumer. If we’re talking about publishers making calls to best sell/market their material, maybe format on demand will be the fashion, where the consumer can choose what format they would like at checkout.
Finally, I buy print because when the big electromagnetic bombs go off and plunge our world back into the middle ages, I am going to have the most kickin’ access to entertainment all in my spare room.
i like to draw drawings
And I don’t like to erase, apparently. At least, I don’t like to erase on doodles. But, aren’t they cute?!
Because sometimes my doodling is like nothing I would ever draw
bird at my back window
Feed Readers
Boo Hoo, Google Reader is going away. Allow me to do something that thousands of other people are doing right now: look at a bunch of replacements.
What I already like: folder organization, bulk ‘mark read’ for the times when I need to catch up by missing stuff, being able to view one feed at a time instead of having everything in a pot (i like to read feeds in an order that has no bearing outside my head), show only unread or not.
What I went looking for: web based, because I move around, and not requiring any download because: hassle. This had the effect of eliminating a lot of options, so if you like browser add-ons and such I suggest looking at things like Feedly (which is getting a lot of recommendations right now).
What I looked at:
FeedBooster – has an easy import feature and allows you to browse by folder, but amalgamates all posts within a folder to one stream of content. Bad for me because: webcomics. NOT FOR ME.
FeedReader – no categorization or organization. Everything in the pot and no import feature that I could find. Thus no picture. NOT FOR ME.
Netvibes – more like a replacement for iGoogle, which has been plastered with messages about future unavailability for ages. At a cube for each feed it’s not going to suite my needs. But, wait, on second look….there is a reader list style reading pane as well. Reading something makes it disappear, so there is no going back? Posts work like an inbox – open to read, check box on the side for actions. The best part: dashboard templates for changing themes and organizations. The worst part is premium accounts for sale. I always find that, though free versions might give you some thing to play with [the Brain], they always end up being frustrating in some way. This is the only such reader I really checked out, I passed up all others with the paid accounts schema. MAYBE FOR ME? SECOND CHOICE.
The Old Reader – still in beta and a little busy to give me any immediate gratification on trying it out, but I am hopeful. The tour looks like it has everything I already like, in fact, was made to replace just those things. Plus there’s hints of social networking with other people using The Old Reader. I think I am interested in this though I don’t know how I’d use it. I’m going to say that THIS IS IT. I only hope they don’t crash because of mass migration.
Marianne Kirby
Hello, I was jumping around on the internets and read this fabulous ‘fat acceptance’ article by Marianne Kirby at xoJane. I quote ‘fat acceptance’ ’cause I never heard of such a movement before. I just thought it was about liking yourself in opposition to everything that people say to you. But fat is regarded crazy ill in this country, so I’m glad there are people out there like Marianne Kirby to write about it in a touching, elegant, and witty fashion. I am going to go read her book and think about how I would really love to know her better. She seems awesome! She does NaNoWriMo!
Danny Kaye
Watching a lot of Danny Kaye recently and at a loss for what to draw. Put the two together and voila!
hitRECord
I was in the bookstore when I saw Tiny Stories vol. 2. I picked it up and was wooed and bought it, along with something else that made me say, “bookstores put books in the ‘humor’ section because there is no section called ‘awesome.'” Have you noticed? I mean Kate Beaton was in the ‘humor’ section next to things like 100 Fart Jokes and Galvin and Jobbs. What are they thinking?! Something like, ‘oh gee, I dunno where this goes so lets through it in the only catch-all section we have,’ or ‘this has pictures, but it’s not a graphic novel, so it must be humor.’ Maybe…diatribe for another day.
Back to Tiny Stories vol. 2. In it is a little blurb about sending your own tiny stories to http://www.hitrecord.org/ for the next volume. I am relatively addicted to trying my best to get involved in an anthology project, so I had to check it out. What I found was interesting and unusual. hitRECord is something like a collaboration engine, where creators of all sorts surrender up there bits in the hopes of matching it with other people’s bits, squishing them all together and making a fabulous new thing. I am skittering on the edge as I do with most virtual socializing nite-clubs, but it looks really cool, so I wanted to say.
Using old doodles as a digital coloring book
is fun, really.
Year of the snake
I’m a little late for ‘happy new year!’ but it is the year of the snake for 10 or so more months.
Oh, yeah, the whole story of original sin/human acquisitions of knowledge is fascinating to me. Thus the apple.
BT Tower 360 Panorama of London
Because if you haven’t been there, chances are you are a little curious and if you have been there, chances are you might want to reminisce. A really really big panoramic, zoom-able, picture of London: BT Tower 360 Panorama of London.
inhale, count to ten
Ok, my website (except for the Bean) is currently completely messed up. No images are displaying and I can trace no reason. Gonna take a chance and ignore it until tomorrow in the hopes that it is something weird with my host.
fingers crossed
No problem, dumb head, sort of. So, I started brainstorming all the things that could be happening and realized that I should probably double check the site via a different browser before freaking out too much. And then I thought about anything that is different with my browser and I remembered that I had outfitted it to avoid online tracking. Problem solved. Don’t know how to two are connected, though I know it is corrected ’cause the only problem was in my browser till I reverted my online tracking changes. Not all of them but still. Never mind my freaking out, or trying not to freak out. Even though I’m rambling nonsensically, never mind.
Give me some Lawrence Welk
No really, give me some. I remember sitting on the shag carpet of my grandma’s den, watching Lawrence Welk on Saturday night with her and my mom. I have to admit, I didn’t appreciate it then. I relegated it to all the other things I wouldn’t have watched had I not been hanging out with Grandma (hello Little House on the Prairie). But lately I have developed a strong appreciation for the show – with it’s awkward host and all. I especially like the orchestra’s suits.
I drew this while watching a very special holiday episode. This dude is a little to loose for Welk, though.
Webcomic findings
‘Cause as many as I’ve found already is never enough.
Hemlock – on smackjeeves. beautiful, bold black and white style.
Curio – a dreamworld. completely amazing and terrifying in the way that really beautiful fish at the bottom of the ocean are terrifying. great color work.
Prague Race – beautiful pencil work, or what looks like pencil work. Can you ever tell now a days? crazy detail backgrounds and environments. completely enviable world construction.
saint for rent – glorious, moving pictures. no really, it’s “semi-animated” and sehr sehr gut. about an inn for time travelers.
Judecca – murky colored fantasy world. grim, and beautiful in the insidious way that makes you attached to a character after a couple pages.
Ava’s Demon – glorious, glowing color. I really like the one cell at a time delivery, it makes paging through the story like a reading a book. it also makes waiting for the next bit really really difficult.
nimona – is hilarious and with unique styling. Hilarious!
water – great big hook of a beginning and wonderfully executed brushy style.
shambles – not really sure where it’s going yet, but it is beautifully done. I always admire people who can wield color so well.
Spera – an enormous collaborative comic with artists from all over.