On Looking Back at My First Blog Post

Portrait of an Articulated Skeleton on a Bentwood Chair

Yes, this is confessional.
Forgetting that what I post on a blog is read by people, today someone (a student, no less) found my blog online and read my first post. It is an obscurely written poem about Prague and Dvořák. I do like the first line of the poem, "Dvořák strums his fingers on the dashboard, a melodic lilt to the tune of lips," but the rest of the poem is arduous.

If You Try To Contact Me On My Website I May Just Respond (See Below For Details)

"Starry Night" gets more views than Stones of Erasmus.
But Who's Counting. Google check your algorithm.

Yes, if you e-mail me at the stonesoferasmus 

domain I will try to write back: unless your e-mail meets the following conditions:

1. spam. yuck. i don't eat the stuff

2. if you know me and just want to say, "hey"

3. hate mail. no one sends me hate mail to my other addresses, so why here? prolly won't happen

4. queries about hooking up (use another site)

5. homework help

6. queries to proofread (argghhh)

Although, I will respond most expeditiously to the following messages:

1. corrections. i like to be corrected on factual stuff. i'm no wikipedia

2. suggestions

3. rants

4. raves

5. ways you used my content

6. blah blah

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Notice from Stones of Erasmus: Hey, Faithful Readers!

People ask me all the time how many people read my blog, and I tell them as many as the number of people who pass it on.

Please take a few moments and think of folks in your creative circle who like good writing and pass on stones of erasmus, dammit!

You may be wondering,
How do I pass on your content, Greig?

Use the share feature on top of this post to send to your favorite social networking site! Like Facebook or Twitter!

Or simply copy and paste the following URL:

http://www.stonesoferasmus.com

and send to your friends telling them how much you like the blog.

Or copy and paste this simple message:

Hey!

I've been reading stones of erasmus and I thought you would really like this stuff! It's so much fun to read! And interesting.

http://www.stonesoferasmus.com

Peace,

Your Name

It's simple as that!

Sincerely,

Greig

http://www.stonesoferasmus.com/

P.S. Don't be a spammer. Pass it on to peeps one at a time or use the BCC field when sending it.

P.S.S. Send this subscription link to have the blog sent to your email address:

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Tricera-topless - Review of Hyperbole and a Half (a website created by Allie Brosh)

I am still chuckling and snorting at Hyperbole and a Half, a very funny website.

Allie Brosh is hilarious. She uses Paintbrush to create images to tell zany stories. Very very clever and humorous blog.

What is it about a censored nude triceratops that is so funny?!

I laughed out loud at her unintentionally suggestive grocery store purchases and I added the cake versus pie debate to my classics lists.

I  wonder if she will publish a book? Probably. It will be made into a film like Julie & Julia. Not. :-)

News Repost: David Pogue on NPR

David Pogue was recently interviewed on NPR.

I never laughed so hard in a long time.
He was testing a new camera that has a projector with a video of a clown intended to entertain children while you take their pictures.

Pogue tests the camera on a beach in Connecticut and suspicious mom's ask him what he is doing (he's wearing a leather jacket and pressing buttons on his camera and he tells the ladies, "I am a reporter from the New York Times," and as if this is enough to assuage their wandering minds, they laugh and say okay and ask if the camera is any good!

OMG

LOL

I was on the floor in my apartment laughing REALLY hard.

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Greig Roselli's 100th Post on Stones Of Erasmus

The one-hundredth post of anything should not go unrecognized. You could say, "What the hell? One hundred posts? Who cares?" I will not think less of you. Blog posts should be celebrated, however. Stones of Erasmus launched in 2005.

Posts when I first started blogging were rare. My energy was relegated to other writing projects. The blog here gained momentum last August when I posted my road trip across America.

