I Like the Otter

Ok, you may notice a theme in my blog subjects. I am a sucker for videos of cute animals. And this one wins the prize for cuteness...



I believe one of these otters just passed away. So sad!

Who'da Thunk It?

I just had one of those moments.


I was tinkering with an ergonomic arm for a monitor... you know, those things that we bolt to monitors to the desk with so that you can move them around all comfy depending on your height and how close you stand to the counter. And I just had this "Who'da thunk it?" moments.


Because you see, when I first started working for Library Services, the thing I was most experienced in doing, was changing dirty nappies and soothing crying babies. I'd had a LOT of varied experience in my professional life up to the point of joining BCCLS. I'd worked in retail, in hospitality, in book bindery, owned my own business (a music shop), started a community radio station, been a youth worker keeping kids off the street, and done an endless list of cruddy jobs like cleaning and picking fruit and stuff to earn myself an honest pay packet. But for the most of my professional life, I'd worked in child care, particularly as a full-time, live-in Nanny. I have always had a passion for reading and libraries, but had never been paid to work in one.

When I did start working for BCCLS, I thought I was going to be out there at the coal face, in the actual libraries for the rest of my career, because it was a very conscious decision that it was what I wanted to do. But now that I'm doing what I do... I can't imagine having as much fun doing anything else. I love that this job appeals to my inquisitive (and sometimes destructive!) nature in that I get to find out how things work. I learn so much every day with my job, and when I look back... good gravy have I learnt some phenomenal things over the years, that I never dreamed I would learn about or how to. Plus I still get to be all about libraries, which are a passion of mine.

But just in case you think I'm getting all philosophical on you, here's a chipmunk miming to Freddie Mercury:



Courtesy of Cute Overload. It's worth watching all the way through, really.

Oh Just Me Rabbitting On...

Well firstly, thank you to whoever sent me the choccies. I am touched at the gesture, and you've made not only me happy, but Roberto too, who always benefits from any spoils I get!

So... what are you all reading at the moment? I'm almost finished The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. I saw Jasper at the Brisbane Writer's Festival a couple of years ago, went with a friend not having read anything of his. He was delightful so I went out and bought The Eyre Affair... and I'm only getting to read it now. It's very good, I love how it doesn't dumb down literature at all. He is assuming you've read all of those great works and will get all the in-jokes and references.

Not that I'm getting a lot of time to read at the moment. Lunch is usually wolfed down between answering a zillion emails and phone calls, running errands and appointments. I get home and I collapse in a bit of a heap to be honest. I need to make time to read though. It's good for me!

I did the Brisbane City Romp on Sunday. Aye caramba, it was far more intense than I expected. I need to map out just how many kilometres we walked. Pretty much a solid brisk pace for four and a half hours straight. All over the city and South Bank. It was great fun, we got to about 23 or 24 of the checkpoints, and only got I think 6 or 7 questions wrong. Not bad considering there were a lot of people taking it far more seriously than we were who didn't do as well. I think next year I'd like to be one of the volunteers though, that looked like much more fun!

Beautiful!

Library quote
Originally uploaded by alexandrayarrow

I'm a huge fan of Shelby Foote. I discovered him on Ken Burns Civil War series, and just fell in love with his humour, wisdom, words and that gorgeous accent.

I just found this photo through Michael Stephens Tame the Web blog, and had to share it.

Why I Love Mythbusters

Watch this video:



Need I say more?

My Favourite Artist

Last Chance! Ron Mueck closes Feb 4, originally uploaded by Brooklyn Museum.

I was just reading in this article in the Courier Mail that the Queensland Art Gallery has purchased one of sculptor Ron Mueck's works for permanent exhibit. In fact, they've purchased the one pictured above. If you click on the link to the article in the Courier Mail, you'll see another picture that shows the sheer scale of this sculpture.

Without a doubt, Ron Mueck is my favourite artist. I have only seen one of his works "in the flesh" so to speak, which was the Pregnant Woman sculpture that is owned by the National Gallery, and toured here in Queensland last year. It's absolutely stunning, and so lifelike that constantly you are waiting for her to take a breath, or stretch, or for the baby to move beneath her skin. I kept wanting to reach out and touch her, because I was sure if I did, her skin would be soft and warm, not a cold sculpture. Amazing considering these sculptures are made of fibreglass and silicone.

I'm really looking forward to being able to go and see another of Ron's works in reality, rather than pictures online and in magazines. I believe it will be installed at QAG from November.

If anyone is a fan of the Jim Henson (the Muppet Man) movie Labyrinth, starring David Bowie, you will see a lot of Ron's early work in the characters in the film. In fact, quite often, Ron is inside the character "Ludo".

If you want to see more of Ron's work, have a look at the Flickr stream:

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=ron+mueck

So who is your favourite artist? Perhaps you could share a blog on the topic yourself. Please leave a comment directing me to your blog if you do!

Chocolate... Chocolate would help!

Mate, I'm knackered. For every one email I reply to, twenty more come in. Usually from someone asking me why I didn't answer their first email, that they sent an hour beforehand. I do get to all of the emails eventually, but because there are so many, it takes some time to roll around!

Chocolate would help. Seriously. Look at this chocolatey goodness:




However, that said, I am really enjoying the whole 23 Things project. It's stuff that interests me and that I find really time-saving and useful. I'm thoroughly enjoying reading all the blogs that have been shared with me, watching the Wiki grow, learning new things myself and being led to all kinds of wonderful information and resources. It's challenging and fascinating, despite the fact that I have to reset wiki access and passwords two dozen times per day!

I'm doing the Brisbane City Romp on Sunday. Quite looking forward to that, hopefully it won't rain. I'm in no way interested in winning the event but the challenge will be fun and I also hope we can raise some money for the Burnet Institute.

You know, I just can't take my mind off of chocolate for some reason. I wonder why...

It's not Tuesday today, I know... but I don't care!