Good librarian karma

It’s so nice when you can make somebody’s day.

This kid came in, all pissed off. “There’s something I want to listen to at CIM, and they won’t let me do it because I’m not a music major.”

“That’s right. They only serve Case music majors there.”

“Well, how do I change that?’

“Well, what do you want to listen to? Maybe we have it here.”

“It’s by somebody named Dvorak? Op. 90. We heard it in the listening session, and it’s really cool.” [Oh thank God, it's not something rare.]

I look up a copy we have onsite, but then I ask, “Do you live in a dorm, or at home?”

“At home, but I have VPN” [Even better, I don't have to do the VPN talk.]

So I showed him Naxos Music Library. and there’s at least a half dozen recordings of the Dumky trio. I showed him how it works, then I showed him Classical Music Library, DRAM and Smithsonian Global Sound, and how to get to each. He’s on his way to the candy store now. I also told him that CIM kids can’t use OhioLink, which was just the frosting to his cake of happiness.

Al Gore Memorial Blog Post

I left a half hour earlier than I thought I needed to for my 8:30  dental appointment in downtown Cleveland. I met the plow, making its first pass on Silica Sand, and drove British-style to the end of that road.

I got there 3 hours later, an hour and a quarter late. They took me anyways. At 8:30 I was still on I-480, a mile from the Valley View Bridge. After, I did my shopping at the West Side Market, went to work, dumped my car in the first convenient snowbank with a meter.

Now I hear we’re closing at 3.

End of church-hopping?

Remember back here, in the comments, where I wrote:

I could do a good Anglo-Catholic parish. If St. James weren’t 50 miles away, I’d go there.

You know, after all those years as a magic-user, you’d think I’d know better than to put that out there. “Be careful what you ask for; you might get it.” and all.

So Tuesday last week, I got a call from Graham Schultz, kapellmeister at St. James: gee, I need a bass, would you consider coming back permanently? I didn’t say “Yes” right away; I wanted to ask my lady and my Lord. With the apparent blessings of both, and the clear sense that I’d just been yanked up by the rough and calloused Hand of God, I committed.

It’s a rougher ride than under Lou. Morning Prayer is now at 10, with the service starting at 10:30: rehearsal still at 9, but I’m getting home half an hour later.  We have evening rehearsals, and this week is like Holy Week in February: rehearsal Thurs., Fri. is Evensong for St. Charles Stuart, Sunday, then Candlemas on Monday. I’ll be talking to Fr. Crume when all that calms down. There’s a bit more music, not harder music, but Graham cracks the whip on the chant (with reason — if it isn’t good, why do it?). He is a fantastically talented musician, which makes it all worthwhile. But the commute is still a bitch.

Sunday was intense, with a lot of emotions whipped up: “Great, I’m home…but WTF am I doing?”

The Anchoress explains saints

This Prot-boy finally gets it. I always figured that saints were like God’s receptionists or secretaries (“I’ll call your girl and set up a meeting.”), and why not cut out the intermediary? But the idea of the saints as a prayer team is quite appealing, especially since the saints are presumably better at praying that we are (because, duh, they become saints).

In the footsteps of Milosevic

CHICAGO (AP) – Impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he’s boycotting his impeachment trial next week because the process is unfair, not because he’s being defiant.

Is that a Serbian thing, or what?

Oh man, this is good:

He said that when he was arrested on federal corruption charges, he took solace from other leaders who have been jailed.

“I thought about Mandela, Dr. King, Gandhi” and that helped him gain perspective, he said in an interview that aired Sunday on “Today.”

At least he didn’t mention Jesus … who also refused to mount a vigorous defense.

What’s sauce for the Willy is sauce for the Bush?

Chris Matthews: ”Why would a show trial or witchhunt be bad?”

If you have to ask, even rhetorically,  why don’t you go first? Treason or rampant stupidity or something; if it’s a show trial, we don’t need to be fussy about the legal niceties.

Says commenter bpjam:

So Chrissy suddenly thinks that the Clinton Impeachment (which was nothing more than a show trial since the outcome was pre-ordained) Trial was good for America?

I thought he had convinced America that ‘censure’ was the appropriate way to deal with perjury, abuse of power and lying to the public? My, how times change….

Tip to Ace.

Speaking of Chrissy, Beck calls his number here:

The last and biggest domino is falling, right in front of your eyes: right now, Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann are comparing the Bush family to the Romanovs.

And that would make the Obama herd, what… exactly?

Uh-huh.

Olbermann was gracious enough to leave that the Bush clan won’t end up quite exactly like the Romanovs.

I wonder if I should take him at his word.

Not over ’til it’s over

Here’s the sentence.

Sicuro is doing his job. Here’s his motion to vacate, on the grounds that “entry does not conform with the sentence imposed in open court”. Hmm, sounds like what I heard in open court. No license or firearms, but if those are automatic, he might not need to mention them. And yes, it sucks that Nelly loses her right to bear arms, because she’s a little thing, and she might well need it someday. But I didn’t write the law. And I doubt this is going anywhere.

UPDATE: there’s no link to the actual search results, but putting in the proper name here returns things like a number and a mug shot. Rusty spent the afternoon researching the State of Ohio’s accommodations for women.

Is it un-Christian to win too much?

This is just weird:

DALLAS — A Texas high school girls basketball team on the winning end of a 100-0 game has a case of blowout remorse.

Now officials from the winning school say they are trying to do the right thing by seeking a forfeit and apologizing for the margin of victory.

In a statement Thursday on The Covenant School’s Web site, the head of school said, “It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened.” He went on to say that Covenant has made “a formal request to forfeit the game recognizing that a victory without honor is a great loss.”

Now, granted:

Dallas Academy has eight girls on its varsity team and about 20 girls in its high school. It is winless over the last four seasons. The academy boasts of its small class sizes and specializes in teaching students struggling with “learning differences,” such as short attention spans or dyslexia.

But clearly they were going to lose anyway. It wasn’t even sporting for the two teams to play each other. But since they did…how many times in basketball can you roll up a score like 100-0?

UPDATE 1/26: The coach has been fired. Now Covenant can hire the loser they want.

Kristen Gillibrand?

Liberal Democrats have been wary of her because she ran for re-election with the backing of the National Rifle Association, opposed the federal TARP program to rescue banks, and has been less than enthusiastic about gay marriage.

And she was supported by Schmuck Chewer Chuck Schumer. So what gives? Good news, I guess, but what’s the game plan?

UPDATE 8:20 PM: I was coming home and heard a bit about her, and about Chuckie’s support (and McCarthy calling her “an NRA poster child”) And it came to me:

Shoots? Check

Has small children? Check

Meteoric political rise, beating an entrenched opponent? Check

Comes from an ignored part of her overall polity? Check

Not bad looking? Check

Religious? Dunno, but I’m betting.

Kristen Gillibrand is the Sarah Palin of the Left. Paterson is not stupid; he knows a winning formula when he sees one. Ditto Chuckie. It’s typical of the Democrats though to try something that’s already been done.

RIP Tessa Bonner

…soprano with the Tallis Scholars (etc.), Dec. 31, of oral cancer.Words fail me.

Hat tip: Jeffrey Tucker at New Liturgical Movement.