Railroad Tracks in Lebeau © Google Maps

I am posting the one-hundredth blog from Bordelonville, LA. I decided to journey with Tony, Andre, Cherie, Ricky, Michelle, Michael, Samuel, and Eddie (a Shih Tzu mix) to the country for the Bordelonville Church Fair. When we cross the railroad track in Lebeau everyone must sing, "We're in the country now! We're in the country now! High-Ho-the-Cherry-Oh we're in the country now!" In Bordenlonville we feasted on cracklins, jambalaya and tried our luck playing twenty-five cent Bingo. The big prize was a twenty-five dollar gift certificate to Glamour Puss in downtown Bordelonville.

Movie Review: Why I Liked the Film "Julie and Julia"

Meryl Streep portrays TV chef Julia Child

Tonight I went with my friend Glenn to see Julie and Julia.

Afterward, I was imitating Julia Child's voice on the way home. "Ooooh, I loved the movie so much!"

Julie and Julia (2009) directed by Nora Ephron stars Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as Julie Powell. The story is about how Julia's Child cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking inspires a New Yorker to cook each recipe in one year.

I loved the film.

No, I have never read Child's cookbook or even glanced at her TV show. I had not read Julie Powell's book either.

The film's narrative goes back and forth between 1950s France and 2002 Queens, New York. The viewer watches as Child in 1949 goes from barely able to boil an egg, to developing, collaborating and eventually writing a French cookbook for Americans to Julie Powell, a beleaguered government employee fielding calls from relatives of 9/11 victims who one day decides to cook her way through Child's masterpiece and blog about it.

I thought Streep captured the playfulness and persistence of Child. In one scene, learning her sister has had a child, Streep captures the joy of a woman learning her sister is pregnant, but also the stabbing reality that she herself has not had children. The humor of Child's dogged determination to "do something" is married with her love of food. "It's good isn't it?" she asks her husband, played by Stanley Tucci, offering him a taste of her latest creation. I never followed Child, being too young to be interested in her on TV, but I was struck by her equal parts of childlikeness and almost cold-hearted aspiration. As her husband coyly notes, she was able to make the most snooty Parisian smile.

Adams can certainly not top Streep's performance. Streep evoked a benign Child completely enamored by her craft, giving "no apologies." Adams is a more difficult character to like. She is woefully insecure and feels overshadowed by her more successful friends. Her "sainted husband," played by the super handsome Chris Messina, carries the relationship and endears himself to the audience. I liked him the best.

So, go watch Julie and Julia. You will be motivated to write a blog (which is why I am writing this entry).

Jon: I was hoping you could be with me. :-)

N.B. The image of Merly Streep is taken from Buzznet.

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Old Tech Librarians are not Complaining, just Saying the Future will be “A lot more crazy change.”

When researching this blog post on the future of information technology, drinking a cup of coffee, I assumed I would find happy Web 2.0 advocates (and excited librarians for Web 3.0) proudly discussing new trends in the field of library and information science.
While one may find an uncommon, optimistic librarian, like this very optimistic teacher hilariously touting “digital citizenship,” this is not always the case. The professionals are not completely pessimistic but many question their identities as librarians and feel ALA has lost its verve a long time ago. Blogs written by professionals in the field joke about technology and some write objectively about new advancements. Whether it is tongue in cheek or written in nebulous prose, an RSS feed of good blogs give a decent feel for the current pulse. Thinking intuitively as I read blog posts, I sense librarians blasé about the newest trends, even to the point of mocking librarians who seem to spend their hard-earned MLIS degrees serving adolescent teens wanting to get on Second Life (an online simulated world like The Sims) or acquiring a trendy gaming system at their local library rather than true grit research or simply finding information for their homework. Consider the Annoyed Librarian’s humorous quips. She or he is one of the tech bloggers I am talking about: seriously knowledgeable about trends but seriously opinionated about it too! S/he has a spoof virtual reference desk called Library Five-O to share with the world: to search the library’s OPAC go to Amazon; If you need a reference question answered, go to Google; if you want to consult an encyclopedia go to Wikipedia; Need storytime for the kids? Go to Youtube!