All booktrucks on deck

More than the end of the quarter, it’s the end of exams. I worked the last late-late shift tonight, and the room was almost empty; about 10 when we closed at 2am, and last night it was more like 30. When I went to punch out I found myself passing through a room flooded with loaded booktrucks:

Usually there are only about five back here, and not nearly as motley a collection as these are. My contacts in Circ tell me that last night they ran out of trucks and had to just leave some books stacked up in bins. With courses and papers and theses finished, suddenly all those little hoards of books start to come home. Looking at these, I can imagine the stacks in carrels and offices and apartments; there are few things more evocative of the workings of a human mind than a collection of books. And now they all find their way back up to their places in the towers to wait for their next big break.

Very sentimental; so be it. It’s the end of the year, the start of the summer, the cusp of senior year and everything that comes after. It’s big. And while I’m sure it’s going to be wonderful and exciting, and I’m sure I’ll be able to handle all the concerns that come up, I still have to bring those books back, so to speak. I have to bring those books back, the ones that have been occupying large quantities of space, that have answered my questions and kept me company and infuriated me, and they have to go back where I might not be able to find them again. And if I do, it will be in a completely different context, since the previous project will be done.

Enough with the lame book metaphors. It’s nearly four and my stuff is emphatically not ready for checking out at 10am.

Further Ripley

Click on the “r for Ripley’s” tag if you don’t know what this is.

1. The Knights of Columbus own Yankee Stadium.
2. During the second century three sisters were martyred. Their names were Pistis, Elpis, and Agape, which in Greek mean Faith, Hope, and Charity.
3. Julian the Apostate wanted to disprove Christ’s prophecy that Jerusalem would not be rebuilt. When his workmen started construction, flames shot from the ground and halted the work.
4. Evangelista Torricelli, a Catholic, invented the barometer.
5. Pope John XXIII began his study for the priesthood at the age of 11.
6. Since the time of St. Peter, about 25 nationalities have been represented among the Popes.
7. Saint John Nepomucine is believed to be the first to have been martyred protecting the seal of the confessional. He refused to reveal to King Wenceslaus the confessional secrets of the queen. He was murdered by drowning, and, centuries later, when his remains were found, his tongue was still in living condition. We can recognize his portrait in religious art by the finger of silence, raised to his lips.

Number two has to be about the biggest non-fact I’ve come across yet. So a group of Christian girls had Christian names?! OMG!

The “Catholics do stuff” genre, represented here by fact number four, is kind of strange, don’t you think? I guess it’s like coming up with a list of celebrities who are from your hometown or something, but seriously. I don’t think I have ever thought about the guy who invented the barometer before. And he’s clearly Italian, so I tend to think of Catholicism being slightly less significant here. I don’t know.

And number seven provides further evidence that the boundaries of facthood are somewhat elastic. That feels like three full facts to me.

Now listening to

You’ll sit alone forever if you wait for the right time
What are you hoping for?
I’m here, I’m now, I’m ready

I’ve started packing with the easiest stuff, the clothes. I seem to have acquired a lot of shoes since I moved in. And every time I look over at the mass of papers that used to be my desk, I get a dark foreboding feeling.

Yet more Ripley

Since I started posting these, my feed stats tracker has not hit zero. In fact, it’s been up to unheard of levels — 20! So a big thank you to all the bots out there reading this blog, since I’m pretty sure no real people do. My finals are done but I’m a little burned out (ha) so more facts for the time being, anyway.

1. There are 500 Catholic publications in the U.S. with 27,500,000 subscribers.
2. St. Peter the Apostle, the first Pope, was a married man. Only two other Popes in the history of the Church are known definitely to have been married, St. Hormesdas and Adrian II.
3. In Extreme Unction, all five senses are annoinnted [sic] because of the sins committed through them.
4. St. Matthew is represented by a human head in religious paintings because his gospel begins with Our Lord’s human ancestry.
5. St. John is represented as an eagle in religious art because his opening words in the gospel are so majestic they soar into the heavens.
6. Father Martin Grajales was the first American parish priest, having been assigned to St. Augustine’s parish, Florida, in 1565.
7. St. Catherine of Siena was the 25th child of her parents. During her life she was visited by the Blessed Mother and her Divine Son appearing together.
8. St. John-Mary Vianney, a Frenchman, is the patron saint of parish priests.

