"Resolutionary"

When the iPad first came out in 2010 my impression was that it was a cool but gimicky toy. It seemed kind of pointless for the average person who already owned a highly portable laptop, didn't use (or have any particular desire to use) an e-reader, and generally felt the same way about the iPhone: trendy, but unnecessary.

Two years later I am not only longing for the day when I leave behind my penniless grad student status and can afford an iPhone, I also find myself almost drooling over yesterday's reveal of the new iPad and its amazing retina display. With a pixel density of 264 pixels-per-inch, the new iPad screen is gorgeous, and while reviewers say it's a bit heavier and thicker than its predecessor, the killer visuals, 4G/LTE capability, and English, French, German and Japanese dictation tools should keep Apple consumers happy.

Scrabble

Letters, words, radicals, characters, alphabets, hieroglyphs... One of the most impressive things human beings have developed is, no doubt, language. And written language is particularly fascinating. I've always thought Linguistics would be a very interesting field of study, but you certainly don't have to be a professional linguist to marvel over words and language. A very cool sculpture by Ron Ulicny made up of scrabble cubes makes me think of the literal building blocks we use to create language and express thoughts. Information boiled down to its fundamental components.

spew, 2011.

Big Brother Google

Last week on March 1st, Google changed their privacy policy, a change that applied to all of their products and services. The technical specifics of the policy revision can be a little dense, unless you're used to reading legal jargon, so over on Pleated-Jeans, Jeff Wysaski made a "short and sweet" version for the rest of us.

According to Jeff, "For the record, only the first two are actually true."

Vennesla Library

A stunning and unique library space, the Vennesla Library and Culture House in Vennesla, Norway, has received lots of press about its original and innovative design, its open atmosphere, and its constructional and operational sustainability.

Admittedly, I usually have a more traditional taste in library architecture, but the Vennesla Library looks so bright and inviting--it's simultaneously open, even cavernous, and intimate (see the little reading nooks in the lower right corner?). I always enjoy seeing new library spaces--they are a reminder to the community that libraries are alive and flourishing.

Check out the links for many more photos of the new library.

Book jackets

An interesting article I bookmarked some time ago, but never had time to properly read. That's what spring break is for.

Michael Dirda reviews a book entitled Book-Jackets: Their History, Forms, and Use, by G. Thomas Tanselle, and discusses some of the history of book jackets. Apparently early "slipcovers" date back to the 1820s, though it wasn't until the 1870s that they were common artifacts. It seems that the graphic possibilities of the dust jacket were exploited beginning in the 1910s. The original "paper wrappers" were for primarily protective purposes, but soon covers were also incorporating descriptions and endorsements.

As Dirda says, "Jackets are vexing. Should you read books with their jackets on or off? Should research libraries stop removing jackets from their open-shelf books? Should I just stop worrying about things like this and buy an e-book reader?" I tend to take the dust jacket off when I read a book, and for some jackets I remove them permanently (like Mary GrandPre's Harry Potter book covers--both for sentimental reasons and because they are such exquisite works of art). But with the aid of mylar protectors, I don't see why libraries shouldn't leave the covers on books. As Dirda mentions, there is something romantic about scholarly shelves of leather and cloth bound volumes, but simply discarding a book's jacket is not a solution. Tanselle suggests cataloging and preservation as an option for libraries who wish to display books without their jackets. Dust jackets can tell a lot about a book, and Tanselle and Dirda both regret the fact that so few early jackets have survived. Many probably don't truly consider book jackets as an important part of the book itself, but for their artistic merit, as well as for the contextual and historical value they can contribute, they certainly deserve the attention Tanselle gives them in his book.

Nature's space

Library, 2007 by Lori Nix
 
Nix is a "non-traditional" photographer who constructs her subject matter in miniature form instead of taking it from life around us. This image is part of a series called The City, a futuristic imagining of our world without one key component: us. The act of Nature reclaiming the cityscape both hints at past destruction and exudes a sort of present peace.

As I begin a week of no classes, a week of spring break, I find myself longing for the stillness, the silence, and the serenity of this gorgeous photograph.

Belated Happy Leap Day

Missed February 29th completely. After my midterm I promptly sat down in a very Herminone-like behavior to check my test answers, but stopped after the first two I looked up were wrong. Last night I dreamed about facets for the second time this week. I'm approximately three classes behind on half my readings. The section that messed up the grade for a team project we just got back was one that I wrote. I nodded off in my favorite class and I'm 100% sure the professor noticed. The twitch in my eye is back and I'm afraid may be permanent. My job search is floundering. I have a pounding headache.

But...

It's finally spring break! =)