I continue to be amused by the variety of facts in this book. Number seven makes me wonder what constitutes a “fact”; surely this is two? Also: “Hormesdas”. That is all.

Dear J.Crew

I see that you have labeled this color on your website as “crisp orange”.

I think the term you’re looking for is “blaze orange”.

Love, Me.

Aw maaaaaan

An email I just got from the department secretary, in its entirety:

Good afternoon, Seniors
This is just a reminder that there will be wine served at the end-of-the-year reception (see notice emailed on May 31) and that you will be carded.

The caterer’s bartenders have the right to refuse service if proper ID is not presented.

Bummer!

“Indignance” is not a word, apparently.

Do you want to know how long the spell check and I wrestled over this one today, before at long last I realized that the noun form of indignant is indignation?

No, you do not. Trust me.

Apparently it’s Spencer and myself against the world on this one. I still don’t quite believe it, partly because I can’t believe I’ve never used the word indignance before.

Return of Ripley

More from a 1963 volume of fun facts for Kat’licks:

1.  The Blessed Mother’s tomb is believed to have been in the valley of the Cedron, near Jerusalem, the place where her body was assumed into Heaven.
2. St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest philosophers and theologians of the Church, was rewarded by being addressed by Christ on a crucifix. “Well hast thou written concerning Me, Thomas. What shall I give thee as a reward?” Thomas answered, “Naught save Thyself, O, Lord.”
3. Out of respect for the first Pope no succeeding Pope has chosen the name of Peter.
4. The first Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded to a priest was presented to Father Dominique Pire, O.P., in 1958. The priest is famous for his work in aiding displaced persons.
5. The superscription (INRI) above Christ’s head is preserved in the Church of St. Croce in Jerusalem.
6. St. Gregory was the first monk to be elected Pope.
7. The cross was used by the Romans to execute only slaves and degraded criminals. A more ancient practice was to tie or nail the victim to a tree.
8. One Church tradition holds that the Blessed Mother lived  63 years, while another asserts that she lived to be 72.
9. The word “Catholic” is formed from two Greek words which mean “through all.”
10. In religious art, the ox is the symbol of St. Luke because his gospel begins with the account of Zachary, the priest, whose duty was to offer sacrifice.

Speaking of Thomas Aquinas, who is patron of students, I have exams out the wazoo tomorrow as well as a half-baked paper that needs to be done tonight.

Yes, I am procrastinating. Shut up.

I read the story on the BBC this morning about the London Olympics logo, and I am much amused that when I went to reread it just now I first found the link for readers’ alternative submissions …. then a forum piece for debate (i.e. complaining) ….. and only then did I find a link for the original story. And the first pull out quote in the article is a link to a piece about the amount of, er, dissatisfaction the logo has generated already. That comment was there this morning so apparently no one outside the instigators likes the thing.

It is pretty godawful. They say it will come in “shades of pink, blue, green and orange” – to which I say they made a big mistake in unveiling the pink. That last link I give above is good reading; it covers the reaction and some of the comments are pretty hilarious. I really like the first entry in their photoset of reader attempts, though.

Now! Back to work!

No kidding

There is a theory to everything. When I dipped my toes into the world of teacher training, I discovered the vast quantities of theory that have been produced on everything from writing on the board to arrangement of desks to structuring of exam questions. I worked retail for a particularly conscientious company and discovered all kinds of theory on customer service and handling (including the incredibly bad idea that you should read the customer’s name off his/her credit card in order to thank them personally). Librarians, too, have produced vast quantities of mission statements and “best practice” material and they just love to contemplate the meaning of Information and Freedom, both of which they have sworn themselves to protect.

And so, reasoning from the part to the whole, I am not surprised to learn that police officers, too, are subject to theory. What does it mean to protect and serve? Who is one protecting, and what are the limits of service? Etc, etc. Today on the BBC we get a glimpse into that world, fraught as it is with heavy questions of justice in a free society:

Greek authorities have now demanded stricter policing, but this should involve writing tickets rather than opening fire at point-blank range, says our correspondent.

Indeed, I think “our correspondent” has a future in law enforcement, with that sort of keen grasp on the essentials.

Go on and read the whole story, which is every bit as funny and strange as the headline suggests: Greek man shot in double-park row.